CH 64

Episode 64 – Dismantling 

The Angry Wolf was already confirmed dead, but I was still faintly shivering. The Angry Wolf we fought just now was terrifying on a completely different level from the one I fought last time.

The reason for that was simple… this Angry Wolf was dead set on killing me and was gunning to do so from the start. Although I didn’t know if this was the right word to describe it, the Angry Wolf I fought last time was… lenient. That was probably because it had recognized me not as an “enemy”, but a “prey” that it was trying to eat. Since it wasn’t out to kill me instantly from the start, I was able to use the Magical Grass to create a gap that I could exploit. This time though, the Angry Wolf clearly marked me as an “enemy” that it had to kill; even with the burning Magical Grass, it endured it and attacked relentlessly.

“W-we… did it, right?” (Lyra)

“Y-yeah. I think it’s probably dead.” (Byrne)

As I was sitting on the ground, exhausted, Lyra and Byrne were still trying to confirm the Angry Wolf’s death. Porta, who decided the fight with a powerful uppercut from his staff, was lying on the ground, resting.

“[Heal]. Lewin… are you okay?” (Nina)

“I-I’m fine. Nina, thank you for that [Anti-Heal] earlier. Without it, I would have probably died there.” (Lewin)

It was totally pathetic, but unfortunately that was exactly how it was. Thinking I could kill it, I stepped up to the vanguard, only to miss my vial of poisonous Slime liquid and then fell on my butt and cowered in fear. Without Nina’s well-placed [Anti-Heal], I would have died.

“We’re your escorts, so there’s no need to thank us. As the person who we were supposed to protect, we should never have allowed you to be sent up to the vanguard in the first place, so that’s our mistake.” (Nina)

“That’s not true. I just jumped out on my own accord at a time when things were tightly matched.” (Lewin)

“No, it was a really close battle for us, and we would have eventually been on the losing side. If you didn’t join the vanguard to serve as a distraction, we would have been defeated for sure.” (Nina)

“No no, it would have been easier for you guys if I…” (Lewin)

As Nina and I were bouncing the responsibility back and forth like that, Byrne, who was carrying Porta, and Lyra came over to us with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

“Oi oi. We just won, so let’s be cheerful.” (Byrne)

“Yeah, that’s right! An Angry Wolf is a C-rank monster, you know?! We managed to kill one without a single scratch on any of us, and that’s something to be proud about! Right?” (Lyra)

After they said that, I swallowed my self-blame and complied with their words of encouragement. For now, I could just keep my reflection and regrets on this situation to myself.

“…I guess so. Let’s stop reflecting on this and instead celebrate the fact that we managed to subdue the monster without a single injury!”

“Yup yup! I thought this escort mission was a total failure just a moment ago, but at the last moment a nice present showed up on our doorstep!” (Lyra)

“Huh? A present?”

“Yeah! Look, if we strip down and dismantle this Angry Wolf carcass, we’ll be able to get our hands on some nice monster materials! It’s not very big, so there aren’t too many parts that can be removed… But, it is a C-rank monster in the end, so we can take its claws, fangs, and pelt, which we can then sell at a high price!” Lyra explained excitedly. So, monster materials could be sold for a high price, huh? Last time, after killing the Angry Wolf, I didn’t have the time to dismantle the carcass. But, since we already took its life, it was better to put all of it to good use.

“Okay! Then let’s dismantle the Angry Wolf carcass and then return to Grezesta to report the situation to the Adventurer’s Guild.” (Lewin)

“I agree. Sorry Nina, but you’re gonna have to take care of Porta while I’m dismantling the carcass. It’s probably the usual muscle pain, so you won’t need to use [Heal].” (Byrne)

“…Okay, got it. I’ll take care of Porta.” (Nina)

So, Porta was lying on the ground because of muscle pain? In the final attack, he cast [Bravery] on himself, so he probably pushed his body past its limits for that one strike. I would have to ask him for the details on that later, but for now I followed Byrne and Lyra to participate in the dismantling of the Angry Wolf carcass. After seeing how persistently it was trying to murder me, I felt like I needed to be there to help dismantle the Angry Wolf.

“Looking at it like this… it’s not as big as it seemed.” (Lewin)

“I suppose so. It looked so big when it was still moving, but, just in terms of its physical structure, it’s only about the same size as us.” Byrne muttered in agreement. The Angry Wolf had a terrifying level of intimidating pressure, but when it was dead it looked much smaller in comparison.

“That thing was seriously stubborn! It’s probably the strongest monster I’ve fought so far.” (Lyra)

“Speaking of which, why have you gone back to polite speech, Lewin?” (Lyra)

Now that she mentioned it, I really had returned to my old ways. I was speaking casually only because I was consciously making an effort to do so, but as soon as we got into an emergency situation, I reverted back to polite speech.

“I was anxious about the Angry Wolf, so I forgot.” (Lewin)

“Ahahah! Weirdo! Well, you’re free to talk however you’d like… but we’d be happier if you spoke casually with us after all. Alright, let’s get started with this dismantling then!” (Lyra)

With that, we got our hands dirty with the dismantling. The carcass of the Angry Wolf was still warm, and it made me feel the heavy weight of taking a life.