Chapter 53 : Let’s speak in our language (2)

This situation is extremely dangerous.

A 2-meter tall humanoid monster with a fist clenched over the head of an innocent blue-haired girl.

Even though the monster’s combat ability was allegedly on par with that of a weaponized monster, it’s known to be quite formidable.

In such a situation, where misunderstandings are bound to arise, of course, Carmilla’s expression became one of utter despair, as she was filled with great confusion.

However, despite her young age, is she truly the A-class hero worthy of the title ‘pro’?

“Blue-haired lady!”

“Uh… me?”

“Yes! Run towards this way right now. Don’t look back!”

“…Ah! Uh, yeah! No, yes! I will do that, hero!”

Just a moment ago, the very person who sent the monster, calling it her child, was now addressing this hero.

It’s so shameless.

Even though I knew full well that Carmilla was the one who took down the shark monster, the sea monster, she still ran toward us pretending to be an ordinary human.

Of course, I couldn’t let that go.

“Grraagh!”

‘Where do you think you’re going!’

With that outward appearance, it might seem harmless, but this monster is incredibly dangerous in its true nature.

I was about to hit it over the head and expose its true identity.

But then.

Bang!

“?!”

Something flew past my face just as I was about to swing my clenched fist.

I quickly realized it was a bullet fired from Carmilla’s handgun.

“Stay still…”

“Grraagh…”

“Please! If you move any more, I’ll have to shoot!”

Honestly, even if I were to get hit by a few of Carmilla’s bullets, it wouldn’t harm me.

However, the face of my childhood friend, who was standing across from me, seemed so pitiful for a hero facing a monster, and I couldn’t just move recklessly.

No, I didn’t want to move.

“Please exit through the stairs behind me!”

“Thank you!”

As the sea monster ran toward Carmilla, it shook its head from side to side.

Then, realizing something about our relationship, before leaving, it looked back at me and stuck out its tongue.

Well, that was a relief in a way.

‘If it had tried to do anything to Carmilla after passing her, I would’ve killed it immediately without any persuasion. It’s clear it’s not a typical intelligent creature.’

Not only would I have harmed Carmilla, but if I wanted to take her hostage, I was planning on stripping the bones and innards out of it immediately.

But, perhaps sensing my murderous intent, the sea monster disguised itself as an ordinary person and disappeared completely in front of us.

Well, anyway, the mastermind behind this incident was gone.

“Ugh… sniff…”

Unlike the original, where not a single casualty occurred in the main story, chapter 1, part 1, solving the aquarium incident was far from joyous.

In fact, the current situation was worse than in the original, and I was sweating much more than when facing a top-class monster.

“How could… that man have fallen so far…?!”

Carmilla, shocked at how the man who once saved her had now changed.

She cried, just like a mother would, who discovered that her son had joined a gaming guild instead of a respectable job.

“Uncle! How could you change like this?! Huh? Please, say something!”

As she witnessed the embarrassing figure of the man who saved her when she was young, she cried while demanding an answer.

But I needed a lawyer.

“Grraagh! Grraagh! Grraagh! Grraagh!”

“Ughh… Please, say something!”

“Grraagh! Grraagh! Grraagh! Grraagh!”

“Please! Just say anything!”

Here’s the surprising part.

Although the first and second responses seemed identical on the surface, they were completely different.

The first “grraagh” was a desperate excuse, meaning misunderstanding, while the second was simply meaningless “grraagh” itself.

In other words, no matter what I said, we all heard nothing but “grraagh.”

“Uncle… weren’t you a good monster?”

Nod, nod, nod!

“If you were a good monster, then why were you trying to harm that innocent girl just now?!”

Shake, shake, shake!

She’s not innocent at all!

Besides, she’s one of the major contributors to global warming!!

I tried to express my frustration physically, since words weren’t working.

This is called the “body language method.”

Whoosh, whoosh. Whoosh!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

“…What?”

Even while traveling abroad, making gestures like this would usually convey about 30% of what I intended to say.

So I tried my best to use my whole body.

First, I pointed to the location where the sea monster had been.

Scribble, scribble.

“Grraagh!”

‘That one!’

“That girl…?”

Next, I tried to make the most monster-like expression possible.

“Grraagh! Grr!”

‘Actually, I’m a monster!’

“You made me… angry?”

Finally, I swung my fist downward rapidly.

“Grraagh! Grr!”

‘So I tried to subdue it.’

