The Elf Is a Freeloader

That was really just a coincidence.

When one man searched for a word that was casually the Internet, he stumbled upon the home page of a town.

But the man shrugged unexpectedly when he saw the pictures posted there.

"... what, this?" Town with Elves, Nikken-shi "?

In that picture was one girl. The foreign-like girl wore a fantasy-inspired costume and something like white leather armor.

And most importantly, it was the long, pointy ears ahead that popped right out of the glowing long blonde hair.

"Is that some elf character cosplay...?

While I think so, the man who caught my interest will also try to display other pictures.

Probably cultural property or something in that town. Pine trees that are likely to be centuries-old - the caption in the photo said "Wolong's Pine (in the Iwasaki-cho Kobayashi Akesenji Temple) is about 400 years old" - are pictured with a girl smiling up when she remembers playing elf cosplay.

A photograph of an elf girl nestled quietly beside an ancient grave that seems to be inside some territory.

Picture of an elf crouching beside a stone bridge with a small, simple structure and staring at the stone bridge in a wind such as intrigue.

Picture of Mr. Elf bragging about the caught zarigani, with his young children all muddy in the fields and still smiling to play.

Photograph of Mr. Elf smiling from a mayor-like figure, receiving a promulgated residence permit.

Many other pictures of Mr. Elf were posted on that website.

"Who are you, her...? And this town... Nikken-shi...?

The man looked closely at the homepage. Eventually, I realize that there is a corner called "Mr. Elf's Room" in one corner.

The corner contained a brief profile of the girl in the photograph - "Mr. Elf".

Name: Mr. Elf

Age: Himitsu

Background: Elf girl who came to Nissan City for a reason from different worlds.

I liked the natural Nissan City and decided to live there for a while.

"Hmm," Mr. Elf, "hey. Pretty cute though... no way, you don't mean a real elf, do you? It's like a character."

The man drops the image that was posted on his homepage onto his hard drive and tries to enlarge Mr. Elf's image with image editing software.

Only pictures for the homepage and extremely low resolution. I couldn't tell if this girl's elf ears were like special makeup or CG or synthetic even when I tried enlarging them.

"Nikken-shi... hey, can you get there by train in about 30 minutes from Nagoya... that doesn't mean you're so far from my house..."

Just a little... just a little bit, shall we go to this town? Men were somehow thinking about that.

No way, I really don't think you have an elf. It would be an image character for PR using a foreign actor or something anyway.

Still, could you--

Such thoughts cross the corner of my head.

Besides, why don't you just look directly into your own eyes at the location of this "Mr. Elf" picture?

Maybe I'll meet this "Mr. Elf" and the girl who played "Mr. Elf" by accident.

"I'm free anyway, and I'll try it next weekend"

With pale expectations, the man began to examine in detail transportation to Nikken City, among other things.

Something similar to this was happening everywhere.

The topic about "Mr. Elf" will quietly, but surely spread and become rumored among some maniacs.

And then there was this "Mr. Elf" tour, and there was an argument with this whether it was a bulletin board on the internet everywhere or something.

CG anyway, right?

No, it's just a makeup, I'm sure.

Synthesis, earrings?

No, that's real! A real Mr. Elf has descended into this world! For us elfmaniacs!

"Wow, that's stupid. There's a real fool.

There's no such thing as a real elf! Elves are a product of fantasy.

After all, most did not believe that the elves existed or anything else.

Still, some of the very enthusiastic elfmaniacs hardly believed in its existence.

Those who lived in the vicinity of Nikkei City among such maniacs began to go directly to Nikkei City on holidays and other occasions to look for "Mr. Elf".

But no one actually met "Mr. Elf".

It's pretty wide to say Nissan City in a bite. There's no way an amateur can do it in half a day or even a day, such as finding one girl out of it.

Still, even if they don't meet "Mr. Elf," they go back home with a happy look and write on the online bulletin board.

I didn't get to meet the real "Mr. Elf," but I only bought it because the related goods were sold.

Related goods? Images.

This.

The images uploaded to the net showed certain goods, such as towels, t-shirts and coasters, from clear files and stationery such as underlays printed with various "Mr. Elves" pictures.

"Ooh, ooh!? Pretty good, here. I want it too. You didn't do a mail order?

Do you? I don't want it.

It looks like he didn't do the mailing. Thank you. It seems to be an exclusive local commodity.

So you can't buy it until you get to Nikken-shi?

Oh, I can't even go because I'm relatively nearby.

Wow, I'm away from home, Cedar. I can't go very far. Somebody get my share, too. Or an online auction.

But when you look at it like this, you look like a real elf, "Mr. Elf."

Thus, rumors of "Mr. Elf" gradually spread in very few maniacs.

Eventually, "Mr. Elf" will gradually form an enthusiastic fan, and their fans will visit Nissan City from no-one, go around the place where "Mr. Elf" was pictured on the homepage, etc., take commemorative photos, etc., and go home satisfied.

Some of them are rigid enough to use the weekend to visit Nikkei City, visit places like "Elves" all over the place, buy tons of locally exclusive "Elves" goods for sale in convenience stores, etc. and they still happily get home.

Thus.

Though by no means enough to be a national commotion, the presence of "Mr. Elf" among some maniacs sparked a quiet boom.

A telephone placed on the desk played a light calling noise.

One of the officials picks up the phone and puts the receiver in his ear.

