Ch.9Monumental Day (3)

As expected, the very next day.

“P-Princess!”

“Princess?!”

The Okami household was, quite literally, thrown into chaos by the sudden kidnapping incident.

The assassins who had targeted Miss Hoshino, disguised as maids within the domain.

Their corpses—one with a severed leg, having bitten off their tongues to die instantly—were immediately tossed into a blazing charcoal pit upon discovery.

And as for the most important person, the young lady.

They said Hoshino had merely fallen asleep, so there was no real danger to her life.

As for me, well, I was just an “extra” in this scenario.

Let’s just gloss over that.

And so the situation was resolved peacefully…

“It was a monster!”

…or so I thought.

“Did you just say a monster, Hoshino?”

“Yes! Mom, I saw it clearly! It was definitely a monster.”

No, Miss.

Weren’t you unconscious at that time?

Surely she couldn’t have seen me transform.

For a moment, my knees went weak, but I quickly shook my head.

If she had really seen it, she would have immediately exposed my identity when we entered the clan head’s room alone.

Anyway.

“A monster appeared and took care of all those bad people who were trying to kidnap me!”

With her yellow eyes shining more brilliantly golden than ever, the young lady began to kindly explain my appearance at that time.

“It wore a mask with red and black horns on its face!”

“Hmm…”

*scribble scribble*

“And it was taller than you by about five heads, Mom!”

“Five heads taller than me… that would be about 2 meters tall.”

*scribble scribble*

“Plus, it had blonde hair! Incredibly beautiful golden hair!”

“So it’s a humanoid monster? If Hoshino isn’t mistaken, that monster might still be somewhere in our domain.”

“Wow, really?!”

*scribble scribble scribble*

Wait, isn’t the monster genre cliché that when a monster appears in a safe zone…

Or when children like us claim to have seen a monster, adults don’t believe them?

As if determined to destroy such clichés, Clan Head Makoto was writing down every single word Miss Hoshino said in her notebook.

‘And she’s so calm despite a monster appearing in her domain… is this what it means to be an S-rank hero?’

Just as I was getting goosebumps from her eerily composed attitude…

“By the way, Janghun.”

“Ah, yes, Clan Head!”

“Why were you there at that time?”

Finally, the inevitable question had come.

From Y City, where I happened to be near the scene where the violent monster died, and now being found collapsed near the assassins’ corpses.

It was the perfect timing to arouse suspicion.

Of course, this alone wouldn’t immediately reveal that I was actually a monster, but it could potentially connect me to my monster form.

‘I need a solid alibi.’

In the quiet tatami room, both women of the Okami household focused their gaze on me.

Looking at each of them alternately, I played the role of a “loyal servant.”

“Actually, I went into the forest that night because of Princess Hoshino.”

“Because of Hoshino?”

“Because of me?”

“Yes. You see, the young lady was secretly training by the lake late at night.”

“…! Oh, you knew about that?”

No.

I just found out yesterday.

But pretending as if I’d known all along, armed with the shamelessness of someone who’s always watching over her.

“Of course. I’m always thinking about you, Miss.”

“!!”

When I flashed a bright smile.

*Thump*

“Oh, oh, ohhhh…!”

She literally jumped up from her seat—was she that happy?

Looking down at me with a restless expression, she soon sat back down and averted her gaze as if embarrassed.

Though I died before getting married in my previous life, I thought having a daughter like her would have been incredibly cute.

“Hoshino, were you secretly training again in the evening?”

“Y-Yes…”

“I told you rest is also part of training… *sigh*. Well, thanks to Janghun’s shout, we did find you earlier.”

It seems my alibi was accepted.

The clan head, completely focused on her daughter now, didn’t ask me anything further.

‘Phew, that’s a relief…’

I’m lucky we didn’t cross paths in Y City.

If Clan Head Makoto had encountered me in my monster form in Y City as well, this level of suspicion would definitely not have been the end of it.

And so.

“For now, we’ll be strengthening security throughout the Okami domain and D City under our management.”

The small… no, the enormous ball that Kang Janghun had set in motion.

As a result, D City had to become a metropolitan area with heightened security from the new year.

Well, at least Miss Hoshino wasn’t kidnapped because of it.

I’m sorry to the citizens of D City, but isn’t this a small price to pay for saving a child?

***

After the small incident of the princess’s attempted kidnapping, the new year had already passed and February arrived.

In the <Monster Front> world, February is the season that includes the Lunar New Year.

