#Episode 16
‘At best guess that I think now, the higher vampire who made me a vampire may be related to the Vampire Lord. Why did I dream from Hudel’s perspective? It’s so complicated. It would have been simpler if I had just dreamt about Todd.’
Even if she’s want to complain, it’s just meaningless resentment since her subconscious is the target.
“…….Hey!”
Vasha’s thoughts kept getting deeper. She couldn’t even hear Todd calling him.
“Hey!”
After calling her several times without any response, Todd pulled Vasha’s ear and shouted.
“Hey! Can’t you hear me?”
“……I can hear you. You’re going to burst my eardrum.”
Only then did Vasha come to her senses and respond, frowning her brows. How sharp were Todd’s claws and how loud was his voice. She still can feel her head spinning.
“Why did you call me? We have a long way to go. We need to reach another village before sunrise….”
“Why did you leave those guys?”
“Who’s those guys that you mean?”
“The villagers.”
Todd asked as if he couldn’t understand.
“We could have taken advantage of the chaos and you can eaten them all.”
“……Do we have to?”
Listening to a human whose his family business was killing vampires and saving humans talk like this made Vasha feel dizzy.
‘That’s a statement more extreme than any hardcore vampire…’
Just as people express their eating habits in various ways, vampires are also distinguished by their eating habits.
The most representative and important distinction is between hardliners and moderates.
Hardliners eat humans indiscriminately to quickly accumulate life force and become high-ranking vampires.
On the other hand, moderates consume only the necessary amount of blood to survive safely.
There was a time when hardliners were dominant among the vampires in this world, but after the Vampire Lord went to sleep, the proportion of moderates increased.
However, among humans, the image of hardliners was more prominent, and people naturally associated all vampires as hardliners vampire.
But Vasha was a moderate vampire.
Thinking about it, Vasha knew a lot about Todd, but Todd knew nothing about Vasha.
Since they hadn’t had a proper conversation since forming their familiar’s contract, it was understandable.
Because dietary habits were a sensitive issue, Vasha needed to talk to Todd in advance. After putting Todd down on the ground, Vasha sat on a nearby tree stump.
Then she pointed to a rock in front of her. Todd rolled his eyes but sat on the rock as Vasha instructed.
Vasha began to speak slowly.
“Just because we’re vampires doesn’t mean we eat people without thinking. Just as humans don’t eat every chicken or pig they see, we only eat when we’re hungry and leave the rest.”
“It sounds like you’re raising humans like a livestock.”
Todd sneered. Despite Vasha’s calm words, Todd’s response was sharp.
Instead of getting angry at Todd, who didn’t respond positively at all, Vasha explained the situation.
“It’s not raising a humans like a livestock, it’s just I not hunting humans unnecessarily. Besides, if we completely devour a village, the holy knights will hunt us down.”
Pickpockets, robbers, and murderers are pursued differently.
A vampire who discreetly took a little blood from a strong man in the village versus a vampire who annihilated the entire village.
It’s obvious which one the holy knights would pursue more relentlessly.
“I’m not a picky eater. I’ll handle my diet myself… Besides, we don’t even have a hideout yet. If we get chased by the Lamphas Church in this situation, it’ll be troublesome.”
“What? We don’t have a hideout?”
“Oops.”
When Todd asked in surprise, Vasha realized she had made a slip of the tongue.
‘They say the more you talk, the more mistakes you make…’
Having a hideout is essential for a vampire. Because vampires cannot enter anywhere without an invitation, having a safe place to rest is crucial.
But how could Vasha have a hideout when she hadn’t been in this world for long?
‘Finding a proper hideout is quite a task. If it were just me, I could hide in an attic under a roof or something, but I can’t do that with Todd around…’
Vasha sighed deeply.
Todd, on his part, was utterly bewildered. For a vampire, a hideout was as fundamental a possession as the life force stored in their body. The idea of not having a hideout was simply unimaginable—how destitute could they be?
Just as Todd was about to ask more about Vasha’s hideout, a letter fluttered into the air and appeared before them.
The appearance of the letter was earlier than Vasha had anticipated. In her eagerness to receive the long-awaited letter, Vasha reached out for it quickly.
Todd glanced skeptically at the letter flitting around Vasha and asked,
“What’s that?”
“Uh… It’s like a familiar.”
Unlike familiars, who are in an equal contractual relationship, minions are those bound to vampires in a master-servant relationship.
From small animals like rats or bats to fairies, spirits, or demons, the type of minion a vampire uses varies according to their preference.
Although a letter was somewhat unusual, it wasn’t uncommon for someone to use a paper familiar as a minion.
‘Of course, this letter isn’t a minion I raised… but it’s somewhat like someone else’s minion, so it’s not really a lie.’
“That’s a peculiar choice for a minion,”
Todd remarked indifferently. Relieved that Todd didn’t dig deeper, Vasha hurriedly opened the letter.
[You have acquired a familiar!]
[But your familiar still needs care.]
[Quest: Secure a ‘hideout’ within the ‘designated area’ with your familiar. The better the hideout is suited for raising a familiar, the greater the reward.]
The content of the letter was uncannily precise, as if it had been watching their situation.
‘This quest is related to Todd too… It’s clear that finding my memory is tied to Todd.’
The thought of not being able to receive this trial if she hadn’t taken Todd as her familiar sent a chill down Vasha’s spine.
[Reward: Obtain 【Illusion】 for a lower-grade hideout, and 【Hallucination】 for a mid-grade hideout.]
【Illusion】 is a spell that confuses others’ vision, while 【Hallucination】 is a higher-tier spell that disturbs all senses.
Since 【Hallucination】 is a higher-level spell than 【Illusion】, aiming for 【Hallucination】 was the goal.
[Do you accept the quest?]
Vasha accepted the quest without hesitation.
The letter, now holding Vasha’s signature, erased all the written content. Shortly after, an image began to appear—it was a map.
The mention of a designated area now made sense with this guidance.
[Move to the specified area!]
Vasha examined the map. Thanks to frequently seeing Hudel checking maps in her dreams, Vasha knew how to read one. Identifying the destination marked on the map, Vasha frowned.
“Noctiluca? Why there of all places?”
Noctiluca was a key city in the eastern region, famous for its beautiful scenery and numerous villas owned by central nobles.
However, if it were just that, Vasha, who had come from another world, wouldn’t have known about Noctiluca.
Vasha remembered Noctiluca because it was where Todd later grew his power and became the ruler of the underworld. It was also the place where Hudel and Todd first met.
Vasha felt an inexplicable unease. The letter clearly had some intention, but figuring out what it was seemed impossible.
Moreover, the map showed that reaching Noctiluca from their current location would take quite a while. But to pass the quest, they had to go to Noctiluca, so there was no choice.
The problem was how to persuade her companion. Vasha awkwardly smiled at Todd and spoke.
“How about we go to a bigger city? It’ll be easier to find a hideout and avoid the eyes of the Lamphas Church. You know, hiding a tree in a forest.”
Todd narrowed his eyes at Vasha. Under Todd’s scrutinizing gaze, Vasha gulped and asked cautiously.
“…Why?”
“You, just be honest with me.”
