The Tentacle Awakens

by J. J. Pavlov

  Ah, the brainiac inside me just died. It seems his heart just gave out from being unable to bear the mental strain of staying inside a Crawling Chaos' body. Really though, he survived for quite a bit longer than my previous experiment. All I did this time was to keep supplying him with oxygen. Next time I'll try providing food, too.

  The interior of the adventurer guild is a large hall, as expected. There's a reception area on the left to the entrance and a supply store to the right. Deeper inside are several long tables, where I can spot people in attire similar to Rolan and his party's. They're standing around chatting, or sitting at the tables and having dinner.

  This entire place is very cliché.

  Even the fact that the receptionist is a woman in her mid-twenties is just typical. She's wearing something like a traditional dress and sports a small cap on top of her brown-haired head. It reminds me of the receptionist girls in a game series about hunting dragons with oversized weapons.

  "I'd like to talk to Ingrid, is she in?" Rolan walks up to her and asks in a casual tone. Unexpectedly, he's pretty good at acting like nothing is out of the ordinary, even though there's something pretty urgent going on.

  "Yes, she just returned from a meeting with the lord. I shall ascertain her availability." The receptionist responds with a nod and walks out through a door behind her.

  "Did she say 'the lord'? Rolan, are you sure we can trust this Ingrid person?" I'm just playing devil's advocate since it's a reasonable concern. I doubt a woman is going to engage in business that involves the enslavement of other women, although you can never be too sure.

  "Yes, she may be the guild master now, but I've known her for a long time before that. She's like an older sister to me." He replies with a warm smile into which I can't help but read a lot of things.

  Was she his first love or something?

  But Luna doesn't glare at him in jealousy and instead nods with an understanding expression. I must have been reading too much into it.

  Still, he's good friends with the guild master, huh? If she can be trusted, then we'd have a pretty powerful ally in her. The guild master should have quite some influence over the adventurers and be able to make them help.

  "Rolan!" A firm female voice resounds through the guild hall, and all necks snap around to its owner. "You haven't come to see me in a long time, even though you've been going around making a name for yourself!"

  A woman approaches us with a wide grin. She's about as tall as I am, but her presence is much larger than just her appearance. Wearing a long-sleeved top and a long skirt in earthen colors gives her an unassuming appearance, but I can feel strength underneath it all.

  It's like a rule for guild masters to be secretly really strong, but I don't doubt that in this particular case. She's also quite beautiful and must be rather young for her position.

  "Ingrid, there's something we need to talk about." Rolan is very serious, so her relaxed expression immediately vanishes under a firm gaze. For a moment, she stares into his eyes, but then blinks and turns away.

  "Must be something important. Let's go to my office." She walks away and waves for us to follow her.

  Said office is on the second floor of the guild building, which is a gallery overlooking the dining and gathering hall below. Opening a plain wooden door without any sign indicating that it belongs to the guild master on it, Ingrid leads us inside.

  The interior is overflowing with things. The walls are decorated with various personal belongings and trophies; there's an unknown canine-like beast's head, a jaw of something I would identify as having belonged to a shark, as well as ornamental weapons and a large paper placard displaying a dragon's morphology. Every single flat surface in the room is overloaded with piles of files and papers, wooden and stone figures, as well as bones, leather bags, and clothes.

  In all honesty, it looks quite cozy in here. I like these kinds of rooms; my own was like that, too. My father always brought souvenirs from his overseas business trips, and he actually had pretty good taste in those things. He never bought into tourist traps like an Eiffel Tower keychain or a Statue of Liberty lighter.

  "Take a seat anywhere. Sorry, but I'm not sorry for the mess." She rounds her desk and sits down on her revolving chair while gesturing into the room. There aren't many places one could sit; I find one spot on the edge of the couch, Luna sits down on a wooden barrel, while Rolan remains standing. "In my line of work tidiness just means you're unsuccessful."

  That's true for any job that will occupy every waking minute of your life, just like my father's. Whenever he was home, he didn't have much time for anything but having meals and sleep.

