Episode 1

A dark, untraveled forest, thick with the menacing cries of mountain beasts.

The faint echo of a cheerful hum, completely out of place in an atmosphere that would have filled even the strongest of men with fear.

The darkness, densely shaded by the trees, seemed to be no obstacle to the hummer’s protagonist.

In a handful of moonlight, her neat figure resembled a slender, trembling flower. Her dark hair bounced in her steps, adding to her mystique.

One glance at the heavy basket brought a proud smile to Hestia’s face.

“This should get us through the next month.”

Crunch!

Suddenly, a low growl echoed through the undergrowth, the sound of a fierce beast, its eyes flashing.

The forest grew even more eerie as the smaller beasts scurried away from the terrifying threat.

“Lou, hush! You’re making all the squirrels run away.”

The threat would have sent chills down the spine of even the bravest knight, but Hestia remained unmoved. She scolded the beast again.

Thud!

The beast called ‘Lou‘ howled louder, as if it would not give up.

“.…..What’s wrong, what’s wrong?”

Hestia asked, scratching her head at the unusual behavior of Lou. Lou jumped out of the bushes and bit the hem of Hestia’s skirt.

The beast’s appearance was intimidating.

It stood twice the size of a full-grown man, its fur standing straight up in a gleaming silvery sheen, revealing ghastly fangs. As if it didn’t like something.

But Hestia showed no sign of fear, merely reaching out to stroke the beast’s fur.

“I don’t have time to play with you today, I need to dry the herbs before the sun rises.”

Despite Hestia’s soothing words, Lou shook her head fiercely and continued to lead her somewhere.

“Ugh. I see. You’re not starving to death.”

Hestia followed Lou’s lead, seemingly resigned to the fact that she was having a bad day.

But unimpressed with her sLouggish pace, Lou lowered her stance so that she was flat on the ground.

“How far are we going?”

Still impatient with Hestia’s laid-back demeanor, Lou gestured wildly for her to get on.

“You’ll get me there before daylight, right?”

“Just get in, big sister!

Lou’s voice echoed in his head as he continued.

It had been a little over a hundred years since he’d fallen here, and in search of a way to stop time once and for all, he’d headed deep into the mountains.

She thought that if her body was torn to pieces and fed to the beasts, she could die a complete death.

At the last moment, Hestia saw the ghastly fangs of a wolf and the claws of a giant eagle and let go.

Unlike the other times, she felt no pain, which may have made her happier to be sucked into the darkness.

But it was only when I was forced to open my eyes again when death failed me that I began to hear their voices.

“Nuunaa!

Lou’s urgent cry snapped Hestia out of her reverie.

Her head pounded from the loudness of the shout, and Hestia squinted.

“Oh, sorry. Okay, you can get in.”

Hestia rubbed her temples hard.

“I don’t see what’s so urgent when you and I have time to spare.”

Hestia gave a disgruntled grunt, but shoved the basket of herbs into Lou’s mouth and climbed onto his back.

She gripped Lou’s silver mane firmly, and he broke into a run. Despite his enormous size, he was agile, bouncing from side to side and sprinting toward somewhere.

As if he was being chased by something.

Hestia’s dark red hair rippled wildly in the wind. Her hands tightened around her silver mane.

Lou’s pace slowed until her cheeks began to chill in the cold night air.

Hestia pushed herself up from her position against Lou’s back and looked around.

“Huh? This is…….”

Surprise flashed across Hestia’s brown eyes.

Crouch.

The silver-furred beast looked around warily, then lowered itself.

Lou dropped Hestia off in front of a tree-Lout burrow so large that ten adults couldn’t hold her in their arms.

But there was a problem.

“I thought you and Ben didn’t get along, so why did you come here if you wanted to play?”

This was Ben’s territory, the brown bear with whom Lou had a terrible relationship.

Hestia fLouffed out her skirt and met the piercing amber eyes that still hadn’t let down their guard.

“.…..What is it, that look, why are you looking at me so pathetically.”

Lou stood up from his crouch and nudged Hestia with his head into the den.

“What’s in there, or are you trying to play hide and seek with me at your age, or is it caving or something?”

“I‘ll know when I get inside …….

Snort!

Lou blew out a hot snort. To Hestia, it sounded like he was feeling sorry for her.

