Ch.49Shark Sighting (1)

I was now entering my fifth day of frequenting the aquarium in I City.

The amount spent so far was a staggering 2 million won or more.

“I never expected such a huge financial loss…!”

Just the admission fees for two people already totaled 240,000 won.

Multiply that by five, and then add the food expenses since we had to stay inside the aquarium from morning till evening.

And true to its reputation as a tourist district…

The 30,000 won grilled squid we ate on the first day now seemed cute in comparison.

Later, at the omakase restaurant in the aquarium’s basement, we experienced an insanely high price beyond our imagination.

“W-what did you say it costs…?”

“Yes. For dinner, it’s 580,000 won per person.”

“Ah, that’s not—”

“Let’s go in quickly, Janghoon.”

“Carmilla?”

“I’ve already made a reservation.”

“Huh, what?!”

If there was one thing most difficult about tracking this shark kaiju, it would be my conscience.

Over the past five days, the amount I spent was exactly 0 won.

For five days now, unbelievably… I was committing the shameless act of eating fish omakase at the aquarium as a complete “freeloader.”

“Carmilla… I’ll definitely pay you back…”

“That’s unnecessary! As I said before, I’m treating you because I want to!”

“Still… my heart hurts so much…”

“Is it because you’ve been freeloading too much?”

“Yeah… I feel like I should give you something at least…”

“Hmm, so you’re saying you feel indebted to me?”

I nodded repeatedly.

What had I eaten today on her dime?

It was definitely shark fin soup made from actual shark fins and freshly caught blowfish sashimi, right?

These were delicacies I’d never tasted before, not in my previous life or this one.

When I lived with the Okami family, we mostly ate meat.

So while I might know about A+++ grade Korean beef, this kind of seafood was completely new to me. Despite my thoughts, my mouth and stomach were still rejoicing.

Suddenly—

“C-Carmilla?”

After lunch, Carmilla linked her arm generously with mine.

She wagged her twin drill hairstyles like a puppy’s tail.

“Then go on another date with me later.”

“…Huh?”

“This time, not because of some kaiju, but purely for enjoyment—that kind of date.”

She suggested settling my 2 million won debt with just a date.

‘After all that freeloading, just a date?’

Wow, she’s really “sweet”…

Is this the charm of this reversed world?

What would typically be a man’s behavior toward a woman in my previous Earth was now being displayed by the woman herself in this <Kaiju Frontline> world.

Perhaps that’s why my heart raced at this fresh shock.

“Ahem, alright. Then next time, I’ll definitely prepare the best date.”

“…? Janghoon. If we’re going on a date, I should be the one preparing since I’m the woman. Why are you trying to prepare?”

“Well, I’ve freeloaded so much because of this shark kaiju, so this time I really want to do something for you.”

“No! What I want is just your ‘acceptance of the date’! Nothing else is necessary!”

Though I could never return to my life on Earth, I could say one thing with certainty.

Carmilla.

If I had met you on Earth, I would have been the envy of every Korean man, with plenty to spare.

“By the way, it’s already the fifth day, but we haven’t seen anything?”

“Yeah… I was sure the kaiju would be around where those seaweed stalks were growing.”

Having set our date, we started roaming the now-familiar aquarium interior to find our original objective.

However, we couldn’t find any trace of the kaiju, not near the seaweed stalks or even in the tanks on the opposite side.

I wished we could at least smell the distinctive “stench” of a kaiju…

‘Is it because this kaiju is too weak? I can’t smell anything, like “odorless food”…’

Unlike the Radiation Kaiju.

The Shark Kaiju didn’t seem to have that high-level kaiju stench.

Were we going to come up empty-handed again today?

“Huh?”

Just as I was sighing with the aquarium’s closing time approaching…

“Why did you suddenly stop, Janghoon?”

“Come to think of it, why did the Shark Kaiju hide in this aquarium?”

“What?”

A question suddenly occurred to me.

“Think about it. It’s a shark ‘kaiju,’ not just a shark.”

“Well… that’s true?”

Before being a “fish” like a shark, the Shark Kaiju was biologically a creature belonging to the kaiju species that only resembled fish in appearance.

In other words, it wasn’t a weak creature that could only live in seawater like a real shark, but a kaiju that could even walk.

‘Just like how the Radiation Kaiju wasn’t at the nuclear power plant, kaiju don’t necessarily live in areas related to their names.’

For such a creature to deliberately hide in I City’s large aquarium that resembled the sea, matching its name… could it be because of that?

“…I think I know where it’s hiding.”

“Really?!”

Maybe it was thanks to my five years as a hardcore fan of the original work.