"Yes, this is Nisshin City Hall, PR Division...... what? Oh yes, an inquiry about 'Mr. Elf'...... Huh? Is' Mr. Elf 'real, is it? Yes, of course, it does. Yes? So where do I go to see you, then? I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that. Her address is personal. Ha. Then the name of the person in" Mr. Elf "......? No, there's no one in' Mr. Elf '." Mr. Elf "is" Mr. Elf ". She is one of the citizens who loves my Nissan City!

Officials responded as my boss told them to and put the receiver back on.

"Hmm... how many phone calls a day for the same inquiry?

"You're more popular than I thought, 'Mr. Elf'"

"Well, the outsider girl in the role of 'Mr. Elf', she's so cute. I know exactly what it's like to see you."

Officials have such conversations with colleagues who were nearby.

Only Mayor Hagano and a very small number of people know who "Mr. Elf" is.

Other than that, the average City Hall official believed that 'Mr. Elf' was played by a foreign girl living in the city.

While I'm doing this, the phone rings again.

Officials reached out to the phone again when they sighed.

"─ ─ ─ Above and beyond, the sales of related goods for 'Mr. Elf' are going really well"

Mayor Hagano nodded satisfactorily as he heard the secretary Yano's report.

"What about the sales of the company that requested the production of the goods?

"Yes, because of the economic activity of Nissan City, we produce 80% of the goods concerned in the city, mainly in small and medium-sized enterprises. The sales of the companies that requested production have gradually increased, and the unemployment rate in the city has eased slightly due to the need for manpower to match it."

"Really? You seem to be doing more economically than expected."

"But since Mr. El's presence is only a direction not to be published, we can't expect it to be any more effective now?

"That's enough for now."

For example, if we put Elle's presence more forward and plan a public event, etc., people and money would pour in more. But trying to do that would disrupt Elle's life.

It started with Mayor Hagano, and neither Elle nor Yasushi wanted it.

"So, what are you up to with your next project?

"Yes, in partnership with travel agencies, we are preparing to set up special rooms in several accommodations in the city"

This is to say that you are free to take home amenities such as the sale of limited edition goods, which can only be obtained by guests of that hotel, or a limited edition towel used there alone, which you have installed in a limited edition room.

Reservations for special rooms have already been filled up to a few months away, with excellent results, I would say.

"Later I placed an order for an exclusive lottery prize at a convenience store or something. A certain amount of revenue is expected by making the top products into limited figures. Nevertheless, there are just no companies in the city that can produce figures, so you will be placing orders with companies outside the city"

"No way, you can't just start a business for this. You won't have a choice."

Mayor Hagano grinned as he deposited his body behind the chair.

"I didn't know 'Mr. Elf' could do all this with the influence of one person...... really great"

"But there are also concerns. Visits by unspecified visitors may result in a deterioration of security"

"Right. Keep in close contact with volunteers from the police and community patrols to minimize the incidence of crime with a view to detecting it early."

Yano says he understands and tries to leave the mayor's office. Perhaps he quickly went to get in touch with the police and others to collaborate.

But stopping along the way, he looked back at Mayor Hagano.

"Can I just ask you one question, Doctor?

"What is it?

"This is' Mr. Elf ', but don't tell me the real thing... didn't you have to use Mr. Elf?

"You're absolutely right"

Mayor Hagano looks out the window through the mayor's chair at the streets of Nikken-shi.

Yano's right, you don't have to hire a real elf to dress up as an elf.

"But it's restraint that dares to use the real thing there. As city hall officials have responded to the inquiry, 'Mr. Elf' really does exist, and there are no such people inside… because they are never lying. Even if it doesn't go public, that's what I think we should be aware of."

"Ha... is that what it is?"

With the look of one thing I'm not convinced of now, this is the time Yano left the mayor's office behind.

The twenties and several men who came out of Nikkan Station looked around.

Digital cameras and handicams, respectively, in their hands.

But they never photographed the surrounding scenery, and they seemed to be looking for something.

"Ho, are you sure there's an elf in this town...?

One of the men groans pompously. As soon as he did, he stared at the man simultaneously with the look that the rest of the men were killing him.

"Don't abandon 'Mr. Elf'! Put" Mr. Elf "on properly, you deco assistant bastard!!"

"'Mr. Elf' is the right name for 'Mr. Elf'! Halfway through calling it an" elf "or something... you have enough love for" Mr. Elf "!!"

"I will slowly tell you how wonderful 'Mr. Elf' is! Hear that and change your mind!!"

"HI, HI...... Huh!!"

To one uncomfortable person, the men who remain spoken of the excellence of 'Mr. Elf'.

As they walked out while doing so, they slipped away from the four high school-age boys and girls who seemed to be from the front.

The composition consists of two boys and two girls. Of that girl, apparently one is a foreigner.

Long, beautiful blonde hair falls from a knitted hat scattered with pink stars all over the pale green.

A bit of martial bone black glasses on his face were on the contrary making that foreign girl look adorable.

Undoubtedly, the men with the cameras steal a glimpse of Hiragana and the foreign girl.

"Oh, hey, now outsider girl..."

"Ah, oh. Did it somehow resemble 'Mr. Elf'?

"No, it must be someone else. In the first place, all the faces of foreigners look very similar..."

"Right. There's no way Mr. Elf is walking around the bustling town in front of the station. It would be a more natural quiet place to have 'Mr. Elf'. That's what happened in the homepage pictures, right? Besides, you can't be with a very normal high school kid."

To such a voice heard from behind, a foreign girl in a knitted hat smiled with three companions, narrowing the pale eyes behind those black Dade glasses like a kid who had a successful prank.