CH 5

Chapter 5: I Never Heard Anything About Being Wolf Beastman! Part 4

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Today was my day off but I ended up visiting the knight’s archive to read the report of the incident that happened at that time. Every knight in this country had the access to browse the report in the archive. 

Since Captain Millie didn’t have any other plans, she was also coming along with me. My parents got in an accident about 10 years ago. I remember the exact date of that incident so it didn’t take long for me to find the shelf where they stored the report but….

“H-Huh?”

I couldn’t find the detailed report regarding my parents’ accident. Of course there was also the possibility that the report of that incident was stored in another place but even after I searched all over the archive with Captain Millie, we still couldn’t find it.

“Why….?”

I vividly remember the knight coming to my house to tell me about my parents’ accident. Looking at me in deep thought, Captain Millie then said.

“Maybe the report is stored in a crime shelf.”

“Crime… Does that mean the accident was intentional?”

“I’m… Still not entirely sure about that…”

I then searched through the crime shelf and there, I found the report almost immediately. 

“I-It’s there…”

I opened the reports of the incident that were stored in booklet form. When I looked at the victim list, I saw the name of my parents listed there. 

“Victim….?!”

It seemed like my parents’ accident was intentional and was done by a third-party. 

“T-that kind of thing….!”

“Magic Soldier Melodia, maybe you were too young at that time so they didn’t tell you the truth about it.”

“Father… Mother….!”

Just who in the world compelled my parents to die? 

My hands trembled as I turned over the pages but the rest of the report was restricted for reading. 

“Huh? Why?”

“Most probably, this incident has a connection with our nation’s secret.”

I then went to the archive’s administrator to ask but they said only the king was allowed to read the report of this case. 

“…..”

“Magic Soldier Melodia, let’s go home.”

“Yes.”

A hazy, thick fog was spreading in my mind. 

I wonder, who in the world killed my parents? I think it’s impossible for my parents to incur anyone’s grudge. I’m sure they were just unlucky enough to be targeted by bad guys. 

Suddenly, my parents’ advice came to my mind. 

── Beware of witches. 

If witches existed in this generation and they were the one who killed my parents, then it’d explain why my parents’ death was surrounded by mysteries and only the king could read the report. Given our current circumstances, I had no other way to get to the bottom of this case. 

While feeling depressed, I left the archive.

When night dawned upon me, I became a beast again. Captain Millie was there when I transformed into a beast. 

“You’re really a wolf beastman… No, it’s not that I didn’t believe in you but when I see you transforming with my very own eyes, it really feels strange to me.”

“Kuuun…”

“You can’t talk in that form, right?”

“Wau.”

Right. When I became a beast, I couldn’t talk. Not just my appearance alone but I had wholly become a dog. 

“Does that mean you can’t use magic either?”

“!!!”

That’s right! Magic!

I tried to begin chanting but as I expected, I completely couldn’t say anything but dog noises. Of course, my magic couldn’t manifest without proper chanting. 

“Kuuun….”

I looked down on the ground, feeling dejected when Captain Millie gently patted my head. 

“As for your night shifts… We will think about what to do with it later.”

Given my current condition, I wouldn’t be able to do any night shifts. 

“As of now, I think it’d be better if we don’t spread the fact that you’re a wolf beastman.”

“Kuun…”

There was a commonly believed gossip that the beastman was ferocious by nature and liked to feast on the flesh and blood of a human. If I told the people that I was a beastman, they’d surely become afraid of me. 

I wondered to myself, what should I do from this point on? The anxiety must be showing on my face because Captain Millie then warned me about it. 

“It’s alright. You can stay here during the night.”

I bowed my head deeply at Captain Millie. I had been causing her a lot of trouble. 

◇◇◇

It seemed when a Lou Garou reached adulthood, they’d gain tremendous power due to the magic power they earned from the moon. I was made aware of my own increase in power through an incident. 

I was drinking tea during a peaceful afternoon with Captain Millie when a knight from another unit bursted inside. 

“M-My apologies. One of the knights got injured during practice. His abdomen got stabbed by a spear-!”

