Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Romari of the Pilgrim Shadow School
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After having dinner with the mercenaries, Eugene told them to rest and returned to his room.
He had told the slaves to stay with the mercenaries as well, so the spacious room contained only Eugene and Mirian.
With Wolfslaughter placed on the table, ready to be used at any moment in case of emergency, Eugene waited for Romari to arrive.
About ten minutes after the slave mark had lit the room's lanterns and left, there was a knock at the door.
“Lord Eugene, it's Romari. May I come in?”
“Come in.”
At Eugene's permission, Romari quietly opened the door and entered, wearing a loose brown robe.
She flinched upon seeing Wolfslaughter on the table but soon pushed back her hood, revealing her face, and bowed her head.
“I formally greet you. In truth, I am not Dolmorae but Sirinoa Romari of the Pilgrim Shadow School. It is an honor to meet a member of the Night Clan.”
“……!”
* * *
Romari, the mage of the Pilgrim Shadow School, was in a state of extreme excitement.
As one could infer from the school's name, its grandmaster was none other than a vampire.
And today, Romari had met a vampire for the first time—someone she had only heard about in tales.
Vampires mostly lived in the northern regions or areas with little church influence, making it hard to encounter them around here.
‘Lucky me.’
Moreover, the fact that it walked boldly in broad daylight suggested it was an old and experienced vampire.
‘Vampires are friendly toward our school, so surely...’
But Romari's thoughts didn't get to finish.
The vampire, with its exquisitely beautiful features, seized her throat like lightning.
“Gurk!?”
“I don't know how you figured it out, but you must want to die, right?”
“Kek! N-no, that's not... F-first, this...”
“My lord, my lord! I heard from my seniors that the Pilgrim Shadow School deals with monsters! Make her swear an oath first and then hear her out!”
At Mirian's quick advice, Eugene pressed Wolfslaughter against Romari's throat and unleashed his piercing aura to its maximum.
“Swear on your name, your school, and the name of magic. Right here, you will not lie to me, nor use any magic.”
“I s-swear on my name, the Pilgrim Shadow School, and magic itself. I will not lie, nor use magic here.”
Caught completely off guard by the sudden turn of events, Romari blurted out the words in a panic.
According to Mirian, breaking an oath for a mage was tantamount to abandoning the path of magic.
Thus, Eugene finally released Romari's throat.
Even so, he didn't withdraw his piercing aura, and he kept Wolfslaughter gripped in his hand, ready to swing at any moment.
“Then speak. How did you know I'm of the Night Clan?”
With fear still etched on her face, Romari stammered.
“O-our Pilgrim Shadow School's grandmaster was of the Night Clan. That's why we can sense vampires immediately upon meeting them.”
“The grandmaster was?”
Surprised by the unexpected answer, Eugene retracted his piercing aura.
Finally able to breathe, Romari suddenly flattened herself on the floor like a frog.
“I failed to recognize your noble Origin and committed a grave rudeness. Forgive me, Lord Eugene!”
It wasn't an act put on deliberately.
Romari thought the powerful piercing aura that had just oppressed her was strikingly similar to the Origin aura her master had once described.
Like most mages, Romari was tenacious and strong-willed, yet that overwhelming fear had quickened her heartbeat and made her body tremble uncontrollably.
It was a trait of the school that originated from the Origin—or "progenitor vampire."
The natural predator of the Pilgrim Shadow School wasn't high-ranking priests or holy knights, but the progenitor vampires.
‘Can't even breathe, can't even think of casting magic...’
Romari finally lifted her face.
But to her shock, the definite Origin vampire was furrowing his brow and tilting his head.
“Origin?”
“Yes?”
“What's that?”
“……!”
Romari's eyes widened like rotten fish.
It seemed she had encountered a member of the Night Clan who didn't even know they were an Origin.
* * *
“So, Origin means the highest-ranking nobility among vampires?”
