Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig- Fourth Bite (eBook)

Takuma Sakai (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024 | 1. Auflage
250 Seiten
J-Novel Club (Verlag)
978-1-7183-0950-0 (ISBN)

Infos

The Clandestine Arcanist who revolted against the royal court has been neutralized, paving the way for a moment of respite in Mesteria. That means it's the perfect time for Mister Pig and Jess to go on their honeymoon-ahem, correction, on a nice and relaxing journey to the North! On a trip filled with fun sightseeing and taking in local delights, the pair indulge in wine, hot springs, and mysteries galore!

Of course, all journeys must have a destination. Legend says that the red star hanging in the northern skies, Salvia, can grant any wish. Since Jess loves history and myths, how could she miss out on a quest to pluck a star-like something from a fairy tale!

Jess and Mister Pig may have stopped hiding their feelings for each other, now acting just like a lovey-dovey couple, but one thing doesn't quite fit the pair's fairy-tale rom-com. Something that seems to be weighing on Jess's mind...

Textauszug

Jess smiled shyly, but she was clearly overjoyed. “You’re always praising me no matter what I wear, Mister Pig.”

Recently, Jess had taken on a new hobby: experimenting with magic to create clothes. She’d started with spinning threads, but then, at an almost frightening speed, she’d figured out how to weave cloth. And now, she’d reached the point where she could mold the material as she pleased into fully-fledged clothes.

I mean, she’s a young woman at an age where she’s starting to care more about her appearance. Her interest in fashion must be what spurs her motivation to learn.

Merrily, Jess carefreely fiddled with her clothes. I watched her, feeling like a teacher. <<I’m glad you’re enjoying this. There’s nothing better than having fun as you learn. Looks like I made the right choice when I proposed you dive into the field of cloth creation magic.>>

“Right.” She nodded. “When I tried to learn magic to create small firearms, I barely made any progress, but the moment I made the switch, I began improving by leaps and bounds. To tell you the truth, in the beginning, I was a little suspicious that you only made the proposal because you wanted to have fun by making me do what you call ‘cospray,’ but...” She stared hard at me before her expression softened into a radiant smile. “It seems that you deduced my aptitude and advised me accordingly.”

<<How could it be anything else?>> How can there be a man—no, a pig of a man—who deceives such an earnest and hardworking girl to satisfy his selfish greed? Ridiculous.

I mean, yeah, it’s fun to watch Jess as she tackles all kinds of different outfits. But that isn’t the goal, of course not. I swear, this training is purely to improve Jess’s magic proficiency, not to fulfill the hideous and defiant struggles of a man to somehow get his hands on sacred relics completely foreign to Mesterian shores, such as furry animal ears and pantyhose!

I recalled the depraved black pig who’d grunted with delight when he’d made a loli wear those pseudo glasses—an item he’d requested a swordsmith forge. I’m not like that pig. I can proudly declare that the difference between us is like heaven and earth.

“I did it!”

At the sound of Jess’s voice, I turned to her. Her pure white dress was now entirely decorated with blue and pastel blue plant-themed designs—absolutely gorgeous.

She spun to look at me. “How is it? Does it look weird?”

<<Not at all. The intricate and delicate feel of that pattern is a work of art. It looks good.>>

“I’m so happy to hear that.”

Jess could’ve checked her reflection in a mirror, but she always approached me for her fashion inspections instead. Me of all people—a scrawny four-eyed super-virgin with black hair trimmed with a thousand-yen haircut, who’d donned only his iconic chino pants and checkered shirts after having advanced to university.

As anyone would expect, such a man could only make conventional and stereotypical comments, but Jess would smile with satisfaction every time.

“Can you tell me which parts, specifically, look good?” she asked in a bubbly voice.

I was at a loss for words. I’m serious when I say that I’m not keen on fashion. And so, I decided to dodge the question with a joke. <<Your face, I think.>>

Jess shook her head lightly. “You don’t have to force yourself to say that. I’m well aware that I’m not very impressive.”

What nonsense is this beautiful maiden saying? As usual, her self-esteem was low. <<Don’t be silly. You can’t say that when you’ve got a face that qualifies as a national treasure.>>

“I don’t, not at all!” She huffed indignantly. “You’re the only one who’s willing to say that, Mister Pig.”

Seeing her reaction made me want to tease her a bit. <<But Shravis said it too. You have the seal of approval from the prince himself, so there’s no doubt.>>

“Whaaat? Mister Shravis did...?” The naive, purehearted Jess was flustered, her ears flushed red.

