Amazing Magic

"Alright."

Lowell lowered his hand and gestured with his chin towards Fern.

"Come on, Fern, try that move."

Fern's face was expressionless, but the corners of his mouth clearly turned down, and the word "disdain" was clearly reflected in his pale purple eyes.

"... I don't want to."

She clung to the nearby rock in protest.

Frieren went up and tugged at it, but couldn't pull it down.

Lowell: "Alright, alright, stop arguing. This is serious business. Look how cool it is, it would be such a waste to break it. Besides, it's good for the village."

Fern glanced at the Silver Wolf, who was tightly bound and still baring its teeth and growling at her, then at Lowell's "hurry up, hurry up" expression, and remained silent for two seconds.

Finally, she sighed softly, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"... All right."

She put away her staff and walked forward.

She walked up to the bound Wang Lang. Wang Lang's scarlet eyes stared intently at her, his nostrils flared, exhaling white breath mixed with icy shards, and the threatening growl in his throat grew deeper.

Fern confronted it for a few seconds.

Then, as if she had made up her mind, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

When she opened her eyes again, she tried to adjust the expression on her face, attempting to make her usually calm and expressionless face show the most "gentle" expression possible.

Although the effect was minimal.

She raised her hand and, somewhat stiffly but gently placed it on the top of the wolf's huge, furry head.

The Silver Wolf trembled and struggled even more violently, but the silk thread remained unmoved.

Ignoring its resistance, Fern began to recite, word by word, in the calmest, most deliberately slowed tone she could muster:

"Good boy, King Wolf Beast..."

Her voice echoed softly in the cave, her tone flat and monotone as she began to read aloud.

"The bad guys have been chased away..."

"..."

The cave was completely silent.

Only the heavy breathing of the wolf king and the sound of water dripping from the melting ice on the rock wall could be heard.

A few seconds later.

King Wolf Andrius's scarlet eyes, brimming with ferocity, suddenly flickered violently a few times.

The crimson hue receded like the tide, replaced by a clear, icy blue, like the polar sky.

At the same time, its massive body seemed to deflate, shrinking at a visible speed. Although it was still much larger than an ordinary wolfhound, it appeared considerably smaller than the imposing presence it had just exuded, which was like a small mountain.

The violent, icy magical pressure emanating from him quietly dissipated, replaced by a calmer, more protective aura.

Lowell snapped his fingers.

The transparent threads binding the wolf vanished silently.

The wolf king, now free, did not attack again.

It lowered its head, its icy blue eyes glancing at Fern, whose expression remained somewhat stiff, and its nose twitched slightly.

Then, it leaned forward and carefully, gently rubbed its huge, furry head against Fern's arm.

The gesture carried a hint of probing and a subtle, almost imperceptible intimacy.

Fern: "..."

She stood there, her arm still in the same position, her pale purple eyes looking at the wolf's head rubbing against her arm. Her face was expressionless, but her ears seemed to be slightly red.

Several seconds passed before she lowered her hand, took a half step back, and her tone returned to its usual calm. But if you listened carefully, you could hear a hint of awkwardness that she was trying hard to suppress.

"... So, it actually works?"

She looked at Lowell.

"But what does this shameful line mean? 'The bad guys were chased away'... Where are the bad guys?"

Lowell crossed his arms, looking smug.

"Why do you care so much? It's a standard line, Nangong Wenya always says it. A handsome monster deserves a sense of ceremony!"

He pointed to the Silver Wolf beside him, which had become docile.

"So, this 'Purification Magic' is pretty useful, isn't it? It's bloodless, and you even get a decent bodyguard for free."

Fern glanced at Wang Lang, who had just finished rubbing against him and was now squatting to the side, his icy blue eyes quietly watching him.

"... So why don't you use it yourself?"

Lowell immediately waved his hand.

"How could that be? This magic has very strict activation conditions. You have to have a pure heart, full of... uh, anyway, it has to be used by a cute girl. Someone like me won't do, the style is wrong, if I use it it would probably become 'mind control' or 'fear brand', then it would be different."

He paused, as if remembering something, his eyes lit up, and he looked at Frieren.

"By the way! Let Frieren try it next time! Frieren, do you want to try it?"

Frieren, who had been curiously watching the shrunken wolf, immediately turned her head upon hearing this, her emerald eyes lighting up as she nodded vigorously.

"Yes! I'd like to try it too. It would be best if it worked on dragons as well."

Lowell saw right through her eager expression.

"You're thinking that if you could tame a dragon, you wouldn't have to walk anymore, right? You could ride a dragon around Tenten."

Frieren, her thoughts exposed, blinked, neither admitting nor denying, but simply hummed twice and turned her face away.

Fern sighed.

"... Please go ahead. Anyway, I never want to use this magic again; it's too strange."

At this moment, the Village Chief, who had been hiding at the cave entrance, cautiously peeked out, his pink face filled with surprise and curiosity.

"Oh! This is...?"

Lowell turned to her and gestured for her to look, his tone carrying the pride one would show when introducing a rare animal.

"As you can see! This is the one who will be responsible for guarding the Hero's Sword from now on... 'The North Wind King Wolf,' Andrius!"

As if understanding, the crouching wolf Andrius raised its head, its icy blue eyes gazing at the top of the cave.

"Awoo--!"

It let out a long, clear wolf howl.

Unlike the previous violent howls, this wolf's howl echoed through the cave with a majestic declaration of territory and power, yet without any malice.

As it howled, rustling sounds came from the shadows around the cave.

Immediately afterwards, a dozen or so Snow Wolves, much smaller in size, with the same silvery-white fur but gentle amber eyes, emerged from behind the rocks and crevices. They quietly gathered behind Andrius, forming a loose line, and looked at Lowell and the others, showing no intention of attacking.

"Oh! The boss is calling the minions!" Lowell muttered to himself.

Fern looked at the small pack of wolves that had suddenly appeared, then at Andrius, who was crouching at the front like a leader.

Unfortunately, although Lowell gave it a name, it didn't give any indication of why, probably because the magic of giving names hadn't been invented yet.

"However, it seems to be doing quite well."

She commented softly.

No sooner had she finished speaking than a small Snow Wolf, clearly a cub, came running out from the pack. It seemed particularly interested in Fern, circling her legs twice before leaping into her arms.

Fern instinctively reached out and caught the fluffy, warm little wolf cub.

The wolf cub snuggled comfortably against her, letting out soft whimpers.

Fern held it, his movements a little stiff, but his eyes softened slightly.

"But," she looked up at Lowell and asked another question, "Why are the other Snow Wolves different even though I only... well, 'convinced' Andrius? They couldn't have been like this before."

Lowell gave him a look that said, "You just don't understand."

"What's so hard to understand? Wolves are social animals; taking down the alpha wolf is equivalent to taking down the entire pack. That's called the leadership effect."

He stroked his chin, trying to find a more relatable example.

"Look, just like Rimuru next door, he only named one alpha wolf, and the whole pack evolved. It's a similar principle."

Fern held the wolf cub, his pale purple eyes gazing at him quietly.

"So what is that?"