Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 345
TL: Elphie / PR: Mikan
[Ah, Iām so full.]
Chomp-chomp sprawled out happily on a wide rock, his plump tentacles stretched out like a contented mess.
– Are you done, you fat worm?
[You’re so mean! Just because I ate some apples doesnāt mean Iām a fat worm! Apologize! How can you say such mean things!]
Chomp-chomp shot up indignantly, and the Hand of Appraisal pointed toward the mountain of apple seeds piled beneath the rock.
– If the apples of this world go extinct, itāll all be your fault.
Seeing the heap of seeds, Chomp-chomp feigned innocence while twisting his tentacles.
[Well, you knowā¦ if itās delicious, maybe itās okay to eat a lot.]
Whistling as he gazed off into the distance, Chomp-chomp pulled out other tentacles and picked every last remaining apple.
[Iām going to give these to Her Majesty, hehe.]
Chomp-chomp was loyal to Irene, taking care of her first, not Michael, as if he didn’t know who reported to her.
With dozens of tentacles full of apples, Chomp-chomp asked the Hand of Appraisal:
[So, what do we do now?]
At Chomp-chompās carefree question, the Hand of Appraisal finally lost it and exploded in frustration.
The Hand of Appraisal grabbed one of Chomp-chompās tentacles as he tried to reach for another apple and shook it.
– What am I supposed to do if you ask me that! I brought you here to help, and now Iām losing my mind.
[Ack! Let go! Cough cough!]
The bickering fight dragged on for a while until the pile of apples Chomp-chomp was holding suddenly toppled over with a crash.
After a while, the two crawled out from under the fallen apples, dusting themselves off as they sprawled out on the rock.
The Hand of Appraisal wiped the dust from himself and said to Chomp-chomp,
– Enough, enough. What did I ever expect from you… Instead of wasting time like this, itās better to find the Monster King. Howās the Monster Kingās consort? No big problems, right? You know the Demon Lordās temper. If His Majestyās consort gets hurt even a little, itās going to be a disaster.
Honestly, he wasnāt worried about Michael at all.
Even if his power had weakened and he had become human again, he had always been more monstrous than the monsters when he was human.
So, dropping such a person into this world didnāt seem like it would cause any major danger.
The real danger would be the unlucky monsters hanging around him.
[Her Majesty? Wait a second.]
Chomp-chomp put down the apple he was about to eat and focused his mind.
As one of Ireneās direct subordinates, Chomp-chomp shared a portion of his consciousness with her.
He couldnāt see or feel exactly what she did, but he could at least sense her general mood and condition.
After a brief pause, Chomp-chomp turned to the Hand of Appraisal.
[Youāre planning to head toward Her Majesty right now, arenāt you?]
– Of course.
Wherever she was, the Monster King will be too. And if the Hand was going to get its body back, he was the key.
[Umā¦]
Chomp-chomp hesitated, looking a bit troubled, before speaking again.
[Then could we wait just a little longer before going?]
– What the hell kind of nonsense is that?
If theyāre going, they should go now, not play around here for a while longer.
The Hand of Appraisal looked utterly dumbfounded and reached out to shake Chomp-chomp again, but Chomp-chomp spoke up once moreāthis time with a rare, dead-serious expression.
[If we go now… weāll die.]
– What? Why?
When the Hand pressed him, Chomp-chomp only turned to look in the direction where Ireneās energy could be felt.
āShe seems super tiredā¦ but also kind of in a good mood?ā
She was occasionally like this back at the beach house, too.
And one thing was certain. Whenever she was like this, you absolutely DO. NOT. APPROACH.
Even getting close would trigger the Monster Kingās freakishly sharp senses. Heād detect Chomp-chompās presence in an instant and use his powers to bind him far, far away.
Heād done it before, tied up Chomp-chompās tentacles so thoroughly it had taken three whole days in human time to wriggle free and crawl back home.
āIf that happens here, I might never find my way back again.ā
So it only made sense to wait and observe Her Majestyās condition, let those two finish whatever they were doing, and only then go to them.
– So what, weāre just going to sit here now? I thought you said youād help me get my body back! You promised if I helped, youād get it back for me!
The Hand of Appraisal reached out to grab and shake Chomp-chomp again, but Chomp-chomp dodged nimbly, gulped down another apple, and replied,
[Then how about we start by finding your body on our own first?]
