I forgot to be courteous!
I bow my back while waving my hands. "I'm sorry, father! It was rude, I admit! I'll do anything you want in exchange as long as it won't go beyond my limitations."
He pulled off the spellbook and his face turned bright for a split second. "Anything? Well, I have one thing in mind~"
A few hours later, in accordance with his request, Elibur tentatively dismissed Haiban on the condition of my vigilance. The next scene made me a guardian of a greedy wolf. We've almost tasted every food in the city, seen every spot good for sightseeing, and watch the sunset in the park where werewolf families or kids are playing around. Haiban was as excited as Hessuel the first time he rode an airship.
["Plandreas has grown too big~"] he said. ["I hope it's going to be a lovely home for werewolves."]
I cut a piece from the whole ham and fed it to him. "You're so carefree like your son. Powerful but mischievous."
["And you're stuffy."]
"Because this feels like babysitting," I deliberately complained.
["You will anyway."] He glances at my womb. ["So, how was he? How will you rate his skills in putting the birds and the bees together?"]
My eyes widened at him. "Is that some kind of topic we can discuss casually?"
["You would not think about that when curiosity hits~ It's just exciting to watch your kid grow, watch them fall in love, get married, and give you grandkids. You'll know the priceless feeling when you get there... because I never did. Or I've come late. I was excited to meet him once I breathe the life here on earth once again but my expectation was unrelated to the present."]
"... He's grown up to be a great man. He lived a life below the belt. Kind and thoughtful to the people that might be affected by his own choices. Above all, his love is the special thing I cannot leave in the past. Just like you, I want to grant him the chance to see his kids grow, especially this..." I touch my womb. "I've only asked for one, but the heavens gave me two."
His tail waggles, speechlessly staring at me. ["... Aaand they are...?"]
"Both males."
["Then you definitely need an extra guardian. Male pups have extraordinary energy. Hessuel was the same."]
He earned a laugh from me, so I fed him another piece of ham. Cormelio suffered from that energy. "He is loved. Don't feel bad now, father."
["Hmm, I could've been a better father to him. What is it that you like about him? After all, you're raising your valor for him."]
"One of the things I like about him... He's a corny joker."
["Like what?"]
I clap my hands once. "About teleporting mosquitos. Anyhow, he can make me laugh."
["He could have learned from me~ To make a woman laugh is to make them fall for that man."]
"Like what?"
["Hmm, what do you call a mosquito inside the mosquito net?"]
"What?"
["Magic."] And he laughs out loud. I was affected by that laugh, not because of the cringing joke but because this was my first time seeing a laughing dog—squeezing eyes, wide smile, and running out of breath. ["Another one. Why don't mosquitoes walk?"]
"Because they fly?"
["No. Because they don't have mosquiTOES."] And he laughs hard again.
"Okay. Okay. Enough with mosquitos!" I feed him a huge piece of ham to fill that mouth 'tho he speaks with enchast in that wolf form. This family is killing me in cringe.
["To make it clear, you've cultivated your determination to save him this time to hear his jokes again? part of it?"]
"Well... It's my fault why he's stuck in that form. I made him make wrong decisions before his death. After I've learned that he fornicated with other she-wolves, the blame bounces back to me. And now, I'm not the only one who knows how he tastes anymore, that's an incredible insult as his mate."
["The ham..."]
I became a brute butcher of ham without my conscience about it for a moment. "Ah-ha-ha! I love him, that's why. It's the consequence I expected and my later action to create a spell that will bring his intelligence back is my original plan, I only lost the will until hands were reached out for me. So, I want my hands to reach Hessuel for this chance."
["And how do you plan to achieve that?"]
"We should work together. This is your opportunity to turn your back on the lack you feel as his father," I convince him by shooting the center of his emotion.
["Then let us discuss the plan at your house, my child."]
He marked a smile on my lips. I took him to my house and to my surprise, a disaster awaited me; dog pellets are scattered on the rug, my lampshade is lying dead on the floor, the smell of pee is swirling in the air, and torn pieces of tissues had different flights! I wipe my oily forehead. None of my naughty dogs greet me!
