Chapter 98

Cyrus could tell that the White Wolf was very wary—it was currently protecting the two different breeds of cubs behind it, its sharp teeth bared, its ears tensely tucked back...

She was in an aggressive stance, rejecting his approach.

Cyrus didn't make any further moves, and temporarily had the fluffy creatures take a few steps back, while she inquired about the situation of the White Wolf 098 and its two cubs.

"098, why did you think of sending me three canines? And they... aren't even the same breed."

098 scratched its bald head with its tiny matchstick hands: [Didn't the host say there were no canines?]

[This White Wolf and its two cubs were a family, all adopted by the White Wolf's mother. However, when the Divine Mountain collapsed, the White Wolf's mother was buried by heavy snow and lost her life while trying to save them...]

The White Wolf wandered alone for a long time with its two cubs.

[Because the White Wolf descended from the Divine Mountain and possesses the blood of a king, most people harbor ill intentions towards it...]

If those people were to obtain the White Wolf, the ultimate result would be nothing more than the White Wolf being imprisoned and shackled... and the two cubs being cruelly murdered...

098, as if afraid of startling something, said softly, "[Host, wolves are solitary animals.]"

[A grown and intelligent White Wolf is more wary of humans. If the host wants to gain the White Wolf's trust, he must be patient...]

Cyrus nodded.

A half-grown White Wolf is indeed harder to abduct than a cub.

Cyrus's gaze fell on the two cubs behind the White Wolf —the white fox looked at him with a mixture of innocent curiosity and subtle wariness, obediently hiding behind without making a sound.

Husky puppies... have a strong curiosity about their surroundings, constantly trying to climb around, whimpering and whining; they'd probably follow you if you gave them a piece of meat...

Cyrus stared into the White Wolf's icy blue eyes again, then took a step back to a safer distance.

He patted Snowball's head and whispered "food." Snowball understood immediately, flicked its tail, and turned to leave. The rest of the fluffy creatures lay down or sat nearby at Cyrus's signal.

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Seeing this, the White Wolf relaxed slightly, but still maintained its previous posture, without even twitching its ears.

As Cyrus locked eyes with it, Snowball quickly returned dragging a deer and threw the stag, whose neck had been bitten off, in front of the White Wolf.

With a "bang," a little dust rose up.

The White Wolf's ears twitched slightly. Its gaze lingered on the stag for a few seconds before turning to the Snowball. A faint smell of blood began to fill the air, but the tense atmosphere shifted slightly.

The Husky puppy paused its whimpering for a moment, then changed direction and tried to crawl towards them. The little white fox also couldn't help but show a longing look in its eyes as it gazed at the dead stag.

Cyrus sensed something was wrong and wondered to herself, "098, venison shouldn't be on the diet of Husky and white foxes, especially puppies; they shouldn't eat raw meat..."

The white fox's diet includes lemmings, birds, bird eggs, berries, or fish.

While Husky have a diverse diet, it does not include raw meat... otherwise, they may experience vomiting and diarrhea.

Answer 098: [This dog is an ancient breed of Siberian Husky, wild and strong, with a considerable appetite. Its ancestry as White Wolf and white fox also contributes to its diverse diet.]

[Host, don't worry.]

Cyrus stopped asking questions after hearing this.

He and the furry creatures stayed there, while the White Wolf remained wary and did not approach the food.

So he softened his voice and said, "You'll be safe here. No one will hurt you. The mountains and forests are free, but they're also dangerous. Remember to find a safe place to rest tonight."

The White Wolf's ears twitched slightly.

Cyrus had no intention of forcibly bringing the three new canines to the castle. They had been wandering for a long time, especially the White Wolf, which harbored strong hostility towards humans.

He finished speaking and turned to leave, with the fluffy creatures following behind.

When they went to check again the next day, the male deer they had left behind had become a skeleton, with the remaining carrion being eaten by birds.

Cyrus glanced around—there were some faint traces scattered around; the White Wolf had already left with its two cubs.

He sent the furry creatures who had followed him to search.

Not long after, they found the White Wolf and its two cubs in a relatively secluded cave.

A half-grown White Wolf caught a rabbit and was tearing at the tenderest part of its flesh with its sharp teeth before placing the strips of meat in front of its two cubs.

Cyrus deliberately made some noise to get the White Wolf's attention.

Then, he appeared when the White Wolf became wary again, but did not approach the cave. Outside, he unloaded the basket hanging on Coalball's body, which contained chicken meat, chicken liver, berries, bird eggs, lemming meat, and other items.

Snowball hunted down another male deer.

This time, Cyrus didn't leave with the fluffy creatures. Instead, she retreated to a safe distance from the White Wolf and the two cubs, stretching out her long legs and sitting on a rock.

His small backpack contained the lunch that Judas had specially prepared, which he would enjoy here today.

The fluffy creatures were clearly curious about the White Wolf and the two cubs. After eating and drinking their fill, they lay down and stared at them, causing the White Wolf's ears, which had been drooping, to stand up tensely again and its tail to droop straight down.

The White Wolf didn't immediately go to eat the stag that Snowball had dragged along. After the two cubs finished eating the rabbit meat, it stood to the side, its icy blue eyes occasionally glancing at Cyrus. It remained calm and didn't make a move.

