Ch.48The Couple Actually Dies (2)

Now, ten years later, Carmilla had grown into a proper lady.

Her once proud chest from childhood now jutted out impressively, as if to prove her charm, and her dazzling beauty could stir any man’s heart.

Perhaps that’s why.

A super rookie who, along with Miss Hoshino, had been causing quite a stir in the hero society lately.

Befitting her fame, Carmilla, who had become a celebrity, was trying not to stand out.

*Squeeze*

As if to appear “ordinary,” she wore sunglasses and a hat pulled low, linking arms with me as we walked through downtown I City.

“This way, we’ll look just like any other natural couple around us.”

“Yeah. That’s definitely a good idea.”

For now, we seemed to succeed in not drawing attention from those around us.

In reality, I City was full of couples walking arm in arm like this.

But separate from that, my male instincts were, how should I put it, somewhat on high alert.

Carmilla… what on earth had she been eating to “grow” so much?

‘Would it be wrong to mention that her chest is touching me?’

My right arm, buried between the valleys of her chest, felt unusually warm.

If her identity were discovered, it would surely damage Carmilla’s image.

Even though paparazzi might follow us, she insisted she was fine, continuing to “act” with me like a true professional.

“We’re going to the aquarium today.”

“The aquarium?”

“Yes. I found traces of a monster there.”

Actually, traces that would soon be discovered.

Anyway, getting back to the point, we headed to the aquarium and soon found ourselves walking through a massive corridor that felt like being in the middle of the ocean.

“Wow…!”

“Pretty cool, right?”

“Yes! I’ve never been to the sea, so this is my first time seeing so many fish-sawa!”

The I City aquarium that was only described in a few lines of text in the original work.

I hadn’t expected much, but inside was a place completely surrounded by ocean from floor to ceiling, well worth the 120,000 won entrance fee per person.

“Hey, Carmilla.”

“Yes, Janghoon-kun.”

“About the tickets… I already bought them in advance…”

“I’ll calculate everything and pay you back. Today, Janghoon-kun just needs to follow me and track the monster’s traces-sawa.”

First Miss Hoshino at the bar, now Carmilla at the aquarium.

It felt like I was constantly being treated, which made me uncomfortable in a way.

However, in this hero world where women protected men, it seemed that women who accepted men’s treats were considered petty.

“Janghoon-kun. I bought some grilled squid, try it-sawa.”

“Grilled squid?! They sell that… at an aquarium?”

“Yes! It’s 30,000 won each, but when you order, they just catch them from behind the glass wall and grill them right away.”

30,000 won for one grilled squid…?

It was an outrageously tourist-trap price, but Carmilla, an A-class hero, kept treating me to such foods with her substantial capital.

‘I’ll definitely pay her back later…’

“Oh, and Janghoon-kun should try the eel here too-sawa.”

“Why suddenly eel?”

“Well… it’s fresh-sawa! And when else would you get to eat aquarium eel-sawa?!”

Ah, the abalone and eel melted in my mouth.

The abalone was so delicious that I even licked it clean, and each time I did, Carmilla would subtly cross her legs.

“Hmm…”

“Janghoon-kun?”

“I think I found something.”

“…! Really?!”

How nice it would have been if this were just a carefree date.

I wished we could spend forever in this aquarium bathed in ethereal blue light.

But we had another reason for coming here.

About an hour after entering the aquarium, I finally found the first clue of this story.

“Look at this.”

“This is… seaweed? Isn’t it.”

“That’s right, seaweed.”

While walking through the aquarium corridor, just as described in the original work, I showed Carmilla some seaweed growing in a corner.

She also looked puzzled.

“That’s strange… isn’t seaweed normally a brown algae that grows in seawater?”

“Usually, yes.”

It might make sense if it were growing inside the aquarium tanks filled with seawater.

But growing in the corner of a walkway where people passed by—that would only be possible with some kind of “suspicious power.”

“The monster we’re looking for has earned the nickname ‘man-eater’ among people—it’s quite terrifying in its own way.”

“Man-eater?! Then, could it be a man-eating…!”

“No, it’s not literally a man-eating monster. It’s more of an ‘ambiguous threat’—powerful, but not overwhelmingly so.”

