A pair of starry silver eyes, messy gray hair, and a round, pretty face.

Combined with the drooping wolf-ears on her head, the Lycan woman could definitely claim to be quite a beautiful lady.

Of course, that was if you could look past the fact that others of her race were famous for tearing apart everything and everyone near them during the nights of full moon.

Or the fact that she could easily chop off your head anytime she wished with her incredibly sharp claws...

Or that she could rip out your throat in one go with her sharp fangs...

...She was quite beautiful, alright. But the thorns surrounding her beauty were far deadlier than anything a normal person would be able to endure.

As a certified anime-lover, I did have a fair share of interest in catgirls and the like, but Lycans were still a bit too much for me.

Just because I liked anime, it didn't mean I would risk my life over scratching and fondling some wolf-ears!

"U-Um...w-what are you doing?"

Seeing me put my hands over her head and fondling those soft, drooping ears of hers, the Lycan woman asked me in an uncertain voice.

"Don't mind me. I'm just doing my thing. You keep talking."

"O-o-oh... o-okay..."

My decisive tone seemed to have worked, as she didn't question my actions any further.

'Hmm… the fur is a little rough to the touch. Is it because of her nomadic lifestyle? Well, that marks another thing checked off my bucket list!'

I leisurely thought about some useless things.

Of course, even though I was touching her ears, I wasn't risking my life like some dumb otaku in any way here.

Honestly, it was quite the opposite.

To any other normal observer, my actions might seem like I've lowered my guard towards this woman. But little did they know that their assumption couldn't be farther from the truth!

I was just keeping my claws as close as possible to her head, so that the moment her emotion spectrum changes, or she makes any funny moves...

I could simply get rid of her as cleanly as possible!

There was no way for me to trust a demon that easily. It was as they say, old habits die hard.

"So, you were saying...?"

"Uh...A-After coming to this place, I tried to live as a scavenger at first. But my strength was not enough for the parties that were recruiting at that time..."

This Lycan woman's name was Yera. No last name.

A year or so ago, her tribe – or should I say pack? – lost a territorial war to another pack of Lycans from the Great Desolation Forest, located near the heart of the Demon Realm. And as the remaining members of her tribe were forced to migrate, she alone decided to travel to the distant scavenger cities in search of a new life.

Unfortunately though, she later found out that her fighting abilities were quite abysmal in order to survive in the deadly dungeons of the nearby wasteland.

Even with her base specs as a Lycan, without any kind of fighting experience, it still wasn't enough to return from the dungeons in one piece.

"...I didn't have much money left back then. S-So, u-umm, I-I..."

"Go on."

Yera chewed her lower lips for a little while, before continuing.

"...I-I....approached the other newcomers in that city...pretending to be a veteran scavenger....a-and took away some of their money for taking them in as my party members..."

'Are you serious...?'

So, all in all, she was running something like a recruitment scam in the nearby scavenger cities?

"...And how are you still alive, then? Those scammed demons didn't try to get back at you?"

"I used to r-run away from there immediately after they handed over the money, s-so..."

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

My lips twitched a little, imagining the mugs of the scammed demons when they realized the scam.

*Sigh...*

With a sigh, I massaged my temple for a short moment.

"Okay, since you haven't lied to me so far, I get that you're pretty harmless. But..."

Pointing to the bleeding corpse of the Hobgoblin warrior, I asked her.

"...what's your deal with that guy? I clearly felt the intense bloodlust coming from that guy earlier, and he was your companion, wasn't he?"

Yera's face once again became teary at my question.

"H-He....was the Hobgoblin chief's son. Their tribe lives close to this city, and they also have a lot of influence here. He told me that he ran away from home, and wanted to become a famous scavenger...."

"I-I was new in this city, so I took money from him too. B-But before I could get away, people from his tribe came looking for him, and because he told them he would follow me..."

My expression became a bit weird upon hearing that. Was this what they called, 'karma'?

"So you went with your act all the way?"

"Y-yes..."

