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Seeing Kait fall silent, his face ashen, I realized I’d gone too far once again.
I understand that werewolves are scary, but I want you to understand that, given the current situation, there’s no way I’d harm you.
I’m revealing my true identity knowing full well that the Senate’s perspective differs from the Governor’s, and that they harbor intense hostility toward werewolves.

But Kait glared at me and shouted:

“If you’re gonna kill me, just do it! Don’t you dare laugh!”

Oops, he snapped instead.

“Killing a small-time guy like me won’t change a thing! I’m just the Senate’s lapdog!”

He’s started yelling.

It seems he’s terrified that I’m going to kill him.
Of course, I want to clear up this misunderstanding right away, but since he looks like he’s about to spill some juicy beans, I’ll just go along with it for now.
It’s a bit in poor taste, but I’ll put on a little show to gather information.

“A dog of the Senate, are you…”
“That’s right, a dog! A mangy mutt wearing a despicable collar in exchange for a measly scrap of food!”

He seems to be pretty stressed out…

Feeling a bit of sympathy, I continue to play the part of a cruel and cunning werewolf.

“Hahaha! A dog should act like a dog and be obedient to its master!”
“Shut up! I don’t need a master like them!”
“What a fine display of loyalty. I suppose your master must be quite the noble figure, then?”
“Oh, noble indeed! If we don’t wag our tails for those guys, we mages can’t survive! Those pieces of s̲h̲i̲t̲ who can’t do anything but sabotage each other!”

Come to think of it, I did hear that Rasie, the former fake Saintess, also attended the magic academy under the jurisdiction of the Senate. They say you can’t gain credibility as a full-fledged mage without graduating from there, and it’s difficult to work as a mage in the North.
The tuition is exorbitantly high, so scholarships are a necessity… and after that, it’s a guaranteed path to employment with the Senate, bound by the collar of scholarship repayment.
Apparently, this system is quite effective at securing a large pool of mages. They sure designed it well.

I want a little more information, so I think I’ll try goading him a bit.

“For a mere errand boy to talk big. You’re nothing more than a conduit for me to communicate with the Senate.”
“Yeah, that’s right! What’s wrong with that?! No matter how hard I work, I’ll never become a Senator anyway! I’m a commoner! The best I can hope for is Assistant Director of the Bureau of Magic!”

I’d heard before that the Senate seemed to be a hereditary system, but this confirms it.

“You dog, clinging to the Senate even though you have no hope of advancement. And to think you’d even bark at your master—you’re a piece of work.”
“Shut up! Once I’ve paid back all my student loans, I’ll quit this s̲h̲i̲t̲t̲y job right away…”

Kait, who had been shouting defiantly, suddenly fell silent.

“…Damn it!”

Well, he is technically a court official, so quitting would require a lot of resolve.
Unlike me, who just lives for the moment, he’s actually thinking about the future.

Since Kait’s anger had subsided, I decided to change my tone a bit.

“If you’re not prepared to leave the Senate, it’s in your best interest not to badmouth your employer, you know? You owe them at least as much as your pay, don’t you?”
“Like hell I do! Those b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲ think of us as nothing more than disposable tools! There are plenty of replacements out there!”

Kait’s rant heated up again. This time, he wouldn’t stop.

“Whether it’s a battlefield or a demon-controlled territory, they send us in without a second thought! They don’t give a damn if we die! And it’s all just stupid, pointless work! It’s meaningless and inefficient—I don’t even know what the hell we’re risking our lives for!”

Kait shouted it all out in one go, slammed his fist down on the desk with all his might, and then slumped forward, head hanging low.

“Damn it, at least let me do some decent work… I just… want to be treated like a human being…”

Seeing Kait’s plight, I found myself recalling my own past life.
It’s similar.
I remember muttering something just like that on my final night.
What happened to me after that? I can’t remember.
Before I knew it, I found myself in a place like this.
And now, I’m facing a young man in the same situation as I was before.

Humans seem to have the same kinds of worries even in another world.
Come to think of it, that’s only natural since we’re all human. Even if there are differences in the details, we always end up creating similar societies.
I might actually be lucky to have been born a werewolf.
Emotionally, I really want to root for Kait.

But I’m a werewolf in the Demon Lord’s Army, and he’s a member of the Senate—in other words, my enemy.
I can’t reach out to an enemy out of sympathy. I have responsibilities as a Vice Commander.
…But then again, if I can use my enemy to my advantage, why not?
That’s right, this is a scheme.

I tell Kait in a voice that sounds like a villain’s.

“Do you hate the Senate?”
“Yeah, I hate them… I’m sick of this s̲h̲i̲t̲t̲y life… Every time I go to sleep, I dread the morning coming…”

Are you me?
Because if I sleep, morning will come. But if I don’t sleep, the next morning will be even harder.
Alright, in that case, this evil werewolf will make sure those gloomy mornings never come again.

“Then shall I destroy the Senate for you?”

Kait looks up in shock.

“W-what? I mean, aren’t you going to kill me?”

I give him an evil grin.

“What good would it do to kill someone like you? Don’t ask such a silly question. I’m the one asking the questions here.”

Still in my werewolf form, I inch closer to Kait.
He backs away, but is cornered against the wall.
Then I ask him once more.

“Well, answer me. Shall I destroy the Senate for you?”

Kait’s face was deathly pale.
That’s exactly what I wanted. If he were the type to nod without a second thought, I’d be worried about my future plan.
So I drive the point home.

“You’re the Senate’s lapdog. And that dog is going to use the enemy’s hand to destroy its master. You’re a despicable traitor.”

At my words, Kite’s expression seemed to harden with resolve.

“Y-yeah…you’re right.”

It was a defiant, utterly wicked smile.
But of all the expressions he’d shown, it was the best one.

Kait nodded slightly, sweat beading on his forehead.

“I’ll betray them. Yeah, I’ll betray them.”
“This is a deal with the devil. You’ll be used as a mole, and I’ll strip you bare. Are you prepared for that?”

At that, Kait’s smile grew even wider.

“Fine. I’ll give you everything. So, lend me your power. I want the power to smash this s̲h̲i̲t̲t̲y life to pieces.”

The smell of his sweat doesn’t make me think he’s lying.
Alright, I’ve got myself a mole.
He seems a bit mentally unstable, but I’ll make good use of him.

I shifted back into human form and told Kait.

“As you wish, I’ll destroy the Senate and all that entails. So tell me everything you know. And when it’s all over…”

Kait’s expression grew slightly tense.

“You’ll…kill me?”

No way.
I shook my head and tried to smile as naturally as possible.

“Let’s toast, on my tab. There’s a new place opened recently in Lüenheit that serves Belrüsa cuisine. It’s a bit of an odd spot, but the food’s actually pretty good.”

Kait looked utterly bewildered, his face contorted into a strange expression, but then he suddenly burst into tears.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“No… well… i-it’s nothing…”

He was still crying, rubbing his face vigorously with his arm.
This guy’s emotional swings are crazy intense. Looks like he’d been bottling up a lot.
Who on earth made him a messenger?
I suppose I’ll have to get him to tell me all about that in detail.