Chapter 5

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Chapter 5: The Pig Eats Better Than Me

This day was really too full; by the time they returned to the Demon King Castle, it was already night.

The night at the Demon King Castle matched people’s typical idea of a villain; Lin Lin looked at the bats hanging upside down in the trees with a gentle face, as if watching returning birds.

Inside the castle was a little warmer. Lin Lin untied the ribbon she used to tie her hair, letting her rain-soaked hair fall over her shoulders; the wind-type slime brushed against her hair, blowing away the excess moisture.

The quick Dark Elf stealing sweet potatoes and the witch who got drenched in the rain.

It was really hard to say who was more embarrassing; Lin Lin thought a bit silly.

Lin Lin glanced back at the Dark Elf following her; the Dark Elf looked up, sensing her sudden turn without knowing why.

Lin Lin shrugged and walked down to the castle’s basement, holding onto the cold railing.

The castle was already quite dark, and the basement was even more so.

On the way back, it was too cold, and it was a night without sunlight. Lin Lin wore a cloak belonging to the Dark Elves, and because of the height difference, the long end of the cloak was gracefully tied by the elf.

Lin Lin instructed the Dark Elf to put today’s loot into the underground storage. She stood at the door wrapped in her cloak, looking at the messy pile of items in the warehouse.

This was a semi-open space, where every creature could place their belongings, mostly things that seemed useless from a human’s perspective.

Twigs of different thicknesses and oddly shaped pebbles, Lin Lin picked up a half-wilted flower.

Felix quickly finished moving the items and saw Lin Lin holding the flower up to the warm light above her head to examine it.

The light shone through the delicate petals, revealing the intricate patterns inside.

She studied the half-wilted flower very carefully, and the Dark Elves didn’t understand what she was so focused on.

"I was thinking," Lin Lin turned to look at Felix, "I seem to be fitting in here more and more. Today, when the villagers called me a witch, I wasn’t even sad."

Felix remembered that today was probably Lin Lin’s first time seeing humans in this world.

"It’s just being away from your people," Felix said, "you won’t die from it."

Like humans, Dark Elves are also social creatures.

Lin Lin nodded, but compared to that, she was more curious about something else.

On the wall opposite the warehouse door, there was another big iron door that was wide open.

This was the first time Lin Lin had seen the door open.

"What is this room for?" Lin Lin pointed to the iron door.

"Oh," without the cloak to hide him, the light shone directly on the Dark Elf’s face, and his silver hair looked a bit dull. After the young man tidied up his things, he spoke in a somewhat relaxed manner, "It’s for raising pigs."

Lin Lin thought of Auntie Ellie, who raised Abyssal Wild Boars, and the poisonous meat that would make you vomit, "Is pig farming underground? Don’t those pigs need to see the light?"

The Dark Elf’s icy demeanor returned, "Do you know why they are called Abyssal Wild Boars?"

"Alright," Lin Lin agreed, holding onto the cheap bodyguard’s arm to prevent him from running away and knocking on the so-called "pig farming" iron door before pushing it open.

Before Lin Lin appeared a dark tunnel that looked very much suited to the eerie atmosphere of the Demon King Castle.

The tunnel was not long, and the light inside grew brighter as they moved closer.

Lin Lin suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Lin Lin sniffed the air, "Felix, I think I’m so hungry I’m imagining things."

The Dark Elf, with his arms crossed, raised an eyebrow, inviting her to continue.

Lin Lin said, "I smell food."

It was strange, just really strange. It felt like I smelled something delicious cooking. But this was a pigsty, so saying I smelled food felt very disrespectful to myself and the wild boar.

Felix said, "I do not recommend you call it food smell."

The Dark Elf showed a clear expression of confusion but was controlling this feeling.

Lin Lin chose to stay silent.

After walking for a while, Lin Lin wiped her mouth where there was no drool and felt very guilty, "It really smells good."

The Dark Elf pretended he did not hear her.

At the end of the tunnel, a large puff of white steam floated out from the room inside, along with the crisp sound of chopping vegetables, the bubbling sound of cooking, and the sound of the cook humming a little tune.

Lin Lin entered the door, and Auntie Ellie, whom she had greeted that morning, was very warm, "What brings you here?"

Auntie Ellie continued to ignore Felix as usual.

Lin Lin was staring at Auntie Ellie, who was skillfully chopping a large pile of fresh bamboo shoots.

Next to Auntie Ellie was a huge black pot, simmering with chopped fresh cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and corn, the delicious soup bubbling with steam.

