Puppeteering the Rival with Parasites
Masato frowned at their overeager behavior.
"Isn't this a bit too rushed? Ritka just arrived in Kyoto yesterday. She hasn't even had time to hear our side of things properly."
"You're not trying to back out now, are you, Masato-san?"
Yoshida's group bristled at Masato's negative reaction. But Masato brushed off their glares without a care.
"Discuss that with Yamamoto here first."
As we'd prearranged, Masato shifted the topic to me as an excuse.
Suddenly thrust into the spotlight, Yoshida shot me a questioning look.
"Yamamoto? And who the hell are you?"
I met Yoshida's irritated question with a grin and opened my mouth.
"Ritka's lover. This whole situation has me more confused than anyone. Talking about engagements and marriages without even involving the person herself... yeah."
I clicked my tongue and grabbed Ritka's hand. She intertwined her fingers with mine in response. Yoshida's face twisted in disgust.
Seeing our intimate vibe and the affection in Ritka's eyes, anyone would picture us as a couple who'd been going steady.
She's second-hand goods, you fucker.
I snickered inwardly, mocking him, and it felt damn satisfying to watch him clench his fists and tremble.
"Masato-san! What the hell is this? You're going back on your word!"
Unable to hold back, Yoshida raised his voice in anger. But that wouldn't bring back her virginity...
What an utter moron.
"I told you repeatedly from the start that we had to account for situations like this in the agreement. You're the one who pushed to go through with it anyway."
From the looks of it, Masato had left himself an escape route for any potential issues. But unlike with me, if Ritka had been dating some random nobody, Masato would've probably blackmailed or straight-up killed the guy—no room for this kind of conflict.
He might've even sent Ritka in as a mole to the cops... No way a yakuza oyabun like him is that soft.
After experiencing that inhuman killing intent last night, the scales had tipped heavily in my favor. Masato had decided to brazenly back me up completely.
I didn't care what his true feelings were—as long as he supported me fully, it worked for me.
Unlike my carefree attitude, the room fell into a heavy silence as everyone grappled with their awkward positions.
The tense atmosphere made my mouth itch. Dragging this out aimlessly was frustrating.
"Yoshida-san? Since we're both in a tough spot here, how about you and I talk man-to-man?"
I wasn't really thinking that way inside, but I exuded the vibe that my actions could change based on his attitude. A sleazy smirk crept onto Yoshida's furrowed face.
His gaze screamed, What can a lone survivor like you do?
Leaving Masato's subtle glance and Ritka's unwavering gaze of trust behind, Yoshida—who had no reason to refuse—spoke up.
"Fine. Better for the parties involved to settle it between themselves."
"Masato-san, could you step out for a bit?"
As I suggested Masato and Ritka leave the room, Yoshida curled his lips and signaled his underlings.
After a brief bustle, only Yoshida and I remained.
Yoshida took a sip from his teacup to wet his throat and opened his mouth.
"This fucking prick's trying to shit on a done deal?"
Starting with curses out of nowhere—his attitude just drew a sigh from me. I'd been the one to save Ritka in the first place, for fuck's sake. And he had no clue what kind of mess he was in...
Typical dumbass NPC.
Ignoring whether he cursed or not, I opened my inventory and slowly pulled out the jar.
"What the fuck—what the hell?!"
A pitch-black jar materialized from thin air. Ignoring Yoshida, I extracted a plump, red-glowing Gudok from inside.
It wriggled.
Even with my hand shielded by mana, the recoil was intense. Yoshida went silent at the sinister creature he'd never seen before.
Probably figuring he'd just watch and see, given my lack of response. Pathetic how he felt no sense of danger.
He'd clearly grown up pampered in a rich family right up to the apocalypse. Surviving afterward on his faction's power had left him this oblivious.
Tsking at his demeanor, I reached out and clamped his mouth shut.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
"Way too cocky for an NPC..."
The pent-up killing intent surged through my body like thick fog, and Yoshida's frame began shaking violently.
"I was gonna go easy if you acted like a gentleman."
As I slowly brought the Gudok toward him, terror started frosting over Yoshida's eyes.
Up close, the Gudok's grotesque form was enough to chill anyone's guts. Even without that, no modern person could stay calm seeing a bug writhing inches from their face.
It was a different flavor of horror from zombies.
"Mmm! Mmmph!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll shove it in quick."
He thrashed desperately, but it was pointless. His hands would just hurt against my steel-hard skin.
"Where do you get off eyeing Ritka, you piece of shit?"
I jammed the Gudok straight into his ear canal. Freed from my grip, it let out a cheer and burrowed in fiercely.
"Grrk! Hiiik! Eek!"
As I released my hold, Yoshida convulsed his limbs and unleashed an inhuman scream. His eyes rolled back—fucking disgusting.
Shit. A guy's doing ahegao...
Swallowing the nausea rising in my gut, I pried open his index and middle fingers.
If you're gonna do it, do it right...
How long had I been watching Yoshida's revolting display? With my heart pounding in anticipation, Yoshida snapped back to awareness and started dry-heaving.
"Urk! Bluuuugh!"
Morning stomach meant only bile spewing out nonstop. Panting, Yoshida glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
"You fucker! What the hell did you do to me?!"
Seeing no visible change, I chuckled silently and pulled out the matching blue Gudok jar.
Perhaps sensing the instinctive dread from the red one now lodged in his brain, Yoshida froze solid.
"It's called a Gudok. Red and blue make a pair. The red one's settled in your head... and this blue one's the husband."
Yoshida's trembling eyes fixed on my mouth, unable even to move.
"Bugs often have matriarchal societies. These do too."
In a leisurely tone, I extracted the blue Gudok from the jar and gripped my fingers tight.
Kieeeek!
The silent bug's screech hammered my mind and echoed through the room, sending Yoshida into that familiar expression as foam bubbled from his mouth.
"Grrk! S-stop! Uhehek!"
I slowly returned the blue Gudok to the jar, and Yoshida's breathing gradually steadied.
"Simple, right? Your life is mine to do with as I please from now on. Easy to get?"
Beaming down at the sprawled man, his eyes shook violently as realization dawned. This was basically imprinting.
From what the parasite expert told me, unlike in the heart or other organs, a brain parasite instinctively uses the host's brain to comprehend the partner's words.
A true parasite.
The host just retains consciousness, huh?
With the Gudok fully nested, his face was pale as death, yet he stared at me without a twitch. He probably couldn't move a single finger on his own anymore.
Fucking exhilarating.
"Time to pay for eyeing Ritka."
Deprived of freedom, Yoshida just stared endlessly at my mouth. Right now, he was merely the red Gudok awaiting orders.
"From now on, you only feel lust for zombies. Got it?"
Grinning ear to ear, I issued the command to the Gudok known as Yoshida.
It was probably piecing together the situation from the info in his brain by now.
"Do that, and your little blue buddy lives peacefully. Oh! And everything that happened here stays our secret."
Despite his body's signals screaming denial, his head nodded faintly.
"Good. Now go out, say you're giving up on Ritka, act normal, and don't interfere."
As Yoshida slowly rose, I pulled out some wet wipes and cleaned my fingers.
What kind of bug secretes this much slime? Fuck.
I slathered on hand sanitizer too, and only then did I feel somewhat settled. Filthy bug bastards.
"Alright! Let's head out."
At my words, Yoshida flung open the door without hesitation. Smiling slowly, I followed behind him.