Flow, Drifting from Place to Place

"..."

The Shark Princess Witch could understand human speech, but she disdained to speak. Besides, the Werewolf's incoherent proposal left her unsure how to react.

She was there to take his life, so why was this lecherous bastard bringing out a chair to invite her to sit down and talk?

To put it another way, close-range conversations are clearly not advantageous to oneself.

"Then I'll ask here, and you listen on the water."

Sensing the Shark Princess Witch's wariness, Ryu moved a stool and sat down by the river.

Why did you kill me? Does this mean "the Other Side"?

"..."

"Oh, you can't speak human language either?"

Based on his previous experience, Liu felt this was very likely.

The Shark Princess Witch frowned.

Do you know what you are?

Her voice was sharp and shrill.

"Hmm, I guess I'm some kind of Monster with a malfunctioning brain. I firmly believe I'm a person, but in reality, I can't be, right?"

"... I've been abandoned by those above. Only by getting rid of this will you be qualified to go back."

The Shark Princess Witch touched her chest, where a Hunter Witch's dagger had pierced through her, but it was the power of a certain magical girl that saved her life.

"Do we really have to go back?"

"Of course, do you really think there's a place for us in this world?"

"Hey, if you hadn't called suddenly, I'd still be at work right now."

"Our innate mission is to conquer this world."

"That's the mission from above; you and I are just pawns, nothing more."

A chess piece whose identity is unclear due to a malfunction;

A pawn discarded because it was captured.

As a malfunctioning Monster, Ryu doesn't know much about what's happening " on the Other Side," but it's precisely because of this lack of knowledge that he can vaguely guess some things. Monster like him are just biological weapons created to achieve the purpose of a certain will.

As for the differences, it's simply that some weapons use more precious materials, while others use cheaper ones.

Every day, wormhole invasions occur in this world, followed by magical girls rising up in resistance, but the events always end with the Monster being eliminated.

After all, these are mass-produced weapons, seemingly sent here solely to die... and to die meaninglessly, which completely fails to achieve the so-called purpose of invasion.

"A chess piece...?"

The Shark Princess Witch possesses the memories of a magical girl, though they don't belong to her; they are the only things she remembers after waking up in the incubation tank.

She knows what human society is like, but she can't empathize with humans because she knows very well what she herself is like...

She is the weapon of aggression on the "The Other Side".

As a weapon of aggression, I have already been killed once.

Does she now have the right to decide "what she is"?

The will to fight vanished as he pondered the situation.

Liu also noticed her confusion and wavering.

"Miss Shark."

"Call me Kawanami... no, call me Achernar."

"So, Miss Achernar, would you be willing to try living with me for a while—"

He hadn't even finished speaking.

The ultra-high pressure water gun, thicker than before, easily shaved off a large section of the ground next to the stream.

"... Gurgle."

Liu glanced at the clean, crisp cut on the floor tile, swallowed hard, and wondered if a woman could unleash such power in a fit of extreme anger.

"Cough cough."

He changed his tune, saying, "What I meant was, would you be willing to live alone as a human being for a period of time?"

"If I don't carry out the mission, not only will the humans arrest me, but they will also continue to bring in the Execution Squad."

"Huh? You ran into that robot clone too?"

"... I almost died."

The Shark Princess Witch was telling the truth, but Liu, unaware of the facts, exclaimed in admiration, "Wow~ You're really amazing to be able to take her down by yourself. I was beaten pretty badly back then, and she even tore this armor to shreds."

The Shark Princess Witch frowned and replied, "Unless there's water, I'm not confident I can defeat her..."

"But you're not confident you can beat me, are you?"

"Huh?" The Shark Princess Witch made a sound of displeasure.

"Did I say something wrong? You don't dare approach me, you don't even dare stand on land, isn't it because you're afraid I'll take you down?"

Although it sounded like a provocation, the Shark Princess Witch couldn't really refute it.

This made Liu somewhat smug.

"Miss Achernar, since both paths before you are risky, why don't you choose the one that will make your life better... no, the one that you believe is right in your heart?"

Liu's tone was very serious.

At this moment, offering advice to the Shark Princess Witch is also a way of convincing oneself.

"Don't hesitate any longer. You don't still want to fight me, do you? Just because I have no ill intentions towards you and the risk is relatively low, you're planning to deal with me?"

"..."

Although this pervert had a surprisingly feminine voice, he was quite eloquent.

The rarely speaking Shark Princess Witch simply couldn't win an argument...

Ultimately, she didn't know what the "right" path was either.

At this moment.

More than a dozen large drones drifted over from a distance in a grand procession.

"Oh no, I've been here too long."

The fleeing fisherman and passersby would certainly call the police, so it's reasonable for the Association's drones to come and investigate.

Wearing a stone gauntlet inlaid with Crystal, Liu pulled one down from the air and said, "Let's go somewhere else and think it over slowly. Come find me when you've figured it out; I'd love to hear your new ideas."

After saying this, Liu plunged into the water, leaving the Shark Princess Witch alone to face the dozen or so drones.

For the Shark Princess Witch, who excels at long-range attacks and has unlimited ammunition on the water, these reconnaissance drones are nothing more than toys that she can destroy at will.

The problem is that magical girls might arrive later.

"An irresponsible man."

She didn't want to clash with those magical girls right now, so she sank underwater and disappeared without a trace, as if dissolving.

Back in his tent, Liu began packing his things.

"What just happened... will probably be mistaken for a conspiracy, right?"

In any case, there's no going back to the docks; the "The Other Side" is still watching him, this defective product, and anyone who comes into contact with him is in danger.

This underpass will be searched soon, and I can't stay here any longer.

"Looks like we'll have to go back to the forest and wilderness to survive again."

Shouldering his only backpack and carrying his folded tent, he set off on his hike once again...

As soon as he stepped out of the underpass, someone kicked him in the chest with such force that he was sent flying back.

Liu was about to get angry, but when he saw who it was, he immediately lost his temper.

"... Miss Sirius?"

Even if the other party disguises themselves, wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask.

He could still recognize it; after all, smell doesn't lie.

In terms of status, I'm currently still considered her dog.

"What are you doing? How did you get filmed by a drone? And you're with the fugitive we're trying to catch? You think you're getting cocky just because SpiCa isn't after you? What are you trying to do?"

"That was an accident... But how did you know I was here?"

"The reason you can speak is because a part of me is inside you, but even a tiny piece, the size of a dander from the world's most beautiful girl, is enough for me to pinpoint your location... Why are you laughing so disgustingly?"

"... fine."

The fact that she was happy because a part of a beautiful girl was inside her was something she absolutely could not tell Sirius.

"I can roughly guess why you're here."

He scratched his head.

"... Could you let me handle Miss Achernar?"