Chapter 136

We returned to the village as we were.

After all, we had finished investigating the hunter couple, so there was no longer any reason to explore the forest.

By the time we got back to the village, it was already evening.

Looks like we won’t be leaving today.

Another day delayed.

When we returned from the forest, the innkeeper asked us with a stern expression about the results of our search.

“Nothing out of the ordinary. They were just ordinary hunters, right?”

“…Is that so? Were there any unusual points?”

“Nope. After talking to them, they seemed like perfectly normal people. Hahaha. Innkeeper, you were pretending not to care about the man-eating werewolf, but you were actually quite concerned, weren’t you?”

“What? Ah, hahaha. I guess I was unconsciously worried.”

The innkeeper laughed awkwardly at Mari’s words.

“Well, that’s a relief. Since the search is over, I’ll finally show off my cooking skills and prepare a proper feast!”

“I was waiting for that!”

“I was worried the feast might be canceled because we went out searching.”

“Hahaha. No way. I’ll make a dish so delicious you wouldn’t even notice if one of you dropped dead while eating!”

With that, the innkeeper, with a lighter step, headed to the kitchen to prepare the meal.

And so, we enjoyed our last dinner in the foggy village.

Honestly, the meatballs he made were definitely on par with mine.

Meatballs with cheese inside… simple but undeniably tasty.

Maybe we should exchange meatball recipes before we leave tomorrow.

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That night.

When the entire village was supposed to be asleep.

No, when they should have been asleep.

But I lay awake, quietly gazing at the night sky.

“Ah, it’s a full moon…”

The moon in the sky was full.

Unknowingly, we had delayed our search until the night of the full moon.

But today is truly the last day.

The atmosphere outside the inn is bustling.

It must be time.

Thinking that, I opened the inn’s door.

*Creak*

Outside, three others were already prepared and waiting for me, armed and ready.

“Mr. Kurt. You’re late.”

“I came out on time. You guys just came out early.”

The reason they were equipped and waiting at the door.

It was to prepare for what was about to happen.

After meeting the two hunters at lunch, I had explained my thoughts to them.

About the true nature of this village and my suspicions about the two hunters.

The three of them were shocked and couldn’t believe it at first, but eventually, they decided to trust me and agreed to take action to prevent what was about to happen tonight.

As we stepped outside the inn with the three, the villagers were already armed, holding farming tools like sickles as weapons.

Among the villagers, who were all tense and armed, the innkeeper noticed us and approached with a startled expression.

“Oh… You’re awake?”

“Good heavens… Kurt’s words were true…”

Serena, who had been skeptical until the very moment we stepped outside, widened her eyes in disbelief as she saw the innkeeper approaching, still holding a sickle.

As the innkeeper reached us, he spoke with a grim expression.

“Sorry for the suddenness, but it would be best if you left the village now.”

“Leave the village? What are you talking about?”

“You won’t understand, but listen carefully. A storm of blood is about to sweep through this village. So, before you get caught up in it, take a carriage and leave. It’s not too late yet.”

After saying that, the innkeeper hesitated for a moment, then gripped the sickle tightly and continued in a trembling voice.

“…And if possible, could you take the children at the inn to the nearby village? Don’t ask why… Just take them to the village. Tell them to behave and wait for their father to come get them after everything is over…”

“Is this because of the hunters the children saw this morning?”

The innkeeper flinched at my words and looked at me.

But I continued, regardless of his reaction.

“And because this village is a werewolf village?”

“…Ah, you knew?”

“How could I not notice when you clean the inn so diligently every morning? The wolf fur flying around gives it away.”

The innkeeper let out a hollow laugh at my words.

“Hahaha. I was desperately cleaning to hide the fact that we’re werewolves, but it ended up being the clue that gave us away.”

“Don’t be so disheartened. Even if you hadn’t cleaned, staying in the village would have eventually revealed the truth.”

The fact that this village was built in a place always shrouded in thick fog was no coincidence.

A place filled with fog is hardly ideal for building a village, yet they chose this location, which suggests they had a reason for not wanting the village’s existence to be known.

Perhaps the reason the innkeeper brought up the rumor of the man-eating werewolf on our first day was to scare us into not venturing outside and discovering the village’s secret.

By spreading the rumor of a man-eating werewolf, they hoped we wouldn’t go out at night, and even if we saw a villager in werewolf form, we’d mistake them for a mad murderer from the forest.

But in the end, our group’s excessive sense of justice backfired.

“…Still, the fact that you revealed it to us suggests you don’t have bad intentions. Then the conversation is quick. Please, let my children grow up in a normal human village.”

“That won’t be possible.”

The one who answered wasn’t me.

From the opposite direction.

Two hunters leisurely walking towards the village entrance.

It was one of them who answered.

It was the voice of Leon, the hunter we met at lunch.

“T-this…! Faster than expected!”

As soon as Leon’s figure was confirmed, the innkeeper distanced himself from us and joined the villagers, ready for battle.

But the two hunters paid no attention to the villagers, including the innkeeper, and instead looked at me with cheerful eyes.

“You didn’t run away? Lizard man.”

