The Tentacle Awakens

by J. J. Pavlov

  Oi, I'll seriously kill you, if you don't stop!

  "I understand..." Luna finally admits that her sweetheart has been selling his case really well. So, this means we're going to the capital.

  "Big man, Sigurd, you're fine with this, right?" Rolan turns around to the men of the party. I would have thought that he already asked them, but apparently, he didn't.

  "Of course, I'll follow you wherever it takes you." Gram replies with a grin that lifts his mustache on both sides. That would have sounded quite romantic if it hadn't been Rolan he was talking to.

  "I bet the girls in the capital are really beautiful." The bard smiles while playing a note on his lute. Die, you enemy of all women!

  "What about you, Miss Chloe?" The leader finally turns to me.

  "I'm going to follow you, no matter where you go." I recycle the big man's words and use a tone to make it sound misleading on purpose. Luna stares at me with big eyes, her mouth flapping open and closed without a tone coming out. It's always fun watching her acting that way.

  "And you, Lady Nightwane?" Turning to Daica, he finally addresses her. Nobody has noticed that something seems to be on her mind, but now that the attention is on her, they finally do. "... are you alright, Lady Nightwane?"

  "H-huh?" She looks up from picking at her food and blinks. "Ah. I-I'm fine. Thank you." She doesn't say anything more after that, and everybody exchanges worried expressions. It seems that right now isn't an opportune time to ask her.

  "Well, it's still a while before we can depart, since we need to stock up on funds first." Shrugging, Rolan postpones the final decision for another day.

  Chapter 17 - Character Routes

  The party splits up afterward, arranging to gather for dinner again. Rolan and Luna are going on a small quest that only requires the two of them. I feel like it's an excuse for some alone time between the lovebirds, but apparently, the funds really are low, and they're going on a request that requires Luna's magic.

  Gram and the bard each depart for their own business as well, to gather information regarding the aftermath of yesterday's raid. Especially the big man has to see how his friends among the city watch are doing since he knows that some of them were most likely involved in the slave trade.

  That leaves Daica, Kamii and me to ourselves. I'll take this opportunity to get to the bottom of the former's strange behavior then. When I turn around to confront the dark elf in question, she stands up with perfect timing and walks away wordlessly.

  Huh?

  Really, what's going on with her? Alright, if she's going to play it like that, I'll follow her wherever she goes today!

  I carry Senka in my arm, and obviously, Kamii doesn't leave my side. Just like yesterday, everyone's eyes are on her, and while her new cloak mostly covers her cursed arm, its sheer size makes it impossible to hide completely. A little is peeking out at the bottom, and some people do notice it. Their gazes are filled with disgust or anxious apprehension. I'm feeling a weight on my shoulders from those stares, even though I'm not their target. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like for Kamii.

  Luckily, she's concentrating on clinging to my arm with her left, while watching the road before her, careful not to trip in her new shoes. She doesn't notice the rude and sometimes even hostile gazes, though I feel that it wouldn't bother her even if she did. She spent more than a decade as a slave, so people staring shouldn't affect her much anymore.

  I just hope nobody does something stupid like throwing a rock at her. Because if that happened, I'd flip my lid and we'd have a bloodbath on our hands.

  Daica isn't heading towards the tavern and is walking in another direction instead. I follow around ten steps behind her to see what destination she has in mind in her current state, or if her feet are just carrying her around on a walk of self-discovery. Then, I realize that she's going somewhere specific, and it's a place I've been to as well: Her store.

  Ingrid told me that it was completely trashed yesterday. Daica overheard it at the time and seemed to be quite shocked by the news. We may have gotten her out just in time that night, and saved her from being taken away by the kidnappers. Now that everything is over, she may have remembered that her store still lies in pieces.

