The Discovery of Civilization
The next morning, I picked up my Nail Gun and began my search in earnest. I tucked some unappetizing energy bars and water into my inventory, and Eve and I set out to roam the surroundings before the sun went down.
The expedition had a few specific goals. I wanted to survey the environment near the Research Bunker to identify potential hazards and vegetation. If I could find some fruit or edible plants, I wouldn't have to choke down those damn energy bars quite as often.
However, three hours had already passed since we started. I held the scythe from the Factory System in my hand, hacking through the dense underbrush. I hadn't found anything of note; it was just trees, trees, and more trees. There wasn't a shadow of the fruit I’d been secretly hoping for, nor were there any small wild animals like birds or squirrels. Where on earth had that deer I saw earlier come from?
The image of that bizarre creature from a few days ago—the one with jewel-like crystals sprouting from its body, thrashing about in a frenzy—wouldn't leave my mind. As I walked, staying alert, my grip tightened on the Nail Gun at the slightest rustle of leaves.
But to my surprise, the forest was unexpectedly quiet and peaceful. The sunlight filtering through the leaves was dazzlingly warm, and the air was so crisp it felt like it was purging all the toxins from my body.
"Jaero, there are no signs of Crystallization in this vicinity. I do not detect any traces of the strange creatures we encountered previously, either."
Eve, who had been leading the way to clear a path, stopped and scanned the area. She was right. The forest was lush and green, filled only with the sound of insects. The scene of that horrific deer slamming into our factory and sparking electricity felt like a bad dream from a long, long time ago.
"You're right. Where did that deer even come from? It doesn't look like there's a herd nearby, so how did it make it all the way to the factory?"
I lowered the Nail Gun and relaxed my stiff shoulders. I had secretly expected a tense situation where I’d have to brandish my weapon against terrifying monsters, but all I found was a peaceful forest landscape. As the tension drained away, a sense of hollowness washed over me. Eve smiled faintly at my grumbling.
"It is a relief, rather. My top priority is ensuring you are not exposed to danger, Jaero."
She maintained her polite, formal tone. Even after we had confirmed our feelings for each other and I’d told her to speak casually, she never once broke decorum. If anything, she felt even more respectful than before. What am I to her? A mere superior? Or a boyfriend? Either way, it felt good to know that Eve relied on me completely.
'Still, I can't believe there's nothing to eat in this forest.'
Finding threats was the top priority, but finding food was truly important, too. We had energy bars in the Research Bunker, so survival wasn't an immediate issue. But if I kept eating these god-awful, dirt-flavored bars, I was bound to go insane.
'I've reached my limit with these dirt-flavored energy bars. I really have.'
Just thinking about the dry, chalky aftertaste made me want to gag. Those mysterious silver sticks that popped out of the bunker's supply dispenser at the press of a button—hidden inside that silver wrapper was a torture device designed to destroy the human tongue. I’d managed to choke them down for survival the first few times, but now, just seeing the silver packaging made me want to retch.
I wasn't even asking for the taste of civilization, like ramen or fried chicken. I just desperately wanted to sink my teeth into a piece of golden-brown grilled meat, heavily salted. The hot juices bursting in my mouth, the chewy texture... I wouldn't even care if there was no salt. I felt like I’d sell my soul just to chew on some bloody raw meat cooked over a fire.
I’d tried to look for sour or astringent berries if meat was too hard to find, but all I saw were thick bushes and leaves. Was it not the season for fruit? I swallowed hard, suppressing my burning appetite.
"Eve, it's a relief there are no crystallized animals, but... I don't even see any normal wildlife. I thought we might be able to have meat for lunch today. Aren't you tired of only eating energy bars, Eve?"
"If you wish to have meat, Jaero, I will do my utmost to find some."
"If you see a rabbit or a squirrel on the way, make sure to tell me. It would've been hard with my bare hands, but maybe I can catch something with the Nail Gun? No, I *have* to catch it. If I don't eat meat today, I think I'll be thinking about it for days."
I steeled myself with grim determination, clutching the Nail Gun and glaring into the bushes. I didn't know about my past life, but now that I had a body capable of piercing a deer with a stone, I figured my other physical abilities might be decent, too. I pushed through the grass, scouring every inch for any sign of an animal.
Rustle.
"Hmm?"
I heard something moving in the distance.
"Did you hear that too, Jaero?"
Eve looked around, then tapped my shoulder as if she’d found something.
"Look over there. I believe that is a rabbit."
A brown rabbit with ears perked up was sniffing the ground. Was it looking for fallen fruit between the blades of grass? It didn't seem to know we were there yet.
'The Nail Gun can fire at a distance, but its range is pathetic compared to a real gun.'
The Nail Gun's accuracy only improved if I closed the distance to within 10 meters. If I shot now, I’d miss, and even if I hit it, it would just be a minor prick, and the rabbit would bolt.
