Was she being unnecessarily perceptive? Or was I being too careless?
I decided to be more careful next time and just end the conversation.
“Hey, I really don’t understand what you’re talking about. What am I hiding?”
“...”
“No, I mean, are you trying to say that my magical ability is exceptional enough to secretly defend against attacks that could have hit the carriage? And I was hiding that from you guys? Why would I do such a thing?”
I scratched my neck and stared at Lea as if she were a really strange person.
Perhaps my facial expression deceived her quite well, as she seemed hesitant, and her gaze wavered.
“Huh? Lea, what kind of strange misunderstanding are you having...?”
“Quiet! Or forget it. It’s nothing.”
With that, Leah stormed off.
Rigon, who was patting Kaen’s shoulder, approached and asked, “What’s wrong? What did you talk about?”
“It’s nothing important.”
Then I heard Yuz’s voice as he approached Lea.
“I found more corpses in the direction where the surprise attack came from earlier.”
“...Corpses?”
“Yes. They seem to be from the same group, but their condition is a little strange. I don’t see any signs of combat around them, and there’s no trauma on the bodies at all. What the hell is going on in this forest...?”
Yuz was talking about the people I killed earlier.
Lea quickly turned her head and stared at me. I pretended not to notice her gaze.
“Sir Yuz, please come here!”
The knight guarding the survivors urgently called out to Yuz.
“They suddenly all died as if by some trick.”
Yuz, who had been staring at the dead bodies with a serious expression, sighed.
In the end, it seemed that the interrogation had yielded no significant results.
“I’m sorry, miss. But it seems like our priority is to quickly get out of this forest.”
They couldn’t expect any notable progress from the interrogation, and they couldn’t predict what other ambushes awaited them. That was the best course of action for now.
With that, the carriage immediately resumed its journey.
Kaen looked out the window and muttered.
“Just until a moment ago, it was a pleasant trip. What on earth is happening...?”
“Yeah, right. Since we don’t know what else might pop up, let’s stay vigilant until we leave the forest.”
Listening to the conversation between Kaen and Rigon, Lea’s expression wasn’t good.
I could sense her feelings. Naturally, she couldn’t be happy when such incidents occurred during the journey she had invited us to.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take full responsibility for your safety, even if it’s at the expense of Herwyn’s honor.”
“Huh?”
Kaen stared at Lea like that and burst into laughter.
“What’s up? You’ve become so timid.”
“I’ve never become timid.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Just be yourself, since it doesn’t suit you. All these things are part of life, you know.”
“Seriously, it’s annoying.”
Thanks to Kaen, the atmosphere, which had become somewhat heavy, quickly lightened up.
I heightened my senses and scanned the surroundings extensively.
There was no one within the maximum range of my senses, and there wouldn’t be any imminent ambushes.
***
The carriage stopped once again, but not because of the same reason as earlier.
A young boy was lying unconscious on the road.
Yuz, who was examining the boy without letting his guard down, wore an uneasy expression.
“This is...”
I also stared intently at the boy.
After the attack by the demon contractors, what could this be now?
Black hair, red eyes, and fangs protruding between his lips.
The boy was not a human, but a vampire.
“Is he... human?”
Kaen muttered with a puzzled expression. Yuz shook his head.
“I think he’s a vampire.”
“Ah, so he’s not human after all?”
“Yes. They are a dangerous race that feeds on the blood of other creatures.”
Why would a rare vampire be in the land of Santea?
The vampire boy had wounds all over his body, and it was quite a pitiful sight.
While keeping an eye on the boy, Yuz hesitated. Kaen urged him.
“Well, shouldn’t we treat him quickly, regardless? He seemed to be in a really bad condition.”
Yuz looked embarrassed.
I knew why he reacted that way. After all, the boy was a vampire.
Vampires faced the same level of stigma in Santea as they did in Calderic.
Moreover, they had just been attacked, and the situation was already tense, so it was only natural for him to be more sensitive.
Lea spoke up.
“Let’s treat him, Yuz.”
“The situation is too suspicious, miss. And the vampire is...”
“He’s just a kid. Are you saying we should just leave the injured child behind and go?”
I intervened and said.
“If there’s any connection to the attackers, wouldn’t it be worth hearing his story?”
“Hmm...”
Come to think of it, those people seemed to be in a hurry because of something.
The attack by the demon contractors and a collapsed vampire.
The chances of the two being unrelated coincidences seemed naturally small.
In the end, Yuz started treating the vampire boy by taking out medicines from the carriage.
We had to hurry, but they didn’t want to carry him in the carriage, so we decided to wait until he woke up.
“Ah, he woke up.”
Not long after, the boy woke up.
He opened his eyes weakly and groaned. He seemed unable to regain his senses.
“Blood, blood...”
Upon hearing his mumbling, Yuz frowned and reached for the hilt of his sword.
“Step back, as he might suddenly attack.”
“Oh, come on. What would a little kid like him use to attack? There’s no need to be so cautious.”
“Vampires can manipulate blood and possess unique abilities. So...”
He’s probably too young to use [Blood Art] yet.
I sat down next to the boy and rolled up my sleeve, extending my bare forearm towards his mouth.
Lea asked in surprise. “Wait, what are you doing?”
“He’s weak because he needs to drink blood. I’m trying to help him regain his strength quickly.”
“Wait! That still looks dangerous...”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
“What’s okay about it? Yuz, hurry and stop the bleeding!”
Lea shouted, but the boy grabbed my arm first.
“Argh...!”
I calmly looked around at the people as if to say everything was fine.
“It’s okay, a little blood loss won’t kill me.”
Everyone watched in a mix of confusion and astonishment as the boy sucked my blood.
Kaen, who was the only one who looked intrigued, crouched down next to me.
