Chapter 32: Mega-Monstah!

"Welcome to the grandest mall ever made for both humans and monstergirls!"

"Wooow!"

Eryn, Azusa, and the monstergirls stood in front of a gigantic dome-shaped building that reached far to the skies. Metallic wings resembling that of a bird monstergirl rotated around the surface, casting its shadows over the population.

"W-Where in the world did you bring us, Azusa?!" Eryn's eyes shot wide in disbelief, looking at the dome that practically towered over them. I wanted to go school shopping, not whatever the heck this is! Talk about overkill!

"The grandest mall ever made!" She repeated herself and winked.

"Yes, I heard you the first time." He face-palmed himself. "I mean, where did you bring us?"

"Mega-Monstah!" She adjusted her glasses which flashed a bright white. "A mega-structure housing every single facility and utility you could ever think of for monstergirls! Mega-Monstah!"

"Wow… that sounds pretty impressive." He nodded in awe, then shook his head. "Y-You brought us here for school supplies? That's what I asked help for, didn't I?"

"Oh, lighten up a little!" She folded her arms. "All monstergirls should visit this place after getting their ID cards! It's a rite of passage!"

"Seriously, Azusa…" he released a long, low sigh. True, the monstergirls received their ID cards recently. And I haven't been able to make use of them much. But going to a mega-structure was surely a bit too sudden, no?!

"Eryn, Eryn!" Lofie tugged on his arm. "Can we go inside?"

"The mall looks so huuuuge!" Melty hopped up and down, excitement surging through her body. "I wanna go in!"

"Woah…" Iris's eyes dilated to the maximum degree, staring at the gigantic mall.

"See?" Azusa giggled, waving at the monstergirls. "They're all excited to check it out! Are you going to deny them this magical experience?

"E-Er…" Eryn glanced at each monstergirl. Normally, this would be the point Iris ask her sisters to calm down, but even she found the mega-structure so fascinating. All their tails are waving, too…

"Come on…" Azusa wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Aren't you a tad bit interested to check it out, too?"

He scratched his cheek, feeling slightly unsure. "W-Well, I'm not totally against it but…"

"Then let's go!" she dragged his arm to the entrance.

"H-Hey, wait!"

"Eryn, wait for us!" Iris grabbed her sisters' hands.

"Ah, Azusa is stealing Eryn from us!" Lofie pouted, running after them.

"Let's catch up to them!" Melty exclaimed.

Before they could reach the entrance, a long lance gently swung in front of them, preventing them from taking another step.

"Halt." A monotonous voice called out.

"W-Woah…!" His eyes widened at the silver lance, longer than his entire body. That's a huge weapon!

"Oh, woops!" Azusa rubbed the back of her hair. "I forgot they were watching over the entrance."

"W-Who?" His eyes traced the length of the lance towards its mighty wielder who was encased in iron-hard armor. Though what surprised him was who the armor was equipped to. Two impressive limbs stuck out from each side of a massive lower body. Two other limbs resembling legs were also attached to its waist. Aside from holding a giant spear, the being also had a giant round shield strapped to its back. This person is anything but human, isn't she?

"You two… must be humans."

"E-Er…" his gaze shifted from its armored body onto its face. Devoid of any expression like its voice. Its pure black eyes met his curious blue ones. Eyes he could describe as being insect-like. "That's right…?"

"Ah!" Melty pointed at the armored being. "You're a soldier beetle!"

"A… soldier beetle?" Eryn raised a brow, getting a sense of deja vu. So… this is another kind of monstergirl! This reminded him of the time he met that monstergirl at the bakery, and Melty also pointed out what monstergirl she was! The fact he was getting used to meeting different monstergirls unnerved him. With that giant lance and shield, soldier sounds about right!

"That is correct." The soldier beetle nodded, shifting her expressionless eyes onto the trio of children. "And you three… must be monstergirls."

"T-That's right." Eryn stood in front of the monstergirls. The lack of expression on the monstergirl's face scared him a little.

The soldier beetle's gaze switched between the male human and the three monstergirls. "Are you… their owner?"

"Y-Yes, that would be me." He nodded, gulping inaudibly.

"I see." The soldier beetle stroked her chin in deep thought. "I suppose there is no issue then. Do the monstergirls have ID cards?"

"… Oh!" It finally clicked in Eryn's mind. Of course, the monstergirls wouldn't be allowed if they didn't have ID cards! The soldier beetle was simply checking up on that, wasn't she? I was expecting a worse scenario, for some reason. Perhaps the new sight of a monstergirl he hasn't seen before, much less a soldier beetle, threw him off.

"Yes, I have their ID cards right here." Eryn took them out of his pocket, to which the soldier beetle inspected closely.

"I see." The soldier beetle nodded. "They've been registered recently. I take it that you are a new owner?"

"Y-Yes."

"Congratulations on their registration." The soldier beetle stepped to the side. "Apologies for cutting you off with my lance. You are all free to proceed."

"O-Oh, thank you…?" Eryn bowed his head. That… was far simpler than I thought.

"And off we continue!" Azusa dragged him inside the entrance.

"H-Hey, take it easy!"

