The Wolf Commotion (5)

I wasn't sure if the wolf had turned into a human, or if a human who had turned into a wolf had reverted back. But one thing was certain: the creature in front of me was a wolf by birth.

If she were a normal human, there’s no way she could maintain such a blank expression while completely naked. Did she have no sense of shame? The wolf’s human form was exactly as I had imagined.

Her eyes were narrow slits, revealing absolutely nothing of what she was thinking. Her hair was the same color as the fur that had covered her body when she was a wolf. As if to declare her true nature, a pair of wolf ears stood perked up on top of her head. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠To make matters worse, the valley between her large, bronze-toned breasts was exposed in a violent display of anatomy, and the rock-hard abs beneath them were twitching.

Is she bigger than Iris? Or maybe even bigger than Isabella...?

No, no, no, no. Now is not the time to be admiring a naked wolf-girl. What would those voyeurs think if they saw this mess? Oh, damn it, they’re going to nitpick the hell out of this again.

Just in case, I snuck a glance at the gauge at the bottom of my vision.

Bullshit. As expected, it had dropped. And it wasn't just a one-time thing; it was plummeting in real-time.

It felt like it was already too late, but I squeezed my eyes shut before it could drop any further. Seriously, why is she naked? It’s common sense that when you transform into a human, you should at least be wearing clothes. I know the wolf is naturally naked, so it makes sense in her logic, but this is a Romance Fantasy world. There’s a limit to genre-bending. The age rating is skyrocketing in an instant, while my reputation is nose-diving just as fast.

Damn it, my reputation.

The only people here are Haede and Iris, but still...

Closing my eyes, however, turned out to be a mistake. I could feel it. I could feel her. Despite being crushed by that overwhelming, violent volume, I could feel her soft body heat. We were about the same height, and we were standing so close I could feel her breath. Those two massive mounds were pressed directly against my chest. Perhaps because my eyes were closed, the sensation of her body felt even more vivid. And since she wasn't wearing anything, that also...

No, no, no. I forcibly suppressed the ticklish, rising sensation. Regardless, the story couldn't progress while she was naked. I couldn't progress.

I took a deep breath and looked into the wolf's eyes. Because they were mere slits, I couldn't tell if we were actually making eye contact or not. I struggled to keep my gaze from drifting downward, forced it back up, and spat out a single sentence.

"First, turn back into your wolf form."

We’d deal with the rest after that.

Fortunately, the wolf immediately returned to her original form at my command. I felt a bit dizzy. To think that giant wolf was the exhibitionist from a moment ago... I felt like I was having a mental breakdown.

Perhaps because they had seen her naked, Iris and Haede were standing far away, unlike earlier when they had been petting the wolf indiscriminately.

"Did something happen?" Dante appeared, looking refreshed, as if he’d finished his business.

"Did you catch some kind of illness?"

"No!" Dante denied it so loudly it practically squeaked. He avoided my eyes, looking away. His face was flushed, and he was sweating... it was obvious something was up.

Ah. It had to be that. The poor guy, he must have been desperate for a bathroom break. That couldn't be helped. He was an Imperial Prince; he couldn't just pee in public.

Dante looked at my face for a moment, his eyes narrowing as if he’d read my thoughts. "You're thinking of something weird, aren't you?"

"It's nothing."

How embarrassing. I’ll keep your secret, brother.

"But why is a magical beast roaming inside the Academy? The barrier should prevent anything from entering."

"It must be because of a dungeon."

"A dungeon?"

"No matter how strong the barrier the Headmistress created is, it can't stop a dungeon from spawning."

According to the lore of Dawn Star Academia, dungeon spawning was a natural phenomenon. Even the Headmistress's barrier couldn't prevent it. Therefore, it wasn't strange for a dungeon to appear within the Academy grounds.

"But the wolf was being controlled by someone. There's no way a creature like that came out of a dungeon... unless."

"That 'unless' is probably right."

