Chapter 0 I have began eating
「Nii-chan, do you believe that Shinigami exist?」
The solider with a scar on his cheek asked the guy beside him, under the swaying of the carriage. While drinking, the guy revealed a sarcastic smile.
「Shinigami? What the heck is that?」
「Don't ask, answer me first if you believe it or not.」
「I do not know any Shinigami, but if its a devil who looks like a human, I have seen it so many times until I am tired of it. Since I am tired of seeing devils, if there are Shinigamis, please do let me see. Hence if you want me to believe it, I will as long as you hand over the alcohol!」
The guy snatched the alcohol bottle, and began drinking from the bottle without waiting for a reply.The spilled alcohol dripped from the edge of his mouth.
On the horse carriage is the cannon fodder hired with money, which are the mercenaries. For money, they are willing to do anything.
Next is a certain 「tragedy」 that is about to be staged. The fellow who thought of this screenplay, is definitely a devil who is dressed in human skin.
Even if it was them who do not pick their work, will also frown at this task. Even so they are also unable to refuse, this is the reason why mercenaries are mercenaries.
「When heroes die, there will be a Valkyrie that arrives. Like this famous legend, my hometown also has another legend.」
「Yes, that is the Shinigami?」
After ingesting the alcohol, the happy man began to speak. The others having nothing to do, also focused on listening.
「Yes, that is right. But Shinigamis will not visit everyone, they will only appear before people who have an extraordinary ambition or desire —— and yet dying before they can accomplish it. In other words. Shinigamis seem to visit people who do not give up even until the end.」
「What, it will help to grant your wish before dying? Then that should be a goddess! I also want to see her. When I die, I also want to die under the skirt of a beautiful lady. Hehe!」
The man gave off a obscene laughter. The soldier with a scar on his cheek continues to say.
「……Wearing a black hood, a ugly skeleton monster who holds a scythe. I sure do not wish to see that. Shinigamis appear because they wish to reap the strong negative emotions, and to taste the strong blazing desires. The poor lambs will be slaughtered after the Shinigami has thoroughly enjoyed torturing it.」
「It sounds so fake. In the end, this story came out from where? That guy is still alive right?」
「That is of course. The dead has nothing to say.」
「Really, seriously listening to you speak, makes me feel like I am an idiot.」
「In short, at least it will not come to find you. Look at you, you look like a dying dog.」
「Hey, only you do not have the right to comment on my looks…… Look, we are able to reach, start preparing.」
Several carriages are parked near the remote village, the mercenaries immediately began to prepare the Flag of the Kingdom Army, wearing their helmets and armors.
Together they got of the carriage, and respectively surrounded the village.
「Though it is for the money, but I do not have any drive for this. Maybe it is because we have to destroy a village?」
He played with the long spear which is used as a weapon, seemingly completely not thinking so.
「If you do not want to do this, then head back. But there won't be a share of the rewards for you.」
「Hey hey, this is also work, just try to enjoy it. Since this is for the so-called 『righteous』 so there is no other chance.」
「……Okay, let's go. Do not let anyone of them go. If you want to play around, it's fine. But after you are done, you must deal with it.」
After the guy gave the command, the mercenaries disguised as the Kingdom Army rushed into the village.
Poor villages getting destroyed because of attacks by criminals like bandits, are not rare matters.
This time there is a difference, which is that the predators are 「Kingdom Soldiers」.
The villagers under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom are starving because of crop failures, but yet the ravagers mercilessly attacked. The Kingdom Soldiers who are supposed to protect them, are waving the weapons in their hands.
The taxes are already paid, but they demanded more tributes. If the village chief says they are unable to comply with tears in his eyes, the Kingdom Soldiers will use the swords in their hands without hesitation.
The poor lives, they cannot even make a decent resistance before being extinguished. Farmers without any fighting ability can only fled in panic.
Cries and screams echoed through the village, before finally disappearing. Driven by their desire, after abusing and snatching everything, they set fire to the house, destroying everything without leaving a trace.
Those who found a chance to escape from the village, their backs were shot with many precisely aimed arrows, and they fell to the ground like puppets who have had their wires cut.
No one can escape from this hell. No one can escape.
In this purgatory where everything is to be burnt——
A small and petite little girl with hollowed eyes, inside an old broken hut, preciously holding a small piece of bread that was taken in the disarray. She doesn't even have the strength to escape.
The girl's family tried to abandon her in an attempt to escape, but yet they were killed during the midst of it. After witnessing this scene, the girl who was left behind, fled into this dirty little hut.
The girl cannot even help with the farming, and not only the villagers, even her family felt that she is useless, thinking that it is better that if she had died.
Therefore only she was left behind, and survived to this moment. Because no one can escape from this village that is completely surrounded.
But the outcome should be similar. What is waiting for her is 「death」.
Abandonment, despair, sighs, and sadness. All sorts of emotions are intersecting in the little girl's heart.
——However, as she looked at the little piece of bread that was tightly held in her hands, her dirty little face showed a happy smile.
