Our group was immediately surrounded by the villagers.
The one at the very front, a man with the head of an octopus, walked so close to me that I could almost feel the slime on his tentacles.
When I went to the real world, I'd asked the boss for a mask that hid my true identity. I didn't want my so-called family to see my true face, after all.
The mask itself was quite high-level, so Octopus Face and the others didn't recognize that I was their boss.
"Monsters? Who said that?"
His deep voice rumbled, and the others immediately distanced themselves from us.
"They're the ones who said it! The five of us were in the back!"
Octopus Face came closer and closer with the other villagers, and Gerard, my fiancé, held Anna tightly in his arms.
Meanwhile, my parents stood forward, protecting them while pointing at me instead.
"She's the one! We've all had a proper education, so there's no way we could be so prudish!"
"Yes, this wench is the one who cursed you out! You must punish her!"
With everyone pointing fingers at me, Octopus Head wrapped his tentacles tightly around me in an instant, muttering under his breath, "Find the chief. Lock her up."
The players, who had been wondering how to find the chief, perked up immediately.
Gerard immediately suggested, "Let's follow these villagers!"
Then, he even started praising Anna, "You're so smart, Anna! You solved our first problem immediately!"
Anna's cheeks flushed red, and she accepted the praise without a hint of guilt.
"It's nothing, really. Sylvia just had it coming for not keeping her mouth shut!"
To them, I looked as if I was almost going to suffocate from the tentacles that were wrapped around me, but it was all just a ruse.
If anything, I was beyond satisfied.
After the update, just the attack power of my villagers alone was enough to kill two or three players without any issue whatsoever.
What I was more curious about was what changes the village chief, who had always been the quintessential kind and caring old man, would bring.
The party walked for another ten or so minutes, before they finally realized that the villagers walked at a snail's pace. As anxious as they were, however, none of them dared to ask the villagers to hurry up.
The last person who had offended the villagers was still wrapped in tentacles, after all.
Under the blazing sun, the party walked for an entire half hour before arriving at the village square.
"Is this a stone altar?"
"Aren't altars par for the course when it comes to myths about the sea? What's there to be surprised about?"
The party discussed amongst themselves carefully, before Afro exclaimed, "Wait, that altar isn't made of stones, it's made of human skulls! Wasn't this supposed to just be an A-ranked dungeon? How did so many people die here?"
At the center of the square stood a massive watchtower built entirely from human bones.
The village chief appeared, and with his face that looked no different from a human's, he stood out against the non-human-looking villagers.
When he saw the outsiders, he walked towards us with a kind smile.
"Ah, do we have new visitors? Are you here to stay in our village? Don't worry, we love visitors around here, so you'll definitely have a lovely ten-day stay here!"
Then, he waved his hand, gesturing for Octopus Head to set me down, before looking at me meaningfully.
Then, he scolded, "Have you learned nothing, you lot? You must be polite when dealing with visitors! Apologize to them now!"
The party's eyes glistened with hope.
"The village chief seems like a sensible enough person… If we stay with him, we won't be in any trouble, and-"
The very next second, all of our faces were splattered with warm blood.
Octopus Head had cut off one of his own tentacles, handing it toward us with its other tentacles.
"Apology. Eat."
The still-writhing, bloodied tentacle made Anna and the others retch instantly.
At that moment, the village chief took out a handbook bound in human skin, with the words Villager's Code of Conduct written in blood.
He smiled, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth.
"Once you've eaten your fill, you can learn about the rules in our humble village."
