Chapter 58
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Red Cloak
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【Big Bad Wolf】
After parting with Gretel, you immediately encountered the Big Bad Wolf.
Strangely, the Big Bad Wolf showed no hostility toward you.
From her explanation, you learned a fact you didn't know.
In fact, Hansel wasn't captured by the wolf—he was the one relentlessly chasing her down to court her.
Hansel spotted you and the wolf.
He caught you two rolling around intimately in the cave.
It's a misunderstanding, but explaining it won't be easy.
Reward: Random Skill Enhancement
"Caw!"
"Ugh, why are you picking on my crow?"
The aggressive Black Wolf.
She's sending me out to take care of Hansel.
Not really—more like using a form of shock therapy.
A clever way to show that just as it's weird for a crow and a wolf to pair up, it's equally weird for a human and a wolf to pair up.
"Neoooom!"
Of course, Hansel didn't seem all that clever.
"Shwaaaang!"
Huh?
What's with you, Spiky?
I calmed down the puffed-up Spiky, then turned to face Hansel charging straight at me.
【Hansel LV20】
The weakest level I'd call among the guys I've seen here.
Level isn't everything, but it was blatantly obvious he couldn't compare to Gretel or the Red Cloak.
Still, he seemed stronger than those adventurers from last time.
"Damn, what do I do?"
The wolf was getting anxious now that her strategy had failed.
This was a dead-end cave—no way out—so she had to deal with the charging Hansel somehow.
But it was fine.
I had something reliable.
Shwak!
I spread my wings and soared majestically toward Hansel.
"Come on, today it'll end…"
Hansel trailed off, unable to finish.
Yeah, even a love-struck fool couldn't ignore this.
"That around his neck…"
The token Gretel had given me.
She'd said it would let them tell friend from foe.
Entrusting it to someone meant she trusted them like her own sibling.
"Gretel?"
Looks like he recognized his sister's item.
This should make things easy now.
Just get Hansel home safe like Gretel asked?
Mission complete for now.
Gretel could handle curing his weird tastes herself.
"You bastard, even my sister…!"
Huh?
His eyes were rolling back?
"You devil! The wolf and now my sister too! What the hell did you dooooo?!"
No, why?
How could I possibly handle a level 40 witch?
"This candy on the ground! Mandragora—my sister's favorite…!"
Some kind of misunderstanding.
Logically, I'd borrowed Gretel's necklace—even as a crow, no way I could've stolen it.
…Well, half-stole it, but still!
Unlike the worked-up Hansel, I was a thoroughly rational crow.
I knew this could be settled with words.
"I won't forgive you! You featherless turkeyyyyy!"
Wolf, hold him off a sec.
"Caw."
I thrust my talons straight at the charging Hansel.
Judgment Chicken Kick.
This oughta calm him down.
Pwaaaang!
"…Kak?"
Hansel, struck by my chicken kick, had his waist bend right over.
Kwaaaang!
He flew far off and slammed into the cave wall.
"Ugh… so… frustrating…"
…
Why are you so weak?
Level 20, right?
Am I that strong?
No, not the time for that.
"Can't even avenge…"
You can't die!
Gretel'll kill me!
*
"Here… ugh…"
Fortunately, Hansel didn't croak.
Good thing—I'd been all set to pluck him and boil him up nice.
But figuring he'd rampage the second he woke, I'd tied him tight with rope.
Well, technically a belt-like thing from the Black Wolf's clothes, but same difference—he couldn't move.
"Awake? Phew, a guy who loses even to a crow keeps glomming onto me."
"W-w-w-wolf?"
Hansel jolted in terror at the sight of the Black Wolf.
"Try any more of that creepy talk. This time I'll take care of you."
"What do you… No, how can a wolf talk? Where even is this…"
"…What?"
"Kak?"
Me and Spiky both cocked our heads at the same time.
Was Hansel like some busted appliance or something?
One good whack and his brain got fixed, apparently.