“You didn’t heed my advice. I was going to spare your lives as thanks for the lunch… What a pity.”

“Is this your hunter’s job?”

At my words, Leon, in a much better mood than during the day, smiled brightly and said.

“Yes. Beast hunters. That’s our job.”

“…Beast hunters? Is that what you call it?”

“Huh? Don’t tell me you don’t know? These villagers. They look human, but they’re actually beasts.”

“We hunt these beasts that mimic humans and supply their byproducts to those in need. But judging by your reaction, it seems you already knew our true identity. Strange. We didn’t particularly exude any killing intent.”

In the end, it was all just talk.

The two were human hunters.

Only, their hunting scope was limited to non-human species.

In fact, I had already guessed their true identity during our lunch conversation, so it wasn’t a shock, but seeing these disgusting murderers who called themselves hunters was still quite unpleasant.

There were several clues that led me to deduce their identity.

The conversation we had at lunch was mostly trivial, but upon closer inspection, there were many suspicious signs.

‘Damn. Why am I having lunch with non-humans here…’

The term “non-human” that Leon used.

In the Kingdom of Eustia, the term “non-human” is not used for intelligent lifeforms that have built civilizations and languages, including humans.

The official term is “human species,” implying that they are also a type of human.

The term “non-human” implies that they are similar to humans but not quite human.

Thus, the term is used only in a few countries on this continent.

For example, countries like the Magic Kingdom or the Empire, which promote human-centric ideologies.

This was further supported by Fione’s words.

‘This is a taste I rarely got to enjoy back home…!’

This implied that Fione was not from this region, possibly from another city or even another country.

And another thing.

It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but my cooking is not something ordinary people can easily taste.

This is not just about cooking skills but also the cost of the ingredients.

Honestly, the dishes I make are economically impractical, with each meal costing what an ordinary person might spend on food for several days.

A cooking style that spares no expense on ingredients, focusing solely on taste regardless of cost.

Thus, ordinary people rarely get to taste my dishes, not because of the cooking skills but because of the cost.

Yet, their reaction wasn’t that of someone tasting it for the first time but rather someone who had tasted it before.

This suggested that she came from a wealthy background where she could afford similar dishes.

While it’s not impossible for hunters to be wealthy, generally, the life of an ordinary hunter is far from luxurious.

There were many other suspicious points.

Even I, who had only been traveling for a few days, noticed that this village was a werewolf village, yet they described it as a small, ordinary village.

And despite the fact that Lizardmen, while not as rare as werewolves, are still a very uncommon human species, they asked if I was a member of the village, suggesting they rarely operated in this area.

Of course, the final nail in the coffin was Leon’s gaze and Fione’s warning.

His gaze, which seemed to evaluate me like prey rather than a person.

And her warning that the village was dangerous, not because of any inherent danger within the village, but because they intended to make it dangerous themselves.

After hearing my deductions, Fione clapped and nodded in agreement.

“Hahaha. Spot on. For a lizard, you’re quite intelligent. It would be a shame to skin you and sell your hide.”

“That’s right. We’re hunters from the Empire. In fact, even in the Empire, skinning beastkin slaves is illegal.”

“But sometimes, the more illegal something is, the more valuable it becomes. Werewolf pelts are that kind of business.”

The two excitedly explained their profession, their faces resembling those of children explaining something innocent to someone who knows nothing.

“And these are unregistered squatters, without a master, and even runaway slaves outside the Empire’s territory. Honestly, it’s like they’re begging to be hunted. Not just one or two, but enough to form a village.”

“All the trouble of coming to this backwater country was worth it, huh? Hehehe. This is a jackpot!”

“And we even get a bonus lizard hide. Elves and dwarves don’t have much demand for hides, so we’ll just capture them as slaves. As for the human woman, it’s best if she runs away now. We’re hunters of beasts, not humans.”

Then, with eyes gleaming with desire, they slowly looked us up and down.

Seeing this, I quietly sighed in relief.

Hoo…

“At least it’s a relief.”

“What are you talking about? Have you lost your mind?”

“No. I mean it literally. If there had been some half-baked sob story, it would have been harder to take them down. But they’re just trash, plain and simple. I can beat them without holding back.”

At my words, Leon let out a disbelieving laugh.

“What? Are you planning to fight us? Do you think you can win just because you outnumber us…?”

Leon drew the longsword at his waist, making sure we all saw it.

And then, a vivid red aura began to emanate from the blade.

Under the full moon, only his drawn sword emitted an ominous red glow.

It was the aura of a true master.

The villagers swallowed hard as they saw this.

“The reason we came as a pair is because just the two of us are enough to slaughter all of you.”

“Though, honestly, we didn’t want to share the bounty with others.”

Fione also drew two daggers from her waist.

The daggers she drew also shimmered with a dark aura.

On one side, villagers armed with farming tools like sickles and wooden clubs. On the other, two hunters with clearly visible, intense auras.

It was a gap that numbers alone couldn’t bridge.

“Then, before I accidentally kill you all, transform into your wolf forms!”

With that, Leon charged at us, his red-glowing sword in hand.

And thus, the battle began.

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