Surviving in a World Teeming with Monsters with the Useless Skill 【Everyday Items Master】! I Was Just Hunting Wild Animals with a Crowbar, So Why Is Everyone Screaming It's an S-Rank Monster? - 94

Chapter 94: Shadow of the Wolf

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One morning, when I went to the cafeteria, a group including the rambunctious kid from before spotted me and ran over to me.

“Aniki! Good morning!”

“Morning. You’re full of energy this early.”

“Aniki, please take a seat right there! The young lady with you too! We’ll bring you your breakfast!”

“Huh? That’s too much—ah, they’re already gone…”

“What about Ui-chan!?”

The way they treated me was completely different from a few days ago, and I could only stand there, dumbfounded. For the record, they completely ignored Ui. Poor girl. Seeing my reaction, Luna puffed out her cheeks.

“Onii-sama, you’ve gone and made lots of friends while leaving me all alone, haven’t you!”

“It’s work. Things go more smoothly when you’re on good terms with people, right?”

“Onii-sama, which is more important to you, your work or me!?”

“Pfft—”

It was so funny hearing something like that come out of little Luna that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Onii-sama! Why are you laughing!?”

“Sorry, sorry. You’re just too cute, Luna.”

“C-c-cute…! G-geez! Onii-sama, you flirt! I’m the only one who’d forgive you for saying things like that!”

“So I have your forgiveness, huh?”

While patting Luna’s head, thinking how adorably easygoing she was, I took a seat at a random table.

“Tch… That guy is getting too full of himself…”

“Well, he is Crowbar Bro, right? It can’t be helped, I guess…”

“Still though… An adult joining Ferocious Shark Gang…”

No one tried to interfere with us just claiming a seat anymore, but on the flip side, the sudden special treatment was stirring up resentment in some corners. With a sigh, I muttered.

“Getting too much attention is a liability in any organization.”

“Onii-sama?”

“Luna. Want to play ‘One, two, three’ while we wait?”

“I’d love to!”

There were things Luna didn’t need to know. I wanted to raise her as straight and untroubled as possible. So, while we were playing the game and waiting for breakfast, the rambunctious boys brought our breakfast over with Ui.

“Well then, we’ll leave you to it!”

“Hm? Aren’t you eating with us…? Oh, they’re gone.”

The group disappeared quickly. I watched them go, not sure if they wanted to be friends or not. Just then, Shachimarumaru showed up too, sipping his coffee, just like usual.

“Good morning, Aniki.”

“Morning, Shachimaru.”

As usual, Shachimaru settled into the seat across from me. Something struck me, so I asked.

“Shachimaru, do you only have coffee for breakfast every morning?”

“Nope. I eat a bit earlier and come back after doing various things.”

“Earlier?”

“Around 4 AM, I’d say.”

“Damn, this guy is a serious hard worker. No wonder they call you Aniki.”

Now that I thought about it calmly, the operation I took part in to crush those two Raider groups…Despite their scale and strength, it had gone surprisingly smoothly. They were probably just a tier below the Werewolf. If I’d been alone, it definitely wouldn’t have gone that easily.

He must’ve been pulling strings behind the scenes in a big way. Looking closer, I noticed faint dark circles under his eyes. He turned his neck like he hadn’t been sleeping well. As I was thinking that, Shachimaru spoke.

“Aniki, the next raider will be the last. Once we crush them, Inaba and I will be helping you directly. At the very least, I’ll be putting my life on the line for you. Please count on me.”

“Ui-chan will do her best too!”

Following Shachimaru, Ui chimed in energetically. I felt so grateful it almost made me cry.

“Thanks. I’m only putting in three days of work, so it feels a little over the top to receive your gratitude like this.”

“Well, it’s thanks to those three days that we were able to take control of the old Mountain King area, Aniki…”

“The more I learn about Tacchan, the more amazing he seems. Ui-chan is constantly floored.”

“Hm…?”

“Shachimaru, Ui, you guys don’t understand at all.” 

Luna said quietly, shaking her head as I struggled with the excessive praise.

“So, the next target… It’s Kagerou, right?”

I changed the topic, and Shachimaru nodded.

“That’s right. But we still don’t know much about Kagerou, so we’ve sent out scouts to gather intel…”

That was when it happened. A wave of unrest rippled through the cafeteria. Shachimaru and I reacted instantly. Luna, slower to catch on, clung to me in fear. Ui kept eating without a care. Following everyone’s gaze, I saw a bloodied Ferocious Shark Gang member staggering in, saying.

