Chapter 136: [Fairy Tale] He Has a Little Gray Wolf (61)

Greed had not stepped out of the room. Ever since seeing the room full of food, it had been unable to tear itself away. It lay sprawled across the pile of snacks, chuckling to itself.

"Ryder, I'm a little hungry..." As soon as Asy finished speaking, her stomach let out a sympathetic growl.

Ryder wiped away his tears and lingered for a moment, rubbing against Asy affectionately before standing up. However, he did not let go of her hand, instead leading her toward the room. He had prepared a mountain of food for her inside. But as soon as they entered, they discovered that the entire room's supply of food had vanished without a trace.

Asy looked at Greed, who was lying on the floor looking completely satisfied. Fearing that Ryder might think she had snuck the food, she immediately blinked her eyes at him with an innocent expression. "Ryder, I'm so hungry." The young girl rubbed her stomach, and the tail behind her flicked back and forth pitifully.

Ryder found it extremely strange. "But..." There had clearly been a room full of food; how could it all be gone? Ryder did not dwell on it, for nothing could hold his attention for long—except for Asy. He wished he could be one with her. He used teleportation to go to the market and bought another pile of supplies.

Asy followed behind Ryder and whispered, "Ryder, why do they all seem so afraid of you?"

Ryder turned back, his expression completely innocent. He looked no different from the soft, gentle Ryder of the past. "No, they aren't." He pouted, looking at Asy with a grievance-filled expression. "Am I that scary?"

Asy shook her head and answered honestly, "But I really think they're afraid of you." If they weren't afraid, why would their bodies be shaking like that? Their faces had even turned completely pale.

Ryder slowly began to smile, revealing a row of bright white teeth. He asked the crowd, "Are you afraid of me?"

"N-no!"
"Absolutely not!"

No sooner had they spoken than their legs gave out, and they collapsed to the ground. Ryder’s expression became even more innocent. "See? I told you they aren't afraid of me. I don't know why they're acting like this."

Asy trusted Ryder implicitly. She nodded in agreement, saying, "They are so strange."

"Yes, truly strange." Ryder curled his lips, his body instinctively pressing against Asy. As he leaned in, the tail behind Asy wrapped itself around him. The smile on Ryder's face widened.

After Asy finished eating at the market, they did not use teleportation on the way back. They walked toward Red Hat Town hand in hand. Upon hearing that Ryder’s stutter had been cured, Asy was overjoyed. She chatted with him the entire way. When they reached Red Hat Town, Asy subconsciously tried to hide behind Ryder, but he stopped her.

"Asy, you don't have to hide anymore. No one will ever be able to hurt you again."

Asy was surprised. Her soft, red lips parted slightly as she said, "Ryder! Did you secretly master some kind of grand magic?" He had suddenly become so assertive. He didn't look like the soft, adorable Ryder from before at all. She found it a little hard to get used to.

Ryder paused for a moment, then gave a gentle smile. First, he reached out, took the wolf tail that had pulled away from him, and wrapped it around his waist; then, he patted Asy on the head.

"That's right. I've mastered a very, very powerful magic. From now on, no one will be able to bully my Asy."

Asy shied away, her cheeks flushing red. She glared at Ryder with a hint of reproach and muttered, "I told you not to touch my tail so casually." She tried to flick it away, but Ryder firmly grabbed it again and wound it around himself. Even the hand he had been holding shifted to firmly wrap around her waist.