Beside the half-finished wooden cabin construction site—
A bound giant wolf lifted its head and looked skyward.
Its face was full of despair, its massive wolf eyes glazed with confusion and the sheen of impending tears.
Not far from it, Emilia and Rikuto were caught in a comical scuffle, each trying to shove a stone knife into the other's hands.
Hovering cross-legged in the air was the gray kitten spirit, Puck, observing the scene like a bemused spectator.
Rikuto: "Emilia, weren't you all high and mighty about hunting earlier?"
"Why are you chickening out now that it's time to actually kill?"
With righteous indignation, Rikuto placed the stone knife he had made into Emilia's hand.
Rikuto: "If you treat people like food, it's only fair you risk being treated like food yourself."
"Those were your words, Emilia."
Rikuto looked at her and uttered something that sounded more like encouraging a crime than persuading someone.
Emilia: "You're one to talk, Rikuto! You were the one who said you'd do it yourself, but the moment came and you froze too!"
"You have no right to call me a coward!"
Her cheeks puffed out as she launched her counterattack.
Emilia had clearly adapted quickly to Rikuto's way of speaking.
…
Twenty Minutes Earlier
A wooden sundial, slowly rotating with the sun, faithfully marked the time.
The giant wolf, frozen by Puck, had been securely tied up.
Since wolf pelts were valuable and delicate, using an axe to butcher it would waste the resource. So Rikuto decided to use a skill he learned from wilderness survival guides—crafting a stone knife.
Once done, he approached the wolf, stone knife in hand, looking righteous and composed.
But the truth was, aside from squashing bugs, Rikuto had never killed anything—not even a fish, let alone a creature this big, roughly the size of a person.
The idea of stabbing the creature to death made his hands tremble with unease.
Emilia, seeing the look on his face—
The pure-hearted half-elf girl looked at him with an expression that softened, as if she understood.
She nodded to herself with determination and took up the task in his place.
Emilia: "Leave it to me."
She picked up a few extra stone knives Rikuto had made with his [Process Simplification] skill and stepped in front of the giant wolf.
And then—
Her knife moved through the air.
Down, up. Down, up. Down, up again.
She repeated the motion multiple times… without ever actually stabbing the wolf.
The poor wolf, bound and unable to move, eventually lost all will to react.
It let out pitiful whimpers of "Awooo~ Awooo~" in resignation.
Emilia: "Umm… Rikuto…"
Turning back to look at him, her silver hair flowing, she wore a deeply troubled expression.
Though she had spoken bravely earlier, when it came to actually taking a life, she found herself completely unable to go through with it.
Rikuto wasn't the only one—Emilia hadn't even killed a bug before, let alone a beast.
Watching her hesitate, Rikuto, as the man, stepped up to take the knife back from her.
And then…
The exact same scene replayed—with him.
Knife down, up. Down, up. Down, up again.
The wolf, now utterly done with both of them, rolled its eyes, turned its head, and just gave up altogether.
Animals didn't have a sense of "death before dishonor," but even this wolf seemed to protest with its silence.
…
Puck: "If you two don't hurry, it'll be dark soon~"
"And once it's dark, I'll be gone!"
Puck, still cute as ever as he floated overhead, was clearly trying to nudge them forward.
Because once he vanished at dusk, they'd be left vulnerable. Hesitating like this over killing a single wolf could put them in real danger.
And letting the wolf go? That wasn't an option either. Who knew if it would come back for revenge under cover of night?
With Puck's reminder hanging in the air, the earlier bickering died down.
Rikuto stopped arguing. He picked up the knife and took a deep breath.
He never truly expected Emilia to kill the wolf. He had just been stalling, trying to put it off.
Now, gripping the knife tightly, he stepped forward.
Rikuto (muttering): "If you ignore virtue, you're in the wrong—but when necessary, you need to know how to do wrong."
"You should learn compassion… but you also need to know how to take a life."
"It's a wolf today. But tomorrow, it could be a person. Don't forget this feeling."
The lines he whispered to himself sounded almost overly dramatic—like something out of a storybook.
By the time he finished talking, he stood directly before the wolf.
He raised the knife, eyes serious, as if mentally prepared.
But this wasn't just about killing the wolf. It was about making a mental breakthrough.
Rikuto: "I wonder if wolf meat tastes good…"
He mumbled, trying to distract himself.
With the wolf staring him down, Rikuto took a breath and, this time, thrust the knife forward without hesitation.
One clean strike.
With force. With resolve. With finality.
It pierced flesh like breaking through a taut membrane.
The wolf's wide eyes stared up in death—it had died clearly, and completely.
Still caught up in the moment, Rikuto suddenly felt something soft wrap around the hand gripping his blade.
A familiar, gentle scent washed over him.
Emilia: "Um…"
Her silver hair brushed past his face as her soft voice filled his ear, shy yet resolute.
Emilia: "Next time… let me do it."
Turning to face him, she spoke earnestly.
Rikuto turned back, surprisingly nonchalant.
Rikuto: "Once you do it once, it's not a big deal anymore."
"After the first time, it's whatever. A few more and it'll become routine."
"When we finish the wolf meat…"
"I'll catch some rabbits for you to kill."
He looked at her dead serious.
Emilia: "…"
"…Geez."
Emilia shook her head at him, but her expression softened.
Emilia: "If you're feeling unwell… then how about I handle the butchering this time?"
She looked at Rikuto kindly.
By now, the blood from the wolf's chest wound had seeped down and stained both their hands.
Even in death, the poor wolf was tormented by these clumsy amateurs.
Rikuto: "Alright. But we should do it together to be quick."
"It's almost dark, and I'd rather not be fumbling around with a corpse at night."
Emilia: "Okay."
The silver-haired girl nodded in agreement.
Above them, Puck nodded approvingly, watching the scene unfold.
Puck: "Rikuto's always had a way with words."
The little spirit muttered with a smile as his gray tail swayed behind him.
Then, in the golden light of dusk, he dissolved into glowing motes of light, scattering quietly.
His time for the day was up.