Dog Princess
It took a long while for Hamfist to lead us around the camp.
Even after I’d seen every part of it, Huanggu’s memories still showed no sign of returning.
"Y-you really don’t remember anything...?"
"Grrrr...!"
That was all Huanggu had for him: pure hostility.
Hamfist turned his head away and secretly wiped at his eyes.
I stood with my arms folded, looking at a large cage tucked away in a corner.
I didn’t know where they’d gotten them, but inside the sturdy iron bars were naked humans, crammed together like discarded meat.
They were only barely breathing, eyes dull and empty of any will to live, but apparently they were still alive.
Just as humans had once raised pigs and cattle before the world changed, the werewolves had begun raising humans.
Of course, human growth was painfully slow, so they didn’t get much meat for the time and effort it took to raise them.
That was why the werewolves here had apparently chosen a far more efficient method.
"Charlotte-nim?"
Hamfist’s voice called to me then.
I turned slightly, and he continued with an awkward smile.
"It’ll be time for dinner soon. Would you care to join us?"
"Ah..."
I nodded before I even realized I was doing it.
As soon as they began preparing the meal, every werewolf in the camp sprang into motion.
Some came carrying their arms full of red potions; others came with freshly honed Chinese cleavers and buckets.
The moment the werewolves started moving, the humans trapped inside the cages began to react as well.
"N-no!"
"Stop!"
"Help me!"
Desperate screams rang out.
The ones who’d been limp and listless suddenly flailed at the bars, reaching out with frantic hands.
The werewolves watched without so much as blinking.
If anything, they seemed to smack their lips in anticipation of the meat they were about to eat.
A werewolf carrying a huge Chinese cleaver stepped into the cage area and locked the door behind him.
Then the cleaver began to move.
"Aaaagh!"
The human chosen as the target fought and thrashed, but there was very little he could do.
All a human could manage was to scream and flail their arms and legs in helpless resistance.
Every time the blade moved with sickening precision, red blood and strips of flesh dropped into the bucket below.
How long had it been?
When the human was only coughing up froth of blood and no longer putting up any real reaction, the werewolf working on him poured a red potion over his body.
The red liquid touched the wounds and immediately began to work its effect.
As if replenishing the missing vitality, the severed parts of the human’s body began to regenerate.
It felt almost like watching a vampire’s regeneration.
Once the wound treatment was finished, the werewolf drew an X on the human’s arm with a marker and tossed him into the corner of our cage.
"Wow... are you giving us the blood?"
It was Aurell who asked.
She only seemed to be licking her lips at the sight, as if she felt nothing else at all.
"Yes, of course."
Hamfist nodded with confidence.
I watched the scene with a sour expression.
I thought I’d adapted, in my own way, to this changed world, but actually seeing something like this with my own eyes made me feel strange.
That didn’t mean the werewolves were wrong, though.
Werewolves were a race that had to eat human flesh in order to survive, weren’t they?
It must have been a choice they’d had no real alternative to.
If they supplied meat like this, then wouldn’t other humans be spared?
It was only the sacrifice of a few for the sake of the many.
At least, that was what I wanted to believe.
"This way, Charlotte-nim."
Even as I followed Hamfist toward the dining area, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the cages in the corner.
Aaaagh—!
Another scream scattered uselessly into the air.
Dinner was served inside a wide military tent.
The werewolves had clearly put some effort into it; the interior was surprisingly well appointed.
There were elegant-looking chairs and a dining table.
Even a candelabrum decorated with skulls.
The dishes laid out on the table looked expensive, too.
The wine glasses prepared for Aurell and me, both vampires, were no different.
After we sat and waited for a moment, a female werewolf came into the tent pulling a cart.
Judging by the smell, the cart was loaded with human meat and blood.
Just as I’d expected, the female werewolf began setting the food onto the table.
As the blood-soaked red meat was placed on the plates, Hamfist and Huanggu stuck out their tongues and licked their lips.
The female werewolf pulled out a large bottle and poured blood into the wineglass in front of Aurell and me.
There was still warmth left in it, which meant it had just been drawn.
I rested my chin on the table and swirled the glass.
As the liquid sloshed slowly within, the thick scent of blood drifted out in waves.
They hadn’t exactly announced the start of the meal, but Hamfist and Huanggu were already digging in.
Hamfist cut into the red meat with knife and fork.
By contrast, Huanggu used only a fork, shoveling pieces into her mouth with reckless abandon.
Her cheeks bulged out, and bright blood dribbled from between her lips.
Was it really that good?
I narrowed my eyes and kept swirling the wineglass.
The more I did, the denser the scent of blood became.
The instincts of a vampire kept teasing my saliva glands.
