The study was filled with piles of books and papers.

In that study, there was a full-figured old man writing something at his desk in utmost concentration.

There was also a little girl sorting out papers on the carpet.

She almost looked as though she was playing with them...

But the serious expression she was wearing made it clear that she wasn't.

"Grandpa,

I'm done sorting them out."

"Hmm.

Thank you.

...Let's see, what happened?"

"Look.

There are lots of people with the same symptoms.

It's way higher than the national average."

"Hmm...!

That's exactly what I expected.

There's an intriguing treatise over here too.

It discusses psychosurgery and civilization.

It also predicts the existence of parasites that inhabit the frontal lobe."

"The frontal lobe is what causes emotions..."

"That's right.

Emotions aren't created by the heart.

They're just side effects of the chemicals secreted by the organ known as the brain.

If parasites capable of acting on that organ did exist and spread to create a colony, then that colony's thoughts would be unified."

"So are parasites the cause of the spread of ideology?

When ideologies clash, is that because different parasites are competing to expand their habitat?"

"That, or...

to expand religion,

to expand national borders,

or to expand a race.

It's hypothesized that our differing cultural communities and their conflict are the result of parasites influencing human thoughts."

"There are people in other countries who think the same thing as you, Grandpa."

"Of course there are.

There are countless parasites on this Earth, and it's well known that some coexist with their hosts and some control their hosts.

We've also discovered plenty of parasites that infect humans.

...Yet despite that, we adamantly deny the possibility that parasites could infect humans and control their hosts.

Even the hypothesis of such a thing."

"...Why do you think that is?

Humans aren't special in any way."

"Because that hypothesis would also mean changing our view to see the spread of ideologies from the perspective of epidemiology.

If conflicts in ideology can be resolved through debate, then they're peaceful,

but if those conflicts occur epidemically, they become frightening."

"And if one were to treat bad thoughts or the spread of culture as an epidemic...?"

"Think about the Black Plague in Europe during the Middle Ages.

A vile infectious disease spread.

They forced infected people into hospitals and didn't release them until they completely recovered.

Some even died in those hospitals.

They burned their corpses.

They confiscated and burned everything those patients touched for fear the plague infected it.

They even suspected families of infection and forced them into hospitals."

"So they'd hospitalize healthy people over individual ideas...?"

"Replace an idea with a disease.

The rest is the same.

Patients won't be released until they completely recover. People burn everything that may have been touched by the patient. They force the patient's family to go to the hospital."

"People are free to think what they will, right?

Thoughts aren't pests."

"If an idea was created by parasites, it would be exactly the same as a plague.

In other words, an idea is like an incurable epidemic."

"So you mean... anyone with a different idea is treated like they have a disease?"

"That's right.

If we bring this to its logical conclusion, parasites could be responsible for mass murders of people belonging to different races or religions.

...But this can be seen as justifying genocide.

Therefore, talking about parasites in brains has been taboo since the war."

"What does 'taboo' mean...?"

"It means something people shouldn't get involved with.

That's why nobody researches these things.

Nobody even remembers anything about parasites that live in the brain.

They assume that parasites which control humans simply don't exist."

"Ahahaha.

That's almost funny.

How can they prove something doesn't exist?

That's just impossible."

"Exactly.

Proving that the devil exists is easy.

You just have to show him to someone.

But you can't prove he doesn't exist.

You can't show somebody something that doesn't exist."

"Ahahahaha.

It's almost as if the parasites in the brain are controlling people so that they can keep their own existence a secret."

Me and my grandfather shared a happy laugh together.

"Humans are simply another animal in this natural world.

We might be at the top of the food chain, but it's foolish to think that we are superior to others.

Humans can be controlled by parasites.

Just because the existence of such parasites hasn't been proven doesn't mean they don't exist.

They exist.

I know they do."

"That's happened before in the scientific world, right?"

"That's right.

Not all scientists are recognized for their work while they're alive.

There were many who were ridiculed and couldn't prove their theories to be true."

"But, Grandpa,

I hope your theory will be recognized before you die.

Otherwise

it would be so sad..."

"Don't worry.

God doesn't ignore people who work hard.

Hard work always pays off in the end."

"But when will that happen?"

"Nobody knows when God is going to descend from Heaven.

Just like you never know when you'll be robbed.

So we always have to be alert and ready,

so that we don't miss our chance."

That was something that my grandfather said all the time.

Nobody knows when efforts will bear fruit.

But it will happen one day.

That's why you must always work hard, so you have no regrets when the time comes.

Your efforts will bear fruit someday...

That's what he meant.

"But is it going to happen before you die?

Even though there were so many scientists whose work weren't recognized while they were alive?"

That was such a cruel thing to say.

But I didn't mean to be cruel.

I had seen how hard my grandfather had been working, and I also knew he wouldn't live forever. I just wanted his work to gain recognition before he died.

"Do you know of the resurrection of Jesus Christ?"

"Yeah.

He was crucified and resurrected after three days.

You told me about it."

"How do you think Jesus was resurrected?"

