Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 104: "Centipede"

"I've been wondering since a while ago why you're nearly unarmed."

After we had finished talking about work, Vertex suddenly started to say something like that.

"It was broken a little while ago. I was going to buy a whole new one over here."

The only sword I have left is gone during the day.

"I see. Well, first we need to get you some equipment."

He said, "Let's go," and quickly left the room.

What's up? You're going to introduce me to a nice place?

It sounds like not a bad idea to me, so I silently follow him.

I leave the guild and head straight for the royal castle.

After walking for a while, I came to see the ridiculously large castle wall.

I can't see the castle because it's so big.

The chalk walls, with no visible seams, even had a sheen to them.

"Hey, this way. Come on, get your ass over here."

As I looked around, Vertex called out to me, and I looked away.

Walking further, I see a row of tool and weapon shops, but I pass them by.

...Huh? Isn't this the area?

There were several more stores after that, but we ignored them.

The weapon and tool shops disappeared from around us, and a food store selling meat and vegetables became more conspicuous.

In front of me was what appeared to be nothing more than a large warehouse.

Covered by a high wall, it looks only halfway up, but there is a chimney-like structure around the roof, and the sight of it belching out a large plume of smoke gives it an even more factory-like atmosphere.

I mean, isn't this the back of a butcher's shop?

I thought there must be some mistake, but Vertex pointed to the warehouse with his thumb and said, "Here it is."

Ah, this is definitely the place.

We opened the rather large iron door and entered the premises.

Inside...to be honest, it was not a very tasteful place.

Beyond the wall is a little garden, with nice-looking flowers blooming in flowerbeds and statues here and there.

If you look closely, you will see that all of them are imitations of human beings, but not a single one of them is in proper shape.

Lightly, they are missing limbs.

In the worst cases, limbs and heads stick out from unnatural positions as if they had melted and hardened.

And the most disturbing thing is the material.

What are they made of? As far as I could tell, they were not made of copper or any other metal...rather, they were raw....

"Don't touch them. You'll get into trouble."

Vertex's voice made me withdraw my hand that was about to touch it.

"It's me. I'm here for you, old man."

For some reason, he called out to one of the statues and walked toward the building.

I looked at the statue Vertex spoke to, but it didn't seem to react in any particular way.

I tilted my head inwardly.

...Is there someone here?

I don't feel any kind of sign...

Just to be sure, I started up a thermal scanner and ran it through ....... Ah, I see.

I understood well. This place is a bummer as far as I'm concerned.

When we entered the room, we could smell the stench of choking blood.

...If someone who doesn't have a tolerance for this smell, it's enough to make them throw up.

After a short walk, Vertex pushes open a door that has no knobs on it.

The passageway ahead is made entirely of glass, giving a clear view of the interior of the rooms along the way.

From the looks of it, it was similar to the butcher store I had seen on Mount Shudras.

The creatures being processed are not elves, but monsters.

The people wearing black protective suits were working hard to dismantle the monsters.

Some of the monsters were still alive, and those who were working were calmly beheading them with huge decapitating knives.

What's with that protective suit? It doesn't have a gas mask on the face, but it does have a mask with a similar design.

It doesn't feel quite right.

Frankly, I have a bad feeling at this point and I want to go home.

Are they really going to have all my gear here?

After passing through a glass-walled corridor, we descend an oddly wide staircase.

The lower we go down, the thicker the smell of blood becomes, as well as the stench of decay and... is this the smell of metal and oil?

Just to be sure, I used magic to search for them....

"Don't do it. If you don't do anything, nothing will attack you."

I canceled my magic at Vertex's request.

That's what you're saying, something will attack us if we do something.

Are you kidding me? Isn't this a dangerous place?

Roughly five floors down, we reached the bottom of the basement.

We passed through several floors along the way, but it seems that it is at the bottom that we have business.

The smell was thickening to an unfashionable level.

Walking through the dimly lit corridors, I heard the occasional sound of something moving or a high-pitched metalworking noise coming from behind the ceiling, but Vertex, being used to this, ignored it.

He stopped in front of a sturdy-looking double-opening door at the far end.

...So this is the destination.

Vertex makes a loud noise with the knocker attached to the door.

"Grandpa! Are you there!"

After a while, the sound of something moving came from the back, and a reply came back.

"Oh, it's Verboo. Come in!"

...Verboo?

I went inside and...oh?

The smell that had filled the hallway was gone.

Instead, there is something like the sound of a machine running.

The room is clean and tidy, and in the corner...there is what looks like a system kitchen.

Seriously. A sink and two refrigerators next to it?

A large table with four chairs.

Sitting on one of them is....

"Oh? I thought I hadn't seen you in a while, but you're here unusually. What's up? Did you finally make a friend?"

It was a big, centipede.

No, it was not just a centipede, it had human limbs.

It was what we call a hundred-footed monster. The design is similar to that of the spider guy I met sometime ago.

