A Monster That Cannot Pray

“…So, what did you do in just one day to make the child shrink like this, Miss Alice?”

Tap. Tap.

“W-well… Ahaha.”

Crouched in the corner of the front pew in the chapel with my lips pursed… I wriggled further into the corner to avoid Bernard and the blonde gorilla who kept poking me from the side, but.

“F-Frey? I’m sorry, okay… Please?”

“I don’t know what happened, but people will be coming soon, so how about you stop that now?”

I glared at the two idiots who kept following me and trying to talk to me, seemingly tireless.

“…I said I didn’t want to, but they forcibly undressed me.”

More precisely― that gorilla who undressed me with monstrous strength and trampled on my last remaining pride as a man.

“…I didn’t think you were like that, I’m disappointed, Alice.”

As if finally realizing vaguely what had been done to me.

“Don’t think you can brush this off by saying it was between women. Gender doesn’t matter in sexual harassment.”

Bernard changed his position as if to protect me from the gorilla.

“It’s a misunderstanding, senior…!”

“What else could make you forcibly undress a child who says no?”

“No, that’s… I mean…!”

So, seemingly unable to bring up the topic of my underwear in front of Bernard, the gorilla fidgeted with a troubled expression.

“It’s just that Frey refused to wear underwear, so we tried to force her to wear it…!”

Apparently valuing her own safety over my dignity, she ended up spilling it all.

“……”

Then, Bernard looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“What, why.”

I said, curling up again as the sensation around my chest kept bothering me.

Squeeze―!

“Aaagh―!”

Right after, Bernard silently grabbed my head and lifted me up.

“You’re making us worry over nothing, you little brat.”

“Okay, okay! Aaagh! This, this first! I surrender! I surrendeeer―!”

As he put full strength into the hand gripping my head with an irritated voice, thinking my head might burst at this rate, I desperately hit Bernard’s forearm with all four arms, but.

“I’ll let you go if you say, ‘I’ll wear underwear properly from now on without forgetting.'”

The response was so cruel that I thought it might be better to stay caught like this.

“It hurts hurts hurts―!”

“By the way, I can still increase the strength about five more levels without leaving aftereffects, so keep resisting if you want.”

“I’llwearunderwearpropertyfromnowonwithoutforgetting―!”

“That’s right.”

…Unfortunately, the opponent’s strength was too great to maintain my pride as a man.

“See? This is how you handle it when they don’t listen.”

“Indeed. It’s educational, senior.”

“Ughhhh… Don’t learn things like this…!”

In the end, having succumbed to overwhelming force, I.

“Ugh, I really don’t want to move right now.”

“You’ll get used to it and find it surprisingly comfortable, you know?”

After blankly staring at the gorilla who was pulling down the front of her priest’s robe to show off her chest as big as my head.

“…It’s not like it’ll grow anyway.”

I muttered, looking at my suddenly flat-looking chest.

“Hey, Alice. There’s a man here too, what are you doing suddenly? Hurry up and take your hands off your clothes.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ve never thought of you as a man, senior, so I unconsciously…”

“Oh geez…!”

As expected, other people’s chests are the best. I absolutely refuse to have my chest become like that.

“Ugh, it hurts…”

So, as I grumbled while holding my aching head with all four arms.

“Ah, come to think of it, did we tell her?”

“We didn’t, probably.”

Bernard and the gorilla conversed while stroking my head.

…What’s this? Giving medicine after causing the illness?

“Tell me what?”

Anyway, curiosity was curiosity. As I pushed away Bernard’s hand that was stroking my head… Wait a minute. Why isn’t it moving? I have four arms on this side!?

“Ughhhhh…!”

Damn it. I’ll just give up.

Stroke, stroke.

So, as I glared at Bernard who was calmly stroking my head as if nothing had happened.

“They said we’ll be holding a mass in three days.”

“We’ve got extra hands now… We should do something church-like once in a while.”

Suddenly, they brought up such a topic.

“Mass?”

What’s a mass? How is it different from a regular service?

“Simply put, it’s like an event held at the church.”

“To put it even more simply, it’s an event where we gather people, pray together, and then share bread and wine.”

Hmm. So, for me, it’s like a suicide gathering.

“…We’re not asking you to pray, so relax your expression, you brat.”

