Category Archives: Originals

[Vol 1] Chapter 9: Magic Aptitude Test



Sylvia After we exited from the backdoor of the weapon store, the first thing that entered my sight was a vast field about the size of a soccer field.

Where did he get the permission to have such a big field at the back of his store, I wonder. Oh never mind, stupid question. He’s a good friend of the legendary hero, Saito, anyway. This much is only natural.

After all, Saito is also a Noble who possessed his own land, and a good friend of the queen. Bestowing a few lands to his good friends should be an easy matter.

Anyway, this field is amazing. There are so many people testing their new weapon here with enough space to spare.

I can see a swordsman swinging his sword, and hint of ice covered the target dummy. I guess that’s a sword infused with ice magic? I can also see a wannabe mage waving a magic staff around in the air to generate a Fireball and shoot it at the target. So is that how a magic weapon works? You just have to swing it around?

Now I’ve grown more curious towards the magic weapon, how did they make something like that?

“Um… Uncle Sebastian, do you mind if I ask you something?” I couldn’t hold back my curiosity, and tried to ask Sebastian.

“Hm? Sure, go ahead, lass! I will answer all ya question for ya, hahaha!” Sebastian prompted me to go ahead and ask.

“Um… I’ve been wondering… how do you make these magic weapon? If you use the same principle as the magic gun, wouldn’t the infused magic power run out over time, and it’d become nothing more than an ordinary weapon?” My question was logical since magic power is not infinite, the magic weapon would then be useless to warriors, or other people not capable of using magic.

“Hahahahaha……! Good! Very good!! This lass has good insight! How about it? You want to become my disciple?” Sebastian teased.

“Stop joking around Uncle Sebastian! She’s my familiar!” Sheena pouted at that comment.

“Hahaha… I’ll tell you, it’s not a big secret after all. You have heard about the dungeon right?” Sebastian asked.

“Yes… I heard about it from Sheena, about how it suddenly appeared out of nowhere after the great war a few decades ago.” I answered honestly.

“That’s right… even after a few decades, we still don’t know how it happened and magical beasts keep swarming out of the dungeon.” Sebastian sighed.

“Magical Beast?” I questioned.

“That’s right, Magical Beast. These Magical Beast appeared at around the same time as the dungeon, and they are stronger than your average beast. Within these magical beast contained a magic stone. The stronger the beast, the higher the quality of these magic stone.” Sebastian explained.

“Oh… so you mean… you mean… you fused those magic stone with the weapon to create the magic weapon?” I came to these conclusion after hearing Sebastian’s story. These magic stone can probably recover the magic power by itself over time so it is not necessary for a mage to refill it with magic power.

It is also possible to implement this on the magic gun, however the recovery speed is very slow. At best, you only have five free shots per day.

“Hahaha…! You really do have good insight lass! You should really consider… Ouch!” Sheena kicked Sebastian before he could finish his sentence, and glared at him like a snake.

“Alright, alright! I get it already, hahaha.” Sebastian just laughed it off and continued, “Well, even if you know the principle, not everyone can do it.”

“Why is that?” I tilted my head. He kept asking me to become his disciple, and now he says not everyone can do it? I’m not sure if he’s serious or just playing around…

“You need to be able to use magic, Transmutation magic at that! Otherwise you won’t be able to fuse the magic stone with the other material.” Sebastian claimed.

“Oh… I see… makes perfect sense…” I assented.

“Well, we’re here. Take your time, lass. I will be going back to tend the store.” After arriving at the empty spot in the field, Sebastian bid us farewell and went back into the store.

“Yes… thank you very much Uncle Sebastian.” We all thanked Sebastian as he walks off, leaving us at an open field.

“Alright, now let us begin shall we?” Sheena was very excited to start.

“YESS!!” I am very excited too, and shouted with enthusiasm.

“So let’s start by testing your aptitude for magic.” Seeing how excited I am, Sheena displayed a bright smile.

“Uh… so how do we test my aptitude for magic?” Before we even started, I was already stuck at a roadblock.

“It’s simple, I’ll explain.” Albert stepped forward and pulled out a wooden wand from his cloak, and then he hand it over to me.

“Just hold on to that wooden wand, and chant the incantation for the most basics of the elemental magic. The wooden wand will automatically absorb your magic power, and turn it into a spell. Then you just need to lock on to your target and fire it.” Albert explained in details.

“Oh… so I just need to chant an incantation huh… that sounds simple enough…” I nodded after I heard Albert’s explanation. However, I still feel a bit confused. Don’t you normally test for magic aptitute with a magic crystal or something of the sort?

“We will do this four times. One for each basic type of elemental spell. Do not worry if you failed. That just means you do not have the aptitude for that element. Most mage only have aptitude for one or two elements, and needless to say, the commoners who can’t use magic do not have a single aptitude for any of the four elements. So don’t feel too bad if you fail.” Sheena explained in further detail.

“Then let’s start with wind magic first, select that dummy over there as your target.” Albert say that as he pointed towards the target dummy with his index finger.

“Then follow after me as I chant the words for the incantation.” Sheena advised me to chant after her.

“Alright! Please begin.” After the preparations are done, I prompted Sheena to begin.

Sheena begins to mumble the incantation for the spell, and I closed my eye to focus on her every words intently.

“O’ Spirits of Wind…… Grant me your blessing……  and bestow power upon me…… to eradicate the opponent before me…… WIND CUTTER!!” I opened my eyes and shouted the name of the spell excitedly while pointing the wooden wand towards the direction of the target dummy.

Upon firing the spell, the runes on both of my hand glows brightly, “Wh-What’s happening?!”

After a while, the light finally dissipated and I felt my body become somewhat heavier, I slumped onto the ground… I feel so empty inside, and my head feels slightly dizzy, I guess this is how it feels when a mage runs out of mana huh?

“Wh… What was that?! Are you ok?” Sheena ran over to my side, worried.

“I’m fine… I just feel like my body become much heavier is all…” I tried to ease Sheena with my words.

“Impossible……! For a single elemental spell to consume that much Magic Power is unheard of.” Albert turned over to look at the dummy and continue, “Besides… the power of the spell seems to be normal too. Just what…”

I stopped him and explained, “I think I know what happened… just then, when the runes on both my hands started to glow. I can feel the elemental essence of the wind flowing into my body and formed into a single spell… Well, it’s hard to explain but I think the runes have registered the spell into my body system or something like that?”

“What for…?” Both Sheena and Albert tilted their head and ask.

“I don’t know either…… maybe we’ll find out if I try to cast Wind Cutter one more time.” I don’t know the answer either, and suggested to cast the spell again to find out more.

“Can you do it? With your remaining Magic Power…” Sheena asked worriedly.

“The consumption of a single Wind Cutter is not that bad, I think I should still be able to cast it at least ten more times before completely running out.” I tried to convince Sheena.

“Alright… just be careful not to use up your remaining Magic Power. I wouldn’t want to carry you all the way back to the academy after all.” Sheena warned me to be careful.

“I will… thank you, Mas… I mean Sheena!” Sheena glared at me when I try to call her Master, so I immediately changed my way to address her.

I stood up on my own two feet, and started preparing to cast the spell again. Just before I start chanting the incantation, the image of Wind Cutter spell appeared in my mind, and magic power already started to flow towards my hand and then to the wand.

“Eh? What happened? I haven’t even started chanting……” I was confused but well… whatever, I’ll just shout the name of the spell, “Wind Cutter!”

I cast the Wind Cutter spell, and hit the target dummy just like that. I turned over to look at Sheena and Albert, and I saw them gaped at me.

[Eh? What happened? Did I just do something amazing?] I thought to myself as I look at their dumbfounded expression.



 

  1. N/a

[Vol 1] Chapter 8: Transmutation Master



Sylvia After we left the inn, we departed for the so called Uncle Sebastian’s Weapon Store immediately.

On the way there, I asked quite a few questions, “Why do you call him Uncle Sebastian? Are you blood related?”

Sheena looked over and smiled charmingly, “No, we’re not related by blood. Uncle Sebastian is a close friend of my father, and he visits us often when I was still a young child.”

“Oh… ” I nodded in acknowledgement.

“Uncle Sebastian and my father became quick friend due to their interest in weapon. I believe you already know this but my father have a power that allows him to wield any weapon, and Uncle Sebastian on the other hand… is a Transmutation Master! He can make any weapons infused with magic, ranging from sword to shield, even firearms such as gun or rocket launcher.” Sheena puffed out her chest and exclaimed proudly.

“Weapons infused with magic?” I asked interestingly.

“That’s right, like the magic gun for example or swords that can generate one of the four elements when you swing it. There are even magic staves that can absorb mana from the surrounding air, allowing the user to cast magic. So there’s a lot of wannabe mage amongst the Adventurers, they are completely useless in combat once they lose their staff though.” Sheena said that while she heaved a sigh.

“Wow… that sounds… amazing!” Although I had no idea what Sheena was saying at the time, I am still amazed.

“Yup, Uncle Sebastian is amazing indeed. I admire him!” Sheena seemed to shine so brightly when she talks about this Uncle Sebastian, I guess she must have respected him a lot!

At this time, I thought about something, and posed a question to Sheena, “Speaking of which… you mentioned about the magic gun earlier right? Did Uncle Sebastian make them too?”

“Indeed… it is a gun that is designed for the mage only. As long as you have enough Magic Power left, you can refill the cartridge with magic bullet infinitely. It doesn’t require any solid bullet, someone with no affinity for magic cannot hope to use them, unless the cartridge was previously filled with magic bullets already.” Sheena paused for a moment to catch her breath, and then she continued.

“To refill the cartridge, you just simply have to pour your magic power into it while casting a spell. The power of the spell will be reduced dramatically, retaining only 20% of its original power, and you cannot target multiple foes at the same time. However, on the upside, you can fire a few rounds instantly, the penetrative power is immeasurable, and the speed of the magic bullet is not one whit inferior to that of a normal bullet. The magic guns are more powerful on a single target. In contrast, a normal spell is more powerful on multi-target.”

Since Sheena know so much about the magic gun, I thought it was strange that Sheena didn’t have one, so I asked, “Wait a moment…… If a magic gun can only be used by a mage, and they can be fired instantly as long as there are still magic bullets in the cartridge, why don’t you have one?”

Sheena looked at me silently for a moment before she opens her mouth, “I never said I don’t have one.”

“Eh…? Then why didn’t you use it earlier when the bandits approached us?” I tilted my head and asked.

At this moment, Albert cuts in and join the conversation, “I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Why?” I turned around to face Albert and asked.

Sheena got in front of me, then she smiled impishly, and looked straight into my eye. She said with a low and playful voice, “I wouldn’t mind using it if you don’t care about friendly fire.”

I shuddered involuntarily, “Uh… hahaha…”

I understand just from that one line, that her dexterity is low. However, something still bothers me, “But you also attack with magic from long range right? How come you are so confident when you are using magic?”

“Well… you’ll understand if you can use magic. Unlike the bow or gun, you can still somehow change the trajectory of your magic spell with minimal control.” Albert explained.

“I see… magic sure is convenient…” I am honestly impressed with the mythical thing called magic.

“It’s here!” Sheena shouted excitedly as we arrived in front of the weapon store.

While we were chatting, I didn’t realize just how much time have passed, but we reached the store eventually.

Sheena excitedly opens the door and shouted with joy, “Uncle Sebastian, I came to visit!”

Sebastian was dealing with some customers when we entered the store, but as soon as he heard Sheena’s voice, he turned over to face us, and his expression immediately changed into a bright smile when he saw Sheena.

Sebastian is approximately around 1.8 meter tall. He got a shiny white hair and beard. His eyes are pale blue in color, and his body build is muscular and bulky. I’m guessing he’s in his late 50’s in age?

“Ooohhh!! If it isn’t Sheena! Come over here you little rascal. Hahaha.” Sebastian was very excited when he saw Sheena and spread his arms wide.

Sheena rushed forward immediately and jumped into Sebastian’s arm.

Sebastian hugged Sheena and patted her head twice, “You sure have grown up big, in various ways…”

Sebastian glanced at Sheena from bottom to top, measuring her three sizes with his eyes.

Sheena chopped Sebastian’s forehead, “Come on, stop doing that already Uncle Sebastian.”

[Ah… I guess the other reason why Sebastian and Saito become friendly so quickly was because of their personality… I heard plenty about Saito from Anabelle this morning…] I secretly thought to myself.

“Hahaha.” Sebastian was all smile, it seems he has forgotten his other customers already. Luckily there’s a shop assistant here, and he’s already attending to the other customers.

I walked beside Sheena, and when Sebastian saw me, his smile was gone and his face immediately turns grim…

Why I wonder… first, Anabelle, and now, Sebastian… is elf not being treated well here?

“You…” Sebastian said with a grim face.

“Hm? Is there something on my face?” I touched my cheeks with both hands and asked.

“No… Never mind…” Sebastian’s expression turns paler, then he muttered in a very soft voice, “There’s no way she can be here…”

With my enhanced hearing ability, I can somehow hear what he muttered.

[Hm…? Who’s she?] I thought to myself.

Sebastian turned his sight back to Sheena.

“So to what honor do I owe today for your humble visit?” Sebastian’s mood immediately brightened up and asked merrily.

“I came here today to procure a weapon for my familiar.” Sheena said proudly.

“Ohh! A familiar!? It’s finally that time of the year huh? So where’s your mighty familiar? With someone of your caliber, I bet it’s going to be a mighty dragon right? What do you need? A claw? Hahaha!” Sebastian kept muttering non-stop as he thought about what weapons he should make for Sheena’s familiar.

Sheena tapped on my shoulder twice, “This is the one.”