"No, it's not. He's a client. Maybe he's one of yours?"

"Huh? What are you talking nonsense? That brother there looks like... wait. What are you?"

The Hundred-Footed Monster fishes around on a shelf in his room, pulls out a pair of monocles and puts them on his eyes.

He stares at me.

"Oh. I'm surprised. What's your name, brother?"

Ah, I see. He is also a reincarnated person. No wonder he recognized me immediately.

Can he see my true identity through that monocle?

Well, I guess it's impossible to keep it a secret after coming this far.

[When you ask someone's name, isn't it proper to say your name first?]

Hundreds feet chuckles happily at my reply in Japanese.

[Oh, Japanese! So you're the one who fell in this side, too?]

[Something like that. So? You're not going to tell me your name?]

[Oh. Oh. I'm sorry. I am Katsuzo Shozo, the head of the company... W-wait. Can't we get back to normal language now? Verbo's getting grumpy.]

"I get it. Let me introduce myself. I'm Roe. I'm an adventurer."

"What? You won't tell me your real name?"

"No, this is my real name. Because the old me is gone."

Yes, I didn't die, I killed myself.

That's not my name anymore.

Hundreds feet No, the headman stared me in the eye and then brushed it off, saying, "Well, yeah."

...and that's it.

I took another look at the headman's entire body.

The clothes were similar to the protective suits worn by those working above, but his physique was so different that he looked like something else.

From the neck down, the figure has a human-like shape, but his back and shoulders are unnaturally bulging, suggesting that he has some kind of organ peculiar to centipedes.

The rest is from the neck up...or rather, there is no neck. It looks as if a giant centipede is growing out of the place where it should be.

This is more like a creature from a Western movie than a monster.

"I'd love to tell you more about it, but I've got some business to take care of. Ver, what do you want today?"

"I need you to find some equipment for this guy."

"Oh. Oh, I see. You're right, his equipment is very crude."

He nodded his head while dexterously scratching his head.

"I'm sure it's fine. But my weapons are too powerful, so they'll be used as armor, is that OK with you?"

"Are you an idiot? There's no one who can use that kind of grotesque thing."

"Hmph! That's why kids are so annoying. My weapon chooses the user."

When he entered the back room, he brought a variety of items and spread them out on the table.

"First of all, this one. It's a long coat woven with the threads of a monster called Bombyx. I originally made it for Verboo, but I made a mistake in the measurements and had to have it re-made. Would you like to try it? It's sturdy and resistant to blades and magic."

It is a long black coat with many pockets and seems to be useful in various ways. It is also lightweight.

I tried it on lightly and found it to be quite comfortable. Not bad.

"I like it."

"All right. Let's go next. This thimble glove was made by taking apart a magical tool that amplifies the user's magic. Originally, it was a very heavy shoulder strap, but I took it apart and modified it. The performance is almost perfectly reproduced. The metal parts are made of a good material, so it can be used to ward off attacks."

It's more like a gauntlet than a glove.

The black glove has silver metal parts and a red stone that seems to be a magic stone.

I put it on to try it on and hold and open my hand, and it doesn't get in the way and fits nice.

...Hmm. Not bad.

"Oh, you like it. What do you think? With those two, you can handle most attacks, right? And they're light."

I tried lightly activating magic as a test, and it is true that the magic power can be easily kneaded.

This seems to be usable. It is certainly a nice store. No wonder he brought me all the way here.

...Well, judging from this old man's reaction, I guess he also wanted to bring me along.

By the way, it's a nice-looking armor.

I'm a little curious about the weapons, too.

"If you don't mind, could you show me the weapons as well?"

"Really!?"

Nukumizu suddenly brings his face close to mine.

I'm sorry. Please get away from me, it's honestly creepy.

Behind me, I hear Vertex whisper, "Idiot."

...is this...maybe I've done it?

"Yes. Are you interested in my weapon? See? Verbo! He who understands, understands! Let's go to the back, brother. It's a bit messy."

As I enter the back room at his urging, the stifling smell of blood hits my nose again.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't turned on the fan in this room yet, so please bear with the smell."

...Ventilation fan? Was that sound i heard earlier the sound of the ventilation fan?

Did you reproduce it by yourself? If so, that's amazing.

At least I can't do it.

Maybe he was working in that kind of business? I looked at the inside of the room, while thinking....

It was ...... awesome.

Human corpses were hanging in large numbers, apparently bound with chains.

They had been beaten, their arms had been turned into swords, and shields had been embedded in their stomachs.

"Oh, those guys? Those idiots who tried to sneak into our house. They were too good to kill, so we asked them to help us with our experiments."

The head explained to me, perhaps noticing my gaze.

"I see. Then they got what they deserved."

I don't know about him, but this old man has a paralyzed sense of ethics.

"Okay. Here we are. Look at this."

He stops at a corner of the room and shows me the weapons lined up in there.

It is indeed a ghetto.

As Vertex said, there was a lineup of things that looked quirky out of habit.