Chapter 23

Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls (モンスター娘のいる日常, Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou) Chapter 23 is the twenty-third chapter of the Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls manga series.

Written and drawn by mangaka Okayado (Inui Takemaru), this chapter was released in Japan on April 8th, 2014, by the Japanese publishing company within the seinen manga and anime magazine,.

The chapter was later gathered as part of the series' tankōbon volume Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls Volume 6.

Plot
Kimihito comes home late in the evening, where Mero mentions that he left in a hurry to capture the culprit of the threatening letters, and Centorea adds that she would have liked to have gone with him if she had been of use. When Miia opens the front door, she asks him if he had found the culprit, whereby he hesitantly points to a headless girl with a scythe that is standing next to him and says that he thinks it was her. When Miia sees the headless girl, she reacts with total horror and tries to pull Kimihito away from the girl, whereupon all three stumble and fall to the ground. The girl's body falls so that Miia gets a direct view of the inside of her neck stump and faints with a loud scream of horror.

While Kimihito takes care of Miia, Centorea asks about the headless girl, but Kimihito has no idea who or what she is. When Centorea asks why he brought her back then, Kimihito tells them that when he was on the way home, she hooked her scythe around him from behind, much to the horror of his house guests. When he turned around to look for the mysterious girl, however, she was looking for something on the floor, as she had obviously lost her head, whereupon Rachnera remarked that she does not get how she lost her head. When the girl desperately held on to Kimihito, he couldn't just leave her so her brought her with him, whereupon both Centorea and Rachnera think blankly that she is not a lost puppy.

When Centorea and Rachnera ask about the girl's head, Kimihito explains that they were on a slope and suspects that her head had rolled down into the park at the bottom of the hill. Both react surprised, however, when Kimihito announces that he now wants to go looking for the head, whereby Rachnera notes why he doesn't try it tomorrow and asks why he is worried about someone who has threatened him with a scythe. Kimihito says, however, that it's about the girl's head and that he can't let anything happen to her. Moved by these compassionate words, Centorea, Miia (who is shaken awake by Centorea), Mero and Papi decide to help Kimihito in his search, for which he is very grateful. Rachnera decides to stay with the headless girl with Suu, smirking as they leave.

In the park, Kimihito and his house guests go in search of the head, with Papi looking in the air (although she can't see much in the dark despite her headlamp), while Mero goes in search of the pond. While Kimihito looks for the head with Centorea, Miia utters a loud scream of horror, although it quickly turns out that what she found is a mannequin's head. Kimihito tries to calm Miia down, whereupon she says, full of fear and in order not to have to search for the head any further, that the girl probably belongs to a Liminal species that has no head. When Centorea asks Miia if she truly is so afraid, Kimihito explains that Miia isn't good with gory stuff like severed heads, although he thinks to himself that a severed head is not easy even for someone who likes gory stuff.

Centorea agrees, but also adds that maybe they should actually find the head quickly and return home, with Kimihito saying they shouldn't keep the others waiting too long. However, Centorea says she meant that they were looking for a severed head and if found by a regular person they would think it belonged to a dismembered corpse. Kimihito is reluctant to admit that this is true, and that in this case he and his house guests would probably be suspected as perpetrators.

Centorea asks Kimihito what exactly the girl is and wonders if she might be some kind of Zombie. Kimihito doubts this, however, as he suspects that a Zombie needs its head to move its body and that the girl is different than Zombina. Then Centorea thinks that maybe it is like Miia says and the girl is from a species that has no head, whereupon Kimihito says, however, that he definitely saw her face for a moment. However, their deliberations are interrupted when a loud scream of fear echoes through the park from Miia again, with Kimihito saying that she may have found the head this time.

When Kimihito and Centorea find Miia, she lies on the floor after fainting at the sight of the real head that she actually found and which lies on the floor with his eyes closed. Centorea carries Miia away to calm her down and asks Kimihito if he can take care of the head. Kimihito reacts scared to this request, but has no time for a reply, as Centorea simply goes with Miia and leaves him with the head alone. Kimihito is unsure and wonders if the head is alive, although he guesses it is because the body was moving. He sits down on the floor in front of the head and asks if she's alright and if she's hurt anywhere. When he doesn't get an answer, he wonders if she is ignoring him or maybe can't speak since it is just her head. When he tries to take her head back home, however, she suddenly tells him not to lay his hands on her too lightly, whereupon he shrinks back in shock when he sees that her head can speak without her body.

The girl announces to Kimihito that she is a Dullahan, the "guiders of souls" and the "reapers of death" and thanks him for taking care of her body. Kimihito is astonished to notice that she is a little different from what he had seen of her body, which made him think she was the clumsy type. The girls goes on to explain that she did not intend to reveal this form to Kimihito, but adds that she can't be allowed such luxuries as she is being hunted by the "organization", to Kimihito's confusion.

