Thanks for the Invitation, I'm in Terra, and I'm a Parasite — Chapter 26

If it were Zuo Jian, he might've been able to find some useful clue from the naming—No! She'd promised not to rely on him so casually!

Laurentina shook her head and tossed aside the thought of how things would be if Zuo Jian were still awake.

She reached out, intending to take the metallic-looking accessory.

But before she could touch it—

The accessory in Wood Frame's hand suddenly cracked.

Then, as the crack widened, it rapidly turned into a pool of crimson dust that scattered across the floor.

It seemed the nutrients Zuo Jian had provided that part had finally run out.

"Ah, why did it turn to ash? Bench, did you bite it and break it?"

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I'll find a way to make it up to you..."

"Please don't blame Bench... Sob... If you have to blame someone, blame me for not keeping an eye on him..."

"No, um..."

Laurentina was at a loss for words.

No, miss, how could a little kid's teeth possibly bite through a metal clasp?

Besides, it had turned directly into ash.

Didn't she suspect there might've been something wrong with the thing itself?

Were ordinary Iberians all this innocent?

"No, there's no need. It wasn't anything valuable. I just wanted to teach this child that taking other people's things without permission isn't a good habit, and—"

For Aegir's sake, damn it, what was she supposed to say when teaching someone a lesson again?

Laurentina froze.

Usually, she was the one getting lectured by the captain. Damn it! Think, how had the captain taught her before...?

She couldn't remember at all! If she could remember, she wouldn't have gotten lectured by the captain again and again, would she?

Come to think of it, hadn't teaching kids been Zuo Jian's idea?

Right! This sort of thing really should've been Zuo Jian's job!

"No, you don't need to compensate me. As long as he realizes his mistake, that's enough. No compensation necessary... Right, that's it!"

"How could that be? Bench broke your things."

"If you really want to make it up to me, why not do me a favor?"

Laurentina suddenly spoke, her tone gentle.

Wood Frame froze. Then she saw Laurentina freeze as well.

"Have you seen anyone similar to me? For example, someone with equally white hair and red eyes."

The latter realized she hadn't made a sound at all. Then, after realizing who had spoken, she immediately shouted in her mind.

Zuo Jian!!!!!

Having just woken up and seen Laurentina at a loss while facing a child determined to apologize, Zuo Jian sighed.

[You're pretty good at dealing with girls, so why are you at a loss with a child?]

She's a child, and one of those stubborn kids who insists on apologizing.

[Fine, I get it. By the way, can she communicate normally?]

More or less. She's one of the rare normal people here.

Zuo Jian sized up the girl before him.

Her clothes were ragged, and her body was thin.

Her hair was somewhat messy.

But unlike the others, there seemed to be a faint glimmer in her eyes.

He suddenly thought of the children he'd personally put down, the ones used as test subjects.

They had been just as thin, dressed in scraps of cloth.

What had happened here?

Zuo Jian noticed that this cramped room, piled high with all kinds of junk, wasn't part of some simple primitive village.

In the corner were items that seemed like they could only have been produced by modern industry.

For instance... fragments resembling plastic, and scraps of fabric printed with different patterns.

At the very least, there had been a time when the people here hadn't been reduced to such a state.

When that young Inquisitor had mentioned this place, she had seemed prepared for it, yet still shocked by what she saw.

They knew what had happened.

At some point, some event had dealt this place a devastating blow.

"White-haired, red-eyed people? Never seen one. You're the first strange person like that I've seen too. Who are you? Aren't you Iberian?"

Laurentina stepped forward and stroked Wood Frame's messy hair without minding the dirt.

"Me? I'm..."

"I'm a sculptor..."

"No, I'm a painter."

[Why didn't you call yourself a sculptor?]

Wah, you're right. Sometimes, I should listen to you when it comes to things like identity.

[Hm? What's wrong? It feels like you're having some strange feelings.]

Nothing!

"A painter?"

"Mm, a wandering painter."

"The kind of painter who draws beautiful pictures on paper, then puts them in frames?"

Upon hearing her call herself a painter, the other girl was clearly filled with anticipation, and her attitude toward Laurentina grew even more excited.

Huh?

No, she'd already known Zuo Jian's advice probably wouldn't be wrong.

But wasn't this effect a little too ridiculous?

Why did hearing that she was a painter provoke such a huge reaction?

Damn it, Zuo Jian, had you planned even this?

Uh, but beautiful pictures, framed and all? Zuo Jian, you can do that, right?

[Hm? Let me think...]

Beautiful pictures? The games he'd made before had basically never been popular, so he'd generally had to take some strange routes to attract attention.

Put simply, everything he drew was always brushing up against the line of something... As for being beautiful, probably?

As for putting them in frames, he remembered quite a few of his pictures had been put into wallpaper software. Computer monitor frames... those counted as half a frame, right?

After a brief moment of thought, Zuo Jian declared confidently.

[Of course. Naturally, I can do that.]

(The editor urged me on, complained about my update speed, and told me to get the story on the shelves sooner, or all my readers would be gone [cry].)

(Guess I have to stay up late and write.)

(Fortunately, I already thoroughly defeated that weak virus today. A strong body can defeat anything, argh!)

(In short, Monster Hunter won't cloud my vision! I'm going back to being an author who updates diligently!)

Hardship

"Oh, right, I haven't told you my name yet, Painter."

The girl looked at Laurentina happily. It seemed the identity of "Painter" had given her something intangible, yet capable of bringing hope.

"Aren't you called Wood Frame... Uh, do you have a surname?"

[That was rude. At least, it seems she doesn't like being called Wood Frame?]

"It's actually Picture Frame! Petra found me beneath a picture frame in some ruins, so she called me Picture Frame."

"But if you want, you can call me Anita too!"

"That's the name I gave myself. But the people here are all so careless. They turn around a few times and call the street Turnaround, and Tin Skin's doorway is surrounded by tin sheets."

"And to them, picture frame and wood frame don't seem any different. I don't like that, so I gave myself a new name. I saw Anita in a book I picked up. It said she was a girl who loved singing, though I've never heard how people outside sing."

"And it seems only Grandma Petra calls me by the name I chose. Oh, right, speaking of Grandma Petra, she's amazing."

"She's the oldest person here, and she's met so many people. Maybe she's seen the person you're looking for—"

Like a chattering little sparrow, the girl chirped endlessly around Laurentina.

[You're surprised?]

A little... It feels like she doesn't quite fit in here.

Zuo Jian looked at the girl's figure.

There was almost none of the fullness a girl should have.

Her small frame seemed covered by nothing but a layer of skin.

Her limbs were so thin they looked almost deformed.

Didn't fit in? No, her body was precisely the result of this environment.

Yet within that body was a pair of eyes glimmering with light.

People like her suffered the most.

If she were merely numb, she could live each day in a muddled peace.

But she displayed a liveliness that stood out even compared to ordinary people.

Her speech was normal, which meant she often spoke and communicated with others.

...In a place like this? Who did she communicate with?

Other than that Grandma Petra, were most of her words spoken to herself?

Are you sad?

[Sad... Perhaps.]

Is that so? Then it's decided. Let's find a way to help the people in this village!

[One person, providing short-term aid, can't change anything. Famine isn't created in a day, nor can it be solved in a day.]

What do you mean, one person? There are two of us. I'll help too! Don't misunderstand, I'm only helping these villagers so we can gather more clues about the Church of the Deep and stay here a little longer.