I pulled out the choker that had been around the wolf's neck. Because of Carnwennan, the choker was now just an ordinary object, but I hadn't thrown it away. It would serve as proof that this was the work of the villains who would soon attack the Academy.

"So you're saying someone deliberately spawned a dungeon inside the Academy?"

"It's a guess, but the probability is high."

As Dante said, this dungeon spawn wasn't a natural occurrence; it was someone exploiting the phenomenon. And that someone was connected to the villains who would attack the Academy. This wolf was a prototype. Since they couldn't break through the Headmistress's barrier directly, they had used this trick. The villains who would appear later would use the same principle to attack the Academy. That was why I had said the wolf was a precursor to the attack.

And that wasn't all. If we left the dungeon alone, it would become a massive headache during the attack. Unlike the train incident, the Academy attack was a "defeat event." Because the villains who appeared were at a level we couldn't possibly defeat, the event was scripted for us to lose. If we left the dungeon alone until the attack happened, the monsters inside would spill out, turning the situation into absolute chaos. If things went wrong, some of the main characters might even die here.

In the game, there was a "load save" feature, but did that exist here? That was why we had to clear the dungeon now to avoid any future trouble.

"So you mean there's a dungeon somewhere in the Academy?"

"Exactly. And the wolf knows where it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is." I looked at the wolf.

"Yes. I know the location of the dungeon," the wolf nodded.

"Wolf, lead the way to your home."

"Wait, Ian. Are you planning on going into the dungeon?" Dante grabbed my wrist as if to stop me, but I nodded.

"It's better to nip these things in the bud."

"Wouldn't it be better to leave it to the professors?" Haede raised her hand and suggested.

"Then we'd get penalized with demerits."

"Still, it's better than getting demerits. Who knows what's inside a dungeon..."

Of course, leaving it to the professors was the easiest route. There was a route in the game for that, too. You could hand the wolf over to the professor on duty and let them handle the subjugation. I remembered that if you took that route, you didn't get demerits and actually earned points. But I couldn't bring myself to take that route. It wasn't just because the Knightly Stars wanted me to enter the dungeon. The fact that someone had spawned a dungeon inside the Academy meant...

"No, Ian might be right. If the dungeon was spawned by someone, the culprit is likely inside the Academy."

It meant there was an accomplice inside the Academy working with the villains. Even if we left it to the professors, they wouldn't be able to stop the villains from infiltrating. They had taken the wolf, confirmed the dungeon, and knew about the accomplice. They must have prepared for it, so why did the breach still happen? Probably because they couldn't find the accomplice.

The problem was that I didn't know who the accomplice was either. In the game, the accomplice's identity was never revealed, and the plot just fizzled out. Either way, whether I cleared the dungeon myself or left it to the professors, the fact that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the breach would happen didn't change. If I couldn't stop the attack event anyway, I might as well clear the dungeon myself. Besides, it was a fact that there was a hidden piece inside the dungeon. Rather than handing the hidden piece over to a professor, it was better to pass it on to one of the protagonists.

"Those who want to go back can head to the dorms."

Anyway, unlike the case with Dolnesia, this hidden piece was an item, so it didn't matter if they followed me or not.

Iris kept her mouth shut and bowed her head. Seeing her, I spoke to Haede. It didn't matter if I went alone. I was going to tell her to take Iris and go to the dorms first. But.

"Lady Haede, and Lady Iris..."

"The dungeon... it would be troublesome if we just left it alone, right?" Iris nodded as if she had made up her mind and opened her mouth, looking at me. Her blue eyes sparkled as if determination were etched into them, and I couldn't help but nod at her.

Seeing me nod, Iris clenched her fist as if she understood. "Then I'll go."

"Lis?!" Haede tried to stop her, but Iris seemed to have made up her mind. There was no one who would blame them if they just went back to the dorms with Haede.

"I'm sorry, Ede." Iris smiled at Haede as if to reassure her. "But, it's obvious that it's going to be trouble. I don't want to pretend I didn't see it."

