"Now we can live together."

Qiong Xing nodded in satisfaction, relieved, while beside him Albe held his head as if wondering whether this was really alright, but Qiong Xing chose to pretend not to notice.

"By the way, what is your child’s name?"

"Hm? Did I not say? This child is not mine. I picked him up in the forest recently."

...What?

That was not something he had heard before, so Qiong Xing asked for more details.

Apparently, a few months ago, the pup had been abandoned in the forest, and Fenrisúlfr had taken him in.

"This child is not a magical beast but an ordinary animal. If he were a magical beast, I could have healed him by giving him magic power, but that was not possible, which left me at a loss."

He had been unable to leave the injured pup to go hunting, and even if he could, the pup’s body was not yet developed enough to eat raw meat.

Being male, Fenrisúlfr could not produce milk either, so as the pup grew weaker, he had likely neglected his own meals as well.

In his weakened state, when he found what he thought was prey, Qiong Xing and the others, he had intended to fill his stomach.

...

After they finished their meal without incident, Albe and the twins went off again to set traps to catch more game.

Qiong Xing who was feeling slightly anemic stayed behind with Cari keeping watch together.

"What do you plan to do with this child?"

The wolf pup that’s now healed and full was fast asleep on Qiong Xing’s lap.

"What do you mean?" Fenrisúlfr who had been lying beside him lifted his head and asked.

"I mean whether you intend to raise him. If not, that is fine too, but if you do not decide soon, he will keep following you."

Wild creatures should be returned to the wild.

That was not exactly what Qiong Xing meant, but rather that it was wrong to reach out carelessly out of sympathy if there was no intention of taking responsibility.

"Are you telling me to abandon him?"

"No."

He was not saying that Fenrisúlfr had been wrong to save the pup.

"This life was saved, but because it was saved, I think someone must take responsibility for it until the end."

"Responsibility?"

If Fenrisúlfr wanted to raise the pup himself, then there was no problem.

However, if that was not the case, then someone else would need to take on that role instead.

"Stay by his side and teach him how to live until he can survive on his own. What will you do, Fenrir?"

Of course, if Fenrisúlfr chose to raise him, Qiong Xing would help as much as needed.

But relying on that alone would defeat the purpose.

What mattered was whether Fenrisúlfr had the resolve to raise him even without that support.

"...I cannot do it."

Fenrisúlfr who had lived alone all his life could not even provide milk for feeding, let alone raise a pup.

His ears and tail drooped weakly in dejection, which Qiong Xing found rather endearing. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"There is no need to be so discouraged. If you cannot do it, then you can simply entrust it to someone who can."

"What do you mean?"

"I do not have many connections, but I do know someone who might be willing to help. Let me try asking them."

"If it is someone you know, then I can trust them. I leave it to you."

Whether he truly trusted him or not, the pup lay on its back, completely exposed and defenseless as if it had no sense of wariness at all.

Qiong Xing gently stroked its soft belly.

...

"So, what do you think?"

"I refuse."

The answer came immediately, but Qiong Xing had no intention of giving up.

"More importantly, why me? Surely you know someone more suitable?"

The person Qiong Xing had approached first to entrust the pup to was none other than the prime minister Sergei.

The pup now sat quietly on Qiong Xing’s lap, but just moments ago, it had been energetically running all around the room.

"Out of everyone I could think of, You are the one most suitable."

"And why is that?"

Qiong Xing paused to think.

Perhaps it was a strange idea after all.

Entrusting a wolf he had picked up to the prime minister of an entire country.

Yes, that did sound odd.

"There are several reasons, but the main one is that it would be for your sake. Not so much for this child, but for you."

"...What do you mean?"

Qiong Xing had given the matter careful thought before deciding to entrust the pup to someone.

Katarina or Naz would likely have accepted it willingly, but even if there was some reluctance, he chose to ask Sergei instead.

"This child is not a magical beast, so it will not become extremely strong, but I believe it will grow strong enough to protect a person."

Given his position as prime minister, there would be many occasions where he might be targeted.

In other words, it would serve as a guard dog.

"Not only in a physical sense, but it may also notice things that humans tend to overlook, such as food."

There might be food tasters, but even those individuals could sometimes be questionable.

Since it was still young, it would not be capable of much yet, but with proper training, it could become quite sharp.

Even without that, its sense of smell and hearing far surpassed that of humans.

"Is that all?"

"That is one of several reasons. Also, it goes without saying, but this child is alive, so it needs food."

"Anyone can understand that. I am asking for the reason it must be me..."

Sergei fell silent, but it seemed he understood what Qiong Xing was trying to say.

"So you must not forget to feed it. If it were only about yourself, that would be one thing, but if you are responsible for another life, you would not forget, would you? Of course, that includes your own meals as well."