Monster - Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Silver Stone City - Madam Lilo

Thanks to the power of poetry, the two received a hearty breakfast the next morning. While Lou's writing was hardly a timeless classic, poetry is a deeply personal art form. The metaphor of the "monster" must have resonated with the chubby owner of the motor inn's tavern, because he gladly accepted the poem titled "The Monster." He even mentioned that upon retirement, he planned to return to Center City and compile all the poems he'd collected from his time in Disorder Land into an anthology.

"Some people come to Disorder Land voluntarily to make a living?" Lin Sandie asked, splitting her breakfast to share with Miu.

"They do, but they get infected too, after a while." The tavern owner, despite his simple and honest appearance, was already in the initial stages of monsterization.

"I heard from the Rose Society that you can see people turning into monsters with the naked eye in Disorder Land. Even if you can distinguish who has and hasn't hurt people, wouldn't witnessing your own transformation cause chaos?"

"The chaotic period is over. People have been turning into monsters for a long time now—much longer than what you've seen back in Center City," Lou said while eating her breakfast. "Besides, have you noticed? Most of the monsters we've seen have only mild mutations. We've hardly seen anyone completely unaffected, like you."

Lou's words sent Lin Sandie into a thoughtful silence.

Lou, sitting across from her, noticed Lin Sandie forking all her sausages over to Miu. "Don't you like sausages? They're really good."

"Are there no humans left in Disorder Land…?"

"Eat. This is part of your training," Lou interrupted, forking another red sausage from her plate onto Lin Sandie's.

The moment she let go of the fork, however, she felt a sudden jolt at her waist. Reaching into her pocket, she discovered the phone was zapping her.

"…It's zapping me," Lou complained to Lin Sandie.

"Don't make me sell you," Lin Sandie said, giving the red phone an icy glare.

A single sentence was all it took. The phone instantly settled down, even seeming to radiate a sense of being wronged.

"Are there still humans in Disorder Land?" Lin Sandie asked Lou again.

"Yes, plenty. Most are in the central region of Disorder Land." Lou held a piece of thick-cut bacon to Lin Sandie's lips, still sulking at the red phone. She was, by nature, a very vengeful person.

Lin Sandie sighed in resignation but understood Lou's intentions, so she said nothing and simply opened her mouth to accept the food.

"Should we wear masks when we head downtown later?" In a crowded place, they were sure to encounter powerful factions, perhaps even the Rose Society, and Lou was still on their hunting list.

"Okay." Seeing Lin Sandie eat the food she offered, Lou felt greatly encouraged and proceeded to cut a piece of pancake.

Miu, however, grumbled to itself. How many times had it told Lou to keep a low profile when they worked together, only for her to treat it like wind in her ears? But the moment Lin Sandie said something, she agreed instantly. Just who is your Guide, anyway?

"Would you like some more juice?" Seeing that Miu had finished its juice, Lin Sandie looked down and asked it.

"Caw~ (No need~)" Miu croaked in an unusually sweet voice.

But Lin Sandie was so much nicer to it than Lou was, so Miu liked her a lot too.

"It said no," Lou said, continuing to feed Lin Sandie.

"Stop feeding me, everyone's staring at us," Lin Sandie murmured after eating the piece of pancake held to her lips.

"Let them look," Lou said, unconcerned.

"…"

After finally finishing breakfast, the two paid their bill, left the motor inn, and entered the central area of Silver Stone City.

Today, Lou was driving. Lin Sandie looked out the car window at the streets of Silver Stone City, silently comparing it to Center City, where she had lived for many years.

The buildings in Silver Stone City were generally low-rise, and many of the streets were steep. At times, the car's nose would tilt up at an exaggerated angle before suddenly plunging down a sharp decline. It wasn't a reflection of Lou's driving skills; some of the roads were simply as steep as expert ski runs.

Lin Sandie adapted well. On the uphill climbs, she could see vast, endless cornfields and a low, gray-blue horizon through the windshield, the corn leaves shimmering in the sunlight. On the downhill plunges, she saw the various small shops lining Silver Stone City's roads, colorful graffiti, peculiar vehicles parked on the curbs, vagrants leaning against walls, and travelers busking for money…

But among them, she saw very few people who were completely free of mutation. With her glasses off, all Lin Sandie could see were monsters in various stages of transformation, some mild, some severe.

Putting her glasses back on, Lin Sandie turned her attention to a small pamphlet the innkeeper had given them as they left. It introduced Leviathan's greatest poet of the past fifty years: Lilo Sangs.

Most people addressed her respectfully as Madam Lilo. She remained unmarried and childless her entire life and was a renowned poet, musician, and diviner. She passed away from natural causes last month. Before her death, in addition to donating her estate to organizations for women and children, she left a final message: "My Remnant is on page 51 of Silence of All Things."

