Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood's Wolf Mentor

"The place the king mentioned for hunting... the Howling Forest?"

"It's a magical forest. I heard it's dangerous, but there are many special magical plants and animals."

Inside the room, Poro sorted a pile of books, yawned, and said, "Also, it seems there are animals there that can talk?"

"Can talk? Poro, you can talk too."

"But this is rare. There are probably many people in this world who are born with the ability to speak, but there are also a large number who are not born with the ability to speak."

"You mean the humans who were turned into animals?"

"Yes, if there is also a magician in this forest who can turn people into animals, then those who disappeared in the forest may still be alive, right?"

"So, it will be dangerous?"

"Yes, magic is very powerful. We can't say that we can resist all magic now."

Poro said as he closed the book.

His gaze rested on a map on the other side. On that map, a forest was depicted. This forest was vast, even larger than the land area of ​​the Hunt Kingdom. Several winding roads were marked on it.

But less than one-tenth of the forest is marked.

"But why does the king want to hold such a ceremony?"

"Yes, as a king, you don't even know what the neighboring country, the Sri Kingdom, is doing, and you treat the intelligence we brought as lies?"

"I heard that the king is addicted to hunting. Coupled with the Sri Kingdom's deliberate concealment, the gold used to purchase armor and weapons..."

"Forget it. At least he's not a demon, and he hasn't killed anyone for no reason."

"If he's smart enough, he should be able to see the truth from the documents we brought."

"It's a hunt, so long as we hurry, it shouldn't take long. I just hope he can keep his promise."

"If you don't keep your promise and side with the Sri Kingdom..."

Poro paused at this point, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes, but he hid it well. "Alas, as expected, not all kings in this world are like the Happy Prince or the Leper King of Falling Star City."

"Killing this king will only allow the Sri Kingdom to take advantage of the situation and make things worse!"

"But now, I have a place to live."

The room where Lake lives is very large. It is not used to entertain envoys, but is prepared by King Hunt for every hunter who passes the hunter trial. In any case, this king is very clear about treating warriors well.

"Well, it's time to eat."

Poro looked at the sun outside the window, then suddenly looked at Lake and said, "Do you want to eat in the room, or try the food of the Hunt Kingdom? I heard that the barbecue in this country is delicious."

"Okay, let's try it first?"

Lake thought about it and nodded slightly.

Hunters who are given special treatment can eat food baked by the royal chef of Hunt here.

Moreover, the Kingdom of Hunt is known as the capital of hunters, so here, some special barbecue spices cannot be found anywhere else.

The specially set up restaurant was not far from their residence, but before they smelled the aroma of food, Lake and Poro heard the noisy voices of the hunters.

Once you enter the restaurant, it feels like a luxurious pub.

Most of the hunters were rough men, and here they didn't have to pay for food and drinks, so many of them drank and played drinking games at the table, boasting loudly.

Killing three bears with traps, killing a pack of wolves in a state of extreme rage, killing an eagle with a single-handed stone...

Although it may be a bit exaggerated, those who can get here at least have the ability to fight wild beasts.

"The meat sauce here is quite spicy, but it tastes good."

Lake and Poro found a corner and sat down. Lake used a fork to pick out a piece of braised pork from the plate and put it into Poro's mouth. "Use the circular return to remember it. This way, when you want to eat it next time, you can materialize it yourself!"

After swallowing the barbecue in their mouths, Lake and Poro turned their heads at the same time.

"There should be no one here, right?"

A man came over, asked a casual question, and sat down at Lake's desk. He was the hunter he met in the square.

"Congratulations, you passed the trial too?"

Lake looked at the hunter. He was holding a glass of wine in his hand and did not seem to have any obvious injuries on his body.

"Yeah, I waited for that cheetah. Luckily, I didn't get hurt."

The hunter smiled, but when he looked at Lake, there was a hint of awe in his eyes. "But I really misjudged you. A little girl like you could actually knock out that bear in an instant—"

I have never seen anyone like you among the hunters."