“.…..Yes, I know, I was just saying that because you were acting so weird, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to sigh like that.”

Hestia lifted the hem of her skirt in a goofy but dutiful manner, then bent down and prepared to step inside.

Lou used her sharp teeth to tear off a handful of her pale fur and drop it at Hestia’s feet.

“What, I thought we were going in together? You didn’t give me any of that fur when I asked for it, by the way. How much is all this?”

Picking up the silver fur from the floor, Hestia shot Lou a dirty look and moved into the den.

It was darker in the den than in the forest outside, but it made no difference whether she opened or closed her eyes.

Hestia moved forward, relying solely on the faint light from the fur in her hands.

It wasn’t until her back began to stiffen from crouching down that she caught a glimpse of a shape.

“Is that why Lou brought me here?”

It was a low murmur, but it was enough to fill the silent den.

For a moment, the outline of a shadowy figure looming in the darkness flinched slightly, as if startled by the sound.

“Huh? Is it alive?”

Hestia approached it with quick steps and began to examine it closely, holding the fur in her hand up to the light.

Curled up in a small ball, covered in torn fabric, it was none other than…….

“A child?”

It was breathing shallowly as if it could die at any moment.

It was impossible to tell if it was a boy or a girl, relying only on the faint glow of its fur.

He could only guess that it was a child by its thinness and fine lines.

The shadow’s unexpected identity caused Hestia to stop gesturing to the child, and her eyes narrowed.

How could such a small child be here?

This place, Mount Lennon, was known for being rugged enough to make even the most seasoned hunters tongue-tied.

Hestia’s bewilderment grew, especially since this area was home to wild brown bears, which were rumored to be so ferocious that no one had ever come out alive.

“Hmm. So this is why Lou only let me in.”

Hestia swallowed lowly, her brow slowly furrowing.

She was stuck on the one-dimensional question of whether or not to take the child out, let alone how she had gotten here.

“Whatever.”

Hestia was fidgeting nervously, unable to make a decision.

“Hmph!”

The child sucked in a pained breath,

Bam!

He grabbed Hestia’s wrist and threw her to the ground.

“Help me, help me, help me, take them…….”

Hestia stared down at the child, still unconscious, as he spewed out his desperate words.

If only she could give him her unbroken breath if only she could take the shadow of death that threatened him instead…….

It was a strange feeling to see a child so strongly wanting to live, as opposed to her longing for death.

“.…..shhh. It’s okay, child.”

It was a pity, a pathetic pity, maybe even a sympathy.

Hestia stroked the child’s head gently.

Once her mind was made up, the next step was easy.

The child’s shaky breathing subsided.

Tsk.

The grip on Hestia’s wrist loosened, and she opened her mouth.

“Lou.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Lou appeared a silver glow sprinkling the dimly lit den.

“If you knew it was a child, you should have told me.”

“Then you wouldn’t have come!

“Yes, of course, I would have called the villagers, it’s safer for the child.”

Hestia shrugged as if to say, why ask the obvious?

“I smelled Ben’s bastard nearby.

Lou thumped her tail against the floor in disgust at the thought.

“Well, you should have said so.”

There was no point in dwelling on it.

If Ben was guarding the area, the others wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near her. ConcLouding that she was bound to come after all, Hestia clamped her jaw shut.

“Ugh. That’s heavier than I thought.”

Hestia opened the cloth once more and handed it to the child, then laboriously hoisted him onto Lou’s low crouching back.

She’d only thought it was a small child because it was crouched, but it wasn’t as small as she’d thought.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. My back is killing me!”

Then Hestia climbed onto Lou’s back, too, and held her tightly so she wouldn’t fall off.

“I know you won’t die from this!

Lou teased, shaking her head.

“.…..Yes. I know, so why don’t you just stop throwing up and get the hell out of here, old wolf?”

Hestia gave a squeaky laugh, barely controlling her rising irritation.

But Lou seemed content to let it go, his tail wagging gently as he began to move his massive body.

As soon as he was out of the den, he took off at a run, just as fast as when he first came here.

It wasn’t until a bLue glow slowly appeared in the night sky that Hestia was able to sat foot on the ground.

We arrived at a dilapidated cabin overgrown with dark green moss that looked like it had been abandoned for years.