And simultaneously.

“Mom, happy birthday!”

“Clan Head, happy birthday.”

“””We celebrate your 35th birthday!”””

It was also the birth month of Clan Head Makoto of the Okami family.

“Thank you everyone. Thank you too, Seulgi and Janghun.”

“Hehe.”

“It’s nothing, Clan Head.”

Yes, today is February 4th.

Beyond the Okami domain, all of D City was bustling with celebrations for Clan Head Makoto’s birthday.

I didn’t know this since the city disappeared ten years later, but D City traditionally held festivals on the birthdays of the Okami family’s clan heads.

The name? None other than the “Okami Festival.”

To express gratitude to the Okami family and its head who always protected them from monsters.

On this day, anyone from the Okami household, even servants, could enjoy festival food for free.

“Oh my, this is a cake.”

“Yes! Since Janghun said he knows how to cook, we made it together.”

“Haha, though the cookbook did most of the work…”

Somehow, I ended up preparing a birthday gift for the clan head with Miss Hoshino.

After much trial and error, the food we made was a cake, often called the flower of birthdays.

I had some cooking skills in my previous life.

While living alone, Korean bread was expensive, so I often made my own, eventually reaching a level where I could make cakes.

Of course, being younger now, I couldn’t make as delicious a cream cake with this body.

*munch munch*

“Mmm, delicious!”

“?! Clan Head, there’s cream on your cheek…”

“That can be wiped off. Both of you have excellent cooking skills. You could open a bakery someday.”

Makoto ate all of the cake we made right there, clearly enjoying it, and gently patted both my head and the young lady’s.

“Janghun, what we made must have been really good! I’ve never seen Mom eat food so quickly before!”

“…It seems so, Miss.”

This truly is a timeline worth protecting.

So this is the past that the broken Hoshino from the original work longed for so desperately.

Even I, an outsider, can feel the warmth of this family—how much more must Hoshino, the protagonist of this family, have missed this?

But in just a little while, both her mother and D City itself will be destroyed.

*clench*

That won’t happen.

Because I will definitely prevent it.

‘I’m not certain it will be today, but I can’t be certain it won’t be either.’

The monster that the Okami family has supposedly sealed for generations.

I needed to find it, whatever it was.

Of course, I hadn’t obtained any information about it even as February was coming to an end.

Still, if I just kept following Miss Hoshino, the potential subject of the upcoming incident, I might eventually encounter it.

“Since the Lunar New Year is coming soon, we’ve decided to hold the ‘Kaimetsu Ceremony’ this evening to celebrate the new year.”

“Wow! So we’re doing that again? The one where you draw the sword!”

“Hehe. Well, yes.”

And then.

“…Kaimetsu Ceremony?”

What is that unfamiliar festival name?

Could it be something unique to the <Monster Front> world?

…even though I had played this game continuously until its 5th anniversary, I had never heard of it.

As I tilted my head in confusion.

“Mom, can I go to the festival with Janghun while the Kaimetsu Ceremony is being prepared?”

No, Miss, I’d rather learn more about this ceremony than go to the festival.

“Go ahead, Janghun would like that too, right?”

“Huh? Yes?”

A setting that never appeared in the original work.

My veteran gamer instinct was telling me.

This must be the plot point that turned D City—once considered one of the most livable metropolitan areas in Hero City—into a pit of darkness in an instant.

Recognizing this fact, I had no leisure to enjoy the festival.

Instead, it was more important to help Clan Head Makoto prepare for the Kaimetsu Ceremony while gathering information.

But.

*tug*

*tuuug*

As if my “playmate” didn’t understand any of this.

*tuuug*

*tug!*

Miss Hoshino kept pulling on my arm, insisting we go together.

“Let’s go… let’s go, Janghun…”

“Hmm…”

In monster stories, following along with these things often leads to arriving late at the incident site, resulting in a sad development.

“Hnnng…”

Right now, Miss Hoshino herself was on the verge of a “sad development.”

The tears welling in her eyes looked ready to fall at any moment if I didn’t go with her.

So, having no choice.

“…Let’s go, Miss.”

“Ah, yes! Great!”

Well, Miss seemed to know about the “Kaimetsu Ceremony” too.

In that case, I should pretend to go along with her and try to get as much information as possible.

With that thought, preparing for the worst-case scenario by constantly practicing my vocal transformation.

“Ahem! Hmm! AHEM!”

“…?”

I followed the young lady down to the festival grounds of D City.