In a sentence that almost bordered on a threat, the monster sat quietly in the middle of the road like a person.
That earlier overreaction was just a reflexive action out of fear that I, the enraged one, might come to kill it right away.
“Um… so the reason I came here at this hour is…”
The surprisingly calm and composed monster began to explain the recent changes on the ship.
“Um, you know the Medic Tentacle, right?”
“Ah, that one that can understand speech.”
Instead of mentioning the overall situation of the ship first, it started the conversation by pointing out one specific monster.
Medic Tentacle, surely… it was the executive monster that was in the recovery room.
Imagining a cluster of tentacles that would taste delicious in many ways, I nodded in agreement to the monster’s question.
Behind that short nod…
“Recently, that person has been promoted, and a new executive has been assigned to that position…”
The news that a new executive took the place of the Medic Tentacle.
And that due to such a minor change, a small friction had occurred between the ship’s transfer room and the recovery room.
Then, the monster expressed deep apologies for having to appear here due to the new executive’s unreasonable work attitude.
From then on, rather than an explanation, it seemed like the monster had a lot built up inside and began to lament as if to complain.
“Isn’t it just too much…? Every time we lose to you, we’re told we’re useless… that there’s no reason to sit in this remote barbarous planet for so long… I’m suddenly realizing that the main enemy of the soldiers on Earth is indeed the executives…”
Amid that lamentation, there were stories that oddly resonated.
As it goes in the Korean military, ‘the main enemy of the soldiers is the executives’; it seems that due to one executive monster that just arrived in the recovery room, the situation has gone into chaos.
The world where sentient beings live… no, it seems all places where intelligent beings exist are quite similar.
“You all have it tough.”
Even so, all I could offer was a little empathy and a few words of consolation.
The monster, as if grateful for even those superficial words, kept bowing its head repeatedly while expressing gratitude.
Then, it earnestly requested understanding, laying flat as if to apologize for the heavy situation.
“So, um, it seems like things like this will become more frequent for a while. Please don’t be too angry since it’s not something we want to happen, so I came to talk directly…”
It sounded like phrases filled with deep apologies that one might see in documents.
Even the person responsible for the situation wasn’t the one explaining but rather a subordinate under them, which created a deep sympathy.
It was regrettable that the once peaceful deployment time was now a mess, but what can you do when the higher-ups have no solution?
“Yeah, you guys aren’t to blame.”
“Th-thank you…”
After the words of gratitude, a silence followed.
It seemed like it was time to return.
Why isn’t that strange transfer device being used?
I gave an obvious hint to the monster that was only looking at me, folding and unfolding my fingers to gesture it back.
“Why aren’t you going back? Just press that strange device button, it’s easy.”
“Well, after the last device hijacking incident, the supply of devices has been restricted to monsters heading to the black area…”
When I asked why it wasn’t going back, this time the monster explained the situation regarding the transfer device.
“Oh.”
Hearing about the device hijacking incident brought one specific event to mind.
To prevent the cause of a problem from being used if an issue arises, it was truly a frustrating problem-solving measure that closely resembled the issues in the Korean military.
Although it was revenge used in a response speed test, I found myself facing the monster that was sacrificed due to the thorough military-style work.
My conscience was prickling, noting that it was now my turn to offer words of apology instead of sympathy and encouragement.
“Um, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine… but we should have stopped that kind of play too.”
“Now I won’t take it away, so ask to turn the device just once…”
“Yes…”
After a brief exchange of reflections and agreements, we returned to the school restroom, presenting a swift and painless death as a sign of respect.
Unlike usual, the time it took to deal with the monster exceeded just over 10 minutes.
As the faint alarm that had been ringing abruptly ceased with the monster’s reaction disappearing, students rushed back into the school.
They didn’t enter through the front but transformed and slipped in through the restroom window at the back.
Just as the bustling sound began to fill the classroom, students emerged from the restroom as if they had just been there and joined their places.
While heading out to the playground, Seo Hyun, who had naturally fallen behind, asked me casually as I entered the classroom.
“Where have you been?”
