Chapter 29

◈ Chapter 29: The Observer and the Solver (1)

Aidan and Leo were only watching each other.

The werewolf.

The one who had plunged this Seorin into chaos was right there.

But no matter how you looked at it, it was just a pup. Moreover, it was clearly injured somewhere, as it was groaning.

“I found it by chance a little while ago.”

The reason Teishi had screamed. She had stumbled upon the werewolf without any particular thought.

Feeling embarrassed by this, Teishi blushed and then put on a haughty expression.

“Well? I won the bet, didn’t I?”

“You just found it. The bet was to capture it, wasn’t it?”

At Leo’s remark, Teishi immediately flared up.

“Is that so? Then I’ll capture it right now…!”

“Teishi, wait a moment.”

Aidan grabbed the back of Teishi’s neck as she was about to descend into the basin.

“Keh! What are you doing!”

“Ah, sorry. I did it without thinking.”

“Are you being too rude to a lady?”

“That’s not important right now.”

“If it’s not important, then what is!”

Teishi, realizing something, smirked.

“Hmph. Aidan, you’re just anxious because I found the werewolf, aren’t you? You were pretending not to care, but you were worried about losing to me, weren’t you?”

“Teishi, didn’t you feel something strange?”

In response to this provocation, Teishi pouted, as if the wind had been taken out of her sails.

“What’s strange?”

“That’s a werewolf pup. Setting aside whether werewolves can have pups, the one there clearly looks injured and can’t move properly.”

“So what? What’s the point?”

“Look around. The ground is covered with fallen leaves. Moreover, this place is in a subtle location that’s hard to spot. I’ve never heard of such a place in Seorin, no matter how vast it is.”

“So what does that mean?”

“Do you think this werewolf pup gathered the leaves and made a nest by itself?”

Upon hearing this, Teishi seemed to realize something and closed her mouth.

In summary, what Aidan was saying was this:

An injured werewolf pup couldn’t have come here on its own.

There must be something else that helped it.

“Who could it be?”

“I don’t know. Maybe… there’s another werewolf.”

While saying this, Aidan didn’t take his eyes off the werewolf pup.

It might suddenly notice their presence and attack.

Even though it’s a pup, it’s larger than a large dog.

There was no way to rule out the danger.

‘Huh?’

While carefully observing the werewolf, Aidan noticed something strange.

He saw something glinting in the moonlight near the pup’s neck, which was mostly covered by leaves.

He squinted to confirm, and it wasn’t a mistake.

‘Is that… a collar… or something?’

At that moment, Aidan concluded that this werewolf wasn’t a natural occurrence.

“Aidan? What are you doing?”

Leo called out, sensing that something was off with Aidan.

Aidan seemed to have made a decision and slid down into the basin.

“Aidan! Hey, hey!”

Leo was flustered, and so was Teishi.

The two of them hurriedly followed Aidan. When Aidan reached the center of the basin, which was over 5 meters deep, he slowly approached the werewolf pup.

“Aidan! What are you doing! It’s dangerous!”

“There’s something strange, that’s why.”

Aidan wanted to confirm it with his own eyes.

At that moment, the pup, which had been lying with its eyes closed, suddenly opened them and stared at Aidan.

Aidan, who had been cautiously approaching, stopped in his tracks.

Their gazes met in the air, and a suffocating tension filled the air.

Swallowing hard, Aidan slowly extended his hand.

“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”

He said this because he saw the pup’s eyes.

There was no hostility, no malice.

The clear and transparent eyes that were looking at him were filled with the innocence of a country dog.

Could a werewolf with such eyes have attacked and sent two people to the infirmary?

Aidan didn’t think so.

Neither Leo nor Teishi tried to stop Aidan.

The pup, who had been looking at him, soon turned its head and closed its eyes again.

Aidan let out a sigh of relief and moved closer to the pup.

As expected, the pup was well-behaved.

When he stroked its head, it even purred, seemingly enjoying the touch.

