Chapter 657 – Girl’s Room and Family Reunion

000

The room, which seemed to have no sunlight coming in because of the curtains, was illuminated as brightly as day using magic lights.

It may be considered a dark and old mansion, but the interior is full of colorful furniture, using pink, light yellow, and white as much as possible.

There were several large dolls placed on top of the bed so that their presence would be evident even if a person was sleeping hugging them, and a translucent frilly tent was spread over the pillars of the bed that seemed to reach the ceiling.

There are constellation decorations on the ceiling made of a material that glows in the dark, so even when the magic lights are turned off and darkness falls, the ceiling looks like the night sky has spread out.

Literally – a girl’s room.

This room, sweet, fluffy, and full of heavenly things, was the bedroom of her missing girl, Pamela.

＂…＂

Cleon sighed and returned the pillow she was holding to its original place.

Aine, Ilenu, and finally, Draine, who was with Pamela.

The four of us walked around the mansion to see if there were any traces left, but there were no traces of any kind.

＂There is no sign of intrusion from the outside, so what is the reason there is no sign of leaving…＂

When Cleon scratched her head while saying that, Dryne nodded as if she agreed.

“There are no footprints left, and several alarm devices were installed in this mansion, but none of them worked. “Is that possible?”

Dry Yes In a situation that her own common sense cannot understand, she touches the wounded part of her arm as if it is tingling.

＂The wound… Are you okay?＂

It seems that she was worried about her physical condition, and when Cleon asked her as if she was worried, she turned to Cleon and turned her shoulder while smiling awkwardly, saying ‘Ahaha~’.

“Are you okay! I was worried that if I sucked her blood, I would become a ghoul or something, but luckily there seems to be no such sign… I guess the ghost inside blocked it.”

＂I see… Then that’s good, but don’t overdo it. If the blood is sucked, she will feel tremendous fatigue, and the recovery of her magical power will be slow.”

“It’s okay because I don’t use magic much to begin with. More than that, she needs to find Pamela quickly! She can’t just lie down~!”

Oooooh! It’s a dry spell that seems to ignite her motivation, but it also feels like she’s overdoing it somewhere.

Of course, Cleon also has concerns about whether she can return to her duties so soon.

She seemed to feel strongly her responsibility for missing her Pamela through her own mistake.

Compared to her other sisters, she has a slightly lighter vibe, her impression is bright, and she is the mood maker.

As for the sense of duty I felt as a member of the Bangui University, I didn’t seem to fall behind compared to other people.

However, I think that we need to lighten what we are carrying in our hearts.

“Now that I think about it, Lord Cleon, have you ever exterminated vampires in the past?”

“Ah. With Illenu…”

Actually, it would be better to say ‘Ilenudo’ in addition to that.

“Then, is there any way to chase down the disappeared vampire? Something like a secret technique… Something like Cleon’s own technique!”

“Ahaha… I’m sorry, but I guess that doesn’t happen. If it were Ilenu, not me, I would have it.”

As Cleon says that, what comes to mind is the right person for this job-

She was clearly a gray woman with much broader insight than herself and would not miss any small clue.

[Cleon! It’s a sword that looks this way! I folded my pajamas neatly to change into them!]

[And here it is black tea! Sniff… It looks a little more luxurious…]

[It looks like Hermes found something under the bed!]

…

She would have been making a fuss around the room.

As Cleon thought so, he bent down and looked under the bed.

Then, fortunately or unfortunately, there was nothing in there.

Yes, the other two were something Cleon thought about too, but the last one was something she said out of her own mind.

Or – if she had the golden drill head, would she have been able to find the culprit right away with her investigative skills based on her long experience?

[There are no signs of a physical fight, so there are two possibilities. First, there was no one who was her culprit except her. The second is that she went along voluntarily… Maybe, it’s more likely that she won’t be attacked by her.]

[But was there any reason for her to attack Drayne, who was always so rattled and left information about Gaius? That too suddenly.]

[If I had been watching, even if the opponent was a vampire, I would not have been attacked by surprise. If you are bitten on the back of your neck, just apply strength to your neck to prevent the teeth from being pulled out. Right?]

No, that’s impossible.

Cleon shook his head, but agreed with her that, based on what she said, it was not Pamela who attacked Draine.

Except for the last word, Cleon thought the reproducibility was quite high, but suddenly he felt a sense of self-destruction.

As she places her hand on her forehead and sees Cleon lamenting her own delusions, Dryne snoops around, examining Cleon’s expression as if asking why.

Thanks to this, investigating the room was put on the back burner.

Aine looked at her sister for a moment, then turned her head towards Ilenu, who was quietly thinking about something.

“What do you think, Lord Illenu?”

“Because he’s a vampire… It’s natural that he has the ability to fly. Because that solves the problem of not leaving footprints.”

“Can vampires fly!? It’s shameful…!”

Dryene expresses anger at Illenu’s words. Upon hearing her words, Illenu responds by shaking her head.

