Vol 2 Chapter 53 – The Thing That Became a Werewolf【Vol 2 – The Condemned Knight Edition】

“Argh! I’m so boooored!!”

“Princess Debora, please don’t say such things…”

In a room in the royal castle of the Kingdom of Vilemse, a little princess was throwing a tantrum.

Puffing out her adorable cheeks was Debora Vilemse.

Her instructor was trembling with fear, never knowing when she might throw another ‘fit.’

But recently, Debora hadn’t had a single tantrum.

This was likely because of her adventure with the Altruistic Charity Hero.

She had matured from that experience and no longer threw fits over every little thing.

…Well, not that her selfishness had been cured, by any means.

“Come on! Being cooped up in a room studying all the time is so depressing! Isn’t there anything fun to do?”

“Even if you ask me…”

Her instructor was a teacher of royal etiquette and manners.

She couldn’t entertain Debora with the tales of heroes she so enjoyed.

Debora didn’t even try to hide her dissatisfied expression.

“Aah… if only Erik were here, things would be interesting…”

The one Debora pictured in her mind was her own Knight of Fealty.

Fighting the ogre with him in the dungeon’s ‘Beginner-Slayer’s Chamber,’ fighting the bandits who were after their lives, defeating the rebellious Biriel.

Each event was more vivid, more memorable, and above all, more fun than anything she had ever experienced.

…The fact that she could call attempts on her life “interesting” spoke to the strength of Debora’s nerve.

Since all that had happened shortly after meeting Erik, she was sure that if she were with him, something incredibly fun would be waiting for her again.

“And Erik never even comes to the castle. Honestly… what is he doing?”

She flopped her upper body onto the desk and continued to grumble and whine.

Seeing this behavior, so fitting for her age, even the teacher who had once feared her as the ‘Spoiled Princess’ couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“The Altruistic Charity Hero is currently maintaining public order in the capital, and he’s very well-regarded by the citizens. They say he’s solving all sorts of problems.”

“Hmph… Now that sounds like fun. I feel like running off.”

“P-Please don’t. If that happens, what kind of punishment will I receive from King Rei…?”

The teacher broke out in a cold sweat as Debora said something so terrifying.

If the princess ran off during her lesson, there was no way the doting King Rei wouldn’t punish her severely.

Debora sighed in frustration at her words.

“Aah… I hope Erik isn’t doing anything interesting right now. If he is, I’ll just have to blow him up.”

Debora’s thoughts drifted to Erik, wherever he might be.

◆

Erik was sent flying sideways.

By chance, there was a windowpane there, and he crashed through it, thrown outside.

The outside was the garden he had previously found so magnificent, and thanks to the soft lawn, Erik avoided any broken bones.

“Ugh… Gahah…!”

Still, the impact of his body slamming into the ground dealt enough damage that he couldn’t immediately get back up.

Erik gently touched his cheek.

I was punched from the side, right on my cheek.

From the throbbing pain, he guessed it would swell up later. …He thought this with glee.

“To think you’re still alive after being sent flying like that. Heroes really are sturdy, aren’t they?”

Klet looked down on Erik from the broken window.

His sweat was already gone, replaced by a grin full of confidence.

In other words, he had used his hidden ace… his trump card.

“But even with a grand title like ‘Guardian,’ you’ll never beat this one.”

As if in response to Klet’s words, something leaped from his side and landed gracefully in the garden.

“This is…”

Having recovered from the damage of the fall, Erik stood up and looked at the being before him.

It stood on two legs and had a human form, but it was fundamentally different from a person.

The face of a wolf, a body covered in thick, shaggy fur.

Standing there calmly was a member of the race known as werewolves.

“No, that’s slightly off. That’s a Beastman. …Though now, it would be more correct to say it was one.”

Like werewolves, Beastmen are a mix of human and monster blood, but their human blood is thicker.

Their body hair is sparse, and they don’t look all that different from humans.

But the man standing before Erik was unmistakably a werewolf… which meant his monster blood was stronger.

“You look like you can’t comprehend it. He’s a slave I purchased. I was planning to use a Beastman with greater physical abilities than a human as a bodyguard, but… he wasn’t very strong, and he was defiant. …So, I applied a little ‘treatment.'”

Klet began to prattle on without Erik even asking.

If he wanted to take the most logical course of action, he should turn and flee right now.

With Erik pinned down by the werewolf and Eleonora pinned down by the Gray Guild, this is his only chance.

This tendency to get careless when he thinks he has the upper hand might be Klet’s bad habit.

“Treatment?”

“I used a little drug. It was rather expensive… but its effect was well worth the cost. His strength increased, and he became loyal to me. He is, in fact, my trump card!!”

If Klet was to be believed, the werewolf standing before Erik was once a Beastman with his own personality.

But now, he likely couldn’t even hold a conversation. His eyes, fixed on Erik, were filled with murderous intent.

“What an inhuman thing to do…”

I want you to do that to me… I swallowed those words. Erik knows how to read a room.

“So, what will you do? If you agree to overlook this, I might be willing to overlook you.”

It’s an equal exchange, Klet continued.

It wasn’t a bad deal.

But Erik shook his head.

“Eleonora-san asked me to capture you. I can’t let you get away.”

At Erik’s determined words, Klet’s gaze turned cold.

“I see. Then you can die.”

“AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”