Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Twin Vampires
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“That’s when I saw you.”
Keron gave a faint smile at Sernal’s irritated expression.
“It was the first time I’d ever seen a mage groveling like that.”
Keron’s eyes curved softly. It was a bright, childlike laugh.
“So I chose you.”
He had stopped by the mage association branch to check if they had listening devices.
And that’s when he happened to see it.
He’d simply been drawn by the novelty of that white hair.
He had good ears.
It might have been a trait of the vampire race.
Sernal.
He heard that name.
When the staff member came over and groveled before him, his eyes were drawn to it.
In that very brief moment, he spotted the red earring.
An earring only a mage could wear.
So he waited.
He waited right there until Sernal came out, and watched him leave.
—Damn it, this beggar of a mage association.
Hearing that voice laced with frustration made him laugh.
What was so funny was how utterly oblivious he was to others’ stares.
“So, won’t you accept my choice?”
Urgency flickered in Keron’s eyes once more.
“Please wait just a moment.”
Sernal excused himself to Keron and Loren.
“Where are you going?”
As Keron’s face immediately turned anxious, Sernal grinned.
“There’s something I need to do first to resolve your complaint. Please wait just a moment.”
The person who could help him with this case was right behind him.
Keron and Loren exchanged beaming smiles.
“Sis.”
“Yes, Loren?”
“Pinch my cheek for me.”
“It’s not a dream. We did it.”
Sernal rose from his seat, listening to their adorable voices.
Was it really that great?
Puzzled, Sernal headed to Edinal’s office and knocked on the door.
Knock knock.
After noting it down, Sernal entered.
Unlike usual, there was a considerable stack of documents on the desk, so Sernal suspected it might be related to the incident he’d caused at the mage association branch yesterday.
“What’s up?”
Edinal shook the pen between her fingers and glanced up.
“Two vampires have come to see us.”
“Vampires? That’s unexpected.”
Edinal set down her pen and widened her eyes.
“It is unexpected. They value pride and honor so highly, after all.”
“No need to beat around the bush. Face. Vampires make such a big deal out of that damn face. I’m kinda sick of it myself.”
Edinal swept back her hair and chuckled.
“They seem to be getting stalked because of money issues.”
“That happens sometimes.”
Edinal crossed her arms.
Her expression hardened as if she were angry.
“I’ve dealt with it myself. I get it, sort of. Money’s a sensitive topic.”
“It is.”
“…But that’s weird.”
“It is.”
“They’d normally have precautions in place for something like this, right? Unless… they’re hated by their family?”
“They looked like elementary schoolers.”
Edinal’s eyes widened at Sernal’s response.
“Those kids? The twin siblings!”
“How did you know?”
“How could I not? Word’s spread that the old man there is pretty indifferent. Or rather, strict. Vampires aren’t supposed to accept help from anyone, no matter how young—they have to solve things on their own. He clings to that outdated teaching that hasn’t caught up with the idea of equality.”
Edinal shook her head.
“Anyway, Sernal. I’ll contact the police, so head out for now. We can’t let this case fester—it could spark a big fire.”
“I’ll collect as much evidence as possible.”
“Good thinking, Sernal. Tensions between races are already high over money issues. Handing them more fodder would be disastrous.”
“I’m aware of the resentment toward vampires.”
“What’s this, words of comfort?”
Edinal snorted, but she didn’t seem too displeased.
“I’ve dealt with plenty myself.”
Fatigue briefly filled Sernal’s eyes.
“Anyway, I’ll be off.”
* * *
‘…This is overwhelming.’
Sernal patted his stomach lightly.
He’d felt satisfied leaving the community center amid Keron and Loren’s joy.
But the moment he spotted the car waiting nearby, he discovered he had an unknown allergy.
Even brushing past it felt like it cost enough to buy a whole house—this Rolls-something-or-other was parked right there.
He’d wondered why it was causing such a fuss, but once he knew, his arms itched like mad.
