87 – Scene 87: Kinship (2)
Basil can be viewed as effectively the autonomous city of the mercenary group.
With the money the mercenaries earned, they built houses and opened shops.
They purchase things like magic stones or miscellaneous goods, spending their earnings.
It can be taken that the village is practically supported by the mercenaries.
The influence of the mercenary group that made this place their hub is inevitably immense.
But there existed an entity wielding far more power than those mercenaries.
“I would like to have a specific seat. Would you let me through?”
“Ah! Were the friends of Sir Knight! We’re sorry! Please, pass! Fran! Quickly fetch the luggage!”
“We’re really sorry. We didn’t recognise… “
At each word of the knight, the guards trembled and bowed.
The scattered belongings were rapidly collected and returned.
Mi-Jung got to pass the inspection with a communication device disguised as a backpack, and I carried the luggage.
Getting further from the inspection scene,
The dismounted knight alternately looked at us with an interested gaze.
“You seem to know who I am.”
“A vampire with reason-“
“Yes! I am Transylvania! Who else could be the legendary swordsman, the reasonable vampire but Transylvania!”
“……”
The knight laughing boisterously with his hoarse voice.
Transylvania.
One of the names always mentioned when discussing the strongest swordsmen that exist, and also a vampire.
Isn’t it true that vampires, being monsters, cannot be treated as humans?
That was the general rule.
Transylvania was the peculiar exception.
He turned into corpses all those who treated him as one, resulting in him becoming an object of fear.
At one point, he was even declared a target of suppression by all the nations around the world.
Even after a hundred years, his bounty made him a target of every assassin, but all ended up being exhibited as prey, which practically nullified the suppression order.
In addition, Transylvania himself being very docile, he seemed to have a good relationship with some countries.
‘I never thought he would become a royal knight.’
Transylvania’s actions were so peculiar they were termed as erratic since his appearances occurred randomly, making tracking him virtually impossible.
From the first to the twelfth time, all were of various kinds.
Even the smallest variables seemed to change things significantly.
But this time, he has become a royal knight in the Kingdom of Gallia.
A knight of monster origin.
Looking at it, it seems that the Kingdom of Gallia is a quite messed up nation.
I really feel it.
“Why am I dressed like this?”
“No, I didn’t ask-“
“You must be curious! How could I, who is free-spirited and not tied down to any place, become a knight in a country! There’s no grand reason, it’s just a hobby. Since they offered, I accepted it simply to have a new experience. It is only a temporary status. While it’s nice to be acclaimed instead of people paling and running away whenever they see me, responsibilities are too much trouble. It doesn’t suit me. I plan to roam soon again. Of course, if there’s a place that needs me desperately, I’ll go occasionally to help…. That might happen once every ten years. I am quite fickle. But separate from my fickleness, I am loyal. Whether it’s 10 or 20 years later, I remember those who helped me, and those who annoyed me, and I take my revenge. Compared to mortals whose beliefs and everything change like leaves in the wind, it’s disappointing.”
He kept on talking, even though I hadn’t asked anything.
Words streamed out like water from a broken dam.
It felt as if he would recount all episodes from the past 100 years, so I decided to interrupt.
“So, what’s your name?”
“Cheonma-“
“Not you. As if I have any business with a mere mortal like you. It’s no use hiding behind me. I am so happy to see my fellow men that I stopped to chat despite the troublesome interview.”
“······Kin?”
Rustle.
From behind me, Mijeong, who was wearing a hood, slowly peeks her head out.
Having never seen a vampire with reasoning before, her hand tightly clenching my cloak brims with wariness.
“What’s your name?”
“······Mijeong.”
“Your name isn’t decided yet?”
“······Yes, that’s it.”
“I see. I’m so glad I can’t control myself. Of course, kinsfolk themselves are surprisingly common. But it’s not easy to find kins who speak. I’ve only seen three so far, and one of them is this girl. Even the other two didn’t seem to be entirely free from the instinct of a vampire. Even I sometimes have a hard time suppressing it. But this girl has almost completely conquered her instincts. Incredible.”
What is she talking about?
So, every time she gets a chance, when she bites my arm and neck, what is that?
If that’s not a vampire’s instinct, what is it?
“No. That can’t be it. She still has her bad habits from back in the day.”
“Bad habit of suffocating people? Any vampire mouthing other than feeding is not a vampire’s habit.”