The knight came to ask me to heal his coworker with magic. The other magic soldiers from another unit had also gathered to heal him but his wound was too deep and the bleeding showed no sign of stopping. 

“Magic Soldier Melodia, head to the scene right away.”

“Y-Yes!”

I answered Captain Millie’s order with enthusiasm but my healing magic was actually mediocre at best or maybe in the lower-middle to be precise. If it was only a small cut, I could completely heal it without leaving any scar but if it was a deep stabbing wound, just stopping the bleeding would be difficult for me. 

In the first place, there was no way I could heal a wound that a group of magic soldiers weren’t able to heal but still, I wanted to try to do things I could do. 

With that kind of mindset in mind, I went to the scene. The incident happened in the Fifth Expedition Unit training ground. There was a large crowd gathering around the injured person. 

“The magic soldier has arrived! Please make way for the magic soldier to go through!”

The knight who led me raised his voice. The crowd that had gathered quickly dispersed like a wave. Incidentally, his announcement gathered more attention to us. It was as if an amazing magic soldier had come. Realizing what kind of situation I was stuck in, I felt like crying a little. 

“S-Sorry… Excuse me….”

I kept on bowing my head to the crowd that had made way for me as I hurried toward the injured knight. 

“One more time!”

“No can’t do. I can’t do it anymore.”

“The blood! He’s still bleeding!’

There was a loud commotion around the injured knight. At the center of the crowd, there were 5 magic soldiers, they all looked pale. In the middle of the pool of blood, there was the injured knight, laying there and then there was a nervous-looking old man who I assumed was the captain of this unit. 

Blood was gushing out from the wound like a water fountain as the magic soldiers put their hands over the injured knight, trying their best to close the wound. 

Just how in the world can someone’s blood gush out like that?

“I’ve brought another magic soldier with me!”

“Ah, thank you very much!”

They treated me like I was their savior. At any rate, this was not the time nor the occasion for me to overthink. I had to quickly use healing magic toward the injured knight. 

I hope I can ease his pain, even if it’s just for a little bit.

With that hope in mind, I tightly gripped my crystal wand and began chanting the healing magic spell. 

“── Blessed art thou. Heal the cause of his condition.”

A small magic circle appeared, floating above the wound before it quickly disappeared in a snap. The gushing blood also suddenly stopped. The blood around the wound bubbled up, as if it was boiling before a layer of thin skin was formed on top of the open wound. 

“O-O-OOOOHHHH!!!”

“H-Huh…?”

The gushing open wound was healed in an instant. I only chanted healing magic like usual but the effect of my magic this time was completely different from usual. 

“T-this is…?!”

How…?

While I was lost in confusion, suddenly the crowd erupted in cheer. The injured knight had regained his consciousness. 

“Huh…? I….”

He reached his hand out and I gently clasped his hand. 

“You’re fine now.”

Hearing my answer, he closed his eyes, feeling relieved. 

After that incident, my surroundings became quite a bit noisy. People were saying things like miraculous healing magic or the advent of the saint. Not long after that, the Fifth Expedition Knight unit sent me a letter of gratitude along with some gold. 

Hearing about the power of my healing magic, Captain Millie pointed out that my healing magic suddenly became so effective at the same time of my awakening as a beastman. 

“I see. That must be the reason why.”

“But, this is bad…”

“What do you mean by bad?”

“No, maybe I’m just worrying too much.”

The true meaning of Captain Millie’s muttering became clear the next day. That night, I also transformed into a beast like usual. I hadn’t told anyone but Captain Millie about this. Of course, I was also indebted to Captain Millie tonight too. 

My apologies. If there’s a hole, I’ll gladly jump into it and bury myself-

But this feeling of humility suddenly vanished before the sight of a ball. 

“Wafuuuu!!”

I chased after the ball Captain Millie had thrown in ecstasy. I picked the ball with my mouth and brought it back to Captain Millie, asking her to throw it again. I ended up playing fetch the ball for about an hour with Captain Millie. 

