novelraw Chapter 4 : Chapter 4
Chapter 4 : Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Talking with the Feral Wolf. It sounded simple, but it would never be easy. Among some civilians, the Feral Wolf was known as a hero who judged evildoers, but officially, it was a mass murderer.
I had seen the Feral Wolf tear thieves apart while they were still alive. It was brutal and merciless.
Holding a conversation with someone like that could never be simple.
“This is c-crazy!”
As expected, Ms. Nyxle immediately opposed the idea.
“Just because it can speak does not mean you can communicate with it. A parrot can speak too, but that does not mean you can have a conversation with one.”
“The Feral Wolf is not a parrot. We will not know unless we try. I am only saying we should attempt it.”
“It will tear you apart before you even get the chance to talk.”
“I have a plan.”
I led Ms. Nyxle to a small room behind the consultation office.
At a glance, it looked like a storage room. In the center of the room stood a large restraint chair.
It was designed to bind not only the arms and legs, but the torso and neck as well. I intended to use it to talk to the Feral Wolf.
“Why on earth does a consultation office have something like this……?”
Ms. Nyxle stared at the chair in shock.
The look in her eyes carried suspicion, disgust, and wariness. If she had handcuffs, it felt like she would have put them on me without hesitation.
I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of mana lingering in the air, and sensed her emotions directed toward me.
……She was despising me.
It seemed there was a misunderstanding.
“I do not know what you are thinking, Ms. Nyxle, but this is not such a strange object. One of our clients suffers from intermittent explosive disorder.”
“What? Oh. Yes.”
“It is a condition that makes it difficult to control anger.”
I was referring to Mr. Draksan. At certain words or actions, he would lose control and fly into a rage.
“When someone suffers from this condition, they can lose their rationality even during counseling or treatment and attempt to use violence against me. This chair was made to prevent sudden outbursts from clients with intermittent explosive disorder.”
“I see. So that is why……”
The contempt in Ms. Nyxle’s eyes finally faded. Immediately afterward, however, concern and worry took its place.
“But I do not think something like this can restrain the Feral Wolf…….”
“Some people with intermittent explosive disorder possess strength that could be called monstrous. Since this chair was designed to restrain such individuals, it was built to be extremely sturdy. Even with the Feral Wolf’s strength, breaking it will not be easy.”
I spoke with confidence.
“If it looks like the Feral Wolf will break the restraint chair and go on a rampage, I plan to administer Misty Lullaby, a sedative stronger than Night’s Embrace, and put it to sleep immediately. That should prevent any problems.”
Ms. Nyxle fell into thought.
I understood her hesitation.
The Feral Wolf had single-handedly wiped out several notorious gangs and criminal organizations in the back alleys. Even with precautions like this, it might not be possible to control it completely.
However, the restraint chair was not the only thing I was relying on. I had several other cards to play, though I could not explain them all to Ms. Nyxle.
I waited quietly for her answer.
She looked back and forth between me and the restraint chair, then spoke with a dark expression.
“But…… What are you hoping to accomplish by talking to the Feral Wolf? It is not like you can erase it from my body.”
“Ms. Nyxle, the problem is not the Feral Wolf.”
I continued while meeting her gaze.
“The problem is that you are living in constant fear because of it. You said you believe the Feral Wolf intends to take over your body completely, but I do not think that is necessarily the case.”
“Then what is it trying to do……?”
“That is exactly why I want to talk to it. Rather than trembling in fear without knowing anything, I want to understand the Feral Wolf’s purpose and intentions, and then think about a solution.”
If she refused even after all this, there would be nothing I could do.
Ms. Nyxle’s eyes wavered.
“……Doctor.”
“Yes?”
“Would it not be enough to just prescribe Dawn’s Call? That would be easier for you too. I do not understand why you would go this far and take such a risk…….”
Her words were disorganized, but I understood what she meant.
“What do you gain by doing all this?”
Some might phrase it more bluntly, calling it pointless meddling.
To others, it might look as though I was trying to help someone for no reason at all. It could seem not just incomprehensible, but suspicious.
—Doctor, let us make it out together.
……I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again.
“It is simply my conviction. You would not be wrong to call it self-indulgence.”
Ms. Nyxle stared at me with widened eyes.
Even to me, my tone had sounded sharp just now. My expression was probably stiff as well.
I forced a smile and quickly added in a gentler voice,
“More than anything, I do not think I would feel satisfied if I simply prescribed medicine and let it end there. I am the type who likes to see things through cleanly.”
She pressed her lips together for a long time before finally speaking.
“……All right. Let us do it. The conversation.”
“Good.”
I smiled faintly.
***
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Ms. Nyxle nodded. She was now bound to the restraint chair.
A needle connected to a tube was inserted into her left arm.
“I will now administer Misty Lullaby through this needle. Take a deep breath in, then out. Relax your body slowly. All right…….”
“Yes…….”
The moment the sedative—also known as Misty Lullaby—was injected, Ms. Nyxle’s gaze grew unfocused. Her voice quickly became sluggish.
Before long, her eyes slid shut and her breathing stabilized. She had fallen asleep under the influence of the sedative.
I swallowed hard and looked at Erisa. As always, she gazed down at the sleeping Ms. Nyxle with a calm expression.
CRACK, CRUNCH.
Soon, the change—no, the transformation—began.
