“When do you think people fall into despair?”
“When they realize that unicorns exist, but platypuses do not?”
“No! It’s when they can’t move forward no matter how hard they try! And by the way, platypuses totally exist!”
“Right, right. If Benny says so, we’ll go with that.”
Even though right now, inside the Subspace Ring, there’s a beast’s tear that doesn’t seem to have any use, it’s more fun to poke fun at Benny, so I decided to ignore it.
I extended my hand while admiring Benny’s huffing figure. Then the Shadow Monster extended its tentacles, placing a cream pie on my palm that it had pulled from somewhere.
“Oh. Thanks.”
– Grrowl.
The little guy, making joyful sounds while clacking its sharp teeth. There was one lonely person in the world where both I and the shadow were happy.
“That’s mine, isn’t it?! I hid it in my sub-refrigeration magical device! How did you know to take it out?!”
– Snort.
The Shadow Monster scoffed as if to say, “How can you be so clueless?” I lazily asked Benny, who was bouncing around.
“So? What experiment have you been conducting thus far? I’ve done everything you asked, but I’ve gotten sleepy and hungry because I’m running late… Was the result bad?”
“Ugh… I’m sorry.”
“I’ll forgive you for that cream pie you just had. But right now, the result matters. Since I’m a participant too, you should at least tell me this, right?”
“That’s true.”
Nodding, Benny threw himself onto the spacious couch. It seemed pretty soft, as his small frame sank comfortably into it.
Feeling a bit curious, I got up to sit down as well.
– Grrr.
The Shadow Monster wrapped its tentacles around my waist, as if saying not to go. I wasn’t sure if it was my back or my stomach, but it was comfortable to sit on it, so I decided to stay like that.
Benny started rolling around with an exhausted expression. The hem of his dress naturally rolled up.
It finally stopped when the skin around his ankle was alight, now showing almost up to the back of her knees. With her inner thighs faintly visible, Benny continued speaking.
“First, we experimented with why this guy likes you.”
“Smell, magic, divine power, voice, face, and tried various other things.”
“Yeah. But I still have no clue. Maybe when you’re not around, it’s different, but when you are here, it only reacts to you.”
“Isn’t this all because of my sparkling charm? Come on, praise me, Benny.”
“…In the end, I couldn’t even grab a clue on this part. What we tested after that was the changes in mood.”
“Are you skipping over what I just said? But fine. I’m generous, so I’ll let it slide. When moods change, did anything change? I wouldn’t know the difference since I don’t know the usual data.”
“Yeah. There was a significant difference. Overall reaction speed improved, but strength decreased. The acidity of the bodily fluids flowing within weakened, and its teeth became dull.”
“…Doesn’t that mean it got weaker?”
“It’s a bit different. It’s not that it’s weaker; it just tried to become weak. Simply put, it’s like a cat trying to hide its claws, being careful not to scratch anyone.”
“Oh.”
I looked at the shadow underneath me with a newfound curiosity. Eyes bulged with blood, met mine.
Blink.
They split into two.
Blink blink.
No, now there are four.
As the number of bulging eyes kept increasing, I giggled, and Benny opened her mouth with a slightly pale expression.
“Isn’t that gross? I’ve been with it for a long time, thinking of it as a friend, but it’s pretty disgusting to see it like this.”
“Eh, well, it is gross, but if you look at it long enough, it has its cute side, you know? This eye-growing thing is something I enjoy, so it gets all excited and multiplies wildly.”
Before I knew it, small pupils had filled up half its body. Thank goodness I didn’t have a phobia of this.
“Has it shown different reactions to anyone else?”
“Hmm, it wasn’t this intense, but it was a bit calmer with Ellie and Lydia. Oh, it behaved like that in front of other high-ranking adventurers too.”
“Was its reaction similar in front of high-ranking adventurers?”
“Well, there were small differences. It got even calmer in front of especially strong high-ranking ones. Except when it saw a priest; then it would growl.”
“It probably doesn’t like priests due to the memories left by One Who Devours the Twilight, right?”
“It is likely because of One Who Devours the Twilight. But whether it has recollections of that, I don’t know.”
Benny tilted her head and turned to lie down on her stomach. The dress that had rolled up was back in its place.
Instead, the outline of her peach-like butt was now clearly visible.
