"Chapter 7: Unexpected Company and Unlikely Hero"

Luka cautiously approached the seemingly unconscious monster, his steps hesitant yet curious.

"Uhm... Ms. Monster, are you dead?" he asked, voice shaky but sincere.

I slapped a palm to my forehead.

"Oy, idiot! Don't just walk up to her like that! You'll get yourself killed one day," I barked, my voice laced with exasperation.

"But... what if she's still alive and needs help?" Luka argued, eyes shimmering with that maddening brand of heroic optimism.

I sighed heavily. "It's your call, kid. Wanna play hero and save her, or are we heading straight to the temple? Remember, the baptism's a once-in-a-lifetime deal."

Luka hesitated, glancing back at the path toward Ilias Village before fixing his gaze on the monster. His lips pressed into a firm line as he made up his mind.

"I can't just leave her here. What if she really needs help?"

I sighed again, more dramatically this time. "Sure, why not? It's only the fate of the world we're messing with."

Ignoring my sarcasm, Luka knelt beside the monster, his fingers trembling as they hovered near her face. Just as he was about to touch her, her eyes snapped open, glowing with a fierce, otherworldly light.

"Ah!" Luka yelped, nearly falling flat on his rear.

The monster sat up abruptly, her expression sharp and commanding. "Where am I?" she demanded, her voice carrying an intimidating weight.

Luka froze, struggling to process the sudden shift.

I rolled my eyes. "Oi, Luka, stop gawking like a fish and answer her!"

"I... I..." Luka stammered, utterly useless.

I decided to step in before he made things worse. "You're near Ilias Village," I said calmly, hoping to diffuse the tension.

The monster's gaze narrowed. "Blown all the way here? That damn girl... Such reckless strength," she muttered darkly.

Luka blinked in confusion. "Girl?"

The monster ignored him, her attention now fully on us. "Who are you two?"

"I'm Ryuu, just a traveler," I introduced myself smoothly. "This here is Luka, a hero apprentice from Ilias Village."

"A hero apprentice, huh?" Her lips curled into a dangerous smirk. "So neither of you has been baptized yet. You both smell... delicious."

She licked her lips audibly, and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"Ah, yes! The baptism!" Luka blurted out, his voice rising in panic. "We need to get going, Ryuu, or we'll be late!" He grabbed my arm, ready to bolt.

"Stop."

Her massive, serpent-like tail coiled around Luka in an instant, lifting him off the ground effortlessly.

"I understand now," she mused thoughtfully. "Today is Ilias' birthday—the day you receive your baptism."

"That's right! So can you let me go now?" Luka grumbled, squirming in her grip.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity. This was the grand day he'd been dreaming of for years, and now he was stuck in a monster's tail.

"Ilias' baptism? How foolish," the monster scoffed.

"Yep," I agreed without hesitation.

Luka's head whipped toward me, his expression a mix of betrayal and disbelief.

"You—"

"Why didn't you kill me when I was unconscious?" the monster interrupted, her gaze piercing.

"Eh? Kill you?" Luka looked genuinely horrified.

"It was a golden opportunity. Isn't that what a hero is supposed to do?"

"I didn't know if you were good or bad," Luka admitted earnestly. "But I can't just kill someone for no reason."

Classic protagonist logic ahh. Predictable yet oddly charming.

"You don't see us monsters as enemies?" she asked, her tone skeptical.

"There are people who do... but we don't, right, Ryuu?" Luka looked at me hopefully, practically begging for backup.

"Uh, right," I muttered reluctantly. Why was I getting dragged into this nonsense?

"But you want to be a hero. Isn't the goal to kill the Monster Lord?"

"I don't want to be that kind of hero," Luka declared passionately. "I don't even hate the Monster Lord. I just want to stop her from doing evil things."

Ah, the painful sting of naive idealism. I stifled a yawn.

"That's immature nonsense," the monster scoffed.

"Indeed," I agreed with mock seriousness. "What an idiot."

"Guh!" Luka winced as though our words physically struck him.

"Just go, little boy," the monster finally said, releasing Luka from her tail with a casual flick.

"Y-You're an idiot!" Luka shouted back as he stumbled to his feet, face red with embarrassment.

I sighed, giving the monster a polite nod. "Thanks for not eating us, Ms. Monster. Have a lovely day."

And with that, I followed Luka, shaking my head at the absurdity of it all. Somehow, I knew this chaotic encounter was just the beginning of a much wilder journey.

I caught up with Luka, who was sulking, his face dark with disappointment.

"Ah geez... What was that about? I helped her, and she just insulted me," he grumbled.

I snorted. "Well, Luka, from a rational point of view, you did touch her face. Twice. She woke up on her own, y'know."

Luka sighed dramatically but shook his head. "Whatever... Let's just run to the temple before I end up as an unblessed hero."

"Now you're talking."

We sprinted all the way to the temple. When we arrived, a stern-looking priest stood at the entrance, barring our way.

"Ilias isn't here," he declared bluntly. "She won't celebrate your coming of age or baptize you. Go away."

"A... euh... ah..." Luka stammered, his face turning pale as if he'd been poisoned. People around us started giving him weird looks—someone even handed us an antidote.

"Let's go home, Luka," I said gently, grabbing his hand.

I led him back to the house. As we arrived, a familiar figure greeted us with an infuriatingly smug expression.

"You two are slow," said the monster girl casually.

"WHHHHHHAT?!" Luka's jaw dropped.

Yep, it was her. And I swear I could hear some comedic OST playing in the background, perfectly fitting the ridiculousness of the moment.

