#Episode 27
Not knowing that he had a nightmare last night, or perhaps not wanting Vasha to find out, Todd acted as if nothing had happened.
Vasha, not wanting to bring up unpleasant matters, kept Todd’s nightmare as a secret.
Todd sighed and clicked his tongue as if Vasha knew nothing.
“I understand that an ordinary human is no threat to you. But it’s a different story if the opponent possesses holy power. You need to be more cautious.”
“A priest visiting the red-light district? That’s ridiculous.”
“But what about sacred artifacts? Can you handle those?”
“…………”
There is no unassailable pyramid. Lions can be hunted by hyenas, hornets can be killed by bumblebees, and even vampires can be defeated by humans.
Holy power and sacred artifacts made that possible.
But Vasha was not unaware of this. Despite her reluctance, Vasha countered Todd’s words.
“Sacred artifacts don’t just roam around easily. If they are effective against vampires, they must be incredibly valuable.”
“Of course. Sacred artifacts are not like stones by the roadside.”
“Right. Then there’s no particular danger….”
“But this is Noctiluca. There are gambling dens and plenty of nobles. Everyone here is desperate to gather any luck they can. It wouldn’t be strange if a wealthy and influential person carried a sacred artifact for good luck. You’d be in trouble if you got entangled with such a person.”
Todd then delivered a lengthy lecture to Vasha about the potential dangers. Vasha, overwhelmed by Todd’s eloquence, could not refute him.
Eventually, Vasha assured Todd that she would not go out alone again, and Todd finally stopped his lecture.
Once the matter of outings was settled, Todd asked with his arms crossed,
“Did you gather any information?”
“Not much information… but I did get something.”
Vasha grinned and emptied a pocket full of stolen goods onto the bed.
“Everyone’s pockets are full because the gamblers are flocking here.”
It was easy to avoid the ones with gloomy faces who had lost a lot. She targeted those who looked happy and had flushed faces, resulting in quite a haul.
After being thrown out of the first inn for not checking her purse in advance, Vasha made sure to check her money beforehand this time.
“Three silver coins, one gold coin… And here are twelve silver coins… This is definitely different from a small town bishop.”
Vasha smiled with satisfaction after checking the amount.
“With this, you can eat some meat. Coming to this town is great, but finding game is quite difficult. Butchered meat is too expensive.”
It was absurd enough that Vasha made money through pickpocketing, but the plan to use it for buying meat was even more ridiculous to Todd.
“Why are you so obsessed with meat? I was fine with the bread we had yesterday.”
“You’re fine with it? That’s black bread was absolutely terrible!”
Vasha was disgusted. On their way to the slums yesterday, they had stopped at a bakery to buy some leftover bread.
Despite Vasha saying they could buy white bread, Todd stubbornly chose the cheap black bread.
Considering that Todd, who usually chews through tough meat without issue, took a long time to chew and swallow the black bread, Vasha decided to try it while Todd was sleeping.
The bread was so hard that Vasha almost broke a fang. She shuddered and shook her head.
“Forget the bread. You need to eat meat to grow tall. We have enough money to buy as much as you want, so let me know whenever you’re hungry.”
Although Vasha had always taken care of Todd’s meals, she was now even more determined to put in extra effort to raise him well.
Unaware of Vasha’s changed feelings, Todd just thought that Vasha was continuing her obsession with meat.
‘She wants me to grow big and strong by eating meat.’
Todd grumbled, but the fact that Vasha’s first concern after getting money was his meal wasn’t a bad feeling.
***
Even after that, Todd continued to have nightmares, and Vasha would sing him lullabies each time.
At first, just patting him was enough, but as the nightmares worsened, Todd would sometimes develop a fever and cling to Vasha.
Vasha was initially shocked but couldn’t bring herself to push the young Todd away. The cool temperature of the vampire seemed to soothe Todd’s fever, and he clung to Vasha desperately.
“It’s a good thing he doesn’t remember. With his personality, he’d be furious, asking why I didn’t wake him up immediately.”
Vasha murmured, looking down at Todd’s innocent sleeping face.
Since she never knew when Todd might have a nightmare, Vasha tried to avoid going out as much as possible while Todd was asleep.
As a result, Vasha’s promise to not go out alone was naturally kept more and more often. Vasha was getting frustrated.
‘I don’t have time for this….’
Unaware of Vasha’s feelings, Todd woke up as soon as the sun set and looked around quickly. Spotting Vasha with her arms crossed in one corner of the room, Todd gave a satisfied smile.
“Hmph.”
Seemingly pleased that Vasha had kept her promise and not gone out alone, Todd hummed as he got ready to leave. In an excited voice, he urged Vasha.
“Come on, let’s go! We need to gather information about the hideout!”
“……Do you really need to go too? I can be careful and manage on my own.”
“Your information gathering has been lacking, so I have to keep you in check.”
Todd added as he slipped into his worn-out coat. He was frustrated in his own way.
The inn they were currently staying in was just a temporary shelter, not a proper hideout since Vasha couldn’t even store her coffin there.
They needed to find a suitable place soon, set up a hideout, and make Vasha a high-ranking vampire. But this vampire seemed too laid back, listening to useless rumors instead of searching for the information they needed about the hideout.
Vasha had her reasons, though. She viewed the ordeal as a kind of quest. Usually, in games, you have to poke around at various rumors to clear a quest. Vasha was just following that pattern.
However, to Todd, it seemed like Vasha was chasing pointless leads.
‘This won’t do. If she keeps being this relaxed, I’ll have to step in seriously.’
That day too, Vasha didn’t manage to gather any useful information.
‘Damn it, who cares if the florist’s son and the miller’s daughter are in a relationship!’
Unable to stand it any longer, Todd decided to take more direct action. He proposed to Vasha.
“You can go alone from now on.”
“You trust me, Todd! Just wait a moment. I’ll definitely find a good hideout!”
Vasha, clueless, ran out excitedly. Todd waited until Vasha’s presence completely disappeared before moving on his own.
Todd wandered around pretending to run errands, searching for abandoned and remote places, ideal for a vampire’s hideout.
A few days passed like this. Todd was thorough and left no traces.
He could have kept it up longer if it weren’t for Lenny from the next room catching him.
When Vasha finally heard the news from Lenny, she jumped and shouted.
“You liar!”
“I didn’t lie. I never said I wouldn’t go out.”
Todd replied nonchalantly. Vasha felt even more frustrated by his attitude.
“You… You told me it was dangerous to go out alone because of sacred artifacts and whatnot…! What if you get kidnapped wandering around such places alone?”
“Do you think I’m that easy to catch? Don’t underestimate the Van Drake. I’ve learned quite a bit of self-defense. How do you think I escaped the pursuit of the Lamphas Church? So dealing with some thugs….”
“You were covered in injuries back then too!”