After finishing her lunch, Cyrus quickly packed her things, said "I'll come see you again tomorrow," and left.

On the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day... the White Wolf gradually became less wary of Cyrus's appearance.

Gradually, the White Wolf went from eating in front of Cyrus to allowing Cyrus to slowly approach, stroke its fur, and pick up its two cubs...

--The relationship gradually improved and became closer.

But the White Wolf still refused to follow Cyrus to his castle.

It even became the king of a wolf pack during this period—despite not being an adult yet, it defeated the alpha wolf of the pack.

It was a jumbled area of rocks, where a pack of gray-furred wolves stood on low stones, looking up—a half-grown White Wolf stood on a high cliff, howling, and then howls rose up from below...

The two cubs huddled obediently behind the White Wolf.

Cyrus stood not far away, watching intently.

After that, Cyrus visited the White Wolf and its two cubs in the mountains almost every day, and gradually became close to them, even giving them names.

Cyrus wanted the White Wolf to bring the two cubs back to the castle with her.

But after saying it twice and seeing that the White Wolf was unmoved, Cyrus didn't press the matter any further. Besides, he thought that since the White Wolf had joined the wolf pack, perhaps life in the mountains would be better for it.

Cyrus maintained her daily routine of visiting the White Wolf and its cubs, and gradually even the people in the castle began to know that their lord was out with the fluffy wolf again.

They were discussing how long it would be before the new fluffy plush toys arrived at the castle.

That day, Cyrus was in the alchemy lab with Yadai researching how to make hand sanitizer. They were so engrossed in their experiments that they forgot their usual routine of visiting the White Wolf and its cubs in the mountains.

--Until Judas knocked on the door and came in at Cyrus's response.

"My lord, perhaps you should go and look out the window..."

Cyrus looked up in confusion. "What?"

He was holding a tube of beautifully colored rosewater, about to add it to a liquid made from melted soap—a liquid made by cutting soap into small pieces, adding water, and then heating it.

Soap already exists on the Western Continent. Although it is relatively expensive to produce and sells for a little more, it is not unusual.

Soap was made long ago by mixing boiled mutton fat with caustic soda and clay.

Generally speaking, it is made by using mutton fat and wood ash to make block soap, which has a rough appearance and is not very durable.

This method has been around for a long time.

Later, more methods for making soap emerged.

For example, soap making in the Saint Airo Empire mostly used olive oil, animal fats, or a mixture of olive oil, tallow, or mutton fat with wood ash, etc.

Countries or cities located near rivers tend to use fish oil more often.

In the Western Continent, soap is mainly used for washing clothes, and it is not very common due to its price.

Although some people used soap to wash their bodies, even nobles undoubtedly considered such behavior too extravagant. Most importantly, frequent bathing was not encouraged in this era.

This is due to outdated medical technology and flawed understanding of medical principles.

It is widely believed that bathing can cause cold air or pathogenic wind to enter the body, leading to more illnesses—this is considered a bad habit and should not be done frequently.

Therefore, if someone has a strong body odor, they will wear dried flowers on their clothes or sprinkle powder made of spices, such as cloves and cinnamon...

Cyrus thought that since people don't like to use soap to wash their hands and bodies, why not change direction and develop another kind of daily cleaning product that they can't refuse?

He handed the rosewater to Yadai, asking Yadai to pour it into the melted soap liquid. Then he went to the window and looked out—where Judas was pointing, a tiny white dot was hidden behind the tree.

That hardly counts as hiding.

Because its brush-like tail was sticking out, it seemed to be swaying slightly as if trying to attract attention, and there were two cubs playing together next to the tail.

Cyrus asked in surprise, "Ice Cream?"

Judas knew of the new furry creatures' existence, but this was the first time she had seen them. "Did the lord name them?"

Cyrus pointed to the White Wolf peeking out from behind the tree. "Ice Cream."

Then he pointed to the black and white cubs and the cubs with fluffy tails. "Eggy, Rice Cake."

With some confusion, Cyrus turned and walked out of the alchemy laboratory, leading Judas quickly to the outside of the castle.

After spotting Cyrus's figure in the distant woods, White Wolf Ice Cream slowly emerged from beside a tree. The two cubs, already affectionate towards Cyrus, now toddled over, stumbling and wobbling...

"Ouch."

When Cyrus came closer, Ice Cream let out a soft cry and brushed his calves with its fluffy tail.

Judas stood not far away, and after noticing the White Wolf's wariness, he did not come over.

Cyrus picked up Eggy and Rice Cake, and they enthusiastically licked them a few times.

He thought for a moment and then smiled, "Ice Cream, shall I build you a nest here?"

"Ouch."

Ice Cream's icy blue eyes, unlike the coldness he displayed when they first met, held a subtle tenderness as he gazed at Cyrus.

Two days later, a beautiful little house was built at the junction of the mountains and the lake.

After the two cubs became familiar with the furry creatures, they would often stumble into the castle and sleep inside at night. Not long after the White Wolf became familiar with its little house, seeing that the cubs were not returning as often, it also tentatively stepped into the castle for the first time.