Chapter 21

After Elise’s terrifying proposal to rip out all their claws and teeth, then cut off and roast their hind legs, the wolves’ faces turned ghostly pale. Elise gleefully pitched her idea with sparkling eyes, but I shook my head.

“That… before anything, we should probably figure out what’s going on first.”

“So you’ll understand the situation and then do as I say?”

[Prince, stop bullying them!]

Ariel roughly pulled Elise away from me, growling like a wolf herself. Elise just shrugged.

“Bullying? I’m just trying to make things more fun! And if you lost a bet, you should behave yourself, kid.”

[Who says I lost?! I won!]

“Oh my, your vision must be blurry. You caught 6, I caught 7.”

[Hogwash! I got 7, you got 6!]

“Come on, that’s enough. Let’s talk about this later.”

I barely managed to calm down the bickering Elise and Ariel. Even though I didn’t do much, I felt strangely exhausted, like a mom watching her kids fight.

I scratched my head and stood in front of the trembling wolves, who nervously swallowed at the sight of my massive scythe.

“So, what’s your connection with the pigs, and can you explain the current situation properly?”

[If you try to dodge, we’ll make kebabs out of you.]

“I’d like to taste one of your hind legs. Who’s volunteering?”

More ominous threats came from Elise and Ariel in the background. The bespectacled wolf hesitantly began his explanation after burying his head further into the ground.

“To put it straight—pigs borrowed a lot of money from our Wolf Company. If they couldn’t repay both the principal and interest, our company gains ownership of their bodies. This pig fell into that category. He borrowed the money, got addicted to gambling and drinking, and naturally couldn’t pay it back.”

“How much did he borrow?”

The wolf hesitated for a moment before answering.

“1 billion.”

“1 BILLION?!”

“No, 1 billion three times.”

My jaw almost dropped. Borrowed 1 billion not once, but THREE TIMES?! Isn’t that ridiculous? They even had him sign an agreement giving up his body and still lent him more money when he couldn’t pay?

“Sounds like you kept lending money to someone who couldn’t repay…”

Elise echoed my thoughts, and the wolf cautiously continued.

“It’s against the rules to eat the pig directly, so we let him handle it himself…”

[Wait, are you saying this is some kind of human trafficking?]

“Yes. The pig sent us substitutes to be eaten instead of himself.”

So, summarizing: The pig borrowed 1 billion, couldn’t pay it back, was about to be eaten, so he sold others instead.

“The boss liked the animals the pig sent, so he forgave the debt. Then the pig borrowed again.”

“Who were the victims he sold? Were they travelers like us?”

“No, he sold his own brothers.”

This shocking revelation left me stunned, as if I’d been hit over the head with a hammer.

“What, his own brothers?”

“Yes. He handed over the eldest and second-born. Oh, their meat was so tender, I’ll never forget the taste.”

[Shock! Sold his own family?! What a piece of trash!]

“Kyarrrr! That pig sounds way more interesting than I thought!”

The bespectacled wolf licked his lips at the memory. No matter how you look at it, selling random travelers would’ve been bad enough, but selling his own family was beyond comprehension.

In the fable, the first two pigs built weak houses and got eaten by the wolf. Here, the first two pigs were sold by the third to become food for the wolves.

While I was processing this, Elise glanced at my face, grabbed the wolf’s thick hand, and gave it a squeeze.

CRACK!

“Aaaaaah!!! My hand!!!”

Her monstrous strength crushed the wolf’s hand like a tin can. I was speechless again, realizing her strength far exceeded my imagination. It was truly terrifying.

The bespectacled wolf clutched his mangled hand, tears streaming down his face. Elise grabbed his collar and smiled sweetly.

“See, you’re making Prince Siyoo upset. You should know better than to act smug around us. Next time you upset him, I’ll rip out your tongue and whip you with it.”

“Guhhh! I understand! I swear on everything I have!”

“Uh, it doesn’t need to go that far…”

Elise looked satisfied as she turned to me, and I awkwardly gave her a thumbs-up instead of finishing my sentence. Internally, I resolved never to cross her.

[You’re making Siyoo uncomfortable! He doesn’t like cruelty!]

Ariel glared, and Elise smirked.

“You need to be firm sometimes. Life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, kiddo.”

[I’m NOT a kid!!! How many times do I have to tell you?!]

They started arguing again. As I mulled over the wolf’s story, I hesitantly asked another question.

“Earlier you mentioned the pig’s mother. Was he planning to sell her too?”

The bespectacled wolf glanced nervously at Elise before nodding painfully through his sweat.

“Yes. The original ‘product’ we were supposed to receive was the pig’s mother. But somehow, you all were here instead.”

“What a psycho…”

[Shocking! How could anyone think of selling their own mother? A complete disgrace! Such a worthless pig!]

Thinking back to our first meeting with the pig, his worried expression now seemed tinged with guilt about having to sell even his own mother. It sent shivers down my spine.

When Elise noticed me thinking, the wolf quickly hid his other hand, fearing it might meet the same fate. Elise laughed evilly at his fearful reaction before turning to me.

“What a despicable pig. What do you want to do, Siyoo?”

“…We need to hunt him down. He’s gone way past any acceptable line.”

“Kyahaha! Great! Let’s turn that pig into barbecue!”

[But how do we find him? Do you know where he went?]

Ariel’s sharp question made the bespectacled wolf jump up urgently, his eyes filled with the primal desire to survive.

“I, I know!”

[Where?]

“B-but before I tell you, could you promise me something?”

“What kind of promise?”

“If you don’t harm us further and let us go safely, I’ll tell you immediately.”

The wolf was smart. Knowing the savage threats made earlier, he figured even if he gave the information willingly, they wouldn’t treat him kindly. He needed insurance—an assurance of safe passage.

Elise smiled amusingly at his request, but it wasn’t a friendly smile. It was chilling, implying “How dare you speak so boldly after trying to kill us?”

“Hmm, quite bold, aren’t you? Now you’re begging for your life after trying to kill us?”

Elise grabbed the wolf’s jaw, forcing his mouth open and gripping his tongue. The giant wolf trembled violently, clearly terrified of losing his tongue.

“You seem to have a problematic tongue. Let me play doctor today and fix it for you! To prevent future trouble, I might just remove it entirely!”

[What do you think, Siyoo?]

Ariel quietly watched the scene before asking me. Elise also waited for my response, tongue still in hand. Despite everyone acting independently, they respected my decision surprisingly.

These wolves were essentially loan sharks involved in human trafficking today. They accepted sacrifices without batting an eye if it benefited them, ignoring the suffering of innocent victims.

The pig who sold his family was disgusting, but these wolves weren’t much better.

Even if we let them go, they’d likely repeat the same crimes.

All the wolves looked at me with pleading eyes, silently begging for mercy. I thought about the victims who must’ve begged similarly before ending up in their stomachs, which only made me feel nauseous.

So my conclusion was:

“If you tell us where the pig went, I won’t kill you.”

The wolves visibly relaxed upon hearing this promise of life. Some even shed tears of relief, having anticipated worse fates.

“But we’ll cripple you to ensure you can’t do this again.”

Elise grinned widely, showing her teeth, clearly pleased with my decision.

“Kyahaha! Good~ Killing’s getting boring anyway!”

Thus began a merciless session of violence under Elise’s leadership. The wolves screamed for death as Elise gleefully shattered limbs, pulling out claws and fangs while treating their cries as cheerful music.

Ariel and I just watched from the sidelines, unable to intervene.

Part of me felt pity, but they deserved punishment for their sins.

That day, the wolves’ desperate screams echoed through the forest as they transformed from predators to prey.