I Will Definitely Return
"I will definitely come back... ***"
"Unni...?"
On that day when the tentacles assaulted Rotana Village. A heavy downpour hit at dawn, and Aness came to her senses, shivering from the cold. Her sister's voice, Praga's, lingered in her ears.
The girl, soaked to the bone by the rain, painfully shoved aside the tentacle dog that had covered her body. Splash. The dead dog flopped into a puddle. Aness's hands trembled as she relived the sensation of taking a life. A small knife gripped in her small hand—no adult had ever given such a dangerous weapon to a girl who needed protection. Holding the knife had been Aness's choice alone.
And even after the monster that threatened her lay dead, the girl stood frozen for a long time, eyes wide open.
"Unni, Dad."
The girl's inner world shattered like glass, only to piece itself back together again and again. Before her eyes was "something" that had harmed her precious family—something so dangerous that a twelve-year-old girl couldn't yet comprehend or face it. She knew of its existence, nothing more, yet she couldn't escape the shock.
This killed my sister. These things killed our family.
Stab. With the eyes of a wild beast, Aness plunged the knife into the tentacle dog's throat again and again. Stab, stab, stab, stab!
"Aaaah! Aaaaah!!"
Even pouring out her pent-up hatred couldn't empty it. The girl suddenly realized.
It's already dead.
Venting on something already dead wouldn't make her feel better. Her hometown was burning, a place she could never return to.
Aness left the forest and walked a long way to reach the guards' barracks.
"Help! Our village was attacked by monsters!"
"Monsters? You mean orcs or goblins?"
"No...! Something scarier and more horrifying..."
"We'll pass it on to the adventurers' guild."
"If you don't go now, the villagers are in danger!! Please help. Okay?"
"Heh heh..."
The guards just averted their eyes awkwardly. Aness's situation was pitiful—she'd lost her shoes and walked barefoot all the way to Furnaul—but... Subjugating unknown monsters was the adventurers' job. When you couldn't rely on them, the villagers handled it themselves. That was why vigilante groups existed.
"The adventurers' guild has much stronger and reliable big brothers and sisters than us. They'll help."
"When? How long do I have to wait?"
"Well... until someone takes the request..."
"That's too late..."
"Calm down, little one."
A hairy hand landed on Aness's small shoulder.
"Eek...!"
"You look hurt bad. Uncle'll heal you up and give you something tasty. Come this way."
"N-no!"
Aness fiercely shook off the man groping her body and glared at him.
"...Annoying brat. Then get lost."
...Just like it.
Just like that dog. No, no different.
Adults are supposed to protect me? Don't make me laugh. I'll choose for myself!
"Hey, you little bitch...!!"
Aness swiftly stole the guard's coin pouch and bolted out of the checkpoint.
"Stop right there!"
"Hah, hah, hah...!"
She ran blindly, shaking off the pursuit. Well-dressed people stared at her curiously. It didn't feel real—the running, her aching feet.
"Damn it! All kinds of tricks these days."
"Guards can't catch one kid? We're gonna get reamed."
"Just wait till we catch her. That dog of a girl."
Several days passed. Stealing from the guards and fleeing didn't become a big incident, but surviving in Furnaul as a twelve-year-old girl without guardians was incredibly hard. Just like a lone tentacle monster tossed into the forest.
Here, buildings crowded out trees, and people's cold stares formed a barrier rejecting her. Those who approached had ulterior motives. Unlike slum kids, Aness had smooth skin and a very pretty face, so plenty of men approached under the pretense of caring for her, trying to touch her body.
The naive young girl realized how repulsive that was, probably in that forest. Maybe because she'd seen something similar in the tentacle dog's eyes.
Late at night, adventurers' guild. Empty, the receptionist alone was tearing down old request posters to update them.
Aness appeared and blurted out.
"Um."
"Yes?"
"Don't take that one down, please."
The receptionist looked at the request she was removing, then down at Aness, hooded deeply.
"...I'll pay to renew it."
It was the request her father, Frindel, had posted. Just as it expired, Aness asked to renew it.
"Rotana Village has a very dangerous monster living there now. Add that too, please."
"...Do you have an adventurer's license?"
"No..."
"We can't post unverified info. Sorry."
"...Then at least add the leftover money to the reward. Prepayment."
"......What happened? Wanna talk about it?"
Aness fled as the receptionist approached.
"Ah..."
She needed money. More than just to survive. Then she could hire strong adventurers to save her sister.
But no one in Furnaul would hire a child like Aness. Even staying up nights for weeks, she could barely scrape by.
Aness crumpled her empty coin pouch, stuffed it in her pocket, curled up in an alley, and sobbed for a long time.
I'll definitely save you. Unni, Dad... Uncle Rangl, everyone...
Her tears wouldn't stop. Her heart already knew how impossibly difficult that wish was.
"Aness."
Someone called the girl. It couldn't be. No one here called her kindly.
That warm voice sounded just like her sister's, making her big eyes well up and tremble.
"Unni...?"
"It's Tia-unni."
Tia quietly extended her hand and hugged Aness, enveloping her in healing light.
