The blue eyes of the wolf beastman who locked eyes with me gleamed as if refusing to let his prey escape.
I felt a chill run down my spine.
Fear of death gripped me.
Just as I instinctively tried to step back, a cold voice, like it could freeze the very wind, rang out.
“Who sent you? The emperor of the neighboring country, Verdil? Or was it Commander Joseph?”
Sharp fangs showed between his teeth.
Goosebumps prickled all over my skin.
And that wasn’t all.
His muscles, bulging far more impressive than mine, looked threatening.
If he swung a punch at me, I’d surely have several broken bones at the very least.
As I stood there trembling, holding my breath, a look of irritation flickered across his face, as if frustrated by my silence.
“If you wanted to take my head, you should’ve at least sent a trained assassin. But this? Someone who can’t even cover the basics?”
The misunderstanding was growing worse and worse.
But who could manage to explain properly in a situation like this?
Especially when what I was holding in my hand was a vile “elephant aphrodisiac” so potent it could bring a dead elephant back to life.
‘At this rate, not only will I fail the mission — I’m going to die!’
I glanced around, trying to find a chance to pull out the return stone hidden in my pocket, but the wolf beastman sensed my suspicious movements and sprang into action.
Thud!
With a heavy thump, both my hands were pinned by his large ones.
My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst as his face loomed so close our lips could almost touch.
“Baa…!”
“Baa?”
Gah.
The sound slipped out of me instinctively, and I quickly bit down hard on my lip.
At the same time, his eyes gleamed with a knowing light.
As I tried to back away, he grabbed the scruff of my neck and yanked me forward.
I couldn’t breathe.
His blue, rage-filled eyes glared at me from inches away.
“If you speak the truth even now, I might kill you a little less painfully.”
At that moment, his lower body began to stir.
It was a truth I absolutely did not want to know, but it was undeniable — the man before me was… exceptionally well-endowed.
I cursed my past self.
Why, oh why, hadn’t I just used a drop instead of pouring the entire bottle?
How could I have been so stupid?
His enormous erection stood proudly, towering toward the sky.
And when it finally grew big enough to prod against my stomach, I knew.
‘Ah… there’s no way I’m getting out of this alive.’
***
The Country of the Sheep Beastmen, Medderland.
People called this place a paradise.
Set high in the mountains, the air was clear and the sweeping natural scenery was breathtaking.
Thanks to its isolated location, it was also naturally protected from outside invasions — no need to even explain that part.
Here, you could run free, play to your heart’s content, and live without fear.
It was a land where laughter, filled with happiness, never ceased.
But today, just like always, I couldn’t hide my gloomy mood as I was dragged into the headmaster’s office once again.
“Mayhen, just how many times has it been now?”
The headmaster’s heavy, sinking voice made me fidget with my fingers.
When I didn’t respond immediately, a sharp glare stabbed down at me.
“I asked you — how many times have you failed?”
“…Eleven times.”
The headmaster let out a long sigh and pressed both hands over his eyes, his voice thick with fatigue as he spoke.
“No one ever forced you. If you can’t do it, just give up. It’s easier that way.”
I had heard these words countless times before.
If you just give up, everything will be easier — why couldn’t you do that?
With no abilities, no talent, continuing to struggle was just pathetic.
I had thought about it more times than I could count.
About letting go of that last handful of stubborn hope clinging to my fingertips.
The brutal reality had already made it painfully clear that I wasn’t anything special, and clinging to this hope only made my suffering worse.
Even so, giving up was just… so hard.
Why should I give up?
If I crushed even the tiniest chance with the word “give up,” I might spend the rest of my life drowning in regret.
My trembling fist tightened.
My eyes burned as if they were on fire.
I exhaled once and, gritting my teeth, said:
“I can’t do that. If I give up… I’ll never become an Honorable Sheep!”
“Mayhen…!”
Our great ancestors once helped those who struggled to sleep at night by imagining puffy, soft clouds of sheep until they finally drifted off to slumber.
One sheep, two sheep, three sheep…
Even though it was such an old-fashioned method, back then it worked like a charm.
And it was the sheep beastmen of Medderland who inherited that sacred tradition.
But among them, only a rare few could become Honorable Sheep.
We called them “Solvers.”
‘And I’m the eldest daughter of the Slimela family, the ones who carry the purest bloodline of our ancestors.’
One sad fact was that… not once in my entire life had I successfully completed a single mission.
Born with overflowing magical power, I had once carried all of my family’s hopes.
Now, within the village, people treated me as either a failure or a troublemaker.
“You think I can’t do it too, don’t you, Headmaster?”
“I know everyone whispers behind my back, calling me the ‘defective Slimela.’ I know they gossip, saying maybe my blood came from some filthy goat wandering outside the village! That’s why… that’s why I can’t give up!”
All the pent-up anger I had been holding back threatened to spill out.
Even if I pretended not to care in front of my family, how could I not know what people said when I wasn’t around?
