Chapter 35: Decisive Battle! Sea Anemone (Provisional)

“Umm…”

To call me a prostitute right off the bat—who even is this rude gothic lolita girl?

I flipped through the mental database in my head at high speed, but there was no match for anyone resembling her.

Hmm… I don’t remember ever doing anything to make someone hate me.

Also, what’s with this “big brother” thing?

“Uh, excuse me, but… who exactly are you?”

The girl in gothic lolita clothes still hadn’t dropped her over-the-top pose, so I decided to take the initiative and speak first.

Honestly, I didn’t want to deal with someone this obviously troublesome, but if I didn’t, we’d never get anywhere.

“Heh heh heh. Prepare to be amazed!”

She struck yet another overly dramatic, cutesy pose.

“My name is Emmy! Ruler of the Night and Queen of Darkness!”

Even as she twisted and turned, she said it all without the slightest hint of shame.
I had to admit—I was a little impressed by her commitment.

“Uh-huh, I see. So, Ms. Queen of the Night or whatever—what business do you have with me?”

The goth girl—Emmy, apparently—immediately made a sour face.
Guess I said something that offended her.

“Not Queen of the Night! Queen of Darkness!”

Ah, so that distinction was important to her. Noted.
Not that I particularly cared.

“Right, Queen of Darkness, then.”

Might as well humor her. I didn’t need her pestering me about it later.
See? I can be a mature adult who knows how to read the room.

“Tch… fine, whatever. Now then, do you have anything to say for yourself? Hm?”

“Uh… say for myself about what, exactly?”

I genuinely had no idea what she was accusing me of.

“Hmph. As I thought—you have nothing to say.”

Emmy nodded to herself, looking smugly satisfied.

“Heh heh heh… as a parting gift before you die, I’ll tell you your crimes.”

“…Right.”

She completely ignored my disinterest and kept rambling full speed ahead.

“You seduced my beloved big brother. You know what that means, don’t you? Yes… that sin deserves death! And so, I’ve come here personally to deliver your punishment!”

“…Seduced your brother, huh?”

Yeah. I had a bad feeling about this.

“Ku ku ku. The punishment I shall bestow upon you has already been decided—after much contemplation!”

With that, Emmy pulled out a small sphere from her sleeve and threw it toward me.

“Arise! My loyal servant—Chico-nyan!”

The ball flew through the air in a graceful arc and landed between us.

The moment it hit the ground, a flash burst forth—and thick smoke billowed out, shrouding everything.

When the smoke cleared, something was there—wriggling ominously in place.

At first glance, it looked like a gigantic sea anemone, its countless tentacles twisting and slithering from a massive spherical body.

“Ugh…”

A groan slipped from my throat before I could stop it.

On closer inspection, each tentacle had a slightly bulbous, smooth, fleshy tip. Thin grooves ran along the ends, and from those openings, smaller tendrils writhed outward—slick with a cloudy, unpleasant fluid.

The most accurate way to describe it… would be like the end of a man’s genitals, from which tiny parasitic worms were squirming out.

Each tentacle—capped with one of those grotesque appendages—moved endlessly, creating a sight that could only be described as pure horror.
The instant I saw it, my sanity hit rock bottom.

Ah… so this is what a failed sanity check feels like.

Behind the monstrosity, Emmy stood grinning wickedly, her eyes gleaming with delight.

I had an extremely bad feeling about this.

“Behold—my precious servant, Chico-nyan! Isn’t she adorable?”

She said it with a sly, triumphant smile.

Adorable? What kind of warped aesthetic does this girl have?

“Anyway, I’m sure you’ve already guessed your punishment. You’ll spend the rest of your life playing with this little one—sinking forever into an ocean of pleasure!”

“Uh… I’d really rather not, thanks. Please don’t.”

I began quietly stepping backward.

There was no way an ordinary person like me could handle something that looked that dangerous.
Every instinct screamed bad news.

“You don’t have to be shy. I’m merciful, after all—I’ll make sure you experience true ecstasy. Besides, it seems this one’s already taken quite a liking to you.”

The grotesque creature—Chico-nyan, as she called it—started to shift color, its bluish hue deepening to a reddish tone.

Was that… joy?

“See? It can’t wait any longer.”

The moment Emmy spoke, several of Chico-nyan’s tentacles shot toward my arms and legs without warning.

“Hah!”

However, having predicted its movements beforehand, I rolled sideways across the sandy beach—barely managing to evade Chico-nyan’s initial strike.

