Rules for Raising a Tentacle Monster - Chapter 3

I covered my ears and pretended not to hear.

“I brought warm milk,” the voice outside continued, tempting me.

“And strawberry cake.”

I swallowed.

But I still did not move.

What a joke. Which mattered more, my life or a piece of cake?

The voice outside paused.

Then I heard a key turning in the lock.

*Click.*

The lock opened.

Me: ???

If you had a key, why the hell did you knock?

And what about the chair I had jammed against the door?

The door cracked open.

Those familiar black tentacles slithered inside like snakes.

They deftly wrapped around the heavy chair and shifted it aside with ease, clearing the obstacle.

Then the door opened all the way.

Xie Yan stood in the doorway.

It had changed clothes.

It now wore a loose black silk robe with the collar slightly open, revealing a pale, firm chest.

If I ignored the faceless cloud of black mist, that body could have walked a runway.

It held a tray.

There really was a glass of warm milk on it, along with an exquisitely decorated, delicious-looking slice of cake.

“Why aren’t you being good?”

It walked inside, a trace of helplessness in its voice.

“I told you not to be picky.”

I huddled in the corner of the bed and pulled the blanket more tightly around me.

“The rule said… I can’t open the door.”

I tried to reason with the monster.

“The rule?”

Xie Yan chuckled.

The cloud of black mist churned and slowly drew closer to my face.

“This is my home.”

“My word is the rule.”

It sat down on the edge of the bed.

The mattress sank deeply beneath it.

Its tentacles crept up along the bed and wrapped around me through the blanket.

They did not coil tightly enough to suffocate me.

It felt more like a heavy embrace.

Yet the embrace inexplicably drove away my fear.

It handed me the milk.

“Drink. It’ll help you sleep.”

I did not dare refuse.

The milk was warm, sweetened with sugar.

I took tiny sips without ever taking my eyes off it.

It simply sat there in silence.

The red lights inside the mist stayed fixed on me.

It had no face, yet I could feel the heat of its gaze.

As though it were tracing my outline over and over with its eyes.

“What… do you want?”

At last, I could not stop myself from asking.

Kill me? Eat me?

Couldn’t it just get it over with?

Xie Yan tilted its head.

Somehow, the gesture was a little cute.

It reached out a hand—an actual human hand this time, slender and pale, with clearly defined knuckles.

It gently stroked my cheek.

Its fingertips were cold, but I did not pull away.

Its movements were simply too careful.

As careful as if it were touching porcelain that might shatter at the slightest pressure.

My heart could not help skipping a beat.

“I was thinking…”

Its voice sank lower, carrying a kind of suppressed yearning.

“Where would be the best place to hide you?”

“Somewhere no one else could ever find.”

“Where only I could look at you. Only I could touch you.”

“Would you like that, baby?”

A shudder ran through my whole body.

I nearly spilled the milk in my hand.

Was this one of those legendary yanderes?

Dude, this was a horror game, not a dating sim!

Hadn’t you wandered onto the wrong set?

“Um…”

I tried to change the subject.

“I’m sleepy.”

“Sleepy?”

Xie Yan nodded.

It took the empty glass from my hand and placed it on the bedside table.

Then it did something that scared the soul out of me.

It lifted the blanket and climbed in.

“Then we’ll sleep.”

It spoke as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

Those tentacles seemed to have minds of their own. They rapidly claimed every strategic position beneath the blanket.

Two coiled around my ankles.

Two circled my waist.

The rest formed a “cocoon” over my body.

I was locked firmly in its embrace.

Its body was freezing, like a block of ice.

But on a hot summer night like this, it was actually rather comfortable.

Provided I ignored the fact that it was a monster.

“You…”

I had just started to protest when a tentacle lightly covered my mouth.

“Shh.”

Its voice sounded beside my ear.

“Don’t speak. The things outside will hear you.”

The things outside?

I froze.

Were there other monsters here besides it?

Just then, a strange sound came from the corridor.

It sounded like something heavy dragging across the floor.

*Scrape—scrape—*

Then came the sound of fingernails clawing at wooden doors.

*Scritch—scritch—*

The sound drew closer and closer.

Finally, it stopped outside my door.

I did not dare breathe.

The thing lingered outside.

Its labored breathing seeped through the crack beneath the door.

It was sniffing.

Searching for the scent of a living person.

I felt Xie Yan’s arms tighten slightly.

It pulled me closer, pressing my head against its chest.

Black mist spread and enveloped us completely.

A powerful, terrifying pressure instantly filled the entire room.

The thing outside released a piercing wail.

Then it fled. Its footsteps were frantic and chaotic, like prey that had encountered its natural predator.

Silence.

The world fell quiet once more.

The only sound left was the slow, powerful beat inside Xie Yan’s chest.

*Thump. Thump. Thump.*

“Sleep.”

It patted my back as though soothing a child.

“With me here, they won’t dare come in.”

That night, I actually fell asleep.

In the arms of an S-rank horror-dungeon BOSS.

And dreamed of nothing but tentacles.