SOFTIE 25

The things that shouted and called me a monster upon seeing me, the ones who wailed and fell into despair, the humans who lost their minds and pretended to be crazy, and the humans who glared at me with eyes full of hostility.

Hmm, they were interesting, but it wasn’t the reaction I wanted.

I let go of the ones who didn’t attack. Beings as insignificant as dust would die on their own anyway. I continued to move. Just before I was about to head outside my territory, I heard the sound of “waa-waa” sobbing nearby. The sound was gradually getting closer.

And there was something following behind it. There was another fellow trespassing into my territory. As I approached to eliminate him, I discovered a human—Hana.

“Mom… Dad… where are you… Happy…”

That human was small. It was a being called a cub, a child. After seeing only large ones, this was the first time a small one had appeared. It was strange. A cub is a being that must be protected.

Ah, there was a human who left a cub behind earlier, too.

The human cub looked even weaker and younger. So, do several humans stick together to protect a child? Because it would be futile if it died right after being born. That fellow who had invaded my territory and was targeting the child radiated murderous intent.

He wasn’t targeting the cub, but was looking for me.

[I will occupy this place from now on. After eating these guys, how much stronger I’ve become… Kkieeek!]

I don’t know what he meant by getting stronger. To be delusional enough to think he became strong by killing weaklings. He died a hollow death. While I was munching and chewing on him, the human, feeling puzzled, looked back.

“Uwoong…?”

This human cub is weak. That’s why he didn’t even notice he was being targeted. The human cub kept shedding tears while looking up at me. Was he frozen because he was so scared? Or was he playing dead?

[Go, this is my territory.]

“…”

[Go.]

The child’s eyes grew round, and he flopped down onto the ground. Seeing his eyes tremble uncontrollably, it seemed he was afraid of me. That couldn’t be helped. After all, I am the master of this territory.

I should go watch other humans. Just as I was about to wriggle and move, the child stood up behind me. I thought he was going to find his own way to live, but that wasn’t it.

Ggoook.

I turned my head. It seemed he had reached out his hand to grab me, but instead of grabbing me, he was being sucked into my body. Had he not learned that touching others recklessly leads to big trouble? I rescued the child who was flustered and whimpering.

Then, the child’s eyes sparkled. He stared blankly at the hand that had been sucked into my body, then looked up at me abruptly. Strangely, I couldn’t take my eyes off the child’s passionate pupils.

“L-let’s be friends!”

the booming voice echoed inside the cave. I tilted my head to the side.

[Friends…?]

Friends, what is a friend? I searched through my memories. Humans stayed with beings called friends and lived together while laughing, crying, and getting angry. Hmm, I didn’t really know. You have to have a friend to know.

Just then, a rustling sound was heard, and the child held something out. His eyes were drenched with tears, yet they were sparkling, so it was strange and fascinating.

“I’ll give you this!”

I saw it inside a human’s head. Memory whispered that it was something sweet and delicious. I didn’t quite understand. For me, who had simply crunched and devoured magical beasts to become stronger, it was something incomprehensible.

“Is, is Hana not enough…? I, I don’t have any more… since this is all I have left…”

How fascinating. How can so much water come out of that small body? It seems to be a reward for protecting him. How admirable. For a young thing to know how to express gratitude.

However, it was certain he was shivering out of fear. Terror was reflected in the child’s eyes.

Even so, what is the reason for holding this out to me? Does he want to be “friends”? Or is it to cling to me? Because weak things live by parasitizing the strong. Still, let’s accept it first. I want to try eating it.

After receiving what the child offered and peeling off the plastic, I tried eating the cookie studded with what were called chocolate chips, which didn’t even amount to a handful. It melted and disappeared instantly. So this is sweetness. It’s certainly different.

“Hee-hee, it’s delicious, right? It’s something I cherished.”

Something he cherished. That means it’s precious. A young human cub probably has nothing, yet he gives it to me?

When I looked down at the child then, he was grinning broadly. That was goodwill. It was joy.

It didn’t suit this place at all, where life and death were determined by whether you lived or died, won or lost. Even now, humans—weak things like this child—were dying. This child would die if I wasn’t by his side. I felt that certainty.

Suddenly, a certain memory came to mind.

There was a certain fellow. Saying he never wanted it to be taken away, he carried around a sparkling pebble in his arms. I couldn’t understand it. When that guy died at the hands of another, I looked at the pebble, but it was just a pebble. I had been disappointed.

But now, I felt I could understand him. Someone else might pass it by as trivial, but to him, it was a valuable pebble. That child felt that way to me. No, I had a premonition that it would become so.

Because even now, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

It was fascinating that the child cried while being afraid of me, yet grinned and expressed goodwill once I accepted the gift. Simultaneously, he sparkles. I felt a strange emotion I hadn’t experienced in a life of the survival of the fittest.

The reason I felt humans were interesting. That’s because I was curious about the various subtle “somethings” they experienced. I wanted to feel them too. The emotions humans talk about, like joy, sadness, and happiness.

And it felt like this child could make me feel those things.

“You’re strong, right? You’re super-duper strong, right?! You’re amazing! You took down that huge magical beast earlier in one hit…! A-at first I was scared… but, you won’t be like that to m-me… right…?”

Ah, so he was scared after all. Well, since he’s a young cub, it’s only natural. I wanted to see the child more closely. I lifted the child up and brought him close. The child flinched a little, but he looked straight at me.

He’s afraid of me, but he has guts. This human cub is quite something. Since he’s a child who knows how to offer tribute to me, he’s worth taking along.

The child hung dangling in the air without even resisting. His puffy, swollen cheeks told how much he had cried. Strangely, I felt like I wanted to press them.

When I pressed them with a tentacle, the child was startled by the coldness but smiled broadly. He’s squishy. His body is so frail and thin that it feels like it would snap if I applied force.

The weak clinging to the strong. That is the law of the survival of the fittest. He’s a human cub, but he’s smart. He chose me, and I am strong here. I can protect this child.

“I-is it possible that Hana wasn’t enough…? To, to me… uh, I mean…”

The child hurriedly fumbled through his pockets and found something else. The human cub, whose eyes sparkled as if he had discovered treasure, held something else out to me.

“Uh… this isn’t something tasty, it’s something fun… it pops in your mouth!”

Fun? I like fun things. When I snapped it into my mouth, my body shivered. It was strange, as if electricity were snapping inside. My form seemed to shift here and there, and my color seemed to change strangely.

What’s wrong with my body? The child watched me quietly and then burst into a loud laugh.

“Hahaha! Ha-hat, it’s weird!”

[Are you laughing?]

“Eh…? S-sorry… just because it was fun. Because it’s amazing… I didn’t laugh with m-bad intentions!”

The child was extremely flustered by my question and waved his hands back and forth. Did I make it difficult for him? I was just asking.

[I like fun things too. It’s too boring here.]

“Then let’s be friends with me! It’ll be fun! No, I’ll make it fun for you!”

It’s awkward. Has there ever been a time when cheerful laughter overflowed in a place like this? It wasn’t sweet like what I ate earlier, but something was sweet. The laughter was sweet.

“U-um… since we’ve become friends… can’t you grant me just Hana request?”

So there was a purpose. Indeed, there’s always a reason for holding out something precious. Something, something doesn’t feel right. But I want to see the child smile.

[Okay.]

“Really?! You see.”

I stared at the child who was prattling on about something. If it’s a request, is it finding the Mom, Dad, and Happy he mentioned earlier? Is it the child’s pack? If I find them, will he go back to the pack?