Strong Man

A split second later, three figures collapsed in the gardens at the Azel estate in the capital.

The servants nearby stopped what they were doing as they saw a gray fur coat, roasted meat, the young lady of the duke's household, and a maid, suddenly appear in the middle of the duke's gardens, in that order.

Callisto landed on her side, unfazed. She could see Annette curled up in her arms like a little cat, and could see that she wasn't hurt, but rather asleep, a peaceful expression on her face. How did she fall asleep?

"Sorry, I put your maid to sleep. Wanted to talk to you alone."

She had a sudden realization of feeling a strong arm wrapped around her waist, as well as being protected from any damage with a barrier not made by her.

"Get your hands off me please."

"Right, right. Sorry about that."

He rolled away from her and slowly got up, and that's when Callisto noticed that the man was wearing a gorgeous silver fur coat, the same color as his own hair, though not as pure white as her own.

His hair was longer than the rest of the men she had met, a choppily-layered wolfcut that curled at the base of his neck.

The oversized coat draping his body didn't hide the well-toned build underneath, partially because he wasn't wearing a shirt underneath.

This guy…

Is a pervert.

Callisto shuddered and scooted away from him, her sleeping maid tossed over Callisto's shoulder like a potato sack.

The man looked around, wondering what was wrong, before realizing he had no shirt on. He gave her a sheepish smile, which did nothing to make her feel better, and put his hands in the air as a sign of surrender.

"Hey, I just turned back into a human. You can't exactly blame me for not having a shirt on."

"Uh, yes, I can actually. What do you want from me?" She was still backing, and now the servants had begun approaching.

She signaled for some servants to come over and get Annette to safety inside. The man looked around, chuckling nervously as more attention became directed at him.

"Well, that's a bit of a long story. Can we go somewhere else? I'm kind of-"

"Isn't that the Master of the Mage Tower?"

She heard a servant from the crowd murmur to another servant, and a couple of squeals from the maids as they gazed upon the man's face seemed to be confirmation that this person was well-known.

"I'm sorry, the Master of the Mage Tower is a werewolf?"

In the game, Dane Obelisk, the Master of the Mage Tower, was never mentioned to have a wolf form in the game.

Maybe it's because they didn't bother playing through his route, but surely there should have been some hints in the other routes, especially when Ethyl goes on a fantasy adventure with all the male leads.

"I'm not a werewolf! Agh, just come with me, okay?"

She didn't have time to say no, as the silver-haired man snapped his fingers in a wide flourish, his earring glowing blue, and whisked the two of them away.

------

Callisto stumbled as she was taken by yet another transport spell, and fell on her butt with a soft 'Thud!' as she fell onto a cushion.

"This is just the inside of the duke's manor." She said flatly, arms and legs crossed as the ash-haired man took a seat across from her.

"I was in a rush, okay? There were too many people around, I got nervous. Sue me." The corners of her mouth twitched. She couldn't help but laugh at such a goofy reply.

"I would call on servants to get you some food, but I don't think anyone knows where we are." She wiped a tear from her eye, looking at him amicably.

"Don't worry about food, I took this from your maid."

The roasted venison materialized in the man's hands, and he wolfed it down in record time, giving a contented sigh as Callisto attempted to recall all the information she had heard about the elusive Master of the Mage Tower.

From the rumors around his few appearances in high society, he tended to ignore many rules and manners set by nobles, which often left them aghast.

Regardless of his social reputation though, he was a powerful wizard, responsible for many of the advancements in technology in the Regalia Kingdom, as well as a renowned monster slayer.

In general, nobles found him eccentric but begrudgingly respected his achievements.

She didn't have much of an information network, so she didn't know what the common majority thought of the magician.

But judging from his accomplishments and the way the servants reacted, she would assume it was highly favorable. He would be a good ally for Callisto to have.

"Could've used more seasoning." Dane mused, licking his lips, kicking his heels up onto the table and stretching his arms across the couch.

She imagined the greatest wizard in the kingdom to be more mysterious and wise, perhaps on the frailer side because of the emphasis on studying magic.

The guy in front of her had muscles out the wazoo, a bit too much for her liking, but something she could respect. Callisto swore his breasts were larger than hers, and she didn't know how that made her feel.

"I'm surprised you've sought me out, given my reputation."

"I don't care much for reputation among the nobility, as long as you're a good person at the end of the day. Which was highly contested until recently."

