"Huh?"
Emilia wondered if she'd heard that right.
"You mean you're the only option I'd have for a relationship?"
"Of course. You're someone I picked up and took care of. If you start dating someone else, that'd really rub me the wrong way," he said seriously, tapping his finger to his eyes. "Don't you see how serious I am?"
""
Emilia stiffened, shooting him a scornful look.
"Scram!" she snapped.
"All I see in your eyes is a perverted, deviant creep! Hmph. If you think I'm going to date you, keep dreaming."
She gave a snort, then hurriedly went back to devouring her food.
"Let's eat quickly so we can head home," she grumbled, sounding irritated.
Rei Ao merely smiled. He'd noticed her reddened ears. She was just pretending to be stern, so he didn't call her out on it. Everything was better handled at a gradual pace.
Right then, a new prompt appeared in the chat group:
[Ding! Enju Aihara has joined the chat group!]
""
Rei Ao paused mid-bite. The name gave him a bad feeling.
"Rei Ao, did you see that?" Emilia noticed, too.
"Yeah." He opened the chat group and viewed Enju Aihara's profile:
[Name]: Enju Aihara
[Level]: 13
[Ability]: [Gastrea Gene: Rabbit]
That was enough confirmation for himthis was indeed Enju from Black Bullet. Rei Ao narrowed his eyes. He really disliked that world's setting and the humans in it. If he went there, who knew what might happen
In the chat group:
Frieren: "Welcome, newcomer."
Saeko Busujima: "Welcome to the chat group."
Mikoto Misaka: "@Rei Ao, new person alert. As group admin, aren't you going to say hi?"
Rei Ao: "I'm right here, okay?"
Rei Ao: "@Enju Aihara, welcome to the chat group! If you like, feel free to say hello to everyone."
Shiba Miyuki: "Might be another quiet, shy type. We'll see"
But right after Shiba Miyuki commented, Enju repliedquite unexpectedly:
Enju Aihara: "So am I going to turn into a monster that kills and eats people at will?"
~~~
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Chapter 458: Cursed Children
Tokyo Area.
One of the few remaining human-inhabited cities in this world.
A massive disaster has befallen this world: the Gastrea virus outbreak.
Mutated Gastrea creatures have dealt a devastating blow to human civilization, causing many cities to fall.
Overall, humanity stands on the brink of extinction, barely clinging to survival. The Gastrea virus is that terrifying.
Humans who come into contact with it will be infected; being bitten by a Gastrea likewise causes infection, transforming the victim into a Gastrea creature.
The worst part is that humans have no cure for this ghastly virus. In fact, most Gastrea creatures ravaging the land were originally humans mutated by the virus.
Much of the Tokyo Area lies in ruins. The perimeter is surrounded by towering walls inlaid with Varanium metal.
Thanks to these walls, direct invasions by Gastrea are prevented, preserving what remains of humanity.
Varanium is a special metal with properties that hamper the Gastrea's powerful regenerative ability.
Hence, the outer wallsalso called "Monoliths"are made by mixing Varanium into huge slabs, encircling each district to keep out the Gastrea.
People even refer to it as a sort of "barrier."
Inside a modest house:
A blue-haired boy speaks gently to an orange-haired, twin-tailed girl standing before him.
"Enju Aihara May I call you by that name?"
The girl originally had no name. She looks at him with vacant eyeseyes of an unsettling crimson shade, marking her as one of the "Cursed Children." Today, she's been assigned to the boy as his Initiator.
Cursed Children are kids whose mothers, while pregnant, became infected with the Gastrea virus.
As a result, the fetuses accumulated the virus in utero, so the children were born with certain Gastrea-like abilities. Since then, these so-called "Cursed Children" are largely despised and persecuted by society.
In general, the virus does not allow for the selection of a fetus's sex, but due to its effects, every known infected fetus has been female.
A normal human's infection by the Gastrea virus can only occur via blood contactthere is no airborne infection. Experiments have shown that ingestion through the mouth, or even sexual contact, won't cause infection outright.
The virus won't necessarily die upon entering the mouth, though. If it happens to enter a pregnant woman's system, the unborn child might accumulate the virus. Thus are the Cursed Children born, sporting distinctively red irises though otherwise human in appearance.
Besides their special bloodline, they also exhibit Gastrea traitsnamely, they can't be killed unless their heart or brain is destroyed.
