episode_0084

In the end, I couldn’t finish the cheese tonkatsu.

“Sigh.”

As I walked out of the restaurant, I felt like my stomach was about to burst.

I did buy quite a few clothes, but still, the shopping bags in my hands weren’t that many.

Except for three knits and a washed dress, I wore everything else right away.

Suddenly, while walking, I stopped in my tracks as I saw my reflection in the glass wall.

With a beige knit sweater, a black coat on top, and a black skirt underneath.

“This isn’t a funeral outfit or anything.”

The colors clashed a bit, but they surprisingly matched my hair quite well.

It was pretty.

That expression suited it the best.

It was pretty, but…

“Ahem.”

I could clearly feel the passing glances of people.

I knew why.

Because when I looked in the mirror, my eyes went straight to my chest.

Originally on the smaller side, it was hard to call it that, but with the tight knit, my chest looked quite big.

And the snug knit accentuated my waistline, making my waist slim and my chest look bigger, creating a remarkable figure correction.

Because of this, some men almost blatantly stared in this direction, and when our eyes met, they would quickly turn away.

It was so overwhelming.

Feeling quite self-conscious, I unconsciously fiddled with the buttons on my coat.

What would Lager say in this situation?

– Hey, when did you start flirting with guys after throwing a fit about not being treated like a woman? If you come out like this, I won’t even compare you to your old self, you’re so much bigger and more…

Ah… this is a bit humiliating. Cancel the daydream from earlier.

But, seriously, it was incredibly big.

Even in the military, when guys went to the shower room, one or two of them would boast about their size and hold the best big guy contest.

But compared to Lager, all those guys were just worms and frogs in a well.

I didn’t measure it, but it seemed like it would easily surpass 20 centimeters.

Could such a monstrous thing fit inside me?

“…Wait, why am I having these thoughts?”

The sticky skinship in the underground and the memory of seeing that guy’s thing were so shocking.

I shook my head vigorously and turned my attention elsewhere, opening my tablet.

“Let’s see, there are still things I need to buy…”

Trying to redirect my thoughts, I deliberately listed the items on my tablet one by one.

“I’ll get pajamas and casual clothes today. The comforter will arrive on Friday. Hmm… I can skip the pillow, but I should buy a sleeping bag.”

What else was there?

Pondering, as I tapped on the tablet, the scene in front of me began to ripple like a mirage.

What’s going on? It’s winter right now.

The suspicious mirage gradually wriggled and made space, creating gaps.

And within it.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

With ominous and eerie sounds, something started tearing through the space from within.

Soon, the growling cry of a monster echoed from within.

“It’s a demon! A demon! It’s a demon!!”

Shouting and screaming, I yelled at people as they ran away.

“Ahhhh!”

“It’s a demon!”

“Run, everyone, run away!”

Hearing my voice, countless people started fleeing in panic.

Sirens blared in various parts of the city, and everyone rushed into the subway as if it were a prearranged agreement.

I, too, had seen people evacuating to the subway entrance during my student days, so I followed them without rushing.

“Hurry, come quickly!”

I kept looking back intermittently to make sure no one was left behind.

Surprisingly, people were really calm.

Their movements were swift, as if programmed to evacuate to the subway when a monster appeared.

“Oh, right. It was just like in a novel.”

Thinking of these people as extras in a novel rather than ordinary civilians made me feel less awkward.

Still, there were a few people who ended up dying in the midst of the evacuation. Probably because they delayed evacuating for some reason.

Even though the streets were almost deserted, there were still some people running late to the subway entrance.

After confirming that no one else was coming, I entered the subway entrance.

In reality, if a monster had chased after people and we had come face to face with it, there wouldn’t have been a clear plan.

But I think it was a good thing to check on the citizens until the end.

The subway station, usually crowded with people getting on and off, was now filled with evacuees.

Fortunately, it was winter, so despite the large number of people gathered, there was no oppressive humidity, and it was rather warm.

The people had various appearances. Some were carrying shopping bags and running away, while others, like me, were grumbling with their shopping bags, and there were men carrying guitars and other instruments.

As I had felt before, these people seemed to view the appearance of a monster as something akin to a slightly larger earthquake.

They reacted with a mix of fear, annoyance, and fatigue.

There was not a single person who was afraid of dying.

Then, a child looked at me and screamed, “Mom, it’s a monster! A monster!”

What the heck.

Oh, maybe it’s because of the tail.

I gently tucked my tail inside and comforted the child, “Sorry, did I scare you?”

As I crouched down in front of the child with a reassuring smile, the mother, who had hugged the child, nodded apologetically to me while patting the child’s head.

