He told me to look around, but how could an outsider like me possibly know where to go or what to do?
I didn’t feel comfortable asking strangers to show me around either. I’m not the outgoing type who can just strike up a conversation with anyone—honestly, I’m actually pretty scared of talking to people. Afraid they’ll yell at me, scare me, snap at me, or suddenly hit me with “What does a little kid know?”
Sigh. It’s not like I’m completely out of options, but when everything goes smoothly, I still can’t seem to say what I actually mean.
I sat on a bench in the Central Plaza, zoning out. The bright, fresh scenery before my eyes made me feel especially at ease.
But feeling too relaxed isn’t a good thing either. I needed to find something to do—even if it was just grinding monsters or doing chores.
“Looking for trouble when there’s none—that’s really dumb,” I muttered with a bitter smile, pinching my cheeks and twisting them up and down to try and snap myself out of it.
This world wasn’t all that different from AWO. The only real difference, I suppose, was the fact that the human race had already gone extinct. As a human myself, learning that my race had long died out in this world was pretty sad—but it didn’t change much.
After all, who’s to say who’s really human?
“…Speaking of monster girls… should I even call them that? Or should I keep using ‘demi-humans’? But succubi exist here too, and yet there are also… Do they only eat vegetables in their daily diet? I mean, some races probably can’t eat the meat of their own kind, right? Like rabbit girls and rabbits…”
I figured it was possible, but in practice, they probably just don’t. Monster girls with carnivore traits still eat meat, omnivorous monster girls decide for themselves, and herbivorous monster girls do the same.
Honestly, why am I even overthinking this?
I swung my legs back and forth. They were so short they couldn’t quite reach the ground. For some reason, I got stubborn about it and insisted on stretching my toes until they touched.
“Almost there—mm~ huh, ooh~ just about to reach it.”
Only later, when I was writing this down, did I remember—I’d been the center of attention for quite a few “people” at the time, and while doing my weird little routine, I was also making some kind of sound that could easily be misunderstood.
Why on earth was I so fixated on such a trivial thing? My interests are seriously weird.
“Ha~ Looks like I need to work on my flexibility.”
Really, it was just that my legs were short—nothing to do with flexibility or stretching.
I raised my arms in a big stretch and looked up, hoping to gaze into the distance—only to find that someone had appeared right in front of me without me noticing.
Extremely revealing clothing… no, that’s just a tube top and panties, isn’t it?! And that tube top isn’t even covering much of those two massive things! Yellow fur, a tufted yellow tail swaying behind her, a pair of beast ears perched on her head, and… she’s tall. Really tall. This has to be about a hundred and ninety centimeters.
I froze in place, not daring to move a single step. My fear of huge things was completely exposed in that moment—so big, so tall…
“Yo! Young lady!”
She called out. My eyes went wide, and I still couldn’t move.
“Looking at you like that—are you nervous or something?”
I shook my head to snap myself out of it.
“Hello. You just startled me a little, that’s all.”
“Yo! Never thought there’d be a day when I could scare someone!”
She scratched her head, and that’s when I noticed her hands were completely covered in beast paws. So she really was a monster girl after all.—What am I even thinking?! I already saw the animal features—of course she’s a monster girl!
“Hmm, hmm~ You look a little different.”
She looked me up and down, sighing in amazement while seeming to think of someone.
“Water-dragonscale hair, no fish tail… a body like a goblin’s, but the skin is really white… kinda like Iris, but no horns on your head… eyes are golden, same as mine? But no fur either. Ah, I just don’t get it.”
She sat down beside me, troubled, as if I’d become a puzzle she couldn’t solve. I’d been listening to her mutter this whole time—sounded like she was comparing my features to someone.
“…Hello, my name is Hatsuki Juuri. Actually, I’m—”
“Hello, hello! I’m Fox, the keeper of the Monstr Shrine. I’ve been watching you from the stairs over there for quite a while.”
Watching me? What for? Was I really that strange?
Thinking back on it, I probably was the strangest thing in this place. No animal features, and not well-known like Karimel either.
“Ah, I see. To be honest, I’m actually—”
“Have you seen Karimel? You know, the one who—”
“You mean the little boy with short red hair and a blue vest? I know him. I just sparred with him a bit ago.”
I was getting tired of being interrupted, so I gave her a taste of her own medicine.
“Oh, so did you win or did Karimel win?” That question brought back the battle from just an hour ago—it really got my blood pumping.
“He won. He’s really strong—the match got my blood pumping too.”
