Chapter 5

Looks and Essence is the fifth chapter of the The Journey of a Dark Elf with Fading Powers manga series, written & illustrated by Daisuke Itabashi. It is apart of Volume 2 and released on April 19, 2026.

Plot

The chapter starts off in Millemerx, a city full of old and used tools, where Amira and Lilicena have arrived while waiting on the Chancellor. The shops run from lightly used goods in great condition to antiques from who knows where, and Amira's desire to accumulate is exploding. Lilicena asks whether the Chancellor ever got back to her about a meeting, and Amira reveals she received a message from Vice Chancellor Zorvan saying they will come to meet with her, she may look around town in the meantime, and it might be a bit. Lilicena notes the Chancellor is a very careful person, and cunning as well, so for now they must wait for the other side to make the next move. Amira just wants permission already so she can scope out all the treasures in the Great Storage Room. Amira is shopping for materials for her new staff, and the one thing she needs most is the jewel that goes on the tip. The moment the local merchants overhear that, they swarm her in a mob, hawking cheap jewels, offering interest free loans, and even trying to trade for Lilicena's horns, until Amira is about ready to start headbutting people. In the chaos, a young boy swipes her coin purse. She chases him down a side alley, where he cheerfully hands it back. He guesses she's new in town since she left herself wide open, and says he just wanted to give her an excuse to get out of that crowd, since the bilkers and pickpockets on the main drag outnumber the rats. Amira grudgingly admits she owes him one, and he knows exactly how she can repay him. He leads them to his family's shop and calls out to his mom that they have customers. Amira groans about pushy merchant kids while Lilicena starts feeling lightheaded. The mom turns out to be a laid back, pipe smoking mineral dealer whose greeting boils down to buy something or pay a time waster fee and hit the road. Lilicena excuses herself, saying she has better things to do. Amira browses and finds the stock surprisingly trustworthy, then locks eyes on a gorgeous crystal cluster displayed in a case behind the counter. The dealer compliments her eye but says it's not for sale. Amira offers 200,000 and gets told to save her amateur haggling for some other merchant. It's a true rarity worth millions if she were ever going to sell it. Amira points out that she's using it as décor anyway, and the dealer decides there's a certain way this town deals with folks like her.She brings out a strange wobbling cup called the Zaraph of Impartiality, the common rule in Millemerx, a game for when merchants and customers can't see eye to eye. If Amira wins, she can have the crystal for 200,000. If she loses, she's forced to purchase it for five times the list price, ten million. Lilicena flatly calls the woman a swindler and says it's time to go, but Amira asks to hear the rules. Lilicena warns her that whoever prepared the game holds the advantage, and the dealer admits most people wimp out once they hear the stakes. Amira grins that this is exactly what makes it so pulse pounding. Her opponent will be the boy. The rules are simple. On the table sit the empty Zaraph, which has a curved bottom and wobbles freely, and a bowl of mineral pebbles. Each player takes as many pebbles as they want from the bowl and places them in the cup. Whoever tips it over or spills a pebble loses. The boy lets Amira go first, warning that it might look simple but there's a real mind game to it, while his mom threatens to garnish his allowance if he loses. Amira's opening move is to dump nearly the entire bowl onto the cup at once, engineering the climax on her very first turn. The boy freaks out, reminding her she's out ten million if she loses, while Amira laughs that her hands are all sweaty now. Lilicena reads the situation for the dealer. The boy has surely practiced a strategy, some manner of cheat he keeps to himself, the best way to score a win, but it means nothing now. Amira has forced him to play at her pace, and it will be tough to recover from, just like with her sorcery. He has no choice but to give in and place a single careful pebble. The dealer warns Amira she'd better not be doing anything with magic, and Lilicena assures her Amira would never make such a gauche move. They once stopped talking for 58 years and 213 days after an argument along those lines, a glimpse of time that thoroughly creeps out the dealer. Besides, Lilicena admits with a grin, watching Amira get backed into a corner is a very enchanting sight. Amira, huffing and drenched in sweat, manages another placement and screams in triumph, because once she's in a bind she always finds a way to win. Then the boy makes his next move and the whole thing comes down, pebbles exploding everywhere over both players. He spilled it. Amira takes the game and the crystal. Then the mask comes off. The dealer notes her Zaraph is gone now and it was her personal property, and the boy apologizes and promises to compensate her later. Then he asks for her impression of the dark elf, addressing her as Zorvan. The shopkeeper's form creaks and warps away to reveal the stitched faced Vice Chancellor, and the boy's eyes shift into cross shaped pupils as feathers scatter. The whole encounter was staged by the Chancellor personally. Zorvan reports sensing no strong evil emotions from Amira, and the Chancellor agrees there were no evil intentions at first glance, though the question remains whether that is her true essence. The Chancellor never met Amira during the last great war, but heard more rumors about the Omnipotent Caster than anyone would wish to recall, a sorcerer whose strength was on another level even among the martial arts oriented ones. Still, credit where it's due for that performance, as much as it pains the Chancellor to say it. Amira has now officially piqued the Chancellor's interest, and next time calls for a more direct approach. The chapter ends with Amira and Lilicena picnicking on a terrace, the crystal cluster sitting proudly on the blanket. Amira cackles over her prize, almost loving it too much to use in another project, while Lilicena wipes food off her face and sighs that Amira is so much work even well into her quadruple digits. Amira calls her overprotective. Enjoying a meal while marveling at what you love most is simply the best, and they've known that since the Age of Myth. Amira says the pork cutlet sandwiches her favorite thing here so far.