Was That Tentacle Insane?
Was that tentacle crazy?
Or was I the crazy one?
Irene stared at the unthinkable sight, her mind completely blank.
Tentacle-type monsters had appeared many times before, but this one was different.
First, its body was as thick as a grown woman’s waist. Its outer skin was similar to human skin color, and unlike the other tentacles, it didn’t spew out any strange slimy liquid.
It almost looked like a large peach-colored worm.
The strangest part was that even in the dungeon and here, nowhere could she see the core of the creature. Only the tips of the tentacles remained visible.
‘Now is not the time to be dazed.’
In the meantime, the tentacles continued to wave their bodies up and down, then slowly approached Irene.
She rubbed her eyes, but the tentacles did not disappear.
Finally confirming that it was no illusion, Irene took a deep breath.
Then, with the loudest voice she could muster, she shouted.
“It’s a monster! Aaaaaaah!”
Thanks to her cry that tore her throat, the voice echoed thunderously through the building.
“It’s a monster! A tentacle monster! Help us!”
Without pause, Irene kept screaming.
At her cries, the tentacles shook their bodies in confusion, as if they were bewildered, as if to say, “Why are you doing that to me?”
‘Why aren’t they even running away!’
They were monsters, yet they looked as if they were surprised to see her, as if they knew her.
Anyone watching would have thought Irene and that monster were a pair.
Still shouting, Irene took out a dagger from the bag she was carrying.
“Don’t come closer!”
She knew very well how low the probability was that this weapon would activate its ability. But how could the tentacles know?
After all, it was the only weapon she had, so Irene swung the dagger with all her strength.
At that moment, the tentacles trembled as if they had faced the scariest thing in the world, then vanished from sight.
“Where? Where are you!”
“What’s going on!”
People who heard Irene’s cries came running into the hallway in panic. Nearby purifiers opened their doors and looked out to see what was happening.
When she saw people around her, Irene pointed to the corner where the tentacles had disappeared and shouted,
“There! A monster has appeared!”
At those words, the guards prepared their weapons and prepared to rush forward.
“A monster? Where?”
From the corner where the tentacles had vanished, more people came running out.
“……”
At that sight, Irene was bewildered. The tentacles had definitely hidden themselves in that direction.
Yet people coming from that side had asked where the monster was after seeing it.
In the hallway, only the people searching for the monster and the dazed Irene remained.
* * *
Bang!
The door opened roughly and Michael entered the room.
“Irene!”
The moment he entered, he ran straight toward Irene, who was sitting on the chair, like he was about to pounce on her.
Irene immediately raised her hand to calm him down.
“Nothing happened, Michael. So please calm down.”
At those words, Michael steadied his rough breathing.
Where had he run from?
From the man who had just arrived, the dungeon’s unique wind still lingered.
“You said nothing happened, but I heard a monster had appeared.”
“Yes. I didn’t know it would be a monster I know. I don’t know if it’s related to Wilhelmina….”
“Wilhelmina? Isn’t that the old acquaintance you mentioned? Does that woman have something to do with this?”
“Speaking of which, Michael, you’ve been running through dungeons non-stop for two days without rest. Sit for a moment. I’ll tell you what happened while you catch your breath.”
Irene asked the maids for tea and, while soothing the still-excited Michael, began to recount what had happened.
“And then today, I saw tentacles. But it… it seemed like it was greeting me.”
“……”
Michael’s face stiffened as he listened to Irene’s explanation.
If the tentacles were right in front of him, they would tear her apart without hesitation.
“Michael. Face.”
Irene pressed her fingers against his furrowed brow.
“You have such a handsome face, so please stop scowling.”
“……I understand.”
Hearing that she had called him handsome, he didn’t deny it and slowly relaxed his stiff expression.
At that moment, the maid returned with the tea, and the atmosphere finally eased a little.
After the maid left, Irene resumed her story about the monster.
“How did the monster come out of the dungeon? And I wonder if it followed us… I should tell them it was impressive that they came… but I’m worried what will happen if they appear again and cause damage.”
Looking at today’s situation, the tentacles seemed able to hide their bodies at will.
Then it was possible for them to appear anywhere they wanted again.
‘Today there was no real damage, but it doesn’t seem like today’s luck will last forever.’
A monster. A being that shows endless hostility toward humans.
‘But why did it look happy to see me?’
Even after thinking about it again, Irene couldn’t understand that at all.
At that moment, Michael’s gaze, while sipping the tea, turned toward the books placed on the table.
“Is there somewhere you want to go?”
“Ah, this….”
Irene hesitated and spoke with a bit of embarrassment.
“After leaving the fortress, I’ve been thinking about where I should live. The count’s estate is warm, so I’ve never seen snow. So maybe I should go to a country where it snows… I’ve never seen the sea either, so maybe I should go somewhere with the sea and live there.”
Irene rested her chin on her hand and looked at the books with a troubled expression.
Then she smiled at Michael.
“Michael, where do you like?”
Irene asked his opinion as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Michael smiled along with her.
“Anywhere you want to go is fine with me.”
* * *
Click.
After closing the door, Michael tidied his slightly disheveled clothes.
His red tongue gently licked the slightly wound lip.
As expected, the wound had come from kissing Irene before leaving.
The knights were dwindling in number, and dungeon raids were so busy that there was never enough time to be with Irene.
If he could, he would spend the whole day with her no matter what happened to the dungeons.
“……It’s my fault, so I should organize this.”
This year, there were unusually many dungeons appearing.
Everything was because of that.
Even the monsters that should have stayed inside the dungeons had come chasing after him.
Wasn’t that also the reason why the distortion dungeons had appeared earlier than scheduled?
He could have left them alone, but his reason for steadily raiding the dungeons was that leaving them would make it too likely that Irene would be caught in the middle.
He had held Irene tight without rest. So the monsters would know that her scent was filled with his.
‘That’s why they’re chasing after her.’
Since their king wasn’t taking care of them, let alone looking at them, they must have come here pleading to chase the queen and convince the king.
The problem was that their pleas looked like an attack that would kill a human on the spot.
‘But how could they follow all the way outside the dungeon.’
That was impossible. Outside the dungeon, existence became dangerous very quickly.
Yet here, inside the fortress, they had shown themselves in front of people and run away.
‘They must have rooted here.’
Michael fell into thought.
The tentacles couldn’t possibly do that. Then…
‘Someone must have created a space here where monsters can survive.’
* * *
Cecilia’s room was perfectly closed even to the windows, with not a single ray of sunlight entering.
She had drunk the tea left by the maid a long time ago.
Cold, stale tea.
She wouldn’t have touched it before, but now she did.
Cecilia, drinking the cold tea with pleasure, looked at the corner of the room.
There stood a figure with its back turned toward the wall.
“Wilhelmina.”
At Cecilia’s call, the figure turned its body.
The front of the turned Wilhelmina was all red, as if it had been made of red mud.
Cecilia looked at the sight without surprise, instead with satisfaction, and muttered,
“Today I have to go find Irene Rodiam again.”