Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Such a Thing
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I had a feeling the neighboring country would love this, but unfortunately, it really wasn't anything like that.
As I furtively glanced at the others' reactions, they started showing responses completely different from mine.
"Oh dear, miss, are you alright?"
The fortune-teller grandma said that as she approached Eun Ha-eun.
The siblings didn't say much either, but their faces were stiff.
Even the guy who'd been blocked by four people within ten seconds of meeting them furrowed his brow.
"Ahem, for a person to dry up like that..."
That's when it hit me.
Once again, I was the weird one.
This fucking thing—my eyes were the only ones acting up again!
What the hell are you all seeing?!
Show me what you're seeing!
I wanted to scream it out loud right then, but I held back.
Just from what they were saying, I could tell. To them, Eun Ha-eun must look like a truly frail girl, skin and bones.
Part of me thought I should say something to match the mood, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Because no matter what words of comfort I offered, the subject looked way too healthy.
Her nicely plump cheeks and voluptuous figure made calling her sickly feel like the real insult.
'That's half of it?'
What the hell was she like before?
Someone who could go toe-to-toe with a Wegovy user and still crush them flat?
Obviously not.
The fact that I wasn't screaming "crazy bitch alert" was the best I could manage.
Then, Eun Ha-eun, who had been sitting in the wheelchair, stood up.
"Ah, miss! Your body's not well!"
Jang Jin-su freaked out and grabbed her.
His expression was like a mother cow watching over her newborn calf.
Eun Ha-eun brushed off Jang Jin-su's hands.
"I'm fine. These people came all the way here for me—I should at least greet them."
With that, she approached the visitors to the mansion.
I gritted my teeth harder.
A woman wearing nothing but a bat cape coming closer—managing my expression was impossible.
"You're Teacher Kim I-ja, right?"
"Yes, yes, but miss, are you alright? Your face is..."
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for coming."
The fortune-teller grandma.
"And you're Lee Sin-ho, right?"
"Nice to meet you."
"Yes, hee-hee. Then this must be Lee Sin-ha."
"Nice to meet you."
The younger-looking siblings.
"Kang Cheol-ho?"
"Yes! Former Pollution Investigation Bureau agent Kang Cheol-ho!"
Kang Cheol-ho, introducing his credentials without even being asked.
After greeting everyone on the team, she finally came to me.
"Nice to meet you. Kang Han-sik."
"...Yes."
I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head as I replied.
I seriously had no choice!
There was nowhere to look in front of this woman!
Well, if I looked carefully, she was at least wearing panties.
I hadn't noticed when she was sitting, but it was like a last shred of conscience—she was wearing underwear!
But even that was too small in area.
Like a Zealot blocking the entrance against a thousand Zerglings, holding up the world all by herself—this was more embarrassing to look at!
"You! What's with that attitude? No matter how sickly Miss Ha-eun looks...!"
But apparently my behavior rubbed him the wrong way, and Kang Cheol-ho's voice came, sounding a bit angry.
'Fuck!'
I cursed inwardly.
What the hell was this crazy washout from the bureau saying?!
Averting my eyes was the polite thing to do!
That's what I thought, but I could understand.
Of course, to them, I must look like I was greeting a frail young lady and suddenly turned my head away.
Even without that, acting like this in front of a sick person wasn't normal.
Honestly, it felt unfair.
But I couldn't exactly spill my side of the story here.
So, barely opening my eyes and facing her, Eun Ha-eun spoke first.
"I'm fine. Kang Han-sik? Looking forward to working with you."
"...Likewise."
After the greetings, Eun Ha-eun sat back in the wheelchair and smiled as she spoke.
"You must all be tired from the trip here. Shall we eat first?"
At least her hospitality seemed normal enough.
I finally caught my breath and followed behind Jang Jin-su, who was pushing the wheelchair, with the rest of the group.
Please, no more weird shit from here on out...
As if.
When we arrived at the dining room, Eun Ha-eun seductively connected a tube to Jang Jin-su's arm.
And brazenly began drawing blood from it.
"Then, everyone, enjoy your meal."
I let out a hollow laugh as I watched her say it with a smile.
