Truth

I was really curious about that conversation and also wanted to ask Fae about the current whereabouts of the White Family, so I told Sylphy to inquire in my stead.

'Ok, leave it to me. I am also interested though. After all, we are are also going towards the capital.' (Sylphy)

She went to Fae's side, but before she could talk, Fae was already asking her something.

"Heh. That other friend of yours is now inside you ... Intriguing." (Fae)

"Hehehe, he is kind of special. So, I let him taste a portion of my dessert." (Sylphy)

"Special, huh? ... I see, fufu." (Fae)

She is right. My existence is kind of special. I am a bodiless soul after all.

I thought like this, but Sylphy's cheeks flushed pink for some reason and she couldn't look Fae directly in the eyes due to embarrassment.

"Not in that way! I swear! ... Anyway, I wanted to ask you something." (Sylphy)

"Ask away. I am a bit short on hands right now, so I need to go back to work as soon as possible." (Fae)

That was true. There was only one other waitress here and she was already having trouble receiving orders from new customers.

"Is something going to happen in the capital? Also, my friend here is an 'acquaintance' of the White Family and wants to know where they are staying right now." (Sylphy)

"You see, the heir to the throne will soon be declared. It will be a grand event, which is why the royal family invited many nobles and merchants to attend. As for your friend's request, the White family is already on their way to the capital." (Fae)

'The capital ... I wonder if I will be able to see Mary there ... ' (Usagi)

Also, the heir to the throne, huh? I wonder who it will be.

'With my help, you should be able to meet her, but proving your identity as her late "pet" will be hard.' (Sylphy)

'Don't worry. Seeing her from a distance and knowing that she is doing fine will be good enough.' (Usagi)

Then, Sylphy told Fae of our current destination. The royal capital, Aria.

"You should try going with Mr. Oswald. I know that you are strong, but riding a carriage of a guarded caravan will be much safer." (Fae)

"We will do that, don't worry. Also, I won't borrow any money from you. What I have should be enough for 'two' people." (Sylphy)

'We don't need to pay your fee, hehe.' (Sylphy)

Damn, that hurts! But ... as always, she is right. I don't count as a "person". Most people can't even feel my existence.

"Well, then, take care, Fae. I will come to visit you again." (Sylphy)

"You better do. I won't forgive you if you don't." (Fae)

They hugged lightly before we parted ways.

Sylphy and I looked at Ember. She was pouting.

'Master ... Sob ... I gave all my parfait to Master and you aren't coming back ... Sob.' (Ember)

' ... You are right. I am sorry.' (Usagi)

I knew she liked me to be by her side but didn't know what was so great about it. However, I still returned to her thanking Sylphy, who was smiling gently, again for giving me a part of her dessert.

Then, when we were following her, I noticed that we were going back to where we came from.

'Aren't we going to the plaza? That merchant's assistant should be over there.' (Usagi)

'We can't. There are a few reasons for that.' (Sylphy)

Like what? I asked and she looked at Ember ... at me as if I was an idiot.

'First, I can't maintain this appearance for more than a few hours. If I did, I would collapse of mana exhaustion, revealing my true form.' (Sylphy)

Yeah ... that would be a problem.

'Second, I lied about having enough money. The few silver coins I have aren't enough to pay for two people. Also, I would be uncomfortable if I hid in Wolf Girl's dress for the entire ride.' (Sylphy)

'Do you think Fae knew you lied to her?' (Usagi)

'She probably did. A few months after I started going to her restaurant, she discovered that I wasn't a human. After all, no matter how I alter my size and appearance, we pixies never grow older. I managed to fool all her other clients though.' (Sylphy)

I could see from her memories that she changed her features, including visage, hairstyle, and hair color many times in the past while visiting this town, but a wrinkle never appeared on her face.

'Lastly, Wolf Girl is much faster than a bunch of horses and wingless reptiles. Moreover, you want to try the sword I gave you, right? Would you be comfortable doing it from of other people?' (Sylphy)

'If if it was the past me, I would ... But I can't do it while looking like Ember ... ' (Usagi)

I feel that the men watching me wouldn't be focused on my swordsmanship ...

'Then, we will rely on Wolf Girl to carry us to the capital. You don't have any complaints, do you?' (Sylphy)

' ... I don't. Can we count on you, Ember?' (Usagi)

'Leave it to me, Master!' (Ember)

Shortly after, we reached the gate and left White Town.

We had no more business there.

. . .

Once we went quite far into the forest and checked that no one was following us, Sylphy reverted to her true, tiny form while Ember changed into her wolf form.

My wolf companion and pixie friend were truly odd, but I wasn't any better ...

"Well then, Wolf Girl, can you guide us to your pack?" (Sylphy)

"Yes, Big Sister!" (Ember)

Howl! (Ember)

Ember howled as loud as she could. It wasn't long before she received a response.

