Ch.22I Made a Mistake, So I Should Apologize (5)

“Thank you for listening to my story…”

“Kruk!”

Carmilla’s past story, which wasn’t even mentioned in the original work since she was already dead.

I could completely understand how this child came to be called the “Venomous Young Lady Brat,” and why she was given that nickname.

But separate from that.

Scribble, scribble.

The notebook and pen Carmilla lent me, telling me not to damage the road whenever I wanted to speak.

In it, I wrote what she needed to do next, distinguishing between public and private matters, though it was truly unfortunate.

[Properly apologize to the boy you hit at school.]

“I-I did apologize! Even today, my mother came to school because of that…”

Scribble, scribble.

[But you only did it because you didn’t want to get scolded by your mom, right?]

“T-that’s…!”

Carmilla was still not even 10 years old.

This meant it was the most crucial period for correcting her “emotional development,” and children this age typically change easily depending on their environment.

It wasn’t too late yet.

Rather, it’s precisely because it’s now that I refuse to give up.

Just like Miss Hoshino escaped from her tragic attributes in the original work and can still smile brightly now, Carmilla’s strange hatred was inflated because of her father.

Surely this child too could have an IF story where she avoids the original plot and finds happiness.

And the first step of that IF route was to stop hating men without reason.

Scribble, scribble.

[What did that boy do to you first that made you hit him?]

“He… he didn’t do anything…”

[So you hit him just because he attends a prestigious school. Am I wrong?]

“Ugh… uuu…! Really… it’s so unfair that you resemble my late father even in these aspects!”

Late father…

She could have used cruder expressions like “dead” or “kicked the bucket.”

Though she claimed to dislike him, unconsciously, it seemed Carmilla still missed her father.

‘Well, even if she seems mature, she’s still an elementary school student after all.’

Then.

“You… you really do resemble my father.”

“Kruk?”

Carmilla kept comparing me to her father.

Wondering if perhaps Carmilla’s origin was monstrous, I tilted my head in confusion.

“No, not your appearance! I mean your vibe is similar!”

“Kruruk?”

Vibe…?

“I mean… um… I can’t explain it well, but how should I put it… you seem dependable, like my father.”

Ah.

So that’s what it was.

“You’re not particularly threatening… and you protected me from a monster, though that might be coincidence… and above all, you listen to everything I have to say…”

Carmilla seemed to miss her father more than I had expected.

More precisely, she seemed to long for a man who would protect her dependably.

‘Is this a case where victims of domestic violence prefer strong partners who can protect them…?’

Come to think of it, I had read about this in a book.

Children who suffered abuse in their early years tend to be attracted to partners who have the strength to protect them, regardless of appearance, personality, or occupation.

But even so, there should be limits.

To think she would designate a monster as that person.

In a way, perhaps Carmilla was that desperate.

‘…Looking at it positively, it’s fortunate that it’s me.’

Typically, children who are twisted like this engage in what the Japanese call “papa-katsu,” dating middle-aged men with strong financial power.

If they meet someone who’s like a kind father, that would be fortunate, but far more often they encounter mistreatment.

Compared to them, even as a monster, I’m not so bad.

Nod, nod!

Yes, absolutely.

“Why are you suddenly shaking your head by yourself?”

“Kruruk.”

“I. Told. You! No matter how you speak, I can’t understand you!”

Doesn’t it seem like Carmilla’s lady-like speech pattern is breaking down more and more?

Well, since this is a concept created because of her mother.

I decided to just let it slide.

Scribble, scribble.

[So you’ll genuinely apologize to that boy tomorrow, right?]

Returning to the main point, I wanted to get a definite confirmation for the sake of Carmilla’s IF story.

“T-that…”

Carmilla, who in the original work boasted performance equal to or greater than Miss Hoshino as a third anniversary festival character.

She had that level of ability despite being deceased, so how much stronger would she become if she grew up normally?

For the main story of <Monster Frontline> that would begin in 10 years, the more human forces, the better.

Therefore.

“C-can I… really do that?”

“……”

“I-I… I hit a boy who did nothing wrong, terrorized the classroom, and even today I only apologized because of my mother…”

“Kruk…”

“Do I really have the decency to apologize again?”

Carmilla bowed her head with a trembling voice, clearly understanding what she had done wrong.

Nervously tapping her index fingers together, I chose not to answer her directly.

Instead, as if to hold her hand for her first step.

Pat.

“…!”

I gently placed my hand on her head to encourage her.

“Are you… encouraging me right now?”

