by Yu Sakurai
“I see you have over ten wolves there. You can really control all of them?”
“Y-Yes!! W-Wait, no! I’m not the only wolfkeeper, it’s just my turn to take them out on a walk today!”
“Oh, I see. So you usually take them for walks in front of this house, and today you happened to run into me along the way?”
“I’m very sorry to have disturbed you!!”
Edgar shoved his head down in apology.
I could tell he was being incredibly sincere, and yet…
“What are you up to?”
“Why’re you bowing your head like that?”
The wolves pushed their noses up toward Edgar, making for a much less serious scene.
“…Please lift your head. I was a bit startled at first, yes, but you haven’t disturbed me at all. I’m very pleased to see the wolves up close after hearing tales of them. They’re very beautiful and majestic—”
“I agree!!” shouted Edgar, whipping his head back up. “Their ears point straight toward the sky! Their wet noses are always wiggling and moving! I could watch them forever!” Edgar enthused.
I could tell he was the type of person to perk right up when the subject of conversation was something he loved. However, when he looked back at me, the passion faded from his voice all at once.
“I-I’m sorry… That was rude of me. We’ve only just met.”
His beast ears drooped.
“Don’t worry about that. I love wolves too, so I understand how you feel.”
Well, I’m more of a dog lover than just a wolf lover.
When it came to Jiro, my beloved pet in my past life, I could go on for hours about how perfect he was.
“You really…love wolves…? It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just…unusual.”
“Unusual? You think so?”
“Y-Yes. I just…think it’s not common. Wolves are carnivores, after all, so it’s strange you’re not scared of them. These guys would never attack a human unless they were ordered to, of course… But most people, especially those who aren’t native to this kingdom, are too scared of wolves to go near them…”
Edgar stared at me timidly.
“So you’re different, then. If you weren’t, the wolves would be more upset… Wolves are sometimes like mirrors for people, you see. If they can tell you’re scared of them, then they’ll get scared too…”
He let out a quiet chuckle as he gently stroked the head of one wolf.
“I’m…very sorry I startled a nice lady such as yourself. I’ll take the wolves on a different route from now on, so there’s no need to worry.”
“…A different route?”
They’re not going to pass by the house anymore?
…I can’t let that happen.
“Could I ask you not to do that? It’s a rare opportunity to get to see the royal wolves up close. If possible, I’d like you to keep bringing the wolves out this way, whenever you have time.”
“A-Are you sure…? I’d be glad to keep them on their usual route, but I don’t want to bother you.”
“Well, it hasn’t caused any trouble so far, has it? Your wolves appear very well trained. As long as they don’t damage anything in the yard, I can’t imagine it will be any kind of problem for me.”
“…Th-Thank you very much!!”
Edgar’s tail flicked happily from side to side.
For someone who struggled to get his words out, this gesture conveyed his feelings more than anything else had so far.
The wolves would get to keep their favorite walking route, and I would get to regularly see them up close.
It was a win-win situation. I’d now have an opportunity to warm my soul every now and then.
…Maybe, if I gained their trust, I’d even get to pet them as much as I wanted.
With that thought, my heart began to long for the feeling of their fur in my hands.
◇ ◇ ◇
“*HUFF* *huff* *pant* So…bored… *huff* *huff*”
Greetings.
I’m Laetitia, the new figurehead queen of this kingdom.
…What exactly am I doing?
Why, I’m killing time and working on self-improvement at the same time.
Seventeen years of life as a duke’s daughter, and there was still a stubborn flaw of mine that remained.
To put it simply, my body was almost impressively weak when it came to muscle strength. We didn’t have certain conveniences like cars in this world, but as a noblewoman, I’d always been surrounded by servants and maids.
Thanks to that, I rarely had to do any manual labor, but that also meant my body was quite frail. My experience with things like dancing and horseback riding had all been limited to my education. I had no real interest in either subject.
As for magic, my brothers made sure I was well trained in those arts, but that was by no means a physical activity.
At the very least…I did probably have decent core and back muscles, since those were necessary for proper posture, but other than that, my arms and legs were essentially just limp bean sprouts.
Even when I made that ice cream, I felt the soreness reach my muscles that very night.
It was thanks to the whisk I’d made with my magic.
Perfection in the kitchen demands a certain amount of physical strength. I felt it all the more in this world, with its lack of electric appliances and cooking utensils. Cooking requires a lot of physical exertion, even though magic does help take a bit of the edge off, but I decided it would still be a good idea to build up strength. And so, I stood in my room with shiny metal dumbbells in each hand.
That’s right—a queen working out with dumbbells.
It felt strange to me too. But they were definitely handy when it came to building muscle strength.
The dumbbells also had another purpose—they were a way to get a bit of magic practice in at the same time.
Earth Magic—“transmutation.”
This way of altering the shape of metals is pretty handy, once you get the hang of it.
