The Girl from the Underground Village
Did I just meet a kind infected? The faint, swollen tentacle marks rising beneath her skin, the red flash reflected in her bloodshot eyes—these were clearly signs of infection, not mere errors or damage. Those two things alone were enough for me to instinctively realize that the being before me was an android infected by a parasitic monster. It was likely a sub-species of the Human Hunter I’d defeated before. A low-level infected, a "trash mob" that hadn't managed to evolve into a Queen-class. And that petite frame... it was undoubtedly one of R.P.M.’s 3rd Unit, the stealth corps.
"The smaller they are, the higher their stealth capability." True to their nature as a special android unit specializing in assassination and infiltration, most of their members possessed young, slender appearances just like this girl. Perhaps that was why, even in a situation where I should have been instinctively on guard, I hesitated.
The girl-type infected before me was trembling, her eyes welling up as she murmured in a voice that was barely a whisper. "I, I'll just go... I was just so hungry... If you don't want to give me anything... I can just leave."
It was strange. Too strange. An infected android is a "dead machine" disconnected from the network. The parasite takes over the body, and it is reborn as a new creature. The existence that follows is neither an android nor a human. And yet—
"Kid, you... you're a monster, right? But how... how can you speak human language?"
At my question, the girl flinched as if startled, her eyes widening. "That... I... I'm not sure..."
"Chanwoo, please step back."
At Revi’s words, I suddenly snapped to my senses. She had already raised her blade high, blocking my path. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes were glowing with a cold light. "Don't be deceived. That is a monster."
Serika, too, held a cold judgment in her amethyst eyes. "She is right. Regardless of her speech, an infected being using human language could be an even more dangerous sign. There is a high possibility she learned it to deceive us."
"Ah, aaaaaah...! P-please, spare me! I, I really only came here because I was hungry...!"
The girl collapsed to the floor, sobbing. Trembling all over, she covered her mouth with her hands, swallowing her cries. At that moment, Revi stepped forward quietly.
"Chanwoo. If you wish, I will take this child far away, dispose of her quietly, and return."
"Revi..."
"You are kind, Chanwoo. I judged that you would not want to see an android that can speak, even if it is a parasite, die before your eyes. So please, do not worry and wait here."
"...No, p-please, spare me!"
Drip.
It was then. Along with her small sobs, a lukewarm liquid flowed down beneath the girl’s thighs. A puddle of urine spreading on the floor between her legs.
"......"
This was truly a reaction only a living being pushed to the very edge of survival could show. Clenching her eyes shut, covering her mouth with her hands, and even wetting herself—it was so desperate that it was impossible to tell where the acting ended and the sincerity began. But no matter how I looked at it, she just seemed like a child trembling in terror. I looked quietly at the back of Revi’s hand, which was gripping her blade.
'Is this really a trick? Or...'
Revi still hadn't moved. She was someone who prioritized accurate judgment and swift disposal, yet even she couldn't lower her blade at this moment. The tip of her wavering blade—it wasn't just because she was waiting for my signal. Revi herself was feeling that something about this child’s reaction was strange, sensing a foreign emotion that couldn't be explained by logic.
And at that moment, amidst the small sobs—
Gurgle...
A sound echoed from her stomach. It was unmistakably a signal of hunger.
'Is this acting? Or is she really...'
I bit my lip for a moment. It wasn't impossible for a parasitic infected to mimic emotions. In fact, even the Human Hunter had absorbed memories to mimic androids. If so, there was a high possibility this child was acting. Yet, seeing her cry in such terror and even wet herself, why did a corner of my heart feel so heavy?
I spoke up, almost involuntarily. "Were you... really that hungry?"
That sentence was, in fact, something she had said several times already. Her plea for help, the excuses she sobbed out—they all stemmed from that. But back then, I had thought it might just be a lie concocted to beg for her life. Because an infected could do that. Because I had to believe that to keep my heart from wavering. But now, hearing that faint sound leaking from her empty stomach, I knew that her words had been sincere from the start. She hadn't come to take anything. She was just, truly, incredibly hungry.
