Chapter 51: The Uninvited Guest
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 51: The Uninvited Guest
Night in the Abyss was so dark it was impossible to see even an inch ahead.
No, this must be the Abyss in its true form. A forsaken land without a single speck of light, a shred of warmth, or a place to set one's foot.
I took a lamp and went down to the courtyard to check on the fool who had willingly entered such a place. To my surprise, a corpse was already out there before me.
“Trainee Tyrkanzyaka? What are you doing here?”
Even in the impenetrable darkness, the vampire’s parasol was uniquely dark. It wasn’t merely an absence of light, but a jet-blackness that seemed like a coalescence of the very concept of darkness, shrouding her completely.
From within it, the vampire’s red eyes gleamed as she looked at me.
“You’re awake. I thought you were a heavy sleeper.”
“Come on. Hardly compares to you, Trainee Tyrkanzyaka, you who enters eternal slumber. Compared to your 300-year-long nap, my sleep is like the flicker of a firefly on a summer night.”
“Such words…”
The vampire smiled softly, her gaze shifting from me to the golem perched atop my head.
“What a cute little toy. Is it a golem?”
“This is State Signaller Captain Abbey. She’s a rather shy golem, so she might not be very responsive. I hope you’ll understand.”
The golem replied.
『Negative. It is not a matter of shyness, but rather that direct contact between an overseer and a trainee is discouraged… In any case, please be understanding of my silence.』
“What? The golem… it speaks on its own, without a controller…?”
The vampire’s red eyes widened slightly before she brought a hand to her mouth, murmuring to herself.
“Ahem. It must be some new technology. I’m not even surprised anymore.”
That was a lie. The vampire only knew of golems that were directly controlled. Mana communication was the latest technology to her.
“Ah, yes. We’ll go with that for now. But really, why did you come out here?”
The vampire evaded my question.
“I have no reason to explain myself to you.”
“Is it because of the person who’s about to arrive?”
“…It is.”
Her brow furrowed slightly as she grumbled.
“So you already knew. Then again, this is the Military State’s land, and you said you were its administrator, didn’t you? It’s only natural that you, its de facto lord, would know.”
“I’m not exactly a lord. Anyway, are you really out here to greet the person who’s coming?”
“Yes. Did you not say it yourself last time? That if anyone else came, Shei or I should be the ones to handle them.”
“Uh, I didn’t expect you to take me seriously. I just said that on a whim. Are you really going to do it?”
“I am. Though I am a being detached from your time, I am currently a guest in this place. It is only proper etiquette to grant your reasonable request.”
With that, the vampire rested her parasol on her shoulder and looked up.
Hmm. Of course, being from an older era, the vampire was sensitive about such etiquette. As a guest, she would feel obligated to fulfill her duties.
But was that all there was to it?
I slowly read the vampire’s thoughts and grinned.
“That’s not the only reason, is it?”
“…Are you doubting my words?”
“Doubting you? Of course not. I’m sure that’s part of it. That’s why you sensed a presence and came out to meet them. However.”
I have a talent.
A secret story uncovered by reading a mind. But if it became known that I could read minds, I would be met with suspicion from everyone. Who would welcome someone who could peel back the curtains on their deepest shames and stare right in? They might even take the lead in trying to kill me.
So, I developed a slightly different kind of ability.
“As you know, Trainee Tyrkanzyaka, you’re a vampire, right? Your ability to sense blood covers this entire Tantalus. No, if it’s not inside someone’s body, you have the tremendous power to control it completely. But to put it another way, if blood isn’t flowing freely, you can’t detect it so perfectly. Like with me, or Trainee Rasch the Undying, for example.”
The ability to present what I’ve learned through mind-reading as if it were my own deduction.
It’s why I worked as a detective for a while. All sorts of clients came to me, hiring me to expose someone’s secrets.
Though the most common request was dealing with cheating partners. Ahem.
“The fact that you, Trainee Tyrkanzyaka, already know of the intruder’s existence means one of two things. Either the falling intruder is bleeding, or…”
The vampire’s expression was placid, but it was nothing more than a denial of the impending truth.
I shrugged nonchalantly and relayed the fact I had read from her thoughts.
“—it’s a vampire whose body is moved by the Progenitor’s power.”
The being falling right now was none other than a vampire.
And a vampire had entered this place? It couldn’t be to escape the sunlight. There were plenty of shadows in the world these days.
There was only one reason a vampire’s blood would be drawn here.
The Progenitor, Tyrkanzyaka. They had undoubtedly come seeking her powerful blood.
‘I was hoping to delay the inevitable, even if just for a little while.’
