East of the city, in a coffee shop.
Ding-a-ling~~
A crisp chime of a doorbell rang out.
Tap-tap~
As the sound of purple crystal shoes tapping on the ground echoed, a purple-haired figure caught the attention of everyone in the shop.
Tall and slender, with a cute face and beautiful purple hair, wearing black-rimmed glasses, an elegant and intellectual aura emanated from her.
—Kamishiro Rize, a [Ghoul].
This was her third day in this world.
In her original world, as a gluttonous [Ghoul] with a voracious appetite, she had just set her sights on a cute, refined young man, preparing to lure him to a secluded spot to devour him...
But then she suddenly arrived in this world.
At first, she was very cautious, worried about dangerous things in this world.
But after two days of investigation, she discovered that this world seemed to be just an ordinary, everyday world, and it was a world without [Ghoul]s and without investigators.
Isn't this her cafeteria?
As long as she was careful and avoided modern surveillance technology, a few people disappearing in a big city wouldn't be a big deal, right?
So last night, she picked out an unlucky soul and enjoyed a delicious meal.
And today, she planned to eat more.
So... walking into the coffee shop, her gaze fell upon the four young men and women.
"Excuse me, may I share a table with you?"
Rize asked gently, with an intellectual smile on her face.
"…"*4
Her response was the silence of the four.
For no other reason than that the four people she asked were Hayashi and his companions, and she was precisely the [Ghoul] that Kazuma and the others needed to deal with on this trip.
They were already monitoring her, preparing to deal with her in a less crowded place.
What was this now, walking straight into a trap?
"Is it inconvenient?"
Although she was a little surprised by Hayashi and their silence and somewhat doubted if her charm had failed, Rize was still unwilling to give up the delicious meal in front of her.
A touch of pitiful vulnerability, as if rejected, appeared on her gentle, pretty face at the opportune moment, and she continued to ask.
"No, you're welcome, a warm welcome to the beautiful lady...!"
Kazuma immediately stood up obsequiously, eagerly pulling out a chair for Rize.
'That's more like it!'
Rize, who was still confident in her charm, was very satisfied with Kazuma's attitude.
However, even though Kazuma was fawning, she still planned to start with Hayashi later, because among these four, he smells the best.
It gave her a sense of infatuation, but she couldn't quite describe the feeling, yet his flesh was definitely the best!
Rize instinctively felt this way.
So after nodding gratefully to Kazuma, her gaze fell on Hayashi.
"Kamishiro Rize, it's a pleasure to meet you. Judging by your attire, you must be students, right...?"
Rize generously started the conversation and began interacting with them.
"Yes, I'm from Sobu High School, Hayashi. This is Suou Yuki, and those two are..."
Hayashi looked at Rize with a slightly strange expression. He was naturally very familiar with her; after all, she was one of the main beauties among [Ghoul]s.
And an extremely villainous beauty at that.
How could he not recognize her?
"Tsk!"
Compared to Hayashi, Kazuma was quite annoyed. Although he didn't have many thoughts about the [Ghoul].
But Rize was an exceptionally beautiful woman, and despite his fawning behavior, she only gave him a polite smile.
What the? As food in the [Ghoul]'s eyes, was he even inferior to Hayashi?
'Am I not as handsome as Hayashi?'
Kazuma questioned Iori beside him with his eyes.
'Naturally, you're a tier below me and Hayashi!'
Iori decisively replied with his eyes.
'Get lost! How could you compare yourself to me! I'm the European Emperor!' [1]
Kazuma retorted.
'You ****!'
His eyes flickered intensely; clearly, Iori was cursing very foully with his gaze.
'The coffee is good.'
Yuki, sitting nearby, watched Rize, who was leaning her entire body towards Hayashi, and then observed Kazuma and Iori, who were frequently exchanging glances.
She silently commented in her mind, enjoying the show.
Then she watched Hayashi and Rize chat aimlessly.
With their mutual understanding and reciprocal engagement, they found more and more common ground. Soon, they discussed what kind of opposite sex they liked.
"Hayashi-kun, what kind of person would you like to date?"
Rize asked.
"Similar interests and compatible values are prerequisites, and then, naturally, the prettier the better."
Hayashi said honestly.
"Oh, is that so? Then how about me?"
A hint of charming coyness flashed across Rize's intellectual, pretty face as she directly asked Hayashi.
"No way! That fast!"
Kazuma, who had been exchanging glances with Iori, couldn't help but speak up when he heard this.
"Do you believe in love at first sight?"
Rize looked at Hayashi with shy anticipation in her eyes.
—Full of obsession for exquisite food.
Seeing this, Kazuma looked at Hayashi, questioning with his eyes.
'So she's interested in you; can you handle it? Or will you lure her to an uninhabited area and hand her over to us?'
'I just happen to have a power I want to try out; just watch!'
Hayashi gave Kazuma an
Then, as he was about to respond to Rize's question about love at first sight.
An ethereal and gentle voice rang out.
"Young man! Wait."
"Kind young man, you have the potential to become a Messiah. Are you interested in ascending to a throne and saving a world?"
'Who is it, so lacking in tact!!'
Rize unhappily looked over, and then she saw a beautiful, tall, black-haired woman walking towards them.
Instantly, the anger she felt from having her good fortune disturbed vanished!
Because the other party was too beautiful; even she, who was somewhat narcissistic and confident in her own beauty, couldn't help but admit that the other's beauty surpassed hers.
It gave her the feeling of facing a more perfect version of herself.
Compared to her, Kazuma and Iori, who were beside her, were also stunned.
In Kazuma's eyes, she possessed a beauty similar to, but more exquisite than, the goddess Aqua.
In Iori's eyes, he saw a hint of his childhood friend, but with added nobility and majesty... While in Hayashi's eyes, Hayashi always felt like he was seeing a female version of a Huangpizi. [2]
Hmm... In certain forums from his previous life, the figures from the paintings of Slaanesh cultists, imbued with a sacred yet blasphemous aura, had stepped down from the cathedral frescoes.
'This guy...'
Looking at her, Hayashi felt his eyelids twitch uncontrollably.
This sense of déjà vu, like being conscripted... Damn it, this 'normal' world really lets all sorts of things leak through!!!
Editor's notes:
[1] Referring to luck
[2] "Huangpizi" (黄皮子) refers to a Chinese supernatural figure, often translated as a weasel spirit or "yellow skin."
(っ- ‸ - ς)