"Finally! It worked!"
[Seriously?!]
[I never thought it would take this long…]
Voices brimming with emotion erupted from all around.
Those bastards always loved to mess with me, but at times like this, our hearts were in perfect sync.
I never imagined it would take this long.
Romantic affection, the faint stirrings of love—who knew it would take this much time to sprout?
"How long has it been?"
[If you’re counting from when you stuck that reader in there, about nine months, I’d say.]
"Huh, shorter than I thought."
I was sure it had been an eternity.
Turns out it was much less than I expected.
[Well, for us, maybe. But for humans, isn’t that pretty long?]
[Who cares? What’s the point of knowing that?]
[If you don’t pay attention, everything you touch ends up destroyed.]
[What the hell, man?!]
Ignoring their noisy bickering, I turned my gaze to the reader.
Maybe it was because my heart was pounding so loudly.
My vision felt slightly unsteady.
"…So this is what it means to be the protagonist, huh."
A sigh of admiration escaped me.
Just one gift and a few light conversations were enough to shake the reader like this.
I definitely never programmed them to be this good at it.
"The reader… still hasn’t noticed, it seems."
They didn’t seem to realize it themselves, but I could watch them now with a calm I hadn’t felt before.
If that feeling had stirred even once.
If it had sprouted even once, then from here on out, it would only grow faster.
Every time the reader, who was being teased mercilessly by Amelia and Dorothy, glanced at the protagonist.
Every time they absentmindedly touched the protagonist’s gift.
I could feel their heartbeat quicken, just a little.
Even if the reader didn’t notice, slowly but surely—
the emotion was taking root.
"It’s a shame I had to cut it off there…"
But maybe that was for the best.
The reader wasn’t the type to handle sudden changes well.
The best course of action was to wait until they realized their own feelings.
If they had just gone with the flow and confessed in that moment…
"Hey, you guys. What do you think would’ve happened if they’d confessed right then?"
[They’d get rejected.]
[They’d say, ‘I appreciate the feelings, but I’m sorry.’ Something like that.]
"So that’s how it would’ve gone, huh?"
As someone who wanted the reader and the protagonist to end up together, it was disappointing, but it was an unavoidable reality.
Given the reader’s circumstances, it wouldn’t be easy for them to accept it so quickly.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret as I watched them with a hint of longing.
It was frustrating. I’d hoped things would progress a little further.
A soft sigh escaped me, but despite the disappointment, I couldn’t help but smile.
Regret was regret, but just a little…
It felt like if I just gave them one more push, everything would fall into place.
I was in a good mood because my strategy of making the reader rely on Yu Siwoo instead of forcing them had finally paid off.
[By the way, it still doesn’t work?]
"Huh? What doesn’t?"
[Your ability. It still doesn’t affect the protagonist?]
"Not at all."
[What if some variable pops up? What are you gonna do then…?]
A variable?
"As if that’s going to happen."
The girl laughed brightly.
There was no way a variable like that could appear.
The protagonist’s ability was intuition.
Of course, I had once added a setting where it would become an incredible ability once I finished growing… but…
“How much could intuition even grow?”
[…Well, yeah. Sorry.]
A mere mortal couldn’t possibly threaten us.
So there was no need to worry about such trivial problems.
“…Grrrr.”
“Hehe.”
The hooded girl laughed brightly.
As if the dog in front of her were adorable.
If you ignored appearances, one might think it was a moment of harmony between a girl and an animal.
Though how many people would overlook the fact that the girl was covered in grotesque growths and the “dog” was the size of a five-ton truck, I couldn’t say.
“You’re strong, aren’t you!”
“Grrrr…”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. Humans keep breaking into your home, right? It must be tough.”
The hooded girl spoke to the beast.
Even though humans and monsters couldn’t possibly communicate.
The girl, who spoke as if separating herself from humanity, stroked the beast.
Yet the beast did not attack her.
Even though monsters always had an instinctive revulsion toward humans.
Even though every attempt to tame a monster had ended in failure.
And yet, the girl seemed to be sharing a genuine connection with it.
“It must have been hard. Right?”
“…Grr.”
“If I hadn’t happened to pass by, you might’ve been in danger. Don’t worry. You’re safe now.”
Aha.
Aha ha ha.
The girl laughed like a madwoman.
