Chapter 200

Chapter 200: Reunion (1)

Confusion ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍covered Adol’s face as he looked over the people surrounding him.

“I ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍don’t understand. Werewolves? The monsters that attacked the village were all......”

“Monsters?”

Rea ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍cut off Adol’s words.

“Isn’t ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍that the same as monsters?”

Leaving ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Adol unable to answer easily, another werewolf picked up Rea’s words.

“Well, that’s true too.”

“If we’re monsters, then what are the others?”

“Dunno. What do the others matter? We’re monsters!”

At the relaxed sight of them starting a pointless conversation among themselves, Adol exploded.

“That’s not what matters! I’m asking whether you’re really the ones who attacked the village!”

The snickering laughter vanished in an instant, and the atmosphere sank.

Rea reached out to Adol.

Before Adol could resist the powerful force gripping his neck, his body was lifted.

“Ghk......!”

“Brat, I’ll acknowledge your guts, but you shouldn’t forget that you’re weak. You don’t have the right to ask questions here, or the right to get angry at us.”

Facing her ominously gleaming eyes, Adol struggled to escape her hand, which was squeezing his airway so tightly it was hard even to swallow.

The more he did, the stronger the pressure became.

At last, the moment his throat was blocked so completely that not even a little oxygen could pass through, someone grabbed Rea’s arm.

“Rea, the one who passed has to be taken to Archie. You know the rules, don’t you?”

It was Mona.

Rea glared at him once, then soon let out the sound of air escaping and loosened her grip.

“Cough......!”

Without even giving Adol time to catch his breath after collapsing to the floor, Rea grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

“Right, how could I not know? If only to report your mistake, I have to take him there without so much as a hair harmed.”

Adol, who had been coughing, came back to his senses at the sound of them taking him away.

“Wait, you’re only taking me? Then what are you going to do to those people?”

He honestly did not care much whether the rest died or not, but Ran had definitely told him to bring him along.

With the feeling that he should not leave behind Ran, who had acted as if he knew everything, Adol hurriedly grabbed Rea’s arm.

At the child’s desperate movement, Rea burst into laughter.

“Is it because you’re young? You really are a nosy little thing. Obviously they’re our food. Wouldn’t dying quickly be better than living forever inside painful memories anyway?”

At her answer, Adol’s face went white, but she did not care and tried to move him.

Adol hurriedly slipped free from Rea’s hand and ran to Ran.

“Wait! Then bring this man with us too!”

Rea watched Adol, who had escaped her hand, with interest, then grabbed the child’s arm again.

“A bastard who can’t get out by his own strength is just our food. That’s the rule.”

This time, as if she would not let him escape, she bound both of Adol’s arms tightly and began dragging the child away.

After confirming that she was not harming Adol, Mona no longer added anything about Rea’s way of handling things.

“Just eat the rest.”

At Rea’s order, everyone except Rea and Mona began entering the cave.

A werewolf also approached Ran, who was closest.

At that sight, Adol felt his blood run cold.

If things went on like this, that bastard would clearly be eaten too.

“Hey! You said you’d save me! Wake up already, you crazy bastard!”

The child shouted wildly at Ran.

Perhaps that sight was amusing too, because laughter broke out here and there, but it was still better than letting him die like that.

“My eardrums are going to fall out. Should I cover your mouth too?”

It was the moment Rea, sounding annoyed, brought her hand toward Adol’s mouth.

Whack!

With the sound of a blow, the one who had approached Ran stepped back a little.

“What?”

Rea furrowed her brow and stopped walking.

“That bastard is moving?”

The one pushed back said in a flustered voice.

“No way. Humans can’t get out once they’re trapped. How could he......?”

“It wasn’t anything special.”

A calm voice cut off Rea’s words.

Holding back the feeling that he might cry, Adol looked at Ran as he slowly walked out.

***

Maybe because I had been in the past until just a moment ago, Adol’s face looked especially young all over again.

Or maybe it seemed that way because he was only staring forward sullenly, as if sulking about something.

I debated whether to just ignore him, but because I wanted to be more adult than usual, I spoke to him.

“You look fine.”

But perhaps there was something wrong with my approach, because the bastard snapped his head around and glared at me.

“Fine? Fine? Does this look fine to you?”

I carefully examined Adol from head to toe.

His arms and legs were all attached, and though his face had some dirt on it, there was no blood. From any angle, even upside down or sideways, this counted as fine.

Of course, his arms were tied a little, and he was hanging from a rope.

We were descending a steep cliff.

The werewolves were dragging us down in the most efficient way.

But wasn’t this much something one could experience at least once while living in a world like this?

“You’re surrounded by werewolves and still have all your limbs intact, with not a single cut anywhere. Doesn’t that count as fine? You came here to hunt monsters, yet you didn’t even prepare yourself for this much?”

Adol, convinced by my words, opened his mouth as if something was unfair, but soon nodded.

“That’s......! No, wait......”

The bastard answered weakly, but still seemed to admit that going with an adult was more reassuring than being alone.

“When you said you’d save me, I thought you had some special power. If I knew you’d get caught this helplessly, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of dragging you along......”

Though he still muttered as if his dissatisfaction had not faded.

“What’s the point of resisting against that many people?”

Perhaps thinking this too was correct, the bastard stopped grumbling.

“......By the way, are you okay now? Earlier, your face was so white it looked like there wasn’t a drop of blood flowing through it.”

“I’m fine.”

Adol, who had tossed out the question, narrowed his eyes at my answer.

“Your standards are messed up. You definitely don’t know what being really fine means.”

“If you’re worried, just say you’re worried.”

The bastard’s expression grew even fiercer.

“......I’ve been thinking this since before, but why do you talk like you know me so well?”

“How can a person know another person well? I just guessed.”