“Y-yes. Among the Night Clan, the direct descendants of the most noble bloodlines are called Origins. I'm not skilled enough to confirm it for certain, but judging by the piercing aura you just unleashed, I believe you are an Origin, Lord Eugene.”
Eugene, who had no memories before a certain point in the past, was greatly surprised yet skeptical.
‘Me, an Origin? Does that mean I'm a top-tier vampire?’
But he couldn't blindly trust the words of a mage he had just met today.
“Tell me about these noble bloodlines.”
“I don't know much since there's little known about them. But I do know that our school's grandmaster inherited the bloodline of ‘Ventroa.’”
“Ventroa?”
“Yes. However, the grandmaster left few tales about their kin due to a pact. That's why even Master Bellopa, who taught me magic, knew nothing.”
“Still, tell me everything you can.”
Since this might relate to his own origins, Eugene pressed Romari.
“I truly don't know. Information on Origins can only be found in the Avilonia Library. But it's too far, and with wars breaking out everywhere these days, I haven't dared to go.”
“The Avilonia Library? How far is it?”
“From here, probably about half a year...”
“Nana, I know that place! Heard about it from my seniors. But they don't let just anyone in. Only super high nobles or famous mages get access.”
“Hmm.”
There was no reason to spend half a year on it, and with his current abilities, it would likely be a wasted trip anyway.
“Fine, for now. Then why did you act like you knew me?”
“It's because of the labyrinth subjugation. With a member of the Night Clan, what I want would be much easier to achieve, so I sought your help.”
“Help?”
As Eugene crossed his arms, Romari hurriedly replied.
“It's true. Actually...”
According to Romari's explanation, only one high-grade monster had ever been sighted in the Morrison Mountain Labyrinth: a Cyclops.
And she needed the Cyclops's claws and blood for her magical research.
“I heard that Evergrow territory was urgently seeking a mage. So I thought it was a good opportunity and came pretending to be from the Dolmorae School. I can use some earth magic, after all.”
“Handy skills. The count didn't suspect anything?”
“It was urgent, so he let it slide. And I was confident I could escape if he did.”
‘Until I met an Origin like you, that is.’
Hiding her inner thoughts, Romari faced Eugene's next question.
“I see. But why specifically Cyclops byproducts?”
“Because they're essential for creating a chimera.”
“Chimera?”
“Hybrid monsters that mages make! Wow, my lord, this girl's got talent? Seniors said you can't even attempt it without real skill.”
As Mirian chattered from halfway out of the leather pouch, Romari's explanation continued.
“It's a kind of artificial monster. For mages of the Pilgrim Shadow School, crafting one's own chimera is the ultimate calling. It's been three years since I became independent from my master, and I've been working on it ever since...”
“Not really curious about that. So, you need Cyclops byproducts, and you thought my cooperation would help, so you revealed you knew?”
“Yes. Vampires are friendly to our school. Master Bellopa met two before and received various help from them.”
There are no vampires who pop up out of nowhere without a master.
Just like humans, vampire knowledge is passed down through generations.
Unless abandoned alone somewhere, all vampires know of the Pilgrim Shadow School.
That was what her master had said.
‘Everyone except you...’
“Hmm. I see.”
Eugene, for his part, felt a fresh sense of novelty.
He knew mages didn't universally treat vampires as enemies, but he hadn't expected a school that was amicable toward them—let alone one with a vampire grandmaster.
“What about the Cyclops's mana stone? Do you need that too?”
“No, mana stones aren't needed at all.”
Seeing Eugene's demeanor soften a bit, Romari quickly shook her head.
“Good. I'll cooperate.”
“Ah... Yes! Thank you.”
Flustered by the unexpected agreement, Romari clasped her hands in gratitude.
He was strange in many ways, but as long as she secured the cooperation of this apparent Origin, she could definitely take down the Cyclops.
“But I have a condition.”
“What condition...”