“Okay. It’s incredibly cruel. FYI, it also has the ability to transform into fog. The only ones that can use it are high-ranking vampires. Completely changing one’s form and fixing it in a gaseous state requires extremely powerful magical control abilities.”

＂It’s not enough to fly, it can even transform into fog… That’s quite an ability.”

Aine also looked a little worried at Ilenu’s words, showing her caution about vampires.

If any living thing leaves a trace – and if it is something other than a human.

It was the role of the Banguidae to track them down to the end and kill them.

However, it was their first time chasing someone who disappeared like this without any clues.

“I can’t even see any traces of magic power. I don’t know if it was erased or not left behind.”

＂It must have been erased. Even though it was flying, there was no way it didn’t use magic power. That’s how thorough it is. However, that doesn’t mean there are no ways.”

After saying that, she looked back at Drayne.

＂The youngest. Is there something that Pamela treasured the most? In this room.”

In response to Illenu’s question, Draine looked around her even though she thought it was sudden. She turned around and thought, “Is this it?”, And she picked up one of the dolls that had been placed on the bed.

It was a fairly large, whale-shaped doll, and Cleon, who had become suspicious that the doll would suddenly come to life these days, was trying to kill such suspicions as much as possible.

Then, Ilenu took the whale doll, closed her eyes, and said nothing for a moment, as if sensing something.

“… Yes, it remains quite dark at this level. I can use this.”

As Ilenu said this, he approached Cleon and held out his hand.

“So, Cleon. Please do it.”

Looking at her saying that, Cleon responded with an expression of sincere disapproval.

“… I don’t like it… There’s no difference between me and you.”

As if it was the first time that Cleon had seen such a disgusted expression, Aine and Draine looked at what they were going to do with a curious look on their faces.

Illenu is talking while looking at Cleon.

“You did it before, right? Because I’m scared, so I can’t do it.”

His face is smiling. What is he talking about?

Looking at her like that, Cleon sighed and pulled out her dagger that she had hidden near her ankle.

＂… You’re really evil…”

And the next moment, Cleon carefully brought the blade of the dagger to Ilenu’s palm and-

The blade of the dagger was driven flush with the knuckles of her fingers, leaving a long cut on her hand.

＂Lord Cleon, what!?＂

On the rare occasions when Aine makes a panicked voice, Ilenu may feel her pain, but she doesn’t move her hands and watches her blood flow.

When I swing my other uninjured finger like a baton, the falling blood stops, defying gravity, and stays in the air.

Then, the blood clumps together as if attracting each other, and changes from liquid form to solid, becoming the size of a small jewel.

＂That’s…＂

“This is bloodstone. It is a type of magic crystal that also serves as a medium for the blood magic used by vampires.”

When Cleon explained it like that on behalf of Illenu, Dryne turned to Aine as if she had heard of it, but Aine shook her head.

“─That’s enough now, right?”

When Cleon said so after confirming that the size of the bloodstone was the size of a few of Illenu’s fingers, Illenu briefly responded with a ‘yes’.

“It would be nice if I could kill my senses too.”

As Illenu says that, she sees that the bleeding does not stop even after the dagger falls.

If she were a pure-blooded vampire, she would have regenerated right away, but because she was a dhampir, her regeneration was slower than I.

Then, Cleon took out a bandage from his pocket, soaked it with recovery potion, and wrapped it around his palm.

Because her recovery magic uses divine magic that is incompatible with vampires, she could not use it on her.

It may have felt a bit stinging, but Ilenu let out a sigh as she watched Cleon treating his wound.

“It may be slower than a vampire, but it only takes a few minutes.”

“Yes… In the meantime, drops of blood will drip and turn Pamela’s room into an accident scene.”

At Cleon’s harsh words, Illenu shrugs her shoulders.

＂Over there…＂

Then, Dryene looked at the two people and opened her mouth as if she couldn’t stand it any longer.

＂Why did you suddenly cut yourself and create a bloodstone…? By any chance, do you have that kind of taste?”

＂What kind of taste can this correspond to… Is this…?＂

When Cleon raises his hand to her forehead in response to Draine’s absurd question, which is unclear whether she is joking or serious.

“That’s right. In fact, Cleon is a person with a unique constitution whose brain cells become activated when he sees a woman’s blood-“

Looking at Illenu, who was fighting back, Cleon was looking at her.

“Eh… A little… I might feel bad…”

When you blow dry her pale face as if she’s waking up a little, Aine’s honey balm falls on her head.

＂Apop!＂

“Dreyne, be rude to Lord Cleon. Of course, Lord Illenu is joking.”

However, when Aine, who had sharp insight as the eldest daughter, said that, she smiled and returned the sword she had drawn to its sheath.

‘Wait a minute, what were you trying to do with that knife?’

A question passes through Cleon’s head, but let’s overlook it for now.

“If you use bloodstone, you can track vampires. Dhampir blood has a tendency to be attracted to vampire blood. Thanks to this, I have been able to chase down hiding vampires on several occasions…”

As she said that, she ignored Cleon, who seemed to want to point out that even a dhampir needed to bleed a lot, and took her bloodstone with her non-wounded hand.

