#Episode 18
Once Todd grows up, things will get easier. Todd will hunt down vampires and bring them to her.
Vampires engaging in cannibalism to increase their hierarchy is a well-known occurrence.
My familiar might be a moderate and dislike cannibalism, but what can we do about it?
‘If you don’t like it, try get stronger yourself. You can’t even go out in the sunlight. How long will you live like this? I can’t stand to see that.’
Todd grumbled softly. Then he persuaded Vasha, urging her.
Todd grumbled softly. Then he persuaded Vasha, urging her.
“Alright. In that village earlier, there was no choice. Given that we don’t have a hideout, noticeable actions are risky. But from now on, be more proactive in feeding yourself! You need to become a high-ranking vampire quickly! Understand?”
Todd’s fierce demeanor made Vasha’s eyes widen.
Even if he is a natural enemy of vampires, he’s only a ten-year-old boy. Not being scared at all in front of a vampire is probably a characteristic of the Van Drake family.
‘Being intimidated by the presence of a child who just turned ten. What a wasted vampire life, Vasylisha….’
Thinking about it, even before Todd made the 【Binding Contract】 with Vasha, he was an outspoken kid who didn’t hide his antagonistic attitude.
Now that their souls are bound and Vasha can’t harm him, it wasn’t surprising that Todd was acting even more arrogant.
After all, making Todd a familiar was entirely beneficial to Vasha, so she felt somewhat apologetic to him.
‘I want to claim that I saved him…. But he would have survived without my intervention anyway.’
On the contrary, it was Vasha’s intervention that almost got him roasted. Thinking that way added to her guilt score.
But no matter how you look at it, controlling someone’s eating habits is crossing the line!
Eating more people makes one stronger, Vasha knew that. But with the quest the letter brings, she didn’t really need to.
Still, she was reluctant to explain all that to Todd in detail.
Ultimately, he’s a Van Drake. The natural enemy of vampires.
He’s not an ordinary child, so if he found out that her memories and abilities were sealed, who knows what he might plot.
Vasha responded slyly.
“Hmm…. I’ll do my best.”
“It’s not about doing your best; it’s what you have to do.”
Todd said, trying to teach strictly, like a stern teacher.
No matter how you look at it, Vasha had lived a long time. It hurt her pride to be quietly scolded by a ten-year-old Todd. Vasha also put her hands on her hips and spoke maturely.
“Then I have a condition too.”
“What is it?”
“You have to eat well and grow strong too. I also prefer having a robust familiar.”
Todd snorted at Vasha’s words.
“Ha, are you telling a Van Drake to get strong? Once I grow up, I’ll naturally be bigger and stronger than you.”
Todd’s words were true. Twenty years later, Todd was bigger and much stronger than Vasha.
But that’s not now, is it?
“Still, right now, you’re small…. and weak. By the way, how old are you? About ten?”
“Ten? I’m thirteen!”
“What?”
Vasha jumped in surprise. She had thought even ten was pushing it, and the fact that he was three years older that that!
Small, weak, and young. Todd’s face turned red from the triple insult.
Being beaten by the villagers was nothing compared to this blow to his pride!
While escaping the Lamphas church’s encirclement, his young appearance was a great help.
But at this moment, he resented his appearance immensely.
“Van Drake children grow slowly until they are about fifteen! Their bodies can’t handle the magic power, so they need an adjustment period!”
“But….”
Just as humans can roughly estimate the age of fruit, vampires are pretty good at guessing human ages. Vasha couldn’t believe her estimate was wrong.
How could he be thirteen? No matter how she looked, he seemed too small.
Vasha continued with concern in her voice.
“If you’re going to stay with me from now on, you’ll have to sleep during the day and move at night. What if you can’t grow properly because your biological rhythm is disrupted at such a young age?”
“Van Drake sleep during the day and are active at night because of your species!”
Todd retorted sharply. However, the way he bit his lip nervously showed that Vasha’s words had affected him.
But not wanting to show any weakness in front of Vasha, he spat back venomously.
“Just wait. My father, my mother, and my aunt, they all can grow up! So do I!”
He then pushed through the dense bushes with a huff. Vasha watched his small, rounded back silently.
She wasn’t sure how a boy who was just skin and bones would grow into a muscular giant, but as Todd said, he would probably grow quickly.
‘If I watch over him, maybe it will feel more real…. There won’t be many years left to tease him.’
While Vasha hoped Todd would grow quickly into a useful familiar, she suddenly felt it would be a bit sad if he grew up too fast.
During the brief moment Vasha entertained such frivolous thoughts, Todd had already moved far ahead. Vasha quickly followed him, shouting.
“Wait up! What if you trip and fall while walking alone?”
“I won’t fall! Stop treating me like a child!”
The two of them continued under the bright, shimmering moonlight that illuminated their path, the only light they welcomed.
***
“Whoa, whoa.”
Upon hearing the news from Haidus, the church immediately dispatched a holy knight.
The knight and his squire, who had hastened to Haidus, calmed their horses at the entrance.
The place where the star of Lamphas should have been on Haidus’s wall was empty.
Bernardo Gydo, the holy knight dispatched this time, gazed bitterly at the empty spot. As he took off his helmet, his short, straw-colored hair was tousled by the wind.
Bernardo’s squire and deputy, Matteus, also whistled softly at the remnants of the vanished holy power.
“The star is completely shattered. I guess a vampire really did appear. I thought it was a lie.”
“Be serious, Matteus. A person, a priest of Lamphas, was martyred¹.”
“Well, after rushing out to find a vampire and discovering that it was just a case of people hallucinating from narcotic plants and killing each other, it’s hard not to be skeptical after about ten false alarms.”
Matteus was sarcastic. Every time they received a report of a vampire sighting, they were dispatched, only to find it was a false alarm. By now, they had grown more frustrated with humans than with the supposed vampires.
“But this time, it seems to be ‘real.'”
Bernardo looked around the village. Haidus was filled with a gloomy atmosphere. The foul stench of the vampire’s evil power mingled naturally with the surroundings.
Despite the prior warnings about a vampire sighting, it had come to this. He felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Welcome, brothers.”
Soon, deacons from the Haidus parish came running to greet them.
The Haidus parish was a small community led by Father Joseph and a few deacons. With Father Joseph now absent, the burden weighed heavily on their shoulders, and they had been eagerly awaiting reinforcements from the Holy State.
Handling a chaotic parish was Bernardo’s specialty, so he responded skillfully.
“That a star of the Lamphas faith would set so soon is a great sorrow for the Holy State. We deeply mourn Father Joseph’s martyrdom.”
His strong knightly stature and friendly demeanor instilled trust and faith. Seeing someone they could rely on, the deacons burst into tears.
“Father Joseph did his utmost to protect our village…. He was truly a noble person. The Holy State must recognize Father Joseph’s dedication.”
Father Joseph, fearing that one of the deacons might capture the vampire and share in the glory, had kept them inside the church and faced the vampire alone.
Though his motive was selfish, in the end, only Joseph had died, so his ambition was now wrapped in a shroud of nobility.
🍓 :
¹ Refers to someone who has been killed or suffered greatly because of their beliefs, principles, or cause, often for religious or political reasons. A person who is martyred is called a martyr. The term can also be used metaphorically to describe someone who endures significant hardship or persecution for a cause they are devoted to.