"Who am I?" Luka muttered, looking genuinely broken.

I groaned. "How the hell would I know, you bigger idiot than I thought."

"Euh, Ms. Monster... how did you find the house?" I asked.

"By scent."

...Is she a dog?

"More importantly, how did you enter the village?" Luka demanded.

"It's easy to trick humans. Who do you think I am?"

"I have no idea who you are."

"Who are you?" Luka finally asked, a little too late.

Welp. Took him long enough. Shouldn't that have been the first question when meeting her?

"Just a traveling monster."

"Pfffffft," I snorted. "Totally normal. Nothing weird about the Monster Lord just casually traveling around."

"What?" Luka blinked at me.

The monster girl acted like she owned the place, plopping down with a carefree demeanor.

"So... why did you come here?" Luka asked nervously.

"I was interested in you two," she said, "and there's something I want to confirm."

"Eh...?"

Silence settled over us until the monster suddenly broke it.

"Food."

"Huh?!" Luka and I exclaimed in unison.

Ah, right—she was a bit of a foodie, wasn't she?

"Welp, Luka, I'm hungry too. I know you're sad about missing the baptism, but pleeease make something?" I pleaded.

"F...fine." Luka relented, though he looked reluctant about cooking for a monster.

He trudged to the kitchen, only to pause. "But Ryuu... we agreed to leave the house and not come back until we defeated the Monster Lord. The kitchen's empty."

"Eh? Don't we have the emergency food stash?"

"Oh, right—tada! Dried meat!"

The monster's face fell. "Dried meat?"

I sighed, equally disappointed. "Dried meat..."

"You two make me sick," she muttered, disgusted.

"How rude," I grumbled.

"Forget it. Give me some—I'm hungry."

Luka handed her the dried meat. She chewed thoughtfully. "Hmm... the seasoning and spices are done well. It complements the meat. Not bad after all."

"Really? I practiced cooking for my journey," Luka said, a flicker of pride returning to his voice. "I knew I'd need to cook at camp... even though I didn't become a hero."

He looked sad again.

"So, why did you come here again?" I asked the monster, trying to break the awkward mood.

She sighed. "I may have said a lot of unnecessary things earlier to your friend, but his childish mindset irritated me. Still... I've traveled a lot, and that kind of thinking isn't entirely bad."

"What are you doing?" Luka asked, confused.

"Comforting you. Be honored."

"Anyway, what are you two planning to do now?"

I shrugged. "Depends on Luka."

"I'll leave to defeat the Monster Lord, even if I'm not a hero," Luka declared with newfound determination.

As expected of a protagonist—bounce back fast, even after getting crushed.

"Haha, that's good. In fact, I'm a little interested in you," the monster said with a mischievous grin.

"Interested in me?" Luka hesitated.

"Yep. You're interesting. Saying things like wanting monsters and humans to coexist so confidently."

"It's not ridiculous! I'll make it happen!" Luka insisted passionately.

"Hahaha. Let's see how long you can hold onto that belief."

"I'll follow you two while you travel and see when that dream shatters."

"Huh?! You're coming with us? Oy, Ryuu, say something!" Luka pleaded.

"Welp... what can we do? She's way stronger than us. We can't stop her."

"But... but—"

"Do whatever you want," Luka finally conceded.

The monster grinned triumphantly. "Then I'll tag along. I want to see how your dream unfolds. By the way, what's your name?"

Finally, I thought. Took him long enough to ask.

"Alipheese Fateburn, but you two can call me Alice."

"Alice? It doesn't fit you," Luka muttered.

"Do you want to die?"

"Ehmmm... Oh! Nice to meet you, Alice! I'm Ryuu!" I said quickly, diverting her murderous glare from Luka.

She scanned me with a critical eye. "Hmmm... ordinary."

"Sorry to disappoint," I said dryly.

"What's your dream?"

"Me? I'd say following this idiot around so he doesn't get himself eaten by some monster girl and helping him realize his foolish dream."

"I see... so you want coexistence too?"

"You could say that."

"Oh great. Two idiots."

"I'm not an idiot!" Luka protested.

"Yes, yes. I'm an idiot as you say," I told Alice with a grin.

"Shall we head out?" I suggested. "Alice, can you use the back door? If the villagers see you, it'll be a huge problem."

"That's fine. Causing a commotion would be a headache. I'll wait outside the village."

She slipped out gracefully.

"Mother, I'm heading out," Luka said before turning to me. "Let's say goodbye to the villagers."

"Nah, you do that yourself. I'll say goodbye to Uncle Mars and Aunt Betty, then meet you with Alice outside."

I didn't have the energy for village goodbyes, not when most of them treated me like I didn't exist.

At Mars' forge, the old man greeted me warmly. "Ryuu, heading out, huh?"

"Yeah. Thanks for everything, old man."

"Listen, if you find a better master, learn from them. And use stronger weapons—what I gave you ain't the best."

"Oy, old man, I won't forget your kindness. Look at these biceps, though!" I flexed, grinning.

"Haha! That's the spirit. Just don't do anything stupid."

"Don't worry—I won't. Bye, old man."

Next, I found Aunt Betty near her house.

"Ryuu! I heard Luka wasn't baptized. Is he okay?"

"Don't worry, Aunt Betty. He's tough. We're starting our journey, and I came to say goodbye."

"Take care of that boy. He's stubborn but has a good heart."

"Don't worry. I got this."

With that, I took my first step into the journey ahead. What would happen next, I had no idea—but I was excited.