Enjoy what, exactly.
The middle-aged guy's blood?
At this point, it was impossible not to know.
The vampire they'd been talking about earlier.
This crazy bitch was definitely that vampire.
Eun Ha-eun.
No, Carmilla, the vampire borrowing Eun Ha-eun's name, watched the humans eating in front of her with her legs crossed.
It was ridiculous how they shoveled unknown meat into their mouths, oblivious to their own fates.
'They were so worried about me just moments ago.'
Now no one paid her any mind.
Watching them bury their faces in their plates for just one more bite made her think humans were truly insignificant creatures before their desires.
But Carmilla showed no anger or disappointment at that fact.
Because this was one of her abilities as well.
Stimulating desires and controlling actions. The power some British author had recorded was now several times stronger since becoming a Constellation.
'...But.'
Her gaze shifted to the opposite side.
If there was one being that didn't fit this farce, it was the man sitting across from her, lips tightly shut.
Kang Han-sik, was it?
He looked utterly unremarkable on the surface, but Carmilla sensed an undeniable strangeness from him.
"Not eating?"
"Well, my stomach feels a bit full."
Even in the current situation, that was the case.
Daring to refuse a meal she personally offered.
Impossible for ordinary humans. Carmilla's allure wasn't something a normal person could resist.
Her voice and gaze endlessly stirred subtle desires in the listener.
No one could defy her unless it was something extreme like ordering self-harm or killing their family.
'Even that would be possible with a bit more time.'
Yet Kang Han-sik just sat there demurely, alternating glances between her and the others as if it were nothing.
'Come to think of it.'
This human had been odd from the first greeting.
When she exchanged greetings to make things easier later, casting her enchantment.
She had made eye contact one by one with the prey gathered to the mansion for stronger allure, but this man had shut his eyes and turned his head as if avoiding her.
He had made eye contact somewhat after that, but it felt more hollow than enchanted.
'Did something troublesome interfere?'
The thought flashed through Carmilla's mind.
A true high priest or a purifier with a powerful Patron Constellation might notice something or resist her powers.
But Carmilla soon shook her head.
She had disguised this mountain lodge just enough to avoid such nuisances.
Weird things happened, but not widespread damage.
There were costs, but not too high.
A truly powerful agent had no reason to come here.
In fact, all the humans caught in her trap were below standard.
A half-charlatan fortune-teller, beast-worshipping siblings at best, and a bureau washout.
Honestly, excluding a bit of oddity, Kang Han-sik didn't scream expert either.
His ridiculous three-section staff and black jacket made him look like a security guard at best.
'Moreover.'
Carmilla brought the blood-filled wine glass to her lips.
To those already enchanted, it would look like a frail girl sipping water instead of eating, but it was blatant bloodsucking.
If he truly resisted her allure, he'd react somehow, but Kang Han-sik said nothing.
So his "essence" was just that of a slightly unusual human.
Still, looking at Kang Han-sik, she licked her lips.
There were occasionally such humans.
Ones with superior mental strength and sharp instincts.
And their blood was invariably sweet.
In fact, Jang Jin-su, whose blood she was sucking now, was one such case.
The young man who had thrown himself to protect a girl threatened by a vampire.
'Time to switch him out soon.'
But now, looking at him—who no longer looked early twenties due to the draining of blood and vitality—Carmilla thought it was time for a new butler to replace the tapped-out Jang Jin-su.
She subtly pulled out a new wine glass and offered it to Kang Han-sik.
"How about a drink then?"
"Ah, I have a tomato allergy."
"Pardon? Oh, alright."
But the response was rejection again.
She wondered about the sudden tomato talk, but didn't mind.
After all, the moment they entered this mansion, control was hers.
This was her personal hunting ground, crafted by her own hands.
Carmilla brought the glass meant for Kang Han-sik to her own lips instead.
Even if he noticed something, it didn't matter.
Right now, she was just curious about the taste of this new blood.
This psycho vampire bitch.
I ground my teeth, cursing the vampire trying to feed me the middle-aged guy's blood.
I never imagined things would turn out like this.
Wasn't today supposed to be a professional exorcist job experience with the expert teachers?
