Chapter 20 : Vampire Incident (Part 3)

It was already dark outside, the sun having set.

“Hmm, it suits you well after all. Don’t you think so too, Charlotte?”

She’s asking even though she knows how I feel, she really has a bad habit.

I nodded vaguely with a reluctant expression, and as if it didn’t matter, Leticia looked at the collar around my neck and blurted out.

“Don’t worry, it’s not very noticeable unless you look closely.”

“…I don’t think that’s the problem.It’s clearly visible in the first place.”

“It’s okay.From a distance, it looks like a black choker, so no one will care.”

Is she serious?

Who would mistake a collar for a choker?

My skin was so pale that it could be described as white, and with a black collar on top of that, there’s no way it wouldn’t stand out.

At least it was fortunate that Leticia wasn’t holding a leash connected to the collar.

That would be completely treating me like a pet on a walk, so I would have refused from the beginning if that were the case.

I’d rather stay inside forever than be treated like that.

Of course, the important thing now is that I’m walking on the street with a collar around my neck.

It was fortunate for me that it was a back alley with no sign of people.

I didn’t even want to think about the aftermath if I had walked around the academy, let alone a crowded place, in this state.

Rumors would spread not only about me but also about Leticia, but Leticia wouldn’t care at all.

Rather, I didn’t know what she would say, so it was a loss for me in any case.

I absolutely refused to be a clown in the newspaper.

I pulled on the leather collar with a disgusted face and said firmly.

“I’ve told you many times, I’m not your pet.”

“That’s why I said I’ve never treated you like a pet.”

“…But the treatment is at the level of a pet.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.Before I do treat you like a pet, as you said, and drag you around with a leash attached to the collar.”

At Leticia’s brutal words, I moved my lips and then closed them.

I knew from long experience.

If I talked more here, I wouldn’t see a good outcome.

Leo, who had been quietly listening to me and Leticia’s conversation from the side, cleared his throat and said, attracting attention.

“That’s enough conversation.We’ve arrived.”

Stopping in his tracks, Leo stretched out his finger and pointed to the place where the incident had occurred.

When I turned my gaze to the direction Leo was pointing, a place that looked dangerous at first glance greeted me.

There were streetlights around, but the streetlights were emitting a dim, precarious light.

It was a light that wouldn’t be strange if it went out at any moment.

Moreover, even though the body had been removed,  the walls had not been wiped clean, for there was still blood that had turned black sprayed here and there.

This was evidence that the vampire had not neatly dealt with the victim.

If he had bitten the victim’s neck at once and cleaned up neatly, it would have been clean without a single bloodstain on the wall.

“This…did they resist?They weren’t caught off guard?”

“…Even if they haven’t experienced actual combat, humans have a hidden power that comes out when they’re about to die.This is the trace of a human who desperately resisted to live.”

“Because they were attacked by a weak individual among vampires.Vampires above the noble rank don’t usually come out of the demon realm these days.”

Leticia frowned, saying that sometimes vampires who were pushed out in power struggles and couldn’t get blood came over, but it was the first time an academy student had been attacked.

It wouldn’t be strange if she was upset because this happened at the academy where she was a teacher.

Although it was said that there was no problem in covering up this incident because the student who was attacked was an orphan without parents and a commoner, there would have been many problems to deal with smoothly if the child of a nobleman had been attacked.

‘It’s really just a pity for the dead student.’

In this world where nobles are still prioritized, I would like to see the body of the student who was sucked blood, if possible, but that wouldn’t be possible.

As I bent one knee and put my hand on the wall to touch the blackened bloodstain, a scream suddenly came from afar.

Aaaaaaaah – !

A desperate scream coming from the darkness, and at the same time, a pungent smell of blood.

This was definitely the smell of blood.

At the scream and the strong smell of blood coming from right in front of me, Leo immediately grabbed the handle of the holy sword he was wearing on his waist.

“Unclean and ominous mana…ha, it seems that the protagonist of the incident has appeared in person.”

Leo said with a rapidly sinking expression.

“There’s only one presence, but don’t let your guard down.Be careful because it might be a vampire.”

“I’ll cover you.If it looks like it’s going to attack, rush in and grab it.”

There’s a saying that the culprit returns to the scene of the crime, but is it really a vampire?

Looking at Leticia, who had created a simple magic circle on her palm without a staff, I asked casually.

“Can I kill it?”

“If possible, I’d like you to capture it alive.”

“…That’s a difficult condition.”