Sebastian stared at me and blinked twice, “HAAAAAAAARH?!?! Hahahahahaha! Oh come on you lil’ rascal, stop teasing me already and show me your familiar!”

“This is my familiar!” Sheena looked into Sebastian’s eye strongly.

“……” Sebastian remains quiet for a while.

Looking at how serious Sheena gazed at him, all he can say is, “Seriously?”

“Seriously serious.” Sheena said in a very solemn tone.

“Haah……” Sebastian exhaled a mouthful of breath, “Alright then…… I guess a proper introduction is in place.”

“I am Sebastian, the Transmutation Master of Swinford Town, I can craft anything, you name it, I make it. Weapons such as Sword, Spear, Dagger, Mace, Bow, Shield, Grenade, Gun, Magic Staff and so on, or even utensils such as Kitchen Knife, Shovel, Chisel, Magic Lamp, Magic Heater and…”

“Uncle Sebastian! Is that how you introduces yourself?” Sheena stopped Sebastian in his track.

“Hahaha, sorry, sorry, I got off the track.” Sebastian apologizes.

“…I am Sylvia. Pleased to meet you, honored Transmutation Master” I introduced myself politely.

“Hahaha… she’s a polite one isn’t she?” Sebastian was pleased.

Am I really? Isn’t it just a courtesy? Anabelle said so too…

“So… what kind of weapon are you looking for, lass?” Sebastian asked while holding his chin with the index finger and thumb.

Albert abruptly cut into the conversation again, I guess he must be feeling lonely to be left out of the conversation all the time…

“We’re thinking of getting her a Magic Gun, but we haven’t tested her aptitude for magic yet, do you mind if we borrow the testing field before deciding?” Albert said so politely.

“Hm… this lass over here is?” Sebastian finally noticed Albert and asked.

“My name is Alby, sir.” Albert curtsies and introduces himself as Alby.

“Pfft……” I almost laughed but I held back.

“Bwahahahahahahahah!! Alby!! Hahahahaha! Good one lad! Good one!!” Sebastian on the other hand… laughed out loud…

Does he knows? He called Albert a lad just now, not lass.

Albert’s face turned red, and he clenched his fists. I wonder if he’s angry or embarrassed, I can’t tell.

“Hahahahaha… Alby it is then…… follow me, the lot of ya.” Sebastian finally stopped laughing, and led us to the back entrance of the store.

Finally… I’m finally going to start my journey to become the strongest!! I was clenching my fists, and feeling very excited as we walked towards the back entrance.



 

  1. N/a

[Vol 1] Chapter 7: The Night at the Inn



Sylvia When I arrived in front of our room, I knocked the door twice.

“Who’s there?” Sheena got up from the couch and asked.

I answered softly, “It’s me…”

When Sheena heard my voice, I can hear her footsteps, “Tap! Tap! Tap!” as she walked towards the door.

“Creak…” The door opened, and Sheena prompted me to come in.

“What took you so long?” Sheena said that worriedly, “Did those ruffians attack you after all?”

“No! Um… Okay, maybe they did… But the reliable Miss Anabelle helped me get rid of them.” I tried to deny it, but after receiving Sheena’s strong gaze, I couldn’t help but blurt out the truth.

Sheena asked confusingly, “Miss Anabelle? Who is that?”

I answered honestly, “Oh… she’s the clerk who works at the pub downstairs.”

“Is that so… Guess we’ll have to express our thanks to her tomorrow.” Sheena felt grateful towards the clerk, and wants to express her gratitude to the clerk before we leave the inn tomorrow.

By this time, Albert just got out of the bathroom, dressed in a bathrobe and interrupted our conversation, “Oh, you’re back. Did you get the food?”

“………You just took a shower?” I looked at Albert all over the body and asked.

“Yea… please hand over the food to me.”Albert rubbed his hair with the tower, then he extended his hand to receive the food.

I handed the food over to him and said in surprise, “It hasn’t even been ten minutes yet, you already finish showering? Did you even wash your body?”

“Oops! Oh crap, what’s wrong with me today, why is everything in my mind that shouldn’t be said slipped out of my mouth every time I talk today!” When I thought of such things, I moved both my hands to cover my mouth immediately.

Albert displayed a playful smile, approaches me and slid his index finger under my chin.

“Yes, I washed every nook and cranny. Want to come join me for another round?” Albert tried to tease me and got chopped by Sheena at the back of the head.

“Stop fooling around Albert, go and eat your dinner.” Sheena crossed her arms, and puffed the right side of her cheeks.

Albert rubbed the back of his head and turned away from me to face Sheena.
Then he laughed and say, “Fine, fine… I was just teasing her for a bit, hahaha”

“Sigh… You never change… Come Sylvia, let us take a shower first before we eat.” Sheena tried to drag me to the bathroom with her as she said that.

“What?! You…… you know about my circumstances right? To… to take a shower with you is a little…”My cheeks turned bright red, and I looked down on the floor.

Sheena draw her face close to my ear, and whispered softly, “I know, but right now, you are a girl. You need to get used to the naked body of a girl.”

Then she dragged me to the bathroom forcefully.

I’ll omit what happens next but let’s just say… That was the best moment of my entire life.

……

After a while, I came out of the bathroom with Sheena, feeling exhausted and ecstatic all at the same time.

We were wearing a beautiful nightgown prepared by Sheena.

Wait, why does she have nightgown prepared? Does that mean she already expected this to happen? Or is this what they meant by always be prepared for the unexpected.

Sheena was clinging to my right arm happily as we walked toward where Albert was sitting. It seems he already finished eating, and was heating up our food for us with magic. So I guess Albert can use both wind and fire magic? That’s pretty neat…

“Oh… so you’re finally done, took you long enough!” Albert frowned when he saw us, since we really took a long time in the bathroom.

“Sorry, I was just having so much fun teasing Sylvia. She’s just so cute!!” Sheena was moving her index finger in a circular motion on my right cheek repeatedly.

“S-Stop teasing me already!” Recalling the moment when we took a shower together, I looked down with flushed cheeks, and began to fidget.

“Hehe… C’mon, let’s eat already. I’m hungry.” Sheena said that while making an unladylike gesture such as rubbing her tummy.

“I have already heated for food for you in advance, please enjoy. I will just call it a night for now.” Albert pulled the chair for us to sit on before he walked towards the sofa and lie down…

Wow… he’s really going to be sleeping on the sofa? He’s quite the gentleman… maybe I’ll have to re-evaluate my opinion of him…

After we finished our dinner, we too climb on the bed and sleep.

***

The next day.

“Knock! Knock!”

“Uuu… who’s knocking the door so early in the morning?” Sheena frowned as she slowly opened her eyes.

“Hnnnnnnng.” I rubbed my eyes, and lazily stretches my body before getting up.

While still half-asleep, I gazed at Albert, seeing him putting on his wig and makeup.

After he is done, he looked at me and Sheena in the eye. We understood his intention and just nodded.

“Who’s there?” While approaching the door, Albert shouted.

Oh by the way, this is unrelated but Albert’s voice is different when he cros… I mean disguised himself as a woman. His voice was hoarse and manly but now it’s sharp and sweet. I guess they even have magic that changes the voice huh? That’s convenient.

“Room delivery~” The voice came from behind the closed door.

“Room delivery? There’s no such service in this inn, and we didn’t call for any room service, state your business!” Albert refuted coldly.

“Hm…? That voice… could it be? Miss Anabelle?” I recognized the owner of the voice.

“Correct~ I’m glad you remembered me, missy.” Anabelle was delighted that I still remember her.

“Miss Anabelle? You mean the one who helped you yesterday? What is she doing here?” Sheena pondered for a moment, then she raised her head, “It is fine, Albert, let her in. We need to thank her for last night anyway.”

“Are you sure?” Albert looked at Sheena doubtfully.

“I am certain.” Sheena nodded strongly.

“Fine…” After a moment of silence, Albert resigned and unlocked the door.

When the door is wide open, we saw Anabelle with two trays on both her hands.
On top of the tray were various delicacies.

“Please enter.” Albert prompted Anabelle to enter the room.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Anabelle entered the room and put the tray on top of the desk.

Then Sheena get off the bed, and stood straight with her hands crossed.

“Why are you doing this for us? I don’t remember the inn offered any complimentary breakfast or room delivery.” Sheena asked Anabelle with a questioning gaze.

Anabelle glanced at Sheena and smiled, “Let’s just say… I’m an old acquaintance of your father.”

Sheena got a little more cautious and asked, “How do you know who is my father?”

Anabelle just laughed at that remark, “Hahaha… you looked exactly like your mother when she was younger. I can immediately tell that you are the daughter of Saito and Louise.”

“So… you claim to know my parent in their younger days?” Sheena’s expression become colder.

“Hahaha, your mother was like a wild untamed dog when she was younger and Saito was…. ” Like that, Miss Anabelle chatted happily with us while enjoying the food that she brought for us.

After we ate our fill. Anabelle cleaned up the table. Before she leaves, she take a quick glance at me, and I saw a hint of sadness in her eyes.

I mean, I have noticed it when I spoke to her for the first time, but I just thought that’s her normal expression. However, I don’t think so anymore after seeing her chatting happily with Sheena today.

I wonder why… Does she know the real owner of this body and was sad that I don’t remember her? Or is there a deeper meaning…… I just don’t know… I wanted to ask but I just can’t bring up the topic…

While I was still deep in thought, Sheena said, “Alright, let’s pack our stuff and leave immediately. We need to check out from the inn and visit Uncle Sebastian’s weapon store later to test your aptitude in magic and get you an appropriate weapon.”

“Mm… ” I nods my head strongly and pack up immediately, well not that I have much to pack up anyway… Just the nightgown Sheena gave me the other night.



 

  1. N/a

[Vol 1] Chapter 6: The Dungeon Town, Swinford



Sylvia We stopped for a quick lunch in the middle of our journey, by the time we arrived at the township of Swinford, it was already around the late afternoon.

The first thing we need to do when we arrive at Swinford is to look for an inn, or else we will have to camp out tonight…

Since we do not have a lot of money on us, we settled in a rather cheap inn. Since we are also worried about the prices of the weapon anyway, we can’t spend our money mindlessly. Otherwise we might not be able to afford it.

Apparently, the currency here in Tristain are represented by Bronze, Silver and Gold Coin system in some of the popular Multi Massive Online Role Playing Game, for short, MMORPG, such as the World of Warcraft.

The exchange rate is the same as we know it, hundred Bronze coins equal to one Silver coin, and hundred Silver coins equal to one Gold coin.

But the strange thing is, according to the Anime show adapted from this world, the currency seems to be different… Well, I guess after all those decades, some things are bound to be changed, and this system is much easier to remember anyway.

In any case, we have hundred Silver coins with us, which is equivalent to one Gold coin. We spend about fifteen Bronze coins for lodging in the inn for one night. I’m still new to this world so I don’t know the actual worth of fifteen Bronze coin, or how hard is it to earn that much. However, if you compared it to those five-star hotels which cost several Silver coins per night… yea I guess this can be considered cheap…

The inn is made out of wood and is three story tall. Inside of the inn, there seems to be a pub to the left, with several people drinking and chatting noisily. They are all wearing armor, carrying some sort of weapon, such as a sword, a spear or a bow.

“Wow… to be carrying weapons so openly in broad daylight… I guess this is a fantasy world after all…” I am truly amazed, while at the same time, I feel slightly uneasy. Everyone looked so fierce and scary.

I was surprised since this is the first time I’ve ever seen people carrying all sorts of deadly weapon in broad daylight.

“Fufu… this is very common nowadays. After the great war a few decades ago, strange dungeons started appearing all over the world, and Swinford is one of the town that is build close to a dungeon. The brave warriors who challenged and explore the dungeons are called the Adventurer.” Sheena explained.

“Additionally, you can find all kinds of rare treasure in the dungeon. Sometimes, even legendary artifact. The Adventurer would come to Swinford to sell their goods and stock up their supplies. That’s why this is the ideal place to look for a new weapon.” Albert continued.

I nodded and muttered a single word, “Oh……”

***

After we booked our room, we went to our room immediately, I noticed something very very immoral. Albert is in the same room as us! I panicked, “Ah!! Um… I know you guys are engaged and all but… to share the same room…”

I lowered my voice when I said that, and my cheeks turned bright red, since there is only one bed in the room!

“M-Maybe I should be in another room! I wouldn’t want to disturb you…” I turned immediately with my head lowered in embarrassment and tried to run for the door.

Sheena grabbed my hand before I had a chance to run, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Ah…” I let out a surprised cry.

Now that I think about it… I don’t have money… What can I do even if I am to run to the lobby, I don’t have the means to pay for another room.

“Uuu…. but…” I steal a glance at Albert.

“Sigh…” Sheena heaved a sigh and continued, “You are my familiar, you and I are as one. Never leave my side. And don’t worry about Albert, he can just sleep on the sofa.”

I was shocked!! How can she treat a prince like that. A Crown Price at that too!

“B… but!! He… He is…” I tried to point out my view said frantically.

I wanted to say he is a Crown Prince, how can you make him sleep in a sofa… but the words just won’t come out, I was flabbergasted.

Sheena snickered, “Don’t worry, Albert is a gentleman. He won’t do anything.”

“……” I stayed silent for a moment before I said, “Even though he’s a cross-dressing pervert, and a playboy who kisses the back of other woman’s hand without permission?”

Oops!! That just slipped out of my mouth unconsciously, I never meant to say that! I’m seriously gonna get beheaded for insulting the Crown Prince…

“Pfft-ahahahahaha!” Sheena and Albert burst out into laughter while I was in the state of panic.

“Eh?” I tilted my head slightly, and looked at both Sheena and Albert holding their stomach while they laughed out loud.