She knew that she couldn't let them find out about her true identity, so she kept acting out the veteran dungeon explorer persona she painted herself to be.

I had to admit, it was quite a smart, yet simultaneously a very dumb idea.

I was surprised that she even survived till now, scamming demons from the scavenger cities among all things.

But one thing was still suspicious in all this....

"If you were acting like a veteran scavenger, then why did you try to rob me?"

"Ah!"

When I mentioned her attempt to rob me, Yera jerked back a little, causing me to raise one of my eyebrows as a result.

"T-That....was to gather enough money for me to flee from this place. I-I told him that we are doing this to get more experience in dealing with other scavengers inside a dungeon. I never planned on killing anyone!"

So...once you're a criminal, you always remain a criminal, huh? She couldn't even think of another way after tasting the sweetness of easy money.

"Alright. So, I take it that you really won't bear a grudge and come after me?"

I was continuously looking at the colors that made up her emotion spectrum with my new ability, cross-checking everything that she told me till now.

"Y-yes. I wouldn't even dare to think about harming you…!"

...And unless she was an inconceivable monster who could perfectly disguise her emotions, everything she told me until now was indeed the truth.

'Tsk. It was pretty fun while it lasted.'

I promptly retracted my hand which was busy scratching and fondling her fluffy ears all this while.

"Okay. You are free to leave now. Remember to stay away from me in the future, if you want to live a long life."

Leaving her sitting on the ground, I turned around, ready to leave this dreary alley.

"W-wait!"

But before I could take another step, I felt a desperate pull on my fur-coat.

'F*ck! Don't pull on it, you dumb woman!'

I immediately stopped, turning my head to glare at the Lycan.

"Eeek!"

She let out a loud shriek, but still didn't let go of my cloak.

"What is it now? I already spared you, do you want me to change my mind now?"

"N-no, b-but..."

"Tsk. Out with it, quick!"

I wanted to get something to eat after this, not to mention some proper sleep.

But with her tugging on my cloak, I couldn't get anywhere.

If the cloak was a normal one, I wouldn't care if it tore around the edge a little. But as my luck would have it, I was pretty much naked underneath it.

I had to painstakingly skin a wolf monster I hunted in that tutorial dungeon, just to create this makeshift cloak to cover myself.

It was fine inside the dungeon, but I couldn't afford to go around showing off my skin in public here. My sense of shame wasn't that far gone!

"U-Uh...u-umm..."

She hesitated for a moment, before saying something ridiculous.

"P-Please...take me with you..."

"Wh-What??"

I was left flabbergasted hearing her sudden request.

Damn it, was she suffering from the legendary 'suspension-bridge' effect?

"N-No, I-I didn't m-mean it like that...!"

Seemingly understanding what kind of nonsense she just blurted out, she blushed a little, before stuttering out a response.

'Ahh, don't blush like that, auntie. I look younger than you by at least fifteen years....!'

"Then, what do you mean?"

Keeping my inner thoughts inside my mind, I asked her in a cold tone.

"T-The chief will soon notice Busir's disappearance. The store owner you met earlier knows that we were following you. Sooner or later, they will come after both of us!"

My eyebrows furrowed at her words.

Right. I forgot that goblins somewhat respected their familial ties.

Obviously, it was not in the way a normal human might think of, but it did exist – in their own bizarre way.

"...Then, after all, shouldn't I get rid of you and erase my traces from here?"

"B-But, I-I can h-help you!"

I couldn't hold back my sneer at her words.

"You can't even help yourself, how are you going to help me?"

Yera's previously tearful eyes now showed a firmness that had been absent since the moment I killed her companion a while ago.

Even though she trembled quite a lot while speaking out her next words....

"Y-you're powerful! Y-you can protect both of us, a-and I can guide you out of the cursed lands if you take me along with you!"

Huh. So she wasn't completely useless, after all.

"Hah..."

A small smile crept up on my face.

Indeed, you couldn't possibly survive in the Demon Realm if you were that weak.