(Before Arjo and Max met…)
Brown eyes stared worryingly on an endless space as Seth thinks back about the mysterious voice that spoke to him recently. The voice helped him figure out someone that would help him save the life of the particular human that he just met. He'd be totally depressed if the boy would die in his father's slavery tricks.
'Is that voice and the wolf-man named Arjo just the same person?' he wonders while tapping his finger boringly on the table. 'And could this Arjo guy be trusted? I've heard that wolves are very territorial and cunning…'
"I'm not Arjo, but you're right with wolves being territorial and cunning…"
Seth almost fell from the wooden chair that he had been sitting on. He was surprised; the voice came back and spoke again!
"You need to calm down, bull-man. I won't harm you in any way. In fact, I'm just an ancient spirit with a mission to guide Max to safety…"
After catching his breath, Seth glared at no one in particular. "Who's Max? And why am I even involved? I'm just a simple living bull!"
He could hear the voice chuckle. "You're fate for a simple life changed when you crossed paths with that peculiar human named Max. You're bound to save him from his demise along with many other people that he will meet."
The human boy… 'So, his name is Max.' How come he never knew his name after all that happened?
"Ignorance is a bliss, isn't it?" The voice chuckles again when Seth tried to glare at nothing. If anyone would be seeing the bull right now, they'd call him crazy. "But kidding aside, Arjo will be coming soon. You must tell him to save Max from your father's slavery business."
Seth still doesn't trust the voice, so he questioned, "And how can I know that this wolf-man can be trusted? I won't let the human be taken away by some sadist or something."
"I like your concern, you're really not the same as Masi."
Masi, his father's name. The fact that this spirit knows his father very well seems a bit amusing.
"But I assure you that Arjo will lead Max to a safe future. He's a happy-go-lucky wolf-man that will take care of his needs and won't treat him like a common slave."
Well, that seems to ease Seth's mind. His level of trust for both Arjo and the spirit had improved a little, but he still needs to be cautious. He came to wonder what's so special with Max aside from being able to understand the language of beastmanity. He asked the spirit about it, "What's so special with Max that I even had to be concerned about him?"
But he got an answer that he didn't expect.
"… He will change Hearth's fate from the upcoming world war."
The bull-man dropped a cold sweat; maybe he shouldn't have asked and learned a scary prophecy.
~~~~~~~~~~
…
…
"That's the very same expression that I had when the bull told me that." Arjo scratches his head while chuckling awkwardly.
If he's talking about eyes being wide and mouth gaping like I've seen a ghost, then I'm quite amused for him having the same expression. But seriously, I'm very surprised that I'm going to be involved in a war. I totally did not expect that! 'Why did you even bring me to this world, you cursed guitar?!'
My nerving thought bubbles popped when I felt a big hand rub against my back. Arjo smiled at me, and I blushed on thinking how handsome he is right now. "Don't worry about it, Max. I'm sure you'll do fine."
"B-But I'm involved in a freaking war, Arjo! I didn't ask for this! All I want is to live norma-!" Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my chest. It's like my heart is being stabbed by several needles; it's unbearable! "F-Fuck, w-what's…"
In a swift movement, I felt my body being lifted by strong muscular arms. I had my eyes closed due to the unbearable pain, but I'm pretty sure it was Arjo who lifted me. As much as I like the moment, it sucked to have this mysterious pain going on in my chest. 'What the heck is going on with me?' Weird things had been happening, but this is something that concerns me deeply. 'A-Am I going t-to die…?'
"Sorry, Max," I hear Arjo's voice full of worry while he ran to somewhere that I could care less right now. "It's the slave contract. I forgot to undo the restrictions that the Slavemaster put on you."
"W-What r-restrictions…?" I muttered as I look at him with teary eyes.
The wolf-man frowns. "You're not supposed to raise your voice on your master. If that happens, you'll be punished automatically."
Okay, this world is seriously fucked up. I think it's better to die than to live here.
"But don't worry. I'll reset the contract once we get to the carriage. Just hang on a little longer, human."
It took a few more minutes for Arjo to make it to the carriage that he's talking about. I don't really know what the carriage actually looked like, but who am I to care when I'm almost on the brink of death? The pain seemed to have lessened, but I still couldn't stand it. He lay me down on a wooden spot while keeping a hold on my hand.
Arjo looked at me with a sympathetic look, then chanted, "I, Arjo the new master of this slave, remove all self-harming punishments and lessen the restrictions that the previous master, Masi the Slavemaster, had placed…"
The pain slowly subsided, my breathing finally normalized. But I was shocked to see some glowing letters float away from my body. They were so many but I couldn't understand them, it's like they're from a different language or something. Then a thought came to my mind, 'Are these runes…?' I'm pretty sure I've seen them in magical animes that I've been watching. But to see such things today puts my situation in a whole different level.
"Hail to the King of Hearth!"