His eyes kept darting around the whole ride, and his legs ached strangely—was this what an allergy felt like?
Nothing Keron and Loren chattered about reached his ears.
The destination was no less intimidating.
He almost doubted if this was really his country, ‘Hilljo’—the estate sprawled out before him.
Sernal closed his eyes slowly, then opened them and looked ahead again.
‘I don’t want to go in.’
The mage association branch was bigger than this, so why was entering this place so much harder? Pondering it, he realized the estate vaguely resembled the family manor from his Rinell days.
The mage’s disgrace, Rinell.
The family’s disgrace, Rinell.
Poor, pitiful Rinell.
It felt like those words would come pouring out any second, so he’d always hated manors like this.
‘I still hate them, huh.’
Sernal found it amusing.
How many years had he lived as Sernal?
Of course, he knew he’d lived longer as Rinell, but the occasional resurfacing memories—were they sorrows etched into his soul?
‘Rinell, stay out of this. I want to make a ton of money and live in a place like that.’
Sernal curved his lips toward Keron and Loren, who were watching him intently.
“Are you carsick by any chance?”
Keron asked worriedly.
“No.”
“Was the car uncomfortable? Should we switch to another?”
Loren tilted his head.
“I’m fine. I just usually take the subway and bus, so my body isn’t used to it.”
Fearing more questions, Sernal brushed it off lightly.
“Sernal, Sernal. Do you not have a car?”
“I don’t.”
“Then should I give you one? I have a bunch under me.”
Loren’s words held no ulterior motive, and Sernal nearly accepted naturally.
‘…Tempting offer.’
Sernal clenched his fist.
Bribes were poison apples for civil servants. They were stricter than other jobs—getting caught could mean losing the ability to use magic for life.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
“I’m good. I’ll gratefully accept your thoughts, so please show me the way.”
Sernal barely reined in his senses and asked the kids to guide him.
‘…What a shame.’
But the regret lingered.
* * *
‘The garden was a hint, but the rooms are bigger than my whole house?’
Sernal didn’t know where to rest his eyes.
His cozy place—even though it was a lease—suddenly felt shabby.
“In case you needed it, I gathered magic tools from the mage association ahead of time. Sorry about this. Looking at them all piled up, I feel like I bought too many.”
Keron kept glancing at Sernal’s expression.
He fidgeted with his fingers, eyeing the magic tools filling the room.
Even if he could afford them all, wasn’t this a bit much?
“How long will it take? I’ll give you the room. Food too. That’s fine, right?”
“Sis, does that mean Sernal’s staying here?”
Loren’s eyes sparkled.
“No.”
Sernal answered.
“B-but he might get tired like today!”
‘That was the allergy… or whatever.’
Sernal felt embarrassed for no reason. It was his first time in such an expensive car—what could he do?
“Coming and going would be super inconvenient for Sernal! Super, super inconvenient!”
Loren pleaded desperately, clutching Sernal’s clothes.
“Wouldn’t it be better to work nearby?”
Keron approached and lightly gripped Sernal’s clothes too.
“The room won’t be necessary. We can eat together after work. Anyway, I can start right now, so don’t worry.”
Sernal eyed the magic tools in the room.
There were easily a few hundred, but he worried for Keron and Loren.
“I’m going to use magic now. Don’t be startled or panic. It’s absolutely nothing scary.”
“I’m not scared. It’s fine.”
Loren grinned widely.
“I-I don’t know what fear is either.”
Keron gripped his own clothes tightly and stepped back from Sernal.
Sernal smiled at the kids’ reactions and cast his spell.
He drew mana to his fingertips and inscribed letters.
[O magic circles, gather to me.]
Every magic circle in the room flowed into Sernal’s grasp.
He felt the mana whispering. The magics blending into one must have piqued its interest.
But before they fully merged, Sernal scattered the magic circles into the air.
They hung on the walls like picture frames, easy to view.
Finding the specific ‘eavesdropping’ pattern in the magic circles would be tedious, but he had no choice but to expose them.