Hmm… the panty line is slightly showing. Good, she’s wearing them. Turns out that ‘no-panty goddess love’ was indeed a bit off.
While I nodded to myself, Benny stretched like a cat, raising her butt high.
“Huuh… Haahhhhh…”
Though she seemed unaware, it was quite a provocative… no, desirable pose. I was momentarily unable to take my eyes off her.
Benny continued speaking in a carefree tone, whether she knew my blatant gaze or not.
“There are too many unclear aspects to say it has a memory. Most notably, the reaction it shows towards One Who Devours the Twilight feels too instinctive to think about.”
“True. It wouldn’t make too much sense if it was a mix of traces from several people. Moreover, it doesn’t need to be about old memories; there are still reasons to dislike something.”
The experiments continued even after being reborn as the Shadow Monster. Until Benny got transplanted, and they grew accustomed to each other.
If there was something tormenting you right from birth, wouldn’t you fear or hate that thing?
In the case of the Shadow Monster, it would have probably been the latter.
“By the way, it’s interesting that it becomes relatively calm in front of other high-ranking adventurers.”
“I think it’s simply feeling the difference in power. Its intelligence is smarter than a beast’s, but its instincts are about that of a beast or sharper. It’s common to see it lower its tail in front of a strong opponent.”
“Hmm. I don’t know. If that were the case, then I don’t understand the behavior it shows towards me or Benny. My thoughts are a bit different.”
It’s true that the Shadow Monster acts like it would give its life for me, but it didn’t feel like it hated Benny but obeyed her because it liked her.
It just seemed like it was teasing.
Just like how Benny felt disgust towards whatever had become of her former friend.
If that were the case, the reason for its fondness towards me would be simple.
“It’s probably because I like this kid, so it likes me in return, right?”
“…What?”
“I’m not joking. I’m serious.”
I looked at the now-eye-monster Shadow Monster with a serious face.
A scene that would make any normal person faint with how grotesque it was. But to me, it felt more like a desperate gesture yearning for affection.
“Having a shadow is a bit odd, don’t you think? It probably never received proper affection since birth. The only one treating it well was Benny, who had similar feelings.”
“……”
Benny shut her mouth and began contemplating something. I might not know the past, but she was aware of how people had looked at us today.
Everyone disliked the Shadow Monster. They feared it, found it disgusting, and avoided it.
If I had been born receiving only such gazes, I would have turned out twisted too.
After hearing my words, Benny asked back in a slightly pouty voice.
“So… you’re saying you’re not one of them?”
“I still think it’s pretty gross. It’s scary too… But I like it even more than that.”
Reflecting on the hardships endured by the children who became the materials for the Shadow Monster and what it has been through since becoming one, it’s indeed a sad circumstance.
But the act of mixing and mingling things within the confines of my settings, as long as it doesn’t go astray, is honestly exhilarating.
Besides, what’s so bad about being hideously ugly? Even if it’s not a child I directly created, it’s certain that it’s a kid living in my world.
Cautiously, I brushed over the Shadow Monster’s body and patted its sturdy teeth.
Though it looked like I might get eaten alive any moment now, there was a kind of trust between us.
While it might accidentally hurt me, it wouldn’t do so on purpose.
“In that sense, I think we need to change its name.”
“…Name?”
“Calling it ‘Shadow Monster’ isn’t really a name, is it? Well, I understand the thought process behind not giving it a name until now.”
To Benny, the Shadow Monster must have been something ‘ugly.’
Right now it’s needed for strength, but she needed to eventually part ways with and overcome it at some point.
“So let’s name it first. Recognize it as a being, and then we can figure out other things afterward.”
“…Yeah. I think you’re right. I was too careless. After all, it’s been there supporting my adventurer life until now, hasn’t it?”
After a moment of thought, Benny spoke up.
“Shadow. Yeah, from now on, you are Shadow.”
Taking the name from the shadow monster. But just calling it Shade is a bit plain and sounds odd, so we’ll twist it a little to Shadow.
“What do you think? Do you like it?”
-…….
The Shadow Monster, no, Shadow simply stared at Benny. Then it:
Licked.
With its long tongue extending between its sharp teeth, it licked her.
“Yuck!”
It was the moment the secret of the behavior Benny had longed for was revealed.
“It’s wet… it smells… yuck…”
Of course, Benny, now all drenched, seemed totally oblivious.
