8. Pipe Tobacco (2)
8. Pipe Tobacco (2)
Since yesterday, I keep seeing pipe tobacco everywhere.
I tried to quit smoking a few times in my previous life, and while I failed every single time, I didn't exactly shake or get severely stressed out just because I couldn't smoke.
I just smoked because my company and my boss were annoying; it wasn't like I had no will to live or any serious reason.
Even though my body changed and all the addictive substances that had built up in my system were gone, for some reason, I kept eyeing the pipe tobacco.
In the end, I got off the carriage and picked up the pipe tobacco on the ground.
A pipe tobacco covered in dirt and blood.
"Lighter. Ah, there's no way there'd be a lighter here."
Come to think of it, there's no lighter here.
"Amber, can you make fire?"
"Y-yes! B-but this—"
"Fire."
Amber tried to say something, but I felt like if I didn't smoke right now, I might just kill her.
She took out a finger-sized cylindrical object from her pocket, and fire appeared from it. It looked like some kind of magic tool.
She was struggling to light the pipe tobacco with the magic tool.
Seriously, how can she be so bad at lighting it just because it's a little dirty?
As I started to get annoyed, Amber hurriedly increased the flame intensity, tried her best to light it, and eventually, it caught a gentle flame.
Normally, lighting a pipe requires several steps, but I'm in a bit of a rush right now.
To alleviate even a little bit of the desire that had been growing every time I opened my eyes, I had to do something quickly.
"Um, that—"
I ignored Amber and just inhaled—
Thump.
"Lea-nim!?"
What. What is this?
The moment the smoke entered my body through my windpipe, all the strength left my body.
It didn't go limp in a bad way. It went limp because it felt so good.
On the contrary, every cell in my body woke up, and I felt like I was in peak condition, as if I'd just woken up from a good night's sleep.
The Hive Mind of over 50,000 creatures in my head is vivid. Until now, it felt like I was barely holding onto them so they wouldn't slip away, but now, I have them all firmly in my grasp.
I can read everything—the locations and thoughts of all the creatures in the Colony that are still some distance away.
==
"Lea-nim, are you okay!? Le, Lea-nim!?"
Amber panicked when Lea suddenly collapsed right after smoking.
Since she didn't know what would happen to her the moment something happened to Lea, she hurriedly checked Lea's condition.
Seeing Lea limp and unable to regain consciousness, Amber regretted not telling her about the strange thing about the pipe tobacco, no matter what.
Before lighting the pipe, Amber had noticed that the bowl wasn't just filled with tobacco leaves, but also human flesh.
No matter how cleanly Maru killed, the sharp teeth used to do the deed tore the weak human flesh apart.
In that process, a piece of flesh was torn off and, by pure coincidence, ended up in the pipe tobacco's bowl.
Because of the human flesh and blood, it didn't even light well.
She had barely managed to light it, and Lea collapsed the moment she inhaled the smoke.
Since waking up as the Queen of the creatures, the Queen, who needed to eat humans more than any other creature, hadn't eaten a single human for two days, and her body was screaming.
Fortunately, she wasn't just the Queen's consciousness but also had a human consciousness, so she had been barely holding on, and after inhaling the smoke created by burning human blood and flesh, the Queen's body awakened.
Lea, now somewhat calmed down, stood up.
"Ugh!?"
As soon as Amber saw Lea's face, her whole body started to tremble.
Amber could feel that not only her human body but also the Mimic Creature wrapping around her body, and the creatures in her brain and spine, were trembling.
Her body bowed on its own due to the overwhelming presence that any living being would inevitably feel.
The outfit used to hide her identity had already vanished, and she had returned to her original Queen's attire.
Black and red aura flowed from her entire body, and all living things in the vicinity, except for the creatures, began to die.
'Wh-what on earth is h-happening?'
==
Pipe tobacco.
The moment the smoke entered my body, every cell in my body woke up. To be precise, the Queen's body woke up.
And I knew it instantly.
I realized that I had become like this because of the smoke created by burning human blood and flesh.
My whole body is rejoicing.
The urge I had been craving and desiring until now was somewhat satisfied, and while I couldn't control my body before, it has calmed down to some extent now.
When I came to my senses and stood up, the state of my surroundings was a mess.
All the plants within about 10 meters of me had withered.
It became a black-and-white world, to the point where I didn't know if I should call it withered or dead.
Amber was prostrated right in front of me, trembling, and Maru was hiding behind the carriage, watching me cautiously.
It was cute and fascinating to see Maru, the creature that had just brutally torn 15 mercenaries to shreds, trembling behind the carriage.
I didn't even do anything in particular. I just felt the power in my body awakening, so I gathered it for a moment, and for Maru to be that scared...
I picked up the pipe tobacco, which was still lit. And I inhaled the smoke once more.
Never in my life has tobacco tasted this good. The problem is that the smoke I'm inhaling isn't tobacco smoke, but human blood and flesh.
