CHAPTER 114: CHAPTER 114: BIG HAMMER

"Raise... a wolf?"

Sosuke hesitated, his hesitation palpable.

This was a wolf, not a dog. Saying "raise it" was easy, but what if it grew up and started eating people?

Just imagine: at the Butterfly Mansion, little girls like Aoi... a big white wolf could swallow them whole, one bite at a time. In a matter of days, the Butterfly Mansion would be empty.

"I think we need to consider this carefully," Sosuke said cautiously. "What if it grows up and starts eating people? We’d be in trouble."

"How could it possibly eat people?" Kanae replied earnestly. "Look how small it is! It must still be nursing. If we take it back and care for it properly, never let it eat raw meat, train it, tame its wild instincts, and cultivate a gentle temperament, it’ll grow into a magnificent creature!"

"...I don’t even know what to say," Sosuke muttered, feeling Kanae’s idea was utterly fantastical.

Seeing the girl’s determined expression, Sosuke suddenly felt the same helplessness as Lower One.

’What could he do against such a girl?’

"Fine, keep it," Sosuke conceded, defeated.

Kanae’s face lit up with joy as she nuzzled the white wolf in her arms. "He agreed! My brother said we can keep you!"

Sosuke’s lips twitched. ’Since when did I become her brother?’

"Mommy loves you," Kanae cooed to the wolf.

Sosuke nearly choked on his own blood. *

’What is this nonsense?’

He turned away in a huff to bury the pit. When everything was tidied up, Kanae returned with the wolf in her arms. "It’s so well-behaved," she said. "It’s already asleep."

"..." Sosuke nodded silently, suddenly feeling like his status had been instantly demoted since the wolf arrived.

"We need to give it a name," Kanae said. "What do you think we should call it?"

"How about ’Whitey’?" Sosuke replied casually.

"How lazy!" Kanae glared at Tetsu no Sosuke, then glanced at the Nichirin Blade behind him. "How about Big Hammer?"

"...If it could understand you, it would hate you forever!"

Sosuke stared in disbelief, resolving that their future children would never be named by Kanae.

"Don’t you like it?" Kanae frowned, considering seriously. "Think about it—Big Hammer is a great name! It’s full of power, hard, and strong. Most importantly, Big Hammer saved your life in that last battle."

"...Is that even relevant?"

Sosuke blinked, feeling like she was completely missing the point.

"Then what do you suggest? No to Little White!" Kanae glared at him, her eyes wide.

Sosuke racked his brains, various names flashing through his mind one after another. Finally, he nodded earnestly and declared, "Let’s call him Big Hammer!"

"Perfect!" Kanae beamed, hugging the newly named white wolf cub and nuzzling it affectionately. "He agrees! Your big brother agrees!"

"...Right," Sosuke muttered.

"Mommy loves you, Big Hammer," Kanae added.

Sosuke stared silently at the sky, wishing this was all a nightmare he could wake up from.

But reality wasn’t so easily escaped. The encounter with the white wolf family had delayed them considerably.

After burying the wolves, the pair searched the surrounding area for the hunter but found no trace. Reluctantly, they had to move on.

The most immediate consequence was that they arrived at the Wisteria-crested House near midnight.

The night passed without incident. When Sosuke woke up the next morning, he discovered Kanae had vanished.

Sosuke sat up in a daze, about to go look for Kanae when the door opened. Kanae stood there, holding the White Wolf Hammer in one arm and a bowl in the other. The bowl contained a porridge-like mixture, which Big Hammer was lapping up in small bites.

"He’s not picky at all," Sosuke remarked, yawning.

Kanae nodded immediately. "He eats whatever I give him. He has a really good appetite."

Sosuke nodded. "At least we don’t have to worry about feeding him. The little guy grows fast. He’ll probably be a whole size bigger in a few days."

"He grows that quickly?" Kanae blinked in surprise. "If he gets too big, will I not be able to hold him anymore?"

"You can just have him carry you when he’s grown up," Sosuke suggested, moving closer and gesturing for Kanae to put the wolf down.

With the food placed before it, the little white wolf trembled as it struggled to support itself on its four underdeveloped legs, taking small, cautious bites. Its entire body shook, whether from fear, cold, or simply the difficulty of balancing on its unsteady limbs.

Sosuke poked it with a finger, but the wolf ignored him completely.

"Quite aloof, aren’t you?" Sosuke poked it again. The white wolf glanced at him before resuming its meal.

Sosuke simply picked it up.

The wolf pup, barely larger than Sosuke’s palm, naturally couldn’t resist. It struggled weakly with its limbs, but Sosuke’s large hands lacked Kanae’s gentleness. The pup desperately sought Kanae’s help with its eyes, only to find her watching them with a look of contentment.

In that moment, the newly born White Wolf Hammer experienced true despair for the first time.

Resigned, it curled up in Sosuke’s hands, hanging its head dejectedly.

"Looks quite intelligent," Sosuke chuckled. "We’ll have to raise it well, make it strong and sturdy. It’ll be our mount someday."

"Mount?" Kanae blinked in surprise. "We’re going to ride it?"

"Not now, of course," Sosuke replied. "But when it grows up, to about this tall..."

He gestured with his hand. "It’s already so sturdy. We could all ride on its back together—the three of us... no, four... plus Shinobu. Wait, maybe five, since Shinobu will need a husband too. Then it could be six, don’t forget the children!"

Sosuke casually kept adding to the headcount, and White Wolf Hammer’s eyes grew increasingly despairing, as if it truly understood. In resignation, it flattened its ears tightly against its head, refusing to listen any further.

Kanae burst into laughter, unable to resist giving Tetsu no Sosuke a light tap. "At this rate, Big Hammer would have to grow as long as a train!"

"Hmm, probably not. Are we only going to have one child? Just you wait, if I put my mind to it, we could create an entire race!" Sosuke declared shamelessly.

Kanae’s face flushed crimson as she burrowed under his arm and pressed her cheek against his chest, as if trying to suffocate herself. "You’re getting worse and worse..."

_____

Every 120 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter