Chapter 15 – Fly Me To The Moon

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“We are the White Wolf Faction. We’ve temporarily settled in this secluded place for training.”  

The small wolf, who introduced himself as Baekmo Cheong-an, spoke those words.  

Given his name and the mention of training, I wondered if they were werewolves inspired by martial arts.  

It didn’t quite fit the image, but saying that out loud might come off as discriminatory.  

No matter how I thought about it, werewolves seemed more suited to Western settings than Eastern ones.  

Even the name Baekmo Cheong-an felt like an alias.  

“I am the leader of the White Wolf Faction. Though my body is weak, I have a small talent for teaching, which is why I’ve been given this undeserved position.”  

But despite the dissonance, Baekmo Cheong-an—let’s just call him Cheong-an for short—was the epitome of a polite sage.  

His posture, his tone, even the way he knelt respectfully—it all made us look like trash for getting angry. I started to doubt whether this whole mess was just a misunderstanding.  

But I’m still not completely over my anger. Plus, there are a few things that still make me suspicious.  

Feeling slightly softened, I spoke to Cheong-an in a calmer tone.  

“I can understand attacking suddenly if you’re training. I mean, I’ve heard the scent of a vampire is particularly strong for you. But no matter how I look at it, that didn’t seem like martial arts back then.”  

“That’s… something I haven’t explained yet. How should I put it? Simply put, the scent of a vampire does stimulate us. Especially if it’s the scent of a Vampire Lord—it’s enough to shake even the strongest minds. It’s similar to that. The younger ones, still lacking in training, must have lost their senses upon smelling your scent.”  

“So, they lost their senses and attacked like beasts instead of using the martial arts they’ve been training in, is that it?”  

“Yes. Even I, standing before you now, am on the verge of being shaken by that sharp scent.”  

Wait, so it’s all my fault?  

Does that mean I shouldn’t have come here in the first place?  

The priest silently listened to our conversation.  

Since he didn’t point anything out, it seemed he either didn’t know or found no fault in Cheong-an’s explanation.  

‘So, Round Ark sent me here knowing the werewolves would go berserk because of me?’  

Those bastards. They must’ve thrown me into the middle of the werewolf pack to see me suffer.  

Or maybe they wanted to test the rumor that werewolves and vampires are natural enemies.  

Either way, it’s clear they saw me as a guinea pig.  

I felt a surge of resentment toward Round Ark.  

Well, considering they gave me a job, it’s a bit of a spoiled complaint.  

But no matter how it happened, isn’t it resolved now?  

There was a bit of bloodshed, but now we can talk peacefully.  

The fact that the other werewolves aren’t around can be understood as my doing.  

I imagined how I must’ve appeared to them.  

Probably like a hypocrite, barging in, provoking them, and then taking my anger out on their leader.  

I came here thinking of them as enemies, but now I have to treat them as sentient beings capable of communication.  

Alright, so I’m the cause.  

Realizing that this whole mess was caused by unnecessary misunderstandings, my anger completely dissipated.  

But I can’t just back down now.  

“Training is good, sure. Calming the mind, strengthening the body—great. But does it have to be here? This is a place where people work during the day. And it doesn’t seem like you can even transform into humans.”  

“Can werewolves transform into humans? I thought only nine-tailed foxes could do that.”  

“Ah, so there are nine-tailed foxes.”  

The conversation keeps veering off track.  

“Anyway, anyway! The point is, if you don’t leave here, we’re in a tough spot. Even if you don’t harm humans, just being seen is a problem. A big problem. Security guards have spotted you at night. Can’t you do this somewhere else?”  

But in response to my request, Cheong-an hesitated before answering.  

“That’s difficult for us too. There’s something we must do here. A secret training unique to werewolves, something we can only do in this place.”  

“What is it?”  

“It’s information we can’t share with outsiders. Ah, no, no! Of course, I’d like to tell you, Vampire Lord, but really! We won’t cause any harm or inconvenience, so please, let us stay here for just a little longer!”  

I looked at the priest.  

The priest remained stone-faced, standing silently behind me without moving.  

