Ever since I had come to the town because of the maga, I had felt useless many times, but now I really sigh at how useless I am. Just like yesterday, today I was frightened by monsters and corpses and called my father, so no matter how you look at it, I am holding everyone back. What does it matter if I was the top student in the magic department? I had good grades and had taken magic training seriously, so I thought I was a capable person. So I hate myself even more for being so useless in the real thing.
I waited at the door, feeling scared and depressed by my own shame, but my father soon came out of the house.
“Amelia’s treatment had no problem immobilizing the undead. They started planting glowing mushrooms themselves, so they should destroy themselves.”
“…undead means they’re dead.”
If I remember correctly, according to my father, an undead is someone who becomes a monster after death. It may seem similar to becoming a monster, but it’s different.
“That’s right. Considering the amount of blood and the situation, he was probably attacked by a rat monster and immediately barricaded himself in his room before dying. He didn’t seem to have left the room, so I think he hadn’t even started moving yet… I think it’s good that he died without attacking anyone.”
The state of the room was so vivid that I felt guilty for not being able to save him while he was alive, but as my father had said, it was a blessing in disguise that he was able to pass away without attacking anyone. I felt terrible when I thought that after I died, my body would kill the people I loved – my father or my grandfather.
When Theo realized he was turning into a monster, the first thing he said was, “I want to be killed.”
“Dad, I’m so sorry. I should have done better until the end. Next time, it’ll be okay if I find an undead.”
This is not the time to be shocked. People in the town are also helping with rescue efforts, so I need to be more vigorous. If I think about what I can do, rather than regretting it, I should be able to deal with the fear even if it is overwhelming.
“Ouch.”
As I clenched my fists, trying to do my best, my father suddenly hit me on the forehead and grabbed my head.
“You don’t need to try so hard and overreach yourself, but next time if you feel scared or unable to cope then call me right away. Like I said before, new recruits usually act with someone else. Being stubborn and becoming traumatized could affect your future. Besides, I think a new recruit who is used to corpses even though it’s their first time is actually more frightening.”
“Yeah. If you’re a newbie and you’ve managed to get through it, then your life up until now must be pretty disturbing.”
Speaking of newbies, they’re the same age as me.
Although I have had some contact with death at my grandfather’s clinic, I have not yet encountered enough deaths to become accustomed to bloody corpses. In other words, the story is about how the new recruit became accustomed to bloody corpses…
“I understand how you feel, but there’s no point in being hasty. If we weren’t supposed to be here, it would be enough not to try too hard. In fact, I thought it would be better if we could avoid dragging Amelia, who is not involved.”
“No, I don’t want that. I’m here because I wanted to.”
“Yeah. So instead of stopping them, don’t do anything reckless. Rescue won’t just happen today.”
“…I get it. If that doesn’t work, I’ll call you without hesitation.”
I have no choice but to agree when I’m told that I must not do anything reckless here and end up being unable to move.
Having calmed down, I left my father and entered another house.
Every time I opened the door, the scene from earlier flashed through my mind and made me uneasy, but no matter how many times I repeated that uneasiness, I never found any corpses or undead, so gradually I stopped feeling uneasy just opening the door.
As usual, all I see in the house are rat-type and insect-type monsters.
Then, a loud noise was heard coming from inside the new house.
Maybe it was the same undead as before. I grabbed some mushroom spores and strengthen my body as I headed towards the room where I heard the sound. As I walked, the well-used floorboards creaked.
There was no sign of any monsters reacting to the sound. It was so quiet I wondered if the noise from earlier was just my imagination. …Is it lying in wait inside?
Once I opened the door, I would sow mushroom spores, avoid the attacks, and then use magic. After thinking over the steps in my head, I cast the spell and opened the door at the exact moment it finished.
“―― ”
A gust of wind rose and spores spun about with my spell.
Furthermore, the wind causes things in the room to shake.
“Ahhh!!”
A scream?!
There was no one in the room, but there was definitely a small scream.