***

After that matter is settled, the sky is already dyed bright red. The sun seems to be setting already, and I guess that the shop is probably closed at night. So I started, “The sun is already setting, I guess we are heading to the weapon store tomorrow? I don’t suppose the shop open twenty four hours a day right?”

“You’re right… I guess we should go to Uncle Sebastian’s weapon store tomorrow.” Sheena frowned when she looked out of the windows, and found that the color of the day is already dark.

Albert took off his disguise and continue, “I guess we should order some food to our room and settle down for tonight.”

“They offer room service in this cheap inn?” I looked towards Sheena expectantly. However…

“No… of course not… that’s why, go to the pub downstair, order some meal for takeaway, and bring the food back here, Sylvia.” Her answer betrayed my expectation, I knew she was going to make me run an errand for her.

“But… I’m… not really originated from this world you know? I don’t know if the food I randomly ordered might suit your taste or not… The food here have strange names.” I took a peek at the menu earlier when we were waiting for our room to be prepared, and to be honest, I don’t understand what is being served at all.

“Don’t worry about that, just order the daily special for three of us. I took a look at the menu earlier and it only cost one copper coin each.” Sheena had already decided what she wants to order.

“Here’s three copper coins for the meal.” Albert handed the copper coins to me, and I left for the pub immediately.

***

When I arrived at the pub. I went straight to the counter to order three daily specials.
The gazes I received from the Adventurers when walking through the pub makes me feel uncomfortable. I can easily guess why Sheena and Albert do not want to dine-in.

With three beauties here, albeit one is actually a guy in disguise, there is no way the rowdy looking guys here will leave us alone.

The clerk behind the counter reach out her hand and asked for three copper coins, I handed over the coins immediately. After she received the coins, she shouted the orders to the chef who is working in the kitchen, “Three orders of daily special!”

The clerk told me to wait for five minutes, so I went to one corner of the pub to wait.

While I was waiting, some rowdy looking guys did approach me after all.

“Yo big sis, what are you doing here all alone?”
“Wanna come have a drink with us?”
“You an elf? It’s rare to see an Elven Adventurer around this part”

I wanted to ignore them, but usually in this kind of situation, if I ignored them, it will most likely turn into a fight. I want to avoid that at all cost, I do not want to cause any trouble here, and most importantly, I still do not have much fighting experience.

I should just politely reject them, “I’m sorry… but I don’t drink. I will leave immediately after my takeaway is ready.”

“C’mon big sis, don’t be like that. Come have fun with us!”
“I saw you were with two other beauties earlier, are they your companion?”
“You should ask them to come and join us!”

The three continued to press their assault.

Ugh… so annoying! Just leave me alone already! I seriously don’t know how to deal with people like this… I want to walk away already but I still need to wait for my takeaway…

I glanced at the clerk, asking for help with my gaze.

“Sigh…” The clerk face palmed and shouted at the three man, “Hey you three stooges!! Stop bothering the other customer! Or you can taste my iron fist!”

The three turned over and said frantically, “Come on, we were just trying to invite her to join us for a drink!”

The clerk said nothing else and just glared at them coldly.

The three just shivered and left reluctantly, “Fine… we get it already…”

I walked toward the clerk and thanked her.

“Sorry if the three stooges caused you any trouble. They are regulars here and always caused some minor uproar every now and then. If anyone ever troubled you here, just come to find me. They should know better not to get on my bad side!” The clerk said confidently while introducing herself, “I am Anabelle by the way, what’s your name, missy?”

“Ah… I’m Sylvia… Thank you for your help earlier Miss Anabelle.” I introduced myself politely.

“Hahaha… you are a polite one aren’t you? Oh, seems like your meal is ready. Now hurry back to your room. Your companion should be waiting for you.” The clerk, Anabelle, pass the three packages to me and pushed me away.

“Yes… thank you once again.” I turned back one last time and saw Miss Anabelle waving her hand at me. I bowed and left upstair. After that exchange, I went back to our room peacefully.



 

  1. N/a

[Vol 1] Chapter 5: My First Battle



Sylvia Just when we are about to reach the main gate, I suddenly remembered that we were supposed to test my aptitude for magic so I asked, “Oh… aren’t we going to see if I can use magic or not?”

Sheena explained, “Oh… that… we were stalled and wasted too much time with the introduction earlier, we will just have to borrow the open field behind the weapon shop later to test your aptitude first before deciding on which weapon is best for you.”

“……? Why does being able to use magic or not will be the deciding factor of choosing my weapon?” Since I do not know anything about this world, my confusion was only understandable.

“Well, there are some weapons that are specially designed for the mage, such as the Magic Gun or the Magic Sword. As long as you have enough Magic Power, or the so called MP in gaming term, you can refill the cartridge with Magic Power.

The downside is that we still need to chant an incantation to fill the cartridge with our magic, so a Magic Gun takes longer to refill than an ordinary gun but it is more powerful.” Sheena patiently explained to me.

These Magic Weapon seems a little bit more inconvenient than I thought they’d be, so I couldn’t help but ask, “Wait… we need to chant an incantation for the spell to refill the cartridge with Magic Power? Can’t we just infuse the Magic Power into the weapon directly?”

“Sigh…” Sheena heaved a sigh, then she continued, “It is not impossible but one needs precise control over their Magic Power in order to do that. Only true experts are able to use Magic Weapon that efficiently.”

“Oh… so it is not impossible, that is good enough for now.” After receiving a favorable answer, I nodded with a satisfied expression. Sheena only smiled wryly, she also hoped one day, she can reach that level.

We reached the main gate as we were leisurely chatting about the weapons, and a beautiful girl with curly long brown hair is standing in the middle of the gate, crossing her hand.

“TOO SLOW!!” She shouted… but wait… that voice sounds familiar…

“Albert…… you… have an interesting taste as always…” Sheena said that with a blank expression.

“Forget about my taste, what were you doing? You told me to get ready as soon as possible, yet you came here later than me. I thought you were already gone!” Albert retorted.

“I was… teaching the basics of horse riding to my familiar. Today is supposed to be a bonding period with our familiar so I don’t see what’s wrong with that.” Sheena reply with an ingenious remark.

“Sigh… I get it already, now pass me that horse and let’s get going.” Albert urged Sheena to pass the reins to him.

Albert climbed onto the back of the horse, then we head out of the main gate and make out way towards the nearest town, Swinford.

***

Around halfway there, we were ambushed by three rough looking man. All of them are holding a dagger and using rags to cover their body.

No matter how you look at them, they looked like a group of bandits…

This is bad! I never expected to get into such a dangerous situation in such an early stage of my new life! I don’t even have fighting experience yet!!

Sheena and Albert are both mage, I can’t hope to rely on them in close combat, and to cast a magic, they need to chant an incantation… which means… I’ll have to buy them some time…

“Sylvia, how long do you think you can hold them off?” Sheena turned her head over to look at me for an answer.

As expected, I was told to become their shield, huhuhu… I want to cry…

“……” After thinking for a while, I said, “I don’t know… maybe thirty seconds at most? I don’t have any combat experience yet.”

Sheena stayed silent for a moment and replied, “Good enough, just buy me at least ten seconds.”

With that said, I jumped down from the horse, then I move in between the bandits and Sheena.

The bandits laughed and said, “Hahaha!! What can a puny little woman like you do? Be a good girl and we won’t harm you!”

Good, they’re looking down on us…… I should be able to take advantage of this… At least that’s how it normally play out in manga and light novel…

“As if I can trust the words of someone like you! If you truly meant what you said, just leave us alone already!” I retorted, but it was useless, it only serves to make them more agitated.

Oops… stupid me, I wasn’t supposed to make them angry, I was supposed to buy enough time for Sheena and Albert.

How many seconds has it been now? Five seconds? Good, just another five more seconds to go!

Suddenly, one of the bandit rushed toward me and thrust his dagger forward.

Oh crapppppp! What should I do! What should I do!!

Wait, let’s calm down and think about this carefully.

I remember there was a move in judo or karate or whatever that take advantages of your opponent’s weight, and use it against them. It’s all or nothing!

The bandit is now in front of me, and thrusting his dagger toward my head. I reflexively moved my body slightly to the right and narrowly dodged the dagger, but a few strains of my hair were cut off.

Now that I am within the range, I should be able to execute the move I just thought of.

I quickly grab hold of the bandit’s arm, turned my back against his body. Using the momentum of the rush, I pulled him forward and kicked his legs off the ground.

I supported his body weight with my back and threw the bandit with a 180 degree turn, the bandit slammed HARD on the ground in front of me! I even see some blood spat out from his mouth…

Wow, this is more effective that I thought it would be. Am I a genius? Nay… it’s just a fluke, a beginner’s luck…

I let my guard down after taking down one of the bandits and got strangled from the back!

“Put down your wands if you don’t want this girl to get hurt!” The bandit shouted and strengthened his grip around my neck.

Ohh crap! This is bad! Now we’re seriously gonna get it!

…Or not! You are too naive if you think you can take me down from behind my back. You are within my attack range! Your crotch that is…

This body should be much more flexible compared to my original body so my leg should easily be able to reach.

The moment I tried to kick his crotch, the Thunderhawk suddenly appeared and used its sharp claw to attack the bandit that is strangling me.

“Grahhhhh!!!” The bandit shouted in pain and loosened his grip. I fell to the ground on both knees.

“Cough, cough!” I was holding my neck with both hands, and trying to catch my breath.

“You *******!!” The bandit was furious and pulled out his dagger, trying to stab me from behind.

“Good job, Spark!” Albert praised his Thunderhawk for rescuing me.

“Now! It’s over.” Sheena claimed that the battle is over and activated the spell, Wind Cutter.

Sheena took down the bandit behind me with Wind Cutter, and Albert took out the ones approaching them with the same spell simultaneously.

With that, we have avoided the worst case scenario and I feel pathetic.

I need to gain more battle experience, and not let me guard down in the middle of combat, or else I might end up dead next time, and expose my master to danger…

“Are you alright?” Sheena jumped down from her horse, she ran to my side and offered her hand.

“Yea… I’m fine…” I took her hand, and then she pulled me up from the ground.

“Not bad for your first combat, you were able to take out one of the bandits barehanded.” Sheena praised me, but I don’t feel particularly happy.

Instead, I just apologized, “I am sorry, I let my guard down in the middle of the battle and exposed you to danger.”

“Don’t worry about it, everyone makes mistake. This will be a valuable experience later on. At least no one got badly hurt for now, so let’s just be happy about the outcome.” Sheena comforted me.

Albert used earth magic to bind the bandits and ordered his Thunderhawk, Spark, to notify the knights to arrest them immediately.

After the Thunderhawk flew off, Albert climbed onto the back of his horse again.

“We wasted a lot of time here, we might have to spend the night at the Swinford tonight.” Albert raised his head to look at the position of the sun. As he said, the color of the day is starting to get late.

“Sigh… guess we have no other choice, I was thinking of getting back to the academy before nightfall…” Sheena sighed resignedly.

After that exchange, we climbed back onto our horse, and continue our journey towards Swinford…



 

  1. N/a

[Vol 1] Chapter 4: Innate Ability



Sylvia “B-b-b-b-but… th… that…!” I stuttered, I was too surprised by the sudden development and unable to speak properly. In other word, I’m flabbergasted.

“But what exactly?” Still wearing the mischievous smile, Sheena asked.

In order to calm myself down, I slapped myself on the cheeks and continued, “But… that means… THE ANIME IS BASED ON REAL STORY?!?!”

Unable to calm myself down, I still shouted in the end.

“Hahahaha.” Sheena laughed, “Of course not, the anime has been altered greatly from the true history of Halkeginia. If you want to know the truth, I recommend you start reading the history of Halkegenia, starting from the past few decades.”

“The history of Halkeginia during the past few decades is not as flowery as it is shown in the anime…” Sheena, who knew the true history of Halkegenia, revealed a gloomy expression.

“Gulp!” I swallowed my saliva, and cold sweat ran down my spine. It seems like something awful has happened during the past few decades that cannot be shown to kids in the show… that’s why he altered the story to be more… friendly… in fact, maybe even his happy-go-lucky attitude might be forged…

I didn’t press on with this matter any longer, and then I asked, “Are we going to get my weapon now?”

“No… before we go, I want to confirm something.” (Sheena)

“And that is…” (Sylvia)

“I want to see whether you are capable of using magic or not…” (Sheena)

“……” (Sylvia)

“Come, let us go to the courtyard.” (Sheena)

“Okay!!” I jumped up from the chair immediately, and walked behind Sheena.

After we exit the room and enter the lounge, there were a lot of people gathering in the lounge, wearing the same cloak as Sheena. But the colors of their cloak are different, some are black and some are brown. Sheena is wearing a purple-colored cloak.

Some of them come toward Sheena and I, then started to introduce themselves one after another. I couldn’t possible remember all their names and faces, I was never good at remembering names, not unless I spend a lot of time with them. I just lowered my head and introduced myself as Sylvia.

Since I became an elf, my hearing ability has been enhanced, so I can hear the whispers clearly from distance.

“Wow she’s so pretty…”
“That’s an elf isn’t it, her ears are pointy.”
“To summon a proud elf as a familiar… as expected of the goddess…”

Wait, what?! They refer to Sheena as a goddess? I should have just ignored them and pretend I didn’t hear anything…

One man in particular caught my attention, especially his purple hair… it reminds me of the Crown Princess. I wonder if he is the son of the princess, no wait… she should be a Queen now…

The group in front of us split into two when that man is approaching. He seems like an important person after all. Maybe he’s a prince?

That man stopped on front of Sheena, “Greetings, beautiful Miss Sheena.”
He greeted her by kissing the back of her hand. I guess that’s how aristocrat greet one another?

“Oh Albert, stop it with the formality. We are engaged after all.” Sheena said that with a poker face.