When I transformed into a beast, I became nothing more than a dog. Tonight as well, I was sleeping like a log next to Captain Millie. 

The next morning, it seemed Captain Millie received a lot of proposals. Captain Millie pointed at the mountain of documents before she started speaking. 

“These are all proposals for Magic Soldier Melodia.”

“Huh?!”

It seemed they had heard the rumour about my miraculous healing magic and so the request for me to transfer into their unit came fluttering in. 

“Th-That kind of thing…”

“There is a request asking you to join the royal guards in between that stack of documents.”

“Th-The royal guards? I don’t deserve to receive such a high honor.”

This must be the ‘bad’ thing Captain Millie had mentioned yesterday. Most of the knight unit had a night shift. It’d be difficult for me to work in another unit while hiding my beastman form. 

“I wish I had the means to protect you, Magic Soldier Melodia.”

“No, you’ve perfectly protected me up to this day.”

I had been relying on Captain Millie ever since my first transformation into a beast. I really couldn’t thank her enough. 

“If I have to be transferred, I’d be very grateful if that unit doesn’t have any night shift but…. I suppose there’s no unit like that?”

“Actually, that kind of miracle does exist.”

“Re-Really?!”

Captain Millie then held out one document to me. 

“Errr… Melodia Nonoire, we hope you will come to work for our unit, the First Cavalry Unit.. Dietrich de Fenrir… Fenrir… Is that Duke Fenrir?!”

“Yes, that’s right. Miraculously, I’ve received an invitation from the head of Fenrir Family, the captain of Fenrir Knight’s First Cavalry Unit, Dietrich-sama.”

“!!!”

I was so shocked that I almost dropped the document. I had already written letters for Duke Fenrir but up until now, I had never sent a single letter yet. After all, Duke Fenrir was a noble with the bloodline of the royalty flowing in his veins. If a commoner woman like me were to say something discourteous in the letter and incurred his wrath, things would change for the worse for me. To think Duke Fenrir himself would personally inquire for me…

“I’m sure this must be a blessing sent from heaven by the late Magic Soldier Melodia’s parents. Their squad doesn’t have a night shift either so you will have nothing to worry about.”

“Yes.”

I truly felt honored for the privilege but at the same time, I felt sad knowing I had to leave Captain Millie’s unit. For what it was worth, everyone here has been so kind and helpful to me. But… If I stayed here, I wouldn’t be able to serve my purpose since I couldn’t do any night shift. 

“That proposal, do you have any qualms if I accept it for you?”

“……Yes.”

“Alright. Then I will let them know that.”

“Thank you very much.”

I deeply bowed my head to Captain Millie.

“What are you thanking me for?”

“It’s just, I think I’ve been greatly indebted to you up until now.”

“That’s right. I think I’ve seen the image of my past self in Magic Soldier Melodia and so I ended up meddling in your affair a little bit too much.”

“Meddling! That’s not true!”

I shook my head vigorously, denying it with all my might. 

“I’m truly grateful for the kindness you’ve given to me when I still didn’t know what was right and wrong.”

“Me too. I feel like I’ve returned to the time when I first joined the knight when I was spending time with Magic Soldier Melodia. Thank you for that.”

Captain Millie held out her hand to me and I grasped her hand back, feeling so touched.. I felt so encouraged by how warm and reassuring Captain Millie’s grasp was. 

“Magic Soldier Melodia, if Duke Fenrir somehow doesn’t have any knowledge related to beastman, you may come under my shelter.”

“Thank you very much but won’t I become a bother to you?”

“To tell you the truth, I’ve always loved dogs. I wanted to have one but because of my job as a knight, unfortunately I can’t afford to raise a living creature. Well, which is why you don’t need to worry about me.”

It turned out, Captain Millie also enjoyed playing fetch the ball with me. 

“If that’s the case then I will gratefully accept your offer when the time comes.”

“You are always welcome in my home.”

And so, I was transferred from the Seventeen Patrol Unit to the First Cavalry Unit.

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T/N: I love how the dog instinct precedes everything. Relatable. So relatable.