That sleazy face and voice he'd had for the wolf? Gone.
Now he finally looked like someone I could talk to.
"Ugh… my head…"
Hansel groaned about a headache.
That's when I spotted something sparkling on his forearm.
Traits drop from human bodies too?
Curious, I pecked at it with my beak.
"Crow, why're you pecking at thin air?"
The wolf sounded baffled.
No one else could see it?
The short, needle-like thing stuck in his forearm.
Suk.
I pulled out the mysterious shiny object.
Dropped it to get a closer look—what the heck made it sparkle like that?
Paat.
It vanished in an instant.
"Kak?"
What was that?
Reminded me of a raccoon washing cotton candy in water.
No—my shiny!
"Ku… heh… y-yeah… I remember…!"
Staying wary in case he was faking it, I listened to what he had to say.
"I was roaming the forest chasing the wolf when… suddenly my arm stung."
Arm stung?
I pecked right at the spot where the needle had been.
"Yeah, exactly here. How'd you…?"
"Caw caw."
Got a knack for it.
"Didn't know what it was at first, but the moment I saw that wolf, everything went weird. These inexplicable emotions welled up, and I started saying stuff totally against my will…"
"Well, you look fine now."
A shiny needle only I could see.
Hansel went weird right after getting pricked by it and spotting the wolf.
To be precise, pricked first, then saw the wolf.
…
Cupid's arrow.
There's that tale where you get hit by an arrow and fall blindly in love with the first person—or thing—you see.
Matched Hansel's symptoms perfectly.
He'd unwittingly turned into an animal lover.
After my smack and pulling the needle, he was back to normal.
Pretty solid theory.
Problem was, who the heck did that to Hansel?
Any reason to turn him into an animal lover specifically?
Or was seeing the wolf a fluke?
If it'd been meant for her instead…
That's when it hit me—one suspect stood out.
"Everyone's here, huh?"
The owner of that voice drifting in now.
Red Cloak.
A chilling voice echoed from outside the cave.
"…Y-you!"
Hansel shouted in a panic.
"This is bad."
The Black Wolf sounded troubled too.
"Wolf, Hansel, crow—all together? Unbelievable. You were allies from the start?"
Now I got it.
The truth behind this mess.
"My god. And here I thought Mr. Crow and I could be good friends."
The Red Cloak had tried manipulating Hansel with some power.
Probably to make him fall for her.
But he spotted the Red Cloak's intended target—the wolf—instead, so she'd tried to wipe her out.
"And a ghost to boot."
"Shu, shuooong…"
She even noticed Spiky hiding on me.
"Ghosts are what I hate most, but you hid it well."
Druruk.
A metallic scrape rang out.
"A single ghost haunts this cave, doesn't it?"
The Red Cloak grabbed the scythe and hammer from her basket.
The tools in her hands shifted size.
They morphed into massive weapons worthy of the term "horror show."
"Hey, human. That's her, right?"
"S-seems like it…"
"You two know each other?"
"I don't. First time seeing her face."
First time?
"Bull. She's the one who kept chasing you down."
"I don't know! No clue why she's…"
Then why was the Red Cloak so obsessed with Hansel?
Whatever— one thing was crystal clear.
The Red Cloak approaching this place wasn't here to chat.
"Nothing to lose but our chains, everything to gain in the world."
Chraruk.
Chains rattled.
"Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt euch!"
A song echoed.
Similar to what I'd heard fighting the scarecrow in Skarnas.
But this felt more like steely resolve than beautiful chorus.
And somehow, it sounded like German, not Latin.
Tuduk.
The ground trembled.
From it, foul creatures began crawling out one by one.
Skeletons made of bone, or ghouls still clinging to flesh.
The horde of humanoid undead kept growing.
"Arise—you too!"
An inexplicable force gripped the space, almost compelling me to stand.
The Red Cloak hefted her massive scythe and hammer.
【Red Cloak LV44】
No—the Red Cloak.
She was the boss of this place.
[Sub quest has been updated.]