Paradigm Parasite

"Hey, what took you so long?"

After finishing up a few things, I returned to the bar where Heidi was having her meal.

"I'm sorry, but you're already eating."

"Oh."

It seems I made her wait a long time. I felt bad about that.

As I replied, I ordered my food and sat down across from Heidi.

"Where's Peggy?"

"She's out of town on an errand."

I heard she's going to pick up an extra carriage.

It's a pretty expensive carriage, so he's worried about it, and Patrick has asked her to pick it up.

It's big enough to carry the snake woman, so he wouldn't want anything to happen to it.

"What are your plans?"

"We are going to Nordia via Delord."

It was a complete detour to come here.

I want to see the ruins over there.

"Well... is it famous for its ruins?"

"Yeah, they say you can't go too deep into the ruins, but you can take a look around."

"All right, then. When do we leave?"

I'd like to make sure the snake woman is sent out before we leave, so as soon as the carriage arrives, I guess.

"I'm thinking about two or three days from now."

"I see. I'll make some money at the guild, then. You want to do some work together?"

"It depends on what you want to do."

We agreed to go to the guild tomorrow.

After that, food was brought to the table and we continued talking while eating.

The conversation shifted to almost chatting, and when there was a lull in the conversation, Heidi interjected.

"Um...you know. I'd like to talk to you about the monster you defeated."

Hmm? Ah, that guy. To be honest, I don't really want to remember him...

"You did beat him after all, right?"

"...... I think so. I have no idea why the carcass disappeared, but I had a good feeling."

I'm not sure about that, to be honest.

The reason why the body collapsed is unknown.

Would I be like that if I abandoned my body?

I would like to verify this, but if my body really collapses, I will not be able to recover.

There are many things I don't understand.

But that spider monster. I guessed from what he said that he hadn't been here long.

He said something about the beginning of the game.

I don't know what in the world he was thinking when he said that this was a game... Well, I was thinking something similar, so I can't speak for others too much... but I think it's a bit much to suddenly attack a town.

Or did he act according to how he looked?

No, seeing how he used his own body to that extent, he could have at least turned into a human being.

Did he really go that far on a whim? No, I don't think so.

Wait.

Then I remembered that the spider monster did not understand our language.

He didn't have human memories?

No, he didn't know how to do it in the first place?

When I think about it, a few things become clear.

Let's sort a few things out.

First, he was recently sent here from Japan.

This is almost a given.

The fact that he was using Japanese and the way he was speaking and acting made this a definite possibility.

But from this point on, it's all guesswork.

He landed in a wooded area relatively close to the Bayser. It then attached itself to the carcass of a spider.

I guessed that the larva probably took over the spider's body and grew bigger.

Then, starting with insects of the same size, it must have gradually increased the size of its prey.

In the process, it grew to that size without being able to prey on creatures with information, and encountered humans.

Somehow it fought back, but did not capture the memories?

As long as a request for investigation has come to the guild, it is certain that it has encountered humans.

Did they escape without a fight? Or couldn't he eat them?

Unlike me, he seemed to have a lot of emotion, but his ethics prevented him from eating a human...if he had, he wouldn't have attacked the town.

Hmmm. I don't know.

.........I don't know what I don't know, even if I think about it.

...That's it. It won't kill me if I don't know, and I'll figure it out eventually.

I decided to put it aside.

"...... either way. The city is saved and the nuisance is gone. That's good enough for me."

"Well... but I'm still a little concerned."

What is it? I'm ready to forget about that spider.

"What?"

"That thing... it seemed to be speaking."

Well, if you listen carefully, you can tell that it's a string of words that mean something.

"So, somehow...you see, remember? The monster that was in those ruins. I thought it sounded like the language that that monster was speaking. What do you think about that?"

Geez. You have a good instinct. That's right.

It's a good thing you can guess that much with that little information.

Well, I'm going to play dumb.

"I can't say. If we throw that monster into the ruins, we might find out, but it wouldn't make any sense. Besides, that thing not only kills people in the city, but also manipulates them to kill each other. Even if we could communicate with it, I don't think it would be open to discussion."

He's the kind of guy who would call us game characters.

I mean, Heidi. He's the guy who looked at you and said you were the main heroine.

I don't think we can have a conversation.

...Game? Oh, is that what you're saying?

That spider guy, did he think that because it's a game, anything he can do is a "specification" allowed by the system?

That any deviation from the rules would be restricted on its own, so he could do whatever he wanted?

It makes sense when you think about it that way.

If you win, you clear the event and move on to the next event.

If you lose, you have to start over with a losing event and go around...?

If so, it's beyond stupid, it's pathetic.

If his pain sense is working properly, then his other senses are sane, unlike mine, right?

And yet to not recognize reality... just plain stupid, I'd say.

If it really was a game, it would come up again, but there's no sign of it.

"Yeah. I can see that. That monster was beating up on kids. It was manipulating people and making them work together. It must have been smart... but I honestly couldn't forgive it for doing what it did."

He was saying things like, "Lolita Kita."

I got chills when I heard about the "I'll dye you my color" thing.

If I had left it like that, he would have definitely built a harem with the women he manipulated.

...Though I'm sure he'll be taken down before it's finished.

There is a possibility that they will fall on Oratorium as well, so I'll tell Fatima to be careful later.

If it's harmless, we'll listen to what they have to say and expel it. If it's harmful, we'll get rid of it.

I can understand what you're saying, but it's not human after all. It's not right to impose one's own logic on others, is it?"

"I guess...yeah...right. Monsters have their own logic, don't they?"

I let out a light sigh inwardly.

This kind of thing may be an advantage in Japan, but here it is a disadvantage.

In some cases, it could be fatal.

"It's fine to think that way, but only on occasions like this."

I stopped eating.

"If you take into consideration every single one of their circumstances, you will die, right? If you want to kill yourself, I won't stop you, but at least do it when I'm not around. It's hard to sleep if you die."

I can't sleep, though.

Heidi's eyes widened in surprise and her cheeks relaxed.

What's that? What's that reaction?

"Oh, I get it. I'll be careful."

For some reason, Heidi was in a good mood the whole time after that.

--So General, you're going straight to Nordia after handing over the lamia, right?

--Yes, you guys go straight to Oratorium. A woman named Fatima is at the lord's mansion, so give her my name and hand over the snake woman, and then you can do whatever you want.

--Aye.

I cut off communication with Peggy and lay down on the bed.

I've done what I had to do for now.

After that, I'll do the quests as I see fit and get rid of the snake woman before heading to Nordia.

The ruins of Nordia...I don't remember any ruins, so I'm looking forward to it.

I closed my eyes and thought about a land I had yet to see.