Starting with the defeated female knight

As for what the goods are, you can tell just by looking at the environment of the secret room.

Healing tentacles, paralyzing tentacles, acupressure tentacles, compressible tunnel worms, and all sorts of other functional tentacles...

Because the branch base could only convert some ordinary tentacles, and only the mountains could produce all kinds of tentacles, Green thought about it and simply used freight to transport the functional tentacles that the capital could not produce.

With the expanded functionality, and considering the little maid's health issues, Elise casually asked Green to perform a minor surgery on her.

Then, after a moment, the anesthetic wore off.

The little maid happily crawled out of the pile of tentacles, changed her clothes, felt much lighter, and then sincerely bowed to the terrifying pile of tentacles in front of her.

"Thank you, Lord Tentacle."

Then he turned around and thanked Elise as well.

The latter remained silent for a moment, then gave a cold snort, which was his response.

As for the New Year? Of course, we'll spend it in this secret room.

Although it looks eerie and terrifying, and the wriggling tentacles look a bit disgusting.

But compared to the stench of the outside world, the little maid preferred the atmosphere of this secret room.

Soft and warm, and being with the Tentacle Master is really reassuring.

The only problem is that she always feels that it's not very convenient for her master and Tentacle Lord to interact if she's here.

She tried to find an excuse to leave, but was not allowed to.

"You've just finished recovering, so don't move around too much."

"Yes, rest here for a while. Although your wound has been treated, it's best to wait an hour. It's also best not to do any heavy work for the next couple of days."

Although it might seem inappropriate to have a little maid do heavy work, the reason this child was able to serve as Elise's maid was because she was of a medium bloodline with strength as her specialization.

It even helped when they were moving the tentacles.

"But......"

"Nothing to worry about."

Elise patted her head.

"It's more important than anything else for you to help me after you've recovered, and besides..."

She glanced sideways at one of the tentacles.

"Have you heard about those tentacled creatures in the city that like to grab little girls lately? They're based on Him. I bet He'd love to keep you here..."

Yes, yes, I like little girls.

[Otherwise, why would I help this female who's already fully grown, yet in some places isn't even as big as her younger sister who's still developing?]

I absolutely adore little girls like you!

It sounded like something snapping.

"Aina, please go out for a moment."

Elise gripped the dagger at her waist.

Aina is the name of the little maid.

However, in the end, Aina did not go out, and under her watchful eye, neither of them came to blows.

In the end, we spent a warm and sticky New Year through constant chatter and various exchanges.

As for the other side, the place where the scrap was hidden.

With the help of many people, the supplies at the hideout gradually increased, the environment gradually improved, and even the number of members increased.

Today, since the nobles are also celebrating, the scrap metal can act a little bolder. It can be said that they have celebrated their first New Year since becoming scrap metal.

They sang, danced, and ate the snacks that Green secretly brought in and distributed to them.

After a period of education, these little guys, who write "young beast" but read "monster," have begun to show some human qualities. Although they are still a long way from becoming human, it is a good start nonetheless.

Jessie also joined this group. As someone of lower-middle blood and a deformed child, her parents had no intention of taking her to the nobles' banquets.

But she didn't want to go.

Just kidding, going to those cold and disgusting banquets is nowhere near as comfortable as being with Lord Tentacles.

As a deformed child, she was even more fanatical and obsessed with Grimm than the other trash, and had long since abandoned her noble status, taking serving the Tentacle Lord as her new glory and belief.

She was just a child, and had always been neglected and rejected by her family and parents, and had been living in pain all along.

But when she came here, even though everything else was trash that she used to look down on or even hate, she actually gained recognition and approval.

The trash treats her as a friend, Sheila doesn't care much about her past bullying, and the Tentacle Master not only repairs her body but also praises her as a good girl when she behaves well. He not only rewards her but also looks at her with envy.

This was a feeling she had never had before.

As they spent more time together, he became increasingly obsessed with this feeling, and even more so with the tentacles, wishing that the other person would also parasitize him.

Moreover, after reaching a certain point, the tentacles extended an invitation to her, asking if she would be willing to offer up her most precious possession.

That is the deepest sin, the most inviolable common sense, an indescribable defiance that no nobleman, or even any empire member, could accept.

If it were the old her, she would never have agreed; if it were the new her, she might have hesitated.

But having completely transformed into a well-behaved child, she nodded without the slightest hesitation, even at this invitation.

"I am willing!"

"Whatever Lord Tentacle wants, I can give it to you!"

[...It doesn't really come to that extent.]

[And it shouldn't have any impact on you.]

Then, the tentacles pierced her body.

