An Adventurer Mom, Who Awakened [Housewife] Skill Through a Login Bonus, Is Making the Most of Her Adventurer Life With the Weekly Flyers She Gets! - Chapter 51

For a while, the surroundings fell completely silent.

Kachua and the others were shocked at the thought that the Third Prince might actually be involved in Og and the others becoming werewolves.

“I’ve told you this much, but the Third Prince is not the main topic.”

The guard said this.

“Eh, is that so?” Kachua was surprised.

Then what was all that talk until now?

“Yeah, everything I said just now is nothing more than speculation. The Third Prince is a shrewd guy who hasn’t left behind any evidence.” The guard said this regretfully.

As things stood, it seemed impossible to accuse the Third Prince of his crimes.

“Impossible…”

“For example, even if the Third Prince were to be overthrown, that wouldn’t turn us back to our original forms. The one who turned us into werewolves was that wolf beastman bastard.”

The guards bared their fangs and growled.

“That’s true.” Ann nodded in agreement.

“The name of the wolf beastman we tracked down is Sirius. Whether it’s an alias or his real name, that’s what he calls himself.”

“The attack on us was a year ago, and Og-kun’s village was attacked seven months ago. From the circumstances, it doesn’t look like the assault on Licorice Village was something carried out on commission. There’s no motive for that.”

“That’s right, it’s just a small village.” Og agreed.

It seemed that Garfa and his subordinates had all this time been pursuing the whereabouts of the wolf beastman who turned Minerva into a werewolf.

They appeared to know Og’s situation well, too.

Furthermore.

“When we investigated, we found that aside from Licorice Village, three months ago another village was suddenly attacked by a beastman. Most likely, that was also Sirius’s doing.”

“Sirius right now is in a state where he can no longer control the madness within him, the Lunatic.”

“Sirius, at this rate, will go on to attack even more people. We intend to defeat him.”

The guards declared this.

“Defeat Sirius?”

“Og-kun, you too are a strong werewolf. When the time comes, would you cooperate with us? If you do, then even without relying on the Supreme Status Ailment Removal Potion, those who have become werewolves can return to their original forms.”

“But, I heard from a magic book that a werewolf who defeats a wolf beastman becomes a beastman and can never return to their original form.” Rick pointed this out in confusion.

“Is it not possible for a human who isn’t a werewolf to defeat him? If that were the case…”

The guards shook their heads.

“It is extremely difficult for humans to defeat a beastman, especially a wolf beastman.”

“Among beastmen of the same kind, they are each other’s weakness. Their attacks gain special effectiveness against one another.”

Because of this, even the rough-tempered beastmen try to avoid fighting among their own kind whenever possible.

“Werewolves are wolf beastmen and yet also humans. Because they possess the qualities of both races, wolf beastmen do not gain special effectiveness against us, but werewolves gain special effectiveness against wolf beastmen.”

It was said that the reason such a complicated relationship existed between werewolves and wolf beastmen was because the one who granted protection to the wolf beastmen was the Moon Goddess, whimsical yet merciful.

“Our strength as werewolves cannot compare to that of a wolf beastman individually. But if we join forces, we might be able to defeat Sirius.”

However.

“The werewolf who breaks the fangs of a wolf beastman bears the price, and falls into becoming a wolf beastman himself. The final blow, I will deliver.”

Among the guards, the one whose appearance was closest to that of a beastman pointed his thumb at his own chest.

“My name is Lambert. Pleased to meet you.”

Lambert introduced himself.

“Ah, likewise.”

“We’re Gamma Team.”

They belatedly exchanged introductions.

After the introductions were finished, Lambert spoke with a bitter smile.

“Even if we cooperate, to be honest, we have no certainty that we can defeat Sirius. He is a very powerful wolf beastman. However… Sirius is connected with the Third Prince. If Ojou-sama Minerva were to return to her original form, she might be attacked again.”

Lambert pricked up his wolf ears.

“No way, even though she finally seems close to becoming human again.” Another guard said this hesitantly.

“To put it bluntly, that lady is the trap we are setting. If Ojou-sama Minerva returns to her original form, the Third Prince will surely make his move.”