  I follow her into the street that leads up to her storefront and even from afar I can see that the door was broken out of its hinges. She doesn't stop to regard the state of her property and steps inside. I quickly follow her and peek into the darkness of the unlit interior. The smell wafting out from inside has become even worse than before, despite the fact that the door has been open for more than a day now. Kamii makes an appalled face as she tugs on my sleeve, signaling that she doesn't want to go in.

  But this is my opportunity to speak to Daica, so I give the little dark elf an apologetic smile and step inside. Obviously, she follows me without hesitation, even though she doesn't like it.

  I catch a glimpse of night-colored long hair disappearing into the back of the store. She did say the money I paid her for Senka was hidden somewhere in the store so that she could rebuild it in case it was destroyed after her kidnapping - and she succeeded in returning afterward.

  We plan to leave this city, so that won't be necessary anymore, though.

  A crunching noise emerges from under my feet, as I step into the store. I look down and find that many glass jars have been thrown off the shelves and shattered on the floor, with their spilled contents creating a sludge of rotting organic material. That's where the smell is coming from, huh? That's plain disgusting.

  Walking inside without paying it too much heed, I almost slip on something squishy and peer down again. It's one of those worm-like things I noticed before, but now that they're no longer distorted by the curvature of the glass, I can tell what they are.

  Nope, I didn't see anything.

  "What... is that?" Kamii points at the things, but I pull her along.

  "Doesn't matter right now." It's too early for her to learn about this, and she'll be old enough in never - even if she may actually be older than I am. She doesn't need to know about these things if she stays with me, as I'll teach her something far better.

  Being more attentive about where I step, I navigate through the store and towards the door leading to the storage. I find it broken down as well and the room behind it is in shambles, too. They really did a number on this place when they couldn't find their target.

  When we turn the corner to the stairs, I find that even the door leading into the basement has been pried open. Since I didn't hear footsteps from upstairs, I assume she went down. In other words, she hid the money somewhere underground. Let's hope it wasn't found and taken by the thugs.

  I turn around to tell Kamii to wait here, but seeing her looking at me with upturned eyes, I can tell that at this time she doesn't want to leave my side even for a moment. Oh well, it's not like there are any dangers down there, but I did want to surprise Daica by sneaking up on her.

  Thus, we descend the stairs, the wooden boards creaking under every step. There's no way anyone could miss our approach. In the complete darkness below ground, my night vision is just about able to keep everything at a discernible level. I remember that I had an apprehension against using it only a week or so ago, but now it's become second nature for me to rely on it when the situation calls for it.

  There are far fewer signs of destruction down here, as the kidnappers must have given up after coming this far. In the darkness ahead of us, I spot Daica standing among the dusty and rotten shelves. Apparently, she found the money, which she hid in a sealed jar, inside another bigger jar. The evidence for that lies broken before her.

  "It's still here." Relief is reflected on her face as she holds the plentiful leather pouch to her even more plentiful chest.

  "Are you going to rebuild the store?" I ask through the dusty darkness, and she turns around to me in shock.

  "H-huh? Miss Marcott?" It seems she didn't hear our approach at all. Even if she didn't try to get caught on purpose be
fore, she wouldn't have gotten away with reflexes and awareness of her surroundings that abysmal. "A-and Kamii?"

  Her expression relaxes when she sees us. She then looks down at the big pouch in her hands and furls her brows.

  "... I don't know." After a thoughtful pause, she replies to my inquiry. "You're going to the capital, aren't you?"

  So she was paying attention, huh? Her question is directed at both me and Kamii. In reality, she could just decide to break her side of our verbal contract of her becoming mine. But it seems she wants to stay with her older sister after finally being reunited with her again. And as far as I know, that sister wants to stay with me.

  "Yes, I want to attend the Royal Academy." I need to learn magic and countermeasures against it if I want to survive in this world.

  "And you, Kamii?" Shifting her gaze to her older sister, Daica wants to hear her answer directly.