"I just……"

Lake thought for a moment and replied, "My experience is quite special, so I'm a little more powerful."

"But no matter what experience it was, it must have been quite remarkable for a girl like you to become a top hunter, right?"

A trace of envy flashed in the hunter's eyes, and he shifted his gaze to the Poro beside him, "Besides, your hound looks very docile."

"is it?"

The Poro was stunned for a moment, then looked up at the hunter in front of him and smiled.

"You...you can talk? You're a magical creature too?!"

After hearing this, the hunter's expression instantly became astonished, and then he stretched his neck and looked at the Poro carefully, but it was obvious that as an ordinary person, he could not see much difference.

"This is Poro, he is my best friend."

Lake thought for a moment, touched the Poro's ear, and introduced him to the hunter, "I will spend my whole life with him!"

"lifetime?"

After hearing this, the hunter was stunned again.

"Yes, we are one. If there were no Poro, I would probably be just an ordinary girl."

"you……"

The hunter looked at Lake and Poro, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He opened his mouth to say something, but fell silent. Finally, he said seriously:
"As long as your hearts are connected, nothing can separate you."

After hearing this, both Lake and Poro seemed a little surprised. The hunter in front of them had a soft heart under his rough appearance.

The tone of his voice when he spoke didn't sound like a rigid quote, but more like a heartfelt emotion.

"Thank you." Lake said.

"It's okay, I just thought about myself."

The hunter smiled and lowered his head. "I became a hunter, joined the hunt, and prepared to enter this forest for the sake of the one I love."

But when Lake and Poro were about to hear the rest of the story, the hunter did not tell his story, but drank the last bit of wine in his hand:

"Nice to meet you. You can call me Jolinger."

"My name is Lake, and this is Poro."

Jolinger nodded and looked at the other hunters in the restaurant. Most of the hunters were tall and strong. After all, generally speaking, only such strong people could defeat the beasts in the iron cage.

"More and more hunters are passing the trials."

"Yes, there are dozens of people here alone, and many people are still in their rooms."

Jolinger sighed and said, "It turns out that the thing the Kingdom of Hunte has the most is hunters. I remember that besides you, there was another girl who passed the trial, and she looked even less like a hunter." "Even less like a hunter?" Lake was a little confused.

Jolinger looked at Lake and explained:

"She has the same fair skin as you, with few scars or signs of training. She doesn't look like a hunter at all, but you're wearing inner armor, boots, and a sword and longbow—but the girl has nothing on her but a dress."

"what?"

Lake blinked. "So, she also killed a beast with her bare hands? Or did she use magic?"

"Neither. That girl also has a magical animal companion."

Jorginger recalled, looked at the Poro and said, "It's a deer."

"Is that deer strong?"

"That's extraordinary strength. The deer seemed to have put in no effort at all, impaling a tiger with its horns."

"That's really amazing..."

Poro also said this, and after that, he thought about it and asked, "Are there any other hunters with special features?"

"others?"

Jolinger thought for a moment, glanced around the restaurant, and pointed to two hunters in the other corner who were packing their meals. Compared to the others, the two hunters were much thinner and more silent, not talking to anyone else.
"See those two little guys? They're pretty impressive too. There are actually twelve of them in total."

"twelve?"

"The others should be in the room and not come out."

Jollinger thought for a moment and said, "All twelve of them appear smaller than the other hunters, but their swordsmanship is truly formidable. They seem to be more than just hunters."

Lake and Poro squinted their eyes and observed the two hunters for a while, then watched them leave with the twelve packed meals.

"Did you see that, Lake?"

Poro and Lake looked at each other, both revealing a strange expression.

"You mean, those two hunters are actually girls too?"

"girl?"

After hearing what Lake and Poro said, Yolinger was stunned for two seconds.

"Yeah, they disguised themselves well, but they are indeed girls."

"hiss--"

After hearing this, Yolinger took a deep breath and said, "As expected, powerful people are everywhere!"