“Haha, same as always… allow me to introduce myself. I am Albert De Tristain, the Crown Prince of Tristain, as well as the fiance of Sheena de Hiraga des Ornieres. This here is my familiar, Spark, the great Thunderhawk.”

As he introduced his familiar, the Thunderhawk landed on his right arm and spread its wings proudly. The thunderhawk, as its name implies, is a hawk with the ability to utilize lightning. It has a beautiful blue feather.

I immediately clapped both of my hand together and prayed for good luck. It is a popular belief that a blue bird brings good luck and happiness so I did that reflexively.

Albert continues, “May I know your name, beautiful miss?”

He holds my hand and kisses the back of my hand. I bet he is a playboy, seeing how he can easily kiss another girl’s hand in front of his own fiance without asking for permission first.

Being kissed by a man, even if it was on the back of my hand, I still feel slightly disgusted. I got shivers running down my spine, but still managed to introduce myself properly.

“I… I am Sylvia… the familiar of Sheena. An elf…”

“Well, that’s all for introductions for now. We do not have all day, it will take at least half a day to get to the nearest town to procure a weapon for my familiar. With that said, I’ll be taking my leave first.” Sheena curtsied like an elegant young lady, then she bid farewell to her classmates.

“In that case, how about I go with you?” Albert offered to go along with us but…

“No thank you. You are the Crown Prince of Tristain, you will attract too much attention if you go with us.” Sheena rejected him.

“…That’s not a problem, I can disguise myself before going. After all, I am a Master of Disguise. I learned it from my imperial mother!” Albert said smugly.

Sheena knew how persistent Albert is and no matter what she says, it will be useless and only a waste of time, so she just sighed resignedly.

“Just prepare three horses and wait for me at the entrance, I will be there soon.” After Albert said that, he dashed off immediately.

“…Alright, but be quick about it. I won’t wait long.” Sheena advised Albert to hurry up and put on his disguise, or else she will leave him behind.

***

After that we went to the stable to prepare some horses. The caretaker prepared the horses for us when we told him our reasons for going to town. As Sheena was pulling the horses, she probably noticed that I look a little anxious. She step forward to ask, “What are you concerned about? Are you worried about riding the horse by yourself?”

“Wha…?! You can tell…?” I was honestly surprised, am I that easy to read?

Sheena’s lip curved and formed a charming smile, then she said sweetly, “Don’t worry, I will teach you the basics.”

After I climbed on the back of the horse, Sheena starts to explain the basics of horse riding to me.

Riding the horse for a while, I got used to the feeling quite quickly.

“…I’m surprised! You learn rather fast…” Sheena was honestly surprised to see me being able to ride a horse on my own so quickly.

The only thing that I can be proud of from before I was reincarnated was my ability as a fast learner after all. But no matter how fast I learn, this is still too surprising… not even five minutes have passed yet and I can already ride a horse by myself…

Now that I think about it…… how come I can understand and read the language of this world when they are clearly different than the language from Earth?

Is this what they call… the innate ability of the body? Since I am now in the possession of the body of an elf who are known for their longevity… that means this body must have at least lived for a hundred year or so right? If that is the case, that means this body already has already accumulated hundred years of experience… it wouldn’t be strange if that was the case…

“No… even though I’ve never ride a horse by myself before, I can’t say that is also true for the real owner of this body… Just like learning how to drive a car, something you learned how to do with your own body can’t possible be forgotten no matter the passage of time.” I can tell because I have experienced this before. Even though I went oversea to study and didn’t drive a car for more than three years, I was still able to drive normally even after coming back to my home country.

“I see… if that is the case, then that would explain how you are so natural when handling that horse.” Sheena was convinced by my words.

“Now let’s make haste, Albert must be waiting for us at the main gate already.” Sheena climbed onto the back of another horse, and pulled the other horse along to the main gate.



 

  1. N/a

[Vol 1] Chapter 3: The Chaos in the Forest



Sylvia Around this time, in the secret village hidden deep within the forest of Alden, the elves finally noticed that the princess is missing.

“The Princess?! She’s not here!!”

The attendant shouted in panic when she found that the princess is not on the bed where she usually is. With the princess in her current condition, there is no way that she can move on her own.

“Quick! Quick! Inform the Village Chief immediately!” The attendant immediately ordered the guards beside her to report the situation to the Village Chief immediately, which also serves as the Princess’ father.

Upon receiving the grievance news, the Village Chief, Gustav, frowned.

“Summon the Priestess! NOW!!” Gustav shouted, clearly annoyed.

“Yes sir!” The nearby guards immediately moved upon receiving Gustav’s order.

***

After a while, the priestess arrived in the hall where the Village Chief is staying, with a few guards escorting her.

The priestess has a beautiful straight blonde hair, a pair of beautiful light blue eyes, and most surprisingly, her voluptuous chest. Elves are known to have a relatively small chest, so this is very uncommon indeed.

And the only elf with such a humongous lump of fats hanging off her chest is a world-renowned Half-Elf known as Tiffania Westwood!

She is one of the legendary void magic user, and by her side is her trusty partner and a legendary familiar, Lifbrasir, also known as the “Heart of the God”.

His name is Ragna. He has a silver colored hair and a pair of golden eyes. His body looked very sturdy and powerful. Just from one glance, one can tell he is a powerful warrior.

Tiffania curtsied elegantly in front of the Village Chief, “Chief Gustav, for what reason have you summoned me?”

Her tone is unwavering, yet it is very elegant. Causing the surrounding guards to shudder in admiration.

“Your esteemed priestess, I can’t thank you enough for your taking your time to care for my disabled daughter. Today I received a grievance news that my daughter is currently missing. Do you know of it?” Gustav said that with a rather worried expression.

“Chief Gustav, I have only been informed by the guards who were escorting me earlier with regards to the situation of the princess.” Tiffania reported to Gustav.

The elven princess, Elwyn, used to be the best of friends with Tiffania. After finding out her friend had fallen into a deep slumber and is currently disabled, naturally she had been doing whatever she can to take care of her best friend.

“I have went to the Princess’ Chamber before coming here so it took a while. But I can feel traces of summoning magic left behind… by who… and for what purpose… I do not know…” Tiffania explained why she took so long before coming here.

“……” Gustav was looking down and didn’t say a single word.

After a while, Gustav finally raised his face and looked at Tiffania, he pleaded solemnly, “I am sorry to ask this of you, but the reason I summoned you is because you are the only one I can ask this favor of… please, please find my daughter!”

“Worry not, I was already planning to head out of the village as soon as possible, and commence a world-wide search! I will scour the entire world and leave no stones unturned. I will find her no matter what!” Tiffania said with a confident smile. She firmly believes that she will be able to find her best friend no matter what.

“Thank you… thank you so very much!” Gustav expressed his sincerest gratitude to Tiffania while holding both of her hands, and he continued, “I am the Chief of this village, I can’t carelessly dispatch the warriors and leave the village undefended… I will be counting on you, Miss Tiffania Westwood.”

“I understand Chief Gustav…… Please relax and leave everything to me!” Tiffania tried to reassure the village chief.

“Mmm… I’ll entrust my daughter to you. Please punish the evil-doer who caused this ruckus on my behalf.” Gustav said that as he waved his hand, prompting the attendant beside him to hand over the box that she is currently holding.

“…This is?” Tiffania tilted her head, and asked questioningly.

“An artifact that belonged to my daughter, you should know better than anyone else just how much she treasured this item. Please pass this to my daughter when you find her.” Gustav took the box and passed it to Tiffania.

Tiffania looked at the black box for a while and understood what is within the box, “I will definitely deliver this to the Princess.”

Gustav nodded and said, “Be on your way now, I won’t hold you for much longer.”

“Then I’ll be leaving.” Tiffania grabbed the box and hand it over to her familiar, “Ragna, please look after this artifact with utmost care.”

“Of course…” Ragna spoke for the first time since entering this hall. He is a man of a few words, but his strength is guaranteed. In terms of swordsmanship, he is not one inch inferior to the Gandalfr, who are superior with the use of weapons.

Tiffania and Ragna left the hall as soon as possible, and now…

***

Gustav summoned all the elves in the village to the central plaza to calm the masses.

The disappearance of the princess have caused the entire village to grow anxious, in order to dispel their anxiety, Gustav has to announce it sooner or later, it is his job to ensure the peace of mind of every denizens here.

………

Around noon, the entire population have gathered in the central plaza, it was quite packed. In the center of the plaza stood a lone man, he has a very dignified aura with neatly combed blond hair. ⌈1⌋ He is none other than the Village Chief, Gustav.

Everyone’s attention is focused on this man and he started, “We have already identified the cause behind the princess’ disappearance and I assure you, this is not a kidnapping incident, so please calm down and listen.”

Upon hearing that the princess is not kidnapped, the entire population feels slightly relieved, and the tension in the air is starting to feel lighter.

Gustav continued, “According to the priestess, the princess have been summoned as a familiar, but we do not know who has summoned the princess, nor her current whereabouts.”

Gustav made up the part about being a familiar since he don’t want to add to the worry of the villagers. Never in his wildest dream had he imagined that his lie turned out to be the truth.

The crowd starts to get noisy again;

“But with the princess in her current state…”
“She’ll get violated!!”
“Poor princess…”

And such could be heard.

“SILENCE!!” The attendant at Gustav’s side shouted, and the surrounding become quiet all of a sudden.

Then Gustav uttered his last words, “The Priestess has personally set off on a journey to search for the princess. Please set your mind at ease and get back to work. Dismissed!”

With this, Gustav dismissed the crowd and went back to his own estate.

The crowd were noisily discussing about this on the street for an entire day.

“The guy who summoned the princess is gonna get it now.”
“Yea, when the priestess find him, he’ll wish he was never born.”

Every villager highly respect the priestess, nobody in this village do not know about her.

She is the legendary void user and a companion of the hero who saved the world from absolute calamity. And most important of all, she was the one who desperately protected them during the Apocalypse War, even though the proud Elves treated the Half-Elf awfully.

***

Now we go back a little in time, back to the Magic Academy…

“Y… your father is from Earth?!” I was utterly surprised when I heard Sheena said that her father is an Earthling.

Sheena’s lips curved, revealing a charming smile and said, “Yes, my father is originally an ordinary human from Earth, summoned to Halkeginia by my mother as her familiar.”

…Wait what? That scenario sounds familiar… It’s like what happened to me, but I feel like I have heard of a similar situation somewhere before…

While I was still deep in thought, Sheena continued, “You said you used to be a young man called Silva who lived there right? Then have you heard of the name Saito and Louise?”

“Saito? Louise? Wait… You don’t mean… those anime characters from the fictional show?” After thinking for a while, only one thing came to mind. That’s right, the hero and heroine of the popular anime series, Familiar of Zero.

“Exactly.” Sheena smiled mischievously, “My father is the original author of that anime.”

“Wu…. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!?!?!” I shouted at the top of my lungs due to extreme shock.



 


  1. Did you know? “Blond” and “blonde” actually have different meanings. Blond is a fair-haired male, and a blonde is a fair-haired female. 

[Vol 1] Chapter 2: The Unresolved Mystery



Sylvia As soon as we opened the door, there was a maid standing in front of us, with a cart beside her. The maid has a black silky hair and a pair of beautiful black pupils. She looks like a typical Japanese.

“Mistress, I have prepared your breakfast for you and your familiar.” The maid said courteously.

“Very well, just leave the food in the room for now. I’ll be back soon, Angie.” Sheena stepped out of the room as she said that.

“…Where are you going so early in the morning, Mistress?” The maid, Angie, asked while tilting her head.

“We’re going to see Professor Colbert for a while. Let’s go Sylvia, we’re going out.” Sheena urged Sylvia to go along with her as she stepped out of the door.

“Y-yes! Master!!” Sylvia answered nervously.

“Fuu… you can just call me Sheena, no need for any honorifics… ” Sheena felt a bit uncomfortable when Sylvia called her “Master”.

“Y-yes! Um… Miss… Sheena…?” Sylvia was normally a timid guy in his past life and don’t feel comfortable calling someone of higher status casually.

“Just call me Sheena.” Sheena pouted cutely and demanded Sylvia to just call her Sheena.

“Sh… Shee…. na.” Sylvia’s face turned bright red as she said that, she felt slightly embarrassed and looked down.

“Good, now let us go.” Sheena said that while offering her hand to me.

Sylvia grabbed her hand and got pulled along by Sheena.

***

*From henceforth, the story will be told in Sylvia’s Point of View*

We arrived in front of Professor Colbert’s lab and Sheena knocked the door twice.

“Professor, I am Sheena. We have something important we need to discuss with you. Please grant us your audience.” Sheena said respectfully.

But there was no sound coming from beyond the door, it was dead silent.

“Professor?” Sheena called out once more, seemingly confused as there was no reply.

Then she held on to the handle of the door and turned it slightly.

“It’s open… ” Sheena was surprised when the door was unlocked.

She opened the door and peeked inside the lab, but it was pitch black, without a hint of light.

“Professor?” Sheena called out for the Professor once more and scanned the surrounding.

We saw a black figure on the ground and Sheena shouted in surprise, “Professor!!” She immediately rushed over to his side to check his condition.

I followed suit and held the professor’s head up from the ground.

“Fuu… fuu… ” Professor Colbert was snoring peacefully…

“Sigh… I guess Professor Colbert didn’t sleep at all last night, he must have reached his limits and collapsed.” Sheena said that resignedly, she used magic to lift Professor Colbert up in the air, and moved him on top of the nearby sofa.

Then we took a peek at the research materials that was left on top of the desk by Professor Colbert.

It seems he wasn’t able to find out much regarding the runes that was on both of my hands. So my powers still remain a mystery for now, but something interesting caught my attention.

