—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A person, a clear-eyed madman, who has risen up resolutely amidst people disheartened and engulfed in a dark outlook and crisis, says.
‘We must become one.’
Or. It’s something that could also be said in a case where a demon’s harness whispers to a hero who has come to the deepest, darkest place dreaming of revenge, but can go no further and is dying.
‘We must become one.’
As far as I knew, that phrase was used to either unite everyone or to hide ulterior motives and tempt someone. Meaning it was a phrase that changed depending on the context.
But when Cassandra said, ‘We must become one,’ I just couldn’t… get a feel for it. To be honest, I was scared to even ask.
“…I’d like to hear a little more detail.”
“Like I said, the virus in both of you is very stable. Also, the virus is quite cooperative with you. Since it has already established itself as the dominant species in your bodies, its survival strategy won’t suddenly change overnight.
Johan, Camilla, if you two become even more intimate than you are now, that tendency will become even more solid. But now, an uninvited guest has squeezed in between you.”
Cassandra pointed to herself.
“So what happens then?”
“Usually in a case like this, the viruses fight each other to take the lead. Until the virus detected in the other’s body becomes similar to its own.
If the opponent doesn’t ‘submit’ easily, it will become more and more virulent, and it will ruin your bodies even more to spread itself further. Just like how when humans need to conquer other humans, if they run out of weapons, they ‘obtain’ them from nature.
So, infect Cassandra’s body with your virus as quickly as possible. Until they completely conquer Cassandra’s body. And as far as Cassandra knows, the most continuous and best means of infection is physical contact. The more frequent the exposure, the better, right?”
It was quite a story.
“On the contrary, Camilla and I could be affected by your virus.”
To my question, Cassandra answered simply.
“That’s why you two also have to maintain a continuous relationship. Deeper than now.”
Camilla, who had been listening quietly for a moment, stood up from her seat.
“I can’t even follow this conversation.”
“Where are you going?”
“Johan. Cassandra. I’m sorry. I’m a little… confused.”
I could understand. My head was a little dizzy too. Before Cassandra could even say, ‘Uh, hey,’ Camilla had opened the door and left. I heard the sound of her going up the stairs.
Cassandra hung her head.
“…You don’t believe Cassandra either?”
“Uh, this is a bit of a different problem.”
“What is?”
“Rather than a matter of believing or not believing, it seems like a matter of whether you can accept it or not. Because the conclusion is quite… at odds with what’s generally accepted.”
It didn’t seem to help much. Because Cassandra had gone completely limp.
Her lively and cheerful appearance from before was gone, and she had returned to her usual shrunken self.
“Let’s sit down and have some water. Want something to eat? Aren’t you hungry?”
Cassandra sat next to me but didn’t ask for anything. I brought a plastic water bottle and some candy, which we kept as snacks, from the shelf. The candy slipped into her slightly small, plump mouth. Watching her made me hungry too, so I gulped down some water.
“…The Cro-virus.”
“Huh?”
“The reason the Cro-virus is more deadly than other viruses is because it thoroughly attacks human life itself. More so than any other virus that has caused great harm to humans. Like a total attack package.
But humans, on the other hand, say they can’t do this for this reason, they can’t do that for that reason… they don’t listen to the guidelines properly. Even if they listen, they only half-listen or act in a way that’s worse than not listening at all.
At this rate, when will we ever beat the virus?”
Cassandra bit her lower lip. She seemed quite disheartened. Well, she must have been excited to tell us, thinking it was the optimal solution, but our reaction was lukewarm. But still, it wasn’t a story that could be easily accepted. That was probably…
“The dominant species.”
Cassandra’s eyes widened as she looked at me.
“You said it yourself. The dominant species doesn’t easily change its strategy. And humans, well, regardless of the truth, they think of themselves as the superior species. Maybe they don’t feel the need to change.
It’s not that they don’t believe it, but more that when they’ve followed that strategy so far, there haven’t been any problems. It might be better to say it doesn’t resonate.”
“But Johan, people aren’t viruses.”
“I don’t think there’s much of a difference.”
“…You’re more cynical than you look.”
“And you’re an even better person than you seem.”
Cassandra let out a small laugh.
“Do I seem that way?”
“Yeah.”
She was a woman who had overcome all sorts of adversities to come this far, just to solve the virus problem. In her haste and impatience, she had even used her own body as a test subject.
As I saw it, the force driving Cassandra was solely the eradication of the virus, nothing else. In that she was single-minded and blind to everything else, I could see a persistence comparable to that of a zombie.
“But Cassandra. You can’t save everyone in the world. No matter how much you extend a helping hand, if the person who needs to receive it isn’t ready. That’s their choice, not your fault.”
