Chapter 92: The Number of Freeloaders Has Increased
“Eternally forced to work like a beast of burden…?!”
Miranda’s lips trembled as a shiver ran down her spine.
“What… the hell is she thinking? That’s… terrifying…”
“Wait, wait—are you serious? Aren’t people usually afraid of becoming a vampire’s thrall?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Becoming someone’s thrall, if it means they’ll feed you and take care of you, is actually a blessing. But… being forced to work for eternity? That’s nothing but hell. Death would be preferable…”
It seemed that Miranda herself had no objection to becoming a thrall of this vampire. Still… she was unwavering as ever. This woman never ceased to amaze.
“Kukuku… is that so? So fearsome, huh? Then fight me with all your might!”
“That… that would be a huge pain in the ass… but being turned into a thrall is still off the table… ugh… what should I do…?”
As Miranda wracked her brain, the little vampire girl stood there with a triumphant grin, savoring her victory before the battle even began.
“Kukukukuku! How’s that! No one can escape my perfect plan! Come now, there’s no time to just sit around thinking!”
Then, in an instant, the vampire’s hair stood on end, crackling with energy. A dense, raw aura of magic surged violently around her.
Wait… are they seriously going to fight here?!
I had no idea how intense this battle would become, but instinctively, I knew this was bad. Very bad.
“Miranda! If you’re going to fight, please, take it outside the city! This house isn’t built for this kind of… chaos!”
“Forget the house! Worry about me instead!”
“Eh? Why?”
I couldn’t help but ask. Honestly, the house mattered a lot more than you, though…
“Hey, isn’t this a little too much? We’re supposed to be housemates…”
“Housemate? You’re just a lodger, aren’t you? Can you stop implying equality with that word?”
“…Anyway. Bladia, given that, we need to at least move outside the city—”
“That won’t work! I know your trick. You’ll try to run at the first chance. I care not whether this house or this city is destroyed. If anyone gets caught in the crossfire, they’ll just have to consider themselves unlucky!”
Wow… this vampire… she really does intend to fight here.
“Damn it… at this rate, it’s not just this house, the entire city could be destroyed!”
“The entire city? That much!?”
Which meant… this situation was potentially as dangerous as the stampede incident from before… and unlike then, nobody seemed to recognize it yet.
Also… Miranda is facing off against someone like this? What kind of person is she…?
“Ehh—!”
Suddenly, a loud, outraged shout rang out.
I turned toward the source, and there was Sena, who had been zoning out until now, her face twisted in rare, undeniable anger.
“If the house gets destroyed, I’m gonna be really upset!”
“It’s not just the house—looks like the whole city’s at risk…”
“Where am I supposed to sleep then!?”
“I think that’s a bit… secondary right now…”
Sena’s priorities seemed slightly off, but at least she’d identified the vampire as an enemy. She drew her sword and assumed a defensive stance.
No, no… the opponent is a monster capable of destroying an entire city. There’s no way this is Sena’s fight.
Yet, strangely, the vampire’s eyes widened at the sight of Sena.
“Th-this girl…!? Despite her size, what a murderous aura…!? And that sword…!”
Huh? She’s… startled?
Miranda, oddly enough, began to laugh at the vampire’s reaction.
“Hahaha! That’s right! I have you, Sena, on my side! If you want to protect this house, help me!”
“Yes, Master!”
“You… cheating little brat! Fight me one-on-one!”
“Cheating? Ha! There’s no way the residents are just going to stand idly by while someone’s running amok here!”
“Grrrrrr…”
“So the tables have turned, have they? I’d recommend hightailing it out of here immediately.”
“Remember this! I will settle this with you, no matter what!”
“Too bad… I’ll always be here, so no matter how many times you come, it’s useless.”
Always here?! Get out!
The vampire scowled in frustration and tried to leave…
“!? W-what is this…?”
She had noticed something.
“Tomatoes…?”
The ones we’d been cultivating regularly in the garden. We’d just started growing these recently, and they were now beginning to ripen.
“I… I can tell… these tomatoes… are undeniably top quality… gulp…”
Like a moth drawn to flame, the vampire slowly moved closer to the ripening fruit.
“Uh… you can… eat them, if you want?”
“R-really?”
“Y-yes.”
“Then I shall not hold back!”
With that, the vampire plucked a tomato and bit into it with surprising gusto for her small mouth.
“~~~~~~~~~~!?”
Her red eyes went wide.
“S-so delicious! How is this possible!? The flesh… so soft and juicy… the sweetness… the subtle tartness… I’ve never tasted a tomato like this in my life!”
She seemed utterly enamored with it.
“You… grew this tomato yourself?”
“Ah, yes. I did.”
“How could you make such a delicious tomato!?”
“…With my Gift,” I admitted, almost instinctively.
“A Gift! I see… so that means even if I tried, I couldn’t make a tomato like this…!”
The vampire shook her head regretfully, then, for reasons unknown, suddenly dropped to her knees and bowed low in the dirt.
“W-wait!?”
“Please… let me eat more of these tomatoes!”
A few days later…
“Phew! There’s nothing like the drinks made from this garden’s harvest!”
“Munch munch munch! Kukuku… as expected, the tomatoes from this garden are supreme!”
In our living room, the two of them sat enjoying drinks and tomatoes, thoroughly indulging themselves.
“I suppose there’s no choice… we’ll call a temporary truce. I cannot destroy a garden that produces such amazing tomatoes.”
“Hah! Well then… I guess that just means I’ll be stuck here in this house even longer!”
Though the city’s danger had passed, it seemed another troublesome lodger had permanently moved into our home.