"IT'S THE SEA SIREN!!!!" — times two.
The sudden appearance of the tentacle sent both girls into a panic. In an instant, they bolted straight for the safest spot in the entire room — Geno's side — and latched on for dear life.
The two young Thirren women, one on each arm, clung to Geno and trembled like leaves. Their little tails flicked back and forth behind them without stopping, the tips brushing against his thigh with a soft, ticklish persistence.
Geno, however, had already seen through the 'sea siren's' true form with his Ethereal vision. His expression remained completely calm. He simply extracted his arms from their grip, then turned both girls' heads by the scruff of their necks to face the door.
"Take a proper look. That's not a sea siren — that's a person."
Still rigid with terror, the two of them slowly, skeptically cracked their eyes open and peered toward the entrance.
Sure enough — along with that enormous tentacle that had slid through the doorway came a full, voluptuous figure stepping into view.
Four thick, purple tentacles, coiling like an octopus's arms, extended from behind her back.
As it turned out, this woman was indeed a Thirren — just an exceptionally rare variety: an Octopus Thirren. Her name was Idehali.
Idehali's profession was that of a Proxy. She had taken on an urgent commission through the Inter-Knot, which was precisely what had brought her out into the Lemnian Hollow at this hour of the night.
"It's raining," she mused, glancing up at the sky with a placid expression. "Not that I mind, but catching a cold would be a bother."
As an Octopus Thirren, Idehali actually found damp environments rather pleasant — enjoyable, even. Still, for the sake of her health, finding somewhere to take shelter from the rain was the sensible thing to do.
And so she followed the images only she could see, making her way steadily toward Xiqiu.
This was her special ability: Idehali could see and hear echoes of the past — visions of the people who had once lived and moved through a place. It was precisely this power that had made her career as a Proxy such a roaring success.
She walked through the rain, humming a cheerful little tune, her tentacle-tail swaying behind her of its own accord.
Clearly, the cold rainwater was nothing short of delightful to this particular Octopus Thirren.
"This looks like the spot. The traces here are still fairly fresh."
Arriving at the door of the house, her arms occupied by the box she was carrying, she used one of her rear tentacles to push it open.
"Hmm?"
The moment she stepped inside, what greeted her were three strange, colorful apparitions — the residual images of people who had recently been here.
"My, my. Looks like a pair of young lovers in the throes of romance. This might make for some excellent material."
The 'material' Idehali was referring to was story fodder. In addition to being a Proxy, Idehali was also a web novelist — and her favorite genre, the one she wrote best, was supernatural horror and strange tales.
A couple deeply in love, stranded in the Hollow. To face the onslaught of the Ethereals, the male lead willingly sacrifices himself to protect the heroines. A little clichéd, perhaps, but the theme had enduring appeal and the market had always been kind to it.
However, just as Idehali was mentally drafting how to work this material into her next chapter, one of the apparitions in front of her opened its mouth and spoke.
"Miss, I assure you, we are not in the kind of relationship you seem to be imagining."
Geno stared at Idehali — who had waltzed into the room and immediately begun speculating about the nature of his relationship with Alice and the others — and felt a long, dark streak slide down his forehead like a waterfall.
Is this woman always this airheaded? What kind of person runs into strangers inside a Hollow and has this as their first reaction?
"...You're talking. To me?"
Idehali blinked, pointing a finger at her own chin with a mildly bewildered expression. From her perspective, one of the apparitions had spontaneously started addressing her — which could only mean one thing.
"Are you all real people? I'm so sorry — I genuinely assumed no one was here."
The way Idehali said it carried a faint, breezy quality that might have come across as sarcastic to most people — like she was being deliberately obtuse.
But Geno had already caught something far more interesting: her eyes.
"Miss, can you see certain... unusual things?"
He suspected that Idehali possessed eyes similar to his own — which would explain why she had perceived them as apparitions in the first place.
"Ah, I apologize — yes, my eyes can see things that ordinary people cannot. My name is Idehali. And you three are...?"
Realizing she had been a little forward, Idehali introduced herself first. Behind her, her tentacles began to sway and coil of their own accord.
"I'm Geno. And these two scaredy-cats who just about jumped out of their skin are Alice and Lucia."
"I am NOT a scaredy-cat!"
"N-Neither am I!"
The two indignant herbivore-type Thirren women united on the spot, staging a fierce joint protest against the tyrannical Geno's slander.
Their hands, however, were still tightly interlinked — which robbed their righteous outrage of any real credibility whatsoever.
"Pfft."
Idehali covered her mouth with a delicate hand and laughed. The movement caused everything in the vicinity of her chest to bounce along with considerable enthusiasm.
The two girls glanced at Idehali.
Then, instinctively, they glanced down at themselves.
Somewhere deep in the hearts of two young women, something quietly shattered.
"How... how is that even possible..."
"That's bizarre. Can a human body actually look like that?"
The two girls' eyes gradually glazed over as they began, on a subconscious level, to reject the fundamental truths of the physical world.
Lucia in particular was hard hit. Even after a full year of proper nutrition — which had filled her out considerably compared to before — she was still hopelessly outclassed when faced with a true final boss.
Somewhere, as if echoing from the depths of fate itself, a voice whispered to her: Your training is not yet complete.
Geno, by contrast, was refreshingly unaffected.
"I apologize — please don't mind these two. They're a little... elsewhere right now." He cleared his throat. "We got turned around inside the Hollow by accident. By any chance, do you have a Carrot on you?"
Idehali's expression shifted slightly. When she spoke, her voice retained that same light, unhurried lilt.
"Lost, are you? Don't worry — I'm a Proxy. I can guide you all safely out of the Hollow."
Geno let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Finally. A way out.
Hearing that she was a Proxy, Lucia and Alice — who had been slowly coming to terms with the harsh realities of the universe — snapped back to their senses.
"Miss Idehali is a Proxy? You really can't judge a book by its cover."
Alice was genuinely surprised. More than a Proxy, Idehali gave off the air of a model, or perhaps a teacher — someone effortlessly warm and approachable.
"True enough. I have to admit, I really did think you were a sea siren at first."
"A sea siren? Could you tell me more? I have a deep personal interest in that sort of urban legend."
Idehali's eyes lit up.
She hadn't expected to find a kindred spirit inside a Hollow of all places. Today was truly turning into her lucky day.
Not only had she landed a commission with an excellent payout, enjoyed a long-missed walk in the rain, and found shelter right when she needed it — she had now stumbled upon someone who shared her passion for strange tales.
Could it possibly get any better than this?
____
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