Starting with the sentries on the frontier

Chapter 31 A Perfect Match of Cats and Dogs

"Well, I can still... uh, I can still fight! Seriously, although I don't have the magic of a normal werewolf, my claws are still very sharp, and that fairy next to you definitely can't beat me! Really!"

Snowball immediately flew into a rage: "Bullshit! You, a disgrace to werewolves, dare to compare yourself to the great Snowball?! You're dreaming! Zag! Take it down!"

Zag suppressed a laugh and coaxed, "Actually, if he could really shrink to the size of a dog, he could stay and guard the house, and you'd gain a new werewolf servant, right, Snowball?"

Snowball's eyes lit up. He thought Zag's suggestion was a good idea, so he put his hands on his hips and said mischievously, "Heh heh heh! That's easy! We can ask the Mother Goddess! The Mother Goddess is the goddess who governs all spirituality and magic. If she helps, not only can we turn this guy into a dog, but we can also cover up his werewolf stench!"

The werewolf was thrilled upon hearing this: "Then why not just turn me into a human? I promise I will become the most loyal servant of the great Snowball Lord! Just turn me into a human! I promise!"

Snowball rolled her eyes: "You said it yourself, the werewolf bloodline is Dirik's curse! Do you understand what a curse is? Your soul has long since become a werewolf! Becoming a dog might not make much difference; it can be concealed. At least no one will bother to study a dog's soul to see if it's a dog or a werewolf. But if you become a human, your soul and appearance are so mismatched. If there's any device that detects magic, you'll be exposed immediately, okay?!"

The werewolf conceded: "Fine, fine, fine, I'll turn into a dog, at least... you'll feed me, right?"

“I guess you don’t need to eat meat at every meal, so maybe I can afford to feed you,” Zag replied. “If you’re both willing, I have no objection, but Snowball, I don’t want to pray to your mother goddess. You know, my identity is too sensitive. You can’t guarantee that your mother goddess won’t kill me because my identity is suspicious—I don’t want to take that risk.”

"The Mother Goddess would never do such a thing!"

Snowball couldn't help but retort.

However, it respected Zag's concerns and added, "But I can ask the Mother Goddess directly for such a small matter. As long as... well, as long as a tiny bit of Munong root, I can pray to the Mother Goddess!"

Zhage asked, "Mu Nong? What's that?"

The werewolf's knowledge was clearly quite good, as he answered, "It's an alchemical material, found everywhere near graveyards. But I've heard that on Quen Island, the Quen people like to eat it as a daily food... Hmm, I guess alchemical potion shops should sell it?"

Hearing that these things were everywhere near the cemetery, Zag decided to play the role of Scrooge: "I'm just a sentry, I don't have any spare money to buy these things for you, can't you go and collect some from near the cemetery?"

The werewolf was horrified: "That's a graveyard! Who knows if there are ghosts haunting it! Even if I'm a prisoner, you can't treat me like this!?"

Zag asked curiously, "Werewolves are afraid of ghosts?"

Snowball scoffed: "Hmph! Stupid dog! Coward! A disgrace to werewolves!"

The werewolf looked aggrieved: "Why can't werewolves be afraid of ghosts?!"

As they were talking, the vines on the ground suddenly began to move. Before long, one of the thickest vines stretched out, wrapped around a large clump of mud mixed with various weeds, and then threw the clump of mud between the three people—no, it should be one person, one fairy, and one werewolf.

Snowball dutifully acted as a messenger: "The tree spirits said that there's a deserted grave not far from here, so they dug up some Twilight Farming materials for us."

"Thank you, tree spirits."

Zag was genuinely grateful.

Surprisingly, these magical creatures, though they can't speak, are all quite kind-hearted.

"Heh heh heh, now that Mu Nong has it, I can start praying to the Mother Goddess!"

Snowball excitedly pulled a twig out of the mud and stared at the werewolf, eager to try it out.

