Many black-robed people walked down the main street carrying a countless number of coffins.
I guess funerals are the same in any world.
“Huh. To think I’d attend my own funeral procession,” Datil said.
You had to throw away your Rank A title because I made you young again. I’m really sorry about that.
“Hey now, Apple-san. You don’t have to look that apologetic. I’m actually kind of having fun. Besides, I feel super lucky to be young again.”
Well, that makes me feel better. It seems you’re understanding my thoughts as well, slowly but surely. I’m an apple, guys. Why do you two understand me?
Fresa giggled. “Apple-san, you don’t have a face and you don’t talk, but I can tell when you’re deep in thought or having fun. You’re just like a person, aren’t you?”
Well, for whatever reason, Fresa understood me from the start. I wonder if we can get some sort of telepathic communication going?
“Huh? I kind of don’t want that,” Grida said.
Oh? Why’s that?
“Because I want to be the only one who can talk to you! That should be enough.”
Ha ha ha! So you want to monopolize me? How cute. But reality isn’t so forgiving. If we can’t communicate while fighting, we’re at an extreme disadvantage.
“Well, yeah, but...”
This is pretty difficult though. I can try writing words by manipulating my cells, but I can only write in Japanese—they wouldn’t understand a thing. I could try drawing simple pictures like arrows and stuff, but that doesn’t quite get my thoughts across either. It’s impossible for me to talk out loud too, right?
“I’ve never seen a plant talk either.”
Right. I guess I can at least communicate a little bit via rolling.
“Well, I’ve sent myself off, so I can travel without any regrets!” Datil said. As he’d witnessed Holmer’s funeral, Datil had now thrown away his past self. As of today, Holmer was officially dead.
“All right theeen! Let’s go, you two!” Fresa said.
Yeah! Right now, we should focus on catching up to the three headed toward Muruma!
Grida giggled. “An adventure! I’m going on an adventure with you, Furutsu! I’m so happy!”
I am too, Grida.
“Apple-san, the next city’s close by and there aren’t many monsters along the way, so we’re walking,” Datil said. According to him, there was a horse carriage station we could use in the neighboring city of Nasamma.
“It’ll take maybe half a day on foot. There’s always adventurers on this road, so demons don’t come close. They might get killed, after all,” Fresa added.
Júzi, Arguta, and Berry left for there in the middle of the night. We should be fine.
“Fresa-san, there shouldn’t be a lot of monsters, but we should still be careful just in case,” Datil said, looking at her with a tired expression.
“We’re fiiine, Datil! There aren’t many demons that can beat us anyways!” Fresa was practically bouncing with excitement as she walked.
“Now, that’s not what an adventurer should say. If it strikes in the right place, even a small rock could kill the most powerful man in the world. That’s how we humans are. If we let our guard down, it might have devastating consequences.”
“Okay, okay! I get it. I’ll be careful!”
That’s true. No one knows how a human might die. Even in a peaceful country like Japan, there are humans that get killed by apples.
“All right. Could you please take out your guild card? We can’t leave the city until we show these to the city guards,” Datil said.
The city was surrounded by walls to prevent the demons from invading. There was always someone guarding the city gates, and any person going in or out needed some form of identification.
“I know! Jeez, you’re so annoying!” Fresa said. She puffed her cheeks in anger as Datil gave her a forced smile.
They showed their guild cards to the city guard. “Fresa-san, and...Datil-san. You may pass. Stay safe!”
I’m worried about Berry and the other two, but honestly, this is pretty exciting!
✦ ✦ ✦
It had been around an hour since we’d left Kalabuya, and we passed by a constant stream of people as we walked. Among others, we saw a super muscular man, a parent and child, an elderly couple, and a knight in shining armor. This wasn’t really an ideal place for a monster to wander about after all.
“Hey, Datil. What have you been reading?” Fresa asked.
“Oh, this is a document from Pastèque-san that explains some details about siratars. I also received some info about some of Muruma’s neighbors. I’m reading up on those.”
Neither Datil nor Pastèque are just musclebrains.
“It seems the siratar doesn’t really leave its host’s area of activity. For example, if the host was a baker, it’d stay as a baker, and if the host was a knight, it’d continue to act like a knight. Even if a village was completely overrun by these parasites, at a glance, it’d just look like a normal peaceful village,” Datil said.
“Really? So there isn’t a chance that they’d go outside of the village?”
That’s probably not the case, Fresa.
“Well, it might not be as easy for them to spread outside the village—like with diseases and other demons—but if one’s host was an adventurer or merchant, they would most likely travel around frequently. There’s no guarantee that the siratars are contained in one area.”
In other words, there could be siratars acting like adventurers or merchants, using Muruma as their base as they travel across the world.
“Our one ray of hope is written, uh...here. Please take a look. In Muruma, there isn’t an Adventurers’ Guild or any large businesses. There aren’t that many adventurers and it’s mainly an agricultural village. This means that there won’t be that many merchants either.”
I see. So we might not be too late. But there’s another problem, isn’t there, Datil?
“There may not be many people leaving the village, but there are some who enter.”
Tourists and clueless visitors are probably perfect targets. They could be secretly implanted while they’re being welcomed to town, and would leave the village as new hosts.
“Then we should hurry, shouldn’t we?” Fresa said.
“Yes. This could spread throughout the world.”
Initially, I had thought both Datil and Pastèque were overreacting, but I’ve come to think that I’ve been a bit too naive. Worst case, all of humanity could perish.
“Off topic, but I’m totally not tired at all. Is this thanks to you, Apple-san?” Fresa asked.
Yeah, probably. Thanks to the curse card, both of your physical capabilities have increased immensely. We’ve been walking nonstop, but it looks like you guys aren’t tired at all.