Chapter 25: New Dish
Are they a mutated species?
An idea occurred to Rain as he continued to stare at the long-eared girls in front of him.
In his homeworld, there were only two races: humans, to whom he belonged, and demons, who had always opposed humanity. However, sometimes humans were infected with demonic energy, which caused their bodies to mutate and acquire non-human features. Such people could not be found on the streets, because they were quickly found and enslaved for sale to the nobility.
More often than not, mutations made people uglier, so Rain had never been interested in them, but that couldn't be said for the blonde beauties in front of him. Because of this, Rain had a strong desire to get them.
'Considering how beautifully they're dressed, they must already belong to someone. But when has that ever stopped me?'
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he confidently walked over to them and got their attention by pulling out a pouch fully stocked with platinum coins from his storage ring.
Holding it out, he calmly said.
"I want to buy you all."
When they saw Rain and heard his proposal, the girls looked around in confusion, trying to find the person to whom his words were addressed. When they found no one around them, one of the girls tried to understand what was going on.
"Excuse me, are you talking to us?"
"Long-eared, do you see anyone else here? Don't waste my time and bring your owner so I can buy you all."
Still in a stupor, the girls shifted their gaze from the man in front of them to the pouch in his hands. This continued until one of them realized what he meant and shouted loudly.
"Y-you dare, you despicable human being!"
When the others realized the meaning of his words, they too began shouting insults at him.
"To call a high elf l-long-eared is the height of insolence!"
"Unthinkable! Humans are even more arrogant than we've heard!"
Rain ignored them all.
What's the point of paying attention to these pathetic shouts?
As for their words about the 'high' species, he didn't believe them for a second. Everyone who wasn't anything was talking about it.
"Aaaaargh, let me go, I'll shoot the bastard's skull off!!!"
A scream cut through Rain's hearing and he immediately recognized its source. She was a young, long-eared girl, much prettier than the others, who was furiously trying to draw her bow while the other two tried to restrain her.
"Princess, you can't!"
"We just arrived in the capital, you can't kill someone right away!"
"Let me go! I won't rest until I've put a few holes in him!"
Even the anger on the girl's face did not diminish her beauty, but rather gave her a certain piquancy. When she finally managed to throw off her restraining hands and draw her bow, a charming woman appeared out of thin air and stopped her.
"They are right, Your Highness, now is not the best time to cause trouble."
"But he!..."
Ignoring her protest, the woman turned to Rain. She also had long pointed ears, but unlike the others, she had a more mature appearance and a shape that easily attracted the eyes of men.
Letting out a slightly stilted chuckle, she turned to him.
"Ha-ha, the young master has a great sense of humor."
Rain was a little surprised to hear that young girl being addressed, but decided to continue what he had started.
"I wasn't kidding. But now I want to take you too."
With those words, he deftly pulled out another pouch filled with platinum coins. For a second, Rain thought he saw a few veins swell in the woman's forehead, but the next moment she returned her relaxed face with a smile.
"Then I have no choice but to refuse you."
After saying that, she turned around to the noisiest girl who was still trying to do something.
"Princess, don't forget why we're here."
Realizing the impossibility of venting her anger, she clenched her fists until they turned white and quietly replied.
"I understand."
With a satisfied nod, the mature woman walked off, signaling the others to follow her.
Before turning around and leaving with everyone else, the beautiful young girl threw a fierce glare at Rain and hissed through her teeth.
"Pray I never meet you again, or else..."
Still not finishing her threat, she turned around and walked towards the others.
Looking at the departing prey, Rain felt confused by the situation.
[They were elves, one of the races of this world.]
The system's words only increased his confusion.
"Elves? Why weren't they in the memories of the previous owner of this body?"
[In the memories you received, all non-essential information was removed to prevent the host's brain from being clogged in vain, and only important information was left, which you will definitely need to quickly assimilate into this world.]
"Nari, shouldn't information about one of the races of this world be among that important information?"
[Yes, but the previous owner of the body had little contact with them. Elves spend most of their time in their forests and rarely appear outside. Perhaps the only place where they are often found is the academy where you study. Unfortunately, past Rain started leading a reclusive life before he even entered the academy, so he had few face-to-face encounters with elves.]
"I get it. I have to use something other than money to get hold of them."
Even after that, Rain did not give up his desire to get them, especially the screaming girl. The system's explanations had only further inflamed Rain's desire to try this new, undiscovered dish.
[I didn't mean that... In any case, elves are a very proud race and by your actions you have made an enemy who will definitely try to take revenge on you in the future.]
Rain didn't bother asking why the system hadn't warned him sooner, because it didn't really bother him.
If she does find him, won't she be like a rabbit willingly going into the jaws of a tiger?
Rain took one last look at the group of elf girls, who were almost out of sight.
"I will pray that we meet soon."
Dropping those words, he continued on his way towards the academy. Without encountering anything else noteworthy along the way, Rain reached the majestic building.
«Eldorin Imperial Academy»
Taking a glance at the name of the place, he confidently walked in there.
***
Thanks for reading, everyone!