Then, Sheila briefly disappeared from the scrap collectors' sight.

Even in the first half of the festival, Sheila and Grace, the two most important members, did not appear.

When asked about the tentacles, they only said that they were preparing an important gift.

It wasn't until evening, just before sunset, that Sheila finally appeared before everyone, pushing the wheelchair that Green had made for Grace.

Then, in front of everyone, Sheila took out a hard stone and applied slight pressure.

collapse--

Sand and gravel flowed through his fingers.

Sheila's hands didn't even have a single mark left on them.

The other children were stunned for a moment, and then, realizing what was happening, they held their breath.

"Sister Hilla, you... activated your bloodline?"

"No."

Sheila shook her head, exchanged a glance with her sister, then looked at Jessie, and finally looked at the tentacles together, speaking earnestly.

"It was Lord Tentacle who helped me with the modifications."

"He said that was called 'fake bloodline'."

Based on Jessie's internal structure and some knowledge of the Blood Miracle, Green was unable to perform a bloodline replacement, but he successfully strengthened her internal structure, achieving the effect of a 'pseudo-bloodline'.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Green used his tentacles to wrap around Jessie, pulled her in front of everyone, and told the others that this was the result of Jessie's dedication.

After making the child happy, he even used his antennae to gently nudge her nose.

Thank you for your help. I also made some new discoveries during the renovation process.

[I can help you strengthen it later.]

Overwhelmed by a feeling of immense happiness, she could only nod dazedly, completely oblivious to what the Tentacle Master was saying.

Although Green is currently using a 'bloodline' imitation technique, other children cannot undergo this modification at present.

But the existence of this thing is like a 'possibility' that can make them more hopeful about the future, especially the arrival of the new year.

Of course, while spending the holiday with the junk, Green didn't forget the child in the sea of ​​blood.

Although the children in the sea of ​​blood have never celebrated a festival, they don't know what use it is.

But that didn't stop her from nestling in the tentacles' embrace, enjoying this feeling she had never experienced before.

And it wasn't just among the nobility.

In the slum chapel, the tentacles extracted a tiny bit of the profits the Stuart family made from selling Dawn City.

It really was just a tiny bit, so tiny that Elise felt it wasn't worth asking her about such a small amount, and she wouldn't care if the tentacle secretly took it and threw it away.

Then it was given to John, who was instructed to purchase various basic necessities and distribute them to the poor and children.

Although it was only a small profit for the Stuart family, it was enough to help the people in a few, or even a dozen, small churches get through the year well.

With the rise of the chapel and John's help, the church also allocated some supplies to support them.

Strictly speaking, this winter and the end of the year were actually colder than last year.

But for some reason, regardless of social class, it seems warmer than in previous years.

The nobles flaunted their goods from Dawn City, and the caravans made a fortune.

The wastes were protected by the tentacles, and even those who were not protected, or those who believed in Him but could not come because they were afraid of attracting attention, all sent gifts and support to the best of their ability.

The middle-class and common people held copies of "The Chronicles of Dawn City," reading them aloud and discussing the legends with increasing vitality in their eyes.

As for the slums, thanks to John's efforts, the support of the tentacles, and the proliferation of chapels, they are much better than in previous years.

Even the church, because the small chapel gathered a wave of faith, even touched some ordinary people, and their income increased instead of decreasing compared to previous years.

Everyone is happy.

Aside from the academic cliques of the Mage's Guild.

Not only did they recently lose another batch of piglets, but they were also overwhelmed by a series of unexpected accidents.

But it's not like nobody's happy.

For example, there's the unnamed president of the Magicians' Association, Miss Aurora, who was lying on her own soft bed, teasing the 'mushroom' in her arms.

"Hoo hoo hoo, showing up at this time, are you treating yourself as a gift?"

"Then I'll accept it without hesitation."

【climb】

The tentacle swatted away the demonic claw.

You know how much trouble it took me to get in... I meant, I meant, don't touch me, not that you should crawl away.

"Oh."

Unfortunately, Aurora went from crawling back to lying down.

"So, what is it you wanted to see me about?"

"Do you want my help with something? Do you want to ask me something? Or do you just want to experience what it's like to bully and torment a frail and sickly little girl...?"

If you keep pushing me, I'm leaving.

"...The feeling of being disliked isn't so bad?"

Are you really human?

The tentacle sighed.

Okay, let's stop playing for now.

I've come to discuss the arrangements for the mages in Dawn City, and the matter of the new batch of 'piglets'.

[Another question is also...]

"what is the problem?"

[A beastman who grew to almost two meters tall by the age of nine, do you have any clues?]