“Then doesn’t that mean Ojou-sama is in danger?”

“Yeah.”

Rick, who had just shared a meal with her, asked worriedly. Laura nodded beside him.

“Ojou-sama, Minerva is aware of the danger.”

“And we are with her. We won’t let it happen so easily.”

The guards spoke as if to reassure them.

“If Ojou-sama Minerva returns to her original form, the likelihood is high that the Third Prince will send Sirius against her once more.”

“Sirius is bound to return to this labyrinth city, Loa. When that time comes, we will crush him and put an end to this incident!”

Lambert said this, baring his fighting spirit.

＊＊＊

A few days after the dinner gathering at Garfa’s estate, Gamma Team continued their dungeon exploration on the thirty-first floor of Dungeon Loa.

It was now lunchtime, and everyone was gathered to eat.

The thirty-first floor was a dungeon made up of stone-paved corridors, and right now they were in the middle of one such passage.

They had chosen a spot that was at least reasonably open in view and somewhat safe.

At first, eating in a place like this had felt unsettling, but after doing it several times, they had gotten completely used to it.

Bernhardt was not there.

“Ann, I want to be with you.”

Bernhardt had wanted to join them, but Ann refused him with a firm『No』.

“Why don’t you just let Bernhardt-san join the team?”

When Kachua said this, Ann shot her a sidelong glare.

“You always say such easygoing things. This is for your sake.”

“Eh, for mine?”

“That’s right. It would be a problem if your skill were exposed, wouldn’t it?”

“Would it? Bernhardt-san is a good person, I’m sure it would be fine.”

“Even so, he’s still royalty. If you get involved with him, you’ll get dragged into troublesome matters.”

“By troublesome matters, do you mean His Highness the Third Prince?” Rick asked Ann.

“That’s one of them.” Ann nodded.

“…Um.”

Og, who had been silent until now, raised his voice.

Today Og seemed a little different than usual.

You could say he was absent-minded, or perhaps lost in thought about something.

“His Highness the Third Prince is Minerva-san’s fiancé, isn’t he?”

“I heard it’s just as a『candidate.』”

“What kind of person is he?”

Og’s question made Kachua think for a moment before answering.

“Hmm, how should I put it, maybe『ordinary』? He’s still young, only twenty years old, and since he has no outstanding achievements, people usually talk about his character. Things like being kind, or intelligent.”

“Isn’t that a『good reputation』?”

Og tilted his head in puzzlement.

At Garfa’s estate he had once revealed his face, but now he was back to being wrapped up in bandages.

Rick whispered secretly. “You can’t speak ill of royalty, right? That’s why only harmless talk reaches the common folk.”

“If you go to a tavern, you’ll hear it. Lies mixed with truth.” Ann said this.

“That boy is a nasty brat. He’s cunning, and sending wolf beastmen against others is exactly the sort of thing he would do.”

In Ann’s eyes, even the twenty-year-old Third Prince was treated as just a『boy.』

You couldn’t directly ask a woman’s age, so it wasn’t certain, but Ann was probably around twenty-nine.

Perhaps because she had once been the lover (?) of the Second Prince Bernhardt, she seemed to know about the Third Prince as well.

“Ann-san, do you actually believe what you heard from Garfa’s guards the other day?”

Rick asked this, not because he didn’t trust them, but simply because there was so little information that he didn’t know whether to take it at face value.

“I don’t think they were lying. It’s also true that he seeks backing. His mother, the current queen, is a woman who is constantly surrounded by dark rumors.”

“The current queen?”

Unfamiliar with the affairs of the royal family, Og asked in wonder.

Rick explained in Ann’s place.

“His Majesty the King had three queens. The first queen gave birth to the First Prince, but died of illness. Then, soon after marrying again, the second queen gave birth to the Second Prince, Bernhardt-san, but she too died of illness not long after. After that, the current queen was married, and she bore the Third Prince.”

“So that means… all of them have different mothers?”

Og asked Rick in surprise.

“That’s right.”

Though they were all princes born of queens, each one had a different mother.