Gio had to spend quite some time insisting that he was human.
“Do I still look like a ghost to you? I do not smell like a corpse, my heart is beating, and though you cannot see it now, I would bleed if stabbed. Do I truly not look human?”
“Not really.”
“How resolute.”
The wolf still did not believe him to the end.
“…Very well. If it is truly that difficult to believe.”
Gio was a responsible adult who acknowledged every kind of diversity in the world. Judging by the reaction, the human race had apparently gone extinct quite some time ago. If so, he could understand the wolf’s response to an extent.
In exchange, he asked for an explanation.
“I would like to know what happened before this place was destroyed. Can you explain? If you keep me company, I will ensure you receive a fitting reward. I ask just in case: do you enjoy food?”
“The reward you’re offering… is food?”
“I know this Black Forest, once called the Avilas Rainforest, quite well. A few things seem to have changed since I last saw it, but food would be a great help here, would it not? What do you say?”
“How sincere my explanation is might depend a little on what you’ll give me….”
“I thought you were young, but you already know how to look after your own interests. How admirable.”
Argio grasped the wolf’s enormous head with both hands and scratched it vigorously. When Gio first grabbed its face, the wolf had flinched and gone rigid. But as it marveled at Gio’s dazzling technique, it soon grew docile.
“Oh, there. That’s the spot. Ah, that feels good.”
“This is the skill of human hands, wolf.”
“How do you find the itchy places so…