"Whoa. I never thought you have Diogenes syndrome," Haiban said when he squints from behind me—back to his intelligence.
"No, it's not me who has it." I stride to the living room and call all my dogs. "FALL IN LINE, CHILDREN!" Whether they don't like it or do not really like it, they form a line according to their names. I show them the broken bulb of the lampshade and interrogate them one by one. But all of them are silently lying about the crime. This is a problem if I let my dogs free. "Who broke this? Hm? If no one answers, don't expect a provender for the next three days!"
They press their paws on my husky dog. "Did you do this? Did you?" Now he's avoiding my glance—feeling betrayed over the food. I asked him again but he howls on a high pitch every time I speak to defeat me on this argument! Eventually, I pull my laugh at them. The dogs' reactions are my definition of fun too. A ring enchast appeared on my index and I draw a circle on the transparent screen of the pendulum's clock.
The time of my neat house came back.
"That's a smart, lazy way to clean up a house," he praises. My tiny dog, One, barks and attacks him! Then the rest of my dogs follow. Haiban runs into the kitchen and stays on top of the kitchen island. I wanted to laugh for it reminded me of Hessuel and One's first meeting too. To pacify the dogs, I cast them outside the house with no food—as their punishment.
In the kitchen, Haiban's golden spellbook is floating in front of us as I study the spell he made that brought back his life.
He informs, "The outcome you foresee is different from the outcome I made. If you need to restore my son's intelligence, then you need a dead offering. However, his wolf is alive. And that makes him half dead."
"Is it fixed? I've been in your world. I know you can give life. You create them."
"Yes, I give life to the non-existent in the first place. Creation is my specialty."
"Exactly!"
"Then you want me to create another Hessuel?"
"... No."
"Exactly~ I cannot give life to creations I never made. Unless I make a copy."
"Then... Does this mean this spell isn't yours?"
He snaps. "Correct. It came from a friend of mine. She's an Eldar too. That is her specialty: to take life away and back. I wonder how she is doing now~ I bet her old age has been killing her many times since I last met her. Hahaha!"
"We should meet her. What is her name?"
"Keep this in mind. Call her Captain Afvshaganifs. If you mention it incorrectly in front of her, you'll die."
What the...
We've traveled a mile away from home with an airship and with our feet in the ocean. I hold on tight to his furs and during every step he makes on the water, an enchast appears where he could step on.
"Captain Avvershaganifs is in the middle of the sea?"
["Captain Afvshaganifs! You're a dead preggy fish."]
"I can trick my tongue later," I bragged.
["Take a wild guess~"]
"There's an island in his whereabouts? Is she a seaman? A crew?"
["None of the above. She's the queen of pirates!"]
"I got it. But I didn't want to verify."
["Have you tried creating your very own spell?"]
"Not just once. I am the reason why the Moon Goddess can walk in our land," I bragged again to impress him.
["The Moon...? How?"]
"I found an incomplete spell about offering a vessel to bodiless living. And I made it complete."
["Who started?"]
"It's a mystery— Wait... You knew?"
["The only person I knew who made that spell is the Captain we're about to meet. She was killed while creating the spell, but unfortunately for the murderer, Afvshaganifs cast a spell upon herself prior to the incident which brought her life back and stole the life of the suspect. She didn't continue the spell because the scroll was stolen. So, if you made that spell, then it means you can perform Captain Afvshaganifs' spell too. You're an Eldar!"]
I failed to flip my hair since I tied it—my natural reaction when flattered. "It means we're going to be friends at first sight."
["Too bad, he's not that kind of pirate. Play his game of death to hook his interest. That was how we started."]
Why is this pirate so demanding? The complexity of being high maintenance! A memory presents itself to me: pirates in Matheo's bar. I believe this will not be the first time we'll meet. ["We're here,"] Haiban alarms. The mist is blinding our way. It's not an island waiting ahead, but a giant pirate ship with an entrance on its bottom hull. The glowing green light from the inside makes the ship creepy. Without swerving, we came in uninvited.