Apocalypse Dark Elf Style -Magical Tribes Reincarnated in the Modern World - 7 - Chapter 2.1 Wanting Her Warmth
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- Apocalypse Dark Elf Style -Magical Tribes Reincarnated in the Modern World
- 7 - Chapter 2.1 Wanting Her Warmth
TL: Xean
ED: Cubic
PR: Seven Tails
TN: Oh yeah~ Let’s get this party started.
†.
——I’m hungry——
——I’m hungry——
So it will eat. Eat something nutritious. Something that would fill its stomach.
In order to become what it should be.
The city at night, with its bustling activities and indifferent inhabitants was the perfect place to do this. As long as you wore inconspicuous clothes and hid your face, there was no need to worry about anything else. No one would blame you for just walking around.
It was only after devouring everything that the monster remembered that it was there to destroy the world.
The monster used smell and presence to determine its next meal. It was led to the dining room of an unlit apartment. That being said, even if the lights were on, it would still walk in regardless.
“Excuse me”, the monster said as it broke through the window. The food was already served on the table.
It looks delicious—though it didn’t know if it actually was. It had to taste it first. By putting it in its mouth.
It was ‘allowed’, so it reached for it.
Because it had to, because it needed to, because doing so will make its wishes come true.
If one were to ask it for a ‘reason’, the answer would be because it was ‘allowed’.
Wings flapped wildly trying to escape, but were trapped in the birdcage. Feathers drifted in the air and suddenly the noise stopped. Something dripped onto the floor.
Nom, nom. Gulp.
This was how the foreign creature, an abnormality in this world, grew.
Still, it never felt satisfied. Just like before.
Rather than getting full, its stomach only ‘expanded’. It only grew hungrier.
Still, a meal was a meal. After taking the small morsel into its stomach, it exhaled and belched…
Suddenly, the lights in the room were turned on. A middle-aged man with a skin head and a flashy shirt was standing in the doorway. He was probably the owner of the room. Upon seeing the unexpected intruder, he stood there frozen. The man served as dessert, but it couldn’t eat an entire human being yet. Its stomach hadn’t expanded that much yet. However, it still needed magic power.
After finishing with its dessert, it tossed the man aside. The taste was not satisfying, it was barely palatable. It needed something richer.
For the otherworldly beings manifesting in this world, a meal was essential.
That’s why the ugly, enormous, gluttonous monster had yet to return to its nest today.
It decided to continue its nighttime hunt for food in search of something even more bountiful.
†.
The northern part of the city was a relatively quiet residential area. The park where I met Sheena was also in that district. If you went far enough north in the town, you would find yourself in an undeveloped—or rather yet to be developed— mountainous area where it’s mostly virgin forests.
In contrast, the southern part of the city facing the Seto Inland Sea was more prosperous. It was a futuristic town that had been redeveloped when the 13th Knight’s School—the place where I, Rensuke Asakura, went to school— was built, and with the renovation, a lot of new generation technologies were introduced. The port and train station were located on that side of the city. Because it was convenient for transportation and distribution of goods, people gathered there.
And when people gathered, the town naturally became bustling with activities, although it was unknown if this was for the better or worse.
Shinjin, the largest shopping district was as busy as Shinjuku in Tokyo. Even as the night deepened and the new day approached, the hustle and bustle never seemed to cease.
Sheena and I were walking together.
“You’re walking really fast, you know? It’s kinda scary.”
“If you had decided to cooperate, then just follow through with it. Don’t you think it’s a waste of time to worry now?”
Sheena was still in her usual gal uniform, but I had gone home and changed. I wouldn’t be able to go into the places I wanted to go or protect Sheena from being mistreated by people if I was recognized as a student so I changed out of my knight’s uniform since it would limit my movements.
Following my plan, we went right and left through the downtown area. There was a good amount of time for us to chat on the way.
“I still can’t quite believe it. I mean, we’re not those pompous light elves, we’re the dark elves who get stoned for entering the city. Do you really like us that much?”
“I don’t know how they’re treated in that world, but… I’m telling you the truth when I say I really like them. If I had to choose a hero in a fantasy game, I’d definitely choose dark elves for sure. If the only option was a light elf, I’d pick it while thinking, 『This is a light dark elf』.
“Ahaha, I don’t get it! Are you saying that you’re using them as a substitute for us? That’s weird!”
Her ears shook as she laughed and smacked me on the shoulder.
“I mean… it’s really a funny story. Regardless of the small distinction, an 『elf』 is an 『elf』, and a 『dark elf』is a 『dark elf』. As far as I can tell, other magical species like orcs and ogres can be identified by their vibe, right? I’m not sure if the words themselves are correctly translated by that bastard god, but it’s weird that the words perfectly match the appearance. It should be something that doesn’t exist in our world, so why do we have such an image of the race in the first place?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“If you ask me, it’s a little strange. My impressions are from fantasy novels… the author who originally wrote the book must have had a reason for portraying it as they did. Maybe it has something to do with folklore or psychology or something like that.”
Then a thought occurred to me. I suggested another possibility.
“Maybe there were people from that world a long time ago, we just didn’t know about them. And their descriptions were passed onto future generations in the forms of legends and folklores… or something like that.”
“Hmm? Well, we’ll never know for sure. I’m not sure how much power that bastard god has and what he has done in the past, so I have no idea.”
This was just a conversation to pass time, and there was no way we could know the right answer. But there was one thing I did understand.
“Yes. I should be thankful that there are descriptions of dark elves in this world. Thanks to that, I was able to recognize Sheena.”