  Why am I thinking back to my parents and my life in the previous world? I will most likely never get back to it, and I don't really want to recall those memories...

  "So, you're saying that the merchant Sveinn Itkonen is secretly smuggling elven slaves?" Ingrid's voice brings me back to the present. Wow, the conversation seems to have already moved along for quite a bit while I wasn't paying attention. "Where's your evidence?"

  "We still need to find hard evidence, but there's enough reason to believe that it's true. Runa and Miss Chloe here were attacked by three men who tried to kidnap Lady Nightwane. Miss Chloe heard them mention Sveinn's name." She's staring at me and then at Senka. Nothing is showing on her face, but I can't help but feel that she's looking down on my taste in designs.

  "Hm... alright, I'll send Vigi to check on the warehouses Sveinn frequently uses, though he won't be back from a request until tomorrow morning." Leaning forward onto the desk and folding her hands in front of her lips, Ingrid concedes. Rolan and Luna look at each other with hopeful gazes upon hearing that response. I'm just relieved that she doesn't make a rude comment about Senka. "And where's Lady Nightwane?"

  "We told her to close her shop until things are settled." Luna speaks up and replies. When I think about it, that may not have been enough of a precaution. Considering there's most likely an entire organization behind it all, and three of their guys didn't return from the job, they might send people to check on them. And I doubt a locked wooden door will stop them at that time.

  "If they ran away, it's very likely that they'll return to finish the job. At that time a locked door won't be a problem." Aside from the details, she can't know about, Ingrid and my thoughts are aligned.

  "Oh no! We should go and bring her here, to put her under the protection of the guild." Luna jumps up at the realization that Lady Nightwane might still be in danger.

  "I'll come with you." I stand up myself and announce.

  "Wait... who's this girl again?" The guild master directs the question at Rolan while pointing at me. That's rude; you can just ask me directly!

  Wait, you only now care to ask? Even though Rolan even mentioned me by name in his explanation just now.

  "She's Miss Chloe Marcott. We picked her up in Birkas. She was attacked by bandits and ended up in our care." The leader gives a quick explanation, most likely because we're pressed for time.

  "Any combat experience, Chloe?" Her piercing gaze seems to bore holes into my eyes. No honorifics and straight to the name? Even if it's actually my last name, it feels quite rude to be addressed so casually by someone whom I just met.

  "None." But I need to keep up the act, so I reply meekly while avoiding her gaze. I only have minimal experience, so it might as well be none, so technically I'm not lying. Not that it changes the fact that I'm most likely the strongest being in this city, solely based on my physical attributes. Since I don't know how powerful magic can be, I won't say that I'm the strongest overall.

  "And you still wish to go along to Lady Nightwane's store, knowing that it might be a dangerous situation?" I don't like her tone. She's clearly judging me for endangering myself - and those around me - by forcing them to look out for me during battle.

  "Ahhh, Miss Chloe is like that, you see. She also came along on our extermination request with the wulfar." Rolan's explanation makes me sound like
a selfish noble girl. I'm posing as a noble, but I'm not selfish, you know?

  "Yes, I got to know Lady Nightwane, so I want to make sure that she's alright." And maybe get to know her a little better in the process.

  "Oh well, she's your problem, Rolan." Standing up from her chair, Ingrid remarks with a frown. This lady is really rude! "In either case, if Vigi finds out that Sveinn is a slave smuggler, we'll be able to capture him. But I doubt the organization behind him will stop. They'll find someone else to do it."

  So, we would need to get to the core of things and break apart the criminal organization completely, before this can be put to rest. Or at least that's what I get from the way she's saying it.

  "I understand." Rolan nods with a downcast look. It seems he's fully aware of the fact that such human evil can't be rooted out with some superficial treatment. "But this is a step in the right direction."

  I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't been around. Lady Nightwane, and maybe Luna as well, would have been kidnapped and turned into slaves, with Rolan and his party none the wiser. It would have been treated as a missing person case, but nobody would have made the connection to the merchant Sveinn and the fact that kidnappings and slave trading are being conducted in this very city.