For practice, I decided to make the dumbbells I used in my past life while dieting. It was a decent training exercise overall—I worked on making them different weights, two at a time for each hand, and even managed to create the right shapes.
Lately, I’d been busying myself with these workouts, using my shiny new dumbbells each time.
“*huff* *huff* *pant* *huff* Today…makes… *huff*…ten…already…*huff*”
It was my tenth day in the royal villa.
My new husband, King Glenreed, hadn’t once come to visit me.
I knew that His Majesty was a very busy man, but at this point, he appeared to just be neglecting me entirely. So, without any political role to fulfill, I was forced to spend the entirety of my days in the villa.
Abandoned in the forest villa, ignored by my husband…
It seemed like a harsh welcome to the kingdom, but right now, I was loving my new life. It was the perfect life of leisure. I didn’t have a care in the world.
Thinking back, I was a busy office worker in my past life, and then after reincarnating, I lived as a duke’s daughter. I was already busy with my regular studies, but during the last few years, the addition of training to be a royal took up every spare moment.
Compared with that, my current life was paradise.
There was no point in lamenting my loveless marriage. I was grateful to His Majesty for granting me a life of freedom.
“The water here is delicious…,” I said with a sigh after gulping down a cold glass of lemon water following my workout.
It was the most blissful of moments. I lived for that sensation.
Having quenched my thirst splendidly, I opened my closet doors to put the dumbbells away.
I had left a whisk and dumbbells of different weights inside one of the drawers. The metal of the utensil was cold, and the shape familiar against my hand.
“This whisk looks like it’ll still last for a while…”
I plucked at the wires to test it, and they sprung right back into place.
The motion wasn’t enough to disturb the shape even slightly.
This particular whisk was the one I made over a month ago, back at my home in Elltoria.
Considering most transmuted items lost their shape within ten days, this was an extraordinary amount of time for it to have survived.
“Hmm… This feels like cheating…?”
It would certainly be convenient for me if I could avoid remaking my tools each time. I didn’t yet understand why it wasn’t breaking…but it probably had something to do with my past-life memories returning to me.
The life span of transmuted items is said to be largely influenced by the caster’s use of imagination. The more familiar one is with the item they’re crafting, the more durable it will stay over a longer period of time.
However, these are still objects crafted with magic. No matter how close you get to the original appearance, and no matter how vivid the image is in your mind, you won’t be able to produce anything that lasts longer than ten days…or so it’s believed. But for some reason, my whisk had survived for over a month, and it showed no sign of breaking down yet.
“Maybe…it’s because I know about iron? I know about atoms and protons and even iron production…”
It wasn’t much knowledge to boast of—just memories from middle school science class and a few other tidbits I happened to know.
But maybe that meant I knew more about “iron” than anyone else in this entire world. Because magic existed here, I wasn’t even sure if we abided by the same laws of physics as Earth did, but with my new unbreakable whisk, it did make some sense to me.
“Your Majesty, it’s just about time for Edgar’s arrival. Are you all ready?”
“Thank you, Lucian. I’ll be right there.”
I put the whisk back in its drawer, stripped off my sweaty undergarments, and changed into a dress and apron.
The dress was cute, not too heavy, and easy to clean as well.
It was a modest outfit for the queen of a kingdom, but I was saving the lavish dresses for my public appearances. If I was to be left here alone in my villa, I wanted to prioritize comfort above all else.
I quickly finished getting changed without the help of a maid, then went downstairs and out into the front yard.
My feet felt light and my heart was joyful.
Since I’d been interacting with Edgar’s wolves every day, they were starting to become fond of me.
“Y-Your Majesty…it’s nice to see you again.”
“Good afternoon, Edgar. I’m glad to see you too.”
I greeted Edgar with a smile. He blushed and stiffened in place.
Edgar’s beet-red face had already become a familiar sight to me. The boy appeared to struggle with human interactions. He was always on edge whenever he had to make conversation with Lucian or me.
But when it was time to give commands to the wolves, he was like a different person—brave and confident.
That strange boy had once again shown up in my front yard with ten or so wolves in tow.
Some went to sniff the newly tended flower beds. Others ran across the grass in pursuit of butterflies. But one wolf came up to me and nuzzled its head against my body.
“Good boy. You came to see me, didn’t you?”
I stroked the wolf’s head, and he stared up at me as if he was waiting for something.
Knowing exactly what he wanted, I reached into my dress pocket.
“There’s no rush, now. I’ll have you feeling much better, okay?”
“Woof!!”
I laid a handkerchief on the ground and sat on it. The wolf approached me from the side.
In my hand, I held a transmuted metal brush.
It looked like what we called a “slicker brush” back on Earth—a grooming device for long-haired dogs.
I used to use one of these to groom Jiro whenever I was at my parents’ house in my past life. The only difference now was the material of the handle. As for the metal wires that made up the actual head of the brush, well, I was confident I’d done a good job reproducing them accurately.
