Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

A slender noose, looped around his neck, the ring rolling as the rope gradually tightened…

The malicious jeers in the boy's ear began to fade, and the soon-to-be-hanged boy felt everything before him twisting and sinking into pain.

But just then, a person in guard armor walked onto the execution platform.

“Halt the execution temporarily, release him first.”

His voice brooked no argument, and every guard in the town was extremely familiar with it.

The special armor, and the weathered face beneath the helmet—everything proclaimed his identity!

The only guard commander in the town!

“Commander, this is…”

The executing guard paused, but quickly loosened the noose.

The boy, on the verge of strangulation, collapsed, gasping for breath.

The “guard commander” merely glanced at the boy before continuing:

“Today’s execution is postponed.”

“Commander, this is somewhat against regulations…”

The “guard commander” listened, then looked at the murmuring townspeople below the execution platform, and after a moment's thought, spoke:

“This is the order of the Bishop, the situation is urgent. This defamer may be connected to a witch and must be interrogated quickly for important information, so the Bishop can better protect this town!”

Before the execution platform, the white-robed priest looked somewhat puzzled.

Before coming, the Bishop had given him no hints, but the Bishop's actions were always inscrutable, so he said nothing.

“Do not question the Bishop's decision, time is of the essence!”

The “guard commander” did not explain further. He walked straight forward, took the ropes binding the boy from the two escorting guards,

and walked down the execution platform.

“Sir, what about us…”

Several guards paused, and asked.

“Didn’t you ask me for permission to watch the execution? Keep watching, don’t follow me!”

The guard commander did not turn back, but his voice made the guards tremble—

No one questioned his identity, whether it was his appearance, voice, or even his knowledge of what the guards had done earlier. Everyone knew the guard commander was absolutely loyal to the Bishop!

The townspeople below the platform also made way.

They all recognized this “guard commander” and held the “Bishop” in almost worshipful respect, so none of them raised any objections or questions.

Not even a shred of verification or doubt.

The “guard commander” led the sickly boy, one tall and one short, into a secluded alley, disappearing from sight.

The “guard commander” said nothing, and the boy, lacking a tongue, could not speak.

The “guard commander” led the boy, twisting and turning, taking several detours, and looking around to make sure no one was watching.

Only then did he stop and begin to scrutinize the boy.

Beneath the boy's tattered clothes, his emaciated body was covered in many hideous scars.

His legs trembled, the distance of these few streets having already left him weak-kneed.

“Do you need to rest?”

The guard commander suddenly asked.

But although the boy was pale, his eyes still glared at the guard commander.

“Do you think I'm an accomplice of the Bishop, that I certainly won't save you, and am taking you to be tortured?”

The boy did not speak, but his red eyes gave the answer.

“Sigh, you're not wrong to think that, the guard commander certainly wouldn't save you—but what does that have to do with me? I'm not the guard commander!”

As he spoke, the face beneath the guard commander's helmet suddenly began to distort, turning into a wolf's face, before quickly twisting back again.

“Understand a little now? I know you still have some questions, but we'll talk about them later!”

Poro waved his hand.

【Little Red Riding Hood·Wolf's Disguise】is ultimately just a “disguise,” not allowing him to completely transform into a human.

So, although Poro is now wearing clothes, and looks exactly like a human in terms of appearance and body structure—Poro himself feels strange.

He still feels that his body is that of a wolf, completely different from his previous human body!

The boy, having narrowly escaped death, widened his eyes in astonishment upon hearing this.

But then his expression softened considerably.

He quietly found a place to sit down and began to rest.

After all, he understood that with his current exhausted state, the chances of successfully hiding in this “everyone is the enemy” town were almost nil.

“However, saving you this time is indeed to ask some questions, about… what you said about the Bishop and the witch hunter slaughtering young girls.”

…

Night fell, and in the darkness, countless figures flickered past in the light of torches.

They stopped before a charred courtyard on the outskirts of town.

“Little girl, have you seen any suspicious people near the courtyard?”

“Hello, uncles and aunties, I haven't seen any—only Poro and I are temporarily living in the house now.”

“Well, a bad person escaped during the day, little girl, you must be careful living here alone, remember to close the doors and windows at night…”

“I know! Thank you for the reminder, auntie!”

“The bad person hasn't been caught yet, she will definitely harm innocent and lovely children like you, why don't you… stay at my house for a few days?”

“No need, thank you for your kindness, uncle, Poro is very strong, he can protect me!”

The leading townsman looked at the extraordinary “dog” beside the golden-haired girl by the torchlight and nodded.

“Indeed a good dog…”

“Since the criminal isn't here, let's go look elsewhere, save time!”

“Okay!”

Then, the villagers, holding sticks, pitchforks, and torches, marched off into the distance.

“Lake, you're getting more skilled with your abilities, even without that authority, I think I'd be fooled!”

“What? I'm just acting naturally, okay?”

“Was that how you fooled them with the ‘Commander’s’ armor too?”

“Yes, how could a cute and innocent beautiful girl like me lie? They all just believe the armor has always been in the warehouse.”

“What about the guard commander himself?”

“He was captured by his former subordinates and sent to the church.”

Lake recalled, then continued,

“I heard that even dozens of guards together couldn't catch him, and he only surrendered himself after hearing the ‘Bishop’s’ orders.”

Lake and Poro walked behind the house, where the “boy” rescued from the execution ground was hiding in the shadows.

If things were exposed, it would be easier to run away.

But now, there was clearly no need to be so anxious.

“Hey, about the Bishop and that witch hunter, do you know anything… have you thought about it now?”

Poro asked, Little Red Riding Hood had also put on a hood to conceal her appearance, in order to not affect the “defamer’s” thoughts.

The boy was silent for a while, finally nodding slightly.

He could not speak, but just waved his hand, signaling the wolf and the person to follow.

Behind this charred house, there was a similarly burned-out dead tree, and under the tree, there were three low graves.

The boy picked up a willow branch from the ground, walked forward, and inserted it into one of the graves.

After that, he walked around the grave and went to the dead tree.

Then he knelt on the ground and began to frantically dig at the cracked soil with his emaciated hands!