What a shame. That pie was delicious. I have also never tasted anything like those fruits. What are they called? Dried plums, is it? They were sweet! I really wanted that sweet taste again.

  But she said she didn’t have any more, so I guess I should eat her for dessert and look for those pies again in the next human colony. What do they call those colonies again? Villages? Cities? Yeah, those places would surely have more tasty food like these pies and dried plums.

  “Wait! Wait!” the girl cried out. I stopped.

  “Do you have more pies and dried plums?” I stopped. Did she lie? My mind was entirely on the delicious pie and plums I just had. I shouldn’t have eaten them that fast. I should have eaten them using my mouth instead of using my tentacles so I could savor the taste.

  “No… But I could get you some more! Yeah! The bakery I work for could give you more plums or raisins. There are also biscuits and jam. They are equally delicious.”

  “Okay! Bring me to the village, nyaa! Let’s have more pies!”

  We walked for a while. My mind was focused on the pies and possible food this girl could offer me. As we walked, the girl tried to make small talk, like asking my name.

  “Um… May I know your name?”

  “Name? Me? I am Xeno!” I said. I actually don’t have a name, but I am a Xeno. My status said so.

  “Well, I am Lily. Um… Nice to meet you. Um… could you remove this tentacle?” Lily said as she eyed the tentacle that entwined her waist with horror. The head glared at her as if it wanted to devour her.

  “No. You would escape if I removed the tentacle. I am not letting you go until you give me more pies, nyaa!”

  It didn’t take long for the village to become visible. Rows of dilapidated shacks lined up in this small village. People wore sullen looks as despair clouded every villager. People walked with their heads down.

  “What happened? They look so sad, nyaa!” I asked.

  “Well, we have just been robbed by bandits. We lost almost all of our grain, so… we don’t know how to survive the winter. Only the village chief has grain now. He has been rationing it carefully for the whole village.”

  “So, where is the pie?” I asked. I didn’t care about wheat or grain. It’s not my business.

  “Monsters!” Four guards and a man I assumed was their leader soon stopped us in our tracks as we approached the village plaza where Lily said the pie was. They braced their spears against me. “Lily! What have you done! Have you brought monsters to our village?”

  “I’m sorry! I don’t have any choice! This girl would kill me if I didn’t give her pies and plums!”

  “We don’t have any! Not after the last bandit raid! You know that!”

  “Huh? No pies?” My mind turned red. So, all this walking was for nothing? Did Lily just… lie to me?

  I turned to her and the guards. All of them took a step back as I stretched the tentacles from my back. Each tentacle glared at every soldier. Their mouths were ready to devour them. How should I kill them? Should I just devour them, or should I cook them with a beam attack first? Maybe I should test some sword skills using the weapons I stole from the dead bandits.

  “Wait! Wait! I do have just a tiny bit left in my house. Um… please don’t kill them!” Lily said.

  So there are some pies left. Lily didn’t lie after all. Humans, what bothersome creatures. Ah, they were separate beings, so there was bound to be some misinformation.

  As we headed for Lily’s house, the village chief eyed me curiously.

  “Um… once you eat the pie… will you kill me?” Lily asked after giving me her very last pie she stored on her shelf. I contemplated her words.

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  “Can you produce more pies?”

  “Well… with the rations and how little food we would have for the winter, I don’t think I will survive the winter anyway. Um… could you at least make it painless? Hehehe.” Lily chuckled. Her eyes were dead when she came to the realization that she would die of hunger and cold anyway even if I released her.

  “Okay! I will make sure you die painlessly. I will blow your head off with my Hyper Beam. You won’t feel a thing! I promise.” This is the least I could do after she gave me her very last pie.

  Then, a knock.

  “Greetings, Lily. I see that you have made a new monster friend there. Could you introduce me?”

  “Village Chief. Hello. Um… sorry. She said her name is Xeno. We met when a bandit was about to kidnap me. She killed five of them with ease and ate them.”

  “Yes! I am a Xeno, nyaa!”

  “Well. What are you going to do after eating that pie, Xeno-san?”

  “Well, there are no more pies, so I am going to kill Lily painlessly and eat her. I will also kill and eat this village!” I said proudly.

  “…I see. How about I make you an offer?” the Village Chief said.

