Chapter 9 : A Monumental Day (3)

As expected, as soon as the next day arrived.

“Go, Princess!”

“Princess?!”

Okamiga was literally thrown into chaos by the sudden kidnapping incident.

The assassins who had disguised themselves as maids within the estate and targeted Lady Hoshino.

All of them.

Their bodies were found with one leg severed and their tongues bitten off in an instant suicide.

As soon as they were discovered, they were roughly thrown into a blazing charcoal pit.

And most importantly, the lady herself.

Hoshino was merely asleep and was said to be in no critical condition.

Well, I was just an ‘extra’ anyway.

I figured I could let it slide.

So the situation was safely resolved…

“It was a monster!”

…or so I thought.

“Did you just say a monster, Hoshino?”

“Yes! Mom, I saw it clearly! It was definitely a monster.”

Wait, my lady.

Weren’t you unconscious at that time?

No way… did she see me transform?

A chill ran down my spine for a moment, but I quickly shook my head.

If she had really seen that, she would have immediately exposed my identity in the lord’s room where we ended up alone.

Anyway.

“A monster appeared and took down all the bad guys who tried to kidnap me!”

Her golden eyes gleamed brighter than ever as she began enthusiastically describing my appearance.

“It was wearing a horned mask that was a mix of red and black!”

“Ohh…”

Scribble, scribble.

“It was at least five heads taller than Mom!”

“If it was five heads taller than me… that would be around two meters, I suppose.”

Scribble, scribble.

“And it had golden hair! Really, really beautiful golden hair!”

“That means it’s a humanoid monster? If Hoshino wasn’t mistaken, then that monster might still be within our territory.”

“Wow, really?!”

Scribble, scribble, scribble.

Wait a second, isn’t the usual monster story cliché that no one believes children or that a monster could appear in a safe zone?

Yet, Lady Hoshino was explaining everything she saw, word for word, while Lord Makoto meticulously wrote everything down in her notebook.

‘Not only is she unfazed by a monster appearing in her own territory, but she’s also taking notes… As expected of an S-rank hero?’

Her eerily calm demeanor sent shivers down my spine.

And then—

“Come to think of it, Janghoon.”

“Ah, yes, my lord!”

“Why were you there at that time?”

So, the moment had finally arrived.

Back in Y City, I had coincidentally been near the scene where the violent monster had died.

And now, I was found unconscious near the assassins’ corpses.

It was the perfect setup for suspicion.

Of course, this alone wouldn’t immediately reveal that I was actually a monster.

But it could connect me to my monster form.

‘I need a solid alibi.’

In the quiet tatami room, the two women of Okamiga fixed their gazes on me.

I alternated glances between them and played the role of a ‘loyal retainer.’

“Ah, well, actually, I was in the forest that night because of Lady Hoshino.”

“Because of Hoshino?”

“Me?”

“Yes. After all, weren’t you secretly training by the lake late at night, my lady?”

“…! Ah, you knew?”

No.

I only found out yesterday.

But I acted like I had known all along, exuding the shameless confidence of someone who was always watching over her.

“Of course. I’m always thinking about you, my lady.”

“!!”

When I flashed her a bright smile—

She shot up from her seat.

“O-oh, ohhh…!”

Was she so overjoyed that she jumped up like that?

She looked at me with a flustered expression, then quickly sat back down, averting her gaze in embarrassment.

If I had a daughter before I died, she would’ve been adorably cute like this.

“Hoshino, were you secretly training again at night?”

“U-uh-huh…”

“I told you before, resting is also part of training… Sigh. Well, thanks to Janghoon’s call, we were able to find you sooner.”

It seemed my alibi had been accepted.

With her focus entirely on her daughter now, the lord didn’t question me any further.

‘Phew, that was close…’

If I hadn’t avoided running into Lord Makoto in Y City, I might not have gotten away so easily.

If she had encountered my monster form back then, this suspicion wouldn’t have ended so simply.

And so—

“Starting from our Okamiga estate, we will be strengthening the security of D City for the time being.”

The small… no, the ridiculously huge ball that Janghoon had kicked off.

As a result, D City had to become a heavily guarded metropolitan area right at the start of the new year.

Well, at least thanks to that, Lady Hoshino wasn’t kidnapped.

I felt sorry for the citizens of D City, but hey—saving a child was worth this much, right?

After the small kidnapping incident involving the princess, the new year passed, and February arrived.

And in the world of <Kaiju Frontline>, this February was the season of Lunar New Year.

At the same time—

“Mom, happy birthday!”

“My lord, happy birthday.”