“An ambiguous… threat?”

First of all, this seaweed growing in the corner of the corridor wasn’t deliberately placed by the monster.

It was merely a trace that had grown unconsciously under its “influence.”

And in modern society where almost all fish species are edible, one of the few aquatic creatures that still inspires fear…

“Somewhere in this aquarium, a ‘shark monster’ is hiding.”

“A s-shark?!”

“Yes. I’m certain of it.”

According to the original work, a shark monster that would cause a massacre in a week’s time was definitely hiding somewhere in this aquarium.

‘Since the original work barely mentioned where it came from or how it appeared, we need to find its hiding place ourselves.’

At least we found traces of seaweed mentioned in the original work.

Did that mean the monster was nearby?

We were looking around to eliminate it before it could cause havoc a week later.

But then.

“Um, Janghoon-kun…”

“Hmm? What is it, Carmilla?”

“I know this is a bit late to ask…”

Carmilla looked at me with a question mark floating above her head.

“How did you know there was a shark monster here in the first place?”

“Huh, what?!”

That’s right.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t explained that yet, had I?

The other day, as soon as I mentioned that there might be a monster in I City, she immediately set up this meeting.

She seemed surprised that I had actually found traces of a monster like some master detective.

“Carmilla. You know who I am.”

“…!”

I had an alibi prepared for this situation.

“I’m an honor student in the Monster Studies department.”

“Yes. Of course, I know that-sawa. But still, you’re just a student…”

Of course, this alone would still be a flimsy alibi.

So to make more impact, it was time to appeal not to logic but to emotion—to touch a woman’s heart.

“After I graduate from university…”

“After you graduate?”

“Carmilla. I was planning to try becoming your ‘sidekick.'”

“?! M-my sidekick-sawa?!”

Sidekick.

Like Batman’s Robin, it was a role that actively supported a hero from behind the scenes.

In the world of <Monster Front>, befitting a hero story, sidekick was an actual profession, and Carmilla, still being a rookie, didn’t have one yet.

And though it was half a lie, I said the following to get through this situation:

“Since I’m a man, even as a sidekick, I can’t fight alongside you.”

“Janghoon-kun…!”

“That’s why I’ve been training hard in areas like deduction. I want to be helpful beyond combat if I ever become your sidekick.”

“As long as you can keep your lower half stiff and… ah, no, no! Just having Janghoon-kun beside me is enough!”

“No, Carmilla. That would just make me a friend, not a sidekick.”

My conscience hurt.

Carmilla was wiping tears from her eyes at the revelation that her childhood friend had been preparing to become her sidekick.

Anyone watching would think she’d just received a marriage proposal.

‘Even if it’s to eliminate a monster… is this really the right kind of “white lie”?’

Mr. White Lie, is this really okay?

What if I later just end up taking a normal research position at the Hero Association, sidekick or not?

Leaving it to my future self… that’s too much of a burden.

Above all, the person most likely to go berserk if they found out about this:

“Um, Carmilla…”

“*Sniff*… I understand-sawa. You want me to keep this a secret from Princess Hoshino, right?”

“Yeah. Please, I’m counting on you…”

What if the playmate who always looked after me suddenly became another woman’s sidekick?

Especially when I’m a hero too?

Miss Hoshino, who outranked Carmilla, often took pride in that fact.

If rumors spread that I was trying to become a sidekick to Carmilla, who ranked lower than her…

“Grrrr. It’s mating season. Come here!”

“Aaaaargh!”

…I don’t even want to think about it.

I could feel my knees weaken just imagining what would happen.

Well, at least my detective-like deduction skills now had some plausibility.

“Hmm… but if you become my sidekick, what should I call you? Since I’m Creator Girl, would you be Creator Man? Or since you don’t fight, No-Fight Man?”

“……”

Carmilla was already planning my sidekick name, counting her chickens before they hatched.

With her, I set out to find the shark monster hiding somewhere in this aquarium.

Meanwhile.

In front of the glass wall displaying the largest tank in the aquarium…

“…yes …yes …I see.”

A mysterious figure covered head to toe in a coat.

He or she was alone, responding to all the marine life inside the massive tank.