The Wolf's Back Arches Like a Bow

The wolf's back arched like a bow. #130

Right away, I pulled out a single, unmistakably suspicious bottle of potion—one that hadn't even had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its wrapper removed. The murky color made it look like drinking it would send you straight to the King of the Underworld for a chat.

“It's a sleeping pill. Brand new, too.”

It was even the kind famous for being used in date crimes. Of course, this wasn't something Kang Sian had secretly bought to do anything shady. This had always belonged to someone else.

“Sleeping pills?”

“I found it in my friend's room and swiped it.”

When I said friend, I meant the girls. And the only one among them whose room I could casually rummage through was Cheon Mari. In other words, this had surprisingly come from Cheon Mari's room.

I wondered why something like this would be in a girl's room, but it wasn't shocking enough to make me question reality. When someone was already out here smashing reality itself, smashing goals, smashing baseball games, and smashing the worldviews of every community user, what could possibly seem weird anymore?

In Cheon Mari's room, anything could exist, and anything could not exist. That was the special privilege of a girl who could run through time.

Having spent the last twelve years by her side, I had absorbed enough gender awareness to fully understand that women could, in fact, be like this. It was truly an astonishing amount of life experience accumulated over those years.

'Friend…? No way a girl would be carrying something like this around, right?'

And thinking it strange for a woman to possess date-rape drugs was, in itself, a form of gender discrimination. Couldn't a woman carry around such substances for the purpose of committing date crimes?

Though, since I hadn't personally observed it, whether it was truly a crime remained in Schrödinger's sleeping-pill territory. Still, the word Cheon Mari carried the same meaning as crime, so I could be certain it had been intended for some nefarious purpose.

“You just took it from your friend's room?”

“Yeah, I just took it.”

“…Isn't that stealing? It doesn't seem like something you should just use however you want.”

“Hey now, stealing? I merely relocated it, that's all.”

Stealing Cheon Mari's stuff (X)

Relocating Cheon Mari's stuff (O)

Socially speaking, humans didn't call this stealing—they called it temporarily moving something. Besides, I planned to return it to its original spot after using it, so there was no real problem.

Naturally, the moment Ines heard this, she frowned. She was shocked both that I'd brought it and where it had come from. At the same time, her eyes clearly asked how I could say something like that so shamelessly.

But this was only possible because, unlike her, I wasn't an uneducated person.

“I really don't understand you.”

“Then you don't have to try.”

I tore open the dog treat bag and poured the entire contents of the potion bottle inside. Gripping the torn opening tightly, I shook it back and forth. Once the two substances were thoroughly mixed, I began tossing the treats one by one onto the middle of the path.

Since they were small and the distance was considerable, the wolves didn't notice a single one. In the end, I hurled the entire bag of dog treats onto the ground.

“Hide in that building over there.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

After sending Ines to a safe spot, I whistled. I blew it loudly and repeatedly, so the wolves noticed and turned their heads. As they slowly approached the source of the sound, proudly displaying their green manes, something spilled on the ground caught everyone's attention.

The sweet scent tickled their noses, and the shape stimulated their animal instincts. It had to be delicious prey, no doubt about it.

The wolves forgot what sound they'd heard and began frantically chewing on the dog treats. The soft, chewy, melt-in-your-mouth texture made their mouths ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠water. All sorts of mixed substances slid down their throats.

As they stirred inside their bodies, the drug's effects spread sweetly. The more they swallowed, the slower their movements became. They should have stopped immediately, but animal instinct rendered that impossible.

Eventually, their bodies began to tremble, and their eyes closed. One by one they collapsed, and in the end, every wolf lay on the ground with its mouth hanging open. Judging by how soundly they slept, it didn't look like they'd wake up anytime soon.

Only then could I step back onto the road ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with the admiring Ines.

“I can't believe there was a method like this…”

“See? Isn't it way better than brawling?”

“Yeah… I suppose it is.”

She glanced back at the wolves once. She'd been trying to roughly distinguish premium meat by looking at their wounds, size, and muscles. Unfortunately, I didn't have that kind of ability. If I did, I wouldn't have just become the Academy Butcher—I'd have copied the meat itself.

That's why I brought out a proxy to act in place of a layman like myself. I simply used the analysis function on my Hunter Watch.

“Analyze. Focus on taste.”

A hologram appeared along with the keywords. I hummed as I checked the status of the other wolves one by one.

“Not recommended… Average… Average… Concerning… Severe… Excellent? Ah, found it!”

Only then did I locate the one I wanted. The wolf with low muscle mass, plump flesh, and a relatively clean appearance was, by anyone's standards, excellent cooking material.