“Help find Galpredic.”
“B-but... that knight might already be dead. And if I may be so bold, why would an Origin with the coldest, noblest blood care about a mere human knight...”
Whoosh!
“I understand! I'll find him! Even if it's just the body, I will!”
Overwhelmed once more by the vampire's maximum piercing aura, Romari flattened herself again.
‘Why does a vampire care about a human? Should I not have said anything?’
Romari felt a twinge of regret, but it was too late.
Besides, given the Pilgrim Shadow School's nature, anyone would have made the same judgment.
* * *
The next morning, the subjugation party, led by Eugene and the territory knight Entler, departed the castle.
Five or six hours later, they arrived at the village at the foot of Morrison Mountain.
The village, where the chief and villagers welcomed them grandly, had unexpected uninvited guests waiting for the subjugation party.
“We cannot allow unauthorized persons into the labyrinth.”
“We sensed an evil presence from the Morrison Mountain Labyrinth. Isn't that why Evergrow Count hired a mage—because the situation is dire?”
“Lady Romari was invited to assist in exploring uncharted areas. It has nothing to do with evil presences.”
“No, why oppose us when we're offering help without expecting any reward? Are you not a brother in faith?”
“I believe in God, but I believe in magic too. Above all, I believe in my sword most.”
“Blasphemy, sir!”
The ones fiercely debating Entler were templars from a nearby monastery in Evergrow territory.
They belonged to the church like holy knights, but they were distinctly different.
Holy knights were all from nobility, trained from childhood under bishops or diocesan leaders with church support.
Templars, by contrast, were warriors who devoted themselves solely to faith, from varied backgrounds, living ascetic lives in monasteries—their gear not much different from mercenaries.
‘Troublesome.’
Not as bad as holy knights, but templars still made Eugene wary, so he closely observed the three.
“You say you believe in God—how is that blasphemy? I even go to the church for prayer when nothing's amiss. Anyway, I cannot accept you.”
“Sir, look here. This is a direct order from the abbot. Probably the same was sent to Evergrow Count.”
The templars, wearing surcoats emblazoned with the church's circular emblem and sacred flame over worn full chain mail, were adamant.
“Hmm.”
Entler grimaced upon seeing the letter the templar presented.
A mere templar might be ignorable, but the abbot of their monastery was a noble, whom even Evergrow Count respected formally.
‘Will these templars obey me inside the labyrinth? They'll probably try to act independently.’
Templars were infamous for causing incidents—good or bad—and then claiming they merely followed God's will, not their own.
Thus, knights despised getting involved with them.
Everyone who was a knight knew how much trouble uncontrollable allied forces could be.
At that moment, the templar who seemed to be the leader spoke as if reading Entler's mind.
“We absolutely will not cause problems, Sir Entler. We promise to follow orders inside the labyrinth.”
“Hmm.”
Entler's expression softened slightly.
But he still didn't want these unpredictable types under his command once inside.
‘Ah! Right.’
“Then join Sir Eugene's team over there. They're a bit short on combatants. Sir Eugene, that's fine, right?”
“Hmm.”
As Eugene scowled inside his helmet, about to speak, the templars swarmed toward him.
“We look forward to working with you, Sir Eugene.”
“Are you the knight who repelled the wicked orcs wielding roamers in Maren? A merchant who visited our order praised not just your valor but your deep faith.”
“It's an honor to fight in the labyrinth alongside a devout knight like you!”
“…….”
Eugene was at a loss for words.
“Kyahahahaha! They say the vampire's deeply faithful! D-devout! Kyakyakya!”
Amid Mirian clutching her belly in laughter, Romari—the only one who knew Eugene's true nature—twitched her lips as if fighting back tears and smiles.
“In God's name, let us fight together, Sir Eugene!”
The templars' eyes sparkled innocently, while subjugation leader Entler looked on approvingly.
It seemed refusal was impossible.
(To be continued)