What’s his deal?  

Is this what a helper is supposed to do? I’m doing all the work here!  

I sighed deeply, feeling like the group leader, stuck doing all the work in a group project.  

“How many days do you need? We came here expecting a long-term assignment, so if things go well, it’ll benefit both of us.”  

“Three days at most should be enough. Yes, I guarantee it.”  

Three days. Less than a week.  

I expected this to take weeks, but thanks to someone, it seems like it’ll wrap up quickly.  

Thanks to me, of course. The priest should be grateful to me.  

But just as the conversation was wrapping up nicely, the silent burden of the group project finally spoke.  

“…Then we’ll keep watch during that time.”  

What? Wait.  

“Wait, Father, what do you mean by ‘we’?”  

After staying silent the whole time, why drag me into a three-day night watch?  

Besides, honestly, judging by the priest’s skills, he could probably handle it alone.  

You know, just waving that Bible around, bam, bam. Heads would roll.  

But the priest insisted I stay with him, pushing me with his stubborn attitude.  

“If something unexpected happens, I can’t handle it alone. And isn’t this your first assigned task? If you’re going to finish it, do it properly.”  

“But… since we’ve already got their guarantee, maybe I can take a break…”  

My voice trailed off as I spoke.  

Even I felt like I was being lazy, slacking off, and freeloading.  

I felt guilty on multiple levels. Especially since the priest was so direct about it.  

“…Alright, three days… that’s fine.”  

“We, we don’t really need guards, but… ah, alright, alright! We’ll behave for three days. If you’re willing to keep watch, we’re truly grateful!”  

“Then we’ll take care of things for this short time. Don’t worry about the secrecy of your ‘training.’ We’ll just keep an eye out for anyone approaching from a distance.”  

“Yes, thank you, everyone. We’ll be in your care for the time being.”  

Suppressing my desire to curl up in bed, I followed the priest like a lamb being led to the slaughter.  

I’d rather be in bed…  

* * *  

As a faint indigo light began to appear on the horizon, we settled in a factory at the outermost edge between Area A and Area B.  

I stared at the black fibers of my hoodie, which were still regenerating, and plopped down on the ground.  

It seems my internal organs and skin regenerate quickly since they’re part of my body, but my clothes take longer.  

Actually, shouldn’t clothes not regenerate at all? But whatever. It doesn’t matter.  

I don’t know the principle behind it, but not having to buy new clothes is convenient, so I shouldn’t complain.  

As the pale dawn light filtered in, the priest, sitting across from me, stared at me intently before speaking.  

“That Baekmo Cheong-an guy, he was lying.”  

I looked at the priest. He didn’t seem to be joking.  

‘…How do you even tell if this guy is joking or serious?’  

His expression never changes.  

I’m starting to suspect his face is made of stone instead of muscles.  

So, half-doubting, I responded almost complainingly.  

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you say something back there? I was struggling to handle the conversation alone, and now you make it sound like it’s all my fault.”  

“You handled the negotiation well. For that, I should thank you. But regardless, there’s something off about that Cheong-an guy. It’s better not to let your guard down.”  

Guard, guard.  

If I let my guard down, I’d have been eaten by wolves today.  

It still doesn’t feel real, so I stared at the unblemished skin visible through the fibers of my hoodie.  

A normal human would’ve died. Thinking about it sends a chill down my spine.  

Still not entirely convinced the priest wasn’t just nitpicking, I replied in a dull voice.  

“Alright, fine. If you say so. Though I think you should be the one more on guard.”  

“We’ll know in three days. For now, get some rest. We’ll take turns keeping watch.”  

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.  

Maybe the priest is overly trusting me.  

It feels like he expects me to fix things no matter how messed up they get.  

People are burdensome. Especially when both parties are the silent type.  

Maybe it’s a kind of self-loathing.  

With those thoughts, I dozed off, eventually falling into a deep sleep.  

Yes, dreamland.  

A fantasy conjured by my half-asleep brain.  

“Wow… huh?”  

And there, I encountered dozens, maybe hundreds, of werewolves.  

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