Purifying the infection

The soldiers were flabbergasted. They didn’t know what they had just witnessed, but they all agreed with something: those three guys were cool.

After a moment of uncertainty, everyone started applauding and someone mimicked Natsuo’s rock sign with their hands.

Natsuo, Olive and Gregory were out of breath, but hearing the audience’s cheers made them look up.

Natsuo’s heart was filled with the soldiers’ excitement and he was almost moved. He hadn’t felt this way for a long time. For the first time after transmigration, he really felt like his dream could come true.

Gregory shifted his gaze from one side to the other of the audience, not knowing how to react. Those people were happy, they were smiling thanks to him and were cheering for him. It was the first time in his entire life that he felt loved. He wasn’t out of place anymore and it was thanks to Natsuo and his music.

Also, he was still surprised to have made it until the end. There were some moments in the song where he messed up and didn’t know what he was doing, but he managed to stay on track, somehow. He stood up, took off his shirt and waved it excitedly.

The soldiers replied with cheers and applause. Gregory grinned satisfied and threw the tank top that landed into Alice’s hands.

The girl stared shocked at it, not knowing how to react. She turned to Natsuo, but he just winked at her as a reply. She blushed and looked away, embarrassed.

Olive was still processing what just happened. She couldn’t believe that she made it. The soldiers seemed to appreciate their performance. Knowing that her efforts were repaid was satisfying. For some reason, this time it felt different from the other street performances she had made with Natsuo.

She glanced at the microphone and smiled. She felt good, singing was the best thing ever.

“That’s all for today, this was Rockstar Isekai! We hope to see you soon at our next performance!” said Natsuo into his mic.

Everyone applauded again and all the equipment disappeared, including outfits. Only Gregory’s tank top on Alice’s hands remained.

Only after that, the soldiers realised that the wounded were now healed completely. Rockstar Isekai were fabulous!

Alice approached the three of them and cleared her throat.

“Well… good job, I guess. Thank you for saving so many soldiers’ lives, even if in such a strange way.”

“No problem, it was a pleasure” Natsuo replied. “I didn’t expect you to be such a fan of me” he mocked her.

“What?”

“I saw you blushing before.”

Alice glared at him. “You must have imagined it.”

“I know what I saw, there’s no point in hiding it. It’s okay if you like me, I’ve always been popular anyway” he said smugly.

Alice ignored him and handed the tank top to Gregory. “This is yours.”

Gregory shook his head. “You can take it, it’s a present.”

“What kind of present is this? You guys are strange!” she exclaimed, exasperated.

Olive burst out laughing and patted her shoulder.

“Just ignore them.”

At that moment, a soldier that was outside the walls came back into the courtyard.

“The infection! The infection has been purified outside!” he yelled.

Alice’s eyes widened and she rushed out of the gates. The dead monsters' bodies that were closer to the walls had vanished and the flowers were standing again in the fresh lawn, as if nothing had happened.

Natsuo reached her outside and observed the phenomenon.

“I think it was our song” he said.

Alice turned to him, bewildered.

“C-Can you play another one?”

Natsuo nodded and immediately started playing another song with the healing attribute. Under the soldiers’ astonished eyes, the corpses vanished and the vegetation began to live again.

“You… You’re able to repel infection! You can purify infected areas too!” exclaimed Alice. A tear rolled down her cheek. “This… is something we always dreamt of.”

Her expression turned serious again.

“Himura Natsuo, you’re our last hope. Can I ask you to help us defeat the Vassals of Silence? It’s a daunting task, but I believe that you’re able to accomplish it.”

Olive put a hand before her mouth, shocked by her request.

Natsuo, on the contrary, glanced at Alice with an interrogative expression. Vassals of… What? He didn’t have any idea of what she was talking about.

“I’m sorry, Alice, but I sincerely don’t know what you’re talking about” he honestly replied.

“What?” Her and Olive turned to him, dumbfounded.

“How is it possible? Do you live in another world, by any chance?” asked Alice with irony.

“Well, kinda… I would be glad if you explain it to me, though.”

“Of course I’ll explain it to you. But, for real, it's crazy that you don’t know it” Alice replied.

The soldiers got back inside the castle and Unit 2, together with Alice, Natsuo, Gregory and Olive came back to the Anti-Silence Unit headquarters using the rails.

Alice guided them into an empty room and Richard More reached them there. They sat down on chairs around a table.

“I’m sincerely grateful for your help today, Himura Natsuo. I heard you even defeated the wave’s giant, this is remarkable. Are you sure you don’t want to become a soldier?” said Richard.

“No thanks, I’m good on my own” Natsuo replied.

Richard laughed with composure.

“Rejected twice in the same day, hilarious.” He pushed a bag toward Natsuo. “This is the payment for today’s service.”

Natsuo opened the bag and stared at the ridiculous amount of golden coins that were inside.

“It’s a lot” he mumbled.

He didn’t know if he really deserved that much, but gladly accepted it. Gregory gave a look inside and opened his mouth in shock.

“Wow, not bad, we’re rich now!” he commented.

Olive nudged him to invite him to remain composed, but when she saw the amount of money in the bag, her jaw dropped too.

Richard laughed at their reaction.

“And this is nothing compared to what I’ll give you if you help us again. This time, in a harder mission. What do you think, do you accept?”