Fur sprouted first from Ms. Nyxle’s skin. It was mostly black or gray, but when it caught the light, it gleamed white—truly silver fur.
Thick muscles swelled along her arms, legs, and ribcage. Deep scars appeared around her once-neat eyes. Her skull gradually shifted into a form closer to a wolf than a human.
FLASH! When the Feral Wolf opened its eyes, it glared at us with a crimson glow.
CLANK, CLANK, CLANK!
The Feral Wolf struggled violently. The restraint chair shook as though it might break at any moment.
But it had not been built to break so easily. The Feral Wolf could do nothing more than thrash uselessly.
Frustrated, it bared its fangs and let out a savage howl.
AWOOOO…… GRRR…… AWOOOO!
My body stiffened against my will. The howl carried the threatening infrasonic pressure unique to apex predators. It sent a chill through my guts.
Suppressing my fear, I stepped dangerously close to the Feral Wolf.
“Mr. Feral Wolf? Or should I just call you Feral Wolf?”
“……Who are you?”
At last, human words came from its mouth. The voice was more ordinary than I had expected. It was somewhat androgynous, but clearly feminine, and surprisingly pleasant to hear.
“For now, I will call you Feral Wolf.”
“I asked who you are!”
“I am Ms. Nyxle’s counselor.”
“Counselor?”
The profession itself seemed unfamiliar to it. I explained what a counselor was.
The Feral Wolf listened with a skeptical expression.
“What a strange…… occupation.”
“It may be unusual, but it is a necessary one. Feral Wolf, I would like to talk with you.”
Its demeanor softened noticeably.
The hostility and murderous intent in the air faded considerably.
“……You said you are Nyxle’s counselor. Then was it Nyxle’s will that I am bound like this?”
“Yes.”
This entire situation had been created with Nyxle’s consent.
When I explained that, the hostility and killing intent vanished completely.
“I see. So Nyxle wanted this…….”
Only then could I be certain.
“The Feral Wolf is not a mindless killer.”
It had become astonishingly calm. It looked back and forth between Erisa and me. The presence radiating from its red eyes was still threatening, but it no longer carried the crushing pressure from before.
“……If it is Nyxle’s will, then I suppose I have no choice. Do as you like. Talk, or whatever else.”
“Yes. Before that, there is something you need to hear.”
I took out a small object, about the length of a finger joint.
It looked like a simple metal rod with a round button attached.
As the Feral Wolf eyed it suspiciously, I pressed the button.
—The killings the Feral Wolf commits, the media calls them ‘judgment,’ right? None of that is my doing. That bastard, the Feral Wolf, takes over my body and does it all. It probably sounds insane……
A familiar voice flowed from the metal rod.
The Feral Wolf’s eyes shook in shock.
“W-what is this? Nyxle?”
“It is Ms. Nyxle’s voice. This is a magical tool I call a recorder. It uses shock absorption and shock reflection magic to store the unique vibrations of a voice, then releases them later when desired—”
“I get it, so just keep playing it!”
“Well…… all right.”
It was not finished yet. Feeling slightly annoyed, I reactivated the recorder.
—Just because it can speak does not mean you can communicate with it. A parrot can speak too, but that does not mean you can have a conversation with one.
—The Feral Wolf will tear you apart before you even get the chance to talk.
The Feral Wolf listened to Nyxle’s voice in silence. She was hurling insults at it, yet the Feral Wolf did not react at all. It almost seemed to accept her hatred as natural.
—And the Feral Wolf seems determined to take over my body completely. Please help me, Doctor. Please…
At this part, however, the Feral Wolf visibly wavered.
“T-that is a misunderstanding. Why would I take over her body?”
“I have heard that at first, you only took control for a day or two, but recently, you have taken control for a week, even two weeks at a time.”
“That is true! But that was because I had a reason. There was something I had to do……!”
“May I ask what that reason was? Why you needed to take control for an entire week, or even two?”
The Feral Wolf did not answer immediately. Its red eyes shook violently from side to side, clearly troubled.
When I first saw it, it looked like a ferocious beast whose gaze alone inspired terror.
Now, it looked no different from an ordinary client.
The Feral Wolf remained silent. I let out a sigh.
“As you can hear, Ms. Nyxle is trembling with anxiety because of you. You need to tell us.”
“If I tell you the reason, will you pass my words on to Nyxle? With that recorder thing?”
“Yes. That is why this meeting exists.”
The Feral Wolf fell silent again. The returning silence stretched on.
It finally lifted its head and looked at me. Its eyes were closer to a wolf’s than a human’s, making them difficult to read even for someone like me who prided themselves on reading emotions through gaze alone. I could only glimpse a hint of sadness.
“Counselor, which do you think is better? A comfortable lie, or a cruel truth?”
“I think……”
I paused briefly.
“I think the truth is better.”
“Even if that truth is brutal and horrifying?”
“That is for the listener to decide. It is not the speaker’s place to decide.”
The Feral Wolf stared at me. Its wavering eyes and twitching lips betrayed its inner conflict. It exhaled deeply and lowered its head. Perhaps due to the shadows, the scar carved into its eye looked even deeper.
“There is something I need to tell you. Do not be surprised.”
“Please, go ahead, Feral Wolf.”
In my work as a counselor, I had listened to countless clients. Many had tragic, sorrowful, or shocking stories. I believed I was not easily surprised anymore.
“I killed that child’s father.”
……Even so, when I heard those words, I could not help but be shocked.