“Oh, sorry. You must have been scared.”

“It’s okay. They’re just kids, right?”

“Minsoo, if the lady has a tail, would she be upset if you said that?”

The child, who had been crying, timidly turned his head to look at me. I was relieved that my tail was hidden now.

The child glanced up and down at me, then said while hugging his mother, “Sister, I can see your panties.”

Oh, uh…

Sorry, kid. It’s my first time wearing a mini skirt since I was born.

“Hey, hey! You can’t say that to adults!”

Feeling embarrassed by the mother’s scolding, I awkwardly bowed my head and moved away.

Goodbye, kid.

The tail-wearing girl in the short skirt will disappear now… Sigh.

There’s a commotion on the ceiling. It seems like the actual battle has begun.

Recently, the difficulty level of the world has increased, and the monsters have become stronger.

Feeling guilty for providing the cause of this, I hid my body and thought about developing my abilities while I had time.

“…Hmm.”

As expected, only a toy gun came out.

The battle above my head was still fierce.

I pushed through the crowd of people again and had to crouch down to avoid being hit.

It didn’t take more than two hours for the situation to calm down.

When I stepped outside, the cleanup of the wreckage was in full swing.

Being in the midst of the always-rescuing crowd and now watching from the sidelines, my feelings were somewhat strange.

Suddenly, I thought of a cigarette.

After leisurely watching the bustling street slowly recover, I finished my cigarette and then made my way back into the commercial alley.

I still hadn’t bought a sleeping bag.

I arrived at the academy gate around 5 p.m.

I could have hurried to a restaurant for dinner, but with my hands full of bags and the tonkatsu I had just eaten not fully digested, I decided to head straight home.

On the way, I stopped by the academy convenience store to buy some alcohol. Since I had frequented it with Lina, the cashier looked at me suspiciously as I brought four bottles of red cap soju.

“I’m no longer a student at the academy.”

Seemingly understanding, he nodded and rang me up.

Carrying shopping bags in one hand and clinking soju bottles and a bag of snacks in the other, I arrived home.

“Ugh….”

After eating ramen and drinking alcohol without ventilating, the air felt quite heavy.

I opened the window for ventilation and immediately cracked open a bottle of soju. Without a refrigerator, I wanted to drink it before it became lukewarm.

“Oh, wait.”

As I shivered from leaving the window open for ventilation, I suddenly had a good idea.

I laid the remaining soju bottles on the window sill and closed the window, wedging them in the gap.

This way, I could ventilate and prevent the soju from becoming lukewarm in the cool breeze.

“Eil Cloie, is she a rookie?”

Even I thought it was clever.

Just then, the delivery person arrived and rang the bell. It was pajamas.

I could sleep comfortably in something casual today.

Of course, the pajamas were in the form of a dress.

Since the pants needed tailoring to be worn, it was inconvenient in many ways.

Having worn skirts here and there, I had become somewhat accustomed to them, so I didn’t have much aversion to skirts.

I changed into the new pajamas and comfortably plopped down, continuing to drink without hesitation.

Sipping one mouthful after another, I had unknowingly finished one bottle.

One bottle quickly became two.

After drinking about two bottles, I felt a bit tipsy and my whole body felt sluggish.

I felt like I could get a good night’s sleep like this.

“Ugh.”

So, I spread out the new sleeping bag and lay on top of it.

I curled up my body and used my palm as a pillow to fall asleep.

Oh right, I should have bought a pillow. I regretted it belatedly.

However, no matter how much I tossed and turned, sleep wouldn’t come.

My body was tired, but my mind was strangely alert. Unable to see any signs of sleepiness even in my tipsy state, I tossed and turned for a while.

In the end, I got up in the middle of the night and drank more alcohol.

I couldn’t even finish half a bottle and ended up clinging to the toilet bowl.

Ugh.

Ugh.

I looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror with a grimace.

Suddenly, I realized why I couldn’t sleep.

My reflection in the mirror was pretty, but somehow empty.

Yesterday, today, I was a useless being who couldn’t do anything.

Perhaps tomorrow as well.

I didn’t want to face that tomorrow.

I didn’t want to acknowledge my worthless self.

Was there no escape even in my dreams?

Resignedly, I smiled and left the bathroom.

After drinking a few more sips of alcohol, I collapsed on the sleeping bag.

Anyone would do.

I wish someone would tell me that I am a valuable being.

I want to be acknowledged.

I want comfort.

“Comfort….”

Muttering to myself, I suddenly noticed.

“….”

I caught sight of the tail behind me.