“Restroom.”
I kept a straight face without blinking an eye as I concealed the truth.
Saying I had gone to the restroom wasn’t technically a lie.
Anyway, the students and teachers had rushed out to the playground without any set order or rules.
As such, the students were mostly grouped with only their friends, regardless of classes…
In the chaotic crowd, even the teachers were not clear on which students were present.
Yet, even if they called for a specific grade or class at the playground, they were not the kind of elementary students to come right away.
It really was the perfect environment to slip out, transform, deal with a monster, and return.
Unlike the vague worries I had in elementary school, the school’s attitude towards monster appearances had changed somewhat, making it easier to operate.
…Of course, this improvement only came after filing a report to the education office.
“Ah, the flow is all broken now… What page were we on?”
After the ruckus calmed down and students filled the classroom in an orderly manner, the teacher’s words were enough to shock the students.
We had wasted half the class but were going to continue with the lesson?
No one spoke about which page it was, only a strange silence passed in the classroom, questioning, ‘Is this for real?’
Then, unable to hold back any longer, one of my classmates shot their hand up and said.
“Teacher, there are 20 minutes left.”
“So? Open your books.”
“Ehhhh—”
Unfortunately, it seemed the teacher’s question about finding the page was quite serious.
Confirming the teacher’s intent, a bottled-up jeer burst out from the students’ mouths.
In an instant, the classroom’s atmosphere plummeted into chaos.
The teacher also widened their eyes with a look of ‘What’s wrong with these kids?’ and, unlike the students who had to blend in and speak, the grown-up teacher couldn’t hold back.
“Hey, you all have an exam in less than a month!”
“Tell us a fun story!”
“All I can share is military stories.”
“That’s great!”
In the teacher’s brief announcement that all they could share were military stories, the moment the solidarity of the classmates really shined.
Anything would be better than having class, right?
Thinking that, the students, male and female alike, shouted enthusiastically.
Surprised by the unexpected unity, the teacher eventually crossed their arms in a ‘I give up’ pose over the podium and began to share stories.
“The female students just overlook it, but the male students should really listen.”
It was a story about ‘that place’ that all men who have served in the military would inevitably share, which female students would cringe at.
Success in diverting the conversation away from the future of having class, the students were relieved to have successfully rerouted into other stories.
Reflecting on it, it was only natural for the students to respond positively to teachers who would share alternative stories like this.
Memories resurfaced, and indeed, did that really happen? Military stories that were real but also seemed fantastical.
Military-related tales have a way of sounding quite fabricated, yet they genuinely occurred.
After continuing with lessons that were barely being paid attention to, I returned home with Siyeon, having successfully milked the day.
As we walked at a comfortable distance, Siyeon struck up a conversation first.
“Did something happen?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Siyeon asked out of the blue if something had happened.
With that question that felt completely out of context, I passed a rundown apartment complex and caught a glimpse of my face in an abandoned wall mirror.
…It was just my usual face, nothing different.
As I stood there puzzled, looking in the mirror, Siyeon’s next words followed.
“I noticed the monster appeared and that the processing seemed later than usual.”
“Oh, that.”
It clicked as if I finally understood, responding briefly with, “That.”
She wasn’t commenting on my expression but seemed to be concerned that the monster handling was later than expected.
In most cases, with time being a factor, it was standard for me to handle things.
Since Siyeon’s observational skills had improved, we often talked about monsters outside, albeit not directly using key terms like monsters or magical girls, instead resorting to vague references and pronouns.
After all, middle school students speak loosely.
People tend to not pay much attention if it’s not about them.
Whether it was late handling due to the monster that appeared in the morning or the monster caught in last night’s game, who cares?
“Due to changes in higher-ups, it looks like occurrences like this will become common…”
“Then, it could come up even during class…”
“Lately, things have been quiet without much happening.”
Siyeon didn’t hide her regret, hinting at monsters showing up during the day.
Once we reached home without incident, Siyeon straightened up and confidently declared.
“Now, let’s schedule the monster-extermination dates!”
“Eh?”