Should I say she had the qualities of a saint...? She was a truly kind child.

"Then, at least Lady Haede..."

"Ha? Who says I'm backing out?" Haede crossed her arms and started posturing.

"Pardon?"

"It'll be dangerous, you know."

"Well, it's not like we'll die, right? And I can't just let Lis go into such a dangerous place alone."

This girl, what a character... 'I don't want to disappoint her... I have to do at least this much to show off in front of Lis.' She had said something like that earlier, but why was she so desperate to impress Iris? Well, that wasn't important right now. The priority was to find the dungeon before the professor on duty arrived.

"What about Dante?"

"Obviously, I'm going. I can't just watch when the danger is so clear." Dante nodded as if it were obvious. So, everyone was going.

"So... Ian, are you really going to that dungeon?"

"I have to..."

Wait, who just spoke? What is this cold chill...

That wasn't all. As if they had promised, Haede, Iris, and even Dante stood still, their faces stiffening as they looked in the same direction. I really didn't want to turn my head. I had a feeling I knew who had come.

In the direction they were looking.

"Are you trying to cause trouble again, Ian?"

As expected, Dolnesia was standing there, arms crossed, wearing a cold smile. ...Um, why is Dolnesia here?

"...Didn't you say you were going to the dorms first?"

"Rocinante was making such a fuss, so I came to check. Thanks to that, I got a good show."

Rocinante was making a fuss? Why? More importantly, what had she seen to make her this angry?

"Can you tell me where you started watching from?"

"Well... where could I have started watching from?"

I see. So she saw everything.

"For the record, it was force majeure." How was I supposed to predict that the wolf would suddenly transform into a naked woman?

"Oh my, I didn't say anything, did I?"

"Your eyes are saying it right now."

Dolnesia approached with a chilling smile and poked my chest with her fist. "Let's go."

"Huh?"

"Weren't we going?" Dolnesia said, smiling.

"Do you think this is the first or second time this has happened? Even if I try to stop you, you're going to go anyway, right?"

The chill from earlier was gone from her smile now. "Then, I'll follow you."

Following the wolf's guidance, we arrived at the Academy's cafeteria. As we went deeper into a secluded area, we discovered the hidden dungeon.

"Here it is."

The dungeon was quite close. Who would have thought there would be a dungeon in the cafeteria?

The wolf entered the dungeon first, and I followed her inside. After my eyes adjusted to the light, the dungeon revealed itself to be a musty-smelling cave, much like the one where the goblins had gathered. It was incomparably larger, though.

As Dante, Dolnesia, and then Haede and Iris entered behind me...

A bluish notification window popped up. But wait, a 5-person party? Why wasn't the wolf included? Was it because the wolf wasn't human, so she didn't count as a party member? Leaving that question aside, I continued walking until we reached a massive hollow.

In the center was a leopard the same size as the wolf. It was curled up and fast asleep, apparently unaware that we had arrived.

Its level was lower than the wolf's, but it didn't have the "suffering" penalty. That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meant its actual specs were higher than the wolf's. "She's quite a lewd creature, so her specialty is mental attacks," the wolf whispered, giving me a hint on how to clear it. Considering what happened earlier, I didn't know who the lewd one was, but as she said, in the game, the leopard had mental attack skills. Its attack patterns involved more hypnosis through mental attacks than physical strikes.

"Mental attacks... that's going to be tricky," Dante nodded at the wolf's words.

"Well, since she's asleep, let's go for a surprise attack."

At Dante's words, I took out my shield, equipped it, and drew my sword. I started walking forward slowly. I had only done that much, but...

"Hey, Ian?"

"Why?"

Dante was speaking to me in a flustered voice. Looking at his face, he looked genuinely bewildered. "Do you know what a surprise attack is?"

A surprise attack. Ah, yes, of course, I knew it well. Dolnesia seemed to have realized something and sighed. I smiled back at him, answering his question.

"I know."