“Hm? What do you mean by that, senior?”

Right after, the gori… Alice asked, looking between me and Bernard with a puzzled face.

“…There’s a reason.”

“…There’s a reason.”

To be honest, I was too lazy to explain. I can’t show this to her either.

“Anyway, that’s how it is… Alice, Frey. We’ll be busy for the next three days.”

“That’s what I’ve been hoping for, senior.”

“Yeees―.”

And so, the preparation for my first mass in this life began.

* * *

Well, even though it’s called mass preparation… all I had to do was run simple errands.

“Here you go― Frey. These are the breads the priest asked for.”

“Thank you.”

“Can you carry them alone? Should I help you?”

“It’s fine. I have many arms, so I can manage on my own.”

Anyway, there’s one thing I’ve realized while bustling around the city for these three days preparing for the mass…

‘…That old man is unexpectedly diligent, huh?’

The fact that Bernard, whom I thought just drank and slept sprawled out every day, was actually quite busy moving around even on normal days.

“Whoa, it smells so good…”

So, as I was getting intoxicated by the savory butter scent coming from the bread baskets I was holding in each of my lower hands.

“Ah, it’s Frey! Come over here for a bit, will you?”

The kindly-looking fruit shop auntie called out to me with a welcoming face.

“Hello.”

I ran to the auntie who was beyond the alley, carefully bowing so that the contents of the bread baskets wouldn’t spill over.

“That’s right, that’s right. You’re always so well-behaved, our Frey.”

Then, I felt a hand gently stroking my head.

“Here, a gift for a good child. Eat it on your way.”

“Wow, thank you!”

“Yes, yes. Well then, see you later.”

“Okay!”

So, as a reward for greeting her well… holding a large, well-ripened red apple.

Crunch―!

On the way to the church, I carefully bit into the apple that I was preciously holding with my two upper arms so it wouldn’t fall.

“――~~!!”

An overwhelming sweet and sour taste, incomparable to the cheap apples I ate in my previous life, filled my mouth.

“Whoa, this is killer…”

The crisp white flesh hidden inside the shiny red jewel-like skin that didn’t even need to be wiped, the refreshing juice that spread throughout my mouth the moment I took a bite.

Is this what they call a heavenly taste?

Growl…!

It would have been better if I had a body that could be satisfied with normal food.

“Frey?”

Oh, shoot. You startled me.

“Ah, Alice.”

“What are you doing standing blankly on the street… Ah, hehe. Were you moved because the apple was so delicious?”

“…Th-that’s not it!?”

Of all times, to run into Alice at a moment like this.

“It is. You were trembling with the happiest expression in the world.”

“Ugh…!”

Damn, she saw it all.

“D-do you want to share?”

“It’s fine. It’s what you received, Frey.”

“But I think it might taste better if we eat it together…”

So, thinking I should change the subject somehow, I held out the apple to Alice.

“Frey…”

For some reason, Alice looked at me with an incredibly moved expression.

“Uh, um…? W-wait… Mmph!”

Right after, she slowly approached me and suddenly hugged me tightly.

I stretched my two upper arms above my head and my lower arms out to each side… somehow managing to protect the apple and bread baskets I was holding in my four hands.

Squish.

Because of that, I couldn’t protect my face and ended up buried in Alice’s enormous chest.

‘Ah, this feels good…’

…Who was it that said when you’re feeling down, you should touch a chest?

It’s truly a correct statement.

Her arms and legs were really full of muscle like a gorilla and hard, but at least her chest was truly soft.

“Mmphh…”

So, as I was healing my tired heart while being held against that motherly chest for a while… when I started to feel like I might die from suffocation, I shook my head to convey to Alice that I needed to be saved.

“Ah…! I’m sorry…!”

As if she finally remembered how dangerous a weapon her chest was, Alice hurriedly released my head.

“Phew…”

It really was an amazing chest. Enough to make me think it’s fortunate that I have a little girl’s body, at least for this moment.

“A-are you okay, Frey?”

I turned my gaze away from Alice’s chest as she kept bowing and apologizing.

“Yeah…”

Afraid I might ask to be hugged again if I let my guard down, I just nodded blankly.

…Seeing her split the apple with two fingers on the way up to the church, I suddenly came to my senses, thinking I might really die if I got hugged again.