The Gastrea virus in their bodies detects life-threatening danger and neutralizes foreign substances. Each Cursed Child may have its own distinct genetic "factor," granting unique abilities.
In the case of the girl newly named "Enju Aihara," she has the rabbit factor, giving her impressive jumping power and kicking strength.
Because the Cursed Children can harness some of the Gastrea virus's capabilities, they possess healing that surpasses normal humans, making them a crucial fighting force against the Gastrea.
Hence the private civil security model of "Initiator and Promoter" was formed to better manage this power.
The boy, Rentaro Satomi, is a Promoterhe works for a private security agency. Enju Aihara, a Cursed Child, is his assigned Initiator.
Typically, the Cursed Children are shunned by most humans and forced to live in the outskirts.
However, the ones deemed fit to be Initiators are somewhat better-trained, serving as living weapons to fight Gastrea.
Regular injections of suppressants can prolong their "safe period," and a Promoter acts as a partner, supporting them in battle and providing moral or tactical guidance.
In most cases, Promoters are normal humansand not exactly compassionate ones, seeing Initiators merely as weapons to combat Gastrea.
That's how most people treat Cursed Children in this grim world. Rentaro Satomi, however, is a "softhearted nice guy."
He can't stand the suffering of the Cursed Children, and though it only makes him sad for them, he'd prefer to view the hollow-eyed girl before him as a partner rather than a tool.
But Enju has yet to respond to him at all. Her attention is suddenly on the strange interface that just popped up in her visiona "chat group" that appeared out of nowhere.
Her eyes ripple with a faint emotion, but she doesn't take the chat's knowledge too seriously. She thinks it's just a hallucination caused by her about to transform into a Gastrea.
Gastrea transformation is what happens when an infected human crosses a certain threshold of "virus corrosion," turning them into a Gastrea creature.
As an Initiator, Enju must be injected with a suppressant every day. But becoming an Initiator also means more fighting. When using her powers, her eyes turn red, and the more she uses themor if any unwanted fluids enter her bodythe Gastrea's corrosion rate gradually rises.
If it ever exceeds 50%, she'll fully transform into a Gastrea. Skipping her regular injections would make the corrosion climb faster, leading inevitably to monstrous mutation.
Enju doesn't know her present corrosion rate. But seeing these "hallucinations" is surely not normal.
If she's about to mutate, that might be why. Frankly, being a Cursed Child is unhappy in every sense. Like many others, she once begged and scavenged, going hungry day after day, forced to live in sewers and suffering humans' hateful stares. All she's ever known is endless pain. Death, for her, might be a release.
Enju Aihara: "Am I going to become a monster?"
She typed those words into the chat group with a kind of fatalistic calm, as though welcoming the endperhaps an end to her suffering. Then she saw:
Rei Ao: "If you run into trouble, initiate a trade. I can help you."
"!!!"
~~~
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Chapter 459: Kisara Tendo (Bonus Chapter)
Rei Ao: "If you run into any trouble, just initiate a trade. I can help you."
He received no immediate reply to that statement.
Miko Yotsuya: "The newcomer says she's about to turn into a man-eating monster? What's that about?"
Yomogawa Ayame: "Not sure. Maybe she'll explain herself?"
Tohru: "We might not have to wait for her to explain. I think there's someone else who can fill us in."
Tohru: "@Rei Ao, am I right?"
Rei Ao: "I don't know the specifics about Enju Aihara's situation, but I do know about the 'monsters' she mentioned."
Mikoto Misaka: "What do you mean?"
Stella: "Hush. Let's hear Rei Ao explain."
Rei Ao provided a rundown of the Gastrea virus: a pathogen that reconfigures the biology of its hosts, rewriting their DNA at an alarming rate.
Once a human's "corrosion rate" surpasses 50%, they can't maintain human form and transform into a Gastrea creature instead.
Some individuals might develop unique abilities through the process. Infection occurs only via blood, not through the air, so that's the virus's one "saving grace."
His explanation stirred quite a reaction in the group:
Erica: "A virus that mutates humans and living beings into monsters that's truly bizarre!"
Saeko Busujima: "It sounds a bit like a zombie virus, but these Gastrea differ from the undead."
Mai Sakurajima: "Zombies are essentially reanimated corpses, but these Gastrea are mutated humans."
