Listen to Me! A Fellow Werewolf
Something about this situation gave me an eerie sense of déjà vu, like I'd been through it before somewhere. For some reason, the woman in front of me stuck in my mind.
I'm a werewolf. Even without transforming, my physical abilities far surpass those of an ordinary person. And yet, while I was running at full speed, this crazy pervert nearly caught up to me.
This woman... no way.
"Don't make a fuss! Haa. Why are there so many perverts popping up these days..."
Marie sighed, shooting me a sidelong glare.
"What? Why?"
"You're really shameless."
"Listen to me! I'll explain everything!"
"Go ahead. Let's hear it."
"..."
The woman who'd insisted she could explain suddenly clammed up when I pressed her, her eyes darting around. No way. At this point, it's obvious, right?
"Why can't you speak? Is there seriously something everyone's in on except me? You, pervert, and this woman pervert too—what the hell happened that has you wandering around naked?"
Marie looked like she was dying of curiosity.
Yeah, what did happen?
"Um... Marie? People make mistakes sometimes, right? Like accidentally losing their clothes and taking a stroll. How about giving her a chance with some generosity?"
"Why are you suddenly taking her side, pervert?"
"It doesn't feel like someone else's business..."
"Is that something to brag about?"
"No, I didn't mean it like that."
I had no idea why I was defending her. Werewolves besides me were all man-eating monsters. This woman probably was too. Still, as the first of my kind I'd met since coming to this world, I didn't want to just let her get dragged off to the police station.
Plus, there were things I wanted to ask. As I pondered how to convince Marie, her phone blared noisily. She checked it and scowled fiercely.
"Something wrong?"
"...A monster's appeared. I have to go."
"You should hurry! What if someone gets hurt?"
"Why do you look so pleased, pervert?"
"When did I?"
"How many layers of steel plate do you have on that face?"
Even as she said it, Marie sighed heavily and stepped off the woman, moving aside. I'd seen her sighing like that a lot lately—I was starting to worry she'd drop dead early. But if I said that, she'd probably snap that it was my fault, so I kept my mouth shut.
"I'll let it slide for now, but give me your number."
"My number?"
"Yeah. If this happens again, I'll chase you down and throw you in jail myself. Hurry up!"
"Uh, okay!"
The naked woman sat up, took Marie's phone, and meekly entered her number. As she leaned forward, her breasts were on full display, so I turned my head away. Not that I hadn't already seen everything.
"Hoo. Don't ever do this again. Got it?"
"Got it. I'll be careful from now on."
"You too, pervert. No more weird stuff."
"I told you, I'm done with that."
"I mean, don't do anything weird to this lady."
"...Isn't your trust in me a bit too low?"
"If you get arrested for a sex crime, I won't even visit. Just so you know."
With that, Marie dashed off toward the monster sighting.
"..."
"..."
Ah. Now what?
I took off my outer jacket and draped it over the naked woman first.
"Thanks."
"My place is right around the corner. Want to come with?"
"Huh?"
I'd invited her home to confirm some things, but she suddenly fidgeted and hemmed and hawed. What was this about?
"Um... I have a boyfriend..."
"Out of nowhere?"
She just blurted it out without me even asking. Was she just crazy? Then it hit me how my words must've sounded. Inviting a naked woman to my place? It was suspicious as hell.
Afraid she'd actually call the cops, I hurriedly denied it.
"Not like that... You're a werewolf, right?"
"...Huh?"
Her face went pale in an instant, and she started trembling. Her reaction confirmed it. She was way too obvious.
"I'm a werewolf too. I have some questions—mind cooperating?"
"Put this on for now, at least."
I handed the woman—who'd obediently followed me home—a simple tracksuit. It was men's clothing, but since she was so tall, it didn't look oversized.
"You're really a werewolf?"
"Yeah. Want proof?"
"Sure."
"Hold on a sec."
Even if she was kin, stripping in front of her was embarrassing, so I went into the bedroom, transformed, and came back out to the living room. Transforming in my cramped apartment was a pain—the ceiling nearly scraped my head.
「Believe me now?」
Unable to speak, I grabbed paper and a pen and wrote it out. My huge claws made writing a mess; the handwriting was atrocious.
"It's real. Haven't seen another of our kind in ages."
「This is my first time meeting one.」
"Why write on paper? Can't you talk?"
「Still practicing. Anyway, can you transform and show me?」
"Sure."
She nodded and started stripping right in front of me. What the hell is this lunatic doing? I shoved her into the bedroom and made her change there. Now I saw she really was a crazy pervert. Shouldn't have brought her here.
Moments later, the door opened, revealing a werewolf with beautiful black fur like obsidian. Her transformed size was about the same as mine. Were all werewolves built like this? Or maybe because she was nearly my height even in human form.
But size wasn't the point right now. I knew it the second I saw her.
She was strong. Absurdly strong. No way I could beat her. Absolutely not.
Stronger than anything I'd encountered since arriving in this world. Only then did regret hit me for my reckless decision to bring her here. No killing intent now, but kin didn't mean ally. If she wanted me dead, she could do it easily. I'd nearly gotten myself in deep shit.
Still, now that she was here, I had to confirm what I needed to.
「Do you know anyone named Hwang Yerang or Seo Chaerim?」
"..."
Huh? Not her? I'd guessed, since Hwang Yerang mentioned a female werewolf teammate.
"How do you know those names?"
What? It is her?
Her face had given it away in human form, but as a werewolf, she was pure poker face. Was I like that too? I didn't look in the mirror much, so who knows.
Her voice had this beastly growl and a thick, slurred accent—unique.
「Recently, Hwang Yerang invited me to join as a teammate. I worked with Seo Chaerim as a supporter.」
"You're the kid Yerang mentioned."
「Yeah, that's me.」
Seo Chaerim already knew about me from Hwang Yerang, so this woman—Diana, as she'd introduce herself—must too if she was their teammate.
Writing was a hassle, so we both reverted, dressed, and talked normally.
"Got questions. What's a Betrayer? And what do you all do?"
"Not sure if I should say. Yerang might get mad."
"Why?"
"Stealing her role."
Didn't peg her as petty. Who knew?
"Then let's call her. Oh, what's your name?"
"Diana."
"Diana? A title?"
"No, real name. I'm foreign."
"Ah, got it."
A foreign werewolf. Impressive.
With Diana's okay, I called Hwang Yerang. She picked up quick, her voice as disarmingly innocent as ever—hard to believe she was a villain.
"Ooh, calling this late? Miss me?"
"Meeting your friend right now."
"Friend? Don't have any."
So brazen. I blanked for a sec, then continued.
"Diana?"
"...What? What's going on? Why's she with you?"
"Beats me. It just happened."
"Give me the address. Be there soon."
Thought we'd settle it over the phone, but nope. Since I had stuff to discuss with her anyway, I gave it. But was handing out my home address okay? Too late to regret—Diana was already inside.
She hung up right after, and not even ten minutes later, Hwang Yerang showed. How was she so fast? Did she transform and sprint?
"What the hell is this?"
"Don't just stand there—come sit."
She strode past me, and I caught a faint whiff of blood on her. That acrid stench I couldn't forget from recent encounters. Wanted to ask, but let it go. Not my business.
"So, explain. Why are you two together?"
What was with that tone? Made it sound like she'd caught me cheating.