Chapter 202 – Intentions
I arrived here a little earlier than in the original story.
That meant the Adol whom Ratel met was slightly different from the Adol I met, and that the scenery here was also very different from its description in the original story.
Though that man over there was probably the greatest difference from the original.
I kept my eyes fixed on Archi, who was looking at me without even a hint of wariness.
The passages describing him in the original story were neither long nor numerous, so there was quite a lot for me to observe.
When I did not speak first, he crossed the bearskin rug and approached me.
Then he grabbed me by the hair and lifted me.
It probably was not much force from his perspective, but it felt as though my entire body was being hauled into the air.
“What is your objective?”
“What a barbaric way to ask a question. Haven’t you ever considered that this might be why people never stop coming here to hunt you?”
Rea sprang to her feet at my sarcasm, but Archi stopped her.
He relaxed the hand gripping my hair.
Thanks to that, I nearly struck my head against the floor. I frowned as I looked at him.
He stared down at me as though observing an interesting creature, then spoke.
“You don’t look stupid enough to be unaware that your life is in danger.”
“Archi, he might simply be insane. No, he is simply insane.”
Rea proposed another possibility but quickly averted her gaze when Archi looked at her.
“You seem rather tolerant of your subordinates.”
I asked after witnessing her uninhibited behavior, but Archi apparently did not understand the basics of conversation.
“Did you know from the beginning that it was a trap?”
Considering how he only said whatever he wanted to say.
“Yes. I already knew that you occasionally lure humans here by pretending to assemble subjugation parties. I also knew you don’t spare the humans who fail to pass through.”
Since I had no particular reason to lie, I answered simply.
“Then did you come here to avenge the dead humans?”
“No. It might leave a bad taste in my mouth, but I’m not meddlesome enough to avenge people whose faces I’ve never even seen.”
Apparently dissatisfied with my answer, he furrowed his brow.
“Why would a human who seeks neither honor nor vengeance come here of his own accord?”
“To have a conversation.”
More precisely, it was to learn what I wanted to know.
“You risked your life to converse with monsters?”
A faint sneer appeared on Archi’s face, as though my answer was utterly absurd.
He seemed to have reached the same conclusion as Rea.
In other words, he had decided I was insane.
“I may not look like it, but I have some experience. I’ve dealt with someone even less reasonable than you. Besides, I don’t have much time.”
Ratel would soon arrive here with the holy relic.
Before that happened, there was much I needed to hear from this man. Therefore, I would use what I knew as efficiently as possible.
I looked at Archi’s unwavering eyes and spoke.
“Isn’t the same true for you?”
Archi’s expression remained unchanged. That did not mean my words had no effect, however.
“Rea, leave us.”
“What?”
Taken aback by his sudden dismissal, Rea responded with uncharacteristic stupidity.
“I told you to leave.”
When Archi repeated himself more forcefully, she slowly walked away with an expression that showed she did not understand in the slightest.
Of course, she did not forget to glare at me once before opening the tent flap.
Archi did not take his eyes off me until the sound of her footsteps had completely faded.
The confrontation continued for a while even after I could no longer hear Rea’s footsteps.
The instant I blinked, a crushing force closed around my throat and drove the breath from my lungs.
Archi had extended his hand at a speed my eyes could not even follow and seized me by the throat.
The force with which he had pulled my hair truly had been no more than the equivalent of flicking a finger from his perspective.
I had not wanted to learn that in this manner.
The cause of my carelessness was that the original story had described him as relatively tolerant of humans, even among werewolves.
“Urgh…. Let….go.”
I struggled to speak, but Archi did not appear inclined to release me.
“Was this your objective? To throw us into confusion and ultimately tear us apart?”
“If that had been my objective, don’t you think I would have gone around blabbing your secret everywhere as soon as I arrived?”
I spoke haltingly while struggling to secure an airway.
“What I need is information and a compromise. It shouldn’t be a bad proposition for you. I might even be able to help you realize the future you desire.”
“As if you know what I desire.”
“It can’t be a coincidence that your son came all the way here to find you at this particular time.”
The hand around my throat tightened.
“I do not trust the words of humans. Your lies are endless.”
Archi spoke without wavering.
He was not wrong, but I only had one life and could not afford to stupidly agree with him.
I had to escape the grasp of someone who clearly had no intention of sparing me now that I knew his secret.
I let out a breath and drew upon my power.
There was no point in continuing to babble when words were not getting through to him.
I needed to transform into an animal with a neck thick enough to escape his grasp.
A bear should do.
When my body suddenly expanded, his stance faltered slightly.
He quickly released my neck and retreated, and I looked down at him from my newly elevated eye level.
Even Archi was apparently startled by this, because he stared blankly at me.
I considered remaining in this form a little longer for safety, but that desire vanished when my eyes met the head of the bearskin spread across the floor.
“What are you?”
He asked after I returned to human form.
I had assumed he would know more, but apparently not as much as I had expected.
In any event, judging by the fact that he did not immediately seize my throat again, his desire to kill me seemed to have diminished somewhat.