“Did you try to kill it because of that?”

Ah, shit, this isn’t good.

It’s just making the misunderstanding worse.

“Why would you try to hurt a girl for such a reason?!”

“Grraagh…”

“You’re too much… Actually, ever since that day, I’ve been searching for you!”

“Grraagh?”

Then, an unexpected truth emerged.

“After you saved my family that day… I’ve been trying to repay you somehow… No, before that, I just wanted to meet you again, so I tried really hard.”

Carmilla had been watching me, the hero, from the side.

She had already reached rank 9 in the A-class in her early twenties, and I knew how much effort she had put in.

And to think it was because of me.

“You might not understand since you’re a monster, but once you reach A-class as a hero, you’re granted the right to form a contract with a monster without needing to take an exam.”

Of course, I knew that setting too.

Thanks to that, there were bound to be heroes who, thinking they were the best, mistakenly formed contracts and later lost their bodies to monsters.

But no way…

“I wanted to make a contract with you, mister!”

Anyone watching would think she just got rejected after a proposal.

Tears dripped from her face onto the floor as Carmilla sobbed uncontrollably.

“Do you know how many trials I had to endure for this? And now, for it to end like this… I just can’t believe it!”

Was the shock too much for her?

Her legs gave out, and even the guns she held in both hands slipped from her grasp as she collapsed on the spot, crying even harder.

“Why did you have to be a villain, mister? Hic… And that shark monster I just fought—was that one of your underlings too?”

No, it wasn’t.

The only “underling” I had was my unemployed daughter, who spent all day in the dorm room playing ranked games without even wearing underwear.

I felt extremely wronged.

But even if I wanted to explain, all I could do was let out guttural monster sounds.

How was I supposed to console Carmilla as she cried helplessly in front of me?

I thought about escaping and returning in human form to comfort her, but I couldn’t find the right timing.

And then…

Sniff sniff.

“?!?”

What was that stench?

The shark monster was dead, and the deep-sea monster had already escaped.

That meant only Carmilla and I were left in the aquarium.

Or at least, that’s how it should have been.

Yet, from deep within, I suddenly caught the foul scent of a high-level monster.

Panicking, I turned my head, following the smell.

“Mister?”

Carmilla looked up at me, her crying pausing for a brief moment.

Then—

Squirm.

“…?!?!?!”

Just like something out of an erotic doujinshi…

Behind the collapsed Carmilla, a single octopus tentacle was slowly creeping forward.

‘Is this for real…?’

Now that I thought about it, I had heard something before.

Octopuses, like other mollusks, could regenerate lost body parts to some extent.

Thanks to their advanced stem cells, they could even survive by intentionally sacrificing limbs to escape.

But that only applied to the main body.

A severed limb was just that—useless.

At best, it should’ve been nothing more than an ingredient for some tasty octopus sashimi.

‘But how tough does this thing have to be if its tentacle is regenerating on its own…?’

“Mister? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

Carmilla, still unaware of what was happening behind her, remained clueless.

This was dangerous.

At first, it was just a crawling tentacle.

But now, from its severed end, a head was forming, and its size was growing.

And more importantly, with each newly regenerated limb, sticky tentacle-like appendages started twitching above Carmilla’s head.

Chills.

For a moment, the horrifying image of my childhood friend becoming the wife of an octopus monster flashed through my mind.

And just as two tentacles were about to wrap around her—

Boom boom boom boom boom!

“A-Ah, mister?!”

I rushed toward Carmilla, who was about to become a breeding ground for a monster.

I grabbed her tightly and leaped onto the back of the fully regenerated octopus monster.

“H-Huh?! What the hell is that…?”

“Krrrk! Krrrkk!“

“Did… did you just save me?”

“Krrk!“

I nodded.

Like a true mollusk…

No, more than that, like a proper monster, the octopus had eyes growing out of the back of its head.

Did this thing not even have a front and back?

Meanwhile, Carmilla stared up at me from within my arms.

She seemed even more shocked by the fact that I had saved her rather than by the monster that had been right behind her.

But then again, she was a hero.

“…Let’s take care of that thing first, then talk.”

Nod nod nod nod!

Fine by me.

I wanted to clear up this “bad guy” misunderstanding as soon as possible anyway.

With our “temporary truce” established, we turned to face the regenerating octopus monster.

It had already regained its full form, but its size was still growing—enough to fill the entire aquarium.

And so, we took our battle stances, ready to fight.