Chapter 55 : Who are you?

After taking a bite of mint chocolate pudding, a pudding whose creation I still can’t understand, I was surprisingly making an expression of delight at its taste.

“Wow, it’s delicious…”

“Right?”

“Well, I don’t mean delicious in the usual sense, as in ‘it tastes good’… It’s more like the feeling when you eat something with a sweet chocolate or sweet-salty powder sprinkled on fried chicken. In that moment, it feels delicious, but… you quickly get tired of it and can’t eat much more…Maybe the comparison is a bit off, but I wouldn’t say it’s something I’d want to eat all the time.”

“Ah, but, maybe it’s not bad for a quick mouthwash when you’re in a hurry in the morning?”

“How was it? Wasn’t it totally delicious? I haven’t tried it yet, so I was really curious about how it tastes.”

“Yeah, it’s really good.”

Even though I was a little skeptical, I managed to give an appropriate smile and left my taste evaluation, not wanting to call it bad after she went out of her way to bring it.

But seriously, did she buy it confidently without even trying it herself?

I almost sighed in that moment, but the cool sensation of the mint chocolate pudding still in my mouth stopped me.

“Well, since Maru said it’s good, I guess I should try it too. Ah, wait!”

“Ah, Bada…!”

Bada swiftly grabbed the mint chocolate pudding from my hand with her tail and, before I could stop her, took a big bite of it.

“Ugh… wow… this is…”

“Bada, are you okay?”

She seemed pretty shocked, as she stood there, muttering and staring blankly at the half-eaten mint chocolate pudding.

Looks like it wasn’t good after all. I guess that was to be expected.

…Well, I don’t know anymore. It’s Bada’s fault for buying it.

Honestly, a mint chocolate pudding or something like a soup-flavored pudding doesn’t look appetizing at all. Why buy that…

“Ugh!”

“Wait, did you just say it’s good? Are you serious?”

“Yeah, it’s really delicious! I think it’s even better than what I imagined! It’s cool, sweet, and soft…”

“Is it? I’m glad…”

Bada was wagging her tail with a shining expression, so it seems like she wasn’t lying. It seems like she really likes it.

But still, I feel like it could have been better with just a little more mint flavor.

“Hiiik?!”

“What? You want to add more mint flavor to the already cool pudding?”

Bada’s terrible suggestion sent chills down my spine.

I wanted to say that it might not be such a good idea, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to Bada, who seemed genuinely happy about it.

You know the saying, “You can’t spit in a smiling face.” How could I say something like that to such a pure expression?

“Eh?”

“Ah, nothing. You’re pretty smart, though. Maybe it would be even better.”

“Hehe, right?”

…I thought to myself, I should never let Bada choose next time.

With those thoughts in mind, I took another bite of the mint chocolate pudding that was still in my hand.

The cool minty sensation mixed with the soft texture made for a strange taste.

“Maru, try the caramel pudding too.”

“Ah, okay.”

I felt bad for Bada, but I took the caramel pudding offered by Nunu and put the mint chocolate pudding deep into the box.

Then, I moved on to the other puddings that the others had brought, such as caramel, milk, and chocolate flavors.

Yum, I thought to myself, enjoying the familiar taste of the more traditional puddings.

“Maru, aren’t you going to eat this one anymore?”

“Well, I usually save the best for last, so I was having the other regular puddings first!”
I also made sure to give a small excuse for Bada, who was looking a little down.

Okay, now I can eat the rest of the puddings, get full, and tell them I can’t eat any more without feeling guilty.

Then I can legally avoid eating that weird pudding!

“I see, I guess there’s no choice. Those puddings are ‘special,’ after all!”

“That’s right!”

…Looks like I managed to get away with it.

“Huh? Did Bada buy all of those? Can I try one?”

“Well, Bada brought them for Maru, so it might be difficult for you. You might need to ask for Maru or Bada’s permission first.”

The commander was looking at me with his eyes sparkling.

Why is he acting like this? Does he really want to try those weird flavors?

“Sure, go ahead and try it.”

“Awesome, just like Maru. Thanks for the treat… wait?”

The commander, who was slowly examining the label of the pudding I handed him with a goofy smile, suddenly looked surprised.