"Aren’t you going to eat?"
"Hmm..."
I stopped moving at Aurell’s question.
Unlike her excited expression, Aurell still hadn’t taken a sip of blood.
It was almost as if she was waiting for me to drink first.
A fair amount of time had passed since I’d opened my eyes in this world, but I had never once tasted human blood with my own mouth.
Any flesh I’d devoured in battle had been through shadows, so I’d never had the chance to taste it directly.
"Is there something you don’t like about it...?"
"No."
Hamfist watched me anxiously, gauging my mood.
In the end, I had no choice but to tilt the glass in my hand.
Swish—
The blood began to flow slowly.
It had clearly just been drawn from a living body; the warmth of it brushed my lips.
Just one sip.
The blood slid across my tongue and spread slowly through my mouth.
"Ha—"
The first thing I realized was that I’d let out a short breath of admiration.
I hadn’t even been aware of it, and yet the sound had slipped out of me.
The first taste my tongue recognized was sweetness.
It felt as though melted chocolate were wrapping itself gently around my tongue.
Blood, which should have tasted sharply of iron and rot, was sweet instead.
The tongue of a vampire seemed to have a very strange structure indeed.
The second taste I recognized was a faint, spreading bitterness.
If that bitterness hadn’t been there, I would have drowned forever in a sea of sweetness.
It was a flavor that seemed to stimulate every taste bud in my mouth at once.
My whole body began to heat up, as if every cell inside me had started dancing.
I’d only had one sip, and yet it could make me feel this good.
What would happen if I drank the whole glass?
At last I understood why Aurell had been so fervent about human blood.
Once you tasted this, there was no way you wouldn’t become obsessed.
The tiny concern that had been lodged in some corner of my mind vanished in an instant.
Of course, that concern had been about the humans in the cages.
I no longer cared at all.
All I was interested in now was the swaying wineglass in my hand.
Unable to suppress the faint smile creeping onto my face, I tipped the glass back again.
There was surely no alcohol in blood.
And yet I still felt myself growing giddy, as if I’d drunk myself tipsy.
My legs, which had been sitting quietly before, began to swing back and forth.
When I glanced down, Aurell and Huanggu were doing the same, their own legs kicking restlessly too.
Only then did I realize how warm and relaxed the mood had become.
Taking another sip, I asked casually, "Hamfist."
"Yes?"
"I’ve got something I’m curious about. Can you answer me?"
With a fork still in his mouth, Hamfist nodded enthusiastically.
For someone built like a mountain, he had surprisingly cute manners.
I savored the blood in my mouth as I chose my words.
Hadn’t I decided to ask everything I’d been wondering about once I met a werewolf?
"The full moon—"
BANG!
Just as I started to speak, a sudden gunshot cracked through the air.
Huanggu, sitting beside me, twitched her ears hard.
The moment the shot rang out, the foul smell of silver hit my nose.
Mixed with the blood scent, it meant one of the werewolves outside had been wounded.
A gun, and silver bullets.
Only human users could use both of those.
"T-this is...!"
Hamfist sprang up from his seat with a furious expression.
Humans!
A human attack!
Everyone, attack!
BANG! RATATATATAT—!
The werewolves’ shouts and the gunfire that erupted from every direction collided in the air.
Aurell, looking terribly startled, ducked and hid beneath the table.
"Charlotte-nim! Please take care of Dog Princess!"
After throwing me that line, Hamfist bolted out of the tent.
By the time he darted past the entrance, his body had already transformed into a half-man, half-beast form.
"Ch-Charlotte-nim..."
At Aurell’s anxious call, I nodded and leaned back in my chair, my body growing languid.
Maybe it was because I’d drunk blood; I felt limp, almost drunk.
But at the same time, every sense in my body had sharpened.
Through the scent of human blood drifting on the air, I could tell exactly how many attackers had broken in.
Twenty.
That was a lot.
And the stench of silver was so strong that it meant they’d brought a serious number of silver bullets with them.
Aaaagh—!
I couldn’t even tell whose scream that was anymore.
"What do you want to do about Huanggu?"
"Huh?"
"This is your home, isn’t it?"
Huanggu didn’t seem to remember, but this was definitely her home.
If she wanted help, there was no reason I couldn’t give it.
"I... I don’t know..."
Huanggu’s tail drooped at my question.
She looked at me with a confused face.
"Then I’ll do whatever I want?"
"Yes!"
I downed the rest of the blood in my glass and rose to my feet.
Flap—!
The moment I thought I needed wings, a vast shadow wing unfurled behind my back.
But the size was strange.
"H-huh..."
"Wow..."
Aurell and Huanggu stared at my wings in amazement.
They were about twice as large as usual.