Thanks for the Invitation, I'm in Terra, and I'm a Parasite — Chapter 45

Kal'tsit froze.

Then she continued reading the conspicuous recommendation printed on the cover.

Practically the ultimate travel guide for idiots who didn't know the first thing!

An idiot who didn't know the first thing...

In other words... you'd anticipated that something might go wrong, Doctor?

An early awakening, amnesia, even getting lost by accident... were all of that within your calculations?

But why... do it this way... instead of leaving information directly...

"...Doctor, you had your own reasons, didn't you?"

Kal'tsit stroked the cover and murmured softly.

"Thank you for your patronage—"

With the clerk smiling at her, the black-haired girl pulled her coat tighter around herself.

She took the thick book from the other person's hands.

"I never thought I'd actually find a wallet in a trash can... and this book too..."

Doctor slipped quietly into an alleyway. The guards across the entire city had even been mobilized to search for the murderer.

She took a bite of the large loaf she'd just bought.

"Mm... so hard."

"I only wanted to buy a map or something. I didn't expect to come across a book like this."

She said it in surprise, then opened the thick pages.

"...This was practically made for me! What kind of person came up with this? To actually write a book like this! Is she a genius?!"

Doctor cried out. What she needed right now was every scrap of information about her surroundings.

Ursus City Travel Guide... it even marked every mobile city block with incredible clarity.

Ordinary people would surely think it was just a simple guidebook, but she could find extremely critical information hidden among its detailed, complex text and pictures...

[Chernobog: not recommended for travel. You can't fully experience Ursus culture here, and the decrepit public facilities can offer nothing but a terrible experience.]

[Even the roadside surveillance cameras haven't been serviced or replaced since the reign of the previous Ursus Emperor.]

[If you're robbed between Noai Street and Swiftfeather Street, the local police won't be able to do anything about it.]

[On the other hand, if you have a sufficient budget, why not visit...]

Snap.

Doctor closed the book.

It was settled.

The author of this book had to be a genius! Anyone who could think of hiding such subtle information in the form of a travel guide had to be a genius too.

And thanks to Ursus's verminous bureaucrats for somehow letting this book remain on sale to this very day—

Probably because some of its recommended attractions had indirectly increased revenue for their districts...

But the records in this book were all from twenty years ago...

And those hellholes' public facilities had never...

Doctor paused, then looked up at a streetlamp by the roadside.

The filament flickered on and off, and even the lamp post leaned at a noticeable angle...

All right, thanks, Ursus vermin! Thanks, Chernobog vermin! Without your embezzlement of public funds, there wouldn't be a me today!

Plan the route, run for it!!!

Zuo Jian: I Don't Want to Be Locked in Solitary!!!

"Who are you? I've never seen your face before."

The old woman looked at the newcomer before her in confusion. (After who knew how many chapters, Zuo Jian finally met Grandma Petra! Just kidding.)

"Grandma Petra, it's Anita. This is Painter, a friend of the nun—the kind nun who gave us so much food—"

"The nun... the nun... Anita?"

"Oh, it's you. You've grown so much. Last time I saw you, you were lying beside a picture frame. You weren't even as long as the frame."

"Grandma Petra, you've remembered wrong again. I was the one who helped you cook porridge last night."

The old woman's eyes were a little unfocused. Then she looked at the only true stranger besides Anita.

"A nun? No, that can't be right. Nuns don't wear skirts that long. Who are you?"

Zuo Jian narrowed his eyes at the old woman.

Something was off about her expression.

Like... dementia?

"Grandma, she isn't a nun. She's Painter! A friend of the nun, a very talented Painter! An even better Painter than the nun—"

"Ah, a painter. I remember now."

"There used to be many painters here too. They came here to paint ships, paint the sea, paint the sun rising over the horizon. Their paintings were so beautiful."

"And then... then... then none of those people who only knew how to paint survived."

"You're a painter too? What have you come here to paint?"

