Chapter 135

When I offered to serve food, the male hunter irritably snapped, asking what I was talking about, but in contrast, the gentle-looking female hunter calmly patted him and said, “Calm down. It’s a rare meal invitation. If they show kindness, it’s only right to accept it, isn’t it?”

“No! But…”

“Leon.”

“…! Damn it. Fine.”

The man called Leon flinched when the female hunter quietly called his name, then averted his eyes and reluctantly agreed.

“So, can I take it that you’re accepting the meal invitation?”

“Yes! Of course.”

“…Alright. I’ll eat it, whatever.”

And so, my group and the hunter couple found a suitable spot nearby and started an early lunch.

To gather some information.

—

Of course, even though we were having lunch, it wasn’t like we were cooking in the middle of the forest.

No matter how much I love cooking, I can’t whip up a proper meal without proper tools or ingredients in such a place.

So, lunch was packed meals.

The menu was sandwiches made with meatballs I prepared the day before.

Though I called them sandwiches, the bread used wasn’t the typical toast-like bread you’d expect for sandwiches, but rather a mini baguette-like flour bread.

I sliced the pure white flour bread in half, filled it with lettuce and finely chopped pickles, then layered thinly sliced cheddar cheese on top.

After that, I neatly placed the pre-made meatballs inside.

Since the bread was originally about 30cm long, I could fit about six meatballs in a row with some room to spare.

For the sauce, I used the one I made the day before as a base, but since it was too thin for sandwiches, I thickened it by adding a bit of flour and simmering it.

While concentrating the sauce like this might risk overpowering the flavor, it’s just right for a sandwich where you’re eating bread and vegetables together.

The result was a meatball sandwich of such high quality that you wouldn’t believe it was made from leftovers.

I took one meatball sandwich from my bag, split it in half, and gave one half to each of the hunter couple.

Even though it was just half of a sandwich, the original sandwich was about 30cm long.

It was already a large portion for an average person, and since it was an early lunch, this amount should be enough to fill them up.

“Seriously. Why am I having lunch with non-humans here…?”

“Leon.”

“…Ugh! Fine. I’ll be quiet.”

The man called Leon grumbled even as he accepted the sandwich, but that was only until he started eating it.

Soon after tasting the sandwich I made, both of them widened their eyes in surprise and exclaimed.

“What, what is this taste…?”

“It’s a flavor I haven’t even experienced back in my hometown…!”

After tasting the meatball sandwich, the two relaxed their previously guarded attitudes and focused on the meal as if their earlier wariness had been a lie.

Indeed, just like animals, humans also relax when eating.

So, for hunters, one of the best times to attack a monster is while it’s feeding.

The same applies when dealing with people.

I took advantage of their relaxed state to ask them for information.

—

“So, you two are hunters who’ve set up around here to hunt, right?”

“That’s right.”

However, I couldn’t have a fruitful conversation with the hunter couple.

It wasn’t because they were still guarded and unwilling to talk, but rather because there wasn’t much useful information in what they were saying.

“So, what do you do? Are you from a nearby village?”

“…No. Just a traveler. Yeah, I’ve been staying at an inn in that village over there recently.”

“A traveler…? But why were you searching the forest?”

“I heard some strange rumors in that village. About werewolves appearing.”

“Oh…? Werewolves? I’d like to hear more.”

Leon’s eyes sharpened at the mention of werewolves, and he looked at us intently.

“It’s not a big deal. Just rumors of man-eating werewolves around here.”

“What? Man-eating werewolves? Hahaha. You guys believe some pretty wild stuff, huh?”

At first, they listened seriously, but when the topic of man-eating came up, they couldn’t help but laugh.

“Well, it’s just rumors.”

“…Hahaha. Ah, it’s been a while since I laughed so hard. Man-eating werewolves? If such things existed, we wouldn’t have missed them.”

“Well, that’s a relief. Do you know anything else about that village over there? I haven’t been staying there long, so I don’t know much.”

“Huh? Kurt, what are you suddenly talking about?”

Mari whispered in a small, flustered voice at my sudden question.

From her perspective, we had approached this hunter couple to see if they were suspicious, but instead of digging into that, I was asking about the village we were staying in.

However, the female hunter didn’t seem bothered and tilted her head as she spoke.

“Hmm… I don’t know much. It’s just a small, ordinary village, right?”

“I see.”

Unfortunately, it seemed I wouldn’t get any more information.

Just as I was thinking that, the female hunter spoke up.

“Ah, but there’s one piece of advice I can give.”

“…Advice?”

“Yeah, advice.”

As she said this, she quietly looked straight at me and said, “That village is dangerous. I recommend leaving as soon as possible.”

“…What do you mean by dangerous?”

“No, that’s all I can say. Anyway, I suggest you leave that village if you can.”

“Hey, Fione.”

With that, the female hunter finished her meal, stood up, and began brushing off the dirt.

Leon, who called her Fione, looked flustered.

“Well, we’re busy with hunting. We’ll take our leave now.”

“Ah, I see. Sorry for taking up your valuable time.”

“No, don’t worry about it. The sandwich was delicious.”

With that, the hunter couple turned and disappeared into the thicket.

“Hmm… In the end, we didn’t get much useful information.”

“Still, from talking to them, they didn’t seem like crazed man-eaters.”

“Well, based on their story, it seems certain there are no man-eating werewolves in this foggy forest.”

Of course.

Man-eating werewolves? That’s just a story made up by the innkeeper.

However, one thing the three of them said was wrong.

About not getting any useful information.

While the conversation with the hunter couple itself wasn’t particularly informative, information isn’t always hidden in words alone.

Hunting isn’t a job where you talk to monsters and follow their traces.

For me, who reads information about prey through their traces, behavior, and appearance, the time spent talking to these two was more than just a conversation—it was an opportunity to observe things that words couldn’t convey.

For example, their bodies carried the distinct scent of blood and beasts unique to hunters.

But if you focused and distinguished the scents, you could tell that the beast scent on them was that of a wolf.

And that wasn’t all.

There was more…

At that moment, Mari spoke to me.

“Kurt.”

“What is it? Suddenly.”

“What do you think Fione meant by what she said at the end?”

“About the village being dangerous?”

“Yeah. Even though we’re leaving soon anyway… It just feels unsettling.”

—

The hunter couple watched from afar as Kurt’s group walked back to the village, discussing the conversation.

“Are you sure about this, Fione?”

“What do you mean?”

“About telling them the village is dangerous. You didn’t have to.”

“I had to. We got a delicious sandwich out of it, so it’s only fair to repay the favor.”

“But what if they don’t heed our advice?”

“…Then it’s not our concern. Why? Are you worried?”

“Well, their party is quite diverse.”

A party of four, with only one human.

The rest were an elf, a dwarf, and a lizardman—a unique combination.

Even in the Kingdom of Eustia, where multiple races coexist, with humans making up more than half the population, such a group was relatively rare.

All of them were minority races in human society.

Leon’s eyes, as he watched Kurt’s group from afar, were quite complex.

Seeing this, Fione smiled and said, “Well, their fate is their own. We should focus on our own work.”

“Right. You’re correct. Let’s prepare for the hunt.”

With that, the two also turned and headed in the opposite direction.

—

And so, the story tied to the werewolf was nearing its end.