Frozen: The Child of Magic

As the ball of light gradually faded, two figures emerged from within—one human, the other a wolf. But the striking detail… was that the child stood atop the wolf.

"No way! That kid actually tamed the vicious hound even the royal guards failed to subdue!"

"Oh… what a wondrous day this has become!"

The townsfolk erupted into noise, each voicing their astonishment.

Meanwhile, the royal guards stood stiff, expressions dark with frustration.

"What? All our blood, sweat, and tears… and this little brat solved it just like that?" Especially with the townsfolk adding salt to the wound: "That kid did what the guards couldn't!"

How unbearably grating that sounded…

"Captain, what do we do now?" one of the soldiers asked cautiously, approaching the expressionless leader.

The rest stayed well back, clearly sacrificing him as a scapegoat. They all knew the captain wasn't in a forgiving mood.

"Send someone to check if the wolf is still dangerous. Then bring the boy. We'll handle the matter ourselves."

The captain's tone was neutral, unreadable—but his subordinates knew well: he was seething inside.

"Yes, sir!"

With a wave of his hand, two soldiers stepped forward to assess the situation, though they moved cautiously, still unsure of what exactly they were walking into.

But Sosi, still astride the wolf, smiled and waved.

"You can come closer—it's safe now. Isn't that right, Soth?" he said, giving the beast a fond pat.

Seeing the boy atop the once-feral hound without a scratch slowly eased their nerves. Their cautious steps turned bold.

"Child… did you tame this creature?" one of the soldiers asked kindly, though the answer was clear.

"Yes! Why? Is His Majesty planning to reward me for my heroism?" Sosi grinned proudly and gave Soth's head another pat.

"…Regardless, you'll have to come with us. This wolf did harm people—it must be judged properly."

"Judged?! But I tamed him! He won't hurt anyone now!" Sosi protested. Beneath him, Soth snarled, baring sharp teeth as he sensed his master's agitation.

At that moment, Caron and Harl arrived.

"Sosi, don't overreact. Just go with them," Caron advised. "We're not on tribal land anymore. We must respect the king's laws."

"And calm Soth down. Showing his wild side will only frighten people."

"…Fine, I'll go. Soth, be still." Sosi grumbled, clearly unhappy, but followed Caron's advice.

The soldier exhaled with relief. For a moment, he truly feared for his life.

* * *

"Captain, mission accomplished," the soldier reported.

"Good. We're heading back. Dismissed," the captain said, giving Sosi one last look—riding a wolf between two living statues.

'Monsters… they come in all shapes now.'

The guards began marching back toward the castle, and the three children hurried to catch up.

"Hey! This is your fault, Sosi!" Harl snapped, glaring at the boy on the hound's back. "I haven't even finished exploring the kingdom's food yet, and now we're being dragged back. And I worried for you for nothing! You better treat me to a feast—got it?"

Sosi chuckled:

"Alright, alright! You've got it!"

He was still lost in the joy of having bonded with his first contracted wolf.

"But next time, don't do something that dangerous again," Caron warned, glancing at him sternly.

As for Harl's complaints, they knew he wasn't truly angry—just using the opportunity to guilt Sosi into buying him food.

"Alright, Caron… I did think it through. And look—I'm perfectly fine! …Okay, okay, I promise," Sosi conceded sheepishly under their reproachful stares.

A little later, Caron glanced at the wolf beneath Sosi.

"So, what kind of powers does this contract wolf have? He doesn't look ordinary."

"Oh, he's got a special ability. But I can't show you yet—it's a secret for now," Sothie replied, grinning as he patted Soth's head.

"…I see."

Harl jumped in:

"Then tell us! What was that contract trial like, anyway?"

It was the same question Caron had in mind. After all, they'd only ever seen contract beasts with the grown-ups, and the elders always told them they'd understand "when the time came."

Sosi paused in thought.

"…Honestly, I don't really know how to explain it. I just… really wanted Soth to become my contract beast."

"He'd already lost to me once, so he feared me."

"During the trial, I had to face the strongest version of him—his ideal self, you could say."

"It was surreal. We were in this vast arena, and even then, he didn't dare come near me. I guess I left a psychological scar…"

He gave a devilish smirk.

"Then I had an idea: I curled up and rolled into him at full force. He thought I was using stone-hardening, got scared, and backed off. So I just kept slamming into him over and over… I think he started questioning his whole dog life!"

He gave Soth a pat and chuckled:

"Don't worry, I won't tell all your dark secrets. Caron and Harl are family."

"Pfft—HAHA!" Harl burst out laughing. Sosi was, after all, the infamous king of mischief back in the tribe.

Soth gave Harl a long, resentful look. But he held back—his master's friends must be respected.

"Alright, Harl, stop teasing Soth. He's one of us now. Let's hurry—His Majesty needs to hear the full story before rumors spread."

And so, the trio continued on toward the castle… with Sosi proudly becoming the first among them to bond with a contract beast.