「……food. My.. my bread. The bread that belongs only to me.」
The death of her family, the fear of death that is approaching.
These sort of things do not matter.
Occupying the entire mind of the girl, is only one thing.
The only desire that conquered all these.
That is 「hunger」instinct of the animals——the desire called 「appetite」.
From the day the little girl was born, she has never eaten until she is 「full」.
Unable to hope that this barren land will be able to produce enough crops, and there are also heavy taxes. The males were conscripted into the army, this village is only composed of the old, weak and disabled.
The little available food, are reserved for people who are able to work.
Like those who go out and hunt, those who farms, and those who parents.
The little girl is skinny and lacks strength, and hence unable to properly do these tasks.
Only those who work get to eat, the little girl could only have the food which is no better than nothing.
The little amount of food causes the lack of physical strength, and hence become unable to work properly, and this further results in the reduction of food as a punishment. This sort of vicious cycle continues until the very end.
The girl has once became so hungry until she almost became crazy, and shoved weeds into her mouth. Surviving in such a situation, is perhaps a sort of miracle. The other villages have the tragedies of killing their children to reduce the number of people. The girl who is at the death gates, barely survived.
——Even if the ravagers came into the hut, the little girl remained motionless:Even if the intruder revealed a nasty smile, the girl did not turn her head；Even if the burly soldiers reached out to push her down, the little girl did not resist.
She has no strength to escape. In this case, only the bread cannot be snatched away.
She desperately gathered her strength in her hands.
「What is wrong with this lass? What are you carefully holding? Hey, show it to me!」
「——!」
「Do not resist! If not I will kill you!」
「……Ah!」
The man gave a punch, and the little girl is brutally knocked onto the ground.
「What, this is only a normal bread crumb, I thought it was something of worth. Ah, anyway there was nothing to expect from the start. Okay, take off your clothes, I don't have much time.」
The man grabbed the little girl's bread and tossed it into his own mouth,and then roughly torn away the girl's shabby clothes. The girl's naked petite little body is exposed.
「The others are all old women, the only young one is you. Though you are skinny, but I will just have to endure it.」
The man took off his clothes, and pushed her down before pressing on her, thinking to kill her after completing his matters.
「…………」
The girl completely did not care about her future. She could not stand continuing to endure her hunger.
But, she wants to kill this bastard guy. This guy stole her last amount of food. With killing intent filling her heart, her pulsing hatred gradually began to seep out.
Together with the dark emotion that is overflowing, is the hunger that almost turned her crazy. Anything is fine. As long as it is something that can be eaten, she will want to put it in her mouth.
Is there anything that can be eaten? The girl searched with her bloodshot eyes. Concentrating her sights, while twisting the corners of her lips, she continues to search for 「something」 that can be eaten.
Then—— she found it. She has discovered a prey that is more delicious than bread.
The odd action of the girl, caused the soldier who pushed her down to reveal a puzzled expression. When he is about to rip off the underwear, his sights met with the girl's sight.
The guy could not help but cringe back.
An experienced mercenary, who has to date killed many people, was shocked by a mere little lass. He did not care whether the prey cries or screams, but yet he has never seen anyone who reveals a smile when they met with such a situation.
It does not seem like madness due to despair. The girl is only smiling happily.
「Wh.. what is it? What are you laughing about?」
「…………」
The Shinigami who is holding a scythe looked at the girl. The girl did not feel any fear.
Is this an illusion? Or is this the real Shinigami who is waiting to reap my soul?
Dressed in a black robe, a Shinigami who wore a skull mask. The embarrassed guy looks like he is overlapping with the Shinigami.
Her vision seems to have a problem. The girl, in the gradually blurring world, only focused her gaze at somewhere.
「Wha.. What exactly are you looking at?」
「……Delicious.」
「Wh..what?」
「You look... Delicious.」
As the girl looked at the man who is possessed by the Shinigami, a certain thought came to her mind.
Like a wild beast who found its prey, twisting the corners of its mouth happily from the bottom of its heart, and revealing its teeth. Her thought was——
「This fellow's neck, look so soft so delicious.」
Before the Shinigami's scythe swung down, the girl has already leaped towards the man, biting his throat.
The girl grimaces as she spat out the human flesh, solidly biting on the Shinigami.
Suppressing the body of the struggling Shinigami, her teeth repeatedly sunk into the Shinigami's throat.
The live sacrifice's unexpected counterattack, caused the Shinigami's scythe to drop and lose his balance.
Even so, the girl continues to bite the Shinigami relentlessly.
The male mercenary has already died when his carotid artery was bitten, but the battle between the girl and the Shinigami continues.
Finally, the Shinigami cloaked in black fell, exhausted. Taking a look after removing the skull mask, there is nothing underneath it.
The Shinigami who harvests the ambition and desire of the dead, has lost to the girl who is driven by her appetite.
——The girl's name is Shera.
Born in a poor village, a girl with an appetite that slightly bigger than an average person.
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