Chapter 331 The Wolf in the Hut
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The day after rescuing Fortis, Jott was trudging through the forest with a massive load on his back.
”Huff… huff… The hell am I the one hauling this junk for?”
His destination: the Different Space that Golarf had used as a hideout, now serving as Fortis’s shelter. After being dragged there through a mess of near-death experiences last night, Jott had asked a fair question: if all they were doing was hiding Fortis, did he really need to be carried in himself?
Estesia answered flatly. “What are you even saying? You’re the one who has to come here regularly to drop off supplies. Of course you need to know where it is.”
”Huh?! Why the hell do I gotta do that too?!”
”Originally I was going to handle it. I can sense others’ positions with magic power, so I could come and go without being spotted. But you can track people by scent too, can’t you? When there are multiple people capable of the same thing, it’s only natural that the one with nothing better to do handles it.”
And that’s how Jott ended up here, buried under supplies and playing pack mule.
”Screw it. I’m already in too deep—might as well bite the poison and the plate. No—the tray. Yeah, toss that in too.”1
Truthfully, he wasn’t about to ditch the job—who knew what Estesia would do to him if he did? But he swallowed that thought and kept moving. After another half-hour of dodging people, he finally arrived.
”Huff… Had to take the long way to avoid folks, so it took longer than I figured… But this is the spot, right?”
Last night, everything had been dark. Now, under the midday sun, the same location looked entirely different. The obvious solution would be to leave some kind of marker, but that would be the same as telling anyone who found it that something was hidden here. Instead, Jott relied on the surrounding plant life.
”Two Uraki flowers nestled between exposed Kusugi roots… Yeah, this is definitely the place.”
Confident in his assessment, Jott dropped his load and pulled out a wooden board and a transparent container from inside.
”Okay, so I just fit this into the groove on the back of the board—”
—KA-CLACK!
A few seconds after he slotted the container into the board, the entrance to the Different Space opened before him.
”Whoa. It actually worked.”
Even though he’d done it himself, Jott stared at the device in his hands with genuine curiosity.
One of the two items he’d pulled out was the wooden board inscribed with the Different Space spell—the same kind Neil and Estesia used. The difference was that this one was thicker than the others and had a groove on the back. The transparent container held the magic power needed to activate the spell: Neil’s Crimson. More precisely, the Crimson was contained within crushed Gioniium powder packed inside the container. It was a stockpile Neil had been gradually building up, which Lewya had quietly “borrowed” from storage.
”Right, then.”
Jott hoisted the supplies back onto his shoulder and stepped through the entrance. The moment he entered the Different Space, his face twisted in discomfort. The cause was Tris’s Blue, saturating the air inside. Some of it had leaked out when he opened the entrance, but inside, the crushing pressure was on a completely different level.
”Better get to the hut, and fast.”
He pulled the container from the board, confirmed the entrance had sealed shut, and hurried toward the small cabin, glancing briefly at the massive Gioniium crystal nearby. The moment he stepped inside and closed the door, the oppressive pressure vanished. Jott let out a relieved sigh.
”Huff… Huh?”
He noticed something immediately and turned his gaze toward the door at the far end of the main room. The hut had three rooms: the largest was the dining area where he stood. Two doors faced him at the back—the one straight ahead led to the storage room, the one to its left to the bathroom.
He dropped his load to the floor with a heavy thud and walked straight to the front door.
”Here goes—”
”——!”
Fortis launched herself from his blind spot. Jott leaped backward, dodging her with a casual hop. Her momentum carried her past him, and she crashed face-first into a pile of crates stacked in the corner.
”Oof!”
”Whoa—that looked like it hurt.”
Fortis spun around, clutching her nose, eyes watering as she glared at him.
”Tch… For someone who opened the door without a care in the world, you’re pretty nimble.”
”Idiot. Was payin’ attention. Smelled your sweat.”
”My… sweat?”
”Not the kind you get from the heat. The kind that hits you all at once when you’re nervous—smells sharp and sour. Hard to miss.”
”!”
”Once that stench is in the air, anyone would be on guard. Not that it would’ve mattered if you weren’t wound up like that—I’d’ve been toast.”
Jott pointed at the Magic Tool clamped around Fortis’s neck. Then he turned back to the supplies he’d dumped on the floor, pulled out a set of clothes, and tossed them to her.
”Here. Don’t stand there all day. Put something on. Lycus might be tough, but you can still catch cold.”
”…”
Fortis’s face twisted with displeasure, but she obediently pulled the clothes over her naked body.2
”Not gonna ask why I was naked?”
”You want me to?”
”Not that I want you to, but…”
She clearly didn’t want to talk about it—but she also didn’t want him getting the wrong idea. She made a show of hesitation.
”Relax. I don’t think you’re some exhibitionist or whatever. You washed your clothes and had nothin’ else to wear. Simple as that, right?”
Jott jerked his chin to the right. Hanging there were her wet clothes.
He didn’t ask why she’d washed her only set of clothes. He already knew. The Magic Tool Espera had forced onto her to prevent escape kept her entire body in a state of forced relaxation—which meant she couldn’t control certain… bodily functions. It was subtle—she’d clearly washed everything thoroughly—but he’d caught the faint ammonia smell the moment he stepped in. For her sake, he pretended not to notice and showed her what he’d brought.
”Got three more outfits and five sets of underwear in here.”
”…That’s a lot of clothes.”
”I thought the same thing. But hey, having extras never hurts.”
Estesia had packed the bag. Jott had been annoyed at the sheer volume of spare clothes while hauling it through the forest, but now he understood exactly why she’d packed so many. The irritation faded.
