Butcher Demon Chapter 154

size :  

                                                 

VOL. 4 Rendezvous point

Butcher Demon Chapter 154: Natsuki

prev   TOC   next

『What do you want to eat?』

　I asked through messenger, and the reply came immediately.

『I'm kinda tired of meat, period.』

『Then ramen today』

『What flavor?』

『The one Natsuki bought yesterday. I think it's the spicy one.』

『3150 is the best』

『I like the hot and spicy ones better than the pepper ones.』

『Hawa ～～～～～～ I know right. I also love hot and spicy ones.』

　We were next to each other, texting and typing, staring at our terminals in silence.

　Déjà vu.

　This feeling. It's like I'm talking to an alien.

　Natsuki's texting lingo is so out of my time that it takes me a while to decode it. I'll have to study hard to catch up. 

　At that moment, Yakumo suddenly reached for the terminal I was holding. He touched the screen. And then....

"I'd like you to help me find someone this afternoon."

　A voice came out of the terminal was the text I was about to send.

　Oh, ....it's text to speech.

　--That's right.

　With human technology, I can speak too.

　Wonderful!

　I patted Yakumo on the head for his simple discovery. You're a genius.

"Natsuki, can you hear me?"

　Her face turned sullen and she pouted.

"......It's kind of creepy ......."

　I think so too.

　I don't know why this kind of thing gives me the creeps. The voice sounds very similar to a human's, but on the other hand, it's creepy. The more they resemble us, the more creepy it gets. I guess this is called the uncanny valley.

　As I began to play with the synthetic voice from the terminal, Natsuki moved over on the sofa and peered at me from the side.

"--Well, speaking of which, how did you talk to the aliens?　You said you had friends, right?"

　Click, click.

"There's a girl with telekinesis and she use telepathy. It's amazing. She doesn't know human language, but she can talk to me. She's my friend."

"Wow, amazing. I wish humans had something like that"

　And then Natsuki looked at Yakumo. There was a hint of sorrow on her face.

"Oh, by the way" Natsuki continued.

"I was looking for something for Yakumo a long time ago, have you seen it?"

"What's that?"

　Then Natsuki showed me the terminal's screen, showing a mysterious device.

"This. This is a device that reads brain waves and produces a voice. It's called an EEG, a voice synthesizer for people who can't speak. I couldn't afford it because it's too expensive."

　I want it!

　My eyes were glued to the screen.

　It's a set of speakers that looks like the Monkey King's headband and hangs around the neck.

　Sure, it's pretty pricey, but with Shigeaki's credit, I can afford it.

"So, today's shopping meeting begins."

"Oh, wait! There's something I want too!"

　Natsuki from the left and Yakumo from the right peeked at me, unable to hide their excitement.

　I immediately added a brainwave voice synthesizer to my cart.

　Add more Polaroid film to the cart. Add cans of cheesecake.

　I also add in some BBQ sauce. These sauces are precious because you can never find them in nature. I'll make Titania a feast when I get home.

　I threw more ingredients and drinks, as well as daily necessities into the cart.

　Suddenly, an advertisement caught my eye.

　It seemed that Shigeaki was shopping for erotic costumes and hard SM goods, and the ad was personalized to that type of thing. This is the horror of targeted advertising.

　It's a very embarrassing feeling when others see you. Sorry, Shigeaki. But I was lucky enough to see a penis strap on there, and I didn't miss it.

　I got it as a souvenir for Lydia. With SM recommendations. I also add a remote rotor and handcuffs as extras.

"...... What are you going to do with that?"

　I felt a sense of suspicion creep in. She thought I was going to use it on her.

"It's a souvenir for my alien friend."

"...... Hmmm ...... Oh, here. I think you should buy regular clothes too. It's a problem if we don't have them. Just now, when the delivery guy saw my outfit, he stared at me so hard. What if something went awry?"

　That's a problem.

　 I should buy some normal clothes. If someone made a stupid mistake and broke into the house like the delivery guy, they were now destined to be eaten by me. Now Shigeaki's house is now a real slaughterhouse where once you step in, you can't get out.

　Before I knew it, there was a frozen cheesecake in my cart. It's a Yakumo.

"Why don't you buy some clothes too Onii-chan?　It's definitely cold with whatever you're wearing."

　My clothes?

　I've been wearing a naked apron for so long that I never thought of wearing clothes.

"It's not cold at all. and I don't have any clothes to wear with this size."

My size.....

"Hmmm... I see... I wonder if there's anything....."