Like thoughts following a fuse, once I realized one thing, I could roughly figure out the creature’s subsequent actions.

From the beginning, we had been thinking of it too much like a “fish.”

If we had thought of it as a shark’s “kaiju” rather than a “shark” kaiju, we could have seen through this deception long ago.

Carmilla wouldn’t have needed to spend over 2 million won!

‘I’ll leave that kaiju to Carmilla…’

Cracking my knuckles, I finally arrived at the place where we had first discovered traces of the kaiju when we visited this aquarium.

“Huh? Janghoon. Isn’t this the corner where the seaweed was growing?”

A dead end located at some corner of the aquarium.

It was such an insignificant place that it wouldn’t even be used as a game map.

But this was exactly it.

“Carmilla.”

“Yes, Janghoon.”

“Can you do what I say without question from now on?”

“…What?”

Timing was everything.

In battle, a surprise attack could determine 90% of the outcome.

Even though Carmilla could easily defeat a Level 3 danger Shark Kaiju without such tactics.

“Yes! I can do it!”

As her boyfriend.

I wanted to be certain because I couldn’t bear to see her get hurt even slightly.

Though she must have been quite confused by my inexplicable words, she nodded vigorously, ready to follow my orders.

“Carmilla…”

“Yes.”

“Fire a shell at the ceiling!”

“Yes!”

With my shout—

BANG!

“Eek?!”

“W-what’s that?”

“Gunfire…?”

As promised, Carmilla summoned a golden gun barrel in her hand and fired it upward without question.

Immediately.

“G-gah…!”

“This can’t be…!”

“KRAAAAAAAH!”

I City’s indoor beach, painted almost entirely in deep navy blue to create an ocean-like atmosphere.

Because of this, we had missed it all along.

As the old saying goes, “it’s darkest under the lamp.” One of the shark’s basic hunting methods is “camouflage.”

True to its name, the kaiju had been hiding all along using “protective coloration” that matched the sea-blue environment, taking advantage of the corner where little light reached.

The Shark Kaiju, which had been hiding on the ceiling, finally revealed itself before us.

“Grrrrrr…”

“This is… the Shark Kaiju?”

“Danger Level 3. Multiple B-rank heroes are recommended, or A-rank heroes should fight in teams rather than individually.”

“Then for a ‘Super Rookie A-rank’ like me, it should be manageable alone, right?”

“Well, yes.”

The Shark Kaiju.

True to its name, it had a triangular fin—the shark’s identity—protruding from its head.

But that was the only similarity. Its appearance was grotesque, like a mixture of human and fish.

It had a muscular blue body with a shark’s head—evoking what you might call the “uncanny valley.”

“Janghoon, please step back now! I’ll handle this kaiju from here!”

“Got it!”

Typical of kaiju stories.

When the heroine tells someone to run away, they stay nearby to “cheer” without actually helping.

Then they get captured and become hostages.

With gender roles reversed, I was now Carmilla’s heroine who hadn’t transformed into a kaiju.

However, as an otaku who enjoyed kaiju stories before <Kaiju Frontline>, I didn’t want to fall into that annoying character trope.

So following Carmilla’s words, I immediately ran out from the corner where the battle was starting.

“A kaiju! A kaiju has appeared!”

“K-kaiju?!”

“Everyone run awaaaay-!”

I evacuated the civilians who might become hostages and create other problematic scenarios, creating the perfect battlefield just for her.

‘…! As expected, Janghoon. When I make you my sidekick, I’ll definitely take maternity leave within a year!’

I entered the CCTV room and provided real-time updates on Carmilla’s battle while helping evacuate everyone from the aquarium.

Then, as her (future) sidekick and the last civilian remaining on site.

“Found her!”

Though the emergency alarm had been ringing for a while.

There was still a girl with blue hair that matched this place perfectly, watching fish swim in a large tank.

Step, step.

“Huh? The kaiju alarm is ringing. Aren’t you running away?”

“Well… I thought I should take you with me.”

The major plot point had been introduced from the first anniversary of the original work, but I never dreamed there would be such a cameo appearance this early in the original story.

The reason why kaiju with marine creature names, including the Shark Kaiju, were often found in environments like this aquarium.

Until meeting this “boss monster” that appears in the third year of <Kaiju Frontline>, I had thought it was just a coincidence.

A being like the mother of all sea creatures.

At the same time, an entity surrounded by unknown terror, as unexplored as “space” even to modern humans.

Danger Level: 1

Kaiju Name: Deep Sea Kaiju

In the original work, she was a notorious witch who conditionally reached “Semi-Special” rank, and now she was smiling at me.