A Cozy Cottage

Kas swallowed hard. He had realized something terrifying.

Whenever Seneya's eyes glowed red, she became a fierce, terrifying werewolf.

But when her eyes were soft pink like cherry blossoms, she was a silly, shy little foodie.

So why not use the red-eyed form from the start?

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With claws flashing, Seneya stood before the door, her bloodlust still raging. Cold moonlight once more bathed her silver-white fur. She released the hyena she had been gripping and slowly turned her head.

Those icy beast eyes, their killing intent almost tangible, made Kas tighten his grip on the Woodcutter's Axe...

Her gaze was almost exactly the same as when they had met on the Forgotten Grassland. Had her beastly instincts taken over...

[Plan: Clear Eyes]

[Status: In Progress]

[Inspiration: When a dog gets aggressive with you, there's nothing a slap can't solve.]

Kas braced himself as the werewolf drew nearer. His left hand twitched eagerly, ready to slap Seneya's furrowed cheek at any moment.

The werewolf came closer and closer, pressing her nose against the human's forehead. She bared her sharp fangs, along with...

A soft pink tongue.

Seneya stared with her scarlet eyes and licked Kas's cheek with her wet tongue, making cheerful rumbling sounds in her throat.

"Aow aow aow~"

What the hell was going on? Wasn't she a werewolf? Why was she acting like some shameless licking dog?

Kas thought calmly for a moment. Just as the werewolf was about to stretch out her thick arms, wrap them around his shoulders, and use a grappling move, his poised slap struck Seneya squarely on the cheek.

"Smack~"

The crisp smack carried an irresistible force of contemplation, instantly snapping Seneya awake.

Her pink eyes, no longer glowing red, flew wide open. The tongue that had been licking Kas's cheek froze halfway out.

She tried to close her mouth first, but seemed to forget to pull her tongue back in. Her fangs promptly made intimate contact with it.

"Wuwuwu~"

The tearful, stupid wolf was met with a speechless look.

This stupid dog... she was beyond saving. Still, there was no denying that this had been a flawless plan.

Kas patted Seneya's arm.

"Stop acting stupid. Nosa is gone, and there was human flesh in the stew we were about to eat. She's probably a witch who controls beasts."

At the mention of a witch, Seneya stopped panting with her hand over her mouth. She nodded with difficulty, apparently unable to accept that the lively girl they had met today could harm people.

But the hyenas that had attacked them and Nosa's disappearance made everything baffling.

"Aowu~"

"How do we find her... This really is troublesome." Kas pondered inwardly, feeling that the situation was rather thorny.

He stared at the hyena corpses strewn across the room and came up with a plan.

[Plan: Walking a dog without a leash means the dog walks itself]

[Status: In Progress]

[Inspiration: I figure dogs should carry their owner's scent, but I'm not a dog...]

He shook his head. The inspiration was clearly nowhere near enough to ensure the plan's success. They needed to search this house for clues.

"Seneya, stay here."

"Aowu~"

Kas returned to the second floor and first stuffed the map spread across the table into his tool bag. He would think about returning to the tribe after dealing with this mess.

He inspected the wooden crates piled in the corners one by one and found that most contained clothes, bedding, gold, silver, and jewelry. There was nothing related to witchcraft as he had imagined.

As for what something related to witchcraft was supposed to be, Kas did not actually know. He only felt that there should be a few scrolls of human skin, covered in evil, bizarre runes drawn in human blood.

But there was nothing of the sort. Setting aside the suddenly attacking hyenas and the fresh meat mushroom stew, this cottage surrounded by lilacs and pansies possessed a quiet elegance unlike Reshman's rugged style.

Impossible... Someone who let her pets eat a girl bit by bit could not possibly live somewhere without anything unusual.

He cut open the gray wolf, cow, and sheep hanging from the rafters. Upon examining them carefully, he indeed found something strange.

The cow and sheep had clean, precise cuts across their throats. Their bodies had been thoroughly drained of blood, and there was not the slightest foul odor. This was a butcher's work.

As for the skinned gray wolf, aside from the cut across its neck where it had been bled with a blade, there was also a straight bloody hole that pierced the muscles on both sides of its throat.

This was the mark of an arrow. The archer was quite skilled; it had definitely been a one-shot kill.

Had this wolf been sold to her by a hunter?

Kas dismissed the thought. Hunters who dared make a living in the forest were far sharper than most people. They would surely have noticed something strange about Nosa.

Or perhaps this wolf had been hunted by her own hand...

There was no sign of a bow or arrows on the second floor or in the main room. The biggest point of suspicion had to be the bedroom concealed behind the linen curtain.

When he returned to the main room on the first floor, he saw that Miss Seneya had already pulled aside the linen curtain covering the bedroom. Her head rested against the one-meter-high bedstead, while her dark nose twitched constantly as though searching for something.

"Seneya, did you find something?"

"Aow~"

Seneya pointed at the bedstead and waved for Kas to come take a look.

After taking several steps forward and reaching the bed, a gentle feminine scent drifted from the bedding into his nose, making Kas feel somewhat nauseated now that he knew the truth.

I actually thought Nosa in that Little Red Riding Hood outfit was kind of cute before. Ancestor was right: never judge people by their appearance.

He stopped his chaotic thoughts, told Seneya to move farther away, then gripped the Woodcutter's Axe with both hands and smashed it down at the oak bedframe.

The planks shattered and fell, but instead of the crisp echo of wood striking hard ground, there came the dull, restless sound of boards colliding with one another.

Without hesitation, Kas grabbed the bed planks with both hands. With a burst of strength from his arms, he tore the oak bed and part of the wall out together with a ripping screech.

A narrow hidden door lay directly beneath the bed.

He and Seneya exchanged a look, arriving at the same thought.

That damned Little Red Riding Hood was probably hiding in there!

Below the hidden door was a narrow stairway passage. Kas and Seneya had to turn sideways to walk through it properly.

Kas walked ahead holding a torch. The narrow stairway was short, and it was likely directly beneath the house.

He left the stair tunnel, and the firelight illuminated the gloomy darkness, disturbing the stagnant time within the stone cavern. It set the silk curtain hanging at the stairway exit fluttering with a fierce rustle.

The decay of corpses and the love permeating the cracks filled his lungs. The thick, muddy air made it hard for him to breathe. This underground room was far warmer than he had imagined.

A man in hunting clothes stood before a whetstone, his eyes focused as he sharpened a long, slender arrowhead.

Beside him sat a woman holding a child. She lowered her head to nurse the infant, her delicate hand gently stroking the wrinkles on the baby's face.

The walls were covered with all kinds of animal pelts. Strings of dried radishes and shells swayed like wind chimes in the chaotic light. The hearth piled with charcoal had yet to be lit, while wooden bowls brimming with food sat on the dining table across from it.

The furnishings and decorations in this stone cavern were almost identical to those of the wooden house above. The warm family scene made one feel safe and happy.

That was, provided one ignored the reality that the three people had become skeletons. Setting aside the fact that they were already dead, this underground cottage truly was very cozy.