  Isn't this helping the humans sort out their domestic problems? If they deal with this and manage to end the black market slave trade, they'll be able to focus on external issues, like the war against the demons. That's not what I want. What would Maou-mama say, if she found out that I was involved in helping to make the humans more united?

  Well, for now, I'll just think about what I can gain out of this. Some of the slave traders and their thugs could disappear under mysterious circumstances, just like the three in Lady Nightwane's store did, so that I can eat my fill- I mean, gain more templates for different physical appearances.

  "Thank you, Ingrid." Rolan nods towards the guild master. At his gratitude, she merely waves it off as something natural to do.

  He turns to Luna and me afterward. "We should hurry."

  Chapter 11 - The Lady Of The Night

  "Let's hope Lady Nightwane is safe." As we run through the streets, I remark while acting slightly out of breath. I'm at the very back, to make it seem like I'm not used to exercising so much - although I did keep up with the adventurer party's pace pretty well on our way here from Birkas. Luna looks the way I'm acting, since she's had the air knocked out of her earlier today, and it might still affect her a little.

  "Yes, I'll go ahead. You two can catch up later." Hearing my words, Rolan puts a hand on the hilt of his sword and picks up his pace. As expected of a swordsman in a world set in a medieval-like time period, he has a lot of stamina.

  Within moments, he has left us in his dust and disappeared around a corner ahead. Luna slows down slightly, breathing heavily from her lack of exercise; she is a mage, after all. I guess she was putting up a front while her sweetheart was around.

  "I'd rather not meet her again." Senka whispers to me in a sullen tone. Fair enough, if I had been used as a sex toy by somebody, I wouldn't want to meet them again either, if I could help it. Unfortunately for her, she has no say in this matter; I'll be carrying her around everywhere for the time being.

  We round some corners and find ourselves in the dark alleyway that leads to Lady Nightwane's store. At night, it looks even shadier, but Luna casts the torch spell she used earlier in the day, and a little flame lights our way. It's a wonder that Rolan found his way through here without a problem since it's quite dark.

  Slowly moving through the alleyway, my eyes glance over every window and door that isn't completely nailed shut. It's not very likely that someone will jump out and attack us, but better safe than sorry.

  As we approach the store, we find that the door is slightly ajar and I'm on alert right away. Did the leader already enter on his own or was this done by more kidnappers coming around to see what happened to their three men?

  "Rolan?" Luna calls into the store from the doorway, like an amateur. If there are enemies inside, you just warned them of your presence, even if they didn't see the flame from your staff.

  "I'm here." Poking out his head from behind a shelf, the leader responds. It seems like there wasn't any need to worry. "This place has gone to the dogs... and what's this smell? How can she live here?"

  "I know..." Luna has produced her handkerchief and is holding her nose with it again.

  "It's like something died in a corner and was left there." Rolan's words sound harsh, but it's precisely what I think might be the case, too. Not like having organic stuff preserved in jars that might not be airtight, and over long periods of time, will go well unless the person doing it is paying close attention to doing it right.

  "Lady Nightwane?" I'm the one who calls into the store this time. There's no response, and I have a bad feeling about this. Don't tell me they came back and got her already?

  I walk straight towards the door to the storage room and pull it open. The darkness beyond is the same as the one inside the store, but since I see everything at the light levels of a cloudy day, I enter without hesitation. Rolan and Luna haven't caught onto my actions and are still looking through the aisles outside.

  There's a set of stairs going up, as well as a locked door that most likely leads to the basement. I'll check that one out later if I don't find her upstairs. For now, I'll refrain from calling out to her again and train my hearing to pick up on every sound, from the creaking of the floorboards under my feet to the wind blowing through tiny cracks in the building.

  A faint and flickering light illuminates the dark hallway ahead of me, originating from a candle in the breeze shining through a slightly ajar door. Sneaking to it as quietly as I can, I peek inside through the crack.

