Seeing Yohan nod honestly, Kael shook his head. "Don’t worry, Yohan. That wasn’t true love. It was just a burst of hormones from a teenager’s body as he entered adulthood. I admire Tessia’s personality and sincerity, but I realize that I never had mature romantic feelings for her. It was merely the fleeting physical and emotional attraction typical of a teenager."
Yohan stared at Kael, his expression a mixture of surprise and amusement. "Haha! Are you already drunk to be talking so virtuously?! But it’s good that you’ve realized it and aren’t foolishly chasing after someone who will never return your feelings."
Yohan leaned back in his chair and muttered quietly, "Never hurt yourself for the sake of unrequited love..."
The atmosphere between them fell silent for a moment before Yohan spoke again to lighten the mood.
"Since we have plenty of free time tonight, how about I tell you an interesting ancient legend? A legend about the 7 Mythical Beasts."
Yohan began his tale. The Mythical Beasts were seven ancient legendary creatures that had lived for an incredibly long time. Their existence was shrouded in mystery, and they possessed magical powers capable of shaking entire continents.
Long ago, there was a famous legend about an Imperial Knight who had successfully defeated one of the seven creatures and absorbed the core of its power. However, that act disrupted the balance of nature, triggering a war over the Mythical Beasts that spread across every corner of the world.
And one of the legendary creatures Yohan described that night was the Wolf Guardian, as humans called it. A gigantic wolf with pitch-black fur and claws as sharp as swords, destined to guard its territory and protect the creatures that submitted to it and became part of its pack.
After finishing the legendary tale, Yohan rose to his feet, preparing to return upstairs with the courtesan from earlier.
Kael, who was still sitting at the table, watched Yohan’s back before speaking sincerely. "Thank you for all the life lessons and knowledge you’ve taught me... Senior."
Kael smiled warmly. "I’m deeply indebted to you. If you ever find yourself in serious trouble, just tell me about it. And one more thing... try taking care of yourself again, like you used to. You’re only twenty-three, Yohan, but you already look like some homeless middle-aged man with no future."
Yohan stopped walking. Without turning around, a faint smile formed on his lips. It seemed that Kael’s sincere words that night had touched the deepest part of his heart.
From the night of Kael’s birthday celebration onward, Yohan truly changed. He began shaving his unruly beard, styling his hair into a cool, neat look, and wearing tidy adventuring clothes.
With a face that was naturally handsome to begin with, Yohan once again radiated an extraordinary, charismatic aura, just like the impressive senior Kael had first met. Even so, his bad habits of drinking and sleeping with courtesans never disappeared. If anything, they only grew worse. The source of this chapter is novelping(.)com.
Recalling all the detailed explanations Yohan had given him that night, Kael finally understood everything. He had never seen the Wolf Guardian’s physical form with his own eyes back then, but the creature Yohan had described in his story matched the thick-furred wolf standing before him remarkably well.
Strangely... this creature, which legends described as majestic, powerful, and terrifying, showed absolutely none of its dignity in Lizzy’s presence. Kael realized that Lizzy must come from no ordinary family.
Kael folded his arms across his chest, dispelling his suspicious expression. "Well... I suppose we can take care of it, too, if you really want to, Lizzy."
Lizzy’s eyes instantly sparkled with excitement. "R-really, Kael?! I was just about to beg you for that!"
Kael nodded in approval. Lizzy immediately let out a joyful shriek, jumped up, and hugged the wolf disguised as a wild sheep tightly.
Whether this creature really was the mythical Wolf Guardian or not, one thing was certain: the creature that had once engaged Kael in a fierce battle in this very forest had now completely lost all its dignity at the hands of Lizzy.
"So... what should we name it?" Kael asked.
"How about Mina?" Kael casually suggested.
Lizzy nodded enthusiastically. "Ooh! That sounds so cute!"
However, the wolf suddenly radiated anger, shaking its head with an unhappy expression at the feminine name.
"Eh?" Lizzy’s face instantly darkened. Her eyes widened terrifyingly as she glared at the wolf in her arms. "Don’t you like the name my husband gave you, hm?! Would you rather I cook you into lamb soup tonight?! Kael went through all that trouble to come up with such a nice name, and you’re just wasting his effort!"
The wolf immediately froze, clamping its mouth shut.
Lizzy instantly returned to her sweet smile and nodded in agreement. "I completely agree! Any name Kael gives it must be wonderful... even if you named it ’Shit’!"
The wolf shot Kael a sharp, miserable look, as though blaming him for everything that had happened to it.
Kael could only turn his face away and scratch his cheek, which didn’t itch, feeling awkward. "Then... what about the other two wild sheep? Don’t they want names, too?"
Lizzy glanced briefly at the two wild sheep trembling near a tree before returning to stroking Xavier. "One pet is enough. I’m not interested in those two boring sheep at all."
"Haha, I see... In that case, I’ll keep those two sheep to harvest their wool regularly."
Lizzy didn’t object. The three of them, along with the two wild sheep and the wolf now named Xavier, walked back toward the cabin together.
Upon arriving at the campsite, Kael fed the two wild sheep some fresh grass.
Meanwhile, Lizzy, wearing an incredibly sweet smile that nevertheless radiated a terrifying aura of intimidation, held out a bundle of raw grass directly in front of Xavier’s snout.
"Come on, eat up, Xavier! Why are you just sitting there, hm? Don’t you like eating grass?!" Lizzy threatened sweetly.
Xavier wore an utterly gloomy, resigned expression. Reluctantly, the disguised wolf chewed on the wild grass just to stay close to her.
Watching from the side of the cabin, Kael had to struggle desperately to keep himself from bursting into laughter.
Realizing he was being laughed at, Xavier turned his head and glared at Kael with eyes that seemed to scream: ’Damn you, Human!’