“…How about you stop laughing and tell me your purpose.”
“Ah, right. Sorry, Mir.”
“It’s fine. Come on, this one’s waiting for you.”
“Yeah… Hey, would you help me out?”
“Grr.”
“Huh? You’re asking if it’ll help you? I’m not sure, but if this works out, humans won’t come to your home anymore.”
“Grrr!”
“…Really? You’ll help me?! Thank you!”
The girl laughed and chattered to herself.
As if she and the monster were actually having a conversation.
Even though humans couldn’t communicate with monsters.
“…”
I had been hiding and watching her the whole time.
Or maybe “hiding” wasn’t quite the right word.
Because right now, I was dying.
“…Do you have a lot of friends too? Are humans always bothering you? Don’t worry! I’ll help you!”
Just another ordinary day of monster extermination.
It had been a little tougher than expected, but I’d managed to take down the monster and was heading back to base.
…Until that crazy bitch appeared out of nowhere and slaughtered my entire squad in an instant.
It happened so fast that no one could react.
I was the only one who noticed in time, twisting my body just enough to avoid instant death.
My comrades showed no signs of waking up.
They were probably dead.
I figured I was done for too.
Blood kept seeping from my stomach, and it was getting harder to think.
“Headquarters. Headquarters, respond…”
I had always been prepared to die.
This was a battlefield where we staked our lives. Anyone who wasn’t ready to die wouldn’t last long on the front lines.
So the only thing I fear is one thing.
That even after seeing this absurd situation with my own eyes, I won’t be able to report it.
That I won’t be able to convey what’s happening here.
"Headquarters. This is Team 2. Respond… please. Quickly."
-Crackle, static… …What’s going on? Didn’t you just say you were returning?
"…!"
Thank god. The connection went through.
I can report this situation!
"Emergency situation. A girl, roughly 150cm tall, wearing a hood, ambushed us from behind. Team 2 is… wiped out. The girl…"
-W-what…? Wiped out? What the hell does that—
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Ah.
In that moment, I sensed death.
"I asked, what are you doing?"
If I had stayed still, maybe—just maybe—I could’ve survived.
But I had to.
I had to relay just a little more information.
It was the least I could do for my fallen comrades.
"The girl appears to be able to communicate with monsters! Her body has numerous… grotesque things…!"
Crunch.
-…What was that sound just now? Hey, answer me. Are you still alive? Answer!
That was the end.
The final piece of information—a dying man’s last words—delivered at the cost of his life.
"Grotesque? That’s a bit harsh to say about my friends. Rude."
Crunch, crunch.
Annoyed for no reason, the girl stomped on the walkie-talkie with her foot.
It was a sturdy device, built to withstand harsh conditions, but under her kicks, it shattered into pieces, rendered useless.
"Hey, mutt. Eat a little and let’s run. We need to change locations."
"…Grrr."
"You went and blabbed all sorts of things for no reason. I thought you were dead."
And a short while later…
the rescue team, dispatched in haste, found the members of Team 2 in a horrific state.
[Hehe, dear reader. I’m here~.]
"…?"
Was that an auditory hallucination?
I thought I’d never hear that voice again, so I looked around at the sound.
Siwoo had gone to wash up, and there was no one else here. What was going on?
[Reader…? I’m here. Reader?]
"Ugh, so boring."
I randomly flipped through the TV channels, but nothing changed.
When would Siwoo be back?
Even a short separation was hard to endure.
"…"
As the thought of loneliness randomly crossed my mind, I touched my bracelet.
A warm sensation spread through me, the bracelet reminding me that I wasn’t alone.
"…Hehe."
How many times had I ended up smiling foolishly at this bracelet?
Dorothy and Amelia had teased me endlessly for it, but I couldn’t stop.
Well, it *was* funny to watch, so what could I do?
"When will he be back…"
Siwoo not being by my side made me anxious, but I wasn’t as anxious as before.
After all, he had promised he’d come help me in the end.
So no matter how hard things got, I wasn’t afraid anymore.
[WAAAAAAH…! Reader…! Don’t ignore me!]
"…Ah, jeez. You scared me. So it *was* real."
[WAAAAAAAAH!]
I thought it was a hallucination, but it really was the author.
That gave me a start.
…I think I preferred it when they weren’t here.
Their loud voice was giving me a headache.