Zha Ge nodded: "Alright, I'll avoid you. You all hurry, I'll be waiting for you not far away."

"Go ahead, go ahead! This is such a small thing, I don't need your help!"

After being chased away by the snowball, Zag found a spot that wasn't too far, but not too close either, and kept an eye on them.

He didn't completely trust the werewolf's words, but with the tree spirits around, Snowball should be safe.

Moreover, if this werewolf could really be turned into a dog, wouldn't I have achieved the life goal of having both a cat and a dog in this other world?

These aren't even ordinary cats or dogs!

Thinking about it this way, being transported to such a backward time and space and such a remote place isn't so bad after all.

The ceremony didn't last long; Zag only waited for less than ten minutes before Snowball arrived with a rather large, wolfhound-like, gray-white-furred "dog."

Before even getting close, Snowball boasted, "To avoid making him look too much like a wolf, Mother Goddess specially dyed his fur white. That way, he won't be easily mistaken for a wolf, let alone a werewolf! That was my idea! What do you think? Isn't it a brilliant idea!"

Zha Ge nodded, trying to use a less perfunctory tone to appease Snowball: "Hmm, as expected of the great Snowball."

The werewolf, seemingly still immersed in the ritual, said, "Seriously, this is amazing! Um, your mother goddess, Agora, has she ever considered taking another race as her subjects, like werewolves?"

It seems that turning into a dog doesn't affect the werewolf's ability to speak.

Snowball scoffed, "Give me a break! Mother Goddess would never like stinky, stupid magical creatures like you!"

The werewolf ignored Snowball's taunts and instead asked, his eyes gleaming green, "Oh, by the way, Sentinel, now that I'm your dog, you should be feeding me, right? I haven't eaten for five days! I think I could eat a whole cow!"

"There are no cows, but potatoes are plentiful. I can't even afford meat myself!" Zag said. "If you really want meat, you can go catch fish in the Fairy River!"

The werewolf wasn't picky: "Roasted potatoes are fine too. I haven't had cooked food in ages. By Agorah, I've been craving soup for ages!"

"By the way, what's your name?"

Zag finally remembered to ask the name of this werewolf disgrace.

The werewolf paused for a moment: "Name... to be honest, I hate my name, 'Helford.' It's been marked by Dirk. Every time I hear my name, I feel like that guy is calling me. Maybe I should change my name. It feels safer that way."

"That's easy. I named Snowball, so I'll give you another name." Zhage forced a straight face and said, "'Coal Ball,' how about that?"

Before Helford could say anything, Snowball looked displeased: "Wait, why is the last syllable the same as the last syllable of my name?!"

"Well, the syllable 'ball' is a fairly common name pronunciation in my hometown language. The key word is 'coal,' which refers to a mineral... well, it also means 'servant of the great snowball.'"

Zhag, as was his habit, started spouting nonsense, but this time he clearly didn't fool Snowball, who angrily shouted, "Bullshit! How could two syllables have such a long meaning!"

Seeing that Snowball's airplane ears were bulging with anger, Zag had no choice but to change his tune: "Okay, okay, it doesn't really mean that precisely, but, well, it does have the meaning of 'loyalty,' which is equivalent to the greatest Snowball's most loyal servant, right?"

Snowball wrinkled his nose: "Really?"

Zag insisted confidently, "Really! I never lie to Hakimi!"

What exactly does "Hakimi" mean?

"In my hometown dialect, it means a fairy like you."

In a few words, the name Helford was decided. Under Snowball's tyranny, Helford himself had no right to express his opinion.

However, he didn't care about it at all.

"It's okay, I can also call myself 'the servant of the great snowball,' as long as meals are provided!"

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[Dawn Encyclopedia of Magic]: Murnon is a plant that grows only around graveyards and is a common alchemy material. Its flowers can be used to make dyes, its roots are edible, and the Quen people like to use it as a potato substitute in their daily diet.