“(Suddenly) Right?! How could you not get excited fighting him!”
“Oh, yeah.”
I couldn’t help but feel like her idea of “excited” and mine were two completely different things.
“Well then. Miss Fox, I’ll be going now. Oh, and I forgot to mention—I’m a human. Also, I wanted to ask, are there any unexplored ruins nearby?”
She paused for a moment, thinking carefully.
“…I know there’s a ruin deep in the forest. But since the shrine isn’t very high up, I can never see the end of the forest.”
Ruins. No matter what, exploring ruins is always exciting. Especially since I might find something useful to help me out.
I thanked her and turned to leave.
Then I heard a faint, drifting exclamation from behind—
“She’s a human?!” Loud volume, high pitch, clear articulation—maybe not so “faint and drifting” after all.
Well, it was probably the first time she’d ever heard of a human existing besides Karimel…
I didn’t feel superior about it at all. In the old days, anything special got labeled as “abnormal”—either praised to the heavens or treated with cold stares and contempt everywhere.
My steps didn’t stop. It felt like I was expanding the “fog of war” in a game—the only reason I’d made it this far was because I could ignore all the monster girls I’d passed along the way.
—Otherwise, I’d probably still be stuck in the princess’s infinite loop, unable to break free.
“Ah, I’ve gone too far.” I looked around—completely unfamiliar surroundings. Dense grass stretched as far as the eye could see, and the tree canopy blocked out the midday sky. “It’s not that dark, though. I must’ve wandered into some forest.”
(—It wasn’t me! Clan leaders, please, you have to believe me!)
Fleeting images and sounds surfaced. I realized my hallucinations were getting worse, so I quickly shook my head to focus…
The forest was so dense. The Spiritlight Woods were like this too.
I’m not the nostalgic type—at least not now.
Sometimes memories of the past do pop up, but I know one thing for sure: they’re never coming back. Rather than wasting time on so-called “classics,” it’s better to face reality clearly and compare—the beauty of the old days versus the thorns before the gold—which one is really worth your time?
Suddenly a fierce gust of wind blew through. I covered my face to keep leaves out of my eyes, ignoring the cool sensation below.
“Ahh!! The boar got away!”
A sharp cry followed by a series of rustling noises—I looked toward the source.
On a forest path, a fat black boar suddenly burst out. The two tusks on its head spoke of how dangerous it was, and one of its muddy yellow eyes was already injured. Gray-brown bristles mixed with white fur gave this individual a wild, feral charm.
It really was a fine-looking animal—would’ve been better if it weren’t being hunted.
Seeming to find a way out, the boar scraped its hooves against the ground. Its idle animation finished, and it charged straight at me.
At the same time, another figure leaped out from the grass where the boar had emerged. I didn’t pay them much mind—my attention was locked on the boar.
Logically speaking, if a boar that size charged into a village…
“No. Stop right there.”
I extended my hand, channeling my force outward, directing it straight at the boar’s head. When the timing was right, I slammed it hard into the ground.—With a thunderous boom, all I could see was the boar’s limbs flailing wildly, its head buried in the earth, completely unable to move.
Good thing I stopped it—otherwise the whole village would’ve been thrown into chaos.
“Are you a water dragon? You really saved me. Phew!”
A moment later, the owner of that figure finally reached me. I had a feeling this would be another unusual person.
Sure enough—I mean, what normal person has bear ears, fully bear-paw hands, stands a hundred and ninety centimeters tall, and can make the ground shake with those thick legs?
Absurd. The world is vast, and nothing is impossible.
“Thank you!” She was panting hard, completely out of breath, but still didn’t forget to thank me. “If it weren’t for you, that thing probably would’ve escaped into the village.”
So tall. And she’s big too—that green gardener’s outfit is pretty stylish. Well, I don’t really know what “stylish” means, but I do like her look. Especially that red bow on her chest… it’s really big.
“Cough! No need to thank me. I just happened to be passing by.”
Honestly, for an unarmed young girl, encountering a charging boar—running away should’ve been the priority. How would she even have the ability to fight back?
“My intuition tells me you’re a very responsible person.”
“What makes you say that?”
I consider myself selfish and self-serving, and I’ve never taken other people’s words seriously. Anyone who’d spent even an hour with me would probably know that.
“Hmm… intuition?”
“Why are you phrasing it as a question?! Whether I’m responsible or not aside—I just instinctively thought this was the right thing to do.”
Being honest makes me feel better. I hope this conversation ends soon.