The vampire let out a small sigh and spoke.
“I have a request.”
“Don’t worry. I have no prejudice against vampires. If I did, would I be this casual with you, Trainee Tyrkanzyaka? As long as the person coming down doesn’t try to kill me, I won’t kill them.”
“…It’s as if you’ve been inside my mind.”
At my smooth reply, the vampire gave a warm smile.
“Thank you. For understanding.”
“It’s nothing. I know a vampire, and she’s surprisingly easy to live with.”
“You rascal. Such nerve.”
With a short, clear laugh, the vampire once again raised her head to wait for the vampire who was still falling. A heartwarming end that satisfied even the vampire’s heart.
However, as with all beautiful stories, what followed was a trial and tribulation so severe it felt like my head would split open.
『What are you deciding on your own?!』
Out of the vampire’s line of sight, the golem was yanking at the hair by my ear. Swallowing a scream, I reached back and tore the golem’s arm off.
“Then should I be the one to decide? It’s up to the Progenitor.”
『The other party is the Progenitor. The beginning of all vampires, their ruler, and the true master of the five vampiric forces, including the duchy of Lord Sanguine! Are you going to let this meeting happen?』
“No. What do you want me to do? You want me to stop it? With what power?”
『Intervene and persuade the Progenitor!』
“What did you say?”
『If you cannot, then simply repeat my words verbatim. That alone will silence the Progenitor!』
Give me a break. If it was that important, they should do it themselves. What do they expect from a mere laborer?
Grumbling, I started walking.
“Fine. I’ll try to help from the side. But don’t you dare ask me to defeat a vampire. I don’t care about the Military State or anything else; I’ll just toss you into the water.”
『Finishing this matter successfully should be the priority. Unlike you, I am the one with actual responsibility for this place.』
With the golem clinging to my head, I crept over and stood near the vampire. Then, just like her, I looked up at the sky, waiting for the intruder who would soon fall.
Time passed endlessly. Whether it was taking a long time to fall or some procedure was required, there was no sign of the intruder who was supposed to be arriving soon. The vampire and I just stood there, craning our necks and staring at the sky like children waiting for a shooting star.
As the silence stretched on, a voice tinged with sentimentality came from beneath the parasol.
“In the distant past, my greatest pleasure was to lift my head like this at night and gaze at the sky.”
I offered a casual reply.
“Same here. A lot of people still find pleasure in that these days.”
“Yes. Past or present, the sky must still be beautiful. The night sky, glittering with starlight, was like the Milky Way flowing by. I would lose all track of time, just staring at it endlessly. Only the night was a time when I could look at the sky without any restrictions. Then, when the seemingly eternal night ended and the Sun God peeked his head over Mother Earth’s arm, I would hide myself beneath the ground to escape the encroaching blue sunlight.”
What’s with this, all of a sudden?
Faced with the sentimentality of a 12th-century maiden that would put any 12-year-old to shame, I was at a loss for words and simply listened. Fortunately, the vampire wasn’t expecting a reply from me.
Words spoken in a moment of reflection are meant to linger on the wind and disappear.
“We only wanted to live, yet we were denied dignity. We could not lift our heads and proudly face the light. Even when they demanded we come out and receive a just judgment, if it was to take place in the town square at noon, we had to flee. In the end, we survived, but we never became proud.”
The beginning of all vampires, the Queen of Shadow.
Once, she had taken pity on the dying and raised them as vampires, but now, she pitied the very vampires she had created.
And that emotion.
The guilt that unworthy parents feel for their children becomes a vicious cycle.
Why did I give you life?
Was it right to bring you into this world of pain?
Was the gift of a life spent fleeing, hunted, and hiding a blessing or a curse?
Wouldn't it have been better for us both if you had never been born?
Good parents feel guilty for even having such agonizing thoughts, and that guilt torments them further. The more they suffer, the more the guilt swells. Like a fire consuming itself, the emotion grows dark and murky, expanding within them. In their endless pain, they cry out, struggling not to fall into the chasm between principle and reality.
That was the state of the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka’s emotions right now.
She had given birth to the existence known as vampires, but now, this small god, steeped in the Sin of Creation, suffered, clutching a jet-black parasol.
“…I thought I would feel a little better if I couldn’t see the sky. That is why I willingly came to this place. And yet, what I long for here is the sky itself.”
Just then, something glittered in the starless Abyss. A periodically flashing indicator light was drawing closer. It was a light too artificial to be called a shooting star, a light that didn’t feel quite right as it approached.
It looked just like something falling from grace.
“How pathetic.”
And then, the intruder hit the ground.