ooks like I was correct in deciding to leave by the end of today.”

“If you’d like, come back to visit us in about a month’s time. By that time, I’m sure our country will be back to how it was—no, better than it has ever been.”

“......”

I stayed silent as I looked at the scene behind her.

At some point, all the survivors had started kicking the head around. At that point, I stopped looking.

“I might come again if I feel like it.”

In the end, I left the country without giving a precise answer about whether I would come back or not.

Well, I’ll probably end up coming back at some point, though.

I had been looking forward to seeing this country for so long, and I haven’t even officially entered the country yet.

○

One month later.

I followed the same path back, headed towards the same country which had those words carved into its walls, and opened the door which had an 『OPEN』 sign on it

I once again got on my broom and flew through the country, but..

How do I put this?

“Aaaaahhhhh” “Oooooh” “Uwaaaaaa” “Ahhhhhhhuu” “Oeeeeeeee”

Really, how else can I put this?

“It’s all gone to hell.”

It had completely gone to hell.

Putting it another way, all the people who I saw here earlier had been turned into ghouls.

For example, Anna-san, Armor-san (I’ve forgotten his name), the rich-looking old lady, the clueless young people, the drunkard, and the couple.

Without exception, they had all been turned into ghouls.

“Ehhh.. How did this happen?”

My jaw dropped due to amazement and my mouth remained open as I surveyed the scene. It’s only been a month since I left. What exactly happened during that time?

“Aaaahhhh....” “Oeeeeee....” “Aaaaaaa....” “Oeeeee...”

In mute astonishment, I observed the ghouls for a while. After some time, I saw the Anna-san ghoul give some of that perfume to Armor-san, and receive a notebook in return. The cover of the notebook had 『Armor Diary』 written on it in large, bold letters.

I quickly flew above them, snatched the notebook away while ignoring the Anna-san ghoul who let out a sad “Aaah” sound, and flew up into the air again. I thought that I would be able to discover what had happened in the past month if I read the diary.

“......”

And so, I opened the diary.

xx Month- xx Day:

My armor is in perfect condition today as well. Especially the way it shines. I want to abandon my study of ghouls and dedicate my life to armor. Armor is seriously the best. I love armor.

“Ah, I don’t need to know about this.”

I skipped through the pages.

xx Month- xx Day:

Today, this country was able to take the first step towards being reborn thanks to a Witch-san. Anna is overjoyed as well. We had a party today to celebrate the upcoming revival of our country. That magician’s head really made a good ball. Also, that lady who was searching for her dog disappeared at some point. Oh well.

xx Month- xx Day:

It’s been three days since we started working to rebuild our country. Everyone is very enthusiastic about this. Anna is caught up in her research, and I’m extremely busy with designing attractions for the theme park as well. Everyone else is doing whatever they can as well. That lady is still missing, but I guess it doesn’t matter.

xx Month- xx Day:

The lady who was searching for her dog came back as a ghoul. The perfume probably wore off.

xx Month- xx Day:

Something horrible has happened.

The group of young people were bitten by a ghoul while they were working on building the attractions. They were not bitten by a human ghoul, but by a dog ghoul instead. What’s more, the dog had a collar tag with the name “Madonna-chan” written on it.

It looks like Anna’s perfume doesn’t have any effect on dog ghouls. It can apparently detect the scent of humans underneath the smell of the perfume. The people who were helping us rebuild the country started to get bitten one after the other. Anna was bitten too. In fact, I’m the only one left. This is the worst.

Incidentally, I’m still safe because I was wearing armor. The dog ghoul tried to bite me, but its teeth couldn’t pierce the armor. Thank god I was wearing my armor.

In any case, I’ll make my escape tomorrow morning. I’m too sleepy.. right now..

xx Month- xx Day:

I was attacked in my sleep. I never imagined that a dog would be able to remove my helm while I was asleep. This is the worst.

xx Month- xx Day:

..Oh, crap.

The diary ended at this point.

Apparently, that’s what happened. No matter how perfect it seems, all plans have a chance of failure—those were Anna-san’s words.

She was convinced that making a perfume to ward away ghouls was the best idea, but it all fell apart due to a possibility she didn’t think of.

“Aaaaahhhhh,” “Oooooh,” “Uwaaaaaa,” “Ahhhhhhhuu,” “Oeeeeeeee.”

And, so.

Regarding what Anna-san had been doing earlier, it looks like she’s still doing business with the other ghouls. She takes notebooks, rotten meat, and clothing from the ghouls, and gives them the perfume from a crate filled with the stuff.

It looks like the perfume is a big hit with the ghouls, and the ghouls who received the perfume were all spraying it on themselves and letting out ecstatic “Aaaaah’s” while drooling.

“......”

Apparently, her mental toughness and commercial spirit are still alive even after she died.

○

After a little while, I left the country.

I didn’t do anything special, I just looked at how these people had ended up as I was leaving. In the end, I wasn’t able to experience the country that I had looked forward to for so long, but I got to see something very strange instead.

In the future, this country will probably continue to exist in its corner of the world as a country for the resurrected dead.

Living people are no longer needed there, and it should remain a paradise meant for the dead alone.

And so, to allow them to live in a world of their own, I—as was my duty being one of the people involved—flipped the sign on the smaller door near the main gates of the city as I left.

I flipped the sign from 『OPEN』 to 『CLOSED』.