My entire body was covered in sand, the gritty texture even getting into my mouth, but this was no time to be bothered by such things.

…Phew. Still, I managed to weather the first attack. That was way too close.

“Hee…”

Emmy’s eyes, fixed on me, grew sharper.

“……”

Hmph. Don’t look down on me, girl. I am the Eroge Sommelier—the one who has memorized countless eroge scenarios. Naturally, I have extensive experience with scenes involving tentacle attacks!

Yes. The standard tactic for tentacle-type monsters is to entangle the victim’s limbs, immobilizing them while stripping off their clothes, then mercilessly forcing their tentacles into every last orifice of the unfortunate prey. After that, they inject a milky-white liquid from their tips, sending the victim spiraling into a world of forced ecstasy. That’s the classic pattern.

Therefore, the first strike would aim for my limbs!
Having read its moves, I was able to dodge it successfully.

“…For a mere weakling, you’re quite spirited, aren’t you? I’m impressed.”

Emmy looked down on me arrogantly.

“…Thanks, I guess.”

“But how about this?”

A sinister smile curved across her lips.

The next instant, every one of Chico-nyan’s tentacle tips swelled up before simultaneously launching some kind of sticky substance in all directions.

An area-of-effect attack—impossible to dodge.

“Eeek!”

Not that crying out cutely would help anything.
The sticky liquid splattered over me, binding me completely. My movements were sealed.

“Ah, hey, wai—!”

To make matters worse, the slime seemed to be a special kind of mucus that dissolved clothing—though oddly enough, it didn’t harm my skin.
A rather peculiar composition, huh? Such irrelevant thoughts flickered through my mind as the tentacles began coiling around my arms and legs.

“…Tch!”

My limbs were restrained, my swimsuit melting away, and the tentacles swayed menacingly before my eyes.

The tip of one tentacle writhing right in front of me suddenly split open wide—like a mouth.
From within, smaller tendrils slithered out, creeping toward my face.
Sticky mucus dripped from those smaller tentacles as they reached closer.

As I processed that utterly revolting sight, my consciousness began to blur.

T-This is… bad!

“Heh heh. You’re quite the sight now, aren’t you? And it seems Chico-nyan just can’t hold back any longer.”

Before my eyes, the tentacles flushed a vivid red, oozing an even thicker slime.

“Eek!”

A cry slipped from my throat at the sheer grotesqueness of the scene.

Honestly, if I had to be attacked, I’d rather face the Demon Lord himself than deal with this!

Bound by those disgusting tentacles, their tips inching closer to my face, I could feel despair closing in.

“Ugh…”

Just when I was about to give up, the restraints around my body suddenly vanished.
It happened in an instant.

A blinding flash of light engulfed me—and in the next moment, the tentacles, the monster itself, and all the sticky slime were gone, completely erased.

And as if fate itself had a twisted sense of humor, that same light had also stripped away every last piece of clothing from Emmy, who had been standing there all high and mighty just seconds before.

Now completely naked, Emmy’s elegant, sculpture-like body was on full display before me.

“Uh… th-thank you very much,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

I mean, since coming to this world, I hadn’t seen another girl naked before… especially not one that cute.

“You wretched woman…! How dare you!”

Emmy hugged her body tightly, her face flushing crimson as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Listen here! I’ll definitely pay you back for this humiliation! Remember that!”

Shouting her parting threat, Emmy leapt onto the head of her giant octopus-like creature and fled toward the sea—still stark naked.
I could’ve sworn she was crying a little, but maybe that was just my imagination.

Still, I couldn’t help thinking, Wow… she really did have a beautiful body.
Yeah… I’m probably going to get struck by divine punishment for that thought.

“Whoa!”

As I sat dazed on the sandy beach, lost in thought, something soft landed over my head with a fwump.

A cloak.

“My little sister caused you trouble,” came a calm voice from above.

I pushed the cloak off my head and looked up—standing there was the Demon Lord himself, wearing a faintly apologetic expression.

“Uh…”

I wasn’t sure what to say.
But I was certain that flash of light earlier had been his doing—he must’ve saved me.

I opened my mouth to thank him… but noticed his gaze wasn’t directed at my face. It was lower—at my body.

“Huh?”

I looked down.

...

……

Come to think of it, I was completely naked too.

“Kyahhh!”

I screamed and wrapped myself in the cloak like my life depended on it.

“You know,” the Demon Lord said in a calm, almost thoughtful tone, “you have quite a beautiful body yourself. You should be proud of that.”

…That was definitely not the kind of compliment I needed right now.