Well, no wonder. It’s pineapple pizza-flavored pudding, after all.

Once he realized what it was, the commander stared at me with a confused look, but it was too late.

“Well, Bada bought it after ‘much thought and consideration,’ so you have to eat it all!”

It was bound to be delicious, but still, it would be a waste to leave any. As I added those words, the commander’s expression became quite a sight.

I didn’t mind eating carelessly, but there was an unspoken pressure that whatever taste emerged, I had to finish it all.

“Ugh, fine. I’ll eat it…”

“Yes!”

Bada’s eyes sparkled as she fixated her gaze on the commander’s wrist, where he held the pineapple pizza-flavored pudding.

How confident must she be to wear such an expression of ‘It’s definitely going to be delicious’ every time she picked something to eat?

In the end, the commander couldn’t resist Bada’s overwhelming gaze. He peeled off the wrapper and took a bite.

Crunch, crunch.

It was definitely pudding, yet a strange, crisp sound—like biting into an apple—briefly echoed.

“Ah, um… Oh… It’s delicious. Yeah, really delicious.”

“Really? Are you sure? I knew it!”

Pfft.

…The commander’s expression was absolutely not that of someone enjoying their food.

With trembling lips, he looked at Bada and smiled.

Watching this scene, I could no longer hold back my laughter and burst out laughing.

“Maruya?”

Fortunately, I had sharp reflexes and managed to dive into Nunu’s arms, preventing Bada from hearing my laughter.

However, as a consequence, I had to endure Nunu patting my head.

And so, our unexpected snack time at the hospital came to an end, and we were on our way to E-Zone to carry out a mission.

The mission was tomorrow, so why were we going now?

Apparently, our commander had been scolded by that bald guy last time about the importance of preliminary scouting, so he was making a big fuss about going.

So, in the end, we arrived for an unwanted scouting trip.

It wasn’t even that far from our headquarters, so we got there quickly.

Unlike the desert where the antlion monster had been, this was a vast field where lush green grass swayed in the cool breeze.

It reminded me of the vast plains I had seen during a trip to Jeju Island, and I couldn’t help but smile.

I had no idea such a beautiful place existed near our headquarters…

“Commander, what kind of monster are we hunting this time?”

“Ah, hold on. It should be here somewhere…”

The commander busily scrolled through his phone and started rereading the email.

“E-Zone extermination request.”

But then, instead of reading out the monster’s details, the commander suddenly stopped talking altogether.

Huh?

Unable to comprehend his strange behavior, not just me, but also Nunu, Bada, and even Rinne tilted our heads in confusion.

Tilting our heads in sync like this made me feel like a pigeon. Like those dumb birds that bob their heads back and forth all the time.

…Wait a minute, something about this feels off.

“What’s wrong all of a sudden…?”

The commander stared at his phone for a while, tilting his head like us, but then, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, he began trembling.

Unable to hold back, I snatched the phone and read the message.

What? There’s nothing strange.

“It just says, ‘The number of monsters in the area keeps increasing, causing issues with manpower distribution, so please come and help’… It’s exactly the same as the message we read last time. What’s wrong with it?”

“…Maruya, don’t you find anything strange about it?”

What’s supposed to be strange?

They’re just saying there are too many monsters in their area and they need extra help… Wait a minute.

‘Commander, isn’t this our jurisdiction?’

‘Yeah, that’s why it’s weird.’

The ‘E-Zone’ mentioned in the email referred to the area near our headquarters.

But now, some complete stranger was calling it ‘their jurisdiction’ and asking for help?

Thinking about it carefully, something definitely felt off.

“I wasn’t paying much attention because of the health check-up, but something is definitely wrong. This area has never had any monster sightings before. We should head back to headquarters and figure out the situation first…”

‘Oh? I thought you were just an idiot, but turns out you have some brains after all?’

At that moment, a high-pitched voice—one I had never heard before—cut off the commander’s words.

Everyone instinctively turned toward the source of the voice.

There stood a woman with enormous horns, smiling seductively as she looked at us.

Puhuhu.

The moment I saw that alluring smile, my “crappy-game” instincts flared up violently.

The same eerie, unsettling aura that I had felt when fighting other monsters was radiating from her.

Ah.

I knew it instinctively.

This… is a boss fight.