“What... are you all doing?”
Ning Chu looked at the three girls squatting in a circle on the floor, unable to grasp the situation.
The trio turned to look at her simultaneously. Yan Xinya, her wolf ears perked up, brightened as she waved her over. “What brings you here?”
“Come see what Lily found!”
“Found?”
Ning Chu closed the door behind her and walked over, curiosity piqued as she leaned in to see what they were looking at.
In the center of the circle was a tiny, wriggling octopus, its big, shiny eyes and slightly pink, translucent skin giving it a cute, almost animated look. It had eight little tentacles and a pair of ears that looked like an elephant’s, and it was smaller than a ping-pong ball.
She blinked, recalling a mukbang video she’d seen. “A Dumbo octopus?”
Apparently, this species was often kept as a pet, popular for its cute appearance. She’d seen one in a cooking video... though this one seemed a little different; the video’s octopus didn’t have tentacles quite as long.
“What’s that?” Yan Xinya tilted her head as the little octopus tried to crawl toward her. She nudged it back with a pair of disposable chopsticks.
“It’s a really cute type of octopus that some people like to keep as a pet.”
“This is Lily’s find! She said it suddenly fell from the sky,” Yan Xinya explained ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ thoughtfully as she gazed at the tiny pink octopus. “Do you think it’s tasty?”
“From the sky?” Ning Chu’s eyelid twitched.
“Maybe someone just tossed it away,” Lin Li remarked, licking her lips as she thought aloud, “Do you think it’d be better grilled or steamed with garlic soy sauce?”
“Sounds delicious... grilled?”
Yan Xinya and Lin Li, both canine-types, were eagerly discussing cooking methods.
Meanwhile, Ning Chu eyed the little octopus with a hint of worry. Could it really be a coincidence?
The tentacle monster she’d described in the book did indeed have octopus-like characteristics and suction cups, but nothing about this cute, innocent-looking octopus fit that image.
The tentacle monsters she’d imagined were dark, slimy, and notorious enemies of women, whereas this little octopus looked utterly harmless.
“Nope.”
As Yan Xinya was about to heat up a frying pan, Lily suddenly grabbed her by the sleeve, firmly shaking her head.
“Why not?”
Ning Chu’s heart skipped a beat.
Oh no! Could this succubus really be planning to keep a tentacle monster as a pet... for recreational use?
“Let it grow a bit first. It’s too small; not enough meat,” Lily replied earnestly.
“...”
“How are we going to raise it, then?” Yan Xinya squatted back down, gently nudging the octopus again.
Lin Li eagerly fetched a clear water cup filled with tap water, quickly returning to drop the octopus in. “There! It even looks pretty as a decoration in the dorm!”
“Definitely~”
The moment the octopus hit the chlorine-rich tap water, its tentacles twitched, and it struggled as if to escape, but Lin Li promptly pressed a lid on top of the cup, sealing it shut.
“...”
Ning Chu found herself at a loss for words.
Even if this wasn’t a tentacle monster, she was pretty sure tap water wasn’t suitable for raising an octopus.
“What does it eat?” Lily asked with concern.
“There’s probably octopus food you can buy online!” Yan Xinya replied enthusiastically, opening a shopping app. “Once it’s big enough, we should definitely grill it! I bet it tastes amazing!”
“Steaming preserves the original flavor!” Lin Li protested. “Grilling is too heavy—it ruins seafood!”
Lily thought for a moment and offered, “We could just eat half of it.”
“No clue how big it’ll get... can we even keep it alive?”
“We’ll cook it before it dies.”
Ning Chu observed the octopus in the clear cup. After its initial frantic struggle, it now lay still at the bottom, looking utterly defeated, as though it had given up on life.
No one seemed particularly concerned about its state, seeing it purely as future food.
She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Qian Qian: “When you’re done, come over to my dorm. I need you to check something.”
Better to have Qian Qian verify it, in case Lily ended up unwittingly keeping a tentacle monster as a pet. Right now, it seemed harmless, but who knew what could happen when it grew up—it might endanger the entire girls’ dorm.
Their curiosity about the octopus waned, and the girls dispersed, each returning to their own activities.
Lily set the cup with the octopus on a shelf as a decoration, then turned to Ning Chu with a look of slight confusion and a hint of “I knew it.”
So much for saying not to go out at night because of a tentacle monster, and yet here she was, venturing out herself.
You’re just trying to scare me—only a fool like that husky would actually believe it.
“I had an emergency...” Ning Chu muttered, taking a seat beside Lily. Since she’d already mentioned the tentacle monster to Lily, she leaned in and whispered, “There’s a tentacle monster lurking on campus, and I think it might actually be the one in that cup.”
Lily glanced at the little octopus. “Then you buy it.”
“No, I’m serious!”
Lily rolled her eyes at Ning Chu and promptly grabbed the cup, tucking it into her drawer. “It’s mine.”
“I wasn’t trying to take it...”
“Ning Chu! You came all this way in the rain! Does that mean you’re staying over tonight?” Yan Xinya bounced over and wrapped her arms around Ning Chu’s shoulders from behind. “You’re not leaving now!”
“Again?” Lin Li turned her head away, faking a look of disdain. “Shameless.”
“This is Ning Chu’s dorm too, you know! If you don’t like it, take it up with our dorm supervisor!”
A light knock at the door silenced their banter. Lin Li got up to answer it, only to find a red-haired girl with twin tails standing outside.
“Who are you?”
“My friend! Here to see the octopus!”
Ning Chu quickly explained, but Lin Li was more captivated by the black cat on Qian Qian’s shoulder, staring at it with curiosity.
“Lily, bring the octopus to the balcony. We need to talk.”
“???”
Perplexed, Lily followed Ning Chu to the balcony, carrying the cup and looking bewilderedly at her friends and the cat.
The balcony door closed, and Yan Xinya, who had planned to eavesdrop, suddenly felt drowsy and slumped against the windowsill with a yawn.
“Girl! Will you sign a contract with me to become a justice-wielding, world-saving magical girl?”
Before Ning Chu could speak, the black cat eagerly interrupted, “You can make one simple wish, gain powerful strength to fight the wicked, and...”
Lily’s expression remained blank as she shook her head, showing no fear, even of a talking cat.
Her legs, however, had turned to jelly as she slid down the tiled wall, ending up sitting on the floor.
“Wait, could you check if that octopus is a demon first?” Ning Chu interrupted, crouching down to reassure Lily. “Don’t worry, they’re not dangerous... probably.”
The black cat jumped down from Qian Qian’s shoulder, strutting closer and peering at the octopus with its bright green eyes.
“How would I know~”
“Huh?”
“I’m not contracted to a magical girl who’s linked to that demon, so how would I know?”
Ning Chu was taken aback. “Didn’t you two search the whole campus?”
“Yeah, we did a thorough sweep and didn’t find any demons,” Qian Qian replied, sounding a bit exasperated. “So what’s the rush? You’re the one who dragged us out here.”
So they were just relying on their own eyes to look for it?!
“Girl~ will you sign a contract with me?” the black cat tried again, still attempting to lure Lily in.
“Don’t listen to it!”