　Natsuki grabbed the laptop from me and started to search with a difficult look on her face.

　I took Shigeaki's terminal with me and went to his SM room to finish the payment.

　I open the door. ....... A man is crucified in a dark room.

　I put his cold fingers on the terminal and tap it. fingerprint authentication, Payment completed.

　Shigeaki's head hangs down, he doesn't move a muscle, his skin is pale and his fingers are cold. He looks like a corpse.

　But he's not dead. He's in a state of suspended animation. That's why fingerprint authentication works.

　Somehow, this happened. I didn't do anything.

　Yesterday, when I came to check on him, Diamond was proudly dancing on Shigeaki's head, so he probably did it.

　Maybe Diamond can use some kind of suspended death poison. You know, spiders can create such preserves after wrapping things with thread or something. I guess he took my joke about using it as preserves seriously. Great.

"You're going to kill him, right?"

　Suddenly, I heard a voice from the entrance of the room.

It's Natsuki. her eyes are set on him, and the murderous intent is shining.

"You should kill him."

　The way she said it was intense. What's wrong with you all of a sudden?

　As I nodded my head, she strode into the room, stood next to me, and hugged my arm.

　After a few breaths, she chuckled.

 "...... In that room over there, the picture, the film. I saw it."

　She was talking about Shigeaki's collection room. There were a lot of snuff films.

"There was a picture of a slum kid who disappeared a year ago."

　I see, I see. So that's how it is.

"Occasionally, it happens. Kids from the slums disappear. There has been an increase in the last few years ....... These people didn't even considered us a human"

　Natsuki bit her teeth tightly.

"We're struggling to live every day, and this........she ended up like this just for his wicked entertaining"

Her eyes filled with burning hatred.

"I won't forgive him!!!"

Natsuki looked up at me.

"Even Gevaudan was treated like an animal by these people. I hope all fuckers people who mess with life get punished and die!"

　I guess I can understand that way of thinking.

　I put my hand on Natsuki's shoulder and she nuzzled her face into my chest.

"......That girl was my friend......."

　I understand the pain.

　I've watched dozens of people I've been related to drop dead. In the end, I felt no resentment anymore, and all that remained was a sense of hopelessness.

　--The guys at the Fort were right on target when they called me the Grim Reaper.

"...... let me kill him."

　You want to kill him?　You can do whatever you want, but ...... hmmm .......

　She said she wanted to live a decent life.

　Then you shouldn't.

　Murder is one of the greatest stimuli for humans.

　Humans are creatures that get used to excitement. For example, a candy maker. At first, they may not be able to touch the melted candy because it is too hot, but after years of patiently working on it, they will not feel so hot and they will be able to work smoothly.

　In the same way, when you kill a person, at first you are under tremendous stress, but as you kill more and more people, you gradually become accustomed to the stimulus.

　Then, the person who has adapted to the extreme pressure of murder will eventually become unfazed by everything.

　It could be said that the person has become more resilient and is growing as a soldier.

　But the other side of the coin is that everything in your mind becomes as tasteless and bland as a desert.

　No matter what you see or do, nothing excites you anymore.

　You are bored from morning till night. Eating food is like chewing sand. Eventually, even sex begins to feel like work. I don't even know if I'm alive or dead.

　Every time you kill one person, you also die little by little.

　Soldiers want to feel alive, so they start to fight recklessly for more stimulation, or they start to use strong alcohol, drugs, or gambling. Sex addiction is the norm. The content of their play becomes more and more extreme. Some of them even dare to commit crimes.

　well, I guess I can't let you live like that.

　I could tell by the way he held up the gun the other day. Natsuki has never killed anyone before.

　If that's the case, don't say that you want to kill him with your own hands. If you take the first step, you will eventually lose control.

　--If you kill too many people, you'll end up like me.

　But still, this is war. They said it's not a murderer because the other person is an alien. But there are many soldiers who suffer from PTSD.  in fact, even I have reached the point where I find it annoying to be alive. I guess killing or wounding them is also considered murder in our minds.

　Maybe it's because of the similarity in appearance, or maybe somewhere in our hearts, we feel a sense of kinship with aliens that we wish we could be friends with them.

　I wonder what being human is all about. Can I still be called a human?　Maybe I should ask Natsuki to see what they think of me now.

　I stroked Natsuki's smooth brown hair.

　I pushed her back and left the SM room.

prev   TOC   next

If you like the translation, please consider sending me some ko-if.

I truly appreciate any support you can give.