You Need to Calm Down. Are You in Heat? Got Some Weird Thoughts?
"You need to calm down. Are you in heat? You've got some weird thoughts going on."
"……What do you mean by that?"
I struggled to keep my gaze averted, putting on a flustered act. I already knew the truth, but I hadn't expected her to confess it to me.
"Remember when we were fleeing spores and monsters and dove into the sewage pipes? When we were talking about our first meeting, you were talking about it so casually, like it was no big deal.
By bringing up the past like that first, now you're pushing forward with full confidence?
"When I was about to drown and pass out underwater, you just shoved your lips straight into mine and shared your breath, didn't you?"
"That's right. Elia really is a foolish woman."
What kind of woman would risk her life to save the first person she met? That's not just kindness— that's sheer stupidity.
"But you know what's funny? It was so painful I thought I was going to lose my mind, and the second our lips touched, everything just went calm. My heart was pounding like crazy."
"That's the adrenal rush effect. In an extreme situation right before death, if someone saves you, your brain mistakes the adrenaline surge for deep meaning. You just lived because you were alive and your heart was beating."
With that, I drew a clear line. Red let out a wry smile.
I thought the same thing. Turns out I was wrong.
"……What now?"
"Ever since that day, Elia's name keeps popping up in my head. Even when I'm asleep. Even when I'm doing anything."
"……"
"It's actually hilarious and weird. I'm not a lesbian or anything. But after that day, I started liking girls."
"Did your tastes change?"
Red shook her head.
"Let me be precise. I only like Elia."
I never imagined Red would lay out her true feelings this openly.
‘Don't get careless. I'm pretending to be a Receptor.’
I folded my arms and tilted my head, staring at her.
"If that's what you say, you should hate me for taking up Elia's body."
Hate the Receptor inside Elia's body.
"……"
"But why do you keep clinging to me saying I'm good? And on top of that, what kind of mindset makes you tell me all this? I just don't understand."
While I kept pushing, Red stayed calm. She looked at me with steady eyes.
"Elia isn't coming back. Libera would tear me apart to get her out even if it meant killing me, but I know. It's impossible."
This woman is a realist.
"I thought about it. Yeah, the real Elia's soul is gone. But what does that matter? Elia's body is right here."
"……Body? Hey, just a second ago you said you liked Elia. So you're basically admitting you want to use her body?"
The way she was looking at me wasn't normal. It felt like she was treating a living real doll.
Red slowly walked closer. Her red eyes narrowed the distance until their tips nearly touched, filled with raw, thick desire.
"Whether you're a monster or not, that doesn't matter to me. I was thinking about using you as a really pretty toy to fill my sexual needs."
"……You're serious?"
Well, what else can I do? I can't stand watching you mix bodies with other guys, Elia.
Of course I won't sleep with anyone.
Even though I'm faking it, if I have to go that far, I'd better run away.
"……Even if I rummage through the memories inside me, there's no record of you saying that crude thing to Elia. This is the first time you're admitting it?"
"I didn't think that before Elia died."
"Liar. You probably thought it thousands of times in your imagination. So that's why you're saying it now?"
I was wrong about my earlier assessment.
This woman is a realist and a pervert.
"……How would I tell a sweet girl “I want you sexually”? She’d probably run away scared."
"Maybe."
"No. With her kind personality, she might have seriously considered it for me."
No, she'd probably panic and run away.
I stayed quiet for a moment, quietly staring at Red's face.
Even this woman's way of thinking has broken.
‘Hehe.’
It wasn't an unpleasant feeling. On the contrary, it was intriguing.
This situation was partially one I had deliberately set up myself.
I taunted her with mockery.
"Elia really is an incurable idiot. The person who saved her life, and she didn't even know it was just her dead body she was after. Why was she trying so desperately to save someone like you?"
Red didn't look the slightest bit disgusted. Instead, she nodded obediently as if agreeing with every word.
"That's exactly what I said. So that's why I call Elia an idiot."
"She's a complete idiot."
"A woman who doesn't even value her own life. And because I was drawn to a woman like that, I'm just as incurable as she is."
