Chapter 60: The Sea, The Monster, And The Girl (4)

The monster that introduced itself as Akari—no, the person—no, the monster was quite unique.

Unlike the usual monsters that are hostile to humans, it was secretly friendly.

At first, Sapphire was very wary, but after seeing the other monsters standing far away, she began to take a liking to Akari.

To humans, the monster’s appearance was literally terrifying.

“Hehe, hehe.”

Humbling a song of unknown name while splashing water, she sat on a rock near the beach and began to quietly observe Akari, who was shaking her legs.

It felt like a cat doing this and that to relieve boredom.

As Akari began to put strength into her legs, a large spray of water arose that could overcome even the largest waves.

Watching the monsters struggling in that spray was more fun than she thought.

“…Not fun.”

Getting bored easily, splashing water was short-lived.

Akari stuck out her lips, feeling uncomfortable with the seawater on her feet.

…Is she really a monster?

It was a monster of a kind I had never seen before, but at that point, she was just a girl who called herself a monster.

She was capricious and often said meaningful things, but she wasn’t completely dark inside.

I was fooled by my first impression and was very cautious whenever I went to sleep, but when I saw Akari fall asleep first, even the remaining caution melted away.

‘If you want to know about your opponent, the best way is to observe them closely from the closest place.’

Thinking of her father’s words, she focused on Akari’s every action.

What was the difference between her and a normal monster?

What was the basis of her behavior?

Was she really a threat to humanity?

If she was a threat, in what way and to what extent?

There were so many facts that she needed to know and so many that she wanted to know.

“It would have been much more fun if some magical girl had answered my question—”

“The aftertaste is longer than I thought.”

It didn’t seem like she had the tendency to hold grudges, but it was annoyingly long-winded.

Just like a cat…

I don’t know why, but when observing a monster in human form, a cat, neither human nor monster, came to mind.

“So, won’t you tell me?”

“Are you that curious about that?”

“Just imagining it makes a magical girl despair, so wouldn’t a monster be curious?”

She dislikes close gazes but doesn’t care about distance when asking for what she wants.

When she turned her head slightly toward a face that was close enough to meet her nose, Akari backed away with a meaningful smile.

‘The basic way of thinking is closer to a monster, but…

It felt like half human and half monster mixed together.

That’s why she couldn’t come to a conclusion by leaning toward one side.

Maybe she needed to come up with a separate way to deal with Akari.

Just like how humans change their behavior slightly when dealing with other humans.

Grumble.

“Go away. Don’t be a bother.”

Greak, grak—

“Magical girls are wandering around nearby?”

Humans clearly understand the language of the monsters that they can’t understand.

If Akari, who can speak human language, can understand the language of monsters, then wouldn’t humans also be able to understand the language of monsters?

As I looked at Akari with the thought that came to my mind, Akari frowned as if she was upset.

It seemed that she didn’t like the fact that there were magical girls wandering around nearby.

“It seems like they came to save you. What do you want to do?”

“Would it be better for you if I went back?”

“What would a magical girl listen to the thoughts of a monster?

If she wants to go back, then go back.”

Akari grumbled as she started walking towards me.

“That’s good timing; I was going to tell you to go back anyway.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, well.”

There are other reasons, but Akari tried to evade them as if she didn’t want to say anything.

It must have been because it wasn’t fun, or because she was sick of it, or something like that.

Her actions and words were more impulsive than I thought.

“So, how was it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Observation, observation.”

The way she spoke with her chest puffed out showed a childlike innocence.

It could be said to be short if it was short, or long if it was long.

It is said that people’s evaluations are usually decided at the first meeting, but Akari was not a being who could draw conclusions in such a short time.

However, if there were a few things I could be sure of, yes.

“It’s dangerous. If you hide in human society in human form, you might do something.”

“And?”

“You are very capricious and often act impulsively.

You may seem to act calculatedly, but that is only because of the special nature of your existence that others see you that way.”

Akari fell silent at my words.

She didn’t show any sign of being offended.

She just looked at me with interest, her red eyes shining.

She always acted as she pleased, but surprisingly, I don’t remember seeing her get excited.

That’s why her impulsive actions seemed even more calculated.

“If this is my position as a magical girl… my position as a human is a little different.”

Since she seemed to be a mixture of monster and human behavior, I thought that the answer to that question should be split into two.

If what I’ve said so far was the perspective of a magical girl looking at monsters, what I’m going to say from now on would be the perspective of a human looking at humans.

First of all, first of all—

“Wait, you were trying to talk to me as a human right now?”

“There’s nothing more foolish than treating a non-human being as a human, right?”

It was closer to advice than a reprimand.

It was as if she was asking why a human like me would talk to a monster as if it were a human.

Indeed, she was right.

Akari was just a monster who could speak human language.

If she hadn’t spoken, there would have been no reason for them to talk to each other like they did now.

“Akari.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“You said you were curious about what I thought when I was in despair?”

Now I was finally certain.

Why did I make the other person despair?

Why did I think of things I normally wouldn’t, despair so much, and pour out the memories hidden in my heart?

“I thought of when my parents passed away.”

It was because the other person wasn’t human.

I thought I could pour out emotions that I couldn’t pour out to the same person, so I did it reflexively.

I was also an impulsive person.

“There was a fire at home and both of them died, but they hugged me until the very end.”

An accident caused by a person, not a monster.

No, it shouldn’t be called an accident, but an incident.

As I twisted the corners of my lips at the bitterness I felt in my mouth, Akari smiled broadly at me.