Chapter 132

Honestly, searching for the werewolf wasn’t easy.

From the start, the only clue we had was the innkeeper’s story about a man-eating werewolf.

Even when we tried to ask the villagers, they just looked at us with wary eyes, as if they were suspicious of outsiders, and refused to talk.

“Hey, mister!”

“…What do you want?”

“Have you seen a werewolf?”

“A-a werewolf? I don’t know anything about that!”

Mari, with her capybara-like charm, approached the villagers, but they only grew more guarded. When she brought up the werewolf, they acted like they’d been burned and ran away.

“Have you seen a werewolf around here?”

“I-I don’t know anything!”

“Kid, do you know anything about the werewolf?”

“A werewolf? Well… eep!”

“Mom said not to talk to strangers! Let’s go inside!”

It wasn’t just that they wouldn’t talk—it felt like they were actively avoiding us.

Since we weren’t officially hired for this investigation, they had no reason to cooperate, but even so, the villagers’ attitude was extremely unhelpful.

It was as if they were afraid of something. The moment the topic of the werewolf came up, they would flee, and by the end, they were looking at us like we were monsters ourselves.

So, the search was tough.

Giving up on talking to the villagers, we ventured into the forest, but the fog was so thick that we could barely see anything, and we failed to find any traces of the werewolf.

“Ugh… the fog is too thick.”

“Why would they build a village in such a foggy place?”

“It’s like they deliberately chose a hard-to-reach spot.”

In that situation, unless it was me, the three of us—who were far from professionals in the field of searching—found nothing, and we soon had to return to the village empty-handed.

Days passed like this, and by the third day, we still had no progress.

If anything, we’d only earned the villagers’ suspicion, which was a step backward.

The biggest reason for the lack of progress was something else entirely.

After another fruitless day, we returned to the inn, feeling dejected, and started talking.

“Hmm… this is harder than I thought.”

“Right? Of course, they’d be wary of outsiders, but isn’t this a bit too much?”

“Exactly. We’re trying to help the village by hunting the werewolf. If we find and defeat it, wouldn’t that be good for the village?”

At this point, I was starting to think there might not even be a man-eating werewolf, and that the innkeeper’s kids might have just imagined it.

“…Are we sure the werewolf even exists?”

“The kids said they saw it, didn’t they?”

“But kids can imagine things, right?”

As their enthusiasm waned, their voices grew weaker.

Just as their spirits were about to break, the arrow of conversation suddenly turned to me.

“Kurt, what do you think?”

“About what?”

“Oh, right. Kurt, as a hunter, you’re a pro among pros, right? What do you think? Is there a werewolf?”

I had been staying quiet to avoid the arrow, but… I guess it’s impossible to stay completely out of the conversation.

Instead of answering directly, I decided to steer the conversation.

“Well… I don’t know if there’s a werewolf, but I doubt there’s a man-eating one.”

“Why?”

“Why? Think about it. A werewolf isn’t some mindless monster—it’s a humanoid species with intelligence and language just like us. There’s no reason for it to eat humans without cause.”

“But even among humans, there are criminals who commit robbery and murder. So, it’s possible there could be a man-eating werewolf among them.”

“Sure, there might be some crazies, but even then, eating humans doesn’t make sense.”

“How so?”

“Most criminals commit crimes because there’s some benefit. Robbery for money, murder for revenge, and so on. But there’s no benefit in eating humans.”

“Well, maybe they’re just hungry…”

“If they have the stamina and hunting skills to hunt humans, it’d be easier to hunt small animals in the forest. And even if they attacked a human village, they’d probably start by stealing livestock or crops.”

In fact, most wild animals behave this way.

Even if they’re pushed into human territory due to lack of food or territorial disputes, they rarely attack humans directly.

Because, in a human village, humans are at the top of the food chain. So, it’s more logical to target vegetables or livestock first, which is less risky.

If animals with far less intelligence than humans can figure this out, a werewolf, being a humanoid, would surely know better.

“Honestly, if there really were a werewolf, the villagers’ lukewarm attitude would be strange.”

“But what if there’s a crazy werewolf who doesn’t follow common sense?”

“So, Kurt, you’ve been thinking there’s no werewolf from the start?”

“Well, I didn’t oppose the search. But based on what we’ve found so far, it’s likely there’s no man-eating werewolf.”

At my words, the three of them sounded deflated.

“So, what? We’ve been searching for a werewolf that doesn’t even exist?”

“Probably.”

Anyway, this means the search that’s been going on for the past three days is finally over.

I didn’t have the heart to stop them earlier, so I went along with it, but honestly, I wasn’t very enthusiastic. I’m just glad it’s over.

And it seems I’m not the only one happy about the search ending.

The innkeeper, who had been secretly listening to our conversation while cleaning, approached us with a big smile.

“Hoho. So, you’re done with the search?”

“Yeah. By the way, you seem in a good mood, even though we didn’t find the werewolf.”

“Well, that’s… if even Silver Rank Adventurers couldn’t find it, then there probably never was a werewolf, right? So, of course, I’m happy! So, now that the search is over, are you leaving?”

The innkeeper, who had been looking gloomy lately, was now bright and cheerful as he asked us.

“That’s right. We’ve rested enough… we’ll probably leave tomorrow.”

“Hohoho. I see. I see. Even though there were no results, thank you for your efforts on our behalf.”

“It seems you didn’t really believe in the man-eating werewolf, innkeeper.”

“Looks like we were the only ones who took the werewolf story seriously.”

“Ugh… this feels so empty.”

The three of them seemed even more deflated by the innkeeper’s attitude.

“Well, don’t be too disappointed. You can’t always succeed in every search. Let’s eat something to lift our spirits.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Hey, innkeeper, why don’t you join us for a meal? You’ve been through a lot these past few days too.”

At my words, the innkeeper reflexively tried to refuse but then thought for a moment and nodded.

“Hmm… then I’ll gratefully accept your offer. In return, I’ll prepare a feast for lunch tomorrow to thank you adventurers for your efforts on our village’s behalf!”

The innkeeper said he’d call his two kids to join us, then finished cleaning and left the inn.

At least not everything during our stay was bad.

If it had been the first day, he would’ve refused without hesitation, but it seems the innkeeper has warmed up to us.

“By the way, the innkeeper always seems to be cleaning whenever we see him.”

“Right. Even though there are no guests, he cleans the inn and the village every morning. He seems like a diligent person.”

“Well, it’s not like he’s hiding anything. Hahaha.”

Hiding something, huh…

“Hey, Lena. Even if that’s the case, saying he’s hiding something makes him sound suspicious. That’s rude.”

“Marisia’s right. The innkeeper is a great person raising two kids alone. We shouldn’t speak ill of him.”

“Ah, no. I was just joking. I didn’t mean anything bad.”

Before I knew it, the three of them had forgotten their earlier gloom and were back to their usual selves, chatting about nothing important. Relieved, I got up.

“Then, I’ll go cook.”

Yeah.

Anyway, we can finally stop wasting time on this pointless search and head back to Astram.

Honestly, a man-eating werewolf in such a peaceful little village?

It was probably just a story to scare outsiders.

With that thought, I headed to the kitchen.