“······.”
“······.”
Transylvania tilts her head in bewilderment.
So it wasn’t all vampire instincts that she bit me for?
When I looked at Mijeong to demand an explanation…
Mijeong only turns her head as if to ignore me.
“Hey, say something. Speak.”
“······What. Speak.”
“This kid.”
“······Ahh.”
She holds her cheek and pulls, Mijeong clinges onto it.
I thought it was an uncontrollable instinct and left it alone.
But the more I think about it, the more outrageous it seems.
Just because her teeth were itchy, she chewed up my arms like this?
“hahahahaha! It’s a funny combination. A human and a vampire. There was a time when I had a human to rely on by my side. That was 300 years ago. But now, they all are dead.”
“What do you want me to do about it? Is it clear that I will die young, so I should cut losses early?”
“If that’s how it sounded, I apologize. That wasn’t my intention. It’s not like I’m one to preach about how our kin should live, I simply commented out of pure curiosity.”
“…”
Exactly. Now, I remember.
Transilvia was always so.
Fierce strength, unchanging physique, and a lifespan near eternity.
You don’t need to live confined by the world’s norms or laws once you’ve achieved all this.
A being who lives solely for pleasure, guided by their own whims.
Their measurement for the worth of any object or individual is whether it amuses them.
That’s Transilvia.
“Even if I don’t tell you, you’ll soon realize on your own. Just how fleeting the life of a short-lived species is. The long-lived aren’t much different, but I haven’t lived long enough to comment on that yet. hahahaha.”
“…Don’t like it.”
“I don’t like it when you act like a child. At least act your age.”
“…Eternally. 13.”
“Hard to understand. Are you trying something new?”
“…Want to see my power?”
“Oh? Learned some magic, did you? Give it a shot. If you can use it while your neck is flying off.”
“What childish games you’re both playing. Enough fighting.”
The unidentified individual who has continually snarled at us finally decides to hide behind me.
Transilvia’s reputation for being temperamental recently is definitely accurate.
If it were a long time ago, by now we both would have been beheaded.
The unidentified individual seems to have held back, considering they are of the same kin and possess the same rationale.
“Great! I’m in the mood! To celebrate meeting a member of our kin, I’ll gift you both something. Ask me anything that you’re curious about. There’s nothing I would not gladly answer, depending on the question’s content.”
“…”
Did he just refer to offering us a chance to inquire about him as a ‘gift’?
Although lost for words because of his absolute narcissism…
It is understandable to some degree.
If you consider it from a hum
‘To be honest, there are a few things that I’m curious about.’
Even though I know the setting and the history of Transylvania, there are still things I’m curious about.
Separate from his bad luck.
I can’t just throw away this opportunity to ask questions.
Since the moment we first met, there has been a significant question that I’ve been curious about.
“Isn’t it humid inside the full-body armor? Vampires should be afraid of flowing water. How is the moisture on the inside handled?”
“You know one thing but not the other. Vampires don’t sweat, so as long as you take care of the armor, there won’t be any humidity. Here. Put your hand inside it. It feels cool, doesn’t it?”
“Oh…”
Really.
As I slide my hand through the back of the armor towards the smooth surface, a chilling coldness envelops my hand.
It’s as if there is no separate refrigerator.
My question is resolved.
It feels like 10 years of accumulated fatigue has disappeared.
So this is the feeling of Transylvania’s back.
“…That’s not it. I mean…”
“Ah.”
Thanks to Mijung stabbing my side, I remembered.
When I meet Transylvania, there was something I wanted to ask.
Something I’ve been desperately curious about for a long time.
“Vampires can use magic, right? But I know that they can’t charge their magic power in conventional ways.”
“You know it correctly. So what are you curious about?”
“For now, I understand that physical contact is the way to charge magic power. When you pat a vampire’s head, their magic power gets charged. But no matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand the principle behind it. It’s not like they’re transferring their magic power to me. Sometimes, depending on which part I pat, the amount of charge differs, and sometimes it even varies depending on the speed of patting. And it’s not a quantitative measure either, so sometimes charging is good when I pat quickly, and sometimes it’s not. It’s not at all intuitive, so what on earth is the principle behind it?”
“Ahahahahaha! hahahahaha! hahahahaha, hahahaha!!!”
This was a serious question.
Tran Sylvania bursts into laughter, clutching her stomach as if the entire mountain is about to burst.