It was a pot of nutritious, colorful stew. Lin Lin swallowed hard, eagerly watching as Ellie added the bamboo shoots, then added mushrooms and black fungus.

Mushroom corn chowder! Lin Lin was so tempted that tears almost fell from her eyes.

Even the pig is eating better than I am.

Hurry, let me into the circle!

"How can you add cabbage first? That cooks too quickly and will become mushy, it should be bamboo shoots and corn first!" Lin Lin offered a helpful suggestion.

Auntie Ellie thought Lin Lin’s suggestion was not helpful, "No one cares about that; in fact, wild boars don’t care about how it tastes at all."

"I care," Lin Lin said, "Please serve me a bowl!"

Auntie Ellie, who was skillfully chopping vegetables, stopped her work. She thought she had misunderstood and looked toward the Dark Elf behind Lin Lin, hoping to get some explanation from him.

The Dark Elf slowly looked in another direction, not joining any discussion.

Lin Lin received a bowl of delicious mushroom and corn soup, so tasty that she cried.

Auntie Ellie comforted her while nervously saying, "It’s okay, you can eat a few more bowls. It’s fine if the pig gets thin, just don’t let yourself go hungry."

Lin Lin cried even harder.

Today was a complete waste. Never mind, stealing sweet potatoes myself makes me feel better.

She wiped her tears and asked, "Can you cook a pot just for me next time?"

She didn’t want to eat from the same big pot as the pig. She always felt that in the next moment, she would end up in the pigpen.

Lin Lin received Auntie Ellie’s promise that as long as there was food for the pig, there would be food for her too, and she left satisfied.

Lin Lin and the Dark Elf left the underground corridor of the castle.

When they reached the door of Lin Lin’s room, the walls on both sides glowed with a faint rusty red color, and Lin Lin stopped. She remembered that the cloak she wore belonged to the Dark Elf, and she reached up to undo the ties at her neck.

The Dark Elf stood right behind her; as soon as she returned to her room, Felix would have completed his task for the day.

It was not intentional, but as Lin Lin went to untie the straps, she gently sniffed at the cloak.

It had no smell at all, very clean.

Rather, because it had no smell, Lin Lin became a bit curious.

Most of the monsters here had their own scents, like Flame Slimes smelling of ashes and Rock Slimes having a earthy scent. The higher-level Dragon race had a cold, marble-like scent, and the Demon King himself gave off a sweet, cake-like aroma.

The Dark Elf had no smell, as if it had been deliberately erased.

Lin Lin had removed the cloak and held it awkwardly in her hands. She felt that she should respect the culture of other races, "It seems to have my scent on it; should I wash it before returning it to you?"

Without the cover of a cloak, Lin Lin could clearly see the Dark Elf’s reaction this time.

After Lin Lin spoke, the young man lowered his long silver eyelashes and looked at the cloak in Lin Lin’s hands.

He showed a slight look of thoughtfulness, his gaze sweeping over Lin Lin’s pale fingers in the dim light.

It was a completely different skin color from the Dark Elf’s.

"No need," the Dark Elf said.

Felix reached for the cloak, avoiding the area where the cloak closely touched Lin Lin’s skin at the neck. Instead, he grabbed the edge of the hood and, with the delicate form of an elf, skillfully pulled the cloak back.

The Dark Elf said, "No need to wash it."

Lin Lin nodded. She had gotten a little wet in the rain today and felt a bit sleepy, her thoughts moving very slowly. "Thank you for today, see you tomorrow."

According to Lin Lin’s understanding of the attendance of the Demon King’s staff, Felix should be on duty for the next few days.

Lin Lin did not receive a response from the Dark Elf, but she already knew that she could not think like a human when considering the Dark Elf, so she took a last strange glance at the silent Dark Elf as she entered the room and closed the door.

The young man with jet-black skin and silver hair held the cloak in his hand, his gaze calmly resting on Lin Lin. His handsome face was softened by the warm light spilling from the bedroom.

Lin Lin hesitated a little as she closed the door under his gaze.

The gap in the door gently closed, completely shutting off the warm yellow light from the room.

The slight burning sensation from the light faded, and Felix lowered his head.

The Dark Elf was always skilled at hiding everything about himself: his thoughts, his presence, his scent.

He stared at the cloak in his hands for two seconds, recalling the hesitant and somewhat shy words of the human woman, "It seems to have picked up my scent."

Then, the usually nimble Dark Elf moved slowly for once, carefully picking up the cloak.

He lowered his head, and the tip of his nose gently brushed against the collar of the cloak, where it had once rested against the soft nape of the woman’s neck.

