#Episode 21
The frail body that had been injured and weak at the time of making a contract with Vasha was now gone, his body became sturdy and strong like a well-grown reed.
Vasha didn’t do much to help Todd reach this point. It was all thanks to Todd’s own knowledge of survival.
During the daytime when Vasha was asleep, Todd would find herbs, even though he didn’t know what they were. He crushed the herbs and applied them to his wounds repeatedly for days. After several cycles of the sun rising and setting, Todd’s injuries had significantly improved a lot than before.
Seeing how well Todd took care of himself, Vasha could roughly guess how Todd managed to survive while avoiding the Lamphas Order.
Although Todd’s recovery was reassuring for her companion, Vasha, it wasn’t entirely a good thing.
Todd constantly tried to gain the upper hand in his relationship with Vasha, acting annoyingly persistent.
One such instance was how he addressed Vasha.
With a slightly amused voice, Vasha asked,
“How long are you going to keep calling me with ‘Hey’?”
Todd didn’t answer, merely pressing his lips together.
‘So stubborn, this kid.’
Clearly, since he was a child, Todd was determined not to appear weak and was engaging in a power struggle.
‘He doesn’t want to be underestimated.’
However, Vasha wondered if Todd realized that his sulky demeanor made him look even more like a child. Vasha stifled a laugh.
For now, it seemed that Todd wouldn’t be calling Vasha by her name anytime soon. If Vasha laughed now, it would likely delay that day indefinitely.
Ignoring Vasha’s question, Todd only spoke about what he wanted to discuss.
“So, how much longer do we have to go?”
“Just a bit further…”
Vasha, who had been holding back laughter, now had a stiff expression. Todd didn’t miss the opportunity to ask persistently.
“A bit? How much is a bit? Yesterday you said it was just a bit further.”
Todd’s questioning was natural since he didn’t know their destination.
“Can’t we just go to a nearby village now? Or did you never plan on going to a village in the first place?”
“………”
The silence seemed to transfer from Todd to Vasha. Vasha couldn’t bring herself to tell Todd that they were heading to Noctiluca.
That made sense because, no matter how you look at it, Noctiluca didn’t seem like a place well-suited for creating a hideout!
Even though they say if you want to hide a tree, you should go to the forest, people aren’t like trees; they have eyes.¹
Many people would simultaneously conceal and watch them.
‘If I were alone, I could manage somehow…’
But to raise a child like Todd, exposure to people was inevitable. Vasha sighed.
Todd, who was sharp, could easily deduce this simple conclusion.
If Todd found out they were heading to Noctiluca…
‘A city is still a city, are you crazy? If you want to commit suicide, why drag me along?’
Todd would surely jump and shout this.
Since she couldn’t confide in Todd about the quest they would face, Vasha had no choice but to avoid the topic as much as possible.
“Hmm… are you hungry? Should I catch something for you?”
“Why are you changing the subject?”
“No, I thought you might be struggling because you’re hungry.”
“Enough. Do you think I’m a pig? Stop asking if I’m hungry.”
“But I heard growing humans eat a lot…”
“I ate a whole deer by myself just a few hours ago!”
Even if Todd’s grandmother came back to life, she wouldn’t be more obsessed with feeding him. Todd’s exclamation made Vasha feel dejected. It seemed like the attempt to change the subject with food had failed.
Todd couldn’t understand this vampire at all.
‘What’s wrong with her? Why does she get so down just because I said something? What kind of vampire is this?’
From what Todd had heard from his father and other elders, vampires considered humans as mere food and wouldn’t even deign to converse with them.
So Todd expected that if he resisted, the vampire would force him to comply through strength or torture. But instead, Vasha just wilted after a few words of rebuttal.
Todd had never imagined such a reaction.
‘Is it because she’s a low-ranking vampire? Why is she so sloppy and timid? How can she become a high-ranking vampire if she’s like this?’
Even when it came to Todd’s meals, it was the same.
When he first started traveling with the vampire, he thought the vampire wouldn’t care about human meals since they only needed to consume blood.
He believed he just needed to endure the nights until he could take care of his meals during the day when the vampire couldn’t move.
However, the vampire would catch rabbits or deer and bring them back.
At first, Todd thought Vasha was catching them to drink their blood, but then she offered them to Todd.
<What am I supposed to do with this?>
<Eat it.>
<Me?>
<Who else?>
Vasha looked at Todd with an incredulous expression.
Todd reluctantly started a fire, awkwardly butchered the meat, and roasted it. The meat, roasted without any seasoning, smelled gamey and was tough, but the warmth and the fullness it brought helped alleviate his hunger.
This scenario repeated itself several times.
Contrary to Todd’s initial belief that Vasha would stop after a few tries, the vampire genuinely seemed to care about Todd’s meals.
Vampires, by nature, were selfish creatures who didn’t know how to take care of others. They didn’t have offspring and often neglected the vampires they created.
For a vampire, even a familiar, to take care of a human child was as unnatural as a fish flying or sprouts growing from rotten ground.
‘Hmph, this won’t last long. She doesn’t know how humans grow, so she’s overfeeding me, thinking I’ll grow like a bean sprout overnight. Once she realizes it’s futile, she’ll stop.’
Todd preemptively judged Vasha. It was easier to give up on someone before they could disappoint her.
In truth, the core of Todd’s feelings was that he was secretly pleased when Vasha took care of him and disappointed when she didn’t. But Todd didn’t acknowledge this.
He told himself he was just watching to see how long Vasha’s uncharacteristic behavior would last.
“Enough. Stop talking nonsense and let’s go.”
Vasha’s face broke into a wide smile when Todd stopped asking questions.
“Yes? Then let’s hurry.”
Despite his grumbling, Todd found himself strangely choked up at Vasha’s smile.
Todd turned his head abruptly and strode past Vasha. His lips twitched into a small smile at Vasha’s voice urging him to follow, though Todd himself didn’t realize it.
***
After spending several days on the road, they finally arrived at Noctiluca.
True to its name, Noctiluca, which means ‘night light,’ was a splendid and prosperous city where the lights never went out, even at night.
Under the brilliant lights, the shadows were deep. Initially, nobles came down to this scenic area as a retreat. Over time, some bored nobles began indulging in vices.
Their money attracted people, and soon, entertainment districts and gambling dens sprang up, turning Noctiluca into a colossal city of pleasure.
When Todd and Vasha arrived, Noctiluca was still vibrant and bustling, with strict security, though not as much as when Todd would come to rule it 15 years later.
They stared in awe at the brightly lit city beyond the high walls.
Todd asked in disbelief,
“So, this is where we’re going?”
“Yeah.”
“Out of all the cities, why here?”
🍓 :
¹ In a broader sense, it’s saying that while hiding something might work in theory (like hiding a tree among many trees), in practice, people’s awareness and vigilance make it harder to hide things effectively.
