Episode -1 B
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The Red Rooster is still walking across the vast ruins. It seems that the only living creatures here are insects...
Avoiding the insects, he slowly makes his way toward his destination.
When he first passed through this place, the brilliance of its past glory tormented him unbearably.
But perhaps too much time has passed now? His emotions had dried up completely.
“Ah... where is this? Am I even going the right way?”
“Please... this time, let me reach the Tarin Forest...”
Throughout the journey toward his destination, the Red Rooster was constantly worried about the insects.
The reason he could not light a fire in the pitch-darkness was also because he feared that the insects would discover his location.
In this place where countless buildings and roads had been destroyed, he secretly avoided the insects’ surveillance, using the ruins of buildings as cover.
But the Red Rooster did not know.
The insects had already found him and were quietly following his footsteps. As if they knew—and were deliberately mocking him...
“Crack!”
An unknown sound echoed from somewhere. Startled by the sudden noise, the Red Rooster screamed and ran.
[Eyes watching him flee through the darkness]
“Tch...”
As he ran frantically, a small, shabby warehouse came into view before his eyes.
“Ah! A house, a house!”
“Thank goodness, thank goodness...”
For someone hungry and exhausted like him, there could be no better place.
Then he quickly looked around the building, searching for an entrance, and barely managed to slip inside the warehouse.
“Is... anyone here?”
There was no answer. Of course not. In this place, the only life forms were insects.
Then he hurriedly closed the warehouse door and let out a sigh of relief. Crouching in the pitch-dark space, he muttered.
“Ah... I was cold. That’s a relief... such a relief.”
“Ugh... I’m hungry...”
The inside of the warehouse was dark—so dark that it was difficult to distinguish objects.
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The Red Rooster extended his hands forward and moved little by little to avoid bumping into things.
After some time passed, shapes slowly began to emerge from the darkness.
“Oh! A lantern! A lantern... please, please...”
Spotting a kettle-shaped lantern on a distant table, he desperately hoped there was fuel inside.
Though perhaps he shouldn’t have...
“Please... let there be fuel!”
Then he approached the lantern and carefully turned the handle.
“Click... click... clack!”
Should it be called luck?... There was fuel left inside the lantern, and a small flame began to flicker on the wick.
Before long, the darkness inside the warehouse retreated before the lantern’s light.
The Red Rooster quietly gazed at it. That small flame appeared to thaw his frozen heart.
Staring blankly at the little fire, he turned around to examine the interior of the warehouse.
“Waaah! Hooray, hooray!”
This was a food storage warehouse. Numerous emergency rations were neatly arranged inside.
But so much time had passed that expiration dates no longer held any meaning.
The Red Rooster began rummaging through the supplies frantically. There were dried foods and jars of honey.
A smile spread across his lips in the midst of despair.
“Hehehe... no way! What is all this!”
“Thank you! Heehee~”
After gathering the food in one place, he began checking each packaged box one by one.
Then, by chance, he found something inside—a bag of Strawberry Nose Chips filled with memories that Ina had once loved so dearly.
“Ah, this is...?”
“To think something so hard to find is here of all places!”
“Strawberry Nose Chips!”
Then he hugged the Strawberry Nose Chips to his chest and thought of Ina.
“Those beautiful memories I shared with Nia back then...”
“I miss her. Nia loved these so much...”
“The time when Nia would always greet me when I returned home from work... the happiness that felt like it would last forever...
Nia’s scent, her warmth... I miss everything so much. Nia.”
[At that time, the Red Rooster used to call ‘Ina’ by the nickname ‘Nia.’]
Then he opened the box to check the condition of the Strawberry Nose Chips.
“Hmm... would it be safe to eat this? It should be fine, right?”
[Once again, the expiration date printed on this product no longer has any meaning.]
Inside the box, the sweet scent of Strawberry Nose Chips filled the air. He carefully took a bite.
“Mmm... incredible! It’s completely fine! It’s so delicious! This is it, this is it!”
As he shoveled the snacks into his mouth, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
“I can’t eat something this precious all at once!!”
Then he stopped eating and, eyes brimming with tears, pulled the box into his arms.
“Stop eating... Only one when I miss Nia too much. Just one at a time. There isn’t much left... sob...”
At that moment, through the warehouse’s ventilation opening, a rustling sound could be heard.
Instantly startled, the Red Rooster screamed and flung both hands upward—
and at the same time, scattered all the Strawberry Nose Chips into the air.
Those precious snacks... those memories!!
Before his eyes, they poured down like rain onto the dusty warehouse floor.
Now... they had become filthy and could no longer be eaten.
“I was trying to save them... what is this!!!”
[He trembles as he stares at the Strawberry Nose Chips spilled across the floor.]
“Hmm... could I still eat them...?”
The Red Rooster fell into deep contemplation. His mind was filled only with thoughts of the chips.
While he was completely distracted by the Strawberry Nose Chips, a black shadow appeared between the moonlit cracks of the door.
It was an extremely dangerous situation for him, but the Red Rooster’s attention was elsewhere.
Then suddenly, he realized that the lantern’s light was exposing his position.
“Ah, the light! I have to turn it off!”
The moment he tried to run toward the lantern, a knocking sound came from behind the door.
[Thud, thud]
The Red Rooster froze in fear, as if his breath had stopped.
“It’s over... it’s an insect. My position’s been exposed...”
Again, the knocking echoed.
[Thud]
His body trembled with extreme terror. Holding his breath, his gaze fixed on the door.
Then, the latch slowly turned, and the warehouse door began to open.
Though terrified, he resolved to use his hidden trump card if it came to that.
“If it’s come to this... I’ll face it head-on!”
[Creeeeak—]
The sound of the door opening sent chills down his spine. The door swung open, and a gigantic insect stood blocking the entrance.
The insect muttered.
“Hmm... I have found Lord Eat once again.”
“And there is a... delicious smell?”
-1 B END