<<He also said that the fact your chest isn’t overly big was a plus too.>>

Jess’s expression soured. “That’s a lie. Mister Shravis would never say something like that.”

He did though... Oh well.

She continued, “In all of Mesteria, only one person speaks highly of my features and says that my chest is charming, and that’s you, Mister Pig. Honestly, you don’t have to force yourself to say things you don’t believe in.”

When I praised her clothes, she’d been delighted, but she wasn’t happy when I praised her face and chest. A woman’s heart is quite a complicated maze.

“It’s not complicated.” Jess lifted her index finger and leaned forward slightly to look into my eyes.

Uh, that was narration...

“I’m happy when you praise my clothes because I feel like you’re approving of my sense of fashion and taste. And certainly, I would be lying if I said I’m not happy when you compliment my appearance, but that’s a different matter.”

<<Your taste, huh... I kind of get it, kind of don’t.>>

“Think about it this way. You would definitely be happier if someone said you’re kind rather than saying you look delicious, right?”

I gave it some thought. In my mind, I imagined Jess looking at me and commenting that I looked yummy, then adding that I was a gentle soul. <<I can’t say you’re wrong there. But well, hearing a beautiful maiden say that I look like a snack wouldn’t be bad at all.>> I glanced at Jess as I spoke.

“I’m not a beautiful maiden, so I’m not going to say it.”

<<Oh... That’s unfortunate.>> My pickled and sliced mimiga ears drooped dispiritedly.

Seeing that, Jess waved her hands frantically, looking somewhat flustered. “Ah, no, you look like a snack, Mister Pig! I almost want to eat you right up!”

Yahooink! Eat me, eat meeee!

“No, I won’t,” Jess replied before stiffly smiling at me.

I actually felt kind of apologetic seeing that. <<Sorry for making you go along with a conversation that sounds like it came straight out of a rom-com...>>

She tilted her head quizzically. “Rome-comm?”

Oh, oops, I accidentally used specialized terminology. <<I’m referring to fun stories centered around romance. They were all the rage back in my world.>>

“Huuuh, you have interesting things in your world. ‘Fun stories centered around romance’...” Her face lit up like the sun. “That sounds wonderful! I’d like to try making a rome-comm too!” She clenched her hands into fists and waved them around enthusiastically in front of her shoulders.

She might be the first girl I knew who wanted to “try” a rom-com. That said, I’m taking this from a small sample size since I’ve never known that many girls to begin with. <<There’s one problem though. You can’t act out a rom-com if you don’t have a love interest.>>

At my words, she pouted a little. “You’re still going on about that?”

For a while, we locked gazes with each other. Then came a wave of awkwardness in my heart, and I looked away.

Jess was the one who broke the silence. “Ah... I completely lost track of time. I didn’t realize it was that late.”

I looked outside the window, and the sky was completely dark. The pointed triangular silhouettes of the nearby rows of coniferous trees leaned to one side under the powerful winter gusts.

Peeking out from between the gaps of their leaves was a single vermilion star: the North Star, Salvia, which glowed bewitchingly in the northern sky. It was also known as the wishing star.

Jess must have either noticed my line of sight or read the narration because she joined me in admiring the small patch of the night sky cut out by the window frame. “The wishing star looks more beautiful than usual tonight,” Jess commented. “I can see that we are steadily approaching the north.”

I’d pointed out to her countless times before that heading to the north didn’t mean a star in the north would get closer as a result—it was likely just a coincidence. Jess, however, was rather stubborn about it.

“The one who picks the scarlet wishing star drifting in the northernmost skies will be granted one wish, any wish.”

According to Jess, this ancient legend was spoken of everywhere in Mesteria. We had left the royal capital and were going on a journey to search for that very wishing star. It was just the two of us.

...I was pretty sure that the legend was only an excuse Jess had tacked on. Since things had settled down for now, she wanted to go on a nice honeymoon and enjoy some alone time while I squealed like a pig—I mean, she wanted to go on a journey to broaden her horizons. At least, that was my biased deduction with limited evidence.

Jess had been born and raised in the capital, then worked as a servant in a southern town until her sixteenth birthday. Even her days after that had been hectic and turbulent, which meant that she’d...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 7.8.2024
• Reihe/Serie: Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig-
• Illustrationen: Takuma Sakai
• Übersetzer: Takuma Sakai
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: Adventure • animal protagonist • dark Fantasy romance • heat the pig liver • Isekai • Light Novel • ordinary main character
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-0950-3 / 1718309503
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-0950-0 / 9781718309500