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37. Wolf’s Hidden Village (10)

「Leave the rest to me.」

I just barely arrived in time. If I had arrived any later – if I hadn’t penetrated through the dungeon floors – Shizuku’s scarred body told me of the tragedy that would have occurred in the future.

However, the “King” has been killed. The monsters in the dungeon should lose their power and be absorbed back into the dungeon. The only thing left is the monsters remaining on the ground.

「Marge, what about the dungeon!?」

「Conquered.」

「…!」

I scanned the surroundings to get a read on the situation.

The Wolf’s Hidden Village was built to be concealed inside a valley. The entrance to the S-class dungeon was in one of the mountains surrounding it, and no new monsters appeared through the entrance at the moment. Although Shizuku has defeated over 100 monsters in the village, monsters of all sizes still roamed the valley, including the village.

The remaining number is 592. Not a single one will escape me.

「Shizuku, all the village residents are at the back, right?」

Behind Shizuku was a house that survived the fire. About 40 people were hiding inside, holding their breath. Most of them were injured.

「Yeah, my father confirmed it, so there’s no doubt about it.」

「Okay. Stay back.」

「Marge?」

「That saves me the trouble.」

I no longer have to worry about the villagers getting caught up.

「[Aeolus].」

I avoided the houses and created an updraft, sending all the monsters into the sky.

「…Gi!?」

「Gigi!?」

Both big ones and small ones. Some with wings and some without. Whether they were hard or soft, strong or weak, it didn’t matter.

「[Subspace Rupture] and [Cocytus].」

Sever everything.

「–[Ice Breaking Blade].」

Countless fault lines tore through the sky itself, turning all the monsters into frozen fragments, which rained down on the mountain.

◆◆◆

Not long after that.

「First of all, I just want to thank you. Marge-dono, Koe-dono. Thank you for saving our daughter and the village.」

A house which was in as good a condition was chosen, and a place was set up for greetings and discussions. The people of the village watched closely as Shizuku’s father bowed his head.

「That’s why I came here in the first place.」

「I just followed my master.」

Shizuku’s father is said to be in a leadership position within the werewolf tribe. His name is Asagi. Shizuku also introduced her mother, Kasumi, to us.

「I am only the head of the village in name, so I can’t provide much, but we’ll do our best to accommodate you.」

「No, you don’t have to… I mean, I would appreciate it.」

It was obvious that life in this village is not easy. I almost turned it down, but then realized that it was disrespectful to them and took the offered hand.

「If you want to have a concubine, you can bring Shizuku along as well.」

「Now that’s a little too much…」

「Huh…」

When I refused, I saw Shizuku, who was standing behind Asagi, making an expression as if it was the end of the world. No matter who the person is, they’ll surely feel sad when rejected, but it’s not like I can just accept it.

「I-I see…」

「And since she is your daughter, isn’t she the princess of the werewolf tribe? I don’t think she should be given away so easily.」

「It is true that we are of royal blood, but…I don’t deserve to be a king, so I won’t call Shizuku a princess.」

Indeed, earlier, Asagi called himself the village chief, not the king. He said it’s not humility, but rather lack of qualifications.

「I’m sure this is not an unrelated matter to the reconstruction of this village. If you don’t mind, I would like to know more.」

「Gladly. The werewolf race once had a king. However, the symbol was lost during the war, and the throne has remained vacant ever since. But… that was only until today.」

「What do you mean?」

「Because the symbol is back.”Asagi said, pointing to the pendants on my and Koe-san chests. “That jewel… you call it the precious stone, correct? It is the treasure which represents the werewolf throne.」

I heard from the owner of the Renono jewelry store that these three pendants were related to the werewolf tribe. And according to Asagi, there are three people connected to the throne. That is–

The King.

The Spouse.

And the Heir.

It is said that each of the three owned one and passed it down from generation to generation.

「I was worried that it might have ended up sinking into a swamp somewhere. I am glad to know that that wasn’t the case」

I couldn’t help but look at Koe-san and silently nod as if to say, “Good thing we picked it up…”

「And this sword was carried by the person who ascended to the throne. It was forged by the ancestors of the dwarves who once lived together with us in this land.」

It was a type of curved sword. When I pulled it out of its sheath, the wet-looking blade glinted dully in the sunlight. From its flame-like pattern, I could tell at a glance that it was created using different techniques, different culture, and a different sense of aesthetics than humans.

「The pendant and the sword. Only when you have these two things can you qualify to be the king of the forest.」

「In that case, you should have this.」

「Then mine is for Kasumi-sama.」

Koe-san and I tried to remove the pendants from our necks, but Asagi stopped us.

「Marge-dono, I heard from Shizuku that you are traveling. And that the journey is one with no destination. If you are looking for a place of your own…」

On the contrary, he held out the sword in his hand towards me.

「Will you please be our king?」