“””We celebrate your 35th birthday!”””

It was also the month of Lord Makoto’s birthday, the head of Okamiga.

“Thank you. Thank you, Seulgi and Janghoon as well.”

“Hehe.”

“It’s nothing, my lord.”

Yes, today was February 4th.

Beyond just the Okamiga estate, the entirety of D City was bustling with celebrations for Lord Makoto’s birthday.

I had never known this in the future because, ten years later, this metropolitan city would no longer exist.

Apparently, D City had a long-standing tradition of holding a festival on the birth date of the Okamiga lords.

The festival’s name? The ‘Okami Festival.’

It was an event dedicated to expressing gratitude to the Okamiga family and their leader for always protecting them from monsters.

And on this day, every member of the Okamiga family—even the servants—could enjoy festival food for free.

“Oh my, is this a cake?”

“Yeah! Janghoon said he knows how to cook, so we made it together.”

“Haha, though to be honest, we relied a lot on the cookbook…”

Somehow, I ended up preparing a birthday gift for the family head together with Miss Hoshino.

After much trial and error, the dish we managed to make was a cake, often called the highlight of a birthday.

I suppose I had some experience with cooking in my past life.

While living alone, I often made my own bread since bakery prices in Korea were quite high. Eventually, I even reached a level where I could make cakes.

Of course, now that I’ve become younger, I couldn’t make a fresh cream cake as delicious as before.

Munch munch.

“Mmm, it’s delicious!”

“?! Master, there’s cream on your cheek…”

“This much can be wiped off. But more importantly, you both have great cooking skills. You could open a bakery together someday.”

Makoto-sama enjoyed the cake we made, finishing it on the spot. She also gently patted my head and Miss Hoshino’s.

“Janghoon! It must have been really delicious! I’ve never seen my mom eat food right away like that before!”

“…I see, Miss.”

This is truly a timeline I want to protect.

So this is the past that the original-story’s tragic Hoshino longed for so much.

Even as an outsider, I could feel the warmth of this household. How much more must Hoshino, its rightful member, have yearned for this?

And yet, in just a little while, both her mother and the entirety of D City will be erased.

Clench.

I won’t let that happen.

Because I will stop it—no matter what.

“I can’t be certain that today is the day. But I can’t be certain that it isn’t, either.”

The monster that the Okami family has sealed for generations…

I had no idea what it was, but I needed to find it.

Of course, even though February was almost over, I hadn’t gathered any information about it.

Still, if I just kept following Miss Hoshino—the person most likely to be involved in the coming incident—I might eventually encounter it.

“Since it’s almost Lunar New Year, we decided to hold the ‘Gaemyeolsik (開滅式)’ tonight to celebrate.”

“Wow! So we’re doing that again? The part where you draw the sword?”

“Fufu. Yes, that’s right.”

Wait.

“…Gaemyeolsik?”

What kind of unheard-of festival name is that?

Could it be some special ritual unique to the world of Kaiju Frontline?

Even though I had played this game religiously for five years, I had never come across this term before.

As I tilted my head in confusion—

“Mom! Then, can I go to the festival with Janghoon while the Gaemyeolsik is happening?”

Wait a minute, Miss. I’d rather investigate the Gaemyeolsik than go to the festival.

“Go ahead. Janghoon, you want to go too, right?”

“Uh, yes?”

This setting wasn’t even in the original story.

But my instincts as a veteran player were screaming at me.

This was it—the foreshadowing behind how D City, once considered one of the best cities in Hero City’s metropolitan area, fell into darkness overnight.

Realizing that, I no longer had any leisure to enjoy a festival.

Helping Makoto-sama prepare for the Gaemyeolsik and gathering information was far more important.

But—

Tug.

Tuuug.

Miss Hoshino clung to my arm, pulling insistently.

As if she had no idea what I was thinking.
As if she just wanted me to go along.

Tuuug. Tug tug!

“Let’s go… Let’s go, Janghoon…”

“Ugh…”

In most monster stories, people who get dragged away like this end up arriving at the scene too late—just in time for a tragic development.

“…Hing…”

Right now, Miss Hoshino was the tragic development.

If I refused, she looked like she might burst into tears any second.

So, in the end—

“…Let’s go, Miss.”

“Yay! Let’s go!”

…Well, she seemed to know about the Gaemyeolsik too.

In that case, I’d just have to play along and get as much information from her as possible.

With that thought in mind, I kept clearing my throat in preparation for any situation that might arise.

“Ahem! Hmm! Ahem!”

“…?”

And so, I followed Miss Hoshino down to the festival grounds of D City.