Chapter 56: Monsters, Holidays, and Birthday Surprises

Since she has no hands, Siyeon’s mascot eats one bite at a time by putting it in her mouth. In contrast to that, there’s a bear that looks like a beggar, having been starved for a few days, just devouring food.

Immediately after answering, it shamelessly shoves French fries into its mouth. It’s not exactly a pleasant sight.

And to top it off, how long has it been since it ate galbijjim (braised short ribs)?

A magical girl and her mascot, both full and satisfied on a quiet, moonlit night. Unlike humans, this bear could eat and then lie down without any issues, and the conversation began with its low mutterings.

“Wow, holidays are nice,” it said.

“Don’t monsters have holidays?”

In the lazy atmosphere, the bear lying on the floor was asked about the life of monsters.

It calmly recalled its past life and began slowly describing the life of a monster, which had a lot of considerations to it.

“Monsters have different cultures depending on their species, and some species don’t even have a concept of work or rest… So there are many conflicting aspects.”

“That sounds a bit enviable,” the magical girl replied.

Listening to the bear words, she imagined the life of a being in the universe, where there was no concept of work or rest. It sounded like a carefree, enviable life.

But the bear continued, as if to say that this wasn’t something to envy.

“That’s not really something to envy. It could mean that their culture hasn’t progressed enough to have distinct rest days… Their life is just eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom.”

“Isn’t that the best though?”

“No, are you a primitive person?”

The bear scolded her when she responded that such a life would be the best.

But as she thought of the villains that came to mind, she began to seriously wonder if a primitive life might actually lead to a higher happiness index.

As long as one eats well, sleeps well, and goes to the bathroom without problems, life seems fine.

No worries about cigarette smoke wafting up from below or noise from the floors above. In any case, strength seemed to be the ultimate key.

Annoyed, she responded to the bear, “What kind of cultural life did you enjoy that makes you so great?”

With the question, the conversation was abruptly cut off. It seemed the bear was caught in a panic, remembering something it couldn’t forget. After a brief silence, the conversation took a turn, and they decided to call a truce.

“…Let’s stop talking about this.”

“Alright.”

And so, the atmosphere in the room became unexpectedly somber.

In contrast, aboard a ship in the cosmos, there were monsters enjoying a holiday-like atmosphere more vibrant than the holidays on Earth.

Inside the ship, a variety of species were living together in a shared space. Due to their cultural and biological differences, the place was usually full of small and large disputes.

But for some reason, the place that had once been a hotbed of complaints and irritation was now filled with bright, cheerful laughter.

“Oh, sorry!”

“Hahaha, it’s okay, it’s okay!”

“It’s a festival!”

The ongoing festival on the ship had been lasting for days. The cause of this? Naturally, it was the “suspension of missions to the black zone,” initiated by the medic tentacle.

The project, which had to be approved by the higher-ups, had succeeded in reducing costs, boosting the morale of the combatants, and decreasing the number of combat-disabled monsters.

The detailed report was finally approved from the top. Therefore, for the monsters who were supposed to head to Earth, there was no way they couldn’t be excited.

The fact that they were not heading to the Black Area, above all else, was the one thing that made them feel better than anything else.

“So, who’s going to the next Venus zone?”

The monster’s one-on-one victory probability was high, but still under ten percent.

No matter how much they were monsters, they knew this, and they didn’t go there with the thought that they would definitely win.

Still, the fact that they weren’t going to the Black Area made them feel as if their spirits were flying across the universe.

The scene was proof of this, as they raised their hands with joy in a battle where defeat was almost certain.

“Can I go? I heard the new ones hit less hard.”

“Stella, that person also hits pretty hard… I’ll pass, I’ll go next.”

“My zone is Magic Girl Saturn. Is there anyone who wants to switch?”

“Oh, me! I’ll switch!”

As the hopeful conversations passed between the monsters, did they ever think?

That something, which would become the seed of despair for them, was quietly wriggling within the very ship they were aboard…

In the monster research and development room of the ship, that seed of despair was being created.