Felix smelled a faint fragrance that gave off warmth.

Or rather, he finally truly understood what that scent was like.

All day long, Felix, with his keen sense of smell, could detect this faint presence, which made him a bit uneasy.

The human woman from another world was completely unaware of the rules of the outside world; even the weakest child among the Dark Elves could protect herself better than she could.

Weak, stubborn, not adaptable, and even trying to protect a farmer who had nothing to do with her.

[See you tomorrow.]

The Dark Elf recalled the words spoken by the woman.

There is no such hypocritical politeness among the Dark Elves; Felix did not like such a careless and casual agreement.

After all, if they agreed to meet tomorrow, he would start waiting this evening.

–

In a void space, everything is white and hazy, and it is impossible to see the boundaries around.

Lin Lin tried to look around and then realized she had no hands or feet, but felt like a small, fluffy cotton candy floating in the air.

How terrible! Is this a frightening curse?

Lin Lin tried several times and finally learned to control her floating direction with her mind.

Everything around was formless, but there was one direction that felt warm, like a moth drawn to a flame. Lin Lin worked hard to float toward the warm, gentle direction.

As Lin Lin flew energetically, the lighter her body became the closer she got to that direction.

Lin Lin flew faster and faster, and finally reached the center that made her feel warm.

Now Lin Lin understood; this was a dream.

Because how could she clearly float in front of someone and not see their face, if it wasn’t for a dream?

To Lin Lin’s surprise, the person in her dream reached out to her and gently touched the top of her head.

The place where they touched was warm and comfortable, like sinking into the coziest blanket soaked up by the sun. Lin Lin couldn’t help but softly rub against the person’s palm.

The person did not speak, yet their voice entered Lin Lin’s mind. It was very strange, as if he didn’t need to use his voice, but the sound reached Lin Lin’s brain directly through her thoughts.

"Are you back again?"

The gentle voice was like calling a little bird resting on the windowsill.

"Back again?" Lin Lin wondered.

She flew around the person in the air, confirming that she could not see his face clearly, and she was unsure of what he was wearing.

It was strange; his image could not form in Lin Lin’s mind. It was as if he could have long hair or short hair, wear an elegant robe or be bare, only wrapped in a piece of white cloth around his waist, or even take a form that was not human.

His figure was reflected on Lin Lin’s retina, but Lin Lin could not understand his slightest expression.

Lin Lin had no memory of this person, but when he greeted her gently, Lin Lin felt a natural shyness.

However, before she could be shy for a few seconds, the man raised his hand, and a rich array of delicious food from around the world appeared in the empty air.

Lin Lin’s eyes lit up, and she dove into the sea of food like a joyful little bird.

"Ouch…"

Lin Lin woke up from her dream, with a red mark on her forehead from hitting the headboard in her sleep.

Although the food had improved, the food snatched from the Abyssal Wild Boar’s bowl was clearly not as exquisite or delicious as in her dream.

"Why did I dream about food I’ve never seen before!"

Lin Lin did not think she had such extraordinary imagination.

Work four days and rest three, Wednesday is her day off. Lin Lin is working hard to search through the Demon King’s bookshelf for books related to dreams, and she accidentally finds a few cookbooks from this world.

The food she saw in her dream really exists in this world.

The Demon King, who has no holidays, is reviewing the documents in his hands, and his attention keeps returning to Lin Lin.

"As long as it is not work-related, the Demon King has a great interest: ‘Is it a prophetic dream? Having similar dreams constantly could mean it is prophetic, and that is quite a rare ability.’"

"’Prophetic of what? Predicting tomorrow’s dinner?’"

Lin Lin herself didn’t believe in such things, and besides, compared to the delicious food, the man whose face she could not see was the one she truly cared about.

Well, he might not even be a man? After all, she couldn’t see his face clearly. Lin Lin’s mind was all jumbled.

"’A person whose face you can’t see?’ The Demon King was just teased by Lin Lin, and feeling a bit wronged, he focused back on his work, ‘Is it a succubus that entered your dream? In dreams, a succubus’ face is hard to see, but your dream will become sticky.’"

"Hmm? Lin Lin closed the book in her hands: ‘Besides succubus, what other races can enter dreams?’"

"There are too many creatures that can enter human dreams," the Demon King lazily stamped the document with a "Pass" mark, "demons, dream-eating beasts…"

"By the way," the Demon King lifted his head after stamping the next document, seeming quite pleased with his own joke.

"Even the gods cannot see faces."