The room itself is like a child’s room, with bunk beds.
I swallow hard.
Would the monster make a hissing noise?
…I can’t say I won’t let them out, but I don’t have the image of undead being able to talk. It’s possible that I just don’t know… but at the very least, if it’s anything like what I saw earlier, it seems like they’d come out when they see me as food, rather than hiding.
I made up my mind and opened the closet door.
“Whaaaaaah!!”
At that moment, he bumps into a child who has jumped out.
“Run quickly!!”
“Nooooooo.”
A crying voice of denial can be heard from the boy who bumped into me.
The boy had a mushroom growing on his head. But at the same time, he had dog-like ears growing. The child in the closet also had dog-like ears growing in addition to the mushrooms.
Its face is human, but hair is growing on its limbs as well, giving it a strange appearance that is somewhere between a human and a dog.
“Werewolf…”
“No! We are human beings!”
In an instant, I realized the situation that they had turned into monsters.
Judging from the way the children protect each other, it seems that they still have a strong sense of self as humans. However, their bodies have progressed considerably.
To what extent can the monster transformation be cured?
I felt uneasy as I held the bottle of holy water attached to my waist. Alice had said that if you used holy water after becoming a monster, your body would disintegrate.
Maybe there’s still time.
But what if it doesn’t heal and falls apart?
It probably didn’t take that long, but before I knew it, the boy in front of me was also crying uncontrollably. The unknown situation was scary.
Although monsters are scary, at his age, he should understand that their appearance is abnormal.
I let go of the holy water. At the very least, the monsterization should stop while the mushrooms are growing.
“Don’t you have a hat to cover your ears?”
“eh?”
“Other people will probably be frightened by your appearance, so we need it so that you don’t get attacked suddenly. Come with me so I can heal you. I’ve defeated all the monsters in the house, so can you find and gather what you need?”
I turned to the brother and he looked directly at me with his wet amber eyes.
Then he nodded, took out his backpack from the back of the closet, and silently began getting ready to go outside.
Since I promised, I must help them.
“I’m going to call my father, so pack your bags before then.”
Will my father not kill them?
Even if he doesn’t kill them, he might pour holy water over them and wait for God’s judgment.
I don’t know if calling my father is the right thing to do, but either way, if I bring them back to the village, my father will be with me.
I once again raised the red flag and stood at the door of the house, lest anyone but my father should enter and kill them without question.
I was feeling anxious as I waited, but it was my father who arrived first. That alone gave me some relief.
“Amelia, what’s wrong?”
“Ah, well… wait a minute.”
I realized I was hyperventilating a little and closed my eyes to calm myself down.
The memory of when I examined the patients on the first day and prioritized treating those whose injuries could be saved over those whose injuries could not be saved kept coming back to mind.
Are those kids beyond help? Or are they people who can be helped?
If they lose their minds and start attacking people, they must be killed. Even if they were able to converse normally just a moment ago, others must be given priority.
I don’t know how much the mushroom spores can suppress. Is that monster transformation properly suppressed?
“Big sister.”
Just as I was thinking about how to explain this to my father, I heard a voice from behind me, and quickly spread my hands in front of them.
“Well, not yet. They still have a clear sense of human consciousness.”
I didn’t even look to see if they had already put the hats on or not. But anyway, I didn’t want to get rid of them straight away, so I searched for words that would convince my father.
“However, their bodies have been transformed into a monster quite a bit… If I use holy water, it might be too effective and cause their bodies to collapse…”
If the body can be destroyed by holy water, then isn’t it a monster?
I feel like I am contradicting myself, but they are able to communicate their intentions through human words.
“Amelia, you want to help, right?”
“…If I can help.”
I would rather be killed than become a monster and kill someone important to me. That’s what I thought when it was undead. So if these children attack people, I have a duty to kill them. The premise of helping them is that they won’t attack.
“I won’t attack them, so can you show me?”
My father told me to move aside.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!