“Kruk!”

Looking up at me, her poor condition seemed to recover.

“Th-thank you.”

Returning to her initially confident self, Carmilla smiled brightly.

“Then tomorrow, I’ll gather my courage and sincerely apologize to that boy!”

“Kruruk! Kruk!”

Had I managed to strip away her “Venomous Young Lady Brat” image?

Children really do look best when they smile.

It was so uncomfortable facing a gloomy elementary schooler from the morning.

As we continued walking together, smiling.

“Kruruk…”

“Ah…”

Finally, that time had come.

It was time to say goodbye.

“We’ve already arrived at the barrier connecting to City C.”

“Kruruk.”

“Today… thank you so much for everything, Mr. Monster.”

Mr. Monster, huh.

Well, any nickname would sound strange for a monster.

Still, just being called “mister” made me realize how close we had become in that short time.

Carmilla thanked me and bowed politely.

Then, as she turned her back and was about to head toward the barrier between cities where monsters couldn’t enter.

“Hey…”

“Kruk?”

“Will we meet again?”

She turned back to me and asked meaningfully.

I nodded vigorously to indicate that this certainly wouldn’t be the end.

“Kruk!”

“…Ah! Yes! Take care! Let’s definitely meet again later!”

***

Today was truly the best day ever!

“Hmm~♪ Hmm hmm hmm~♬”

It was fun.

It was enjoyable.

And above all, my heart felt at peace.

Since my father died and my mother changed, I felt like I was walking through an eternal living hell.

But in that hell, I discovered an oasis where I could breathe, if only for a moment.

Mr. Monster.

He said we could meet again, but would that really be possible?

It doesn’t matter.

After all, he’s a monster and I’m a hero.

If we both faithfully perform our duties, we’ll meet again someday.

Besides, he’s incredibly strong, so he’s unlikely to be hunted down.

“Today I feel like I can endure any hellish training!”

Carmilla finally arrived at her detached house with a yard.

Since her father passed away, standing in front of the entrance would make her tremble with fear as a daily routine.

But today was different.

She had received courage from Mr. Monster, and learned how to apologize to her friends at school.

‘Come to think of it, I felt something similar to Mr. Monster from that boy too… I wonder why?’

As she opened the front door and entered the house.

A question suddenly occurred to her.

When she was so excited that she was about to pull the trigger of a revolver against Princess Hoshino’s forehead.

“Krurururu…”

For a moment, she felt a terror similar to standing before her mother.

Thinking about it now, she felt something similar when she was with Mr. Monster.

Oh, of course! Mr. Monster was kind to her, so she didn’t feel scared at all.

‘Could it be… a premonition that the boy could grow up to be as wonderful as Mr. Monster?!’

The reason she momentarily felt the monster’s aura from her classmate Kang Janghoon.

Carmilla, who desperately craved a dependable man, firmly believed it was her “instinct for finding wonderful men.”

Of course, that wasn’t it at all.

But.

“Th-then I really must apologize!”

Having already reached that conclusion, she didn’t question it further.

“M-mother?”

She had noticed a badly dented car in front of the entrance earlier.

Realizing her mother was inside the house, Carmilla carefully returned to being a well-mannered lady.

“Mother, I’m home…”

The house was completely dark.

She was looking for her mother, Lajerita, who would be waiting for her there.

But no matter how much she looked around.

“…Mother?”

Today, Lajerita was nowhere to be seen.

Then suddenly, she began to see a sight that triggered her PTSD.

“The basement door… it’s open?”

The basement door that she hadn’t entered since her father died.

The door that had been padlocked was forcibly torn open, as if beckoning to Carmilla.

…Gulp.

A room she never wanted to visit again.

But her mother was likely inside.

So Carmilla gathered her courage and slowly began to descend into this eerie basement again.

“Carmilla, you’re here.”

“Mother…”

As expected.

In the center of the basement, where blood stains from that time still remained, sat her mother.

More precisely, something that had taken over Lajerita’s body, sitting on a chair brought down to the failed magic circle from back then, waiting for Carmilla.

“Originally, I was planning to eat you after you grew up a bit more.”

“…Mother?”

“But today, you’ve been marked by some unknown monster, so I think something big will happen soon. So regrettably, I’ve decided to resurrect right now.”

A monster possessing a human body.

She was licking her lips and extending a hand toward Carmilla.

“Come here, child.”

“M-mother…?”

“Yes, I am your mother. So…”

“If you don’t want your intestines painfully ripped out, come over here right now!”