After laughing for a while, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, Tran Sylvania speaks.
“What? Patting charges magic power? No, that’s wrong. That’s not it. The way vampires gain magic power is through happiness.”
“Happiness?”
“It’s proportional to the happiness they feel. Can you believe it? Charging magic power by patting their head. It’s so funny that my stomach hurts. That guy’s just happy when you pat his head.”
“…”
It made no sense that she would turn away again…
Looking back, Mi-Jung was once more turning a blind eye on me.
Perhaps it’s not even embarrassing?
‘Strange how Alysha’s affection had no effect.’
There must be a reason why the charging does not work with the touch of a stranger, and why the charge varies considerably.
The question has been crystal-clearly resolved.
“By the way, I charge my magical power by looking in the mirror. Seeing my own face, which is so like a piece of me, I can’t help but feel happy.”
“······As expected. I. Don’t. Like this. Get lost.”
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! You must be embarrassed because your true colors are showing! Don’t worry! The time to gain happiness from humans will pass quickly! In 100 years, you will only see humans as bags of blood!”
“······Shut up. Before, I get. Angry.”
“Hmm? So far you haven’t even shown anger? I’m so excited to see how scary you are when you get really angry, my heart is fluttering. Try showing me.”
“······Keep that up, and you’ll die.”
“As you wish! Kill me! If you can, that is!”
The level of argument doesn’t get past the level of a kindergartner.
It’s giving me a headache just listening to it.
I just want to part ways here and now.
Of course, having Transylvania as a companion would be ideal as they are powerful.
But I also know damn well that’s impossible.
Because this person doesn’t side with humans or monsters.
No kind of deal would matter.
They hold absolute neutrality, they don’t fight for any faction no matter what happens.
If the Kingdom of Gallia starts a war and summons Transylvania, this creature would likely shed its armor at once.
I just want to end this bickering as well.
Deciding to ask one last question, I pull out Cali’s soul from my bag.
“One last question. Do you know anything about this?”
“Isn’t this the ball that kids play with?”
“Ah, I forgot to remove the disguise. This is its true form.”
“······!”
The moment I remove the disguise and reveal Cali’s soul.
Transilbia’s eyes widen, lighting up with a gleam in his red eyes.
Even now, it’s impossible to know what will happen if all this magic stone accumulation is filled.
It was brought out wondering if Transilbia would know something. Somehow, Transilbia’s reaction is intense.
“That, that! When have you been carrying that around?”
“Since about two weeks ago?”
“Were you always carrying it disguised?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“No. I can count the times I’ve carried it disguised.”
“Are you out of your mind! To boldly walk around the streets while emitting a fragrance this strong!”
“Fragrance? I don’t smell anything. What about you, Mijeong?”
“······I don’t, either.”
“Are you all insane! Can’t you smell the scent of the Archdruid from the magic stone? I never thought you’d be lunatics who’d brazenly carry around an item stolen from the ArchDruid!”
Transilbia jumps up, causing a ruckus.
The magic stone is said to smell like Kali······?
Then does that mean.
It’s as if I’m going around the Four Kings announcing ‘I am the one who killed Kali!’
Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.
“This can’t be happening!”
The sky turns dark.
A black curtain descends rapidly, beginning to envelop the entire Basil.
The sky turns black in an instant.
It’s certain.
This is the work of the Four Kings.
Stunned by the sudden attack, but only for a moment.
‘It’s less work to find them.’
I realize this is a boon.
I am in a situation where I have to catch all the Four Kings as soon as possible.
So the biggest worry was the Four Kings playing hide and seek.
If they show up like this, I should be grateful.
So far, it’s still the beginning part.
There’s no way I can’t be superior to the Four Heavenly Kings when I already had the upper hand by planning ahead.
In terms of Transilbia, who’s much stronger and already a fully-developed pacesetter, it’s needless to say.
It’s a fight where defeat seems impossible
“Ah, ahh. No. No… Or I don’t want to…”
“Transilbia?”
But Transilbia’s state seems unusual.
Transilbia who is twitching at the corners of her eyes and trembling all over her body.
Her pupils are shaking heavily, unable to focus.
The strength in her legs seems to be fading, like she might collapse at any moment.
Could it be, this kid.
Is she afraid of the Four Heavenly Kings?
Hes like Stark from Frieren. Massive strength but a scaredy cat lol