A Monster That Cannot Pray

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

Um… well… so…

“…Hiccup.”

Looking at the beautiful blonde woman smiling brightly in front of me.

-At that time, I will surely cut off your head, and then take responsibility with this life.

Remembering that voice that spoke as if the next time we met would be at my funeral.

“Hiccup.”

“…Are you alright?”

I seemed to have just hugged the chapel door I was opening with all four arms and trembled for a while.

So, as the woman hesitated, seemingly confused by my frozen state, reaching out her hand uncertainly, we stood in a standoff for a moment.

“Yawn… What are you doing there, Frey.”

With a frivolous yawn, the savior arose.

“Old man―! Please save me―!”

“Uh, um… W-wait a moment…?”

I know. I know how pathetic I look right now, running behind Bernard as soon as he came out and hiding, begging to be saved.

But what does that matter when the person who effortlessly cut off that terrifying monster’s head might have come to cut off my head?

“Huh? Who’s this, what’s the occasion?”

Seemingly quite surprised by my behavior of hiding behind him instead of greeting the guest, Bernard, who was naturally patting my head, finally noticed the executioner in front of us and spoke.

“Ahem… It’s been a while, senior. Has it been a year?”

“You really… Dumping work on your esteemed senior out of the blue and not contacting for a year, and now you show up?”

It seems the two knew each other from before, as the executioner scratched her head awkwardly towards Bernard, who was openly frowning and complaining.

“…Senior?”

“Ah, you don’t know. Let me introduce you. This person― Thanks to Alice’s request, I got to meet you.”

“As expected, it seems letting you go back then wasn’t the wrong choice.”

Um… so.

“…You didn’t come to kill me?”

Was I the only one who got scared and hid like a fool for no reason?

“Ah, there is an order to kill you, but…”

“Eek!?”

So you did come to kill me after all!

“You’ll make the child faint. Stop teasing and get to the point.”

“I’m not a child!”

“…Frey. Why don’t you come out from behind me first before saying that?”

So, as I was defending against Bernard’s hand trying to push me forward with all four arms.

“I’ve been kicked out and have nowhere to go… Can I stay here, senior?”

Finding this quite amusing, the blonde executioner― Alice, asked Bernard with a bright smile.

“Well, do as you like. We have spare rooms anyway.”

Throb.

“…?”

For a moment, my chest started hurting for some reason. Instead of using my upper arms to block Bernard’s hand, I raised two lower arms to touch the soft area around my chest.

Thwack―!

“Ouch!”

Suddenly, with tremendous pain on my forehead. Stars sparkled before my eyes.

“Tsk tsk. A young lady shouldn’t do that in front of people.”

Clutching my forehead with all four arms and crouching down from the intense impact, I glared at Bernard who was showing me the hand he had used to flick my forehead.

“Uggghhhh―!”

I wanted to tell him not to treat me like a young lady, but when I opened my mouth, all that came out was a painful scream.

Anyway, trying hard to hold back tears that felt like they would fall any moment.

Thump! Thump!

For lack of a better option, I raised my legs to kick Bernard’s shins, but…

“Kick all you want. Does it hurt me or you?”

“Ack―!”

As Bernard said, looking at me with pity. The only one hurting was me.

Damn executioners. What on earth do they do to make their bodies so hard?

“Tch…”

So, as I was glaring at Bernard who was sticking his tongue out at me teasingly.

“Pfft, hehe…”

Suddenly, laughter came from the side.

Come to think of it, I had completely forgotten Alice was there.

“Haa… Really. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you looking so happy, senior.”

“Huh? What are you talking about, I’ve always been like this?”

“Yes, yes. Let’s say that’s true.”

Alice looked at Bernard for a moment with eyes full of complex emotions, then.

“Then… Can I call you Frey?”

“…Yeah.”

She crouched in front of me and asked, making eye contact with a bright smile.

“You can call me Alice. Since we’ll be living together from today, I look forward to getting along with you, Frey.”

“Alice…”

She’s dazzling. Not just her golden hair that shimmers enough to reflect sunlight… She was truly a dazzling person.

“Yes. I look forward to getting along with you too, Alice.”

“Hey. You spoke casually to me from the start, but why are you so polite to Mia and Alice?”

Right after, Bernard intervened with a voice that seemed somewhat displeased.

“You’re just an old man.”

Partly to get revenge for earlier, I retorted with the coldest eyes I could muster.