”The next bulk is food. Wasna, dried vegetables, hard-baked bread, and salt.”3
”…”
”What, something wrong? Don’t knock preserved food. I know it doesn’t look like much, but the stuff I’m hauling was grown in the frontier settlement’s fields—I can vouch for the taste. Way better than the austerity rations those priests stuff themselves with.”
”No, that’s not… It’s nothing.”
”Come on, you can’t just leave it hanging like that. Spit it out. No need to hold back.”
”I said it’s nothing!”
Jott flinched back at the sudden force of her refusal. At first, he thought she might be holding back out of politeness, but that reaction made it clear: this wasn’t that she couldn’t say it—it was that she wouldn’t.
”Fine, fine. I dunno what you’re brooding about, but if there’s anything you need, say the word. I’m the one putting you out here, so they told me to hear you out if you’ve got any reasonable requests.”
”Then let me out of this creepily quiet place. Or take off this annoying Magic Tool.”
”Yeeeah… I don’t even have to check to know both of those are gonna be a hard no.”
”Why?”
”Because you’re only behaving yourself ’cause of that thing on your neck. The second it comes off, you’re gonna take a swing at me, right?”
”Then let me out, and I promise I won’t attack you.”
”So you’re telling me you’d just head home quietly after that? If you did, it’d save me a ton of trouble—but I’m guessing that’s not what you’re actually planning.”
”…”
”Thought so. It’s not happening. You’re gonna have to sit tight until the heat dies down.”
”Until when?”
”How should I know? I’m just some guy who got dragged into this. I don’t know the details, and I don’t want to know. Getting mixed up in more crap than I already am is the last thing I need.”
He stood up, his business finished.
”Look, I’m not trying to make things worse for you. Just stay put. You’re a bird in a cage—no, wait. A wolf in a hut.”
”…What’s that even supposed to mean?”
Fortis’s voice dripped with exasperation at his playful remark.
”Exactly what I said. It’s a hut, not a cage. And you’re a wolf, not a bird—right?”
”…Fortis.”
”Huh?”
”That’s my name. I told you mine, so now it’s your turn.”
”Told me… you just decided to tell me. But fine. I’m Jott.”
”Jott… I see. Will you come again?”
”Yeah. I couldn’t haul that much food on top of everything else, so I’ll be back the day after tomorrow.”
”Oh. Well, if you’re done, leave.”
”Yeah, yeah.”
Jott stepped out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him with a sharp bang.
(We finally introduced ourselves—thought that might’ve broken the ice a little. Guess not.)
He was a little disappointed that she wouldn’t open up so easily, but he opened the Different Space’s entrance and returned to the surface world.
”Huh?”
Some time after Jott had returned to the surface, Fortis noticed his scent had suddenly faded—no sound of him leaving through the door. She cautiously opened the door and peered into the main room. No Jott. She stepped out and looked around.
”He’s gone…”
She checked the window to be safe, but saw nothing. All she could do was tilt her head in confusion.
”What a strange guy.”
She murmured to herself, replaying their earlier conversation in her head. The usual sharpness in her voice was gone. If anything, she sounded mildly amused.
Wasna is pemmican—a preserved food made by mixing crumbled dried meat with melted animal fat and forming it into solid blocks.
—
Summary:
After delivering supplies to the Different Space, Jott survived Fortis’s ambush and provided her with clothes, revealing his awareness of her shameful situation without directly addressing it. Their tense exchange softens when he coins the “wolf in a hut” nickname and they finally exchange names, though she remains cagey and refuses to open up. As Jott leaves, Fortis notices his scent vanish without a sound, leaving her puzzled and strangely amused.
—
Trivia:
The Different Space entrance requires a wooden board inscribed with a spell and a container of Crimson magic power to activate.
The entrance opens by fitting the Crimson container into a groove on the board’s back, producing a KA-CLACK sound.
Neil had been stockpiling Crimson gradually, which Lewya borrowed from storage for this operation.
Tris’s Blue magic power saturates the Different Space’s interior, causing an oppressive pressure.
Fortis’s Magic Tool keeps her entire body in forced relaxation, preventing escape but causing loss of bodily control.
The ammonia smell Jott detects indicates the incontinence issue caused by Fortis’s restraints.
Estesia packed an excessive number of clothes because she anticipated Fortis’s need for frequent changes.
Jott identified the hideout location using two Uraki flowers between exposed Kusugi roots as landmarks.
The supplies include wasna (pemmican), dried vegetables, hard-baked bread, and salt from the frontier settlement.
The hut has three rooms: dining area, storage room (where Fortis waits), and bathroom.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Jott – A cynical hunter and member of Harmon’s group, Jott first appears in Chapter 221. He utilizes sharp senses from his Lycus ancestry for reconnaissance and communication, while serving as Iko’s grounded foil. Though cynical, he contributes to combat and defense with decent fighting skills and limited magic abilities.
• Estesia – Also called Sia; a calculating Pordhail tactician who leads rescue planning and wields a flame blade.
• Lewya – A proud knight-like attendant who assists the group and is deeply devoted to Neil.
• Neil – An analytical Empire noble, outworlder, and “Prodigy of Atmiras,” this young man hides his ihomono identity while serving as a translator with unique space magic. Balancing managing a frontier settlement with decoding records of Masayoshi Sudo and Seiji via modern knowledge, he works alongside Lady Niya and Momoka to navigate social divides and uncover the sinister reality of the summoning system.
• Tris – Golarf’s daughter. The one who can’t control her azure origin.
• Espera – A crisp-tongued, brutally honest middle-rank Pentis Inquisitor in black vestments who serves the Theocracy in a frontier town. Though she charges high fees to fund aid and holds individual discretionary power, she is currently hiding a captured Lycus. The object of Forutis’s hatred, she quietly assesses Bearty before departing, and once gave Neil a police notebook and memo pad for translation.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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