Chapter 9:

Distance, Guilt and Wolf

A Wolf's Kiss

The wind tore at Joash’s face as Neko-chan bounded across the countryside.

He’d stopped fearing a fall some time ago - Foebe’s grip had seen to that. Her arms around him felt firm, grounding, like an anchor keeping him exactly where he belonged. He found himself savoring the sensation, the strange intimacy of having someone hold him so confidently.

It still felt unreal that she was only eighteen. She looked older. Acted older. Or maybe it wasn’t age at all - maybe it was experience. Something in her past, something she hadn’t shared yet.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, or how far they’d travelled, but as the sun dipped lower in the sky, practicality finally nudged its way back into his thoughts.

“How far is our first destination?”

Her voice carried back to him over the whipping wind.

“We’ll stop soon for the night. At this speed, we’ll arrive late tomorrow morning.”

“What’s our first stop?”

“A small village,” she replied easily. “We want to compare city living to country living.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Neko-chan’s paws thundered against the empty dirt road, a winding ribbon through rolling countryside. Joash studied it absently. The road looked ancient - centuries old, maybe - its shape worn into existence by sheer repetition rather than maintenance.

How did they even keep roads like this usable?

Unless…

Tuhi magic.

The thought spiraled. Parchments buried beneath the road, evenly spaced. Spells written to reinforce, smooth, maintain. Roads that repaired themselves. Roads that could be built simply by digging holes and laying enchantments.

But then reality caught up to him. Cost. Time. Skill. Availability. Foebe had made it clear how rare true mastery of tuhi magic was. Projects like that probably existed only on paper - if at all.

He chuckled softly to himself.

There I go again.

He tightened his grip on Neko-chan’s fur and tried to estimate their speed instead. What units did they even use here? Time, clearly - but distance?

“Foebe?”

“Yeah?”

“How do you measure distance here?”

She paused, thinking.

“Over long distances like this? We don’t. Too much work, not enough accuracy, and not much point.”

She smiled faintly.

“We use time instead. For example, from the city to the village we’re going to, it’s two weeks on foot.”

His eyes widened slightly.

They were doing it in less than a day.

“What about short distances?”

“Oh, those we do measure. There are three units, mitarau, mita, and kiromita.”

Mita.

It sounded almost exactly like meter. He suspected the conversion wasn’t an accident.

“How tall are you, then?”

She blinked.

“Uh… I think I was one point six mitas last I checked.”

Close enough to confirm it.

Given that he wasn’t the first otherworlder, it wouldn’t have surprised him if someone long ago had introduced the system.

But his mind was already moving on.

“Foebe?”

“Mmm?”

“Does Neko-chan need to eat?”

“No. Summoned monsters don’t have the same needs as normal ones.”

He frowned slightly.

“How does that work?”

She shrugged.

“Magic, I guess. I don’t really study it.”

He hesitated.

“But… aren’t you the most powerful mage on the continent?”

She laughed softly.

“No. Just the most useful.”

After a beat, she added with a smile,

“And the rarest.”

He nodded, absorbing that.

“And you don’t need to understand how your magic works to use it?”

“Not in detail.”

Her voice softened.

“It’s getting late. Let’s stop here.”

She whistled, and Neko-chan slowed - powerful strides easing into a trot, then a walk, before she finally crouched. The couple slid down from her fur and stretched stiff, aching limbs.

Joash groaned.

“Long-distance travel isn’t good for the body…”

Foebe giggled.

“We won’t be going for long stretches like that too often. Don’t worry.”

He chuckled.

“I wasn’t worried. I’m actually looking forward to travelling the continent with you.”

She laughed.

“You’ll be disappointed then. We’re not really going sightseeing.”

He blinked.

“What? Isn’t that the point of a honeymoon?”

She grinned.

“Well, it was originally. But when Narin said we could kiss peace goodbye, I changed the plan.”

She stepped closer, lowering her voice as if Neko-chan might eavesdrop.

“Now we’ll have lots of things to do… and we can take our time doing them.”

His heart thumped.

“You sneak.”

She laughed.

“What, you think I want to spend the rest of my life enchanting things? No. I was given a husband, and I intend to damn well use him.”

His breath caught - but another feeling rose beneath the warmth.

“Foebe…”

She tilted her head, folding her arms.

“Yeah?”

“I…”

He sighed.

“I feel guilty.”

Her expression softened instantly.

“Oh? Why?”

“Because…” He hesitated, then forced the words out. “I feel like you were forced to marry me. Someone you didn’t know. Someone you barely even got to introduce yourself to before the vows.”

She stepped closer, taking his hand in both of hers.

“Joash-”

But he kept going, the knot in his chest tightening.

“It doesn’t feel fair. Of course I like you… love you, even. I want to treasure you. But I don’t know how you really feel. I don’t want you pretending for the sake of your future. You’re safe now, right? So if you don’t want to stay with me, I’ll be okay if we-”

She didn’t let him finish.

Foebe threw herself into him, nearly knocking him over as she clung to him tightly.

“Stop it. Please, stop it.”

His eyes widened.

“Foebe-”

“Stop.” Her teeth grit together. “Don’t say anymore. You’re hurting me.”

He fell silent immediately.

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

“I do love you. I decided it properly back in the clothes shop. Truly. So don’t say things like that.”

His breath caught as he wrapped his arms around her.

“You… you love me?”

She laughed softly against his chest.