Re:Zero -Starting Life in Zero

The girl's voice was filled with barely concealed joy. Elsa smiled faintly and handed the cake box to Mary.

"It was a gift from the pharmacy owner. I told him I was going to give the cake to a lovely girl named You, and he was so happy he collapsed on the floor and convulsed."

"Don't disgust me, Elsa. I'll kill any of those perverted nobles who like to torture children on sight."

Mary frowned and spat, her tone full of disgust, but her hands still quickly took the box and eagerly opened the packaging.

The box that originally contained four cakes now only has three left, but Mary didn't pay attention to these small details.

The sweet aroma of cream mingled with the scent of the soft, baked cake base.

Mary's tense face softened unconsciously, and she picked up a small piece of cake with her bandaged fingers and put it in her mouth.

Her cheeks puffed out slightly, like a little squirrel that had just stolen a snack.

"Too sweet."

She mumbled incoherently, but didn't stop what she was doing; her other hand was already reaching for the second piece.

"If it weren't for the need to regain my strength, I wouldn't touch this disgusting stuff."

"Have a piece too, Elsa. I haven't seen you eat anything today."

After saying that, she picked up a piece of cake and handed it over.

Elsa slightly raised her sleeves and took the cake.

"It looks so beautiful, so smooth it looks like it's alive..."

"Stop, stop, Elsa, can we talk about such disgusting things after we've finished eating?"

Melly knew all too well how terrible Elsa's metaphors were; once she finished speaking, Elsa probably wouldn't be able to enjoy her cake.

Elsa chuckled and took a bite, the cream being squeezed towards her red lips. She then used her tongue to wipe the cream from the corner of her mouth.

The two women didn't notice that the cake filling also seemed to contain some strange powder similar to that in the potion.

……

Ta-da!

Suddenly, a series of footsteps approached from afar outside the previously quiet doorway.

The two people inside immediately became alert. The wounded, Mary, retreated to a corner where there was a back door for evacuation.

Elsa leaned against the wall by the door, her scimitar already in her hand.

When tracking, Green kept a relatively long distance.

But the assassin's sixth sense kept nagging at Elsa's nerves, as if a thin thread was hooking onto her shadow.

……

The magic mirror sensed Elsa's presence and gradually locked onto her coordinates.

Goodness, they've hidden so far away.

No wonder we couldn't find Little Meryl at first; she wasn't even in the service area.

The magic mirror flew to a wooden door, raised its handle, and pointed.

"This is it, Master. The two of them, one big and one small, are here. Should we set it on fire first or poison it?"

"Huh?" Green glared at the magic mirror fiercely. "Are you teaching me how to do things? Don't you know the 'courtesy first, then force' approach? Learn from me."

After saying that, Green straightened his clothes and walked obediently to the door.

Just as he raised his right hand, about to knock on the door, he first called out:

"Is anyone home? The community is sending warmth."

Bang! The person inside kicked the door.

Green's eyes widened as he felt the wooden door fly towards him.

Holy crap!

boom!

The wooden plank struck Green and shattered into countless small pieces.

Fortunately, Green was physically strong and there was nothing wrong with him.

At that moment, Elsa slowly emerged from the shadows behind the door, her signature slight smile on her face.

The curved blade in his hand gleamed coldly in the moonlight, looking incredibly sharp.

"Young man, following a frail woman late at night is not gentlemanly behavior."

"You stormed out the door, and you call yourself weak?"

Green patted his clothes, shaking off the sawdust.

Elsa dared not relax for a moment; the person in front of her was well-dressed and could not possibly be a resident of this impoverished area.

It would be even more suspicious if they just walked up and knocked on their door.

The fairly sturdy wooden door was smashed to pieces without the person taking a single step back. Judging from the feedback, this person was definitely not someone who could be easily defeated.

Elsa was seeing Green in this state for the first time, and for a moment she looked somewhat bewildered.

"That's strange, have we met somewhere before, buddy?"

The little mummy poked half its head out from behind the door frame, with cake crumbs still hanging from its mouth.

Upon seeing this, Green mischievously released a hint of his beastly prince aura.

Mary's pupils contracted sharply, and she abruptly covered her mouth with her bandaged hand.

The oppressive feeling, a mixture of the forest's stench and violence, pierced her nerves like an icy needle; it was the giant beast in the forest that brought her despair!

"It's you!"

"Elsa, this thing is that monster!"

Mary's gritted teeth and furious expression were exactly the same as that of the Volgam puppy back then, except that her trembling legs betrayed her unease.

Elsa looked serious and moved closer to Mary.

"I see. Looking closer, your eyes are as beautiful as ever, Mr. Beast, or perhaps I should call you the Counterfeit Earl?"

"Don't be nervous, I'm just here to copy the water meter readings," Green said with a shrug and a mischievous grin. "Now, who wants to be the first water meter reader?"

Elsa's ears twitched as she heard rustling sounds of people getting dressed coming from the other rooms upstairs.

"Beast-kun, if you make a move here, a lot of people will die."

The noise of the door breaking had woken up many residents nearby.

Lights came on in some apartments, and several hot-tempered middle-aged women leaned halfway out of the windows, yelling:

"What's all the noise about in the middle of the night? Can't a person get some sleep?!"

"If you keep making noise, the guards will arrest your whole family!"

Elsa deftly concealed her scimitar into the night, instantly adopting a pitiful appearance, and bowed deeply towards the windows.

"Private Marseille, it's all my darling's fault for drinking too much outside, and the child has become very sick. Please forgive me."

"Tsk tsk, what a useless man!"

"Exactly, this kind of good-for-nothing only takes his anger out on his wife!"

"I think he's not even as good as a dragonfly..."

Green was displeased, pointing his little finger and shouting, "Damn it, calling it an earth dragon is going too far!"

"You dare talk back! I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"

Splash! A basin of foot-washing water fell from the sky.

Holy crap!

Green quickly dove and rolled, barely dodging the deadly attack.

"You old hag! You want to be the one sticking your neck out, huh?!"

"Yo ho!" The middle-aged woman was full of fighting spirit, pointing at Green and cursing loudly.

"You brat, you just wait!"

After saying that, the old woman turned and retreated back into the window, and soon a "clattering" sound could be heard.

Green immediately guessed that she had gone back to fetch water, and quickly looked for cover.

Elsa's eyebrows were pressed into a slit.

From the moment Green appeared, he seemed completely at ease, which made Elsa vaguely uneasy.

Just a few breaths later, the old woman poked her head out of the window again, holding a basin full of water in both hands.

"You bunch of lousy men, drunk and out of your mind in the middle of the night, and then you come home and beat your wives! You're all such cowards!"

Green's eyelids twitched, and he glared at Elsa, the one who had sparked the whole thing.

Then, hands on hips and head held high, he shouted in one smooth motion:

"I'm going to hit her! I won't be able to sleep today if I don't! She won't be able to sleep today if I don't beat her! And not only her, I'm going to go in and beat up that little one too!"

With that, Green walked toward Meryl's house.

The old lady upstairs was furious.

"It's outrageous! All the men on this street are drunken, violent bastards!"