“Shachimaru-aniki… Where’s Aniki…”

“Aniki, excuse me.”

Leaving only those words, Shachimaru stood up quickly and rushed over to the bloodied man.

“What happened? Who did this? Where are the others? You were out scouting Kagerou, weren’t you?”

“Kagerou… is…”

Supported by Shachimaru, the bloodied member collapsed. Shachimaru didn’t care that his clothes were getting stained with blood—he gently laid the man down.

“Someone get a healer!”

“Aniki… Please listen. Kagerou… it’s…”

Gripping Shachimaru’s bloodied clothes, the man gasped,

“It’s a Werewolf. That bastard—the Wolf King—he’s alive! Someone resurrected him…!”

Hearing that, I couldn’t help but shoot to my feet.

“…No way.”

“O-Onii-sama…?”

“Sorry, I’m heading over there too. Ui, watch Luna for me.”

“Okie dokie!”

“Ah—Onii-sama!”

Leaving my breakfast behind, I rushed to the injured man. When he saw me, his eyes narrowed into a glare.

“Crowbar Bro… You should’ve chopped that bastard into pieces. If you had, he wouldn’t be able to come back…”

“…My bad. I figured if I killed all the Werewolf members, they wouldn’t be able to resurrect him.”

But thinking calmly, it was definitely possible. Even if the group didn’t revive their fallen leader, someone else could bring him back to exploit his power. Especially since he was a famous raider boss that people still talked about. That Macho Wolf…

“This time I’ll tear him apart. That’ll stop the resurrection, right?”

“…It’ll reduce the chance. As long as all the parts are there, resurrection is still possible…”

“Got it.”

I nodded and looked at Shachimaru.

“Shachimaru, if that guy is our next opponent, I don’t want to risk leaving him alive. Let’s take him out fast and for good.”

“Understood. We’re grateful to see you raring to go, Aniki.”

Just then, the healer arrived and began treating the injured member. His breathing eased a little.

“So? What happened? You had a good escape skill, right? What did this to you?”

At Shachimaru’s question, the man answered.

“It was a ground-type… SS-class monster. It was dark, late at night, so I couldn’t see clearly…”

But he continued.

“It was massive. Looked like it was at least tens of meters tall. It was guarding the base of Kagerou, the Wolf King’s gang…”

Shachimaru and I exchanged glances. The man clenched his teeth in frustration.

“Our comrades was killed by that SS-class…! They said they put an artifact that tamed the SS-class in a safe. But the safe is pretty tough, and breaking into it on the spot was…”

“Whoa, whoa, you’re jumping ahead too fast.”

Shachimaru paused the blood-soaked story to sort things out.

“Okay, so? The Wolf King came back to life and started the Shadow Wolf? Then he tamed an SS-class monster? Damn it, that bastard really doesn’t waste time!”

The Wolf King—he was that muscular guy wearing a wolf pelt that we’d talked to once. He was a pain even back when we were enemies, but now? Seriously, this guy was a real problem. He pulled all that off in such a short time?

“He’s got the artifact that tamed the SS-class monster locked in a big safe.”

The blood-soaked one said.

“Unlike that kraken from the other day, this SS-class is always on the move. We need to take it out before we can go after the Wolf King. But facing it directly would be rough. If we can get the artifact out of the safe, though…”

“Then we can send the SS-class off somewhere else and focus on killing the Wolf King—that’s what you’re saying, right? Still…”

Shachimaru looked at me and said.

“If it’s you, Aniki, I feel like you might be able to go toe-to-toe with an SS-class head-on with no problem?”

“Come on, even regular monsters give me a hard time sometimes…”

“Actually! SS-class monsters, y’know, they’re probably not as bad as the stories make them out to be. Probably just really big wild animals.”

“I see. Then maybe I can take it on… But then again, hmm…? It depends on how big is it, I guess?”

“What is with this guy?”

The blood-soaked one, starting to recover, gave me a weird look. How rude. I shrugged and said to Shachimaru.

“Anyway, let’s get more details and come up with a plan. Whether we fight it head-on or not—that’s something to think about only after the easier options are off the table.”

“Exactly. Well then, shall we jump straight into the strategy meeting?”

Shachimaru and I brought the blood-soaked guy along and headed off, barely touching our breakfast.

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