NOVEL NEXT Chapter 52 - Chapter 52: Observing the Black Wolves
Chapter 52: Observing the Black Wolves
“Bonus. Wake up–”
“Hmm? Ah, the black wolves…”
Shiro’s voice resounded by my ear. It seems she woke me up. Everyone except Zamza is already awake.
“Hey, wake up~”
“Huh!?”
Zamza, who didn’t seem to want to wake up, is kicked awake by Gisella. Gisella is always kind to everyone, but she’s particularly harsh on Zamza. The howling of wolves can be heard.
“Kuro, Zamza, come with me.”
“Gyaaa~”
“Got it.”
“Assemble, the black wolves are already gathering. We should move out before their numbers increase any further. Let’s hurry.”
When we arrive at the eastern gate, Azir’s voice comes down from above. It seems he was checking the situation from the lookout tower beforehand.
“Alright, let’s go.”
With the casualness of taking a stroll in the neighborhood, Marie starts walking. As the gatekeeper hesitates, Shiro removes the latch alone and opens the heavy door slightly with one hand. As if sucked through the gap, Marie, Kuro, and a slightly delayed Zamza slip through. Azir seems to have jumped directly from the lookout tower to the outside.
Immediately, excited barking, crashing sounds, and slashing sounds can be heard, followed by the howls of the black wolves.
Just being inside the fence doesn’t give us a clear picture of the situation. We hurry to the lookout tower. It seems that a considerable number of wolves have already gathered. However, being black wolves, they are covered in black fur and are difficult to see in this darkness. It’s difficult for the four of us to grasp how exactly they are dealing with the enemies.
Surprisingly, Zamza stands out the most. Holding the mace provided by Gisella in both hands, he pushes back the black wolves. He usually wears a robe, but now his upper body is bare. He always gives the impression of being dragged around by an oni, but now he looks like a real warrior, quite cool. His body is even bigger than Azir’s muscular one.
Marie and Azir seem to be prioritizing assessing the situation and observing. It feels like they’re dealing with nearby black wolves with minimal movements. They really seem like seasoned mercenaries.
Kuro is walking on top of the wolves. She’s still as incomprehensible as ever. Walking around as if taking a stroll, she kicks the noses of the wolves with bared teeth while skillfully walking on top of the pack, leisurely. Every time Kuro advances, screams rise from the surrounding wolves, and they roll around, indicating that she’s somehow attacking.
“Gyaaah! Gyaagyaaagyaa!”
“Kuro~! Be careful~!”
Kuro notices me and waves her hands while bouncing around.
In the end, she seems to be the most relaxed…
“Marie is strong, but Kuro is also strong, isn’t she? Why is she so strong?”
“It’s to protect Bonus.”
Gisella and Shiro, who have come over without me noticing, are casually chatting.
In this darkness, I’m quite nervous about the wolves’ breathing and howling, but everyone seems relaxed somehow.
After about 15 minutes of fighting, just as one black wolf howls, several more howls can be heard in response. The next moment, the black wolves, who had been attacking like mad, all turn back towards the mountains.
“Good job.”
“Gyaaah~!”
“I wonder if we managed about a hundred of them?”
“I-I’m tired…”
Kuro and Marie return with calm expressions. Azir, who seemed surprisingly calm during the battle, looks tired after all.
“Pheeew, pheeew…”
“Zamza, you did great.”
Zamza is still out of breath, with steam rising from his body along with the waterfall of sweat. Well, he was swinging a heavy mace against black wolves on the front lines the whole time.
“Thank you!”
“We can do this! That helped. You guys are really strong!”
Despite the late hour, the villagers flock together and greet the returning four with enthusiasm. They must have been lurking somewhere, unseen until now. The village women also rush over with water, food, cloth, and the like. While I’ve only been observed from a distance since coming to this village, it seems like I’m suddenly being welcomed warmly. I think it’s quite cash, but considering the villagers’ feelings, it can’t be helped. Rather, it’s better to be accepted even a little now to make future activities easier.
“How was it watching from above?”
“Hmm? It was the black wolves.”
“Kuro was too strong, it was amusing.”
Shiro and Gisella give overly casual responses to Marie’s question. As an amateur, I’ll give my opinion anyway.
“Yeah, that’s right. I think there was a wolf that howled at the end, but I don’t think it’s the leader of a special pack. It attacked just like the other wolves.”
“Surprisingly, Bonus, you observe well.”
“Normally, wolves establish a hierarchy, and there should be a leader in the pack. But they didn’t seem to be behaving like a group with such a hierarchical structure. They acted more like they were following predetermined instructions, each acting independently, and it looked like a group behavior in the end. To be honest, their movements were quite unnerving, more like insects than animals.”
“…Continue.”
“They seemed to act according to predetermined instructions, with each individual acting on their own, and as a result, it appeared like the behavior of a group. Honestly, their movements were quite disturbing, more like insects than animals.”
“…Continue.”
“In this violent world, where I have no particular strengths, I should have touched on a vast amount of knowledge about living organisms and phenomena. Of course, most of it is knowledge without actual experience. It’s highly questionable how useful it actually is. But I should be able to apply such knowledge and provide some insights to talented individuals like Marie.”
“Bonus, you’re amazing. Good boy.”
“Gyaaah!”
Feeling a little cocky, Shiro hugs me and pets me like praising a child. Kuro also joins in and pets me. Marie seems to be lost in thought already and isn’t paying attention to us. Azir is grinning, and for some reason, Zamza looks envious. I also want to become a bit more cynical and cool.
– Hajiramu. It’s appreciated how you’ve evaluated me so far, but unfortunately, this is the state of affairs.
The movements of the black wolves felt quite odd, to be honest. It gave the impression that they were infected with some kind of virus and behaving strangely. Is that what monsters are like? However, seeing them retreat when things didn’t go well, they didn’t seem to be that insane. Well, I’ll leave further analysis to Marie. It’s not my role to judge anything this time.