Chapter 364
Perhaps feeling sorry for it, Chomp-chomp quietly approached, only to be chased by the puppy, whose target had shifted.
[Save me from the monster!]
Unable to watch any longer, Irene picked up the puppy.
“Pip, I told you not to bother the monsters.”
Because it always yapped, the puppy had naturally come to be called Pip, and now it drooped its ears and tail.
Whimper.
Though it always acted so bold in front of Chomp-chomp and Hand of Appraisal, the puppy instantly wilted and hung its tail after Irene’s light scolding.
[Look at that! That sly thing!]
[Lady Irene! Don’t be fooled! That look is fake!]
Hand of Appraisal and Chomp-chomp, now feeling wronged, shouted at the puppy, but the puppy simply ignored them as if to say it couldn’t hear their barking, and licked Irene’s hand.
At any rate, with Hand of Appraisal still unable to regain its body and left behind to watch the house, the rest set off together to see Reyna and Felix.
[I’ll be back! Wipe the table once a day! Pick up trash on the beach in the morning and evening, and if villagers get too close, use the artifact once…]
[Got it, just go already, please.]
Looking thoroughly fed up, Hand of Appraisal used the artifact to open the portal to the monster realm.
Irene and Michael, without hesitation, leapt inside, and Hand of Appraisal handed the artifact to Chomp-chomp.
Chomp-chomp grabbed it and hid its body in the spot where its tentacle had emerged. Soon, the house fell silent, except for the portal to the monster realm that the party had just entered.
Hand of Appraisal, satisfied as it surveyed the now-quiet house, looked through the entrance to the monster realm.
The swirling miasma surged like a stormy sea.
‘To think there are humans who cross this place so casually.’
Irene and Michael possessed miasma resistance and magical power, but technically, they were still human.
Yet to cross here without fear, when even most monsters found it difficult.
‘If those two have offspring, just what will be born?’
Just what kind of being, with what level of miasma resistance and magic, would result?
Even Hand of Appraisal, who fancied itself an intellectual of the monster realm, had no way to predict the outcome.
Who’s ever seen a case like this before?
[Anyway, now I can finally have some peace and q— huh?]
Waiting for the portal to close, Hand of Appraisal suddenly widened its eyes at something in one corner.
[W-Wait, what is that?]
Looking further inside, Hand of Appraisal shouted loudly,
[Hey! Chomp-chomp! Monster King! Monster Queen! Can anyone hear me?]
But no matter how much it called, there was no answer.
And so the portal to the monster realm closed.
Left alone in the living room, Hand of Appraisal muttered anxiously,
[Why is the Dragon of Oblivion passing by here right now?]
* * *
“We’re here!”
Bursting out of the portal to the monster realm, Irene shouted joyfully.
A cool breeze swept in from the lake, blowing Irene’s hair.
When she turned her head, she saw the great lake below the mountain and houses gathered along the lakeshore.
Spotting the house where Reyna lived, Irene grabbed Michael’s hand as he stepped out behind her.
“Let’s go!”
She’d teased him before for seeking out Reyna over something like this, but now, excited to see her friend again after so long, Irene led the way, brimming with energy.
Just as they reached Reyna’s house and Irene was about to knock—
“Waaaah!”
A child’s wailing could be heard from beyond the door, followed by Felix’s frantic voice: “Mama? Diaper? Or nap?”
Relieved to know they’d come to the right place, Irene knocked on the door.
It was thrown open with a bang.
“Who is it! Who dares knock when my baby’s— Oh? Irene?”
Reyna, who had opened the door with an intimidating force, lowered her ladle in surprise when she saw Irene standing there.
“Uh… did I come at a bad time? Should I, um, come back later…?”
“No!”
Reyna seized Irene’s hand and clung to her.
“You came at the perfect time! Please save me!”
