It has been 10 years, and now, Carmilla had grown into a fine young lady.
Her chest, once proud in her childhood, now bulged out as if to prove her charm, and her dazzling beauty could stir the hearts of men.
Perhaps that’s why.
The super rookie, who has recently been shaking up the hero society alongside Miss Hoshino.
To match her newfound fame, Carmilla had become a public figure, and in order to stay unnoticed, she wore sunglasses and a hat, crossing her arms as she walked through the downtown area of 1 o’clock.
“If we do this, we’ll look completely natural, just like the couples around us.”
“Yeah, that’s definitely a good idea.”
It seemed like she had somewhat succeeded in not attracting attention.
In fact, there were many couples walking around the city with their arms crossed just like this.
However, aside from that, my feelings toward her as a woman, as my romantic interest, were somewhat… complicated.
Carmilla… What on earth did she eat and grow on to get this much ‘bigger’?
“If I say my chest touched… That wouldn’t be okay, right?”
My right arm, buried between her chest valleys, felt particularly warm.
If our identities were discovered, it would surely cause some damage to Carmilla’s image.
She confidently said that she was fine with any paparazzi trouble, continuing to ‘act’ professionally as always.
“We’re going to an aquarium this time.”
“An aquarium?”
“Yeah, we found traces of a monster here.”
In reality, the traces would be discovered soon, but…
Anyway, we continued on our way to the aquarium, where we soon found ourselves walking through a huge passage that felt like we were in the middle of the sea.
“Wow…”
“This is amazing!”
“Yeah, I’ve never been to the sea, so this is the first time I’ve seen so many fish in one place!”
In the original text, the aquarium was only briefly described in a few lines, so I didn’t expect much.
But the inside was covered with the sea from the floor to the ceiling, a place worth every bit of the 120,000 won entrance fee.
“Hey, but, Carmilla.”
“Yes, Janghoon?”
“Well, I already reserved the tickets…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll pay for everything. Today, Janghoon, you just need to follow me and track the traces of the monster.”
In one place, she was Miss Hoshino, and here, she was Carmilla.
I couldn’t help but feel uneasy since I kept getting treated.
However, in this hero world where women protect men, a woman who lets herself be treated by a man is considered petty.
“Janghoon, I bought grilled squid. Want to try some?”
“Grilled squid?! They sell that at the aquarium?”
“Yes! It’s 30,000 won each, and they catch and grill the squid right from the glass wall when you order!”
30,000 won for a grilled squid…?
It was a touristy place with a very reasonable price, but Carmilla, as an A-class hero, kept treating me to food with her abundant resources.
“I’ll definitely pay her back later…”
“Oh, and Janghoon, you should try the eel here too.”
“Eel? Why eel all of a sudden?”
“Because… it’s so fresh! And when will you ever get to eat eel from an aquarium?!”
Ah, the abalone and eel were melting in my mouth.
Especially the abalone was so delicious that I ended up licking my fingers, and each time I did, Carmilla unknowingly tightened her legs.
“Hmmm…”
“Janghoon?”
“I think I found something.”
“…! Really?!”
It would’ve been great if we could just enjoy this date happily, wouldn’t it?
In the aquarium filled with a gorgeous blue light, I wanted to spend such a time forever.
But we were here for a reason.
About an hour after entering the aquarium, we finally found the first clue in this story.
“Look at this.”
“This is… seaweed?”
“Yeah, it’s seaweed.”
While walking through the aquarium passage, I showed Carmilla the seaweed that had slightly grown in a hidden corner, just as it was described in the original text.
She too had a puzzled look.
“This is strange… Isn’t seaweed a type of brown algae that usually grows in seawater?”
“Normally, yes.”
Maybe if it was beyond the aquarium, filled with seawater, it wouldn’t be strange.
But for seaweed to grow in a corner of a passage where people walk, it could only be the result of some ‘mysterious force’.
“The creature we’re looking for this time is a rather terrifying monster that even has the nickname ‘man-eater’ among people.”
“Man-eater?! Then, the monster isn’t…”
“No, it’s not literally a man-eating monster. It’s more of an ‘uncertain strong one.’”
“Uncertain… strong one?”