“That looks like fun. Can I give some of my blood too?”
“...If you think it’s fun, just watch.”
The boy, who had just finished sucking blood, seemed much more energetic.
He struggled to get up and looked around in a daze.
I turned my gaze to Yuz. Yuz let out a sigh, released his grip on the sword, and asked.
“We were just passing through the forest. You have no enemies here, so rest assured. Why were you lying here in this state?”
The boy, who had shown signs of fear, finally seemed somewhat relieved.
But then the boy suddenly curled up and pleaded.
“P-Please, help me!”
“What do you mean, help? We’re already helping you.”
“The people of my village have all been captured by evil mages. Please help us, please...”
Evil mages?
Unable to understand the words, we looked at each other.
After calming the boy down, we listened to his story properly.
The story of a restless boy who was still in a daze could be summarized briefly as follows:
A group of villains attacked the village where the boy lived, killing or capturing all the villagers.
And the boy managed to escape alone from the hideout of those guys nearby, barely making it out.
Yuz asked, “Did those villains wear reversed black robes, by any chance?”
“Yes, yes! That’s right!” replied the boy.
The villains the boy mentioned seemed to match their attackers.
'A group of demon contractors captured people?'
That didn’t seem particularly strange.
It’s common for those who commit all sorts of evil deeds to destroy villages and abduct people.
There were more things about this vampire boy that didn’t make sense. It wasn’t just one or two things.
Starting with what I was most curious about, I asked the boy, “So, when you say people in the village, do you mean they’re all vampires like you?”
“Oh, no. They’re all humans. I’m the only vampire.”
“But you’re a vampire. Yet, you lived mixed among humans in their village?”
The boy nodded with a dejected expression. Was that even possible?
It was fascinating enough to see a vampire in the land of Santea, but there was also a village that accepted and lived with such a vampire.
I was curious about the details, but Yuz asked the boy another question.
“Do you know the purpose behind those villains abducting people?”
“I... I don’t really know. I only heard rumors about offering sacrifices.”
Sacrifices?
The boy began pleading once again.
“People who were taken from the prison to elsewhere never came back. They’re probably all dead. Because of my escape, those bastards might get angry and kill the remaining people. Please, help me!”
After a moment of silence, Yuz spoke up.
“Miss, there’s no other choice for us but to take this boy and move on...”
“Of course, that’s what we’ll do. But what about the villagers who are held captive by those groups of villains?”
“It would be best to send reinforcements as soon as we reach the main city.”
“But we still have a long way to go until we reach the main city.”
Lea murmured softly. Yuz spoke firmly.
“Miss, ensuring your safety is my top priority.”
“...”
“If the boy’s story is true, it’s unfortunate for those villagers, but it’s difficult to go rescue them in our current situation. The truth of the boy’s words and the size of the enemies, everything is uncertain.”
“I-it’s not a lie! Please believe me!”
Yuz turned to look at the boy.
“I’m sorry. Even if your words are true, I can’t take the risk.”
Yuz had a point.
Normally, it would be insane to go into a stronghold when you know nothing about the enemy.
There was no way he would do such an outrageous thing when he had Lea to protect.
At that moment, Kaen interjected.
“Yuz, so you’re not going to help?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“But earlier, you dealt with those guys easily. But now, because of Lea’s safety, you’re not willing to take the risk?”
“That’s right. Even if you’re disappointed in me, I can’t help it.”
Kaen stared at Yuz for a moment and then turned away.
“Got it. Well, I guess there’s no other choice. Hey, what’s your name?”
“...Heppy.”
“Alright, Heppy. I’m Kaen. I’ll go alone if I have to, so tell me where their hideout is.”
What the heck.
Lea called out to Kaen before I, or Rigon did.
“Hey, you!”
“Why?”
“...Say something that makes sense! You said you’re going alone, but what are you going to do by yourself?”
“I have to save people. I don’t want to go back the way we came. It’s been fun traveling this far.”
Lea glared at Kaen.
I also spoke to Kaen.
“Kaen, it’s impossible with your skills. What if there are even stronger guys than before?”
“Well, then there’s nothing I can do. But maybe those guys earlier were their full strength. I’ll bet on that.”
“Why are you going to such lengths? Isn’t your life precious?”
Kaen looked at me.
“Ran, I’ve thought about it. That story about the magic sword I told you before.”
“...?”
“Sacrificing everything I have to help people or whatever, I still don’t get it, but at least I don’t want to turn away from people in danger and just pass by. I know my life is precious, but I just don’t like that.”
I let out a chuckle.
“You’re stupid if you don’t think your life is precious.”
For some reason, it didn’t seem surprising that she would be this stubborn.
I stepped to Kaen’s side, and Rigon naturally followed.
Kaen looked surprised and asked, “Are you two going to do it too?”
“Then should I just leave you alone and go? Let’s go.”
Yuz’s expression seemed bewildered, as if his wits had run away.
In his eyes, it would only appear as the foolish behavior of naïve teenagers. And that was the truth.
However, from my perspective, I couldn’t just let the wretched demon contractors go without dealing with them, and I didn’t see any reason to hold back if some event were to occur.
“Lea, we’ll go then. If we die, make sure to take care of our bodies.”
Lea glanced at Yuz while biting her lip.
“We’re just going to leave after being insulted like this? The honor of the Herwyn family will be brought to the ground.”
“Miss...”
“I’m not leaving. If Yuz won’t come, then the four of us will just die together.”
Yuz let out a deep sigh.
***
“What would happen if they had sent you alone for real?”
“That arrogant guy wouldn’t allow that, haha.”
“Shut up. If anything happens to Yuz or the knights because of you, I will never forgive you, Kaen.”
The carriage carrying the vampire boy headed toward the enemies’ stronghold.
