43 Care

*Sigh*

Teo exhaled, stood up, and washed the dark blood from his hands using a bottle of water. He had done what he could in this short amount of time.

Many of its wounds were deep, and this case obviously surpassed Teo's medical knowledge. Still, he did manage to stop the most severe injuries from bleeding for now and generously applied a basic ointment to its skin, using up almost his entire stash in the process. It would have to do for now.

Next, he would need to plan out a suitable course of action for the following days.

Teo did not have much experience — or to be more precise: no experience— taking care of someone or something, Goliath took care of him more often than the other way around after all.

He was sure about one thing, though: He could not leave it here! He had already gone out of his way to save it and was kind of responsible for it now, so he might as well go all the way and take care of it properly. 

Just that he could not show up at home with a critically injured Magical Beast in tow, his granduncle would indeed explode most unpleasantly. He would need to think of something else.

Teo did not have many suitable places in mind. He had never heard of someone 'befriending' a Magical Beast or anything of the sort, so he was pretty sure that it could quickly lead to some uncomfortable misunderstandings. With no better alternatives to show, the decision was made quickly: His secret training spot near the pond would have to do.

He packed together the few things which he had Goliath take out from his storage space and prepared to set off again. It would not be easy to transport the injured Barghest through the dense forest, though.

With surprising patience, Teo tried to explain what he was planning to his new foster child, and soon they departed. He had to support it with several tendrils of Mana, reducing its weight to something its tired legs could stem, and they only made slow progress — but it was progress nonetheless.

It was already early evening when they arrived in the vicinity of the spring, and the sun hung low on the horizon already, casting its reddish rays through the organic roof of the forest. He would definitely be very late for dinner today.

Entering the area around the small spring was always a special kind of experience. Somehow Teo even felt like it had gotten a little bit warmer all of a sudden, and the biting cold that was almost omnipresent at this time of the year seemed but a distant memory.

Even the shrubs and flowers seemed to defy the natural cycle of seasons and were abundant and lush whenever he laid his eyes on them. But the same was true for the whole of Thorn Forest, to a limited extent.

'Look, it's getting late, and I need to head home now. Just stay here and rest, I will come as soon as I can tomorrow. Okay?' Teo tried to explain, unsure if the monster in front of him understood at least a part of it.

'Master good. Me stay!' it responded in its usual fashion and softly wagged its tail. At least it seemed to be simple-minded and did not make many demands.

He checked one last time if it had everything it would need for the night and then headed towards the family mansion. He would be in for a good round of scolding when he made it back home.

Teo was already quite lucky that most of his wounds and scratches were covered by his clothes now.

***

The next day came excruciatingly slowly, and Teo's patience was approaching its limits. He was eager to go back into the forest, even with all the dangers he had faced there and the scolding it had earned him, but he could not simply postpone his obligations.

Even if he was unwilling to go, he could only obediently follow the rules and go to school like any other normal day. If he tried to sneak out now, he would only pull unnecessary attention to himself, which could just as well hinder him even more. 

As expected, Teo did not pay much attention to his classes today and even chose to keep some distance from his friends — who instantly noticed that something was wrong, but decided not to ask too many questions about it, unwilling to pry into his secrets.

Much had changed in the last year, they themselves most of all, and everyone needed some time and space to find out where they stood with each other. Thus it was not very difficult for Teo to make up excuses so as not to spend his afternoon with them.

After spending the entire morning sitting on the edge of his seat and even enduring the exceptionally boring Mathenomics class, Teo was finally free again and did not waste a single second before running out of the building.

He quickly bought a few supplies as well as several juicy steaks while he was still near the town square, then set off towards the family mansion. His trusty driver, old Phillip, ferried him there faster than ever, while simultaneously dodging every single pothole on the road with expert precision.

The comfortable carriage-ride did not take too long and when they finally reached the property, Teo just jumped out directly, bid his farewell for the day, and zoomed into the distance like a flash of lightning. 

"Yeah, sure. My pleasure driving you, young master. Great working with you. Your words are too kind, young master..." the middle-aged man said, holding a short monologue for no one in particular. He spat on the ground and continued after a long sigh.

"Should've just listened to my old man and learned a genuine craft when I had the chance, hmm?"

Then he turned around the coach and slowly drove back towards the city. At least his family respected him, and he had something to look forward to.

In the meantime, Teo had already made it to the edge of the forest right behind the estate and began heading down the sparsely-lit path, which led further into the depths of Thorn Forest.

'Do you think it is still where we left it?' Teo asked his personal consultant in a nervous voice.

'Where should it go then? With the state it was in, it wouldn't go anywhere even if you didn't tell it to,' Goliath remarked pessimistically — or to be more precise: he simply did not care.

The content of the response only increased Teo's worries, though, and he quickened his pace even more, vividly painting all the different scenarios in his head that could have happened after he left the forest.

When they reached the spring, though, nothing had changed compared to how it looked yesterday evening. The grass, the flowers, the pond, the wounded Magical Beast lying in a makeshift shelter, all how he remembered them.

'Morning! Feeling a bit better today?' Teo asked as soon as he was in range to do so.

'Master back! Yes, feeling better,' the wounded beast replied excitedly. It really seemed to have accepted Teo as some sort of pack leader and was very cooperative so far — provided that it was not just part of a sophisticated ruse.

'Good, good. You are probably hungry, right? I brought some food today,' said Teo while signaling Goliath to take out the steaks which they had prepared in advance.

'Hungry, yes. Me hungry,' it echoed in Teo's mind in response, and saliva slowly began leaking from the elongated, canine snout, connecting to the ground in a long, sticky thread.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.

Teo carefully put down the pile of raw steaks in front of it and carefully took a step back. It did not need an additional invitation and immediately began to dig in, swallowing the deliciously marbled meat slabs one after the other, each with barely more than a bite while showing a seemingly very joyful expression. 

When it had gobbled up the last piece, it delightedly smacked its lips and stared at Teo with pleading eyes, then Teo heard the now-familiar voice in his head again.