Howl! (Wolf A)

Howl! (Wolf B)

Hooowwwwwl! (Wolf C)

The third one howled longer than the others as if he was excited. He probably just liked to howl though ...

Sylphy flew over Ember and then grabbed onto the fur on her back as tightly as she could.

Ember then ran like a bolt in the direction the howls came from while constantly using Acceleration.

She was incredibly fast, but thanks to her improved dexterity, provided by Increased Physical Prowess, and her Enhanced Senses, she managed to perfectly avoid all the trees in her path.

Though, there were several times when Sylphy almost ended up flying away because of this ...

Eventually, we reached a clearing in the forest where several black wolves were gathered. All of them were standing and looked in our direction.

None of them were even half of the size of Ember and their eyes were filled with fear. They knew who that they weren't her match.

There was also a notably bigger wolf at the head with a serene expression. It was the Alpha Wolf.

"So the time has come for you to leave?" (Alpha Wolf)

Ember told the Alpha Wolf about our departure and thanked him for taking care of her all this while.

"Yes, thank you for everything, Alpha." (Ember)

By the way, I was currently inside Sylphy to share my skills with her.

After all, she can't understand Beast Language which isn't a language made of words but of sounds and gestures.

As Ember didn't have many good memories of her time with this pack, she wanted to leave as fast as possible but was stopped by the Alpha Wolf.

"Before you go, I need to tell you something." (Alpha)

Then he began to tell us a story as best he could.

. . .

Many moons ago, there were rumors of a Witch who was said to be experimenting with humans.

A few nobles requested help from a handsome Dark Knight who prided himself in his resistance to the dark magic.

He accepted and was dispatched shortly after to deal with her.

By his side was his wife. A beautiful Fire Magician working under the Court Great Archmage.

Why was she by the Knight's side? Because her belly was slightly swollen and they knew that a new life was going to be born from it.

They didn't have any other family, so they didn't want to be apart from the other, even when they knew it was dangerous.

The Knight said that killing a bad Witch or two would be easy with his skills, but his wife insisted that she was going to accompany him to deal with her no matter what.

After reaching the cave the Witch was supposed to live in, they saw a beautiful Elf making concoctions using a few tools and a big pot.

The walls of the cave were covered with unfinished magic circles as if she was studying something.

They tried to talk to her but she didn't answer to anything they said.

They were continuously ignored, so the Knight grabbed his sword once his patience gave out and he approached the woman.

When he was going to put his sword against her neck, the Elf looked at him before tossing a bottle at his feet and quickly stepping back.

The bottle released gas and the Knight tried to hold his breath, but it was too late.

Fur started growing on his skin and his limbs changed in shape.

His wife went to his side out of worry but was also affected.

When they were slowly losing consciousness, the Elf said something they will never forget.

"You tried to hurt me, so consider this a warning ... You will lose your humanity for a while ... It might take a year or even a few more ... Don't try to harm me ever again ... The next time I won't be so gentle ... " (Female Elf)

. . .

"That is what your parents told me. I am not very smart and so much time has passed since then, so I may have forgotten a few details." (Alpha)

" ... " (Ember)

I could see confusion and sadness on Ember's face. After a few moments, she transformed into her human form and asked the Alpha Wolf.

" ... So, my parents were humans?" (Ember)

" ... Haha, that's right. I can see that now you are not much different." (Alpha)

All the other members of the pack were quite shocked and even rubbed their eyes with their paws.

"I still have two more things to tell you." (Alpha)

" ... Tell me, I want to know." (Ember)

The story about her parents was something unimaginable for an Earthling like me. Witches were said to live in ancient times, but there are not substantial proofs of their existence.

Also, Sylphy said once that beasts and monsters don't obtain a demihuman form so easily, but Ember is different.

Nevermind a demihuman form, she was going to be born as a human, so she acquired a human form instead.

My "influence" thing probably had also an effect though.

The Alpha Wolf continued talking.

"Your parents told me to take care of you. However, they also wanted me to keep you away from the pack as someone they called a 'Goddess' asked them to. To make you unable to become attached to us." (Alpha)

" ... Why? Why did they do that?" (Ember)

So Ember was treated badly by her pack for that reason ... I wanted to hit her father once, but Ember told me they were already dead ...

"About that, they said that you already knew and didn't tell me anything ... " (Alpha)

Ember bit her lower lip and seemed deep in thought. After a few moments, she looked at Sylphy ... at me with pitiful eyes ...

I see ... so it was because of me ...

'I am sorry, Ember ... because of me, you lived all this while by yourself ... ' (Usagi)

'No ... I am grateful with Master ... after all, you made me your companion, hehe.' (Ember)

She made a beautiful smile but I could see small tears forming on her eyes.

" ... There is one last thing I need to tell you ... I don't want to give you hope, but ... I lied when I said your parents were killed by hunters. The truth is that ... they went into a human town and never came back." (Alpha)

I don't know why, however, I was more shocked by this than knowing that Ember's parents were once humans ...