"Didn't he just get up as if he was waking up in the morning...?"

"He was buried after his execution.

So his body was in the ground."

"...Did he

break open the tombstone and crawl out like a zombie?"

"Hahahaha, no, no.

That wouldn't be called a resurrection.

The sinners who killed Jesus imagined exactly the same thing."

Jesus predicted just before he was executed that he would come back to life after three days.

The sinners buried Jesus, sealed his tomb, and posted guards to watch over it.

But what Jesus meant wasn't that he would resurrect physically.

He meant his teachings would be resurrected.

After three days, Jesus' teachings were resurrected, and people regained their belief.

The hearts of those who wanted to be shown the proper way revived his teachings.

That's what the resurrection of Jesus is all about.

He came back to life in the hearts of his believers.

Jesus doesn't exist physically on this Earth.

But he exists in people's hearts.

...In other words, that's when Jesus became an existence superior to humans.

"Even if it's after the author's death,

as long as his work receives a fair evaluation, it will live again as a great achievement.

Even if my body is gone by then, my life will return and receive recognition."

"Does that mean you'll become a god, just like Jesus did...?"

"Indeed.

My research will be recognized for what it is someday.

That's when I will become a god.

That's why I'm not in a rush to achieve that recognition.

I don't know when that day will come.

God doesn't know that, either.

But the day will come.

That's why I need to continue to work as hard as I can."

"......"

It was very sad

to hear my grandfather say that his life would end one day.

He wasn't ill, and he didn't only have a few years left to live.

But, set next to the average life span, his remaining years didn't look like much.

The only person left in my life was my grandfather.

So I didn't even want to consider what it would be like with him gone.

Grandfather must have remembered that I didn't like to talk about that subject.

With a tender smile, he gently patted my head.

"Of course, I want my research to be recognized before I die.

I will do my best."

"Yep.

I'll do my best to help you too."

I purposefully didn't mention the "before you die" part.

I caught myself before I said it.

"Thank you. That makes me very happy to hear."

Grandfather smiled in satisfaction.

His research wasn't exactly outrageous. He wasn't trying to uncover the mysteries of the universe.

He was only searching for the possibility that parasites could be responsible for human behavior. Nothing more than that.

Nothing outrageous.

It really wasn't a wild idea.

We even had some leads.

Hinamizawa Village, Shishibone City, XX Prefecture.

The villagers there are possessed by a powerful homesickness.

When they are unable to return, they allegedly behave abnormally, as if they are cursed.

There are also some bizarre rules in place in the village, based on their belief system.

When he was working with the military during the war, my grandfather noticed similarities between the people in Hinamizawa, and assumed that some kind of existence was responsible for their odd behavior.

He'd been researching it ever since then.

In the middle of the 20th century...

Numerous strange diseases were discovered all over Japan.

Most of them were caused by infectious parasites, and people started to pay attention to this forgotten field of study.

Grandfather's research was simply one of those investigations into such diseases.

Therefore, he believed it would be published amongst other research and attain recognition soon.

But if...

If his research didn't bear fruit before his death...

I wanted

to continue it.

I wanted to continue his research.

Grandfather taught me.

Resurrection isn't something that happens physically.

It's when your life's work is appreciated. That's what he meant by resurrection.

...That's when

he'll become a god.

So when my grandfather dies, he'll still be with me forever.

I wouldn't have to be alone ever again.

I will always be with my grandpa.

Our works will gain recognition

and we will both become gods, gaining eternal peace.

I will

make my grandfather into a god.

I will

become a god.

Therefore,

we will be granted eternity.

We'll be together

forever and ever...

...I was looking at the key on a keychain.

The key was labelled "henhouse\

It should have opened effortlessly.

At least that's what was supposed to happen.

But it didn't open.

I noticed beads of sweat forming on Eriko's forehead.

She was the one who came up with this idea.

Eriko was starting to panic. The rest of us started to panic too.

"This

only opens the henhouse...!

Let's stop, let's go back...!"

"Shush!!"

We were supposed to be cleaning out the henhouse.

If they found us back here...

If they found out why we were here and why we were trying to open up the lock to the back door...

...Then all four of us were sure to be sentenced to "splayed piggy"...!

"Don't panic, Eriko...!

That key opens this lock, right?

You already tried it, right?"

"...Will you shut up for a minute?!

This is the right key!

It's just hard to open, that's all...!!"

She was almost shrieking.

Our hearts were pounding loudly. It was as though the sound of our heartbeats was echoing throughout the hallway...

And at that point, we heard footsteps that didn't belong to a child.

"Shush...!!

Somebody is coming...!"

The three of us held our breath, but Eriko didn't hear it.

She kept fussing with the lock and the key,

as if everything would be okay if she could just open the lock.

"Eriko, somebody is coming, be quiet!!"

"I know this is the right key...!!

I'm not dreaming, I already tried and it opened!

Come on, why isn't this working?

When this lock is open, we can be happy, and we can say goodbye to this hell!!"

"Eriko, someone's coming!!!"