Chapter 17 : IF-401 ‘Eastern Ghost’ (1)

The Milky Way, beautifully arranged just the way I like it.

And below it, the sun and clouds.

So far, everything looks exactly the same as what I saw before closing my eyes…

…Somehow, the ceiling looks unfamiliar again.

It feels like the place I’m lying in has changed.

Why is this happening?

Why do they keep moving me without saying anything?

Not just once, but twice now.

This is starting to get on my nerves.

The place is quiet, so I’ll let it slide this time.

“This is quite something. We have an esteemed guest aboard our aircraft.”

A voice came from beyond the wall.

“Takeoff is not permitted.”

“…If we had taken off, we’d all be finished.

Mr. Loft, may I ask why you won’t allow takeoff?”

A conversation.

One voice belonged to a human.

The other did not.

But still, it’s not as if its facial features were all over the place…

Hmm.

Roughly a former human, I suppose?

“If you can make a plane fly without the engine making any noise,if you can ensure the aircraft doesn’t shake at all…
If such a flight path exists, then I will permit takeoff.”

“What? … How could that be possible?”

“Haha, that’s exactly why I cannot allow the flight.

How could a plane set the heavens—no, the world—on fire and still take to the skies?”

A quiet, deliberate voice.

Almost as if it was considerate of me, who was overhearing the entire conversation unwillingly.

Lowering the volume, speaking in a calm tone…

Hoh.

This one’s far better than most humans these days.

“Then how long should we wait before takeoff is safe?”

“What do you take my words for, junior?
I’ll say this clearly—one crash is enough.”

“… I’ll relay that to the crew.”

Soon, the former human continued speaking.

This time, their voice had the precise articulation of a seasoned flight attendant.

“… Good day, dear passengers.
For the sake of your comfortable rest, our aircraft will not be taking off.
Please enjoy your journey as much as you wish.”

Yeah, that’s more like it.

Have humans become so negligent that even non-humans are acting kind now?

Is there some sort of law of conservation of decency?

Like with that chubby snake too…

It’s quite a desirable change…

“Our destination… is Dreamland. It may be a short trip, but please have a pleasant journey. This has been… not your captain, but Loft.”

And with that, silence returned completely.

How is it that this one behaves more like a priest than actual priests these days?

Fascinating.

Just as I was about to feel at ease,

I heard a strange thought projection near my head.

‘Ancestor… massive… weight…’

What?

Weight?

That’s definitely a word from my human memories…

It’s not inherently an insulting word, but…

For some reason, I don’t like the sound of it.

‘You. Chubby snake. Where did you learn such rude words?’

I scolded the little snake,who had the audacity to send such an insolent thought projection.

But instead of showing remorse, the snake responded with a defiant retort.

‘Ancestor. Wake up? Hard. Head. Move. Please.’

Hmm.

From what I recall, this chubby snake didn’t have such an advanced vocabulary before…

Look at this little thing.

I was about to praise it for being well-mannered,but instead, it stabs me in the back?

I didn’t go through the trouble of bringing it alongjust so it could freely send thought projections like this.

For some reason, I had a feeling that the chubby snake’s pitiful cries would be the perfect lullaby to complete my rest.

I needed to teach it a lesson.

‘Annoying. Not my problem. Good luck.’

‘Ancestor? Ancestor?!’

I shifted my head back and forth.

A pathetic squealing noise came from beside me.

Hehe.

See?

That’s what you get for talking back to an elder.

I went back to sleep.

Perfect.

Now, as long as no one disturbs me…

For real this time.

A squeak sound.

The tiny snake,flattened under the weight of its ancestor’s head,struggled to breathe.

If only it had been completely boneless and flexible,it wouldn’t have had to endure the weight.

But because its body was “moderately firm and elastic,”its ancestor found it perfectly comfortable to use as a pillow and mercilessly pressed down on it.

For the tiny snake,which had to bear the full weight with its body, it was absolute misery.

But its ancestor had already fallen into a deep sleep long ago.

‘Ancestor? Ancestor…? Please… refuse… why…?’

The tiny snake felt wronged.

At first, it thought its ancestor was a kind, endlessly gentle being—just like its mother.

But suddenly, relentless torment began.

If its ancestor was supposed to be a good being,why was it being tormented?

Shouldn’t it either be cared for, like by its mother and siblings,or endlessly tormented, like by the two-legged beasts?

Shouldn’t it be one or the other?

It wanted to protest.

But the one who should be listening had long since closed their eyes.

And waking the ancestor up was not an option.

Not that the tiny snake had the strength to do so.

But more than that,it had a deep instinct that it must never wake the ancestor carelessly…

Squeeeak…

The tiny snake silently endured the weight.

At that moment—

…Presence. Two-legged beast.

Approaching footsteps.

The tiny snake shivered in fear.

Instinctively, it tried to curl up and change its shape.

