Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

“You're here?”

In the early morning, inside the guard post, several guards stepped aside to allow the laundress to enter.

Poro twitched its nose. The air carried a scent of sweat and rusty iron. The laundress, along with Lake and Poro, arrived at a room deep within the guard post that resembled a storage room.

Inside were various items, including bows, blades, armor, and several tattered straw dummies used for practice.

“These are what need to be washed today.”

A stout guard officer pointed to a large pile of armor and weapons in the room.

Then, he looked at Lake and Poro, who were following behind the laundress, and finally asked in confusion,

“By the way, why did you bring a... little girl today?”

“Recently, I've been getting a little tired washing everything by myself, and this little girl volunteered to help, so I brought her along.”

The laundress explained.

The guard officer looked at Lake, who was wearing a bright red cloak, and suddenly frowned:

“I don't think I've seen this little girl before. Could she be…”

“Uncle, I asked the auntie to bring me here. If it's not convenient, I can leave.”

Lake naturally took off her hood, revealing her face, and looked at the guard with her pure blue eyes.

“Uh, little sister, that's not what I meant…”

The stout guard's face instantly turned red. The guilt of bullying a little girl welled up from the bottom of his heart.

“It's just my duty... An angel like you is welcome anywhere.”

As he spoke, the guard stared blankly at Lake again before leaving the room.

Afterward, the laundress began teaching Lake how to clean the armor and equipment.

She thought that the delicate hands of this seemingly doll-like girl would not be able to withstand such work, but to her surprise, Lake quickly learned and began to scrub.

“What an obedient child. If only I could have a child like this…”

The laundress praised her repeatedly and allowed Lake to work on her own.

“Hey, Little Red Riding Hood!”

At this moment, Poro quietly approached, lowered its voice, and whispered,

“This fairytale power is too terrifying on you—are you a succubus?”

“Succubus? What's that?”

Lake blinked curiously.

“A demon that seduces men with its beautiful appearance.”

Poro said bluntly.

“You big bad wolf, you're talking nonsense again!”

Hearing this, Lake's eyebrows shot up. She grabbed the fur on the back of Poro's neck and pinned it to the ground.

Just as the two were playing around, the warehouse door opened.

The stout officer walked in again, looking somewhat respectful. Behind him was a tall guard.

Poro immediately recognized that the guard was the guard captain he had met at the town gate yesterday, who had called him a “good dog”!

As soon as the guard captain entered the room, he saw Lake wearing the bright red hood, and Poro beside her.

“Hmm? What's going on?”

The guard captain was taken aback.

“Oh, it's like this, Commander.”

The stout officer wiped the sweat from his forehead and said haltingly, looking at Poro,

“This girl is new here to help clean the equipment, and this dog is…”

“With the girl, right?”

The guard captain, who was actually the guard commander, interjected.

“How did you know, sir?”

“It's okay, I saw them yesterday.”

The guard commander waved his hand and called out to Poro:

“Poro, roll over!”

“?”

I've already activated my fairytale power, and you still want me to act like a dog?

It's one thing for Lake to order me around; I forgive her because she's pretty. But who do you think you are?

Fine, you just wait!

The big picture is more important. Just you wait, little guard; you'll get what's coming to you!

Then Poro smoothly and flawlessly rolled over on the ground.

“Haha, good dog, good dog—I think the guard post should keep a dog like this in the future!”

The guard commander laughed, then began to take off his… slightly more refined armor than the other guards, and placed it to the side.

Afterward, he took a cleaner set from the warehouse wall and put it on.

“Commander, are you going to…”

“Going on patrol. All those kids want to go watch the execution—what's the point of having so many people?

It's just some kid who slandered the bishop; who's going to try to break him out of the execution ground?”

The guard commander scoffed and said,

“Hmph, those kids just need to be trained more!

It forces me, the commander, to take extra looks at the town gate!”

As he spoke, the guard commander stretched his arms, put his sword back in its scabbard, and walked out of the warehouse with the officer.

“That soldier captain we met yesterday seems to have a pretty high status?”

Lake blinked and quietly said to Poro.

A light flashed in Poro's eyes, finally solidifying into a smile.

“Yeah, that makes things a lot easier, and the success rate will be much higher!”

“Poro, what do you mean…”

Lake was stunned. After hearing Poro's plan from last night, she immediately understood some things.

She followed Poro's gaze to the armor that the guard commander had taken off. That armor was completely different from the other ordinary guards' armor.

Whether in style or refinement, it far surpassed its counterparts!

Looking at all the equipment in the warehouse, the guard commander should be the highest-ranking person in this guard post.

“Yeah, I didn't know whose armor it was originally, and I didn't know where these guards would be today.”

Poro looked at the armor and licked its lips.

“Now, I know everything!”

Hmph, you made me, the dignified Wolf King, roll over, huh?

Hey, your retribution is coming, buddy!

…

The execution ground was located near the center of the town.

The guards were fully armed, keeping the townspeople out.

On the tall wooden scaffold, the executing guards and a white-robed priest holding a sacred book were already in their respective positions.

The necks of the townspeople were stretched very long, like many ducks being lifted up by an invisible hand.

Finally, with a shout from the guards, a ragged, emaciated teenager was brought onto the scaffold.

He was covered in wounds, almost as if he had been dragged there.

As soon as he appeared, he was met with countless curses from the townspeople—

“You morally corrupt villain!”

“Heretic who defies God, go to hell!”

“How dare you slander the bishop, the representative of God, and defame the witch hunter who single-handedly eliminated the vicious witch! You deserve to die ten thousand times over!”

“This kid must be a demon incarnate—he must be hanged!”

“Hang him!”

“Hang him!”

“…”

Hearing these voices, the already weak body of the gaunt teenager became even more unsteady.

His eyes were bloodshot, like a furious beast, and his cracked lips opened and closed, desperately trying to shout something at the crowd!

But when he opened his mouth, it was clear that it was empty—

His tongue had been cut off!

“Although you are already unpardonable, God's love is unconditional. You can receive comfort for your soul through repentance and confession. Perhaps this will reduce the time you spend being punished in hell.”

The white-robed priest said, leaning down and placing a piece of paper in front of the teenager.

The paper had a few words written on it—Confession.

Upon seeing these words, the teenager's eyes widened even further, and he reached out and tore the white paper to shreds!

Seeing this scene, the townspeople below the stage became even more agitated!

The white-robed priest indifferently watched the teenager tear up the paper, without stopping him or saying anything, only sighing with compassion before turning and leaving.

Then, two guards stepped forward.

They re-tied the teenager, pressing his head forward into the circular noose!

“Execution—begin!”