Perhaps he had concluded that I was not entirely human.
Whatever the case, I neither wanted nor had any reason to answer him obediently.
“I’m not answering you anymore, you bastard. It’s my turn to ask questions.”
I spoke while rubbing my aching throat.
I said it while resolving not to remain passive if he attacked me again merely so he could continue saying whatever he pleased.
Yet as if making a mockery of my resolve, Archi simply watched me as though inviting me to speak if I had something to say.
His abrupt change in attitude felt strange, but if he was now willing to listen, I had no intention of wasting the opportunity.
There were things I needed to confirm with him.
Why did he discriminate between the humans he ate when he hated humans and devoured them?
Why did he keep the captured humans here when he had no intention of sending them back?
Why had he never tried to find his son before now, even as his life approached its end?
And despite that, why had he decided to die at Adol’s hands?
“Why don’t you eat the humans who pass through the cave?”
Because his answer would determine my choice.
Whether I would change the future of the original story or leave it unchanged.
After silently staring at me, Archi finally spoke.
“Follow me.”
Taking that as an indication that he would now converse with me, I followed him.
Following Rea and Mona while bound was very different from walking with Archi leading the way.
The gazes directed at us and the way the surroundings had grown somewhat quieter combined to create a tense atmosphere.
Everyone’s attention was focused on Archi.
The gazes directed at him contained both respect and admiration.
Though a few among them radiated hostility.
As I slowly looked around, I noticed several figures whose physiques were distinctly different from those of the werewolves.
“There are humans among you.”
Archi gave a small nod at my words.
“Yes. They safely passed through the cave. They are humans who have never killed another person.”
“I believe this is the second time I’ve asked, but why do you spare people like them?”
Once again, Archi led me onward instead of answering.
Thinking that the journey here would have been somewhat easier if Adol had inherited even a fraction of his taciturn nature, I followed him.
He stopped before the tent farthest from Archi’s own among the rows of tents.
Seen up close, it was slightly smaller and shabbier than the others.
Once again, Archi opened the tent flap without offering any explanation.
Since there was no solid door, I could understand why he did not knock.
But shouldn’t he at least announce that he was coming inside?
Thinking that it might be an unspoken rule among them that I did not know, I silently followed him inside.
Right, their hearing is good, so they should at least know someone is coming in.
“Aagh!!!”
At that moment, a short but forceful scream rang out from inside.
When I turned toward the sound, I saw someone sprawled on the ground after falling backward onto his rear.
It was certainly not the reaction of someone who had expected another person to enter the tent.
I briefly wondered whether Archi had acted without manners, but then I realized why the fallen man looked so terrified.
He was human.
“Archi, what brings you here?”
At that moment, someone rushed in front of the terrified man and placed herself between him and Archi.
It was a female werewolf.
Emotions and relationships are strange things. Even without dramatic gestures or lengthy words, the mere sight of two people standing together can give off an atmosphere that reveals their bond.
It was the same with these two.
They had not done anything particularly significant, yet it was obvious at a glance that they cared for each other.
They looked exactly like a family.
* * *
“Let go of me!”
Adol repeatedly kicked at Mona, who held him firmly by the back of his neck, but not a single kick landed.
The boy was desperate.
Believing that he had lost sight of the werewolf leader he had searched so desperately for, he could not possibly remain still.
More precisely, he had not lost him—Archi had merely chosen to spare Adol—but such distinctions did not matter to the boy.
The only thing that mattered was taking revenge on Archi.
However, if everything in the world had gone according to Adol’s wishes, he would never have needed to come this far in search of Archi in the first place.
Adol had no choice but to let Mona drag him toward the prison located a short distance from Archi’s tent.
When Adol saw that prison with his own eyes, his struggles grew even fiercer.
“What is that? You’re going to lock me in there?!”
It was a cage that could barely even be called a prison.
Worse still, it stood between the rows of tents.
If he was put inside a place like that, he would obviously become a spectacle for these monsters.
“Stop! I’d rather die at Archi’s hands!!!”
Adol screamed as more and more werewolves gathered in response to his struggles.
He had not risked his life to come here only to be treated like this.
Adol thrashed again in an attempt to escape Mona’s grasp.
“......”
But Mona showed no mercy. He threw Adol into the cage.
By the time Adol rose again, the door had already closed and the latch had been secured.
The boy hurled his body against the bars. But it was not called a prison for nothing. The bars shook slightly but did not break in the slightest.
“Give up. It’s made from wood harder than stone.”
Mona spoke impassively as he looked down at the raging Adol.
“I was told not to starve you, so I’ll leave your hands untouched.”
He added coldly before turning away.
“What does that mean?!”
Adol asked, but Mona had completed his task and did not look back.
“I said not to starve him!”
Adol stared blankly at Mona’s retreating back after that incomprehensible shout. Then he noticed several werewolves creeping closer to the cage and understood.
Mona’s shout had not been directed at him but at the monsters who had gathered to watch him.
Each of them held some food fit for human consumption, their expressions filled with curiosity, mischief, and hostility.
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