NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1.2
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Chapter 1.2. Prologue
With a shuffle, the black cat runs between abandoned buildings. It ran through a narrow passageway only a cat could and stopped halfway through. A crow was perched on an unused power line. The black cat sees this and stops, and from the shadows, a large rat, about the size of a large pack of mice, bites the black cat. The black cat flails, but eventually loses its strength and stops moving. The rat reopens its mouth to eat, but the black cat disappears like a mist, and its bite flies through the air.
The crow sees this, flaps its wings, and flies away. As the crow flies into the air, it sees ruins. Amidst the ruins, a 50-meter-high concrete wall can be seen in the distance.
A sign on the road says a few kilometers to Ueno, and a little beyond that, the wall rises, enclosing the land inside as if to protect it.
“Caw.”
With a single cry, the crow flies into the desolate ruin, opposite the towering building, and flies to an abandoned building about 20 stories high. In the distance, bird-like and human-like figures, bigger than the crow considering the distance, can be seen flapping their wings.
The crow is on the roof of an abandoned building. It descends in the yard of the house that serves as the penthouse.
“Caw!”
A middle-aged man, who had been sitting indoors, leaning back in his chair and shutting his eyes, opens his eyes. He is a middle-aged man of medium height and stubble. He is a little slender.
His eyes are sharp and dangerous.
“Were there goblins in that place? It gets invaded quite a bit. It’s just the right place.”
He snapped his fingers as he stood up, snapping his neck. The crows disappeared with the sound as if they were melting.
“Hmmm, what a bunch of idiots to be bandits in a place like that.”
Rubbing his chin, the old man heads for the kitchen, turning to un-stiffen his shoulders. When he opens the refrigerator, no cold air blows out. There is no power. But there are canned goods.
“Mmm. I used a lot of magic power with the shadow puppets. A feast would be good for today. Yes, let’s have rice and curry.”
He takes a plate from the shelf and heads to the living room with the canned goods.
He returns to the living room and moves his eyebrows with a twitch.
“Nyahhh. Hello-nyanko.”
A girl with cat ears and a cat tail was sitting on a chair in the living room. She had semi-long brown hair that she fluttered and waved her hand. Her canine teeth, too long for a human, peeked out, and she smiled charmingly.
“Karin, huh? You’re still the same guy who never rings the intercom. Trespassing is a felony, you know? In my book.”
“It’s just an intercom-nya! You’re eating something delicious, isn’t-nya?”
I sniffed at the cat girl who was laughing at me teasingly and put rice and curry on my plate.
“Good. Can I have a bite of it-nya? I rarely eat curry-nya.”
Ignoring Karin, who was drooling, I picked up the spoon and began to eat. Curry and rice are precious. I won’t give it to you.
“So, what do you want?”
“Just a bite is fine-nya.”
“Nonsense. So?”
When I stared at Karin who was pretending to vomit, with a cold gaze, she shrugged her shoulders as if she had given up.
“Boss Shingen called you, nyan nyan. He wants you to exterminate the goblins that appear in the fields on his territory-nya. The reward is ten canned foods, ten ration coupons, and 100,000 yen-nya.”
“Goblins, …… how many of them appear in the fields?”
“Thirty-nya. It’s a field near the dungeon, so it’s always dangerous there-nya. Two farmers got killed the other day.”
“I’m grateful. Okay, tell Shingen. I’ll take the job. But don’t let anyone come near me. I’m sure they’ll die.”
Karin nodded as I placed my spoon on the empty plate. She made a regretful face at my empty plate.
“Why don’t you show your face to the boss once in a while-nya? Sakimori is strong and has food and a safe house, so he’s popular with the girls. But if you choose a girl, you should ask me. I have no experience yet-nya.”
I swayed my body and looked at the little girl who gave a clumsy wink. Our age difference is more than a year. When I make a move, it’s when I decide to get married.
“Not that I’m going to, either.”
I’m going to give you a good flick.
“It’s hurrtz, that’s terrible-nyan. Your name is Sakimori, but you don’t protect me at all-nya.”
When I flicked her forehead, Karin rubbed her forehead and booed me, but that was usual.
“It’s a message fee. Here.”
Karin takes a ration coupon out of her pocket and throws it at me. Her tail wagging cutely.
“Thanks-nyan. That’s why I love Sakimori so much. So, when do we start?”
To Karin who asked in a good mood, I answered with a thin smile.
“Tonight. Tell Shingen. I’ll start today, so have the reward ready.”
“Oh, early work, thank you-nyan. I’ll go tell the boss-nya.”
Karin stood up, carefully putting the ration coupon in her pocket, and wagged her tail as if showing it to me. Her small buttocks swayed together, and it was erotic.
I wave my hands in the air and look away with an expressionless face. Moving lightly for a human, Karin clung to the wall and slid dexterously down. One wrong step and she would be dead, yet she did not hesitate.
“It’s dangerous if she’s the enemy. Let’s change the placement of the cat alarm.
I clicked my tongue and recalled the cats placed on each of the building’s floors. I don’t think there are that many people with the characteristics of a cat, but just in case.
However, even if I changed the cat’s placement, she would still break through the alarm network as if she’s were aware of the cat’s placement. As a cautious old man, though, I can’t overlook it.
“I guess I’ll have to tolerate the risk for now. ……Well, I’m almost there. If I do, something will change, and I want it to change.”
With a bitter look, I left the penthouse and looked at the ground below.
“I’d like to get out of this life.”
Goblins and kobolds nestled in abandoned buildings, chrysalis hanging from stores, caterpillars crawling around. The dead still trying to live, zombies and skeletons stagger about. After watching these monsters wriggling around on the ground, Amano Sakimori returns to his room to nap until nightfall.