“But, Cassandra helped make the world this way.”
It was a story she had mentioned in passing. Cassandra fidgeted with her fingers. But she soon shook her head.
“No. I don’t want to talk about that yet. Anyway, Cassandra just wants to right the wrong. Since I’ve wronged the world, I have to pick it back up. That’s what Cassandra thinks. Even though when I did something wrong, everyone accepted it without question, but when I’m saying something truly right, no one listens.”
“I’ll believe you.”
Of this much, I was certain. I knew the end of this world. And Cassandra was the only person I had met in this world who had accurately predicted the desolate future. Of course, she was also smart, but it meant she was seeing the situation ‘correctly.’
“…Really?”
“I don’t know everything you had to go through to get here, but it’s clear you were desperate. Seeing what you’ve done so far, I can’t help but believe you.”
“Do you love Camilla?”
Cassandra started picking at her hands. A sudden, out-of-the-blue leap in logic. This was one thing I really couldn’t get used to.
“Why are you suddenly talking about Camilla?”
“People who are in love restrain each other. They stop their partner from being as intimate with other people as they are with them. So to Cassandra, you won’t do it? Because you love Camilla, and you’ll only give her signals of affection?”
“We haven’t… gone that deep. I mean, physically.”
“Cassandra doesn’t know about things like that.”
No. A woman who understands the structure of a virus doesn’t know this? Does that make sense, or do you just not want to understand? Cassandra let out a heavy sigh.
“I admit it. Cassandra has poor social skills. When I was young, I was revered as a genius, so I didn’t see anything else, and after being cast out of paradise, I lived off of everyone’s insults and taunts. And Cassandra has no desire to learn something she hasn’t needed until now. I’ve lived just fine.”
Hey, that’s not it. I can see it clearly.
“I don’t think so.”
“Yes, it is.”
“What’s the phrase you say like a habit? ‘No one listens to Cassandra.’ You’re upset, aren’t you.”
“I’m not upset.”
“You’re all deflated and hunched over like this right now?”
“I said I’m not upset.”
“I’m not particularly sociable either.”
“Lies.”
I briefly told her how things were with Camilla at the beginning. Cassandra was quite horrified.
“It’s true. Ask Camilla. We tried really hard to get close. Mostly Camilla. So I’m grateful in many ways. Anyway, I was planning to live here alone. Without anyone else.”
“A person can’t live like that.”
“I told you. That’s because you’re good and kind that you think that way. In reality, you like meeting people, and you want everyone to be happy. You still have that heart right now.”
“That’s because Cassandra…”
“…I don’t know what deadly sin you committed, but not everyone who has sinned acts like you. A hundred out of a hundred, a thousand out of a thousand, if they don’t just flat out deny they did anything wrong.”
It was something a retired profiler who had come to school for a special lecture had said.
He had met over a thousand, but not a single one of them said they had done wrong. That is the criminal’s mind. Their way of thinking is fundamentally different.
“Th-thank you. Y-you’re the first person to say that to me.”
Cassandra swept her long, straight black hair over her shoulder. Her chest was so large that it drew one’s gaze, but Cassandra had a rather pretty face too. More cute than pretty, I should say. Of course, those strange green eyes, which felt like they would suck you in if you stared at them, gave a unique impression.
“…But in the end, you won’t follow Cassandra’s diagnosis either, will you?”
“If you insist, then let’s do it.”
Cassandra blinked her eyes.
“What about Camilla? You think of Camilla as special, too. Camilla thinks of you that way too.”
“Then let’s say it’s for science. Or medicine. Whatever. We’re conducting an experiment, aren’t we. It’s absolutely not because of any private… thing. How about that?”
“…It’s not private.”
Cassandra nodded once, then again. Her cheeks seemed to flush a little. The way she took a sharp breath seemed quite cute. Though her heaving chest was far from cute.
“Y-yeah. This is for the people of the world. But um… hey. This is a bit embarrassing.”
The fact that Cassandra knew how to be ’embarrassed’ was surprising. Not knowing what other unimaginable thing she might say, I nodded for her to go on.
“Um. Cassandra knows what happens. I saw it in books and learned it in medical school. I mean, like the process of pregnancy.”
“We’re not going that far today.”
“What Cassandra means is, I don’t know the starting point. Whatever you study, there’s a basic starting point, but I have no idea about this one.”
No, I don’t know either. If I knew, I wouldn’t have been like this until now.
“Um, ah, what do you know?”
“…It’s embarrassing.”
Of all the things Cassandra had said so far, this was the most shocking. It was shocking even hearing it a second time.
Embarrassing. What on earth…
Ah.