“You say sappy things with such a straight face… but seriously, why? I’ll ask you again, what is it about Dark Elves that you like so much?”
“I’ve always been more of a monster or villain type of guy… I think of them first and foremost. It’s like the villain was the star of the show for me.”
There was no need to worry about anyone overhearing their conversation in the hustle and bustle of the night when various establishments were full of people.
At a restaurant, a clerk held a menu while standing in front of the store, awaiting for prey. Machine-voiced idols that were popular nationwide sang from a karaoke place. In front of a store selling new EF-compatible mobile devices, people were absorbed in testing the samples. Inside the glass display of a toy store, a small drone—a model that was frequently getting more advanced— repeatedly zigzagged around without hitting into anything.
Energy Fluid (EF), the new battery of dreams, was quite popular in this city. That was why the equipment with its distinctive milky white lines can be seen everywhere here. This was partly because EF was more efficient in terms of energy transmission, and partly because it was easy to understand and use like a scale. It was used for everything from street lights, vending machines and traffic lights to motorcycles, cars, and cleaning robots.
The nighttime cityscape, shaped by cleanliness and colored by milky white lines, were illuminated by the unrestrained radiance of neon lights. The complex and bizarre colors covering the streets gave me a feeling of decadence.
This downtown area at night seemed to be the last bit of resistance of a city that was being crushed by the forces of common sense and good intentions. That’s why I sometimes wandered around at night in secret. I had become quite familiar with this palace.
“Specifically, I think it’s because… they have a very ‘strong’ feel to it. I’m not talking about the actual game parameters, I’m talking about their aura. I like their appearance of course. They look fit, and I feel a sense of security from them.”
“I’m not sure how to respond to that. Really, Rensuke is amusing… But if we’re talking about appearance, how do I look now? It’s not like I’m wearing a dark elf outfit. For the record, this outfit was given by God.”
Sheena said this as she lightly tugged the collar of her shirt. Needless to say, her chest was dangerous.
“I feel like praising the god’s taste. To be honest, a tanned gyaru is kind of like a dark elf in plain sight. It’s like a modern Japanese dark elf. I think that Sheena’s looks good too. No, Sheena looks good no matter what she wears.”
“Seriously?… Ehh—if you say something like that I’ll make you buy clothes for me?”
Her canine teeth showed as she made a satisfied—no, smug— expression. I know by now that this was a habit of hers. Even though it was just a normal expression, it was very memorable. Saying something like that with her beautiful face, it made me want to run to the nearest clothing store right now, but I held back.
“That’s… something I’ll consider. Right now, I have other priorities for spending money.”
“Well, duh.”
Looking through the alleyway entrance, I noticed two young men playing with their cell phones. The atmosphere was promising. I gave Sheena a look and we walked into the alleyway together.
We were greeted with wary looks. In cases like this, it was better to use casual language than honorifics.
“I know this is sudden, but do you have anything for sale?”
“Hah? What do you mean by ‘anything’?”
“Do we look like a store, or are you just stupid?”
This was just probing. I continued to speak in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I’m about to play with my girlfriend, but I was a little muddled with my preparations… I need to get the missing playthings for a fun night. It could be anything from grass and vegetables to cold ice cream.”
The men looked at each other and conversed with their eyes as if saying ‘What should we do?’ Eventually, one of them shrugged and said.
“Where did you hear about this? Do you have an introduction?”
Bingo.The two-step plan was to parade around the city at night and offer deals in cryptic language to all these guys—if any of them responded, then great, and even if they didn’t, at some point word would get around that there was a shady guy and a gal trying to buy something. At that time, the other side would take initiative to contact us.
No matter how new a town was, there were always scums like these. It wasn’t a matter of taste or preference. These were criminals who deviated from the rules of society and survived in their own ways. It wasn’t like they were standing up against society either, they already gave up before they tried to fight. In short, they were losers.
“No, I’ve only just arrived in town. It’s just that I had a hunch and asked… I guess I need an introduction or something.”
“Basically, yeah.”
“Even if you ask me out of the blue, I don’t have the goods either. Maybe the boss has some, but…”
Then, Sheena whispered lightly in my ear.
“These guys won’t do, they don’t have much magic. It’s just as bad as the other guys from before. It’s not that they can’t be eaten, but…”
So, in order to provide her with a high-quality meal, I need to find more 『bad』 guys. I can’t miss this opportunity.
I made a face like I was troubled and begged them.
“Please! I really don’t know what I’ll do tonight. Can you introduce me to someone above you? I-I’ll even pay you guys a small fee for the introduction.”
This was where the budget we were talking about earlier would come in handy. I took out some 10,000 yen bills from my pocket—which I don’t use much these days— and briefly flashed it so I don’t offend them. The two men looked at each other again.
“Can’t be helped then. I’ll ask my boss. Hold on a second.”
One of the men started to call someone on his cell phone. Thank you.
“Damn, playing with high school girls. I’m so jealous.”
The other one said that he was really jealous of me. Instead of replying, I blinked fearlessly. While doing this, I—a little boldly— placed my arm around Sheena’s elbow.
“Hm?” Sheena looked over at me with a puzzled look on her face. I was inwardly nervous and wished he wouldn’t say any more dangerous lines or messed with Sheena.
If you guys say something bad and end up like those guys at the convenience store, then who’s going to lead us to the even worse guys?
The crossed arms were, of course, a lock to stop her from breaking their bones or putting an arrow through them in case of trouble.