A gust of wind blew through the room, despite there being no windows, when she brushed her bangs back into place so she could see, Dane had changed into new clothing, though wearing a shirt that had an incredibly low v-cut. This man must love to show off his body or something.

Loved to show off, huh?

That reminded Callisto of…

---

"Calli, that was just the warm-up." [He] chuckled, beads of sweat glistening down his body, but otherwise unfazed. Callisto, on the other hand, was bent over a fence, clinging on to it like it was the only thing holding her upwards, and it may well have been.

"Hah…five miles…hah…is not a warm-up. Hah, hah… It's a f-cking marathon."

"Actually, twenty-six miles is a marathon." She rolled her eyes while he laughed again, pressing a kiss against her cheek despite her batting him away, complaining about how sweaty she was.

"Smart ass."

"More like nice ass. And nice pecs, and nice abs, and-"

"Keep talking, and you'll no longer have a 'nice girlfriend'." She followed him to some bleachers next to a large field in the park, where he began stretching, and she followed suit.

"So I'm the bad guy for listening to my darling girlfriend, who begged me to exercise together, and then for pointing out some of my best assets?"

[He] handed her his water bottle, seeing as she already drank the entirety of hers, and she gratefully accepted.

"Alright, enough distracting me. I'm going to do push-ups now."

She got on the ground, getting into position.

"How's my form?" Arms at a ninety-degree angle, butt aligned straightly with her back, waiting for confirmation as her boyfriend bent down and checked her out.

"Nice…" He murmured, and after a few more seconds of staring, Callisto realized he definitely was not checking her form.

"[ ]! Stop checking me out and help me!"

"Oh, so first I can't appreciate my own body, and now I can't appreciate your body?"

He complained, trying to pretend he was exasperated, but he couldn't contain the laughter in his voice.

"Alright, your form's fine babe, now give me thirty."

"Thirty?!"

"The more you complain, the harder it will be. Come on, I'll do it alongside you."

"Ugh…Keep count, okay?"

Somewhere after twenty, Callisto began to feel her arms shaking with every movement, and collapsed on the ground soon after.

She looked at her fit boyfriend and saw him nonchalantly doing one-handed push-ups, audible huffs as he gulped down oxygen.

"You just wanted to show off, huh?" He looked at her, grin wide enough to see his sharp fangs. A warm feeling spread through her chest, the same way she felt every time she saw [Him].

"You betcha'."

-----

"Admiring me?"

"Nope. Thinking about how you're the least likable show-off I've met. What is it you even want from me?"

Dane gave her a smile, though she didn't feel it was completely sincere.

"I quite like you. Straight to the point!" He stood up with a clasp of his hands. "So here's the thing. I can sense some great magic potential in you. I can see you being a hero of the kingdom." He put emphasis on the word 'hero,' before continuing, "And I want to take you as my apprentice. I know that both the nobility and royalty don't like you, but with the Mage Tower taking you under our wing. You shouldn't have as much of a problem with them. So, how about it?"

It seemed like an amazing deal. Have one of four pillars of the kingdom on her side to avoid unnecessary conflicts, and get stronger.

"What's in it for you?"

"Well, Lady Calli, can I call you that?"

"Absolutely not."

"Calli, I'm going to ask you a question, and I need you to be honest. Have you been approached by the Scion of Goetia, Astaroth?"

He talked to her like an adult to a child, which irked her a bit. By the looks of it, this was what Dane was mainly after. His eyes sparkled with an obvious interest that couldn't seem to be faked, at least to her.

Callisto hesitated on telling Dane. Astaroth was much more powerful and could be more beneficial to her larger goal. However, if she wanted to take this world for [Him], Astaroth would be her greatest foe.

But at the same time, being on his side would make it much easier to take him down if needed. She decided on seceding some information. After all, what happened between her and the Goetian Scion was hardly conspiratorial.

"Yes. I met him at my private debutante. He told me that I could go to the Goetian Empire if I didn't feel appreciated in Regalia." Dane looked at her as if she had given him the correct answer.

"Hmm. And what did you think of the offer?" At this, Callisto chose her words carefully.

"Well, I think that I have a fiance and a number of responsibilities l can't abandon."

"It's great that we're both being equally honest about our motives," Cane patted her shoulder, giving her a parting glance as he whisked himself away from the manor.

As soon as he left, servants immediately opened the door and found Callisto, as if they couldn't while she was having that conversation with Dane, like time had stopped or her presence couldn't be found.

And it was only after he left that Callisto realized he never revealed his true motive.