He wanted to say something more, but at that moment, a hunter stood up from the table next to him and walked over. He took out a few gold coins from his pocket, rubbed them in his hands, and waved to Jöringer:

"Want to come and play?"

The hunter pointed to the table behind him, where several hunters were sitting around with a lot of coins piled in front of them and a few dice placed in the middle of the table.

"No."

Jolinger was stunned for a moment and waved his hand.

But the hunter who invited him did not give up, and his expression was very enthusiastic:
"You haven't spent the gold coins the bear-skinned weirdo gave you the other day, right? Come and have some fun? Maybe you'll get lucky and earn a little more, and even if you lose, it's not a loss."

"Well, I've already spent it. I spent it the day I got it."

Jollinger shrugged and pointed to a short sword at his waist, "I changed some equipment."

The hunter frowned upon hearing this, and looked at Yolinger's dagger with a look of regret.
"That sword of yours doesn't look worth a single gold coin."

"But that gold coin was also obtained by accident, so it doesn't matter."

The gambling hunter listened and turned his gaze to Lake, passing his gaze over Lake's fair arms:
"Miss, do you want to come and play? It's very interesting and doesn't cost much."

Lake also waved her hand and said with a smile:

"I'm a girl, I don't play this."

Obviously, this reason was very convincing, so the hunter did not force it and turned around and left to find other "players".

In fact, for Lake and Poro, if they want to play, they can surpass these ordinary people in most games with their physical fitness and control ability.

Soon, gambling began at the table next to them. There were about ten hunters in total, and they even put the tables together.

On the table, there are many different chips, including copper coins, silver coins and several gold coins.

The dice were jumping on the table, and several pairs of eyes were fixed on the ever-changing patterns on the dice.

Amid the noise of those people, Lake and Poro stopped talking and just watched them play games.

But soon, they discovered...

"Is that hunter, the one with the feathered hat, cheating?"

"It seems he has switched the dice. That one is loaded with lead."

Poro also raised his eyebrows and noticed something strange.

Their ability to judge sounds and capture movements is far superior to that of ordinary people, so they discovered this very quickly.

Soon, there were more and more coins on the cheating hunter's table. His face flushed, and he moved another gold coin from the field to his hand.

The eyes of the other hunters also became redder and redder.

The light emitted by money is reflected in the pupils.

"Also, the person next to him seems to be his accomplice, providing cover?"

Just when Lake was hesitating whether to identify the man, another hunter at the gambling table suddenly stood up and slammed the table with his big palm!
"Bah—"

Then, he reached across the table with his other hand, picked up the cheating hunter's dice, and smashed it hard!
The dice cracked, revealing the gray lead inside!
At this moment, the whole audience was in an uproar. The hunters who had been cheated of their money stood up at the same time and took out their swords from their waists and sides.

"Cheating?! Stealing my money? Today, you must leave one hand behind!"

The cheating hunter, however, did not take the money and immediately stood up and tried to retreat, but it would not be so easy to escape now.

Those hunters who were cheated of their money will not swallow their anger in silence.

They rushed forward with knives in hand, while the cheating hunter's accomplices took up their own weapons and fought with them!
But the chaotic scene has not yet come to an end.

In the melee, the table with the gambling money on it was bumped by someone and fell to the ground under the weight. The glittering gold coins instantly rolled to the ground with a clanging sound.

A hunter looked down at the coins, and one of the gold coins made his eyes turn red instantly.

He raised his hand and grasped the gold coin in his palm.

But his actions were all seen by another person:

"What the hell are you doing with my gold coins?!"

"this is mine!"

But the hunter was seen, he did not feel guilty at all, and even drew his sword.

In an instant, a battle broke out in the restaurant that was just bustling. Dozens of hunters seemed to have lost their minds and slashed at each other with their knives.

At this moment, their target is no longer other animals, but their own kind.

In an instant, swords flashed and blood and flesh flew everywhere. (End of this chapter)