Wolf's eyes opened slowly. He blinked several times, his vision swimming as he tried to focus. *I don't recognize that ceiling,* he realized. He attempted to sit up out of reflex, but pain tore through his body, sharpest along his side. A hiss escaped his teeth as he froze mid-motion and looked down.
He was topless. Thick bandages wrapped around his side and across much of his upper torso, covering a deep gash he immediately recognized. The bed beneath him was soft but unfamiliar, and when he shifted his gaze around the room, it became obvious this wasn't a medical ward. The space was small, lived-in, unmistakably a bedroom.
"Where am I?" he muttered.
The door creaked open just enough for someone to peer inside. "A-are you awake?" a young woman's voice asked, hesitant and quiet.
"I am," Wolf replied without hesitation.
The door opened further. A young demi-human woman stepped in, her large, bushy black raccoon tail twitching nervously behind her, matching ears pressed low against her head. She looked like she might bolt at any sudden movement.
"T-that's good," she said quickly. "I-I'm so glad. W-we thought you might die in your sleep."
Wolf's eyes moved over her in a single, practiced scan. *Not a fighter. Build's average. Hair keeps falling into her eyes,* he noted, mentally discarding her as a threat. "Did you bandage me?" he asked.
She nodded stiffly. "Y-yes. I-I did."
"You don't need to be that nervous," he said evenly. His gaze shifted around the room again. "Where's my stuff?"
Before she could answer, the door opened wider. "Did he wake up?" Two more figures slipped in, both clearly teenagers. One was a wolf demi-human, the other a bear demi-human who looked no older than thirteen. Both stared at him openly, awe written all over their faces.
"Ko, Ka," the woman said quickly, flustered, "d-don't just come in without asking." She turned back to Wolf, bowing her head slightly. "W-we put your things away. They're safe, don't worry. B-but… we had to cut your top off so I could treat you. I-I'm sorry if that was important."
Wolf lifted a hand and waved it off. "Don't worry about it. They were stolen anyway." He shifted carefully against the pillows, then looked back at her. "Can you tell me what happened after I got knocked out?"
All three of them blinked at his casual mention of theft. The woman hesitated, then shook her head slightly and began, "After you—"
She was cut off when the wolf demi-human, Ko, suddenly spoke up, unable to contain himself. "After that awesome stuff you did, I went out there and picked you up and brought you to our house!" he said, chest puffed out, clearly expecting praise.
Wolf glanced at him, then gave a small nod. "Uh, thanks, kid. You did good."
Ko's tail immediately started wagging.
The bear demi-human, Ka, spoke next, eyes shining. "You were really cool fighting that bad guy. You kept fighting all the way to the end, just like one of the heroes from the stories of Winter."
"Bram, right?" Ko cut in excitedly, turning toward Ka. "He's a swordsman too! The one who never gave up no matter how bad things got!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Ka nodded enthusiastically. "Just like him! He's like an angrier Bram!"
Wolf reached up and rubbed the back of his head, letting out a quiet breath. *Yeah, obviously I'm like him. Because I am him. If these kids ever figured that out, they'd lose their damn minds.* His thoughts shifted, irritation creeping in. *Goddess, what the hell did they turn me into in those books?*
The woman sighed, then stepped forward and placed her hands firmly on both boys' shoulders. "I-I need to talk to the man, okay?" she said, trying to sound firm despite her nerves. "Y-you two need to stay out of the room for now."
Both boys immediately protested, complaining about wanting to stay and talk to him more, but she didn't relent. She gently but decisively ushered them out into the hallway and closed the door behind them. She let out another sigh—this one clearly from relief—before turning back, her face faintly red with embarrassment.
"S-sorry about that," she said. "T-they just got excited after seeing you fight."
Wolf waved it off. "It's fine. I don't really care." He looked at her expectantly. "You were about to say?"
She nodded, steadying herself. "A-after you were knocked out, and Ko brought you here… the wound you have—it's bad. Really bad." She swallowed. "I-I did the best I could with what I had, b-but you need to see a healer. O-otherwise you'll die."
She hesitated, then continued, voice quieter. "That fiend's sword cut into the edge of your intestines. A-and everything that happened after the cut only made it worse."
She braced herself, clearly expecting panic, shock, or at least fear.
Instead, Wolf responded with a shrug. "Oh. That's all? Honestly, I expected worse. I got off pretty well, actually." He rolled one shoulder slightly. "Makes sense. That guy was weak."
She blinked. "…E-excuse me?"
"Don't worry about it," he said casually. "This is fine. I've had worse. I've come back from worse."
The sheer nonchalance of it made her brain stall outright. She stared at him, mouth slightly open.
"Sorry to ask," he added, breaking the silence, "but could I stay here a little while longer? Also, I never got your name."
She blinked several times in rapid succession before shaking her head as if rebooting herself. "Uh—i-it's D-Dalia. A-and of course. You can stay as long as you need."
Wolf nodded once. "Thanks. Because after I recover from this, I'm going to find that weak little Demon Lord and put him in the damn ground."