And upon Arjo saying that, two things suddenly happened. Not only one, but two. First, the magical glowing runes were somehow sucked in back to my body. I don't know what that meant but I'm sure it was triggered by Arjo's last line.
The other thing that happened? Well, I suddenly felt something vibrating inside my pocket. And a familiar ringtone broke the silence in the air.
MNOH!
"… What the heck is that sound?" Arjo asked.
After regaining my composure, I pulled out my phone from my pocket. 'Well, I thought I didn't have it with me…' It's really amazing that whatever I had with me before I got teleported in this world was still intact and safe. And I know most people would say that they couldn't live without their phones, though I'm one of them, it's a great thing that I still have it. "It's a phone. Don't you have one?"
"I don't even know what that is. Humans and beastmen are really different creatures who have different needs." He crossed his arms and sighed.
'I thought this world would be like a modern furry world or something…' I chuckled nervously before putting away my phone back in my pocket. It was just a notification from a pet game called Pou, the little brown blob was hungry but I think he'll survive. (A/N: I don't own that game. But Max is bad; always feed your Pou when you get a chance to do so.)
"By the way, are you okay now? Do you feel any pain?" I blushed at his concern but nodded. "Good. I removed most of the harmful restrictions…" He suddenly frowns. And by that, I could tell that there's something wrong. "But I couldn't fully reset our slave contract."
I cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Arjo sits beside me, resting the back of his head on his hands against the carriage wall. With a sigh, he says, "I would dismiss the slave contract so that you can be free."
'Wait, he's been trying to do that?' I can't help but feel a bit giddy. Only a bit though; there's still some problem that I don't know. "And what's the problem with that?"
"If I dismiss your slave contract, the Slavemaster would notice your freedom immediately and try to capture you once again." Arjo gave me a serious look.
…
Okay, I think it's better to stick with this wolf-man than to that old bull-man. I'm pretty sure Seth wouldn't be able to help me anymore if I go back there. 'I'll then accept this situation of mine.' "Well, I wouldn't really want to go back to that creepy place."
"I know that. And now…" I was surprised when Arjo did something unexpected. Like, it was very out of the blue and I'm caught off guard about it.
He pinned me against the wall! And now, I'm sitting helplessly on my seat while the cunning wolf-man had me under his presence. What the heck is he doing?!
"… You will be my cute little slave." He spoke in a deep and growling voice. As much as I like to think that he's hot and handsome, I am seriously freaking out about this! His muzzle began rubbing against my neck, and I shivered at the contact. I could feel him sniff a bit, making me blush furiously like a tomato. "You smell sweet like a flower, my slave…"
"A-Arjo!" I grumbled out of both being annoyed and embarrassed. "W-What are y-you d-doing?!" I want to stop him, but a part of me was thinking otherwise. I've been dreaming of a furry wolf being intimate to me, but is Arjo even the wolf of my dreams right now?!
And just at the moment, I feel much more embarrassed to feel myself starting to feel aroused. Goodness, this is getting out of hand!
…
…
But then bastard quickly pulled away and laughed so freaking loud. "I was just messing with ya! Hahaha-! Yeowch!" Arjo jumps slightly and winced in pain.
I huffed in anger as I pulled his wolf ear as hard as I can. "That serves you well, you big-!" And I did not expect the same pain that I did to him suddenly came back to my ear. "Oww!" I hissed as I tried rubbing my ear for ease. "Why did I get hurt too?"
The wolf-man smirks. "Well, that's one of the things that I didn't tamper. Whatever you do to harm your master, it will always come back to you."
I sneered and glared at him. 'Bastard…' If I just knew that he would be this annoying, I wouldn't have agreed to have him help me in the first place…
… Well, I'm just half-kidding about that. Don't tell that arrogant mutt.
"Aww… Don't be mad, Maxie."
'Maxie? No one ever called me that before.' I ultimately cringed at the nickname. "Don't call me that, idiot. It's very annoying." But if he hadn't annoyed me earlier, I would've accepted it. He's becoming an annoying crush.
And yes, I'm starting to have a crush on this idiot even at my risky situation with him.
Arjo grins. "Then I shall call you Maxie from now on! Wait until you meet my dearest brother, Maxie! You're gonna love him."
'Yeah, yeah… I can't wait to love your brother more than you.' I snorted. I hope his brother isn't an asshole like him. More like, I hope that his brother is much better than him. That's right; if that happens, then I'm getting over with my crush on Arjo sooner than later…
But then I thought back all that happened after I came to this world. It seems like my true adventure has started right at the moment when this dashing wolf-man came to save me. Were we really fated to meet? Is he really someone that I can trust like Seth? Would I survive until I meet the point when I'll be involved in a world war like the spirit mentioned to Seth? The answers to these self-conscious questions are still the enigmas that I need to discover.
And if I find Arjo as someone that I can fully trust, maybe he can help me discover these answers too.