All of the materials indicates that this magic circle is the origin and foundation of magic. So I came to a conclusion that maybe I am capable to using every kind of magic in existence… but that’s just my wishful thinking.

It seems Sheena has come to the same conclusion and looked at me straight in the eye.

Then she said, “From now onward, you are to attend the magic classes together with me.”

“YES!! Of course!” I replied with a very excited tone.

I mean, how can I not? It’s magic! I can learn how to use magic! It’s the dream of every fantasy lover out there!

Seeing me so excited and smiling for the first time, Sheena also revealed a hint of smile.

“Fufu… c’mon, let’s go back to our room to eat…” Sheena grabbed my hand and pull me back to the dormitory.

“What about the matter you wanted to discuss with the Professor?” I follow behind Sheena and asked.

“That can wait until later, aren’t you hungry? You haven’t had anything to eat since yesterday.” Sheena was honestly concerned.

Now that I think about it… that’s true. And my stomach started to grumble as soon as I started to think about it.

***

We went back to our room and had a luxurious breakfast. I’ve never had anything that good before. The food looks a bit expensive though, so I was a little hesitant to eat it at first. I guess rich people have this kind of food everyday… how envious…

“Now then… ” After finishing our breakfast, Sheena started, “Since we finished our breakfast already, let’s head to town and get you some weapon.”

“Weapon… ?” Upon hearing the word, weapon, I tilted my head and asked.

Sheena explained, “That’s right, you need a weapon to be able to fight right? Although Halkeginia is now peaceful, there are still bandits, pirates and monsters roaming around. We need to be able to defend ourselves from harm at the very least.”

“… I… see… This is a fantasy world after all.” I am convinced from just that.

Sheena asked, “So what kind of weapon do you want? We can’t be sure what your specialty is yet but I have a feeling you might be proficient in magic… so how about a staff?”

“No um… Since I am an Elf… I think I might be good at archery. Even though I’m not really fond of long range combat since my accuracy was low… But now…” I was deep in thought for a while.

From the world I came from, all the elves in the games and light novels are good with the bow and magic, so I thought I might be too.

Ever since I became an elf, my eyesight have improved drastically. If you put it in terms of video quality, I’d say it got enhanced from the Standard Quality of 360 pixels to the Ultra Definition of 4320 pixels. That’s a HUGE boost!!

Sylvia Suddenly, I had a vision of myself holding two bow that looks like a gun and muttered, “Dual… bow… gun?”

“What… ?” Sheena asked questioningly.

“Oh… uh… no… it’s just… I suddenly had a vision of myself holding two bow that looks like a gun… I wonder what was that?” A memory of this body’s previous owner perhaps? Or so I thought.

“I see… that decides it then, we’ll just get you two magic guns for now.” Sheena is a very decisive person, she immediately picked the best choice from all the options she had thought of.

“What?! You have guns in this world too?” I was surprised when I heard the word ‘gun’, I never expected that in this fantasy world, I’d hear that word coming out from the mouth of the citizens here…

“Yea, I didn’t tell you yet right? My father is an Earthling and with his help, we have mass produced a lot of weapons from Earth here in Halkeginia.
… It’s been recorded in the history book, my father led an entire army of commoners with weapons in hand, and saved the world from a calamity…”

Sheena said that proudly.

But I didn’t hear the latter half of the conversation, I was too focused on the first half.

“Y… your father is from Earth?!” (Sylvia)



 

  1. N/a

[Vol 1] Chapter 1: A Unique Familiar



Sylvia A young man has suddenly been reincarnated as a beautiful elf with a beautiful long blonde hair and a pair of sapphire-colored pupils. Still dumbfounded by the current development, a beautiful girl has named him her as Sylvia. She is a beautiful girl with an alluring blonde pink hair and a pair of sky blue-colored pupils, the girl has said something incomprehensible such as serving under her as a familiar.

Sylvia couldn’t absorb all of these at once and remains dumbfounded. She is still kneeling on the ground, staring at the beauty in front of her with blank expression. The girl had her hand stretched out to reach Sylvia.

Sylvia inadvertently raised her hand to grab hold of the beauty’s outreached hand.

The girl in front of Sylvia grabbed her hand, and pulled Sylvia up from the ground, then she introduces herself again.

“I am Sheena, from today onward, I will be your Master.” After introducing herself, Sheena revealed a charming smile that would make any man fall in love with her at first sight. She suddenly brought her face closer and kissed Sylvia on the lips, then she said, “With this, our contract is sealed.”

“EHHHHHHHHHH!?!?” (Sylvia)

Finally reaching her limits, Sylvia finally let out a shout full of surprise. These thoughts are overflowing in her mind, “T-that was my first kiss!! And with such a beauty to boot!! Oh my gosh!! But why did she kiss me? Did she have a feeling for me? No— wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!! I’m a girl now, don’t tell me… is she a lesbian?!”

With both her hands on her flushed cheeks, Sylvia began to fidget around.

Then all of a sudden, Sylvia’s entire body felt like it was on fire and started to burn up. Steam are rising from the pores of her skin, she started to feel slight discomfort on the back of her right hand.

This is the symptom of a Familiar’s Runes being inscribed.

Feeling the extreme heat and pain on her right hand, Sylvia slumped on the ground with both knees, and grabbed the wrist of her right hand. She let out an agonized scream and rolled on the ground, “AHHH!! W-what is going on?! Steam are coming out from my body! It’s hot, it’s hot, it’s so hot!!! W-what did you do to me!?”

“Relax, it will be over soon. That’s just the Familiar’s Runes being inscribed” (Sheena)

After Sheena said that, she gave Sylvia a gentle hug, calming her down.

At this moment, the surrounding started to get noisy and…

“As expected of Sheena.”
“She summoned a humanoid familiar.”
“She’s so beautiful… ”

And such could be heard.

Then the professor suddenly stepped forward, and inspected the runes on Sylvia’s right hand.

“Hm… I’ve never seen this kind of inscription before, is this a new type of familiar?”

That was Professor Colbert, he looked much older now compared to before, and is now the Headmaster of this Magic Academy.

This is the summoning ceremony of Louise and Saito’s daughter, the daughter of the young girl who once summoned the legendary Gandalfr a few decades ago, and the daughter of the boy who was summoned from another world as the legendary Gandalfr, so he just had to attend this event no matter what.

And as expected, their daughter too, summoned a humanoid familiar which is considered to be a very rare cases. Most likely, a humanoid familiar has to be some kind of legendary familiar with unimaginable power.

The inscription on Sylvia’s right hand is unlike the runes of Gandaldr and Vindalfr. It looks like a magic circle with pentagram star within.

But it doesn’t stop there yet, as the body and soul are originally two separate beings to begin with, that means Sheena has been contracted with 2 familiars.

Sylvia’s left hand started to burn up as well, another inscription appeared on the back of her left hand that looks exactly the same as the one on her other hand. Sylvia is assaulted by the same burning sensation she experienced a while ago, she let out another agonized scream.

Professor Colbert was astonished, “How is this possible! How come there are two inscriptions on a single familiar? I’ll need to do some research regarding these runes later, can I have closer look, Miss Sylvia?”

Still clinging to Sheena, Sylvia let out a weak voice, “Mmh…”

After closely inspecting the runes, Professor Colbert jotted something on his notes and dismissed the class. He immediately bid the students farewell, and flew towards the Academy at high speed.

Seeing that the Professor is now gone, the students started to head back to the academy as well, some of them even crowded around Sylvia and Sheena.

But Sheena just raised her index finger in front of her lips to urge the surrounding students to lower their voices.

“She’s soundly asleep, she must be really tired… Let her rest for now. We will leave the introduction for another time. Let us head back to the dormitory too.” (Sheena)

This is only natural, the body Sylvia is currently possessing had been in a comatose state for more than a decade now. Sylvia’s soul had also been wandering aimlessly in the dark abyss for who knows how many years. Moreover, Sylvia is also not used to her new body yet, so it is only natural that Sylvia would be exhausted.

The surrounding students consented and went back to their respective dormitory room in the academy.

***

The next morning… When Sylvia woke up, she found a beautiful girl with blonde pink hair sleeping right next to her. She was surprised and unintentionally let out a shriek, she jumped up and then fell down from the bed with a “Crash!”.

She landed on the hard solid ground with her buttocks, she couldn’t help but rub her stinging butt and cry out in pain, “Oww… That hurts!”

When she heard her own voice, she felt something was strange. Then she noticed the beautiful nightgown she’s wearing, as well as her own figure that seemed very feminine. Since the soul inhabiting the body now is currently a young man called Silva. He was surprised yet again and let out another scream.

In her mind she thought, “So what happened yesterday was not a dream after all?”

Then she noticed the magic circle on both of her hands, “So these are the Familiar’s Runes they were talking about yesterday?” Sylvia faintly recall the event from yesterday, and smiled wryly.

“Ah… ” Sheena lets out a weak voice, she slowly got up from the bed, and lazily stretch her stiffened body.

“Why are you making so much ruckus so early in the morning!” Sheena shouted unhappily.

“I-I’m sorry, I was… just surprised!” Sylvia apologized out of habit.

Sheena frowned and questioned, “What is there to be surprised about?”

“I… well… it’s a long story…… ” (Sylvia)

Then Sylvia started to explain her circumstances to Sheena, explaining how she used to be a young man who lived on Earth. About how he tried to save a young girl and lost his life in the process. And about how he suddenly woke up and found herself in this kind of situation.

“………… I see, now that makes sense”. It seems like Sheena understood something upon hearing the stories of Sylvia and nodded.

“What is?” Sylvia didn’t understand what’s going on and asked.

“That explains how you got two runes upon sealing our contract… but I never expected this…… we should consult with Professor Colbert immediately.” (Sheena)



 

  1. N/a

[Day 1] Prologue: A New Beginning



SheenaThe Apocalypse War, it was a war so extreme that it threatened to extinguish the entire world. A few decades had passed since then, and the world of Halkeginia has now regained peace. Every intelligent species all over the continents have learned to co-exist. There were no longer any large scale wars, although small skirmishes do occur from time to time.

After the Apocalypse War, Saito and Louise had crossed dimensions and went back to Earth via the World Door magic. They settled down in Saito’s hometown in Japan for a while. Right now they’re in their forties and have a beautiful daughter called Hiraga Sheena.

Sheena is a 17 years old young lady, she has beautiful blonde pink hair like her mother which is a very uncommon sight on Earth, so she stands out a lot. She has a pair of sapphire-colored pupils more brilliant than her father’s blue eyes. Not to mention her fair skin, well-rounded breasts and slender waist, she also has a pair of long and slender snow-white legs. She stood tall at 1.7 meter high and looked just like a model. Naturally, she was very popular and a lot of men had proposed to her.

Their daughter is extremely talented in magic and able to fully utilize all four basic elemental magic, namely, the Earth, Fire, Water and Wind Magic. Because they did not wish to restrain Sheena’s talent, she is currently studying at Tristanian Magic Academy in the continent of Halkeginia.

With the power of Louise as a void mage, she can naturally open a portal between Earth and Halkeginia. They could freely travel between the two worlds.

Right now, their daughter, Sheena, is in her second school year and is deemed as the ultimate genius of the century. Today is the day she will finally summon her own familiar.

***

Now, going back a little in time.

On Earth, there was a young man known as called Silva. He was in his early 20’s and around 1.74 meter tall. His look was on the average side and nothing in particularly stood out. In other words, he’s just an ordinary man you could find anywhere on Earth.

On a certain day, he went out to the shopping district to collect the mail from the post office.

When he arrived at the post station and got out of his car, he noticed that a young girl around the age of ten on the opposite side of the road, she was not paying attention to the cars when crossing the road.

Right about this moment, several cars suddenly appeared from the junction and moved at a high speed. The drivers seemed to be racing in this desolate road and did not expect to find a little girl in the middle of the road. They frantically hit the brake and a loud screech could be heard. But with that speed and distance between them, there was simply not enough time.

Upon noticing this, Silva’s body moved involuntarily as he dashed towards the little girl. He pushed her away from the car that was fast approaching. He thought he could use the recoil of the push to fall back and avoid getting hit by the car, but the girl was simply too light, so he was able to push the girl away quite easily. There was not enough recoil force, so he simply fell forward, against his own expectation. The car was already right in front of him and with a “bang,” it send Silva flying a few meter away and rolled on the ground, with blood splattered everywhere.

“Ah… reality is cruel… ” Silva thought to himself secretly as his vision blurred. However, even in such a situation, Silva was worried about the girl. He tried to move his eyes desperately to look at the surroundings, he was not able to move a single muscle at all, but at the corner of his sight, he could faintly see the little girl on the ground crying.

“Ah…… if she could cry so energetically like that, then she’s fine… I’m relieved… at least my life is not wasted like this…” Was Silva’s last thoughts before he took his last breath.

When Silva opened his eyes again, all he could see was pitch black darkness. There was no hint of light and he couldn’t even see his own fingers in this darkness.

“Where am I? Is this the afterworld? This place is much gloomier than I thought.” Silva shivered at the thought that he might have to spend the rest of his life in this endless darkness.

***

Now back to world of Halkeginia, deep within the forest of Alden, in the continent of Germania. There was a secret village of elves hidden in the dense jungle of Alden.

Inside a beautiful chamber, therein lies the body of an Elven Princess  devoid of any soul. She was lying on a large canopy bed for who knows how many years already. Her name was Ranah Elwyn la Sylphis.

Apparently she was a huge figure who played a major role in the Apocalypse War a few decades ago. She fought against a certain entity which threatened to destroy every species in the world, she was the one who convinced the proud elves to work together with the other races in order fight against this calamity and survives to see another day.

