You are sitting in a hallway, next to a door.

You rest your back as multiple kids at the end of the hallway make a peek at you.

Well, they’re just curious kids, though they shouldn’t be looking at a man they don’t know.

Other than that, you are intimidated by the maid who was standing still. As if she is paying attention to any move you make.

…

You are waiting for Riley who is talking with the other girl to let you in.

You can barely hear the voices of the girls and even then, you can’t make out what they were saying.

Though, you can hear the other girl talking a lot like she’s trying to lecture Riley.

It seems understandable, it looks like she’s the boss of this house. The house even looks like an orphanage based on the adults here and the number of children you see. Not only that, you passed by multiple rooms prior to the office.

You are not gonna babysit a bunch of orphans, are you?

…

The door opens as Riley walks out. She seems unamused. Whatever the other girl said must’ve taken a toll on her.

“She’s calling you now,” Riley holds the door to let you inside.

Going in, the office wasn’t all too fancy. There is only a single window with a worn-out curtain, some drawers, and a single large locked closet.

In front of the closet is the blondie sitting down right behind a desk.

“Sit down, both of you,” she lays her hand to one of the two chairs placed in front of you and Riley. Both of you do as she instructed.

…

As both of you are prepared for some discussion, she introduces herself, “My name is Marisa and as you can see, I’m the owner of this orphanage. As Riley said, you're Hunter.”

“Yes, that is my name.”

“Well, Hunter, which is an odd name by the way, according to Riley over here, you were summoned into this world by a goddess.”

You are still not clear on that, “Y-yeah…”

“Based on that reaction and what Riley said before, I suppose you’re hiding something?” Marisa looks like her initial suspicions are raised even higher.

…

You start sweating as you stay silent.

“Tch… whatever the case, you are incredibly confused as soon as you get into this world,” Marisa shrugs. “Riley over here told you things in a vague manner and thus you don’t seem satisfied.”

Riley only lowers her eyes and looks away from you.

“I can’t predict what you’re gonna do next, but I know that you may have to open up soon enough,” Marisa said as she straightens up.

“Anyway, do you want anything to know about?”

…

You learned a little more about this world. It’s a large continent inhabited by 4 different kingdoms. The Beast Kingdom, The Human Kingdom, The Demon Kingdom, and the Elven Kingdom. Each one living on each side of the continent. Three of the kingdoms are at peace with each other while the Demon Kingdom remains hostile.

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All of them are ruled by a royalty of their respective species. However, they each have a “legendary” creature that acts as a protector of their kingdom. All of them had their own elements, and all of them could be contested by anyone. Victory against them grants the winner the abilities of the former and be used at their own will, which is why Riley called herself the “Witch of Hellfire.”

However, just last year, the Demon Lord caused an event that caused dismay to the whole continent. The weird substance acts like a zombie infection, once it touches any living being or any living being is stupid enough to touch it, they will fall victim to it and turn into a zombified version of themselves. So far, there’s nothing that can restore the world back to its previous state.

…

You learned a little bit of the world, though you have a few things to ask.

“Wait, you said protector, right? What is she doing here then?” You point at Riley.

Marisa only closes her eyes and answers, “That’s an answer she’ll have to tell, and she seems scared to say it anyway, so expect it from the near future.”

Riley’s face was sadder than before, so you didn’t question it. “Do you know anything about those zombies?”

Marisa pinches her chin slightly, “I barely go outside, but based on what Elma said, some of them have begun to manifest elemental energy. That’s probably what you encountered last night. A fire zombie.”

You then want to confirm something, seeing how familiar Marisa is about zombies, “Are you a Reincarnated, like Riley?”

“As it wasn’t obvious enough, I am in fact reincarnated. I’ve been here for more than 18 years now. The world was interesting. Despite the hostility of the demon kingdom, there’s no war, yet every day, I get to find something new. Now for almost a year, I’m stuck here powerless. At least I have some stories to entertain the children,” Marisa smirks.

“Also, those zombies aren’t just like the ones you see in the movies. They seem to retain some of their memories from their previous life,” Marisa adds.

…

“Anyway, enough about this world, let me ask about you,” Marisa crosses her arms on the desk. “You have the ability to Regenerate, and you and Riley think that it’s because of your said Regenerative ability, you avoided getting taken over?”

“Yes, of course, you still don’t believe that?” Riley stands up.

Marisa sighs, “The thing is that Regeneration cannot counter the infection. Self-reviving is one thing, getting cured from the infection is another. To put it simply, if you ‘regenerate’, the infection goes along.”

Marisa leans back in her chair, “I think there’s more than just regenerating. At least that’s what I think anyway.”

“Well, can’t you just confirm it yourself?” Riley shouted.

…

Marisa lets out a menacing look in her eyes as she glares right back at Riley, “Didn’t I tell you to keep your mouth shut?”

Riley, out of fear, sits down. Marisa continues, “I’m sorry Hunter, I forgot to tell you that I don’t trust you. Not only do you have abilities you can’t explain, but you’re also hiding a lot of things from us.”

“Figures,” That is your only word.

“However, I am into the idea that you have a reason for getting summoned here. So I won’t stop you for that,” Marisa lightly slams her fist to the desk.

…

You hear the muffled sounds of children behind you. You turn around and see them piled up and staring at you.

You look back at Marisa, “I have nothing else to say. I’ll have to go out there to find my reason for being here.” You smile.

Marisa turns her attention to Riley who is still discouraged, “Okay Riley, you can speak now.”

Riley raises her head and sees you determined. “Are you gonna follow me?” You ask.

She quickly looks at an angry Marisa before facing back to you.

…

You hear stomach growling. Riley embarrassingly blushes as she grabs her stomach.

“Should we go tomorrow, I haven’t eaten properly for a while, haha.”

You agree, “Fine, we’re going out tomorrow.”

She stands up and slowly goes out of the door, telling the children to go to the dining room.

Your current objective now is to explore the world.

…

But before you go out, you ask Marisa one last thing, “So, do you have a name for the infection?”

“Hm… I don’t think anyone has made an official name for it, at least from the survivors that passed by Elma,” Marisa replies.

She remains silent for a bit and asks, “What do you call them?”

You answer, “I’ve been calling them substances.”

“If that’s the case, then let’s call them Substance C,” she declares.

Substance C is now the official name of the infection going around the world. Touch them and you’ll be infected. Weird how it only took an entire year to give the infection some kind of a name. Of course, only you and Marisa have called it like that so you expect some confusion from future endeavors.