Since when did capturing alive become more difficult than killing?

In the battlefield, I had to kill the enemy unconditionally.

Capturing alive in a war of killing and being killed was a luxury that only took time.

There was no time to grieve over the death of a close person.

The three-year hellish war with the demons took a lot from me.

For example, emotions, or should I say, I no longer hesitated to take a life.

Because of this, I had a hard time in various ways on Earth.

Tap, tap.

As the sound of heels gradually approached, Leo pulled out the holy sword from his waist with a cool expression and aimed it at the front.

Blood vessels popped out on Leo’s right hand holding the holy sword.

Wait.

Is it okay to draw the holy sword?

It’s like saying, ‘I’m a hero,’ no matter who looks at it.

Leo, who had wrapped the blade in a divine light, gave off an atmosphere that even someone who didn’t know the hero could be sure that he was a hero.

Red eyes flashed.

Leo’s cool gaze turned to the being walking out of the darkness in the distance.

“Oh, I didn’t expect to have guests besides me.”

A soft woman’s voice was heard.

It was a voice that seemed a little surprised, but it couldn’t hide the dignity of an absolute being in the voice.

The air became heavy in an instant.

“I was planning to deal with it quietly.To think I’d be caught by the sage of the hero’s party.”

The owner of the voice seemed to know Leticia.

Can’t she recognize Leo who has turned into a woman?

That can’t be.

Because the red eyes that seemed to be melted with blood in the darkness were staring intently at Leo’s holy sword.

She blinked a few times and muttered in wonder.

“…A female hero with a holy sword.There was no information that a new hero had been born, is it a doll hidden by the church?”

Then the darkness that covered the sky was lifted by the moon.

The pouring moonlight cleared the darkness and revealed the other person’s appearance.

“It’s too bright.”

The overall appearance of the woman, who frowned at one eyebrow, saying she didn’t like bright things, was reflected in my eyes.

Her height was about 160, I guess.

It wasn’t a very tall height, but the woman’s overwhelming presence was different.

Her long pink hair reaching her waist and her red eyes, different from Leo’s, gave a creepy yet beautiful feeling.

Vampires are mostly a beautiful race, but it was the first time I had seen such a beautiful vampire.

“I recommend you to  let me leave, sage .”

I don’t want to fight you.

You, being wise, would know that there is no benefit in fighting me, who has no hostility.”

With a free expression, the woman nodded.

“The purpose of coming here is simply to punish the traitor.

There is no other reason.

There is no need for you and me to have a meaningless fight.”

I swallowed dryly with a nervous expression.

If it were when I was Damian Radius, maybe.

But now, I can never beat that woman.

The momentum itself is different from mine.

If there is no need to fight as the woman said, it might be right to send her away.

Leo narrowed his eyes, grabbed the holy sword tightly, and called Leticia.

“Leticia.”

“I’m listening.”

“The vampire that caused the incident, you said it wasn’t a vampire above the noble rank.”

How is that not a vampire above the noble rank?

Leo, who took a deep breath, added.

“…Was a vampire with the power of a noble, or maybe even an apostle, the culprit of this incident?”

“Wrong.

Look at what’s in her hand.”

“In her hand?”

“That’s probably the real culprit.”

In the woman’s left hand, something covered in blood was visible.

A small groan was the only thing that made it feel alive.

Is it alive in that state?

That thing covered in blood stretched out its arm, which was presumably where its hand used to be, towards us.And asked for help.

“…Save, save me…I’ll turn myself in…I was wrong.At this rate, I’ll……Aaaagh!?”

“Where is the sound of garbage barking coming from?Can’t you hear it?It’s so disgusting I can’t breathe.Garbage that lowers the dignity of His Majesty.”

That thing in the woman’s hand, which is no different from a living corpse, is probably not human.

Judging from what it’s saying, it’s the culprit of this incident.

Then, who is that woman?

There was someone who ran forward in an instant.

“Leo!”

It was Leo.

Clang, clang – !

The sound of metal clashing echoed.

Leo, who ran out with a gust of wind, clashed his holy sword with the woman.

Sparks flew.

The woman blocked the holy sword with the back of her hand and deflected Leo’s attack.

As the flesh burned like it was burned, she raised the corners of her mouth.

“Can’t you just let me go?”

“Do you think I’d say, ‘Yes, I’ll let you go’?You’ve been running wild in someone else’s neighborhood, but you have a lot to say.”

“I do.I didn’t come here because I wanted to.”

The woman smiled as if she was troubled.