“You’re saying it was all coincidence?”

Not all of it. A little intention was mixed in too.

But that was not something the bastard needed to know.

When I roughly nodded, the bastard’s eyes narrowed.

“Was it also a coincidence that you woke up by yourself in the cave earlier?”

From my experience, asking a question like this with eyes like that was an expression of suspicion and anxiety toward me.

“That was the result of a plan and bad luck.”

Even at my answer, the child did not withdraw his suspicious gaze.

“They said people who killed others get trapped inside those memories. They also said no one has ever broken out. What did you do?”

These werewolves say all kinds of things to a child.

Blaming those more talkative bastards than expected, I frowned.

There was nothing good about talking a lot here.

They were bastards with hearing several times better than ours.

“The future hasn’t arrived yet. People who break out of it will keep appearing from now on.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Maybe because he was young, the bastard had a lot of curiosity. I was about to say I happened to find out this time too.

“These humans sure chatter a lot. Aren’t they scared? Usually, by this point, everyone’s trembling.”

Perhaps our conversation looked quite interesting, because one of the werewolves slowed his descent down the cliff and cut in.

Considering we were hanging like bagworms, it was understandable for him to find it strange that we talked this much.

“Where are you taking us?”

Adol glared at him and asked.

“Can’t you tell by looking? We’re taking you to where we live. Once you go in, you’ll never come out again, so take a good look at the outside while you can.”

“What exactly are we supposed to look at? There’s nothing around but rocks.”

The child’s crooked question was quite reasonable.

The monsters were carrying us on their backs while descending the cliff at a fast pace, and there was nothing visible but sheer rock walls.

“There’ll come a day when you miss this barren scenery.”

“Are you going to use us as slaves? And kill us if we don’t obey?”

At Adol’s tense voice, the one who had spoken laughed loudly.

“I told you we won’t kill you. We’re taking you to Archie.”

“You’ve been saying Archie this and Archie that since earlier. Who on earth is this Archie?”

“Our leader. He makes the rules and leads us.”

“Hey! Don’t say useless things!”

At Rea’s shout, the bastard who had been telling us every little thing made an eek sound and descended.

“He left.”

When I muttered, Adol turned his head and glared at me again.

“This is why I think you’re strange. How are you not curious about anything? Once we arrive, who knows what horrible things those bastards might do to us?”

“They said they won’t kill us anyway. There’s no need to ask already about things we’ll find out naturally once we arrive. You’re being carried by a fairly gentle bastard, but the one carrying me doesn’t seem to like me.”

After answering Adol, I raised my head and gestured with my eyes toward Mona, who had been glaring at me as if he would bore a hole through the top of my head.

I knew he was not a monster clumsy enough to fall off the cliff, but I wished he would focus only on going down.

If we fell, that bastard would survive, but with my arms and legs tied, I......

I would survive too.

Because I could just fly away.

The moment I resolved that if that happened, I would interfere with that bastard so he could not land properly, sounds began coming from below.

Howls of wolves were mixed into the gaps between voices like background noise, but at least there were no screams.

It meant the ground was close.

I was preparing for Mona to throw me onto the ground, but he set me down more gently than expected.

The moment Adol’s feet touched the ground, he grew wary of his surroundings.

I quietly waited for the child to be disappointed by the sight, which was different from what he had imagined.

“What...... is this?”

Adol muttered blankly, as if unable to understand the scene spread before his eyes.

“Why? Did you think they’d be tangled together in a bloody fight?”

“Or did you imagine a beast pen?”

The other werewolves who arrived afterward walked past Adol, who was standing there stunned.

Adol watched their backs as they carried large sacks one by one, then turned his head this way and that.

And after finding me standing there without much emotion as before, he frowned.

The bastard opened his mouth as if he had something to say to me, but before his voice came out, Mona and Rea pulled us along, so the child’s interrogation-like questions could not begin.

“You’re this way.”

We obediently, and diligently, moved our feet as they led us.

It was small in scale to call a village, but the sight of enough people forming a community did not seem different from humans.

Though instead of houses, simple tents used when going out to hunt were lined up.

The werewolves in human form laughed, chatted, and sometimes raised their voices to fight, just like people.

They did point at us, being dragged along while bound, and laugh, but none of the bastards did anything beyond that.

There were occasionally groups who glared at us.

But they still did not seem to have any intention of attacking us.

The end of this strange treatment came when we reached the largest tent.

Seeing how all the tents spread widely around it as the center, what waited for us inside had to be that “Archie.”

Beside me, I saw Adol gulp.

The child turned his head here and there so much it was dizzying, breathing roughly.

“Go in.”

Perhaps displeased that we stopped and examined the surroundings, Mona pushed us from behind.

The first thing to greet us after we were pushed into the largest tent was the head of a stuffed bear with its mouth wide open.

Following the bear hide spread across the floor together with its head and raising my eyes, I saw one man standing on it with his back turned.

What entered my eyes first was his build.

After that bulk, which seemed one and a half times larger than the other werewolves, what drew my gaze was his long hair.

His long braided black hair reached his waist.

As we approached slowly, one step at a time, Archie turned his head and looked at us. I could finally see his face.

If gazes had weight, those eyes seemed capable of crushing someone beneath them.

His face, with overall thick lines, held no particular expression, but the pressure given by his eyes as they swept over us was that great.

“Archie, we have returned.”

It was the moment Mona finished his short greeting.

“You son of a bitch!!!”

With a furious shout, Adol shot forward.

The rope that had been binding the child’s hands had already fallen to the ground.

I followed the child with my eyes as he sprang forward, but I neither stopped him nor entered an attacking stance with him.

I also swallowed the advice that such shouting was no help for an ambush.

Though I did subtly block Mona and Rea as they hurriedly tried to grab Adol.