The girl nodded slightly, biting her lip tightly. A single tear gathered at the corner of her eye, rolled down her small cheek, and fell quietly to the floor. I slowly let go of the tension in my hands and whispered to myself.
'I must not trust her. An unidentified infected must be eliminated without exception.'
That was the only principle for survival in this world. But now, even that principle felt so distant in the face of this small trembling. By the time I snapped out of it, I had already wanted to hand her the canned food I was holding.
Nom nom! Munch munch! Gulp gulp!
It was, quite literally, a binge-eating session. The sound of cans opening, her small mouth chewing frantically, the movement of her throat as food flowed down like water, and the empty cans piling up on the floor.
"......"
We watched the scene in silence. Even if growing children are supposed to eat well, this was on the level of a refugee immediately after a disaster. Or perhaps, do infected also have a "growth phase"? Physiologically and logically, it didn't make sense, but the way she ate so heartily certainly felt like that of a living creature.
By the time half of the week's worth of food Serika had brought had evaporated, the little girl wiped her mouth and carefully stood up.
"Th-thank you! I almost starved to death... I was able to survive thanks to the three of you!"
Her voice was clear, crisp, and somehow ticklishly bright.
"Yeah, did you eat well?"
When I spoke to her, the girl beamed and nodded.
"Yes! It’s all because I was able to meet three kind androids!"
"...Three androids?"
At that moment, I blinked. This kid... is she mistaking me for an android too? Well, that was understandable. It had been thousands of years since humanity went extinct in this world. The possibility that she couldn't even imagine a living human remained was high. Just as I was about to carefully open my mouth to clear up that misunderstanding—
"Hehe, that's right. We're three kind androids~."
"I agree. It is rare to find machines as kind as us."
Soft sensations felt from both sides. The two androids clinging tightly to my left and right smiled at Lyla, who was tilting her head, naturally brushing off the baseless claim.
"What are you two doing now..."
Whisper, whisper.
"Chanwoo. It is better to keep the fact that you are human a secret for now." Serika whispered in a low voice.
"Are you still doubting her?"
"Yes. Honestly speaking, there are too many suspicious points to believe everything."
Revi also nodded. "It doesn't hurt to be careful. Infected can change their behavior at any time."
Well, that wasn't wrong. It wasn't like I would lose anything by hiding that I was human. And no matter how harmless she looked, the fact that Lyla was a monster didn't change. If so, it was time to get to the point.
"Anyway, Lyla."
"Yes?"
"You... it's true that you're a monster, right?"
"Ah... yes. I think so."
"You 'think' so?"
"Yes... I had no memories before I opened my eyes. I was just crawling somewhere... and when I came to, I was in this form."
Her tone carried a confusion and vagueness that went beyond the simple dimension of "lost memories," where she didn't even know exactly what she was herself. It was as if she had awakened, led by the instincts of something, without consciousness or self. She couldn't even be sure if she was infected, and all she could say was the ambiguous word "probably." That appearance gave off a different kind of strangeness than the "obvious enemies" I had encountered so far.
"Lyla, what do you think of humans?"
When I asked suddenly, Lyla tilted her head.
"Humans?"
"Yeah. They say monsters feel an instinctive urge to attack when they see humans."
The basic setting of the Star's Doll world. That was why humanity was extinct, and monsters were depicted as beings that would go mad just by smelling a human. Yet, Lyla, who was in front of me right now...
"Well?"
She shrugged unexpectedly. "They just... exist if they exist. There's no need to... kill them, is there?"
"...Really?"
"Yes. If anything, the ones we are afraid of are the androids!"
"!!"
It was an unexpected answer.
"At least, the 'villagers' all said so. They told us to avoid androids as much as possible."
"Villagers..."
"What do you mean by people?"
For a moment, a faint electric current ran down my spine. A village? In this world, was there still a survival cluster that could be called a "village"?
"What does that mean, Lyla? What village?"
"Yes! There is a small 'Underground Village' where infected androids like me live together!"
"An Underground Village?"
An image flashed through my mind. Why I hadn't seen such infected until now. Why only high-level infected like the Human Hunter existed rarely. There was only one reason. It was because they were hiding underground.