  "I'm... going with Mahkotoh." For the first time today, the little dark elf separates from me and steps forward while making this statement in a most determined tone. It seems when nobody else is around, she's actually much more mature and acts the big sister part.

  She has very clearly made up her mind to remain by her savior's side. In reality, I only freed her from the cage, while it was everyone else that did the work of opening the way through the building. Not like I couldn't have done it all on my own, though.

  "I thought you would say that." Closing her eyes, the big dark elf smiles to herself knowingly. Then, as if having come to a resolution, she opens them again and fixes her gaze on me. Their mesmerizing glow in the darkness draws me into their depths. I can't feel any nervousness in her anymore. "Then so will I. Let me join you for a while longer, Miss Marcott."

  "I appreciate it, but..." I begin, and her facade immediately crumbles at the word 'but'. Apparently, she's misunderstanding that phrasing, thinking that I don't want her to accompany me. "... was that what you've been troubled by since last evening?"

  "H-huh?" She can already hear it in my tone, that I didn't consider her decision to be such a big deal, and becomes increasingly flustered. "I-I was really worrying about it."

  Daica goes on to explain that dark elves are an incredibly long-lived race of people with incredible wanderlust. While some settle down for extended periods of time, most are loners who travel the world on their own. It's not rare for siblings to get separated for decades, if not all their lives, so it wouldn't have been strange if she and Kamii went separate ways again after their short reunion.

  However, since I fulfilled my part of the promise so quickly, and helped her save the person she entered a contract with, she now has to fulfill her part.

  "Wait, what do you mean, fulfill your part?" I tilt my head and raise an eyebrow.

  "I-I thought me b-becoming yours was a figure of speech. That y-you just wanted to..." Her cheeks flush as she looks anywhere but into my eyes. Well, that reaction doesn't leave much room for imagination as to what she's trying not to say. Unexpectedly, same-sex relationships don't seem to go against their culture or religion, or Daica is just very open-minded.

  "Oh, I do." Stating with a matter of fact expression, I confirm her thoughts. "But that's not what I meant by becoming mine."

  "Huh?" It's now Daica's turn to tilt her head in wonder, as she blinks her eyes from lack of comprehension.

  "By becoming mine, you'll be mine for as long as I say so." I step forward and lift up her chin so that we can make eye contact. "Body and soul."

  A shiver runs through her at these words and my touch. Once again, I'm reminded of the fact that she hasn't felt anybody touch her directly in a long time before I came around.

  Yesterday, I saw that Kamii was able to touch her bare skin as well, so my theory that demons and other corrupted beings aren't affected was proven right. But the two sisters had been separated for eleven years, and this is a human nation, where demons are entirely absent. She could most likely never touch anybody in all this time.

  "So, what are you going to do with that money?" I step back and break the moment of magic. Daica blinks a few times in confusion before she blushes again.

  "Ah... umm... s-since I'll be coming with you, I shall use it to finance-kyaun!" She begins to explain, but I give her a light chop on the forehead. That noise just now was so cute! "D-did I make some kind of mistake?"

  "It's your money, think about what you want to do with it." The answer should be quite simple since I don't think it's a big stretch in this world.

  "What do you mean?" She asks innocently. I have to wonder about her mental age; maybe long-lived species remain childlike for many more years than humans, who have to mature faster to deal with life. That sounds like a pretty likely explanation.

  "Well, you could relocate your store to the capital. Not like there's anything left in here for you to take along, or is there?" The store did look really smashed, and I'd prefer if she didn't bring along some poorly sealed jar that stinks of rot. I'll make sure to give her tips in that regard when she does end up opening a new store in the capital.

  Daica makes a face of realization, and I find myself smiling. She's so cute, even when she looks physically mature. I want to do something with her soon...

  Kamii tugs on my sleeve when I seem to float off into a world of fantasy, and I return to reality. Did she notice me having perverted thoughts about her little sister?

  "Let's go back to the guild." I turn to her and pet her hair with an uneasy smile.

