Nox slowly woke up.

The first thing he felt was a considerable headache.

"...Shit, I think I have a hangover."

He slowly sat up on his coat.

The cave was strangely quiet.

He blinked several times.

And then he noticed.

"...Audrey?"

Nothing.

"...Claws?"

Nothing either.

Nox turned his head, realizing there was no sign of the hunter, the bear, or even the old alcoholic.

The cave was practically empty.

Well...

Almost empty.

Because one figure was still leaning against a rock.

"Mmph."

Tessa.

The inquisitor was still tied up.

And she still had Nox’s underwear stuffed into her mouth.

"MMPH."

She seemed especially annoyed this morning.

Nox let out a small laugh.

"Good morning, bitch."

"MMPH."

"Great to see you too."

He walked over.

Tessa tried to kick him, which would’ve been much more intimidating if she still had legs.

Nox finally reached her and pulled the underwear out of her mouth.

The inquisitor immediately spat.

"PTOO."

Then she took a deep breath.

"Finally."

Nox stuffed the underwear back into a pocket.

"Do you know where everyone went?"

Tessa smiled.

"They abandoned you."

Nox looked at her.

She kept smiling.

"Probably got tired of you."

Nox slowly pulled the underwear back out.

The smile vanished.

"...Wait."

"What?"

"We can talk like civilized people."

Nox continued bringing the garment closer.

"Alright."

Tessa sighed.

"They went to get food."

Nox put the underwear away again.

"That’s it?"

"And to test their strength."

The inquisitor rolled her eyes.

"I heard the old man say something about stretching their legs."

She fell silent for a few seconds.

Then added:

"...Well."

She glanced downward.

"...Their legs."

Nox burst out laughing.

"Want to come?"

Tessa blinked.

"What?"

"Want to go see what they’re doing?"

The woman stared at him for several seconds.

"Are you screwing with me?"

"No."

"You’re serious?"

"Yep."

Tessa’s eyes widened.

"I’m your hostage."

"Correct."

"And you still want to bring me along?"

Nox shrugged.

"Just because you’re my hostage doesn’t mean I’m going to treat you badly."

The inquisitor froze.

Then looked at the underwear.

And back at him.

"...Right."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Because stuffing that into my mouth doesn’t count as treating me badly."

Nox smiled.

An extremely suspicious smile.

Tessa immediately became concerned.

And for good reason.

"You know what?"

"What?"

Nox leaned toward her.

"I think you figured it out."

The inquisitor blinked.

"What?"

"I do it because it turns me on."

There was a second of silence.

"..."

"..."

Tessa blushed.

Just a little.

Nox exploded into laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The inquisitor’s eyes widened.

"WHAT?!"

"Now that was a joke!"

Nox nearly fell over laughing.

"But it looks like you weren’t joking!"

Tessa turned even redder.

"SHUT UP!"

"You blushed!"

"I DID NOT BLUSH!"

"Yes, you did!"

"NO!"

Nox kept laughing.

Tessa wished she could kick him in the balls.

Which was still rather difficult without legs.

Eventually, Nox managed to catch his breath.

He pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

Opened it.

And held it out toward her.

"Breakfast?"

Tessa looked at the bottle.

"No, thank you."

"You sure?"

"Completely."

Nox smiled.

"Good."

He took a long drink.

"More for me."

◇◆◇

A few minutes later.

Nox left the cave with Tessa carried on his back.

He was carrying her like a backpack.

Holding her by the arms.

While she continued muttering insults under her breath.

The cold air hit his face.

And he immediately heard voices.

Along with something else.

A growl.

Nox looked up.

And found the others.

Audrey was sitting on a thick tree branch.

Watching something.

Claws stood below her.

And beside him was a massive bag filled with fresh meat.

Forest animals.

Rabbits.

Birds.

And several creatures Nox didn’t even recognize.

But the truly interesting thing was standing in front of them.

The old man.

Standing with his hands behind his back.

Facing a gigantic wolf.

The beast stood nearly two meters tall.

It had enormous fangs.

And muscles that looked like carved stone.

Tessa looked surprised.

"...He’s insane."

Nox smiled.

"Then he wasn’t lying."

"What?"

"When he said he was strong."

The inquisitor looked at the old man.

Then at the monster.

"That wolf is going to kill him."

Nox pointed upward.

Audrey already had an arrow ready.

Dark energy slowly flowed around its tip.

"Don’t worry."

Tessa frowned.

"Hm?"

"Audrey’s covering him."

The wolf roared.

And lunged forward.

The old man didn’t even move.

Tessa’s eyes widened.

"That stupid old man is going to die!"

Then...

BOOOOM.

The ground shook.

Everyone felt the vibration.

But neither combatant seemed to have moved.

Everything fell silent.

And a second later...

THUD.

The gigantic wolf collapsed unconscious onto the snow.

Nox blinked.

"...Huh?"

The old man was still standing exactly where he had been.

In the exact same posture.

Hands behind his back.

As though nothing had happened.

Audrey was the first to react.

"He kicked it!"

Nox looked up.

"What?"

"He kicked it!"

The hunter sounded impressed.

"It was incredible!"

Nox looked at the old man.

Then at the wolf.

"How the hell did you even see that?"

Audrey pointed at her own eyes.

"Because I did."

"Great explanation."

"Thank you."

Nox grabbed his head.

Because he hadn’t seen a thing.

Not a movement.

Not a blur.

Not a kick.

Nothing.

Simply...

The wolf had collapsed.

Tessa remained completely still on his back.

Without saying a single word.

Which was extremely unusual.

Nox slightly turned his head.

"Tessa?"

The inquisitor was still staring at the old man with an expression of absolute bewilderment.

"...That doesn’t make any sense."

Nox smiled.

"What doesn’t?"

Tessa swallowed.

"He’s not supposed to have a title anymore."

The old man began casually walking toward them.

As though he had just shooed away a fly.