But when she went to investigate a certain dungeon some time after the war, she received a critical damage to her soul. Now she just spend all her time on the bed, staring at the ceiling with blank expression… she is slowly forgotten due to the passage of time.

***

Just at this moment, Silva heard a voice resounding from all directions. At the same time, a magic circle surrounded the body of the Elven Princess, “… I, Sheena de Hiraga des Ornières, command thee, who possesses the noblest soul and body, come forth and serve as this one’s sword and shield!”

Suddenly, a bright radiance appeared in the endless darkness, Silva naturally yearned for the light so he stretched his arms in hope reaching the only light source in this dark abyss. Elwyn’s body floated in midair as the magic circle that surrounded her lifeless body intensified. Then all of a sudden, the magic circle warped her entire body and disappeared along with it.

By the time Silva opened his eyes again, he saw an alluring beauty with blonde pink hair in front of him, loudly declaring, “From hence forth, you shall be serve as this one’s familiar!”

Silva was completely dumbfounded, he had completely no idea what just occurred. However, ignorant to Silva’s state of mind, the girl continued by asking for his name.

“Uh… Oh, my name? It’s S-Silva…” The young man answered obediently and the girl just nodded slightly before she introduces herself.

” …I see… so your name is Sylvia? I am Sheena de Hiraga des Ornières. Nice to meet you!” With a charming smile, Sheena introduced herself.

“Sheena…… de Orni what?” Silva was not good at remembering names, all the more when it comes to long and complicated name like Sheena’s, so he only managed to catch a little of her name. Silva was completely mesmerized by the pure smile of the young girl. Due to that, he didn’t notice that his own voice was high pitched.

Sheena chuckled and said, “You can just call me Sheena. I look forward to working with you.” Then she stretched her hand forward to lend Silva — who was currently kneeling on the ground with both knees — a helping hand.

Silva stretched his hand to take Sheena’s hand by reflex, but the moment he saw his delicate hand, he felt that something was not right. Only now did he realize that there were long strains of golden hair flowing down from his shoulder, and his chest felt kind of heavy. More importantly, the region between his crotch felt kind of empty.

When he resolved himself to look down, he saw two mountains bulging from his chest, a long and beautiful straight blonde hair draped from one side of his shoulder, and moreover, he is wearing a beautiful white one piece dress.

Just from these visual information, Silva could tell that this was most probably not his own body! Sure, he was surprised, but as an avid fan of Light Novel, Manga and Anime, he already had a rough idea of the current situation.

Half of the reason Silva did not retort when Sheena addressed him as Sylvia was because he was mesmerized by her charm, the other half was because he was half resigned. There were already plenty of people who pronounced his name wrongly and called him Sylvia in his previous life. He had to correct them every single time, but since he really is a girl now, retorting would only be counterproductive. So it’s pointless to argue over that now.

But this development was still a bit too sudden for Silva, now known as Sylvia. She still couldn’t immediately accept it as a reality, so she pinched her cheeks so hard to reaffirm herself.

“Ouch!!!” Upon sensing the pain, Sylvia immediately shouted with tearful expression.

She could feel the pain but she still couldn’t believe it since it was not impossible to feel pain in a dream, so she clasped her hands together and concluded, “Yep, this must be a dream!”

Sheena was confused at the sight and asked, “What are you doing?”



 

  1. N/a

Soft Spoken Brutality Chapter 6



Soft Spoken Brutality: That night, basking in some evening light

Kaneki’s perspective

Difficulty to comprehend the implications behind his current friendship was a must in this kind of situation, thought Kaneki as he lay in a somewhat comfortable bed. Comfort, to him, was a requirement for reflection, perhaps the only moment of peace during which the timidity that dominated his personality cedes ground. Reactions between adrenaline, panic and urgency; novelty, curiosity and desire; fear mixed with novelty… while those were all very self-explanatory in regards to why they were felt by Kaneki, the actual way of dealing with those particular emotions had escaped him to some particular degree. 

“Perhaps this would have been the issue with any ordinary person in this kind of situation,” he muttered offhandedly. Yet he never had any particular reason to think much about ghouls, or any elements of their life. Ghouls were mentioned in the news; wards were closed off or guarded more intensely during bouts of exploding ghoul activity. Some wards were simply deemed uninhabitable by non-ghouls. Of course Kaneki knew that. Anyone living in Tokyo in this day and age would have known that much. Yet, to be living in the peaceful 20th ward and realising the truth behind the cafe that was a very important part of his daily routine weighed heavily on him, much more heavily than realising Kamishiro Rize was an actual ghoul. 

Of course it is more realistic to believe that someone you just met is more likely to kill you, than the staff of a cafe you have been frequenting in the close past. That kind of conclusion would be immensely easy to make, especially if one were to take into account the fear an ordinary person has of betrayal. The deeply rooted hatred of betrayal any normal being may have is amplified in the case of this particular protagonist – familial betrayal, having to share blood with the very person who decided that their life and existence takes trump over their kin’s. It is this very betrayal, which drove the uncertainty about ghouls within Kaneki. 

“Ghouls and humans, huh? With persecution being so harsh, of course the ghouls would hide…” the way he muttered it was ordinary, yet at the same time he was stating something incredibly self-evident. Perhaps it was the tiredness he was feeling due to the sleeplessness he had experienced during the past few nights. Some time had, of course, passed since the incident in Anteiku and the construction yard. Yet it seemingly all blurred behind a dull, throbbing and consistent sound of a hammer hitting a soft sheet of jello. Tiredness and a lack of food seemingly amplified the sounds one may have ordinarily heard in the process of ordinary life by almost tenfold, whilst any sort of uncertainty and panic reached a frantic pace almost instantly. 

A loud ring interrupted this particular train of thought, one among many that had perhaps escaped the black haired youth in this haze of an escape. What he didn’t understand was Hide’s thought process behind trying to contact him at the youthful hours of the morning.  Hide had previously attempted to find him at different, more suitable time, despite his lack of success in that endeavour. Hide’s persistency humoured Kaneki and made him quite happy. This was the anchor that remained in his life, the flagship of normality within the sea of chaos that was the setting for the more recent duration of Kaneki’s life. Yet Kaneki had his reasons for maintaining distance, at the very least in the immediate short term. 

In actuality, the issues were both physical and mental: doubt and fear about two beings whom he had invested attention rejecting one another. This was less about them and their sense of worth and more about his sense of trust. It was about the soaring sensation one gets when achieving something, the throbbing when it is taken, the silence when it is gone. Yet here he decided not to take this risk, not with the mental exhaustion laughing openly at his panic. The option of lying never reached the forefront of his mind, for this wasn’t about him or his seeming betrayal of humanity. This was about his friend and his life. 

“Hello.”

—————

Yoshimura’s perspective 

Perhaps I pushed too much during our meeting with the young man. Behind the brave front lies a fragile young man. The hands and his posture telegraphs much… way too much. I have no doubt about the safety of Rize-chan or any other ghoul inhabiting the 20th ward. Yet this young man and his dilemma is too much reminiscent of becoming a ghoul himself, his mental health deteriorating due to his isolation and eventual separation from the human identity. 

My inattention nearly costs me once more, as I fail to notice the teacup nearing the edge of the counter. Despite the astounding poise we display at Anteiku, a lack of attention or direction is always an issue that plagues even the veteran of our staff, with each of them being so unique in both origin and disposition. 

Due to tonight being a late night shift, my relative loneliness in the cafe is justified. It is always this type of night, some night, some tasks and no ‘purpose’ to any of it beyond the routine. It is said that a schedule can take one’s mind off those troubling details that plague the present, past or future. 

The next part would be to prepare and clean all of the machines for use tomorrow. Ordinarily that would, of course, involve washing the individual containers and ensuring that all filters were in place, whilst also ensuring the coffee beans and sugar along with the more ‘sensitive’ contents of the Anteiku freezer stay out of public eye. All of this seems incredibly ordinary to anyone who would observe my evening doings.

Immediately I realise the absence of Yomo and the implications of what that means for this man’s routine – an addition to my failure to realise Koma and Irimi not being the very last to have left the vicinity. It never fails to remind me of how any misstep or carelessness on my part could lead to a repetition of the more tragic portions of my youth. This type of thought is always sobering during the quiet night of reflection and isolation. My life is the price I would give for any and all of the members of Anteiku, yet sometimes it feels that despite my supposed diligence, the heat of my missteps can be obviously gathered. 

Having experienced the death of many allies and friends, this steadfast approach perhaps gave and still gives this old man a sense of stability within life. This means a lot, as the faculty for success is the mind that can lead one out and into any potential situation. This is the reason that human ingenuity, despite their weakness, is known to trump the brutality of the lesser ghoul. Yet perhaps due to my steadfast appearance, others often fail to notice those missteps that occur. Of course there must be a measure of efficiency based on the frequency associated with those missteps and the importance of each individual occasion, that is, IF one had the leisurely time and opportunity for such things. 

After mentally noting Yomo’s time of return, I decide to give the matter of Kaneki-kun and Rize-chan some more thought, for this instance is of vital importance in the future. On my handling of this situation rests the fate of the 20th ward, and despite my tendency to make errors, it has never truly forsaken my being. The gravity of any situation was always innately perceived: the shift in the air, the movement of those in the area, the activity of the CCG…

Soon, out of habit, I navigated to situate myself closer to the window observing the alleyway, in an attempt to pacify my usual caution. During said process I turn to observe the trash littering the street corner: packs after packs of various household commodities, human food, electric appliances, clothes and …

Blood?

 



 

  1. N/a

Soft Spoken Brutality Chapter 5



 Chapter 5: Awkwardness…

Perhaps it was his bloodied state, the limp state of his arm as it lost its function and hung along the side of his equally bruised ribs. Maybe it was her disbelief at the situation that he had managed to cause even when he was this damaged. Both of them sat there in the same positions, speechless. It was not a matter of anger or sadness, despite their pain and mutual anguish. It was quite difficult to distinguish who was truly the victim in this instance, for on both their faces sat an expression of mutual surprise.

The red sclera and Kaneki’s wounds all pointed toward a ghoul attack, with the perpetrator literally a few steel bars away. As a result of this an awkward silence ensued, only truly broken by the laboured breaths of the human male and his extensive injuries.

“Rize-san,” he laboured between wheezes and coughs, probably pointing toward his ribcage being pushed in onto his lungs.

“I know. You may not see me- as anything… besides a meal,” he attempted to continue. The female ghoul in question perked up and seemed to prepare to lunge and finish Kaneki off with her appendages, almost out of spite. Yet she never made the move. It was almost unbelievable. Somewhere along the way his words and actions had swayed her judgement, unbelievably so. Her hunger was also a moot point, seemingly pounded out of existence by the danger she so narrowly escaped.

“But I won’t give you up to the CCG,” he finally finished and slumped backwards, the feeling of weight being lifted from his very being. He felt sorry for himself and her; this situation was wrong. That’s why here he was trying to rectify it. She merely scoffed at his peace offering, seeing it as a half measure of sorts. One that doesn’t seem to imply or bring about anything positive; a lie, similar to the many others she is familiar with in her life.

Her tone ice-cold, “Kaneki-san, what makes you think I won’t kill you right now?”

His reply came with a goofy smirk, one that would have been quite relevant, if not for his lack of flesh on the shoulder. “I don’t, but I don’t mind either way, Rize-san… I already resigned myself previously. I merely wish to give us a chance to talk some more. I really did enjoy our date!” he coughed.

Once again her disbelief was an odd combination of misguided doubt and worry, a simple lack of understanding for this human’s intentions and lastly, her own self-doubt over the possibility of finding a ‘different’ human. One that she could see as something beyond a meal.

Thus began the inner conflict over the decision of his fate, one that ironically he may not survive due to his injuries. On one hand, the CCG was a major concern if they were to find out who she was. Her identity, if compromised, would lead to a difficult life full of starvation and annoyances. The enjoyment she would get from tormenting her pray would be naught, as all her hunts would have to be quick and efficient. Not an option.

The overpowering curiosity was also at the forefront of her thoughts. Why would a human she had taunted, one who had come to terms with his faith, have saved her?

“I’ll help you call the ambulance, anything beyond that is none of my concern,” she stated matter-of-factly.

The cold tone she had adopted had almost demoralised the young teen, making him even more acutely aware of her previous façade. This realisation was not mind shattering, especially amongst the pain he was tolerating; however it was unpleasant and certainly uninvited.

“I know this may sound stupid, but Rize-san, would you stay in touch?” he said, trying his best to sound light-hearted and carefree. His attempt did not go on to succeed; instead he sounded desperate and lost.

“Goodbye Kaneki-san,” was all the answer that he had gotten.

After all she didn’t expect him to reach out, nor did she want to respond back, though a shred of doubt did worm its way into her heart. Perhaps she should have said something…

One month later…

It had been difficult no doubt, getting around with a cast and a corset. The aches and the pain are tolerable but irritating, throbbing non-stop; an under addressed issue, one which I attempted to put behind me without much thought or consideration. The cause of this issue is a different matter – she still frequents Anteiku, she stills sits in the same spot. She still reads, so those are the traits about her which she doesn’t fake. One peculiar thing is that she no longer brings her dates to Anteiku, if she has any at all. I’d like to feel flattered because of it.

Hide is also a constant within my life after my ‘accident’, more so than usual. The night I arrived in the hospital, somehow he had managed to deduce my non-replies to his texts and calls were a sign I was injured. Soon after my arrival at the hospital in the 20th ward, he too had found his way to my room. Afterwards I was treated to an extensive series of questions that I had been too weak to answer at that moment in time. The doctor had said I lost about 2 litres of blood and that I could have died from exsanguination, as customary of such injuries that were caused by ghouls.