  In the twilight of the barely illuminated room, I see a naked body lying on dark blue sateen sheets. Mauve purple skin glistening in the candlelight from beads of sweat, two large mounds heaving from accelerated breathing. Their orchid-colored tips are erect from excitement rather than due to the cold air.

  Waves of pleasure run across Lady Nightwane's body as she moves her hand buried between her legs. She tries to stifle her voice with a finger between her teeth, but it still escapes her lips and floats across the room.

  Well, I'm aroused from seeing this.

  "Miss Chloe, where did you go?" Rolan's voice echoes all the way up here from downstairs. Lady Nightwane's long ears twitch, and she instantly stops what she has been doing to look in the direction of the door. Then a shocked expression appears on her face.

  "H-huh?!" She stares me directly in the eyes. "L-Lady Marcott?! What are y-you doing here?!"

  Oh damn, she has night vision, too? It's dark out here, so there's no other explanation for her being able to see me. I guess it makes sense for a dark elf to have it, considering they look like they evolved to be able to fade into the background at night.

  I stand up and enter the room wordlessly, not a hint of remorse in my manners, despite the fact that she caught me peeping on her. Instead of showing indignation, she quickly covers herself with her sheets and looks up at me with anxious, upturned eyes, while retreating slightly. Then she averts her gaze, unable to bear the weight of mine.

  "We were worried about you." I finally speak, just one step away from Lady Nightwane. It's interesting to see that she can't seem to muster the will to scold me, and doesn't even seem to have noticed that Senka is in my arms.

  "Miss Chloe, are you-" Rolan peeks into the room, having climbed the stairs unexpectedly quickly and silently. He freezes at the sight of me standing over the undressed owner of the store.

  "Hm, what is it, Rolan? Did you find either of them?" Luna appears from behind her sweetheart and looks at the situation in the room. It takes a second before her eyes widen at the sight. "W-what are you doing, Miss Marcott?!"

  "Lady Nightwane was having a nightmare, so I woke her up." Turning to the dark elf, I find that she's looking up at me in surprise. I smile a
t her, but it doesn't extend to my eyes. "Isn't that right?"

  She flinches at my expression and begins to tremble, but I can glimpse excitement in her features. I was right on the mark when I thought that she was a masochist. And my attitude is most likely resonating with that part of hers.

  "Y-yes, Lady Marcott is right. I-I was reliving the incident of today." Looking at Luna, she confirms my explanation with a straight face. Even though her stutter may make her appear to be the innocent type, she doesn't even blink her eyes when she lies.

  "Is that so?" For some reason, the half-elf doesn't look convinced and shifts her attention to Rolan, to find that he's still staring at Lady Nightwane. "Hey! What are you still doing here?"

  "H-huh? Ah." Before he can say something, Luna pinches his ear and pulls him out of the room. He disappears around the corner with a pained expression while struggling to maintain his balance.

  "T-thank you." I hear a faint voice mutter beside me and turn to look at its owner. The dark elf is still unable to return my gaze, but it's clear from her expression that she feels indebted to me for some reason.

  "What for?" I think I know exactly what for, but I want her to say it.

  "... f-for not telling them w-what I was doing." Her voice is barely audible, but its tone stirs the bully inside me.

  "Hmmm, what were you doing?" Whispering to her so the others outside can't hear, I bend down, to find Lady Nightwane's eyes. "I'm just a young lady. I won't know what it was that you were doing if you don't say it."

  "A-ah..." Turning her head away from me, she tries to hide her body under the sheets.

  "I'm just kidding. Get dressed. We're going to bring you to the guild for your own safety." Straightening my back, I walk out of the room.

  "You're a sadist, you know that?" Senka whispers to me on our way out.

  "Yes, I am." I respond with a grin.

  Our journey back to the guild was completed in awkward silence. Rolan, carrying Lady Nightwane's bundle of belongings, led the way, followed by Luna, who made sure that he wasn't getting too close to the dark elf. I was walking right beside her, striding confidently and without a worry in the world, while she kept stealing glances at me.