Something definitely changed. Like how one feels empty and exhausted after taking a big, straining poop, I felt as though I'd expelled many of my absorbed kernels to accomplish this feat. I couldn't see, couldn't hear as corn, yet I got the idea that I was somewhere else. I scanned around me, but found myself extremely weary and hesitant to extend a kernel link in hopes of finding a new host. Instead, I rested, siphoning off the energies of those around me for a moment.

Entering a deep, almost sleep-like state, I sat back and passively absorbed kernels. I wasn't aware of how much time had passed, but after feeling like I'd gotten a good nap in, I finally felt the strength to find a new host. With little energy sources around me, I eventually felt another insect and latched hold of it. Seconds later, I was now staring down at a bed from a cobbled stone wall in a torch-lit room. In an odd display, my corn body was nestled there on the pillow, and I could see Lyka lying next to it, fast asleep.

"Whoa…my first time laying with a woman," I thought amusingly, only to realize the body that I was controlling. I was now piloting a large, dark-brown cockroach.

Lyka, meanwhile, was now dressed in a gorgeous dark-purple nightgown that intimately showed off her curvy shape, while her long red hair was messily sprawled about. Her breasts bulged out greatly from the top of the gown, and her bubble-like rear was nearly hanging off the bed. Unfortunately, she was an apparent light sleeper, as she almost immediately heard my little roach skittering along the wall.

"Ewwww nasty!" the young woman squealed as she jerked awake and threw a bedside cup at the wall. Barely able to dodge, I immediately linked my corn body with her and quickly try to explain the situation with telepathy.

"Wait, Lyka! Don't kill the roach, its me!" I yelled, causing the frantic woman to freeze.

"M-Master?" she stammered, turning to look at the corncob. "But how are you—

"I can take control of simple creatures, apparently," I explained. "It helps me see and hear. That slug from earlier? That was me. I was a mosquito as well, back when the goblins first met you guys on the road. Speaking of which, what happened anyway?"

To my delight, it appeared as though my gambit had paid off. According to Lyka, just as Lysander was in the process of knocking my corn self out of her hands, I managed to teleport us all. One moment we were in the woods, and next we were apparently on some street in Carverstead. A large town some 18 kilometers from Red sprout, the tiny farming village that I was reborn into, Carverstead was the regional capital of the province of Lorre, one of the 3 provinces in the Kingdom of Franturro. I was still wrapping my head around this new world, so I didn't dwell on the specifics at the time.

Stolen story; please report.

"Yup, my dad is the mayor," Lyka explained, gesturing to the room around us. "This is just one of the guest rooms in our castle. Darotha went home, and those nasty goblins are probably in the town jail."

19 and 20 years old respectively, Lyka Belle and Darotha Catsu were two best friends from Carverstead's upper class that did everything together, including traveling to the market of the nearby farm town to buy corn. As the daughter of one of the most prominent political figures in town, Lyka was no doubt somewhat of a spoiled brat. Now hailing from a mid-income family myself who had only recently (very recently) got rich, I typically despised rich kids, mainly out of envy. But I couldn't help being drawn to Lyka. She was hot! Plus despite lacking a central nervous system, I swear I could feel her soft bosom as she held my corn body against it.

"What's our plan then next, Master?" the young woman asked innocently. "I mean I don't think there are any laws against marrying a vegetable, but—

"WHAT!?" I exclaimed mentally. I'd really messed this girl up.

"My darling daughter, I heard talking," a man's voice asked as the solid wooden door to the room creaked open. "Has your…friend…woken up yet?"

Entering the room was a tall, scrawny man with short, greying red hair, a long, bony face, and who was dressed in a loose-fitting dark-brown cloak that had a thick golden necklace that partially looped around his shoulders. A large square emblem hung from his neck, depicting the same pitchfork that I'd seen on the guard's uniform back in Red Sprout.

"Yeah, Dad, he's talking to me now," Lyka smiled with a nod, before holding my body up. "He doesn't actually speak since, you know, he's corn and all. He uses his mind, and I can hear his voice in my head."

"Right…" the man smiled nervously, clearly uncomfortable with his daughter's bizarre reply. "Darling, why don't you go to the kitchen and tell one of the servants to boil some water for me while I get to know your friend here."

"Sure, Daddy, I'll be right back," Lyka smiled as she hopped out of the bed and blew a kiss towards my yellow self while she slid out the door. "You two get to know each other. I don't know what he is, Dad, but I trust him.'

Nervously watching from the wall in my cockroach host as the man stepped over to the bed, I hoped that this guy wasn't going to freak out. It was hard not to sympathize, his daughter must have sounded insane rambling on about some savior sentient corn. If I was in his place, I'd very much be concerned.

"Hello?" he asked down to my corn body, reaching down to pick it up. "My name is Soundov Belle, mayor of the town of Carverstead. I am…wait, this is madness. Are you a demon? Surely you don't speak to my daughter? A cursed talisman, perhaps?"

Looking over the corncob, the mayor seemed to struggle to see anything awry, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to make myself know. I wasn't sure what he'd do to me.

"Well if you are capable of speaking, let's see if we can make you talk," he smiled. I didn't like the look of the grin.