The circles contained not magic words, but patterns, so the mana wouldn’t move all at once.
‘If only they used words, it’d be instant.’
Sernal gazed at the magic circles.
“…Whoa!”
Loren’s mouth gaped wide enough to show his teeth, while Keron covered his mouth, eyes darting around.
It was like the room was filled with stars.
Sernal moved his fingers again.
[Magic pattern search, keyword: ‘eavesdropping’, commence search.]
Waves of mana swept through the room like surging tides.
The magic circles glimmered, linking to the magic tools.
Sernal strode forward, picked up a doll among the tools, and rolled his eyes to the right.
Seeing another connection, he slowly shifted his feet.
But Sernal headed not toward the hundreds of tools, but the door.
A cute cat sticker on the door.
Sernal peeled it off.
There were two in total.
“Who put these stickers here?”
“The maid did. I-I… like cats.”
Keron clenched his fingers and averted his gaze slightly.
‘The chances of the mage and an insider working together are high.’
Sernal examined the sticker.
Sticking it on was such a trivial act that few might remember.
Better to track it himself than ask around.
Sernal reported first.
“As you can see, I’ve confirmed eavesdropping magic on these two items. One seems to be from an insider.”
“Ah! You mean people here did that awful thing?”
Loren looked shocked.
“That’s how it appears. For now, I’ll track the insider first. After that, may I have permission to inspect the entire estate?”
Sernal continued, looking at Keron.
“To move freely, I need permission from the owner of this estate, your grandfather.”
His permission only extended to checking the magic tools for devices.
Anything beyond required approval, and Keron and Loren were too young.
Minors’ permission didn’t count.
“…I’ll contact him soon.”
Keron, aware of this, looked frustrated as he pulled out his phone.
“Then I’ll go track them.”
“Catch them if you can. No, Loren.”
“Yeah, sis.”
“You follow and catch them. Can you do it?”
“I can.”
Loren nodded firmly, fists clenched.
‘Definitely better with backup.’
The presence of the employer made a big difference.
Still, Sernal was a bit worried. Reactions in these situations were usually one of two: attack or beg.
“I’m super fast, Sernal.”
Sernal knew vampire physical abilities were exceptional.
Among the races, humans, elves, and slimes probably had the weakest.
“Just in case, let me cast a spell on you. Is that okay?”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
Loren nodded happily and added,
“The magic you used was so cool, Sernal! It sparkled like stars—I was amazed!”
Sernal’s hand paused mid-inscription at the unfamiliar reaction.
“The magic I’ve seen before was totally different. Other mages go like, uh, with pens or wands, ‘yap!’ and cast. It was just kinda interesting.”
‘That’s because they can’t create spells on the spot.’
Sernal’s mouth itched, but he held back.
Local mages used patterns, not words, so they couldn’t cast until the pattern was complete.
Patterns were like gesturing to mana without speaking or writing—faster to just punch instead.
So mages carried tools embedded with pre-made circles.
He was different.
Like an ugly duckling.
“Now I get why you said not to be surprised. It’s so pretty like stars, so you warned us.”
“…Thank you.”
Sernal couldn’t help but smile at the shining eyes directed at him.
It might be the most encouraging moment.
Yet it was exactly then that the barrier of reality—the mage association, perceptions of magic—stirred the dreams he’d buried amid the hopelessness.
[Protect from physical force and magic.]
Sernal cast two spells on Loren.
A cat pattern appeared on Loren’s hand, flushing the child’s cheeks with joy.
Sernal looked at the sticker.
[Scan.]
Red light gleamed in one of Sernal’s eyes.
He saw countless spells and mana flows.
Sernal grasped the mana thread from the sticker.
Touching a magic tool left mana residue on hands or anywhere.
The trace would fade with time, but mana remembered.
[Track.]
With Sernal’s next spell, the thread turned to blue smoke, stretching long toward somewhere.
‘Found you.’
Closer than expected.
Sernal quickly followed the smoke.