First of all, this seaweed growing in the corner of the corridor wasn’t intentionally placed by the monster.
It was simply a trace of it having grown unconsciously under the monster’s ‘influence.’
And when we talk about ‘fish,’ almost all species are edible in modern society, but there are still a few fish that could evoke fear.
“There’s a ‘shark monster’ hiding somewhere in this aquarium.”
“A shark?!”
“Yeah. I’m sure of it.”
According to the original story, a shark monster that would soon cause a massacre in a week’s time was definitely hiding somewhere in this aquarium.
“We don’t even know where it came from in the original story. From now on, we need to find where it’s hiding.”
For now, the trace of the seaweed mentioned in the original was found.
That meant the creature was somewhere nearby, right?
To prevent it from causing havoc a week later, I started looking around the area.
But then…
“Janghoon…”
“Eh? What’s wrong, Carmilla?”
“Uh… I was a little late in asking this.”
Carmilla looked at me with a question mark floating above her head.
“How exactly did you know that there was a shark monster here?”
“Oh, oh?!”
Right.
Come to think of it, I haven’t explained that yet.
The other day, I mentioned at 1 AM that I thought there was a monster here.
And she immediately set up a meeting.
She was almost like a master detective, truly surprised when I actually found traces of the monster.
“Carmilla. Do you know who I am?”
“…!”
I had already thought of an alibi for moments like this.
“I’m an honor student in the Monster Studies Department.”
“Yes, of course, I know that. But still, you’re just a student…”
Of course, just hearing that wouldn’t make for a convincing alibi.
So to make a bigger impact, instead of being logical, it was time to appeal to emotions.
“When I graduate from university…”
“When you graduate?”
“Carmilla. I was planning to challenge myself to be your ‘sidekick.'”
“?! M-My sidekick?!”
Sidekick.
Like Robin to Batman, a sidekick is someone who actively supports the hero.
In the <Monster Frontline> universe, sidekicks were an actual profession.
Since Carmilla was still a rookie, she didn’t have one yet.
And while I was half-lying, I said this to get through the situation.
“I’m a guy, so even if I became a sidekick, I wouldn’t be able to fight alongside you.”
“Janghoon…”
“So, instead, I trained my deduction skills as much as I could. Because if I ever became your sidekick, I wanted to be helpful in ways beyond combat.”
“If only my lower half stood firm—Ah, no, no! Janghoon, just having you by my side is enough!”
“No, Carmilla. If it’s just that, then I’m not a sidekick—I’m just a friend.”
I felt guilty.
Carmilla was wiping tears from her eyes, touched by the idea that her childhood friend was preparing to be her sidekick.
If someone saw this, they’d think I was proposing to her or something.
‘Even if it’s for the sake of monster hunting… Is this really a “good lie”?’
Mr. Good Intentions, is this really okay?
What if, in the end, I just end up as a regular researcher at the Hero Association instead of a sidekick?
Leaving it to my future self… feels like a disaster waiting to happen.
And the person most likely to go berserk if they found out—
“Uh, Carmilla…”
“I know. You want me to keep this a secret from Princess Hoshino, right?”
sniffle
“Yeah. Please, I’m counting on you…”
Her childhood playmate suddenly becoming someone else’s sidekick?
Especially when she’s a hero too?
And given that Hoshino ranked higher than Carmilla, she had a strong sense of superiority.
If rumors spread that I wanted to be Carmilla’s sidekick despite her lower rank…
“Grrooowl. It’s mating season. Get over here!”
“AAAAH!”
…I’d rather not imagine what would happen.
Just thinking about it made my legs go weak.
Well, at least my detective act seemed somewhat convincing now.
“Hmm… But if you become my sidekick, what should I call you? Since I’m Creator Girl, should you be Creator Man? Or since you don’t fight, No-Fight Man?”
Carmilla was already brainstorming my sidekick name like she was drinking kimchi soup too soon.
And so, together with her, I set off to find the shark monster lurking somewhere in this aquarium.
Meanwhile—
In front of the largest glass tank in the aquarium…
“…Mm… I see… I see.”
A mysterious figure cloaked in a long coat.
He or she was standing there, looking at all the marine creatures inside the massive tank, speaking softly to themselves.