Nick had left the door open all day, but since he had asked and since it was aware that it frightened the others, the tentacle had stayed inside. He held out the plate as soon as he stepped inside and saw the tentacle hand in the air with its tip at the height of his face.
"Thank you for being so considerate," he said as he entered. He had a feeling that it would be more difficult to make friends and let the others relax if he had a strange and scary tentacle monster hanging over his shoulder all the time.
Lora and Kavam seemed like they were a little better with it when they had come by to visit this time compared to when they first saw it, but they were still startled, uneasy, and barely able to focus on anything else.
Kai didn't seem to care, which was a relief.
But Nick wasn't sure how Sosora would react since she didn't even know about it. But Kai's and the progressively improving reactions from his parents gave him some hope.
Besides, it wasn't like the tentacle was dangerous or threatening. It was just capable.
The tentacle grabbed the plate and tossed the sausages down the open basement door with excitement before handing back the plate and drawing a smiley face on the grease left behind. It was satisfied with the mortal's offerings.
It pointed at the mess outside.
Nick glanced at everything before sighing and waving it away with a hand.
"I'll handle that tomorrow," He said simply. Tomorrow was also going to be busy, but today was the first day in a while he had done something more than slouch on the couch. He would feel better after taking a shower and sleeping like a baby.
"I'm tired, so I think I'll just take a shower first before going to bed." He put the plate in the kitchen before heading upstairs to carry out what he had just said.
The shower did wonders for his body and mental state as it seemed to wash off not only the sweat and grime on his body but also the dirt in his mind that had accumulated from the stress of his current situation.
He was far from being at ease since he was in another world where his life was at risk. But today had given him hope. It had been peaceful, and he could confidently say that he was getting along well with his neighbors, most of whom seemed friendly and kind.
That said, his mind went out like a light the moment his head hit the pillows. He slept so deeply and soundly that he was not awoken by the ruckus caused by someone or something intruding upon his lawn and doing something with everything left behind.
The tentacle noticed, but since whatever was happening outside didn't have anything to do with Nick's safety, only the safety of his tools, didn't do anything about it.
However, when Nick woke up the next morning to see the chaos that remained, the tentacle feigned shock and outrage. It shook its balled-up tip like it was an old man's fist swearing death and destruction upon rowdy teenagers.
Nick raised an eyebrow and cast a sidelong glance at the tentacle.
"Don't tell me you didn't know about this," he said. He had only lived consciously with the tentacle for a few days. But he still felt like he could somewhat tell what it thought and felt based on the way it moved. He was a little amazed with himself for being able to read the expressions of a lone tentacle.
The tentacle froze and awkwardly avoided his gaze.
Nick stepped out with a sigh.
"So? Do you know what did this?" He asked, looking at the chaos from his porch. The remains of the fire were spread out like someone or something had stepped on it and realized the coals were still hot and then panicked. The pot was upside down. The frying pan was pressed into the ground. The table was lying on its side, everything on it on the ground. A couple of the knives had pierced the ground, and their handles were sticking up.
However, to Nick's surprise, the waste and remnants of the boar were gone. The frying pan was polished clean, and it looked like someone had sneezed on his pepper mill and played around with his other spice containers.
Nick scratched the back of his head. Was it the local wildlife?
He glanced inside to find the tentacle rummaging through a wilderness magazine. His guess seemed pretty spot-on. Now, it was just a question of what kind of animal it was they were dealing with.
Considering it had eaten the meat, it should be a meat-eater. But that could be anything from a bear to a hen. The only thing that remained when they were done were scraps that Nick had said he would deal with.
The Ursa family had taken the boar's body, hide, skeleton, and all with them. They were going to dump it somewhere in the forest, if he assumed correctly.
So, it was most likely some kind of scavenger that had found its way to the camp site and enjoyed a feast.
'A bird, I guess, or some kind of wild cat or dog maybe?' Nick wasn't very knowledgeable about the kind of scavengers he might find in a forest like this, not to mention he was in another world.
It could be anything really.
"Is it safe to leave the porch?" He asked. The tentacle took a brief pause from flipping through the magazine and took a look around before nodding. Nick was starting to think that it wasn't just looking for the animal that visited them last night but instead found the magazine interesting.
He sighed and started getting things in order and picking up everything that needed to be cleaned before Sosora and the Ursa family arrived. He was honestly a little thankful for the night visitor.
Its diligence in licking everything with a hint of meat on it clean until it sparkled made it a lot easier for Nick when washing everything. He had a dishwasher, but it only fit so much.