Rei Ao: "Exactly. Some high-level Gastrea can even gain intelligence."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "If that's true, that world must be a terribly difficult place to survive."
Rei Ao: "Yeah, it's basically a post-apocalyptic setting."
Rei Ao: "By the way, Yukino, you're awake?"
Yukinoshita Yukino, cheeks coloring a bit:
She had just woken up and hurriedly tidied up her room and bedding. If her mother or sister saw any evidence of last night's activities, she'd want to die of embarrassment.
Luckily, when Rei Ao left, he'd locked the door from the inside. Even though she was now up and about, she still wasn't ready to leave the roomrealizing how crazy she'd been last night, with her mother and sister right next door. Most likely they'd heard everything
Privately, she thought, It's all Rei Ao's fault! That guy got me so carried away. Plus, he was justtoo overwhelmingly strong.
Megumi Kato: "What's the matter, Yukino? Did something happen?"
Mai Sakurajima: "I'm not sure about Yukino's situation, but I do know Rei Ao didn't come home last night."
Megumi Kato: "Got it."
Shinoa Hiiragi: "Oh? They spent the night together even without a trade? @Yukinoshita Yukino, you two must be official now, huh?"
Yukinoshita Yukino: ""
Rei Ao: "Hahaha, Yukino's too shy to say it, so I'll talk. I already visited her mother and big sister, stayed at her place. I guess you could say I'm now Yukino's fianc."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "No you're not! You haven't even proposed!"
Rei Ao: "Then maybe I should pop back over and talk to your mother about it?"
Yukinoshita Yukino: "No! Absolutely not right now!"
Just the thought made her want to hide. She had no idea how to face her mother or sister after all that had happened.
Frieren: "Pfft, so Yukino has finally been roped in by Rei Ao. I knew this day would come."
Akame: "Mhmm. Everyone in this group eventually ends up that way, sooner or later."
Erica: "Unbelievable. You all like the same man yet remain so calm about it."
Saeko Busujima: "You get used to it."
Sui: "Wait, if Yukino's joined Rei Ao's official ranks, doesn't that leave Mikoto Misaka as the only one still in the Anti-R18 Alliance?"
Mikoto Misaka: ""
She twitched, exasperated.
"Could you not bring me into this?!"
Luckily, everyone's focus shifted when the newcomer spoke again:
Enju Aihara: "Is this a hallucination?"
She realized quite some time had passed, yet she still hadn't turned into a Gastrea. Strange.
Rei Ao: "It isn't a hallucination. Everything you see is real."
Rei Ao: "Including the part where I said I can help you."
"Help me"
Enju mumbled, eyes flickering. "Huh? Did you say something?" asked Rentarou Satomi, her new Promoter, noticing her murmuring, wearing a worn-out shirt. But Enju ignored him.
"Rentarou, what are you doing?"
A female voice snapped from behind. He stiffened. The ominous aura at his back spelled doom.
"I just returned and found you committing a crime, Rentarou. Are you aware that abducting and molesting a minor is a felony?"
"Wait!" Rentarou raised his arms in surrender and turned around with a wry smile. "Kisara-san, you've got it wrong. She's my Initiator."
The black-haired girl in a black serafuku with a pleated skirt sheathed her drawn katana. Indeed, she saw the girl's vacant expression, matching that of newly assigned Initiators.
Shing.
Katana returned to its scabbard, and she gave a faint grin.
"Ah, so you've finally become a Promoter?"
"Kisara-san, please don't tease me like that"
Rentarou blushed slightly. This girl's name was Tendou Kisara, president of a private security firm, also his boss and landlordand the woman he secretly had a crush on. Unfortunately for him, she seemed utterly indifferent to his feelings.
~~~
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Chapter 460: The Inhumane Experience of Cursed Children and the Truth About the Virus Enrage Everyone! (Bonus Chapter)
"Kisara-san, there's something I'd like to ask you."
"What about?"
Kisara Tendou shot him a glance.
"It's not about your Initiator, is it?"
"That's exactly it."
Rentarou Satomi gave a wry smile. "I don't know how to interact with her. She won't respond no matter what I say."
Kisara folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe. Her expression was cool and utterly impassive.
"That's just how Initiators are. Before they became Initiators, they were ordinary Cursed Children."
""