A happy-happy weekend gig with sweet pocket money to boot?
But now the situation just screamed "fucked."
Because the bus I boarded wasn't the experts' job experience ride—it was a vampire's large-scale blood donation truck.
Just her eyes told me everything.
Those blood-red eyes were like Meow eyeing a world-class sausage, reeking of "I'll suck anyone dry given the chance."
Even if not, the others weren't normal either.
Normally, you'd freak if someone sucked fresh blood right in front of you, but everyone here was too busy eating.
No way she gathered only people lacking common sense en masse.
She must be showing them something else.
I should've known from that perverted bat outfit.
Only Kim uncles' kin or utterly depraved vampires could walk around in that.
And Eun Ha-eun's surname wasn't Kim.
So I glanced at Eun Ha-eun, then at the party members still focused on their meals.
'Eat up.'
Prove your incompetence by eating.
I muttered that joke inwardly, but these bastards just kept stuffing their faces to the end.
I'd hoped they'd notice something midway, but no—they ate straight through.
I felt an urge to grab them by the collar and shake.
But I forcibly held it back.
No matter how much perceptual distortion I had, I still had street smarts.
Yelling that Eun Ha-eun was a vampire here would just make me the weirdo.
They'd curse me for talking nonsense, and worst case, a fight might break out.
Kang Cheol-ho, that bureau psycho, seemed especially likely.
Even with a grandma in the mix, 6 vs. 1, I'd be the one getting beat.
So, act as casual as possible here.
I subtly raised my hand.
"Sorry to interrupt the meal, but can I step out for a quick call? Something urgent came up."
This was fucking urgent.
I planned to call 112 and borrow the power of the authorities right away.
But the response wasn't what I expected.
"Sorry. This is a Pollution Zone, so signals don't work well. You'd have to go back down to the assembly point for a call."
For real.
No signal from the lodge.
What is this, a B-grade horror flick?
Pfft.
The thought crossed my mind, but all I got back was Kang Cheol-ho's snort from eavesdropping beside me.
His face screamed "You didn't even know that?"
It reminded me of the Hunters job.
Come to think of it, at Linne Mart, they'd said the same thing.
Now I see—electronic devices fail in Pollution Zones as a given?
Makes sense. When Pollution hits, they send disaster alerts about otherworldization and all that chaos; it'd be weird if signals worked fine.
'...Wait, but.'
Didn't our apartment get labeled a Pollution Zone too?
For that, internet and calls worked perfectly fine there.
So maybe the effect varies by Pollution severity.
Anyway, new info, but useless right now.
Tok, tok.
Shwaaaaa.
To make matters worse, sudden rain started pouring outside.
A downpour so heavy you couldn't see an inch ahead.
"Oh dear, I'll check the drainage. Sorry, but I'll step out for a bit."
Jang Jin-su said that and stood up.
It sounded natural, but it was suspicious too.
Everyone knows mountain weather is fickle, but right now?
It felt like "Don't even think about leaving."
'Can Constellations control the weather too?'
Did vampires have that power?
No idea.
But whether coincidence or fate, it was clear I was trapped in this signal-dead mansion.
As I pondered what to do, Eun Ha-eun spoke first.
"Then I'll head in first. Entertaining the guests has tired me out a bit. That's okay, right?"
Her cheeks were gleaming from all the blood she'd sucked, though.
"Yes, of course. Please rest, miss."
But the others noticed nothing.
Kang Cheol-ho even personally pushed her wheelchair to see her off, but to my eyes, he looked like a pervert blinded by naked wheelchair play.
It was then.
"Did everyone see that miss?"
Suddenly, the fortune-teller—Kim I-ja Grandma—spoke up.
I turned to the grandma.
See what.
What.
Ah, maybe?
Grandma sees the same as me...
"You can tell she's been through hell these past couple days, right? So to save that miss, we gotta work hard."
Fuck! Of course!
The conversation confirmed it.
The things next to me weren't party members—they were mid-tier bots.
Better off without them.
'In that case.'
There's only one thing I can always rely on.
I quietly gripped the three-section staff at my waist.