Another surprise visitor was quite unexpected – a member of the CCG. Well, two of them, actually. Apparently it was customary for all the ghoul attack survivors to receive a detailed questioning session from the CCG about their endeavour. The more astute looking tall man, Amon Kotarou, was the one who did all of the talking. His partner in the mean time only listened and asked questions where clarification was necessary. I did keep my promise to Rize-san, of course, what kind of person would I be if I didn’t? This was an issue of her livelihood; while all I had to do was lie to people I had never seen before. An easy choice, even if I’m not the most natural liar.

The CCG always stressed the identity of the ghoul attacking. “What was this ghoul’s gender?” Amon asked.

“A male?” he reiterated to confirm.

“What age did they seem?” he continued.

“What were the appendages they assaulted you with like?”

“Were they wearing a mask?”

For every detail my imagination seemed to get wilder and wilder so. Almost as if my near death experience removing being a factor in removing my inhibitions, I pulled out all the knowledge I had on ghouls. “Ukaku, is that the kagune which resembles a pair of wings?” I feigned ignorance.

“Oh so you do have some knowledge pertaining to ghouls, Kaneki-kun,” interrupted the older man. His informality and patronising tone serving to disarm and calm the one being questioned, a way of tricking out information; a practiced technique, no doubt.

“I merely enjoyed reading the book on ghouls. Though I can’t remember the title of it for some reason, it helped sate my curiosity, especially with the growing prominence of the binge eater.” While a lot of the information I had given to them about Rize-san was erroneous, this was the truth. I had spent sometime learning information about ghouls even if some of the details are quite vague in my memory.

Eventually we had reached a profile of the ghoul who supposedly attacked me, a male who wore a semi orbed mask with a kagune resembling wings. As far from Rize-san as I could possibly take it…

Whilst recollecting I never seemed to notice Rize-san’s sudden proximity to me, with her waving her hand in my face and trying to draw a reaction.

“Hello, Rize-san.”

Rize’s perspective

“So you are alive, surprising considering how much blood you lost.” I smirked, my own ‘concern’ being a motivation for me to visit him.

“It’s surprising you moved to talk to me, Rize-san,” he attempted to be indifferent, diplomatic. Yet I saw his surprise. The tiniest flicker of the eye, the shift in arm stance. “Don’t worry Kaneki-san, it would be odd if we ignored each other after our ‘date’.”

Despite the pleasantries, this was a struggle for conversational direction, for there is no doubt about the plenitude of questions we have for each other. It is not often that two members of opposing species gather to have civil conversation. I decided to address the elephant in the room: “Why did you save me?” This question had been bothering me for the entire month of our separation, with the CCG apparently sending extra doves to the 20th ward. Among the posters my description was nowhere to be seen. Instead an ukaku ghoul with some interesting physical attributes was among the wanted for said ward.

“Rize-san, have you ever considered the concept of livelihood? I cannot blame you for killing as it is part of your nature,” he paused. My guess on his motivation was probably something higher serving, yet he asks me a question I never truly care for or considered. “Kaneki-san, you eat meat, don’t you?” I queried, hoping he would catch on and understand my rather crude point about ghoul and human relations.

“Hello there, Kaneki-kun.”

“Rize-chan.” I silently cursed at the sudden intrusion, the only irritation within my daily life that I couldn’t completely ignore – the old manager, Yoshimura. I’m guessing his personal involvement will involve asking Kaneki about his recovery as well as any clues about what he actually knows.

Unfortunately I was wrong.

“Kaneki-kun, you do know who attacked you?” the man queried out of the blue. The random nature of the remark was then elaborated on. “I merely heard you were attacked in the close vicinity. As a constant visitor of the café, we are invested in the well-being of our frequent customers.” His smile was genuine, at least for a human’s eyes. I could see careful calculation in the remark, almost like a form of dramatic irony. His eye in the sky superiority granted him information that he used to manipulate the perception of the situation. His intensity would have been suspicious, if not for the manager’s absolute certainty over Kaneki-san’s information about my identity.

This was possibly the worst-case scenario.

“What do you mean, manager?” Kaneki tried to deflect the question.

He could possibly be killed. Even I felt a bit upset at that prospect. Not that he, or anyone else would ever find out.

“I’m merely asking if your assailant was Rize-chan.”

That was unexpected. Before, I managed to somehow defend myself and prevent Yoshimura from evicting me from Anteiku.

“No, but Rize-san had saved my life. I was attacked by another ghoul, whom she repelled,” he deliberately said quietly, understanding the need for secrecy.

Once again my features may have been outwardly calm, however I was far from it. I was surprised by this human once more, though his selfless dedication to others would have probably disgusted me in any other situation. Yet here he was, lying to whom I presume he already deduced as a ghoul, for my sake.

I silently however scoffed at my own weakness, despite his attempts to help me. Maybe life isn’t important to him; maybe something else is. Perhaps if I find his true ‘love’ or goal I can demonstrate that his rescue and care for me was merely a spur of the moment.

“Yoshimura-san, what Kaneki-san has said is true. He was attacked by an odd looking ghoul whom I repelled. As all of the local tenants had seen us together, it would draw the CCG here if he died while he was on a date with me,” I lied artfully.

“This in turn means that Kaneki-kun falls under our protection at Anteiku, since he is one of the few representatives of the human race that would, for any reason, protect or save a ghoul.” What was peculiar about this scene was how the manager had used such powerful rhetoric, yet his movements and gestures looked like he was querying us on the quality of the coffee and whether or not we had enjoyed it. His ability to seem human and blend in with humans seems to come from years of experience. Despite our lack of significant interaction, I have always wondered where the manager had learned his skill of communicating his desire to individuals whose original aims and purpose couldn’t go farther from his own.

After the manager’s declaration of intent, no doubt to the confusion of my human companion, I mentally berate myself. Since when did he become ‘my’ human?



 

  1. N/a

Soft Spoken Brutality Chapter 4



Chapter 4: ‘The date’

Anteiku was far from empty at this point in the morning. Yet, despite the relatively crowded atmosphere, it still retained the feeling of comfort and homeliness that it was so renowned for, with all of its patrons, human or ghoul, silently enjoying the coffee. As it was Yoshimura’s shift, this was an unspoken truth of the mornings. Due to his coffee being so highly demanded, it seemed that he single-handedly funded all of Anteiku’s costs.

“Kaneki-sann!” Rize called out as she saw him approach her table. Attempting to force the blush that adorned his face down, he approached, and mustering his courage, uttered, “Hello Rize-san, you do look quite attractive today”. If anything the surprise on her face was evident, followed by a slight red hue mirroring his own. Sitting down, Kaneki noticed his orange-haired companion attempting to inconspicuously show a most exaggerated thumbs up.

“Your friend is quite nice, Kaneki-san,” Rize said jokingly, her fun loving nature seeping past her human façade. Too busy assuring Hide he had gotten his hint, he didn’t notice Rize’s remarks. Mentally huffing at him for being ignored, she tried once more. “So, shall we get going, Kaneki-san?”

“Ah yes!” he exclaimed. “But wouldn’t you want a cup of coffee? It is the manager making it right now.”

While Rize did mentally berate herself for making a foul of herself in front of her ‘date’, her unflappable composure remained steadfast. “Touka-chan,” Kaneki waved toward the purple haired beauty.

Her expression was one of annoyance, one that she immediately terminated as she slipped into her waitress’ persona. “What can I get you two?” she said, mentally scoffing at Rize’s peaceful expression. Though Touka realised that she was being hypocritical, at least she doesn’t lure unsuspecting men for food. A certain amount of pride for her abilities to fight as a ghoul welled within the waitress.

After taking the orders from the young man she immediately set out to find the manager, slightly angry at her warning for Kaneki not reaching its mark.

Rize however, was surprised by something else entirely. He had managed to remember what she drank each time at the café, granted she had never changed her drink. It was surprising, and most definitely unexpected; a sort of pleasant snippet of information a real date could probably put to use. Yet, she merely attempted to smile pleasantly, thanking him for the latte.

Rize’s first person perspective.

‘There is no harm in enjoying myself for now”. That particular thought kept floating at the front of my inner musings, while my mental debate on how much I enjoy Kaneki’s company was still raging quite fiercely within my head.

“Kaneki-san, what hobbies besides reading do you have?” I attempted to inquire casually, with a curiously soft tongue. This question wouldn’t work if he felt trapped. While I can guess that he is unlikely to have anything as a hobby due to his lack of balance and simplicity of his personality, I still feel that if he reveals anything that I may have missed before, feigning ignorance would not lose any traction.

“I uhm, enjoy, well… It does depend on the situation.” He nervously responded, almost as if tilted by the question. Another failure of mine, I seem to be losing my touch.

Deciding to go for a more playful route, I ask, “Am I your first date?” The tone was almost patronising. Yet, it held warmth and understanding, the loneliness being a shared property of ours.

Perhaps he was tired of being on the defensive, or the heat of the room was getting to him, as he stammered

“Rize-chan!”

That was perhaps a final blow, too much for his patient logical mind to endure. It was adorable and also quite appetising. Deciding not to push the issue, I merely waved and giggled, “Its ok Kaneki-san, you are just too cute when you are like this,” While it may not have been the most eloquent response, it seemed the most appropriate based on how flustered he was.

Instead I decided to ask about the reason for his love for Takatsuki Sen. As a ghoul, it is the creeping accuracy of the description of our hunger, the ever-lasting danger and lack of security that draws the few of us that do read toward this author. Yet as humans, besides the horror, what would they find lurking in those dark tales?

“The idea of corruption, of growth through negativity is a nice breath of fresh air among various authors,” was his response. Yet despite it, I never understood his reasoning, for the madness that was a part of those novels bred nothing but disdain for the weak characters unable to withstand its corrupting recesses. Perhaps his viewpoint is this somber due to his family background, I mused to no one in particular.

“Kaneki-san, you never seemed to talk about your family, why is that?” I asked with a particular effervescent tone of voice, almost trying to permeate the question with a carefree attitude. The sudden change of his demeanour, though surprising, was all kind of expected. “Well, my mother had died when I was quite young,” he whispered. “So did my father, though I did get some time together with mother when she was alive,” he followed. I felt no sympathy, truly, for I was an orphan myself, and it really didn’t matter. For appearances sake, I merely nodded sympathetically and took a grasp of his hand from across the table.

His solemn expression was replaced by a blush as he was unsure of how to react to my simplistic gesture of sympathy. “Rize-chan, thank you,” was all the he uttered. The awkwardness that settled was irritating, as despite his cute unabashed innocence (I openly shudder at how excited I am for my meal), there is a lack of direction for our conversations. Deciding to take a risk, one that may open up an entertaining direction to our little date, I gambled. “Kaneki-san, I know this may be a random question, but what do you think of ghouls?”

It only took him a second to reply, meaning he either had already considered his stance on the issue or he does not see it as complex enough to require much more thought…

“Ghouls and humans, we all struggle, yet do we have a way to change what we are?” I beckoned him to continue, as I often asked this question to my meals, gauging their reply and mentally basing their torture and my meal on how shallow they are. He continued, “yet if I were to guess, a ghoul has no choice in the matter. If I were to suddenly become a ghoul, I think I would be disgusted at the beginning.” Although annoyance hit me at the use of the word ‘disgusted’, I agreed that if I became a human I would probably feel a same sort of disgust and disdain.

“I never seemed to think of it that way, as ghouls and humans are born into their own groups an-” I spoke.

“They never realise the struggles and issues of their counterpart,” he finished, after which a sheepish grin and apologies for interrupting me started pouring out from his mouth.

Once again my control over my irritation was flawless, although I do wish that I could have a similar level of control over my hunger.

-Kaneki’s perspective

Rize-chan and I talked for quite some time about a large variety of topics ranging from books to friendship and ghouls. My excitability surprised her and myself included. Despite my repeated attempts at containing myself and controlling my frantic pace of discussion, I failed miserably. Still, Rize-chan took it in stride, mirroring all of my actions with replies that made her seem masterful at the art of interaction.

One measly little detail was quite odd, however – her question about ghouls. It was not unlikely, with the Binge Eater and his attacks on the 20th ward, but sudden indeed. I shrugged it off as we continued to explore and discuss the various aspects of our lives that were interesting and note worthy. She did, however, seem to space out on multiple occasions, before replying quickly and on point, almost as if planning her responses.

But then again, this is a date. What good would it be if both of us made fools of ourselves, not just me?

It was getting quite late by the time we had decided to get back, so I decided to offer to walk her home. To my surprise, she pecked me on the cheek and beat me to the chase. “Thank you so much for the date, Kaneki-san,” followed by “would it be alright if you walked me home? It is getting quite late after all.”

While her proximity to me was not surprising, as she had been physically close to me all day, increasingly so, the nature of her closeness seemed a bit strange. It was almost as if she was breathless, frantic and uncontrolled.

“Rize-chan! Rize-chan! Are you alright?” before the words managed to leave my mouth, I flew.

I uttered a scream, one of pain and shock, as I hit something incredibly hard. Frantically, I looked for the source of the impact, my ears ringing from the shattering of stone against my side. What I did manage to catch was:

“Tag, you’re it!” If I were any less damaged, I would have been shocked by the glee it was spoken with. I attempted to struggle and run; I was attacked by a ghoul! As I tilted my head upward, I realised the source of the attack.

The struggle from me was over. I merely looked at her with eyes that held sympathy. My understanding for her question finally culminated in this moment where both our masks were shed.

“You don’t mind if I stir up your insides, do you?” she said with the same sadistic glee. Yet it held less of the madness compared to her initial outburst. Her breathing was laboured; the smirk she wore was still a constant on her ordinarily lovely face. Of course I know I should be angry, or at least upset for being tricked…

Yet I just couldn’t bring myself to a state of anger or disappointment for that matter. Instead I resigned myself. Not before the realisation that she was just toying with me, the question on ghouls used to gauge my reaction and play into her sadism, but the fact that my life was never something worth treasuring; I have only one friend, no ‘family’ besides my mother, and a relative in the form of my aunt.