"Adventurer unni! What about my sister—my unni?!"
"She's alive."
"Really?"
"Yes. And you'll see her soon. Praga's on her way to this city."
Aness knew it wasn't just comforting words. If true, it was wonderful. To reunite with her sister, whom she'd thought gone forever...
"Really? Tia-unni!"
"Yes."
"But... why are you crying, unni?"
"Unni had some sad things happen too..."
A little later. Aness's sister really arrived in Furnaul. With the White Flame Knights, who had slain the monster.
Strangely, it didn't hurt. Maybe because it turned to ash before I could feel it? Suddenly, pitch darkness, and nothing left of my body to sense.
Having experienced death before, it felt oddly familiar. Would I just return to Mother's embrace and sleep like this?
...Not yet. Too early to crawl into Mother's arms.
I recalled my conversation with Tia in Furnaul.
......
"Listen carefully to what I say from now on, Tia."
"Yes!!"
"I'm going to die soon. To the humans."
My words were so unexpected that I could picture Tia's flustered reaction.
"You can't die... If you die, Chokgoe, then me! What about us?"
"You can go back to living among people."
"That's impossible now."
Tia's pussy clenched tight.
"I can never forget what you taught me... forever. Take responsibility."
"Of course I'll do everything I can to survive."
I planned to struggle. Use every tool I had.
"But there's a high chance I'll be subjugated, and the humans will win."
"You don't know till you try. We've made it this far. You and us..."
"Just luck."
I figured I'd have to go out like my big sis. Scouting the royal palace convinced me: holed up in the forest, I couldn't fend off human attacks. Even if I did, I'd hit a limit fast. I didn't know how many powerhouses this kingdom had, but my guess was close to certainty.
"Why are you so sure you'll lose...?"
"Because the opponents are humans."
Tia clamped her mouth shut. Even with my firm tone, she'd surely say we'd try our best together. I knew she wouldn't accept my death.
"I already said I'm not just sitting still."
"Then...?"
"I'll find a way to survive assuming defeat."
After scouting the palace, this conclusion was inevitable. In a situation with limited movement, terrain that couldn't guarantee my motherboards' safety—I had to leave it to luck.
"I'll tell the other motherboards too, but Tia. When the human rescue team comes, don't resist. Let them rescue you peacefully."
"But..."
"Got it? Just live here. Like a bad dream—forget me for a bit."
"......"
Tia looked sad. Just at the thought of forgetting me temporarily, she made that face. It hurt my heart too.
"I'll lose. But the motherboards can't get hurt or die. So..."
I planned to stress maximum cooperation with humans to Tia and the others. Tia had already reached human settlements, so she was relatively safe—as long as her secret didn't leak.
The others... Better they return to daily life, accepting my crisis as inevitable, than fight and die for me. No need to instruct acting; rescuers wouldn't suspect. No one would imagine women bonded with a monster abandoning human life for it.
But ordering them to fight and protect me? Threatening with tentacle offspring in their wombs like with Praga was an option, but not good.
First, women I'd had sex with were progressing to motherboard status, unfit for combat. Beth and Tia's levels had dropped significantly. Libia and Epi were leveling down too—insufficient against the subjugation force ahead.
Better they infiltrate human society for the future.
"What about you, Chokgoe?"
"I'll do what I can, and if not, split my body."
"Split your body?"
After gaining Flesh Transformation, I'd tested moving my consciousness elsewhere. A gamble, but possible.
"I'll transfer my consciousness to one of the scattered body parts."
"......That's possible?"
"No need to say it, but this is a real, real secret. Top-level."
"Yes."
Tia nodded.
"A secret just between you and me."
"Well, I could tell the other motherboards..."
"......"
"......Fine. Fine. I won't tell."
I hurriedly backpedaled, feeling her pout intensely.
Anyway. Transferring the main consciousness—who knew how long it'd take, or if it'd even work fully. I'd moved parts, but never the whole.
"Last resort. I'll try everything, and if death looms, transfer it."
"Then we just find your new body?"
Tia was quick on the uptake.
"Yeah. Not sure how it'll go—I might contact you first."
"Then... I'll adventure, build strength. To protect you."
"No need to push that hard—your level dropped."
Tia's devotion sometimes stunned even me. Leveling up a downed body again?
"I've always been protected. Rarely voiced what I wanted."
Before me, who protected Tia? Jade and Beth?
"Meeting you changed me. Pouring my heart into someone who desires and loves me... that's my joy."
"You love me?"
"I love you."
"What if your feelings are manipulated? Never thought that?"
I hadn't expected this talk, but Tia opening up pulled me in.
Tia looked troubled briefly, then smiled brightly, true to herself.
"Even if so, it's not cheating. You made me fall for you with your power."
"......"
"More women will fall for you, but to prove I'm the best among them..."
Imagining something, Tia narrowed her eyes in a seductive smile. Too beautiful—I couldn't think straight.
"I can do anything now. That's the difference from my old self."
"Don't be too sad if I'm gone from this world a while."
"If you promise to definitely return."
"I will definitely come back."
Tia closed her eyes, reassured.