Then the girl tries to explain to him what she wants from him, but she speaks so dramatically and mysteriously that he still doesn't understand her. When Kimihito asks, confused, the Dullahan indignantly describes him as insolent and arrogant and tries to explain herself again. When he still doesn't understand, however, she finally says, embarrassed, in normal words that she wants him to bring her back to her body as it is very uncomfortable to sit here just as a head. Kimihito apologizes, embarrassed, and lifts her head, although he also remembers the threatening note and asks the Dullahan about it. The Dullahan tries to explain to him that as a "huntress of death" she only has one reason to associate with the living, but suddenly she winces in midsentence and gasps in shock and excitement. When Kimihito asks, frightened, what's happening, she says that her body is being assaulted by someone. Kimihito doesn't understand at first, but than he quickly suspects what is happening.

Kimihito's suspicion turns out to be correct, as Rachnera tied the headless body of the Dullahan with her bondage arts in the Kurusu house. Rachnera notices that without her head she can't really see the reactions of the Dullahan and admits that is creating a bizarre mood. But she continues, saying it's been a while since she was able to "play" with a normal body and that she can now "practice some of the basics".

Kimihito is annoyed with Rachnera, but when he suddenly hears a rustling, he quickly covers the Dullahan girl's mouth. The noises come from the Bicycle Police Officer, who is patrolling the park after someone told him about Miia's scream, although he is afraid of the dark. Kimihito panics because it would be a real pain if the police officer sees them and tells the Dullahan not to make any noise. However, this proves to be difficult, as Rachnera presses the breasts and crotch of the Dullahan with her bondage in a rather painful torture. Shortly before the Dullahan can no longer take it, she suddenly becomes quiet, whereupon Kimihito asks what happened. The Dullahan says the assault has halted, whereupon Kimihito realizes that Suu was behind it by molesting Rachnera as usual.

Kimihito's relief is only brief, however, because now Suu begins to strip the Dullahan's body with her slime tentacles and to fondle it everywhere, which finally leads to her orgasm with a loud scream. Attracted by the noise, the police officer suddenly stands behind Kimihito and points a gun at him. Due to the severed head of the Dullahan, the police officer thinks Kimihito is a serial killer and is too frightened to think clearly, but before he can do anything, suddenly Papi accidentally bumps into the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. While Kimihito thanks Papi, who is painfully rubbing her head, Centorea and Miia ask worriedly what is going on. However, when the Dullahan also thanks them, Miia faints again in horror because of the talking head, whereupon Centorea says annoyed that she should get it together.

Back at the Kurusu house, Kimihito is relieved that the body of the Dullahan is reunited with their head. Rachnera suggests to the Dullahan to tie her head on with her spider threads so that it doesn't fall off again. The girl declines the offer, however, and hides fearfully behind Kimihito because of the previous bondage torture from Rachnera. Mero gives the Dullahan some homemade barley tea, which the girl accepts, although Centorea is sceptical whether the Dullahan can drink with the interface on her neck and asks whether it will not leak. However, the Dullahan reveals that she has no problem drinking liquids as she takes her head off and pours the tea into the inside of her neck stump. Miia faints again at this sight, while Centorea comments she wouldn't call that "drinking". When Papi offers the girl a few cookies, her body gladly accepts the offer, while Rachnera notices that the girl has forgotten her head again. When Centorea thoughtfully discovers that the girl is a Dullahan, Miia pricked up her ears because Centorea recognised what species the girl is.

Centorea explains that the Dullahans are headless knights who appear before those who are at the brink of death, that they are a being akin to the Grim Reaper and that they come to reap souls and take them to the realm of the dead. Rachnera says astonished that she thought Dullahans were only imaginary, which Kimihito comments derisively, since the same could be said of Arachne. Centorea and Rachnera begin to argue about where the legends of the Dullahans came from and whether they are Fairies rather than knights, although some of their knowledge comes from video games, as Kimihito notes.

Kimihito's attention is then turned to something else and he asks the Dullahan if her appearance could mean that someone around here is going to die. The Dullahan confirms that there is indeed someone who is on the brink of death. Kimihito's houseguests express their regret at this loss, but since Kimihito doesn't know who is going to die, he begins to ask the Dullahan. However, he pauses when he sees her pointing her finger at him and loudly proclaims that he is the one who is on the brink of death.

Key points

 * A new character, Lala, a Dullahan, has been introduced, although her name is not yet revealed in this chapter.
 * Lala reveals that she wrote the second threatening letter to Kimihito, thus solving the mysterious case.
 * At the end of the chapter, Lala revealed/claims that Kimihito is on the bring of death.

Trivia

 * According to Kimihito, Miia has Apotemnophobia, also called the fear of an amputated body. A strong evidence of this is whenever Lala dismembers her head, Miia seems to be afraid and even faints.
 * Although this is not the specific phobia that Miia has.