Despite my belief that ghouls tend to finish their meals quickly, Rize-san merely continued throwing my unresponsive body like a doll into the various crèches of the construction site. Only because of my resignation did I notice the steel beams hanging above us, and faintly I caught a shadow working at them with the same appendages that Rize-san possesses. The pain was nigh unbearable, yet adrenaline had started to dull the initial shock, gifting me a throbbing presence instead of a stabbing pain…

Rize’s perspective:

Unbelievable, simply unbelievable! An entire day’s work, wasted! I understand that he may resign to his death, yet the peaceful serenity with which he had done so is simply daunting. The urge to prove him wrong, to show him that pain cannot always be endured was burning on the forefront of my mind. My rinkaku kagune kept tearing into his thighs and shoulders, trying to cause just enough pain to make him cry out and prove him wrong, yet enough to keep him alive.

Frantically, I kept taunting him with all manners of insults. “Kaneki-san, this pain, why is it you who is bearing it?” The same blank stare was his reply. Soon enough I merely tore into his shoulder, his flesh being as appetising as any other, yet between bites I kept hearing him say goodbye. Not that it mattered; he had already spoiled this meal for me. No amount of delectable flesh would change that.

In my hunger I failed to notice his other muttering of “look-out, Rize-san”, it was barely above a whisper. What was even more surprising was his attempt at pushing me, one that was so frantic and forced that a smirk adorned my face at the thought of my taunts and intimidation working.

Yet as I landed on the dirt, steel beams adorned the ground where I had previously been feasting…

 



 

  1. N/a

Soft Spoken Brutality Chapter 1



Note: First time uploading any fanfiction onto this site, hence please be critical but constructively so when reviewing (if you decided to do so). If there is interest I might upload other things I have written.

Part 1: Set a week before Kaneki’s ‘date’ with Rize

Hide and Kaneki were once again at Anteiku, silently sipping coffee; well, at least Kaneki was doing so. Hide chattered about his growing attraction for the local waitress, one who’s purple bangs and seemingly innocent nature had, like many others, attracted him.

However, Kaneki’s attention was neither on the waitress nor the coffee that sat in front of his dazed and clueless expression. Instead he was fixated on a novel, the author being Takatsuki Sen, ‘The Black Goat’s Egg’. It was quite a peculiar novel, one about a serial killer mother, and the corruption it wrought onto the innocuous protagonist son. Despite the tragic and disturbing nature of the tale, Kaneki never paid heed to it. As though the grief that had already entered his life wasn’t enough for him.

“Kaneki”, “Kaneki!”, “Kaneki!” Hide continuously poked at his childhood friend. Rubbing the offended body part, Kaneki simply sheepishly responded, “Sorry, spaced out for a second”. What Kaneki did not notice immediately, however, was the grin that his friend was currently showcasing. It was a matter of the greatest importance, a grin that permeated mischief and chaos. “Look to your left,” Hide had whispered.

With a subtle turn of his head what Kaneki saw was quite unexpected. A young woman of a subtle complexion, her face and soft curved nose adorned by a pair of rimmed glasses. She looked like what you would expect a summer beauty to. Fresh, happy and quite innocent, the air suddenly took a lighter feel for Kaneki. Rize Kameshiro, a frequenter of the café, and in the same seat as well. “If I didn’t know any better, I would expect her to be a model,” Hide said pointedly.

“Why are we looking?” Kaneki uttered while hurriedly turning away from the beauty. Almost expecting said question, his friend interrupted him by pulling a hand to his face whilst simply shaking his head.

Not taking that as a useful hint for any information, Kaneki questioned once more, only stuttering ever so slightly “Why were we looking?”

“Haven’t you noticed?” Hide remarked silently.

This made Kaneki pause, as it was within his pedantic nature to attempt to notice some forms of irregularities. Yet he drew a blank in this instance, and at the same time he knew that his friend was a sharp one. More so than any of the other people he had associated himself with (that number not being significant).

“What was I supposed to notice?” was the response of the black haired teen, almost in semi formed exasperation, while the cheerful Hide simply chuckled. “Gotcha” was almost shouted with a smug grin. Despite the lack of response from Kaneki, Hide maintained the amused expression, somehow not noticing the lack of attention he was getting while the other teen simply indulged in the novel at hand due to his lack of success at the previous matter.

The vivid description of the taste of human flesh was almost surrealistic. As instead of describing some form of taste, a flavour perhaps, maybe even seasoning of some sort, it described the emotions associated with said hunger, that of anguish, sorrow and sadness. Then it even elaborated on the beauty of said colours of hunger and how they each represent a different loss – the colour purple for its radiance and ambiguity, the colour red for its anger and passion; finally, the colour blue for its sadness and compassion.

The morbid curiosity that attracted readers was amplified tenfold due to Kaneki’s intense fascination with Takatsuki Sen. The author who’s books had carried him and liberated him from loneliness, those and the goofball beside him. This train of thought was however interrupted by a jolt from the reinvigorated Hide.

His expression was one that was exaggeratedly excited, almost mimicking a child who was mischievously planning how to eat his candy.

“Nerd! Nerd! Hello? Earth to Kaneki!” he kept repeating toward the distracted young man, all the while trying to keep the waitress from leaving due to his friend’s non-responsive state.

“What would you like to order?” the patientwaitress tried once more while the sheepish looking Hide shrugged.

“Two lattes please, and if you don’t mind could you make them?” He tried sounding diplomatic and calm. Despite his attempt, however, it came out as curt and demanding, yet cute to some degree, the waitress had thought.

Just at that moment Kaneki raised his head to see the waitress departing and realised his blunder. Not a moment too soon as his friend merely laughed at his expense.

Hoping to combat the awkwardness of his failure, the black haired teen merely stated, “You did lose me, when you, you know, tried to make me guess the issue behind Rize-san’s mystery.” He grumbled good-naturedly.

Reflexively, Kaneki turned to watch the young woman leave as he thought of her, just barely catching her holding the exact same novel as him. “Oh,” he muttered, as the bells rang and her soft purple hair flowed out following her natural and almost practiced movements out.

Hurriedly, almost too much so, the boy peered out of the window, as if trying to catch a glimpse of the beauty or the novels she was holding. Instead what he got was a dazzling smile.

A caring smile, one that denoted the feelings warmth and affection; it was enough to make his innocent heart sing with ecstasy. When he was about to turn away hoping that the smile was not directed toward him, she waved.

Clearly and certainly she had waved towards him. It seemed that she had noticed his earlier blunders and attempts to observe her. Was she rewarding him? For his blunder? Silently he gulped and tried to look as relaxed as possible as he waved back, silently hoping that she would remember him next time they met, as it seems that they do have some things in common, don’t they?

“Thanks for the coffee, Touka chan!” Hide said, snapping Kaneki out of his daze for the last time that day. What stood in front of them were two cups of well-brewed latte. The latte art, however, was quite different; Hide’s was simply a tree.

Kaneki’s, however, was a stop sign.



 

  1. N/a

Soft Spoken Brutality Chapter 3



Chapter 3: The fateful morning!

Hazily, as I rose from the bed in my modest apartment, fondly I touched the book that had kept me company for the night. The cover of ‘Blood Meridian’ gave me the familiar chill that all horror novels had. Yet it was definitely pleasant in its own way, one of the few small pleasures of my colourless life. Looking up to the room devoid of light, the dust and the scattered novels did give the room a certain appeal, almost conveying the loneliness and lack of human contact, contrasted with the rich content on the white pages.

“Each tells a different story,” I muttered, yet mine is just mine. The brutality I read is certainly too far removed from my life. While I do enjoy watching the corruption of the heart and mind depicted through a series of tragic events, I silently continue to hope that it stays that way…

Stretching my hands and legs, I wrap the blanket around the top of my head, reflecting on how I had managed to get a date with such a beautiful woman.

“It is hard to find someone who appreciates literature and a rich cup of coffee,” her words echoed bringing a warm sheepish smile to my face. Of course Hide tries quite hard to follow and discuss my hobby, harder than I ever do for his interests. Yet Rize-san possesses a certain affinity for the subject, ripping the words I meant to say out of my mouth, though her gentle guidance seems like a soft path, attempting to drive me toward her opinion through well thought out statements and curt observations. Perhaps I am hopeless, as it is her beauty and soft features that make her language that much more powerful.

I spent one too many nights trying to understand why she had approached and noticed me on our first meeting; Hide’s hasn’t been letting me off on any occasion, attempting to pry every single detail about our first conversation and probe it with his deft mental capacity. Of course I resist, but eventually I give in. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?

The ringing of the phone companied by the playing of ‘requiem for a dream’ meant the arrival of a call. At this hour, only one person would and could call me; I chuckle as I pick up the device listening to the first sounds of the call.

“Kaneki! I do realise both of you love books, but a library truly is the lamest place, ever. For a first date.” he said with a flat tone, before proceeding to whine some more. “Wouldn’t the movies do, perhaps some horror would be quite the highlight? Don’t both of you adore it?”

Flustered and slightly on the defensive, I merely reply “Hello- to you too!” I say stressing the latter.

“Yes Hide, I am definitely sure I want to go to a book store,” and despite my irritation and aggravation there is still a playful edge to my voice, one that he catches without failure. “It sounds you almost enjoy being scolded. Perhaps Rize-chan is just as into that kind of thing.” Almost falling over from the shock of his comment, I attempt to recuperate and retort, yet nothing except for simple denial comes to mind. Ironic that I would read so much, just to find myself lost for words.

“Hello? Kaneki?… While I realise that I have completely caught and annihilated you verbally…” I could almost imagine him smirking. “I do still have to remind you that your ‘date’ is in one hour!” verbally berating myself for such a lack of foresight, I quickly dropped the blanket from my head, its warmth leaving my presence being a most unpleasant feeling, the safety and security it offered serving as a constant of the morning. “Yes Hide! Fully ready to run” I jokingly remarked.

“Going to go get ready now… I’ll talk to you when I get to Anteiku” I stated rather quickly, too quickly almost.

“Jerk” he muttered while laughing as he hung up. Despite my cold reply and overall demeanour, I simply attribute the whole situation to our mutual understanding. He is practically the only person I do talk to, not that I would admit it, especially to him. Sometimes he is the only one who keeps me rooted in this bland reality. Once again I mentally berate myself for such an outlook. For I always promised myself to keep going despite any challenges this life throws at me.

Perhaps he is the only one who gets to see this cynical side of me, not for too long however. I hate to bring him down with it, especially considering how much he had helped me over the years. Not that he’d ever mention it. He’s just too nice of a person, and too perceptive if need be. His joyous gaze becoming solemn over the duration of a relative time period, instantly dissecting your worries. Making them his…

Of course accusing him of selfishness would be wrong, as he merely adopted the problem. Still his wholehearted commitment inspires me to try and do the same for someone. Secretly I hope that once I do get to know Rize-san better she is of the same opinion. I seem to physically glow at that possibility, as if she does seem like a companion and someone I would like to get to know better.

A more doubtful side of me however kept saying that her smile was too perfect. Her movements too practiced and her dialogue too natural. Of course that would be too crazy, I’m definitely not special enough for such special effort on her part.

The passing time made me quite aware of my surroundings for once, the fact that 15 minutes had passed was surprising but not abnormal. After all, Anteiku was not far away at all…

Rize’s perspective:

My date with Kaneki-kun was supposed to be today wasn’t it, such a shame. I truly did enjoy his company while it lasted. His idea for the date at the bookstore truly does fit us if we were an ordinary human couple. Silently I smirk while contemplating the idea. If I were born human, would I be less cynical? Or violent? Perhaps. It is funny contemplating the endless possibilities and I would have done so if I hadn’t had my meal planned for tonight.

Wiggling my toes I got up from my satin bed, the sunlight illuminated the through the half-drawn curtains. While the shade of the light entering the room was certainly exquisite. Falling directly on the striped carnations in the vase on the table next to the window. I would find out what they represent, but in this bind for time I don’t feel the necessity. Especially considering the faster I get this date over with, the faster I can sate the thirst. My kakugan materialising as I temporarily lose control of the hunger.

“I thought I had gotten pretty good at controlling it, despite my voraciousness…” I sighed and pouted in disappointment at my loss of control, generally one of those in public could lead to my demise. Despite the pathetic lower ranked CCG members, there are always special class investigators, those can pose an issue. Unlike normal humans or other ghouls, they know what to look for and where if they are trying to kill me, not that I would ever mess up that badly… I’m not a weakling.

Remembering tales of the CCG’s s reaper does making me slightly uncomfortable, like any self-respecting creature. I fear death, especially if it comes in the package of an investigator who hadn’t been scratched by a ghoul’s kagune in years… perhaps I should cannibalise, acquire myself a kakuja. Immediately reflecting on how I might eventually be able to combat him on equal terms. Perhaps that’s getting too far ahead of myself I muse. I am stronger than most of the ghouls in Tokyo, this allows me to roam the wards uninhibited.

Perhaps that is the reason Jason is on my trail. Is it my haughtiness? A lady does have her needs, even if those take the form of a massive amount of sustenance. A smirk adorning my face, I recall the innumerable times I had caused issues for the various ghoul communities across Tokyo. Leaving the positive memories momentarily, I had reached into my closet and observed the assortment of clothing sitting and gathering dust. Considering my meal later today, perhaps I should wear something more disposable. Yet a feeling within me says that white and red would go pretty well together. Especially if I were to get rid of the purple…

 



 

  1. N/a