Medic Tentacle asked the lead scientist, Maker, in the monster R&D room,

“How’s the progress?”

“Well, I can’t promise anything,” Maker replied.

With the right base organism, he could quickly synthesize simple monsters, thanks to his expertise in biological science and the ancient facilities aboard the ship.

Some monsters have parents, while others are created based on other creatures.

With his synthesizing ability and the ship’s ancient equipment, making something that resembled a monster—though not capable of conversation—was an easy task.

For example, the cat monster that Sun had destroyed was one such creation.

Medic Tentacle, with 20 precious sets of time, had one goal: to create a creature that could stand against Sun.

Though that sounds simple, it was far from easy, even if he were to use his entire lifetime.

“If you could’ve created something like that from the beginning, we wouldn’t be going through this much trouble.”

“Well, that may be true…”

As Medic Tentacle listened to his valid theory, she reflected on the fear she had felt when facing Sun, gently stroking her smooth head.

She wasn’t asking for something that could defeat everyone, including Sun. At the very least, she hoped there would be a custom monster capable of dealing with her.

But even that was not easy, as Medic Tentacle now realized.

Maker’s busy mechanical hands moved rapidly, but there was still no proper answer; they were simply moving busily.

“How about a monster highly specialized in heat?”

“You want me to make a monster that can survive thrown into the sun? Are you out of your mind?”

“Guess that’s too much…”

For now, the data you provided is very useful. If I feel like I’m getting a clue, I’ll look for you.

“Alright.”

The two monsters, as if making a promise, were able to move past the moment with a warm, friendly conversation.

However, they didn’t know.

The clue that the maker was about to catch, the one that was almost within reach.

What awaited beyond the veil pulled from the end of that clue.

A disaster that would soon engulf the ship.

When you think about it, the root cause of it all, Sun and Mari.

She was quietly sitting at the table, placing a small cake and singing a song, oblivious to the disaster growing on the monsters’ ship.

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you-”

The song was sung while watching the tiny flames on the eight or so candles flicker.

As the applause grew louder, the smile on Siyeon’s face matched the rhythm of the clapping.

“Love is in the air, haaa-! Happy birthday to you-! Waaah!”

“Puhoo!”

As the applause became louder, almost resembling seal claps,

The tiny flames were blown out in an instant by a sudden gust of wind, leaving only faint smoke behind.
As the lights, which had been turned off to match the atmosphere, were lit again, the melted wax was carefully removed and placed into a plastic bag before it could touch the cake.

The cake was a chocolate mousse cake, fully reflecting Siyeon’s tastes.

“Alright, since it’s your birthday, the chocolate decorations are Siyeon’s.”

“Hehe.”

Siyeon, clearly excited, took a slice of cake and handed it to me along with a slice for herself.

I hadn’t been able to eat chocolate cake much since high school because it was too sweet.

I imagined the sharp sweetness on my tongue as I took a bite, but…

‘It’s not that sweet..?’ Surprisingly, my body accepted it well.
I couldn’t tell if it was a side effect of my younger body or if this particular chocolate cake wasn’t too sweet, but either way, it wasn’t unpleasantly sweet, so I took another bite.
After finishing two pieces, the rest went into the fridge.

Now that the birthday cake had been eaten, it was time for presents.

“Alright, Siyeon, your birthday gift!”

“Gift?!”

Siyeon eagerly tore off the wrapping paper, and what she found was the latest model of a smartphone.
It was even about three generations more advanced than mine.

The case was made of jelly, so it wouldn’t break even if dropped.

I had already stopped by a store to have it activated, and the plan was unlimited—no worries about data usage.

“Smartphone!”

Siyeon’s sparkling eyes, as she held the phone, conveyed her joy to me.

Seeing her so happy made me feel happy as well.

As I was cleaning up the phone’s box, Siyeon ran up to me and buried my head in her chest.

“Umpf.”

It was the best form of gratitude Siyeon could offer—an embrace.

“Best Mari!”