“Aroooooooo!”
The wolf let out a pleased cry and closed his eyes when he felt the slicker brush run through his fur. I dragged it carefully across his body, being careful not to hurt his skin as I undid the knots in his gray and white coat.
The spring days were growing steadily warmer.
Each of the wolves appeared to be shedding their winter coat, leaving their skin itchy as a result. But the slicker brush gave their bodies the relief they craved. When the wolves learned this, they started coming to me for grooming.
“I think the wolves really like that… Your Majesty, you’ve been doing such a g-great job with them. I really respect that!”
Edgar was stumbling on his words like usual, but his fascinated stare was enough to express his sincere interest.
“It’s all thanks to this brush. I saw a diagram for something like this in a book I read back home, so I decided to give it a shot with my magic.”
“That’s amazing…”
“Thank you. Would you like to give the other one a try?”
“R-Really?! I’m allowed to use such a rare brush?!”
Edgar was brimming with excitement.
As the keeper of the wolves, Edgar had much more love and curiosity for the creatures than most.
“It’s all right. I made these from scrap metal, so they’re not particularly valuable. I’m just not sure how durable they are, so they might not last very long… Is that okay?”
He nodded vigorously. The boy’s amber eyes were sparkling with delight.
I handed Edgar the other slicker brush I’d made, and he carefully took hold of it like it was a sacred artifact. Quietly, he trembled in awe.
“Whooooa! It’s the brush of the gods…!”
“Ahaha. I’m not sure I’d go that far. Do you know how to use it?”
“Yes!! I-I can do it, Your Majesty! I’ve been watching you for days now! Ah, I mean, n-not in a weird way… Um, just the brushings…!”
“I know, I know. Go gently with it at first, okay? Some wolves might respond to it differently, so it’s best to be careful.”
Since these slicker brushes were made of metal wires, some dogs didn’t seem to like how it felt. Fortunately, all the wolves around us appeared to love their brushings, just like Jiro did. I only wanted Edgar to be extra careful. It was best to go slow with the brush at first to not scare or hurt any of the wolves.
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty! I understand!”
He held the brush and looked around at each of the animals until one wolf approached him.
Calmingly, he stroked the wolf’s fur with his hand and had the animal sit before him, then placed the brush against the beast’s coat.
Edgar’s movements were timid at first, but he seemed to get the hang of it in no time, and soon he was gliding the brush through the fur with ease. The wolf seemed pleased as well.
That’s why he’s the wolfkeeper, after all.
“Well done. You sure picked that up quick. Oh, look at that! This wolf seems so happy, now that its fur is smooth.”
“Hehehe!” Edgar responded with a happy laugh of his own, breaking into a delighted smile.
Though it was hard to tell with his usual timid demeanor, Edgar was actually rather good-looking when he smiled.
“This brush was so strange to me at first, but it’s actually really easy to use…!”
He was eager to praise the handiness of the slicker brushes.
Edgar was still hesitant to make eye contact with me, but judging by the full sentences he was now able to speak, he appeared to be a bit more comfortable in my presence.
“And it’s so good at getting out tangles. This is going to be so convenient…!” He sent the brush gliding through the wolf’s fur as he spoke.
Naturally, as the wolfkeeper, Edgar already had many brushes to de
al with their summer shedding.
They came in different sizes, but those brushes were best used on other beasts. They were made with natural materials, and although they weren’t completely unsuitable for grooming wolves, one problem was how the fur would clump on the bristles, making them hard to use. In comparison, my slicker brushes had smooth metal combs that made for much easier grooming.
For Edgar, who looked after the wolves, that variation made a big difference.
He continued to brush the wolves that were now lining up around him. He had a big smile on his face.
While enjoying this pleasant scene, I continued to comb the fur of the wolf at my side.
“Hrrrm…?”
“Oh my. What’s the matter?”
The wolf squirmed under the slicker brush, letting out a little groan.
Was I brushing him too hard?
Worried, I looked down at the animal’s face, only to find that he was staring off toward the nearby tree line.
The other wolves fell still and turned to stare in the same direction. They sat in the grass, noses fixed on the tree line, their ears perked forward, and their front paws perfectly aligned. It was just like a row of servants standing at attention to welcome their master home.
“Whoa…”
The trees rustled, breaking the silence of the garden, and a single wolf came into view.
The creature had silver fur that glistened under the light of the sun.
Underneath that beautiful coat was a wolf bigger than the rest of the pack. He even looked stronger, too.
The wolf approached the front yard, taking in his surroundings. His eyes were the color of a winter lake, and something about them gave off an atmosphere of pride and intelligence.
He squinted his blue-green eyes at me, never breaking eye contact as he approached.
“What’s the m— Whoa?!”
I suddenly found myself face-to-face with the silver wolf. He began to sniff at me curiously.
Left, right, front, and back—the creature took in my scent from all angles, as if desperately trying to figure something out.