Fighting you is like being in jail.

Yukari Yakumo: Oh dear! Aren't you going to take care of me? It's annoying to expose a girl's feelings.

Kazuma Sato: LOL! Still calling her a young girl.

Yukari Yakumo: Damn it!

……

School in the afternoon.

West High School.

As Izumi Shinichi walked home, he looked somewhat tired, his eyes cautiously glancing at his right hand.

A few nights ago, I suddenly felt a stinging pain in my arm and saw a worm crawling into it. Luckily, I used my headphone cord to pull my arm in place, preventing the worm from crawling any deeper.

As a result, his right hand was parasitized by insects, which could even grow a mouth and communicate with him.

He gave himself the name Mickey.

He now has a general idea of ​​what Mickey is: a kind of parasite that cannot survive on its own and can only live by parasitizing other species.

"Shinichi, what are you thinking about?"

Mickey's voice came from the collar, discreet and soft. It was because Mickey had extended his arms to facilitate communication.

"No, I was just thinking about the recent disappearances..."

"Oh, so it was made by one of our own kind."

"what?!"

Shinichi's pupils contracted, and his steps faltered.

"What's so surprising? Didn't we say before? Eating one's own kind is an instinct."

"Why is it the same kind... when we don't have to use it?"

"They're all proteins."

"..."

Shinichi felt a bone-chilling cold, his face turned ashen, and he gritted his teeth, unable to speak.

"Too cruel!"

He couldn't contain his emotions and said bitterly.

"I don't understand at all. Aren't humans even more cruel? They keep all kinds of animals in captivity and then eat them."

"This...is different."

"What's the difference? It's all about survival, so eating one's own kind is unacceptable... I don't understand at all."

"..."

Shinichi frowned in resistance, speechless at this point.

At this point, Mickey didn't have many emotions; he was still just a baby and hadn't yet seen the world.

It is filled with a clear curiosity and a thirst for wisdom.

Just then, Mickey's voice became tense.

"Shinichi! Stop! We can't go any further! There's something scary here!"

Shinichi's body stiffened, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks. Perhaps it was Mickey's impression that made him tense.

He quickly asked:

"Could it be one of your kind?"

"do not know."

"have no idea!?"

"Yes, but one thing is certain: it's something far more dangerous than humans!"

"More than humans!?"

Shinichi's pupils contracted as he looked ahead in disbelief, but there was nothing strange in the crowd.

The only attractive element was a petite girl in an office lady outfit, with green hair and a smile.

"Shinichi! Don't look! Pretend you don't know anything, she's already noticed!"

Mickey suddenly reminded him, and Shinichi quickly looked away, but this action was too obvious.

He was immediately noticed by the green-haired office lady in front of him, whose green eyes scrutinized Shinichi closely.

For some reason, Shinichi suddenly felt like he was being targeted by a natural enemy. His muscles tensed up, and Mickey Mouse in his right hand was ready to fight at any moment.

But the girl walked past Shinichi without making any move, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

Shinichi, however, felt differently. After confirming that the girl had left, he was panting heavily, and the back of his school uniform shirt was already soaked with sweat.

That feeling of fear was something he had never experienced before.

"Who...is she...?"

"I asked in a trembling voice," Keishinichi asked.

"I don't know, but that feeling is unmistakable... Right, ghouls! I've seen information about them online before."

"A ghoul!?"

Shinichi's pupils trembled as he recalled events from a long time ago, but he had subconsciously forgotten about them since ghouls hadn't appeared recently.

The thought that the girl who had just passed by was a ghoul made his legs tremble uncontrollably.

That's a real man-eating beast.

Mickey's voice rang in my ears.

"It seems that life is not easy for you humans... Your natural enemies look exactly like you, and there is no way to tell them apart."

"Stop talking..."

"I have a question: Have any of my kind parasitized ghouls?"

"How...how would I know?"

"I'm quite curious, but according to the data on ghouls... I'm afraid only low-level ghouls can be parasitized."

"..."

Shinichi remained silent, his face extremely gloomy, especially after discovering that he could distinguish between ghouls and humans.

Although they encountered other ghouls on their way home, they were not as terrified as before, to the point of being unable to move.

At that moment, Shinichi felt as if he had opened up a new world, discovering that it was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. He saw things he shouldn't have seen, and his heart was filled with apprehension.

Mickey, however, strongly agreed with backing down.

"I support you becoming a shut-in."

"..."

That's really unpleasant to hear...

Shinichi was speechless, his eyes gleaming with consideration. After all, he now knew that the outside world wasn't so safe, and avoiding going out was indeed the best option.

But how could I not go out?

Just then, his mother, Nobuko Izumi's voice came from the kitchen.

"Shinichi, we're out of rice. Go out and buy some."

"it is good."

Shinichi nodded upon hearing this, got up, and walked outside.

A short walk into the entryway, Shinichi, having put on his shoes, stood at the door, and behind him came Izumi Nobuko's voice.

"Let's go to Rei Supermarket, their rice is cheap. We'll also buy some soy sauce and miso."

"Well, I see."

Shinichi nodded and took the yen his mother had denied, then opened the door and went out.

However, the next moment, Shinichi understood what hell was.

……

Hot and Strange Supermarket, at the main entrance.

Shinichi stood there, his pupils trembling, his legs shaking, his mouth quivering, and the air filled with fear.

Even Mickey's voice trembled.

"Shinichi, this is terrible. This is a ghoul's lair... everyone in here is a ghoul!"

"No, don't say anymore... I can already feel it..."

Shinichi stood at the gate, trembling with fear, his legs feeling like lead, unable to lift them at all.

"Let's go somewhere else..."

He uttered a trembling word and left without looking back, heading towards another supermarket.

Then... he looked at the bag of rice that cost six or seven thousand yen and closed his eyes in despair.

I took 5,000 yen with me when I left the house; that's not enough to buy anything.

"How can it be so expensive!"

He forced out these words through gritted teeth, wishing he could kill the guy behind it all.

Mickey, understanding the situation, said despairingly, "Looks like we'll have to go back and buy it..."

"This is truly hopeless."

"Calm down, things aren't that bad. As long as we pretend nothing happened, we'll be fine. According to news reports, there haven't been any problems at the Hot Supermarket. That means ghouls don't eat in their own lairs, so we're still safe."

"That's true... but they're in huge groups... it would be strange not to be afraid."

"really."

"..."

For a moment, Shinichi and Mickey were at a loss, feeling that this was really outrageous.

Cheap rice is being controlled by ghouls—is there some kind of conspiracy involved?!

Why is ghoul rice so cheap?

Why do ghouls offer cheap rice when rice prices rise?

Could it be that—!?

Are ghouls raising humans?!

It was cold, shivering, and the air was filled with the smell of rice.

Shinichi's pupils contracted, his eyes bloodshot, terrified by his own assumption. Looking at the rice on the shelf in front of him, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

There was no warmth at all; countless grinning eyes stared at him from all directions.

“Mickey, Mickey… do you think there’s a possibility… I said yes.”

"what?"

"Is ghoul rice so cheap because they feed humans?"

"That...is possible."

"..."

Shinichi swallowed hard in fear, his heart racing with panic. He realized that this was the only possible explanation. Ghouls couldn't eat human food, which was why they were so cheap.

People who eat cheap rice will get better, isn't that what they consider a delicacy?!

After a brief silence, Mickey said:

"Don't overthink it, there's no evidence yet. In any case... ghouls don't eat in their lairs. We're safe."

"This is terrible..."

Shinichi took a deep breath in despair, knowing he had to go no matter how unwilling he was.