  —-------

  Village Chief’s POV

  When I heard someone had brought a monster to the village, I rallied all the remaining guards I had with me. But when I saw the monster that Lily brought, I knew I couldn’t win. Let alone four guards. I don’t think I could win even if I brought a hundred with me. That’s how strong the monster that Lily brought was.

  We were all nailed to the spot with fear. But when the monster and Lily went to her house, my mind finally came to the realization.

  Pies and dried plums?

  Then a bold idea came to my mind. If God didn’t support me, if the knights of the theocracy didn’t come to our aid, then I would gladly turn myself to the devil. We have nothing to lose. I have nothing to lose. Not after those scum killed my only son.

  I ran toward my home, brought out my prized honey, fruits, jewelry, bread, and jam.

  After knocking on Lily’s door, I excused myself. There, Lily handed the monster a small piece of pie she likely left for dinner. Lily was a nobody. Just an apprentice baker. When winter hits, she would be among the first to die due to the lack of food. If I play my cards right, we can probably survive the winter.

  “You said you wanted more pies, right? But you see. To give you more pies, we need wheat, or more precisely, flour.”

  “I see. But that was stolen by bandits!” Xeno immediately connected the dots.

  I nodded.

  “So, can you produce more pies if I take the grain back from the bandits?” Xeno asked. I smiled. This went better than I hoped it would.

  “Yes. Xeno-san. No, Xeno-sama. Could you please kill those bandits and bring back our grain? If you do, I could give you as many pies as you want!” I was elated. I was just a helpless scribe chosen to lead a poor rural village. I could only clench my teeth as my fifteen-year-old son stood bravely against the bandits. But alas, he was captured and beheaded in front of me.

  I still have a daughter. I can’t die yet. But we are poor and powerless. I could see the future where my three-year-old daughter was working as a prostitute when those bandits the empire had ignored for two years came and kidnapped her later.

  We are just powerless pawns. Nobody cares for us.

  “Village Chief. As many pies as she wanted might be a bit too much of a promise.” Lily shook her head. My mind reeled. Wait a minute. She said this girl ate five bandits. Does she mean she ate the entirety of their bodies? She also said she would kill and eat all of us after she finished with Lily’s pies. Does she has bottomless stomach? Then I have to change the agreement.

  “Sorry. But we need some for our well-being too. So… we can only give you enough. I hope for your understanding, Xeno-sama.” I bowed, trying to retract my earlier promise. “How about ten pies every day?”

  “Ten!?”

  “And possibly some extra, depending on the circumstances. Here! I brought you a gift. Please accept them. We have other things than pies and plums!”

  “Food!” Xeno quickly entangled her tentacles on the boxes I brought and opened them. Her tentacles opened their jaws wide, seeming about to devour the whole box, but she halted herself as she opened it with her hands. She then brought the only food she knew, the dried plum, and popped it into her mouth.

  After she finished the plums (she also ate the seeds), she then looked over at the honey, bread, and jam. Her head tilted cutely, curious.

  “Um… here. You eat bread and jam by spreading it like this. Dried plums are best if you eat them with porridge, but they took all the grains…” Lily said as she took a knife and spread the jam over the bread before giving it to Xeno, which she quickly ate with gusto.

  Looking at her reminded me of Sarah’s daughter. We lost her just a few weeks prior. I suppose those bandits must have also kidnapped her. Her parents grieved so hard. It pains me every time I look at their faces. It seemed as if the world had lost all meaning. If only she didn’t have those tentacles behind her back, she would pass as a normal beastkin child.

  “Hmm! Delicious! You are a good man, Village Chief!” Xeno said. “So, where is this bandit hideout you speak of? Where’s the flour?”

  I smiled. “Bernard and Lily will point you toward where the bandit hideout was.”

  “So, what should I do? Kill everyone there?”

  “Yes. Um… wait. No. I’m sorry. But there might be some of our villagers there. So… if you could, please save them, we would be grateful.”

  “Understood! So, I just need to go there, save the ones that look like prisoners, and then kill the rest?”

  “Yes. That’s correct, Xeno-sama.” I bowed so hard that my head touched the ground. Thank you, God. Zephyr, I have avenged you. This demon will avenge you.