"Arata-kun, weren't you going to the bathroom? Why were you in that place?"
Yuriko asks me as we walk back to the mansion. I don't feel like she's accusing me or anything like that, but she really seems curious.
But at her question, I feel Saya's gaze fixed on my back. Eh... are you trying to burn a hole through me?
Damn!
I smile shyly as I scratch my cheek and put on a sheepish face.
"Ah, it's just... this mansion is quite large, and I got lost. And since I was in a hurry, I just wanted to go somewhere where there was no one around. You know... hehe."
Of course, my memory hasn't deteriorated that much yet. I may be gradually losing my memories, but I still know perfectly well where the bathroom is. I've been to this mansion enough times not to get lost.
She nods understandingly as her expression softens.
"I see. I'm sorry, Arata-kun. I should have given you clearer directions when you left earlier. This house can be confusing for guests."
"No, no. It's okay, Mrs. Takagi. It was my fault for interrupting you before you finished giving me directions."
That was the point of interrupting her at that moment. So that later I could have an excuse for why I strayed from the path.
So I seize the moment.
"By the way, where is the bathroom? I still... All that running made me forget that I still need to go."
Yuriko points to the left of the main hallway.
"Follow me. I'll show you the way so you don't get lost again."
I turn to Rei, who is still hugging me tightly. Her face is pale, and I can feel her trembling against me. She seems genuinely traumatized by what she saw. I guess seeing a dog with tentacles coming out of its head isn't something a girl her age should witness.
"Rei, I'll be back soon. Stay close to Saya and Ms. Yuriko, okay?"
Rei lifts her head and looks at me. Her big red eyes are filled with tears that don't fall.
She looks deeply reluctant to part with me, as if she's afraid that if she lets me go, I'll disappear or something bad will happen to me.
"But... what if there are more monsters?"
"I'll be fine. I promise. Besides, there are guards everywhere now. Nothing will happen."
She bites her lower lip, clearly unconvinced, but finally nods and flashes a tense smile.
Hey, those kinds of smiles that don't reach the eyes are scary.
"Okay... but come back quickly."
I stroke her hair gently, feeling the silky strands between my fingers. It's a strange feeling.
I guess after years of being with Rei, she has transformed from 'a person who serves as a cover for my existence' to 'a person who is really important to me'.
"I'll be back before you know it."
I pull away from her and run off in the direction Yuriko pointed.
"It's the third door on the right!"
Yuriko shouts behind me.
Oh, crap. I almost left without hearing everything.
"Thank you!"
I run down the hallway counting the doors in my head. One. Two. Three. I open the door, making sure not to tear it off with my strength, and enter the bathroom, locking it behind me. I don't want anyone to come in and see me in the next act.
"Blergh!"
The contents of my stomach violently spill into the toilet. The cookies I pretended to chew. The pieces of hot chocolate I let slide down my throat without actually swallowing them. Everything comes out.
This is the last step after pretending to eat. The step that no one sees but that I have to do every damn time I pretend to be human.
Emptying my stomach before the food I swallowed without chewing properly is digested. Because if it is digested, it would cause me horrible discomfort for many days.
It would even weaken me to the point where I could barely move. My body isn't made to process normal human food, but after eating ghoul, at least I can stomach swallowing it.
My digestion is slow by default as a zombie. So I don't worry too much if even an hour or two passes since I ate. I can empty my stomach at any time before it really starts to process.
Still, it's unpleasant to do it every time.
"Blergh! Cough! Cough!"
I spit the last remnants into the toilet.
I slowly get up, feeling my legs a little shaky, and look at myself in the mirror above the sink.
My face is nauseating. I look like shit. Well, I'm a zombie, so I guess that makes sense.
I inhale deeply through my nose and exhale slowly through my mouth. I do this for a full minute.
The discomfort gradually goes away with each breath, my stomach stops feeling queasy, and my head clears a little.
I wash my face with cold water from the sink. I rinse my mouth several times. Then I rinse and spit repeatedly until the sour taste disappears.
I flush the toilet and watch everything disappear in a whirlpool.
Look in the mirror once more, now I look like I normally do.
I leave the bathroom after drying my hands on a towel hanging nearby.
In the hallway, I find a guard waiting near the door. He is a tall, muscular man with scars on his knuckles. Probably a former yakuza or something like that. The Takagi family has that kind of employee.
"Ma'am sent me to protect you. There may be more monsters lurking around the estate."
The guard says in a serious voice as his hand rests on the gun in his belt.
I nod obediently and try to maintain my facade of a frightened child.
"Thank you. That... that makes me feel safer."
The man nods and gestures for me to follow him.
He leads me back to the entrance of the mansion, and the guard stops at the entrance.
"I'll be outside if you need me."
He tells me before returning to his post patrolling the hallway.
All the guards are on high alert. Their hands never stray from their weapons, and their eyes dart nervously in all directions.
Well, less than half an hour ago, they faced a dog with a head split into tentacles with sharp points. And yesterday, many of their comrades died at the hands of Saya's father, transformed into a monster.
Those who are now patrolling are the ones who returned early yesterday to rest or were off duty. They are lucky to be alive. Because if they had been present when Souichiro transformed, they would all have died under the attack of the Takagi parasite.
They must feel guilty for having survived while their comrades died. But they must also feel relieved.
Hey, I wonder since when I've been able to sense emotions. Is it because of the two worms I ate? If I concentrate hard enough, I can feel a little bit of how others are feeling.
In the living room, I find Saya and Rei sitting on the sofa.
But the atmosphere between them is completely silent.
Saya has her arms crossed and stares out the window with a distant expression. She lost her father yesterday and clearly doesn't feel like talking to anyone. Her pride and grief are fighting inside her, and I can see her clenching her jaw to keep from crying.
Rei, on the other hand, has her hands in her lap and is looking down. She was traumatized by seeing the monster earlier.
They're just kids, seven or eight years old. They shouldn't have to deal with this kind of shit.
The fact that I was about to die doesn't help Rei's situation either. Well, it's just an act on my part. I was never really in danger because I knew exactly what I was doing.
But for Rei, it's not like that. She genuinely thinks she almost lost her childhood friend to a monster.
I sit down on the single sofa in front of them, trying to look tired but relieved to be back.
Rei immediately lifts her head when she hears the sound of the sofa and quickly moves to sit next to me instead of staying with Saya.
She presses herself against my side as soon as she sits down.
She is silent for a moment. Then she asks in a trembling voice.
"Arata... that monster from earlier... is it a ghoul? So they really exist?"
Monsters that eat humans and hide among society. It makes sense that a frightened child would connect the dots and assume that what she saw was one of those.
But as I was thinking of answering "yes," Saya speaks up.
"No."
Both Rei and I turn our heads to look at her in surprise.
'Ah. It seems Saya has already figured it out'.
I think as I observe her expression.
Saya Takagi is a genius with a very high IQ, and that means she can connect dots that other children wouldn't even see.
Saya stares at us with a serious expression, crosses her arms, and begins to speak.
"It's not a ghoul."
She pauses, gathering her thoughts before continuing.
"The news reports so far say that ghouls are distinguished by a specific characteristic. Objects come out of their backs that they use as biological weapons. So far, it's not known what it is. My father, who transformed yesterday, and the dog today, are completely different from those descriptions. Neither of them had anything coming out of their backs. The transformations came directly from their heads."
Oh, shit.
Saya is connecting the dots, and I don't know if that's good or bad for me.
×××
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