The old woman looked up at Laurentina and asked in confusion.

"They didn't come here to paint anything. Painter said she came to find someone, and she's already found them. She came here to ask you about something else, Grandma!"

Anita stepped forward, then glanced at Laurentina.

The latter stepped forward and opened her pale blue eyes as she asked,

"Elder, I want to know about the Great Silence."

Zuo Jian asked the one question for which he currently lacked information.

According to those Inquisitors, an elder Petra's age was very likely to have personally lived through that disaster.

"The Great Silence...?"

The old woman's clouded eyes suddenly cleared. She abruptly raised her head and stared at Laurentina before her.

"The Great Silence... the Great Silence... the Great Silence? THE GREAT SILENCE!!!"

The old woman's emotions suddenly became agitated. She rushed forward and gripped Laurentina's shoulders tightly.

"Oh no, Grandma Petra's acting up again.

..."

Anita looked fearfully at the old woman, who had suddenly become frenzied.

"Elder... please calm down."

Zuo Jian spoke in Laurentina's place as he watched the agitated old woman.

Agitated... had that phrase triggered something?

"The sky suddenly went dark! The seawater suddenly came alive! They came alive! Manuel... Manuel said he'd protect me! But he was a liar who only wanted to save himself!!!"

"Elder... the Great Silence is over. You are now..."

"Impossible! It won't end! It won't ever end! Never! None of us can escape the same fate! We'll all die, we'll all die!"

"We..."

"That's enough! Grandma Petra, calm down."

Anita hurried forward to pull the agitated old woman away, then looked apologetically at Laurentina.

"I'm sorry, Painter. Grandma Petra might not be in good condition today, and we'd only just managed to see her."

"We can come ask again another day!"

"No, there's no need. Just take care of her, Anita. We shouldn't provoke her any further."

Great Silence

Seaborn

Iberia

Saltwind City

Inquisitors

Hunters

Church of the Deep

Zuo Jian used charcoal to write the twisted Iberian words on the wall, beginning to consider the connections between everything.

"We didn't learn anything, Zuo Jian."

Laurentina sensed his thoughts and spoke with some regret.

Though that was within expectations... the only thing we can confirm now is that the Church of the Deep is inseparably connected to all this.

Laurentina, you said your captain knew more intelligence and information, right?

"That's right. The captain seems to hold quite a high position in Aegir, so she should know more."

So in the end, we still need to find your companions somehow.

But we can't just ignore what's happening here either. Fortunately, it won't take much time.

"Speaking of which, why haven't I seen any sign of your beloved new body for so long?"

Laurentina frowned, suddenly recalling that another part of Zuo Jian's flesh had been gone for quite some time.

Something wasn't right!

I sent it out to look for something... Cough, Laurentina? What are you doing?

As soon as he answered, Zuo Jian suddenly felt the pressure on him surge. His consciousness seemed to be suppressed again...

Now, forget transferring his consciousness to another body—he had even lost what little control he possessed within Laurentina's body.

Um... Laurentina? I can barely breathe when you do this. Could you loosen up a little?

"...Zuo Jian, you're not going to sneak out again while I'm asleep, are you?"

Laurentina asked warily, staring at the Sapphire on her chest.

I won't!

"...You said the same thing before you ran off last time. Then I woke up and found that someone had left me there alone."

Sorry, that really was my fault. I forgot to tell you beforehand—

Don't worry, this time I'll stay with you...

"I don't believe you."

?

Zuo Jian felt that Laurentina was acting a little strange right now.

"How long has it been since you last slept, Zuo Jian? How much energy did all that food cost you? How exhausted did you become, handing it out to those residents one by one?"

I told you, my mental stamina is much better than an ordinary person's—

"So what?! That means you think it's only natural to go who knows how many days without sleeping? And then collapse and fall into a deep sleep after you've worn yourself out?"

"Like last time... what if one time, you fall asleep... and I never get to see you again?"