I pointed at it as if to say this one. Ines scratched her head, seemingly skeptical that I could distinguish wolves using nothing but a Hunter Watch. Her expression asked whether such a function could really be trusted.

It was trustworthy, of course, but unfortunately the Hunter Watch Ines wore was an older model. It couldn't deliver the sharp, precise analysis that mine could. In fact, it barely managed to generate protective shields, let alone analyze anything.

Anyway, since I liked it, that wolf was chosen as the main ingredient. Ines used the rope the other side had thrown us to tie up the prey. After roughly binding it in a turtle-shell style—sturdy and thorough—once the wolf was securely tied, I slit the throats of the remaining wolves.

“Maybe because they don't have shields. The blade goes in really smoothly.”

Every stab sank right in. I'd only used a tiny bit of magic power, yet it felt like slicing through soft tofu. To people without magic, it might seem like an opponent they could easily defeat, but Shareltea wasn't that kind of pushover. The reason the blade cut so well was thanks to a sharp sword and my precise magic control.

'Is that guy even human? Ah, right—he's not human.'

Ines watched me with clear disgust. There was a sense of inferiority at seeing someone more skilled than her, but she also seemed to wonder if someone like me even needed to attend the academy. I looked like I could make a decent living as a hunter just fine. Maybe I'd come to learn magic more in-depth or something.

With those thoughts, she finished the last knot. The moment she thought it was done, the wolf's eyes suddenly snapped open. Its gaze darted around wildly. It quickly realized the situation it was in.

Humans. Restraints. Death.

It immediately thrashed and let out a loud bark like a damn dog. The sudden situation startled both of us. Ines froze for a second, and I immediately rushed toward the wolf.

“Move!”

I had to shut its mouth right away. I sheathed my sword and slammed my magic-infused fist down on its crown.

“Yelp!”

The wolf's back arched like a bow. With a single punch, its eyes rolled back and its tongue lolled out. It looked like a corpse, but fortunately it was still twitching slightly. Even if its brain was dead, it was still alive for now.

“You should've gagged it too.”

“I-I didn't expect it to wake up so suddenly.”

“Sigh…”

The look in her eyes was exactly what you'd give an F-rank trash hunter. It was true, but Ines, unwilling to admit it, tried to protest.

“Next time, gag it first. You might get bitten for no reason.”

But as I actually moved to cover the wolf's mouth, she couldn't say anything. The next order I gave her was to carry the wolf on her back. She wanted to refuse, but doing so might mean getting punched by that painful fist again. Since my expression wasn't exactly pleasant, she awkwardly lifted the wolf without complaint.

All that was left was to retrace our steps. Without any incidents.

As if that damn dog barking so loudly wouldn't cause any problems.

Whoosh!

The sound of something slicing through the air suddenly rang out. The instant the faint noise reached us, I instinctively heightened my senses. My pupils darted rapidly, and I shouted immediately.

“Damn it! Ines!”

A single flaming arrow was flying straight toward her. It had already gotten dangerously close. There was no time to knock it away with a weapon, and it was too late to push her aside.

Therefore, only one option remained.

I had to step in and protect her.

I thrust my arm forward across the trajectory of the burning arrow.

Thud!

“Whoa?!”

The arrow bounced off my forearm. Naturally, Ines's eyes widened at the sight of the arm that had suddenly appeared in front of her and the arrow now rolling on the ground.

On the other hand, I frowned at how unexpectedly powerful the attack had been.

The fact that a single arrow could wipe out an entire shield bar proved this wasn't some low-grade monster. Sure enough, at the far end of the arrow's trajectory, familiar white smoke was rising.

“…K-Knights?!”

Five men and women wearing steam engines that spewed white smoke. Unlike the squires we'd met before, these seemed to be a lightweight version—their bare skin and cloth clothing were visible in several places.

I knew exactly who they were. Their outfits closely resembled what I'd seen in the game, so I recognized them instantly.

“Hero Academy. Looking at their half-assed equipment, they're probably first-years.”

Ines panicked. A group of five from Hero Academy meant a hero party. This was dangerous. Extremely dangerous.

She looked around frantically while still carrying the wolf on her back, clearly searching for an escape route. But I grabbed her wrist to calm her down. Then, with composed teal eyes, I spoke.

“Put the wolf down right now and draw your weapon.”

“W-what are you planning? They're hero candidates. Shouldn't we run if we want to survive?”

I shook my head. Then I drew the sword I'd just sheathed.

“Have you ever killed a person before?”

It was the perfect situation for some early education. I couldn't let this opportunity slip.