"Sss-urp... Phew..."
This is it.
This is the answer.
It doesn't satisfy all of the Queen's desires, but it satisfies most of them.
Perhaps the smoke created by burning human blood and flesh is helpful.
This is better.
It's better to satisfy this desire with the smoke created by burning human blood and flesh than to eat humans.
Burning the flesh of a dead corpse is much less repulsive than eating a human.
Rather than holding it in, holding it in, and then exploding and eating a living human, it's better to burn the flesh from a dead corpse—not even eating it, just burning it—to satisfy it to some extent.
I've solved one important thing.
'To think that mercenary flesh accidentally got into that pipe tobacco.'
I never expected to solve the Queen's desire in such an absurd way. But just the fact that it's solved is very good news.
Though it seems I'll have to live with this pipe tobacco, if I hadn't found any way and just a day or two more had passed like this, I would have been consumed by the Queen's consciousness and just killed anyone.
"Let's go now."
I said to Maru and Amber, exhaling the smoke created by the burning blood and flesh.
The horse that had been pulling the carriage was already dead because of me, so I made Maru pull the carriage.
Kids, wait just a little longer. Mommy is bringing food.
==
Is this for real?
The meat bought with Amber's entire fortune and the 15 mercenaries Maru personally dealt with disappeared in an hour.
I thought I could at least last a day, but to think it disappeared in an hour, is this for real?
It wouldn't matter if it were just small creatures, but kids like the Ners or Maru are the problem.
Since their size itself is enormous, they eat a ridiculous amount.
Since there are thousands of kids like that, no matter how much meat and humans there are, it's not enough.
'Sigh... I can't hold out anymore, even if I try.'
If I compare the number of creatures I took control of via the Hive Mind when I woke up as the Queen to the current number, it has decreased a lot. Not just decreased, it has decreased significantly.
I feel like I'm going to lose more kids by trying to play it safe to avoid losing them.
'I need to prepare.'
No matter how much I have a human consciousness, I am ultimately the kids' mother and Queen.
I feel so sorry that I'm just causing them pain while holding onto the kids who would have scattered everywhere if I hadn't been here in the first place.
Furthermore, if things continue like this, the kids' desires will grow to the point where it's hard to control them with the Hive Mind.
If it's going to explode and I won't be able to control it anyway, it's better to trigger it within a range I can control myself.
==
"Leader, are you sure this is okay? The quest location is too dangerous."
"It's fine. You know it too. The Forbidden Forest isn't dangerous as long as you don't go deep inside."
"But..."
"In the first place, not even monsters live in the Forbidden Forest."
"That's what's strange. Why on earth are they asking us to find traces of mercenaries in the Forbidden Forest?"
The party leader told them not to worry and kept walking.
They had learned that the Forbidden Forest was dangerous from a long time ago, but no one knows exactly why it's dangerous or what makes it dangerous.
It's just known to be dangerous because it's been said to be dangerous since old times, but since there's no substance to it, it feels like they just accept it.
The party leader doesn't think the Forbidden Forest is that dangerous either. That's why he accepted this quest without hesitation.
But the party members were a little uneasy.
Because there had been rumors lately about mercenaries going missing. And finding the traces of those mercenaries is exactly what this quest is about.
These mercenaries aren't just any mercenaries.
They were mercenaries made up of former B-rank Adventurers.
Of course, this party is also made up of B-rank Adventurers, but they were still uneasy.
Because B-rank mercenaries going missing means that a B-rank Adventurer party could go missing just the same.
"Don't worry! We are a perfect party."
They have a standard party composition: vanguard, scout, mage, and healer.
The Adventurer Guild wants adventurers to operate in parties. No matter how excellent an individual's ability is, each person possesses different skills.
As adventurers, they have to overcome various and diverse situations, and a party that can complement each other to deal with various situations has a higher survival rate.
"Huh? Leader, look at this."
The party member in charge of scouting, who was investigating traces in front, discovered something.
"This looks like traces of mercenaries?"
There were marks of multiple footprints trying to move as stealthily as possible.
The problem is that the direction of those marks is toward the Forbidden Forest.
"I think it would be better to just stop here and report it?"
"Let's just go to the entrance."
"Leader!"
"You know how much the reward is. Everyone has been to the entrance once or twice for herb gathering while working as adventurers. The entrance is fine."
"Sigh... I don't know either. Alright."
The Forbidden Forest hasn't been touched by animals or humans, so there are more medicinal ingredients there than elsewhere.
The problem is that it's considered so ominous that there are many cases where they request mercenaries or adventurers separately.
So, if they are desperate for money, they sometimes take herb quests.
However, the feeling of being left alone in this world without hearing any sound at all isn't very pleasant, so not many adventurers take herb quests.
Still, the adventurer party, acknowledging the fact that the entrance of the Forbidden Forest is safe, followed the mercenaries' traces into the Forbidden Forest.