It was worth being embarrassed about. Because even I felt embarrassed watching.
Cassandra stuck out her neck and closed her eyes. And her lips… she puckered them tightly… and pushed them out. I’ve seen this before. My three, no, four-year-old nephew does this when he gives a kiss.
So Cassandra’s ‘expression of affection’ had made no progress since then.
“Mwah… mmuah…”
No, why are you putting so much effort into your lips. You’re making weird sounds. And it’s super awkward when you pucker them so roundly and stick them out like that.
“…Hey. Cassandra.”
“Uh, u-uh, huh?”
“…Just let me do it. Close your eyes and relax.”
“Y-you’re right… it was a bit off, wasn’t it?”
“It was a bit.”
I placed my hands on Cassandra’s shoulders. As I gently caressed her cheek and chin with my thumb, Cassandra jumped in surprise, her body flinching.
I pressed down gently to tell her not to worry, and she became docile again. I lightly wrapped my palm around her neck and slowly pulled her closer.
Then, as if to resist being pulled, or perhaps because she was nervous, Cassandra tensed her neck and held her head stiffly. She was like a little kid tensing up.
So I just went to her.
Before our lips even touched, no, before our faces even got close, our chests met first. Something slightly hard yet soft touched my chest. It spread out as if to cover my entire chest, squishing against it.
Cassandra let out a small, pained sound and tilted her head back slightly. It seemed to have been quite stimulating. It was a relief that the tension went out of her body. I gently pulled her head and neck closer and kissed her.
“Ooh, ooooh, heu, heut…”
No, anyone watching would think I was forcing her. She didn’t seem to be into it, so I pulled away immediately.
“F-for, for for for, science, ri-ri-right.”
Cassandra’s face was beet red. Her eyes were spinning like someone who had seen a hypnosis app or something. The way she kept stuttering was like she was buffering.
She’s broken.
“It’s for science and medicine. Cassandra.”
“Y-yeah. Right. This is, n-not, not private, i-it’s strictly a th-th-therapeutic act. R-right?”
I didn’t know if she was trying to calm herself down or me.
“Yeah. It’s not a bad thing. You said it was necessary.”
“Ri-right. I-it’s necessary. So, oo-oong…”
Once more, slowly. Yes. This was strictly for therapeutic purposes.
“Eh. Ueh? Heeeh. J-Jo-Johan… euh…”
“Sorry, this might be a bit much…”
“Heeueeeh.”
In the middle of my ‘uh,’ Cassandra pulled me closer. She kissed me like I had done, but it was so… rough… and strong that I didn’t know if she was trying to mash our lips together or what. It felt less like a person and more like a dog rubbing against me.
“He-uh, ooof, Ca-Cassan…”
“It feels good.”
For some reason, the strength in Cassandra’s arms seemed to be getting stronger and stronger. No, now she was trying to climb on top of me. Now it was a matter of her pinning me down. Cassandra’s eyes seemed to have already rolled back.
“Do it. Do it. Quickly. More. More. More.”
She was strangely assertive. This time, I was going to go a little deeper too.
“Ah, ow!”
Failure. Cassandra jerked her head back as if horrified.
“Wh-why did you suddenly put your tongue in? You scared me! Why would you put that in someone’s mouth…! Ah. Is this perhaps… that…”
“No. I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
Oh man, I hope this isn’t bleeding? Thankfully, it seemed to just sting a little.
Oof.
Cassandra collapsed onto me.
No, she completely pushed my body down onto the chair and crushed me from above. Like I had done before, but very clumsily, she shoved her tongue in haphazardly.
This was a bit suffocating, so I struggled, but Cassandra just clung to me more tenaciously.
“Cough, cough! Cough! Hoo. Hoo-ooh… heet…”
Finally, she pulled away. She was smiling foolishly even as she coughed repeatedly.
Her lips were stretched to the ends of her ears.
“Uh… is this much okay?”
It seemed better to snap her out of it. Her gaze was getting more and more sinister, and I felt like I had touched something I shouldn’t have.
“Cassandra, are you listening to me?”
“…It’s unfair.”
“Huh?”
“You two were the only ones doing this good thing. I’ve wasted my whole life…”
“Uh uh uh uh?”
“It feels so, so good… Cassandra wants to do it too… Cassandra will! I will!”
This time, she kissed me more dangerously. To think she would cowardly crush and rub her chest against me to trap me. There was no way I could move an inch like this. As if by instinct, she tried to slip her hand inside my clothes.
Just then. The door flew open.
“Johan, when are you heading out? We need to get more food and bullets…”
It was Camilla.
“…Ah. Sorry. Looks like you were in the middle of becoming one. Carry on.”
She closed the door again and left.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
