The Silent Pact of a Wolf Babysitter

"How… long will this Pact hold?" I calmly inquired.

Bond glanced at me, deadpan. "Hm? I don't know. I set it for 'forever' or something. But don't worry; Alicia is a good girl. You won't be—"

"You traitor!!" I shrieked, lunging at him, ready to bite his head off.

This scheming snake!!!

But the moment my fangs got close—SNAP.

Nothing.

Tsk. The Pact.

"Ugh, your breath stinks." Bond recoiled, waving a hand in front of his nose. "So this is what happens if you don't brush for thirty years? Or wait… did you ever brush before?"

"O-Of course I did!!" I snapped, suddenly feeling oddly embarrassed.

Bond just chuckled and turned away. "You know, I did wonder why you weren't insisting I set a time limit on the Pact. But your eyes looked so… goofy. So, naturally, I sped up the incantation before you could realize what was happening. Smart, right?"

"..."

I'm finished.

"Ahhh, it truly feels amazing to have a powerful bodyguard for my daughter—someone who's 'willing' to lay down his life for her. And not just for a few years, oh no. Forever. And it's free!"

"You can stop broadcasting it now, Bon— I mean Lord Bond." My voice wavered on the edge of despair as we took a backdoor out of the mansion.

…Okay, seriously, that mansion was way too big.

As expected of a Mortal Power.

The moment we stepped outside, I sensed the battle raging at the front.

All humans, but… fairly powerful ones.

"Scar!" Bond called.

A burly man stepped forward, the deep scar running from beneath his right eye to the left catching the moonlight.

"Yes, my Lord." His voice was calm, collected. Then, his gaze shifted to me, and he smirked. "Ah. I see you successfully tricked the street dog."

"Ah, yes, he was just as dumb as I expected. No—he surpassed my expectations!" Bond grinned.

"Haha. Yeah, dogs are dumb."

…Are these two really under attack right now?

They didn't look tense at all—just standing here, laughing like clowns.

Then, all of a sudden—

"Ah, I forgot." Bond suddenly tensed.

Scar, sensing it, did the same.

Wait.

He forgot something?

And I'm the one being called dumb?!

"Where's Alicia and Cherubia?!" Bond demanded.

Scar raised his hand to the ground, summoning a glowing circle.

From it, a young girl and… a fairy(?!) emerged.

"Great." Bond exhaled. "I don't want my darling mixed up in this war. And I definitely don't want Alicia involved."

Scar nodded and carried Alicia over to me.

"Take care of yourself, bro." He patted my shoulder, his gaze filled with intense pity.

…Why?

Shouldn't that warning be more like, "Hey, you better keep the little lady safe, or I'll show you exactly how I got this scar?"

Instead, he just handed me Alicia like I was being sent to die for the country.

Scar then scooped up the fairy. "I'll head to Tigris now, sir!"

"May Heaven's grace be with you. Now go, quickly." Bond dismissed him with a wave before turning back to me.

"I've put her in a sleeping state so she won't be frightened. And listen closely—if I don't personally order you to bring her back, never return here with that girl. Understood?"

I clenched my jaw. "...Yes."

"That's 'Yes, sir,' to you!"

…He sure slipped into the taskmaster role quickly.

As we bickered over whether to call him Master or Lord, voices rang out in the distance.

"There he is!"

"We'll take back our lands!"

"We don't want your leadership, you thief!"

"Gh! He's with a demon dog from hell! Move with caution!"

"Yeah, those dog types are really dumb! Don't wanna catch any dumb diseases."

…Typical humans. That's why I sought to conquer them.

They're the dumb ones, not dogs!

"Go, now!" Bond commanded. "I'll hold them off. You know the way to Pison, I assume?"

I snorted. "What do you take me for?"

Without further ceremony, I picked up the young girl in my mouth.

Bond didn't even flinch. He must have been confident in the Pact—I couldn't hurt her even if I wanted to.

…Though, honestly, none of these humans seemed particularly strong.

Why didn't Bond just kill them and keep his family safe?

Had the entire Gihonian population turned against him?

That would explain why he was sending me all the way to Pison—another one of Heaven's masterpiece.

Tsk.

Despite everything… he was a man of integrity.

…Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let him be my maste—

"Ah, I just got myself!" Bond's voice suddenly rang out behind me. "It was that demon wolf! He manipulated me, I swear!"

"LIAR! We knew you caught him thirty years ago!!"

"Hmph, that's why I hate the media!"

Okay.

Bond's a jerk.

Forgetting the unbelievable betrayal I just experienced at the hands of my so-called master, I sped through the grasses and bushes.

But it seemed some humans were following me.

Great.

I couldn't possibly fight them and protect this girl at the same time, so… let's use that.

{Congratulations on getting released, Master.}

'Shut up!' I shot back at the feminine voice ringing in my head. 'I was just sent to another type of prison—this one's for life!'

That was Platform, one of my abilities.

It lets me know things—names, varieties, statuses—and even manages my other abilities, activating them when necessary.

Convenient, right?

Yeah. Except for one thing.

It talks.

Hey, Platform, I'm being chased right now…

{…}

What?

{What did Master steal this time?}

Are you stupid?!

When have I ever stolen anything?!

{Master, your pursuers are closing in. They must not be ordinary humans. What are your orders?}

Ah… right. Just change the topic.

Well then, release ten of my Shadow Wolves on them.

{Understood.}

Khukuku.

That should do it.

Shadow Wolves are a real pain. Even I would grimace at a confrontation with them.

They never truly die—they just keep attacking until my magic power runs out.

I shifted my gaze back toward my pursuers, ready for some bloodcurdling screams.

Instead…

"Ah! No, no! Not there, not there!! Ahhhn!"

"Hold on! Please, be gentle!"

"Please, slow down! Please, doggie, doggie!!"

Hm?

The Shadow Wolves are fighting them, right?

{…}

Right?

{…}

*

With my pursuers taken care of (for some strange reason—I hope they're okay), I ran without restraint.

And soon enough—actually, no, it took me almost a day—I reached the edge of the world.

Okay, I passed all the obstacles successfully, and here I am.

But the chaos I witnessed before getting here… Gihon is experiencing a massive catastrophe.

Good thing I'm fleeing right now.

The only problem is…

Adrenaline refused to let me consider one very important fact.

At every edge of the Four Heavenly Pieces—including Gihon—there is always a guardian.

And I stupidly walked my massive self, right into his presence.

"And to what do I owe this visit?"

The air itself trembled at his voice.

Pluto.

Gihon's God of Death.

I was pretty big—big enough to snap a human's head off in one bite—but Pluto?

Pluto was a colossal titan, I swear.

I was like… a shoe size compared to him.

His long hooded robe concealed his form, but peeking from beneath the hood were two glowing white moons—his eyes, staring straight through me.

I gulped.

"Oh, mighty Pluto," I began. "I seek to—"

"You seek to journey beyond this world to another? Impossible."

"…"

Wh-what do I do now?

If I offer him something in exchange, maybe he'll let me through.

{Master, that's called bribe—}

Platform, shut up. I don't want to hear from you again until I ask, okay?

{…}

"Speak, mighty Fenrir!" Pluto commanded.

M-Mighty Fenrir? Me?

Aww, shucks… I-I'm not that mighty… Or maybe I am—

"Speak, before I execute you."

...Eh?