Red suddenly furrowed her brows, as if remembering something.
"Oh, right. Speaking of which, isn't it impossible for a Receptor to infect through intercourse between women?"
"It's impossible."
"That's a shame. If infection was possible between women, I would have gladly spread my legs and become your first host."
I sighed in disbelief.
"Don't say useless things. I have no intention of infecting anyone. Don't worry about it."
"That's what it would take to live the rest of your life."
"You need to calm down. Are you in heat? Got some weird thoughts going on."
Red gave a playful smirk.
"Well, for now I'll let it slide. Just in case, though? Maybe one day you'll be so desperate you beg for it."
"……"
"When that time comes, come to me. Even if I can't infect you with a woman's body, I can at least help release your desires."
I doubted my own ears.
"What?"
"I can help you directly. If not, I can show you."
"You're crazy. You've completely lost your mind. You need help. What kind of thing are you saying?"
"That will never happen."
I said it flatly, full of disgust. She really could have those weird thoughts.
"I have no intention of helping your desires, and I won't be the one who's desperate and struggling with my instincts. Please stop spouting nonsense."
"Okay, okay~ Why are you so shocked?"
Red suddenly raised both hands in a playful gesture.
"Well, since you said it so decisively, I'll believe you. Then I'll head back. See you later~ Receptor-san~"
At the very end, her tone lightened a little.
Red walked away into the distance. I pressed my throbbing forehead with a tired hand.
……I wonder how this woman ended up like this. I really know her well.
Red has one secret she must hide until the day she dies.
In the original story, Red was never left completely alone in the building during the spore storm.
Inside the building there were also Elysian Athens members, including the Administrator and Libera. Originally, they were supposed to stop the monsters together with them.
How she ended up alone was because I had moved all the members to other locations. I had entered the building disguised as someone who had been involved in an accident.
With my customized fake body.
Was the only thing I manipulated this?
‘Haa, I have no idea how hard this was.’
How many times had I simulated escaping the contaminated sewers in fake bodies?
If I didn't have this ability, how could I have enjoyed this much fun?
This is basically a gift from the gods.
Of all the coincidences I thought were random, there was not a single one that was truly random.
It wasn't that I planned every single detail from beginning to end, but I set the overall framework and intervened at every fine detail.
"Artificial respiration?"
That was also on purpose.
Red had held her breath longer than expected and I had been worried, but it was fortunate she reached her limit just before the exit.
Red really held her breath well.
The most important part was the medicine. I had hidden medicine in my mouth. Should I say it increased heart rate?
I slipped it into my mouth when she was staying in the air pocket and exploded it. Using artificial respiration as an excuse, I passed the medicine's effect along with the oxygen.
Completely falling for the deception, even her tastes had changed.
‘Sorry, Red.’
Well, in the end I saved your life, right? Wouldn't you say so?
I am not a fool who gives my breath to someone else.
You're the fool.
◆◇◆
"Mom, I have a question."
Nadia asked cautiously while Anastasia was leaning against a tree, catching her breath for a moment.
"What is it?
"Do you know how the Receptor infects people?"
Anastasia's eyes flickered, but she nodded firmly, steeling her heart.
"I do. I know everything about it."
The Receptor's infection method was the worst. Infection through the respiratory system was much better.
"If a child becomes infected inside Elia's stomach, what will you do, Mom?"
"I'll kill it."
"The child?"
Anastasia answered with a cool voice.
"No. I have to kill Elia completely too."
Even though she's her daughter, I can't bring myself to touch her, but a monster's offspring is a completely different matter.
That's carnal lust.
If such a tragedy happens, it would be right to cut off her breath. As a mother, it's the only choice I can make. After suffering such a horrible thing and coming back to her senses, she'll live the rest of her life in hell.
"Because of my greed, I can't push her into hell."
"……Can you really do that? Mom, are you really okay with that?"
"……I have to finish it with my own hands. If that time comes."
Though she spoke calmly, Anastasia ultimately couldn't bring herself to answer Nadia's question of whether she'd be okay.