  On our way back to the guild, I find myself flanked by two beautiful and cute dark elves clinging to my arms. Even more eyes are on us than have been before, and I can still feel the stares of those who notice Kamii's cursed arm. But there are also many directed at Daica and her otherworldly charm since she appears more joyful than she did when walking through the streets alone earlier today.

  Now that I have time to look around more, I find that nothing changed in this city, even though there was such an intense battle yesterday. It just goes to show how little effect it had on the bigger scale. I'm sure that soon another group will take up the illegal slave trade; as long as there's demand, someone will find a way to provide the supplies.

  Having such idle thoughts, we do some window-shopping along the way back to the adventurer guild. I don't have any money to buy anything, and it doesn't feel right asking Daica to give me some, after telling her to use that money to set up a new shop in the capital.

  "Hey." Senka suddenly whispers to me. Kamii's ears twitch, and she spins her head around to look up to me with a questioning gaze. The doll girl doesn't continue since she realizes that she was overheard just now.

  While I pet the little dark elf's hair, I look around; there must be a reason for why Senka decided to speak up right here. Then I notice that we're in front of the same tailor as the one we went to yesterday. Putting two and two together, I assume she wants a new outfit, too. She couldn't ask me yesterday since the bard was around. The gothic lolita dress she's wearing now is of poor quality, has some holes eaten by moths, and it gives her the typical appearance of a creepy and cursed doll.

  Maybe it's good to go with an image change, then. Her current outfit is also kind of bulky because of the wide skirt with the petticoat underneath it, which makes it hard to carry her.

  "Daica~" I turn to the big dark elf on my left and blow into her ear. She flinches at the sensation and shies away with wide eyes.

  "W-w-what is it, Miss Marcott?" Her stutter is even more prominent after my tease.

  "Don't you think we should get Senka a new outfit?" I lift the doll girl up demonstratively. Seeing her, Daica goes pale and remembers that she's alive. Seems like she had forgotten it over everything that happened ever since she learned about it that night.

  "Y-yes, let's do that." With a nervous smile and her eyes fixed on the doll girl, she replies tensely.

  We're back at the tailor's place for the second time within two days. This time, he's wooed by Daica's beauty, so he's rather cooperative again. When he
learns that it's for Senka, I hear him click his tongue, but as a professional businessman, he doesn't let it show on his face. If he were a true professional, I wouldn't have noticed anything at all, though.

  Fortunately, this tailor has a lot of sizes already prepared. While I always refer to her as a doll, she's actually around the size of a ten-year-old child. Of course, there's nothing exactly her size, but that can be arranged unless it's too expensive.

  Kamii can actually be persuaded to leave my side and remain with her little sister while I go into the changing room with Senka. The tailor stares at me with an eyebrow raised, as I close the curtain behind me. I doubt he suspects anything, but going into the changing room just to dress up a doll is quite strange indeed.

  While she's taking off her clothes, I notice that she has stitches all over her body, not just on her cheeks and hands. The large and sometimes messy cuts look like they didn't heal before she became what she is now. Maybe she really is some kind of zombie.

  I'm gripped by fascination, and while she's wrestling with pulling her old dress over her head, I stick my finger between the stitches of the biggest one on her exposed stomach without thinking. I feel something soft and assume it's an organ.

  Senka lets out a strange yelp and rips the dress in two, before grabbing my hand and pulling my finger out of her stomach. Then she breaks my wrist in the same move, displaying incredible strength I didn't expect she had.

  "What are you doing?!" She hisses at me, knowing to keep it down so that the storekeeper can't hear her.

  "... sorry." I look at my dangling hand with a blank expression. While I reform my broken bones, I can still feel the sensation on my finger and wonder. "What did I-"

  She delivers a punch to my abdomen, and I feel the impact transfer into the depths of my body. Since right now I'm using a human female's template, I can tell exactly where she was aiming with that most indicative hit.