Chapter 61: The Werewolf
As we drove through town, a moat came into view.
“It says those are the ruins of Hagi Castle.”
That was what the sign said.
“The area earlier was a castle town too. I suppose that’s what Hagi is known for.”
Under normal circumstances, it felt like the sort of place where I’d want to take my time sightseeing.
“Oh, the ocean.”
After passing the castle ruins, we entered an area lined with inns, and the ocean came into view.
“This is the place.”
Sis Linda pulled into a parking lot and stopped the car.
“I’ll lead from here. Let’s go.”
Elvis got out, and the rest of us followed.
We walked down to the ocean and found a beautiful sandy beach.
“Oh… This is nice. It looks like we could swim here once it gets a little warmer.”
“May is still too early.”
They’d talked about that before.
“Yuu-kun, this view…”
“Yeah. It’s the same as the photo.”
We took out our smartphones and looked at the picture with Riku in it.
“Hmm… Maybe over there?”
Ayaka pointed to the right.
“Let’s take a look.”
We walked along the beach, comparing the photo to our surroundings, until we reached a spot with the exact same terrain.
“This is it…”
“No question. Riku was standing over there.”
I pointed ahead.
Naturally, Riku wasn’t there now.
“There are a lot of inns behind us. Don’t you think Riku might have stayed at one of them?”
Kitaura-san looked behind us, and when we turned, we saw a row of inns.
They were probably built around the appeal of an ocean view.
“Elvis-san, I’ll leave things here to you. I’m going to ask the people at those inns.”
“Please do.”
Sis Linda left us and headed toward them.
“Elvis, where’s the werewolf?”
For that matter, no one else was anywhere nearby.
“It’s not time yet. Take some pictures and wait around here.”
Might as well.
“This beach has a distinctive look, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah… It has a certain atmosphere.”
Elvis lit a cigarette while we took pictures with our smartphones.
“The town felt steeped in history too.”
“I don’t know much about it, but wasn’t this the Choshu Domain or something?”
Hmm… I didn’t know much either, but I wondered whether people like Shinsaku Takasugi and Kogoro Katsura had visited this place.
Maybe I should have studied history a little harder.
“Takanashi-kun, lend me your phone. I’ll take a picture of you and Ayaka for now.”
“Here.”
I handed Takamiya-san my phone and stood beside Ayaka with the ocean behind us.
“What’s one plus one?”
““Two!””
Ayaka and I flashed peace signs.
The shutter clicked.
“Another picture for the stiff married-couple collection.”
Takamiya-san returned my phone, and Ayaka and I looked at the photo.
“It came out nicely. Send it to me later.”
“Sure. Takamiya-san, I’ll take one of the three close friends together.”
“Please do.”
We took all sorts of photos, just as we had before.
Then a large wolf-man approached us from one of the inns.
He was a werewolf.
And he had an enormous amount of mana.
“Are you Elvis?”
the werewolf asked.
“Yeah. Dean?”
“That’s right… Hmph. Humans.”
Dean glanced over us.
“You can tell?”
“I’m a werewolf. I know by your scent—and I’m no ordinary werewolf.”
“You certainly have a hell of a lot of mana.”
“So do you. Never mind that. You wanted to ask about the photo I took, right? Before we get to that, answer something for me. That cosplayer aside, who are these people? Are they connected to Jack the Ripper in Hiroshima? This area is my territory, and I want to know what I’m dealing with.”
At that, Elvis looked at me.
“I’ll explain. Your name was Dean, right? I’m Yuu. As you said, I’m human.”
“You look human, but that’s not an amount of mana any human should possess. The women are the same. Who are you?”
We should tell him.
“The truth is…”
I explained our circumstances to Dean: that we’d originally been high school students, that we’d gone to another world, that we’d returned in Beppu, and that we were now searching for our companions.
“Hah! I’d like to say you’ve lost your mind, talking about another world, but that would make me a hypocrite. We came to this world from somewhere else too. Still, it finally makes sense. Jack the Ripper in Hiroshima is one of your classmates, isn’t he?”
“Yes. That’s what we think. And to answer your question, we have nothing to do with him. We lived quietly among ourselves, and that’s what we intend to keep doing.”
That would never change.
“I see… Everyone has their own beliefs, and I understand now that you’re not a threat to us. But if that’s the case, even Dennis over in Nagato could be in danger…”
Dennis?
“The Hecatoncheir?”
“Yeah, him.”
I hadn’t heard the owner’s name, but I knew who he meant.
“We received powers called Jobs and Skills. And then there’s the mana we gained by killing monsters for ten straight years.”
“I see… Hey, use some magic. I want to see what you’re capable of.”
Magic, huh…
“All right.”
I extended a hand toward the ocean.
When I poured mana into it, the waves began to churn, and eventually the sea split like something out of the story of Moses.
“That’s enough.”
“It is?”
I stopped channeling mana, and the sea returned to normal.
“You’re a monster. You claim you lived quietly with power like that? How strong are the ones who didn’t?”
“There are definitely humans stronger than us. And some of them believe the exact opposite of us when it comes to living quietly.”
Yamane and Jack the Ripper were perfect examples.
“Tch! I’ll have to think about this…”
“Are we done? Tell me about Riku. He’s our friend.”
“Right… That guy. He’s not in this town anymore.”
He wasn’t here…
“Do you know where he went?”
“Shimane.”
Shimane… It was what we’d expected, but still…
“How do you know?”
“Someone I know gave him a ride in that direction. Apparently, the guy was hitchhiking.”
So that was how he’d secured transportation.
“When was this?”
“Two or three days ago. I heard he was taken as far as Hamada.”
“Hamada…”
We took out our smartphones and checked the map.
“He’s made it pretty far.”
“But Izumo is still some distance away.”
“What happened after that?”
Kitaura-san asked Dean.
“No idea. But he’s definitely heading east. Maybe he kept hitchhiking. He’d probably have to walk once he tried entering Izumo, though. That’s human territory.”
He’d been in Hamada two or three days ago… and from there, Izumo…
“He’s still in Shimane.”
“Based on the timing, yes.”
Ayaka and I nodded to each other.
“You knew Riku was human too, right? You’re fine just ignoring him?”
Kitaura-san asked.
“What do I care? You humans hate us because we’re invaders, but to us, humans aren’t any different from the goblins and kobolds you see everywhere. You’re simply one species among many. We fight you because you attack us.”
So that was how he saw it.
“Then you’ll ignore us too?”
“That’s right. Now get out of here. Or stay and kill that bastard Jack the Ripper for us. I’d be fine with that too.”
“We can’t. Our friends matter more, and we don’t need trouble like that.”
Of course.
“Thought so. Then hurry and leave. That man Riku has become a bit of a topic around here. Who knows when word will reach Jack the Ripper? I’m about to post on social media that the cosplayer went toward Shimane.”
We probably couldn’t stop him from doing that.
“Understood. Thank you.”
“Normally, I’d charge you mana, but I learned plenty from you too. You helped me out. Good luck.”
The werewolf turned and went back toward the inn.