“Then. I’ll use it right away.”

Saying that, she used her luck and grabbed all the bloodstones that she could hold with just one hand.

It’s like squeezing water out of a wet dishcloth.

And with her free hand, she placed it on the whale doll she had received earlier.

And- he started chanting in a solemn manner as if he were singing.

＂… I command. The ancestors’ oath is here and now. Let the blood of sinners who desire purity pursue the unadulterated nobility. Guide the path of destiny so that the eldest son’s sword falls on his younger brother’s neck.”

A vortex of magical power gathers in her hands.

In response to chanting and magical power, the bloodstone tightly held in her hand also changes shape.

＂Castos Pratress＂

If you say the name of the magic in ancient language while concentrating your magic power, it will make a crackling, crackling sound as if something hard is breaking.

It was processed as if it were a tool, forming a red ring on Illenu’s hand.

And, in the center of the ring, an illusion of a red cross-shaped blade that looks a bit of sinister spins around inside the ring and stops while pointing in one direction.

As for the direction, when she saw that it was pointing towards the northwest, like a compass, Dryene closed her mouth for a moment and then spoke.

＂The magic that allows me to know the direction in more earnest than I expected has emerged… ＂

“Eh. “What.”

If you can find the direction even if there are no clues, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

However, Illenu is reluctant to say anything.

The reason why this magic so accurately points to the end of vampires.

The reason why this magic was created was to truly exterminate vampires, and it is one of the magics that is a concentration of the hatred accumulated by Dhampirs over hundreds to thousands of years.

Dhampirs who use blood magic need to have a grudge against quite powerful vampires.

Since only Cleon knew that, he could only look at Ilenu, who did not even care that he was hurt, and had a dark look on his face.

＂Why?＂

“… No, it’s nothing.”

Cleon, who answered like that, felt a bit of resignation, like ‘let’s just let her do what she wants for now…’.

But if she tries to cross her line further, Cleon will try to stop her.

Cleon knew very well how she would end up as she lost herself in her anger and hatred and began to endlessly seek her power and revenge.

“──Then, shall we go? If these magic breaks in the middle, you will have to bleed again.”

＂We need to hurry about that.＂

At Ilenu’s words, Aine looked a little disgusted and took her steps.

001

＂Ssssscht too

She opened her eyes in the dark, feeling a heavy weight pressing down on her entire body.

What comes into the surroundings is machinery, steel, and one wall made of glass.

She was fortunate to be able to see well at night, in an atmosphere that was completely opposite to the bedroom where she had to sleep.

＂This is…＂

And, tracing her memories, she tried to remember how she came to this place.

In the corner of the room, I could see someone lying unconscious.

A woman with long hair and pointy ears wearing clothes I’ve never seen before.

Fortunately, she wasn’t seriously injured. Could it be that she was hit by such a spell?

However, the faint smell of blood indicated that some bleeding had occurred in her body.

And from that smell of blood, she remembers what happened last night.

─Of course, I returned to the mansion and had dinner with Draene.

─ After talking to Dryne, who was about to return to Quartz and her sisters, to have something like a slumber party together.

─ The next moment she walked out of her room to accept it.

─If you slightly open the curtains that cannot be opened during the day and try to look at the moonlight beyond the window.

＂Pamela?＂

When I turned around with a voice coming from behind, what was there was something with red eyes in the form of black fog.

In the same situation as last night, when she saw her compatriot calling her, Pamela looked behind her in surprise.

At that time, as soon as I met her, her eyes, something of her magic, she overtook me and I lost my mind.

And, if you think about this result now, you would know that the fog carried you here.

“… Are you a vampire?”

Pamela flinched as she opened her mouth.

Then, her fog seemed to be thinking about something without giving any reply, and then made a sound again.

“… I ask the question. Are you ‘Pamela’?”

＂…＂

As if feeling the silent pressure from the warning, Pamela slowly nodded her head.

＂That’s right…＂

“Then, what happened to that appearance? Originally, you would have fallen asleep in a coffin and not yet become an adult…”

＂How did you do that…? What are you…”

When Pamela asks that question again without realizing it, her misty gaze becomes even more intense.

＂This is the second warning… Ask questions from me. There is no third.”

Pamela nodded her head as if there was nothing she could do about his threats and answered about her own situation.

And after hearing all the answers, the fog slowly changed its shape and opened its mouth.

“The seal on the coffin was half broken… So it changed its appearance and I couldn’t find it. But since we were able to meet like this, is there any problem?”

As it spoke like that, it slowly swelled and took on the shape of a giant man, looking down at Pamela and talking.

“It’s been a while, Pamela. I wanted to meet you.”

A big man with a bright smile while saying that.

Pamela looked up at the giant for a moment, and then she responded to him by shrinking her body.

＂No, who is it…?＂

＂…＂

And the silence that follows.

The two stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, then opened their mouths at the same time.

＂＂Huh…?＂＂