"Let's go to Madam Lilo's old house and pick up the mission," Lin Sandie said, looking at the photo of the poet in the pamphlet. In the picture, Madam Lilo appeared to be in her sixties or seventies, with messy, ear-length white hair. She held a smoldering cigarette between her fingers, the corners of her mouth turned up in a serene, peaceful smile that instantly endeared her to the viewer.

Lin Sandie had studied Madam Lilo's poetry in college, but the poems themselves hadn't left a strong impression. She did, however, remember this frequently published photograph. The thought of now seeking the Remnant of a poet she'd only read about in textbooks gave her a strange feeling.

"Does it say what rank Madam Lilo's Remnant is?"

"B-rank. It's a collection of poetry. The custodial agency will hand over the collection to the person who deciphers the meaning of her last words."

"Have you read her poetry? She's a great poet in your world," Lou asked as she turned the car at an intersection.

"I read them in college, but I've forgotten them all."

The two chatted idly as they drove towards Madam Lilo's former residence. When they arrived, they were surprised to find that it wasn't very crowded.

Madam Lilo had lived in a seemingly ordinary suburb. Her pale house faced the street, with a yard enclosed by a fence that was visible at a glance. A few cherry trees grew inside, and white roses bloomed brilliantly in one corner of the lawn. The outside of the fence was laden with flowers and cards left by mourners from all over, many of them inscribed with Madam Lilo's poetry.

Lou parked the car by the curb, and they walked a short distance to Madam Lilo's former home. Even more flowers and cards were laid out in front. The main door was open, and two people in work uniforms stood behind a tall counter placed in the foyer.

"Here for the mission to find Madam Lilo's poetry collection?" the woman behind the counter asked as Lin Sandie and Lou entered.

"Yes." Lin Sandie pulled down her mask, only then noticing that both staff members were women. One of them was tall and athletic with short hair, making her look like a man from a distance.

"Sign your name here."

"Do we both need to sign?"

"If you're on a team, just one of you needs to register. Afterward, I'll give you a brooch. Only with the brooch are you officially considered a participant. As per Madam Lilo's will, the deadline is in three days. We will review the results here then. Everyone who accepted the mission must gather here before 10 a.m. on that day," the athletic staff member explained patiently.

"Okay." Lin Sandie picked up the pen, preparing to write a fake name on the registration form.

Lou, however, seemed to know her intentions. She leaned close to Lin Sandie's ear and whispered, "The registration book is a secondary infection item. Use your real name."

"…" Lin Sandie paused for a moment, then wrote her real name.

"Excuse me, would it be alright if we looked around Madam Lilo's home? I've always admired her poetry. I'm a devoted fan," Lin Sandie asked with a polite smile after registering her name.

Seeing Lin Sandie's lovely, gentle face and hearing her soft, cultured voice, the two staff members glanced down at the registration book and then back at her. After confirming she had used her real name, one of them replied, "You can, but don't touch anything. There are cameras inside."

With that, she handed Lin Sandie a silver brooch. It was shaped like two interlocking "0"s, resembling a single link of a chain.

"I understand, thank you." Lin Sandie pinned the brooch to the lapel of her suit.

Once that was done, Lou bought a copy of Silence of All Things from the staff, which was displayed on the counter. Only then did she and Lin Sandie enter Madam Lilo's home.

"See if the mission has appeared."

"It's here." Lin Sandie opened her light screen, where the third mission was now displayed.

Mission 3.

Mission: Decipher the mystery of Lilo Sangs's last words

Mission Assessment: B-Rank

Mission Description: 100% uncertain factors

Mission Deadline: 3 days

Mission Reward: B-Rank Item - Lilo's Poetry Collection

"The last words are, 'My Remnant is on page 51.'" Lou flipped the poetry collection in her hand to page 51.

"Why this one? Could it be a different edition?" Lin Sandie asked with considerable rigor.

"Because Silence of All Things was only ever published in one edition, you fake Madam Lilo fan," Lou teased with a laugh. Despite her prim and proper appearance, Lin Sandie could lie without so much as a blush.

Lou found Lin Sandie so interesting that it made her greatly look forward to the journey ahead.

"Fine." Unfazed by Lou's teasing, Lin Sandie looked down with her to read the poem on page 51 of Silence of All Things.

It was an extremely beautiful and moving love sonnet.

The Contradictions of Love

I find no peace, and all my war is done,

I fear and hope, I burn and freeze like ice,

I fly above the wind, yet can I not arise,

And nought I have, and all the world I seize on;

That looseth nor locketh holdeth me in prison,

And holdeth me not, yet can I scape no wise,

Nor letteth me live nor die at my device,

And yet of death it giveth me occasion;

Without eyen I see, and without tongue I plain,

I desire to perish, and yet I ask health,

I love another, and thus I hate myself;

I feed me in sorrow, and laugh in all my pain,

Likewise displeaseth me both death and life,

And my delight is causer of this strife.

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