“You must have been in a lot of pain.”

Aidan said this as he examined the wounds visible outside the leaves.

‘Was it bitten by another animal?’

The marks on its body weren’t from an attack by another animal. They were more like cuts from something.

When he examined the pup’s neck with the hand that had been stroking its head, he felt the cold, hard texture of metal.

He hadn’t been mistaken.

‘I thought it was just a simple werewolf, but there’s more to it.’

Just as Aidan was thinking this, he heard something approaching quickly from the darkness.

Leo, who had noticed the anomaly first, shouted.

“Aidan! Get out of the way!”

Aidan, hearing the shout, leaped in the opposite direction of the sound.

Immediately after, a massive impact struck his body.

“Cough!”

Aidan, who had been thrown over 3 meters and rolled on the ground, steadied himself and looked at the unknown entity that had sent him flying.

‘A werewolf!’

The one who had charged at him and rammed into him with its shoulder was an adult werewolf, over 1.5 times larger than the pup.

The werewolf glared at Aidan as if it wanted to kill him and stood protectively in front of the pup.

“It’s… a real werewolf.”

Teishi, seeing this, trembled and then, as if she had made a decision, raised her staff and summoned magic.

The werewolf, sensing that Teishi was about to do something, glared at her.

“Hey, hey! What are you doing!”

Leo tried to stop her, but Teishi ignored him.

The werewolf was right in front of her. The root of all the chaos in Seorin.

If she could just get rid of these creatures, if she could just eliminate them…

She could revive her family.

The fallen family. The image of her mother, who had smiled weakly and told her it was okay.

The people who had turned their backs on her when her family fell, despite being close to her before.

I have to do it.

Only I can revive the Priad family.

The werewolf in front of her was a sure stepping stone to that.

She knew that hunting just one werewolf wouldn’t revive her fallen family, but even a little would help.

Receiving a bounty or the reward from Leathervik City, or even just gaining a reputation.

That’s why she had learned magic and come to Seorin to succeed.

‘I…!’

The werewolf charged at Teishi.

It was fast and very threatening.

Teishi tried to cast a spell, but the momentum of the charging werewolf made her make a mistake.

‘The spell!’

Her spell went awry due to her haste. The magic she had barely gathered dissipated uselessly.

Beyond the disappearing spell, like a wet piece of paper tearing, she saw the werewolf baring its teeth and charging at her.

Ah, is this the end?

Just as she thought this, Teishi felt herself being pushed to the side.

The werewolf’s sharp claws swiped through the air right in front of her nose.

Rolling on the ground with someone, Teishi was stunned.

“Wha, what?”

“Teishi! Are you okay?”

“Ai…dan?”

The one who had saved her from danger was Aidan. The boy who had been annoying her and challenging her to fights.

If he had been even a little slower in pushing her, Teishi’s head would have been taken off.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

“You, you… why did you….”

“You can’t just stand by when a friend is in danger.”

Friend.

At that word, Teishi was speechless.

Aidan, ignoring her reaction, looked at the werewolf.

“The movements are strange. It seems to be seriously injured. That’s probably why I could avoid it.”

Indeed, as he had guessed, there were three large, unhealed wounds on the werewolf’s chest, visible in the darkness.

Aidan swallowed and spoke.

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional. We have no intention of harming your pup.”

“Aidan? What are you doing! You can’t reason with a werewolf!”

Teishi shouted from behind, thinking it was a foolish act, but Aidan was serious.

With an unwavering gaze, he continued to look at the werewolf and spoke.

“Can you understand us?”

“What….”

Leo and Teishi looked at him with incredulous expressions.

However, the werewolf’s reaction was strange.

The one that had been glaring at them as if to kill them calmed down and approached the pup.

Seeing this, Leo was speechless.

“…It can understand us?”

“Earlier, it reacted strongly because it was worried about its pup.”

“But Aidan, this creature attacked two students. It’s only behaving now because of the pup, but it could reveal its true nature at any moment.”

Leo’s point