"Ah, Azusa is stealing Eryn again!" Lofie huffed.

"After them!" Melty exclaimed playfully.

"W-Wait for me!" Iris followed them.

The soldier beetle stared at them from afar, setting her lance on the ground. Two humans, one who was the owner of the three little monstergirls. Sisters who look nothing like each other, each a different kind of monstergirl. A description that sounded awfully familiar.

"Could they be the group Ms. Riana was referring to…?"

…

..

.

"Azusa, could you stop dragging me in?!"

"I can't contain my excitement!" Azusa pushed him to the front. "Feast your eyes on this, Eryn!"

"What're you so excited about, anyway?" Eryn huffed, pulling back his jacket. "And feast my eyes on wha—…"

His voice lodged in his throat as he took in the sight before his wide-open eyes. In the center, platforms flew around in a circular pattern, extending far above the skies across multiple levels. Monstergirls of many kinds were walking, running, and flying around. Monstergirls he had never seen before. Many shops of peculiar designs lined the horizons with trees and rivers of nature intertwining through the interiors.

"Wooooah!" The little monstergirls exclaimed in unison.

"W-Where the heck are we?" His mouth went agape. Was this the mall they just walked into? It's like an entirely different world out here! Did we walk into a portal? Where did the trees come from? Why was there a river flowing on the floor? Why are there floating platforms? His mind couldn't comprehend it!

"Mega-Monstah!" Azusa grinned. "Quite a magnificent sight, isn't it? I've always wanted to come here!

"Wait, is this your first time coming here?" His eyes snapped to her. "I thought you'd already been here!"

"Nope!" She playfully smacked her fist to her forehead. "I didn't want to go alone. And what do you know, your monstergirls were the perfect reason to come here!"

"… Seriously?" His head dropped to the side; he couldn't believe her words. Don't tell me this was her ulterior motive all along. Is that why she was so eager to help him? He didn't doubt her intentions, but going to a mega-mall of all places was the farthest idea from his mind.

With a mischievous grin, Azusa batted her eyelids at him. "Okay, I may have omitted some truths here and there…"

"Some is a very generous word."

"Listen, Eryn." She grabbed his shoulders, gazing straight into his eyes. "Even if you wanted to leave the mall, do you have the heart to take your monstergirls out of here?"

"… Huh?" He blinked twice, pondering her words, then directed his eyes to the monstergirls.

"I've never been in a place like this before!" Iris exclaimed with awe.

"It feels very magical!" Lofie's eyes darted all over the place, trying to take in every new spectacle.

"There are so many monstergirls!" Melty's eyes lit up with stars.

The three monstergirls all expressed their excitement, with their tails waving around frantically, visibly conveying their interest in exploring this new area. Eryn stared at them, then back to Azusa, who returned a sly grin.

"You clearly don't have the heart to rob them of this magical experience, don't you?"

"… Mnnngh." Eryn drew his chin up, staring at the skies. He took a deep breath before bowing his head. Adorable smiles plastered each of the monstergirls's faces. How could he say no to their little faces? Of course, he didn't have the heart to take that away from them.

"Eryn, Eryn!" Lofie's eyes sparkled. "Can we look around?"

"Yeah!" Melty hopped up and down. "I want to run everywhere!"

"I… would love to see the mall." Iris gently held onto his finger. "If it doesn't bother Eryn."

… Ah. Their voices tugged at his heartstrings. There's no way I can turn them down. It would absolutely crush him to cast away their excitement and see the smiles leave their faces. What have I gotten myself into…

He sighed before returning a weak grin to the mastermind pulling the strings. "You're really unfair, Azusa."

"Me… unfair?" Azusa pointed at herself and whistled. "No idea what you're talking about. I'm totally innocent."

Eryn turned to the monstergirls. He crouched, patting the catgirl's fluffy head. "Of course, it doesn't bother me, Iris."

"Really, Eryn?" she looked up at him with upturned eyes.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Besides, I'd be lying if I weren't the least bit curious about the mall."

"Yay!" Melty threw her arms around his neck, nearly slamming him to the ground. "Then we can go together!"

Lofie bobbed her head. "It will be more fun if Eryn is with us."

"It's settled then!" Azusa clapped her hands and waved her hand toward the skies. "Today, we'll explore the magical mysteries the monstrous mall Mega-Monstah has to offer!"

"Yaaay~!" All the monstergirls exclaimed in unison. Exploring a new wonderful place with Eryn was bound to be lots of fun!

"Stop standing still!" Eagerly, Melty pushed him from behind. "Let's go, Eryn!"

"Come on, Eryn!" Iris grabbed his hand and gently pulled him along.

"Eryn will come with us." Lofie tugged on the sleeve of his hand.

"Oh, dear…" A gentle smile formed on his lips. He let out another long sigh, easing his nerves. There's not much I can say now, can I? He'd be dragged along for the ride, whether he wanted to or not. Well, there's no harm in having fun. With an opportunity like this to bond with the monstergirls, it'd be a waste not to make use of it. And besides, the monstergirls' wide smiles were more than enough to persuade him.

The school-shopping adventure can wait.