The headmaster furrowed his brows deeply, looking at me.
“That’s not it, Mayhen.”
“Then what is it?”
“You do understand that this is your last assignment, right?”
The assignments given as the final hurdle to becoming a Solver weren’t unlimited.
You were allowed a maximum of twelve attempts.
Anyone who failed would be stripped of their qualification — permanently.
Not only would they lose the chance to become an Honorable Sheep, but they would also lose the right to leave this village.
In other words, they would be forced to live within Medderland for the rest of their lives — until death.
For someone like me, who desperately wanted to see the outside world, this was my very last chance.
I was more desperate than anyone.
“Yes, I know it very well.”
“Then look at this, Mayhen. Your final assignment… your target this time is on a completely different level from anything you’ve faced before.”
As soon as I accepted the assignment paper the headmaster handed me, the air around me seemed to dry out and crackle.
I gasped for breath, my hands trembling slightly.
***
[Assignee: Mayhen
Target: Wolf Beastman
Insomnia Cause: Drug Addiction]
***
As I read the paper, my pupils shook uncontrollably.
It was as if a raging tsunami had crashed into what had once been a calm sea.
Like a small ferry battered by a storm, I couldn’t hide my growing panic.
“A w-wolf beastman…?”
“Yes.”
“Of all the countless beings in this world… my final assignment target is a wolf beastman?!”
“…That’s right.”
Wolf beastmen.
Savage, cunning, and unspeakably brutal creatures.
They were the mortal enemies of sheep, the sworn foes of our ancestors.
The hatred between wolves and sheep ran so deep that its origin had been forgotten — it was simply an ancient, inescapable enmity.
In history lessons, we were taught that our ancestors once lived peacefully on this land — until the wolf beastmen suddenly invaded.
There had been no desperate reason or justification behind their actions.
The wolf beastmen had simply seen a sweet and vulnerable land — easy to seize with their greedy eyes, or so we could only assume.
Our ancestors lacked the strength or ability to resist the invaders.
With tears in their eyes, they had no choice but to abandon their homeland, filled with cherished memories.
Thus, after fleeing and fleeing again, they eventually settled here, in Medderland.
“This must be a mistake. Please check again. My final assignment target being a wolf beastman? It doesn’t make any sense!”
“Mayhen, you know as well as I do. Not even by accident can Shaman Tabiren change the client.”
Assignment targets weren’t chosen at will.
They had to go through a sacred process in which Tabiren, the strong shaman of Medderland, listened to the voice of the gods and selected the clients.
“I know that, but…”
“If the targets could be changed at will, even Tabiren would be struck down by divine punishment.
You understand that too, don’t you?”
I had no way to argue against the headmaster’s words.
But accepting this situation was just as difficult.
Wolf beastmen were inherently brutal and cruel.
There were stories — terrible ones — about them.
In one tale, someone coughed in front of a wolf beastman, and simply because the sound annoyed him, the beastman tore the person’s mouth apart.
In another, a wolf beastman, claiming boredom, snapped one of our precious horns — said to be more valuable than our souls — as if it were just a twig.
Because of this, normally only full-fledged Solvers who had already completed successful assignments could even be considered for wolf beastman clients.
If my target is such a vicious wolf beastman, there’s no telling what terrible things might happen to me…!
That thought froze me in place like a statue.
A primal fear, buried deep within my heart, began to coil tightly around my body.
Seeing my state, the headmaster let out a deep sigh and slowly patted my shoulder.
“If people hear your final assignment was a wolf beastman, they’ll understand. So this assignment…”
His voice was noticeably warmer than before.
But to me, it only sounded firm — as if he were telling me that no amount of struggling would change anything.
The look in his eyes, void of even the faintest expectation, made my chest ache.
“If by any chance… What are the odds I’ll succeed?”
“You might as well say they’re nonexistent.”
“Not even the slightest chance?”
“Well… if you could somehow receive the help of the gods, you might have a sliver of hope — as small as the dirt under an ant’s fingernail.”
“Then I…”
The headmaster stroked his beard, now turned completely white, and gave a slow nod.
His face was much calmer than before, as if he already knew exactly what I was about to say.
“I’ll succeed at this assignment no matter what!”
“That’s right, Mayhen. Very good thinking—wait, what?”
The headmaster tilted his head belatedly, looking at me with narrowed eyes.
It was the kind of look that tried to measure whether he had heard me correctly.
If I stayed any longer, I’d have to endure his endless persuasion and nagging.
My mind was already a mess — that was the last thing I needed.
“Well, then! I’ll take my leave now. Goodbye!”
I bowed my head quickly and then dashed out of the headmaster’s office.
“Stop right there, Mayhen…! This assignment is impossible! You can’t do it!”
I could hear the headmaster shouting my name behind me, but I never looked back.
Once I had made up my mind, any further hesitation would only delay the choice I had already made.