"Eve, I think I need to get closer to hit it with the Nail Gun."
Eve nodded silently. We walked toward the rabbit as quietly as possible. I thought I was being as stealthy as I could, controlling my breathing, but before long, the rabbit twitched its ears, sensed us, and scurried away into the distance.
"Wow, it's fast!"
It was already too late to track it. The rabbit had vanished before we could even give chase.
"That is a pity. I will make sure we catch one next time."
Even with Eve's comfort, the afterimage of the rabbit I’d missed lingered in my mind. Still, I didn't give up and kept looking for other animals.
Two hours later. I slumped down onto a moss-covered rock, looking exhausted. My ambitious meat hunt had long since become a pipe dream.
"*Sigh*... I can't even see any fruit, let alone meat. I didn't know hunting was this hard."
"I apologize, Jaero. Wild creatures have an excellent instinct for sensing danger. But please, do not be too disappointed. Next time, I will help you catch one, even if I have to lure it out myself."
Eve came to my side and wiped the sweat from my forehead with a gentle touch. Her warm voice and devoted attitude would have been a great comfort usually, but right now, my head was filled with nothing but the word 'meat.' Between the hollowness and the growling of my stomach, I hung my head low and just poked at the dirt under my feet.
"Thanks, Eve. I guess I'm just fated to chew on dirt-flavored energy bars for the rest of my life. I couldn't even catch a single rabbit; I'm so pathetic... Hmm?"
Something unfamiliar caught my eye as I stared blankly at the ground. It was half-buried in the dust, but its texture was distinctly foreign compared to the natural surroundings of the forest. I leaned over and carefully picked it up.
"This... isn't this plastic? And it's pretty stiff, too."
The color was faded and worn from the sun, but it was unmistakably a piece of artificial plastic. Eve had estimated that at least 300 years had passed since the height of civilization, but no matter how I looked at it, this didn't seem like plastic that had been dropped 300 years ago.
"It looks like it was dropped relatively recently. What do you think, Eve?"
"...It appears so to me as well."
My heart began to race. I dug around the spot with my hands, and small, rusted metal fragments and other unidentifiable plastic pieces rolled out.
"Eve, look at this. It's an artifact. It might not have been yesterday or the day before, but someone must have been here even a few years ago! We weren't the only ones left after the disaster!"
"I see. It seems to be packaging that someone used and discarded after the disaster."
I had been mindlessly happy, but Eve's gaze turned sharp in an instant. Even if they weren't crystallized creatures, the presence of other humans was another potential threat. Seeing Eve's reaction, I caught on and picked up the Nail Gun.
We stood up and started searching the area where the plastic had been dropped. I had almost given up on the expectation that people might be living here, but the evidence before my eyes reignited my dead hope. First, I had to confirm the existence of people; whether to be hostile or not was a problem for later.
"Jaero, this way. Look at the ground here. The direction the grass is bent is strange."
Eve pointed to a spot where the forest trees were thinning out. A clear mark was imprinted on the damp soil under the shade. It wasn't the claw marks of a beast or a blunt paw print. It was a clear 'shoe print'—flat-bottomed, with a distinct heel boundary and fine stripes left behind.
"It's a shoe print! Eve, isn't this recent?"
"Considering the moisture level of the ground and the discoloration of the crushed grass, I estimate it was left within the last three or four days. It is certain. Someone passed through here recently."
My heart began to pound violently. Someone is alive. It meant that besides Eve and me, there were other humans treading this earth, breathing and living. I ran toward the edge of the forest, following the direction of the footprints as if possessed. I was breathless, but I couldn't stop. The dense trees gradually disappeared, and when I finally reached the end of an open hill, I gasped and came to a halt.
"Whoa..."
Outside the forest, in the plains far below, I saw a landscape surrounded by high wooden fences, with low houses huddled together inside. I could see chimneys puffing out white smoke between the crude houses made of wood and earth. I could see people moving about very busily in the village.
I had thought civilization was destroyed by the disaster and humanity might have gone extinct, but what stood before my eyes was a 'village' of people working hard to live.
"Eve! Look over there! It's a village! There are real people living there! We weren't the only ones left!"
I was so excited that I grabbed Eve's shoulders and shook them. I couldn't help but be thrilled at the prospect that we weren't the only ones left in this vast world, and that we might be able to interact with other people.
"Maybe we can get a meal if we go there! Meat! No, even if there's no meat, maybe they have soup?"
At my exclamation, Eve stared at the village with a guarded look for a moment. To her, my safety was the top priority, and an unknown group was an immediate potential threat. But soon, seeing my excited expression, she smiled softly and nodded in agreement.
"Understood, Jaero. I am not sure if the people will be friendly, but I think it would be good to make contact first."
She said that, but she held the Nail Gun with a solemn expression. It seemed Eve's priority was still my safety. I held her hand tightly and began to run out of the forest toward that small village where I could feel the warmth of human life.