Tremble, tremble, tremble.

But—

There was no change.

Of course not.

To disguise itself as a longer creature,it had to evenly narrow its entire body.

But flattened like a pancake,there was simply no way to do that.

‘Crushed. Camouflage. Impossible…’

The tiny snake was now completely defenselessas it faced the two-legged beast.

A black-clad, human-like figure.

A rather peculiar being.

Unlike other two-legged beasts who would scream or try to touch it, this one simply observed the tiny snake and its ancestor in silence.

The tiny snake felt puzzled.

‘No… torment?’

Eventually, the figure took a few steps back and sat down at a distance, continuing to watch them.

At that, the tiny snake let out a relieved squeak.

‘Distance. Far. Good.’

From the tiny snake’s perspective, the figure before it was strangely hard to perceive.

Its breathing, its scent—almost imperceptible.

Now that it had moved further away,it was nearly impossible to sense at all.

For a tiny snake that feared everything unknown, this was welcome news.

A being that already felt less threatening, moving carefully on top of that?

The tiny snake did not find this figure very frightening.

‘Quiet one.’

Come to think of it, the figure looked oddly fascinating in the tiny snake’s eyes.

An eerily quiet presence.

Even when simply taking something out of its coat, it was so meticulous and cautious.

So much so, that even the two-legged beasts behind two walls felt more present than this figure.

So, in other words…

They acted as if making a loud noise here would cause everything to explode and kill us all.

The figure carefully sliced something that looked like food, which it had taken out from its coat.

Soon, the smell of feathered prey’s meat filled the air.

‘Smell. Good.’

The little snake felt curious.

That piece of food was big enough to eat whole, so why was it being cut?

That question was quickly answered.

The figure held a small piece of the sliced food between its fingertips and brought it close to the little snake’s mouth.

It approached with extreme caution, as if a single mistake would cause everything to explode and kill us all.

It took an absurdly long time just to cover ten steps.

The movement was so careful that, despite it being a two-legged creature using its bare hand, the little snake didn’t feel much discomfort.

The little snake eagerly took the food.

‘Eating. Good.’

Since its body was flattened like a pancake, swallowing was a bit difficult.

But, as far as the little snake was concerned, the taste was good.

‘Sleepy…’

A full belly always brings drowsiness.

The little snake closed its eyes.

It had encountered a beast and dealt with dozens of two-legged creatures today, so it was only natural to be exhausted.

Especially since, compared to its mother, the little snake was still very young.

But there was a problem.

‘Sleep. Impossible.’

Even though it had kept its eyes closed for quite some time, the little snake simply couldn’t fall asleep.

The reason was obvious.

Something was pressing down heavily on its back.

There could be no clearer reason than that….

‘Uncomfortable. Very. Extremely.’

Even breathing required effort.

There was no way it could fall asleep like this.

The little snake tried to let out a pitiful squeak, but even that was difficult.

The closer it was to its ancestor’s head, the more uncomfortable it felt.

Was it because its stomach was full?

That didn’t seem to be the case.

The little snake pondered, but couldn’t reach a conclusion.

The great and wise ancestor who could explain everything was…lazily snoring away!

“Repo, come here for a moment…”

At the sound of someone speaking in the distance, the little snake finally gave up on sleeping and opened its eyes.

Flash.

The little snake locked eyes with the figure, whose body was translucent from the toes up to the waist.

Peep?

… ?

Rustle.

The figure was becoming even more transparent in real time.

Peeeeeep…?

In the brief moment the little snake doubted its own eyes, the figure’s entire body became transparent.

PEEEEEEP?!

Shocked, the little snake smacked its lips, trying to catch any lingering scent.

The smell of meat was still there.

“…Ah.”

And then—

The figure completely disappeared, as if it had never been there in the first place.

Peep, peeeeep…!

The little snake suddenly remembered.

A story its mother had told long ago—

A tale of a snake that had been imprisoned alongside all sorts of venomous bugs in the two-legged creatures’ dungeon, until it finally became… a ghost.

‘Ghost? GHOST?!’

Guuuurrrgle.

Overcome with terror, the little snake foamed at the mouth and rolled its eyes back, fainting on the spot. 

Kuu Eeeeeh…

‘What the—hey, chubby snake, what’s wrong with you all of a sudden?’

At that moment, the ancestor’s eyes snapped open.

The ancestor poked at the little snake’s plump body, but it was already beyond saving.

For the first time, the little snake heard the ancestor’s voice and thought projection… filled with irritation.

‘No way… This was seriously the most comfortable position ever…! Who the hell did this?! Damn it, I’m at five breaths worth of anger—’

“Gyaaaaaaooooo…!”

The little snake, barely clinging to life.

And before it’s fading vision…

The ghostly figure that had disappeared started to gradually become visible again.

To the little snake’s eyes—

That ghost…

“…Oh. Dear God, have mercy.”