I could still see the fear in her eyes as she looked around as if searching for this wolf.
Was it okay to show her now…? As for Leo she was still being consoled by Mr. Ekenhart, but was looking in our direction.
She made sure that her back was still turned to us, but… She must have been very shocked that a child thought that she was going to eat them.
It would be one thing if it was an adult, but Leo had always been popular with children…
“Is the wolf…gone now?”
“No, uh… That wolf won’t eat you or hurt you or anything.”
“…But it’s so big…”
“Even if it’s big, it wont. She may be big and have scary eyes, but she is actually very gentle.”
“…Really?”
As I squatted next to her, I met her eyes and explained in hopes of making her feel safe.
Though, I think Leo heard the part about her having scary eyes, as she had flinched… I’ll have to apologize to her later.
…Still, wolves were pretty scary when seen up close…
Not that I thought Leo was scary in the least… But this was no time to be thinking about that.
“Yes. She really is a kind wolf. She will not eat or attack anyone. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have let her in the town, would they? The guards would have captured her.”
“…They would? I don’t know…”
“Well, I suppose. But if you trust me, then try looking behind you. Don’t worry. There is nothing to be afraid of, remember?”
“Yes…okay…”
I didn’t know if she would still be scared after seeing a sad-looking Leo, but we couldn’t do anything until she got over it.
We could not leave without her seeing Leo, and it would be dangerous to send Leo away.
Perhaps she wouldn’t trust someone she had just met, but thanks to my repeated reassurances, she seemed to believe in me.
And so she nodded and hesitantly turned around.
“…Uh… Good wolf?”
“Kyunnn…”
“…! See? It’s fine. This is a gentle wolf that would never attack you.”
“Yes. I think so. …I’m sorry, good wolf.”
“Kyuun. Kyuun.”
While the girl tensed momentarily after seeing how big Leo was, she was brave enough to speak to her.
In answer, Leo let out a pitiful moan.
It was like she was desperate to not be scary…
But as I was thinking about such things, I turned to look at the girl… And there was something on her backside that should not have been on a human.
Still, I coughed so that my surprise would not show, and then I called to her gently.
She then apologized to Leo for being scared.
Leo told her that it was fine, and then she turned to her slowly and pushed her nose close to the girl.
Leo still sounded rather pitiful… Besides, she looked rather amusing, as she had remained in a sitting pose while turning just her head to look around.