“What did you say, you little…”

“Ah, that’s right. I haven’t cleaned the yard yet.”

Escaping from Bernard who was raising a vein on his forehead, I subtly waved my lower arms to greet Alice again.

It was the day a new family member joined our church.

* * *

The next day.

“How about this? Doesn’t this suit you too?”

“Oh, indeed. There’s quite a fun in dressing up.”

“Right? Hehe, the priest has no interest in these things so I was bored, but this is perfect timing.”

I had to curse myself for coming to introduce Alice to Miss Mia first thing in the morning, thinking I should introduce our new family member.

“E-enough…”

“Come on, Frey? Just try this one on, just this one. Okay?”

“You’ve said that more than five times already, Miss Mia…!?”

“Miss Mia made these clothes especially for you… Surely you’re not thinking of leaving them behind, are you, Frey?”

Although they had barely exchanged a few words, somehow they had come to an agreement. Looking at the two women who had been treating me like a dress-up doll for two hours already.

“No… How did someone who’s not even fully recovered make so many clothes already…”

“Ufufu… They’re not for sale, just things I made as a hobby, so it’s fine. Here, this one.”

I looked at the mountain of clothes being piled into my arms again… and seriously considered just running away, but.

“Frey. You don’t think you can escape from me, do you?”

…Unfortunately, the one next to Miss Mia right now was none other than one of the church’s executioners, called the pinnacle of humanity.

“Come on― Let’s raise our arms. Raise them.”

“I’m telling you… I’m not a child…”

In the end, Alice lifted me up by the nape of my neck with one hand while smiling, and my clothes were taken off again.

“Uu, uu…”

Even though my current body is that of a young girl, being in just panties in front of two adult women was honestly a bit embarrassing.

“A-anything is fine, just give me something to wear quickly…”

Covering my chest, which was quite developed for a child’s body, with my upper two arms, and using the lower arms to cover my lower body. I pleaded to the two people who were seriously contemplating what clothes to make me wear next.

“Hmm… Miss Mia?”

“Yes. What is it, Miss Alice?”

“I think Frey might soon need, you know… that.”

“Hmm… You’re right, she probably does.”

Then, as if they had planned it, the two looked at me intently with one hand on their chins.

‘…Need? What?’

Unable to understand what they were talking about, I slowly backed away while trying to read the situation.

“W-wait a moment… Surely not…”

Only then did I realize that their gazes were directed at my slightly protruding chest.

Shake shake shake shake.

I shook my head with all my might, saying that was the one thing I didn’t want, but.

“Frey. Don’t resist and come here while I’m asking nicely.”

“It might be fine now, but if you stay like this, you might end up showing something embarrassing in front of the senior soon, you know?”

“Uu, uuu, uu…!”

For powerless me, submitting before being forcibly taken was the only way out.

“Now, raise your arms―.”

So, after suffering all sorts of embarrassment standing in front of Miss Mia in just my underwear.

“Hmm… This might be a bit complicated. It’s not just about needing holes for the arms…”

“The design is an important part too. I completely understand how you feel, Miss Mia.”

With my face burning hot enough that I could feel it myself from having my chest kneaded by Miss Mia, I covered it with my hands.

‘I’ll be good from now on, so please save me. Old man…!’

Imagining Bernard, who would probably be guzzling alcohol and sprawled out sleeping on a chapel chair by now, I prayed for him to save me from this hell.

“Now, Frey. Come here. Let’s just try this on once.”

Of course, no matter how much I prayed inwardly… there was no one to save me from that thing in Miss Mia’s hands― that vicious item called a brassiere.

“……”

I thought, if no one will save me, I’ll just have to survive on my own.

“N-no way―!”

“Oh, uh… Frey!?”

“Frey! Where are you going looking like that!”

Perhaps they didn’t think I would escape in this state, taking advantage of Miss Mia and Alice’s moment of carelessness… I grabbed a large piece of fabric nearby, wrapped it around my body, and ran out of the shop.

“Oh my, Frey. A young lady shouldn’t be out like that.”

“Eh.”

Just as I opened the shop door to escape, I was caught by the fruit shop auntie who happened to be passing by.

“Now, go back to Mia quickly and ask her to dress you properly.”

“Ufufu. Thank you. It seems she was a bit bored with choosing clothes. Right, Frey?”

“…Hiccup.”

I was thrown back into the devil’s mouth once again.