Chapter 91: The Onslaught of the Vampire Girl
“Onii-chan! I passed the promotion test!”
“Really?! That’s amazing!”
It seemed that Sena had successfully passed the promotion test. Even though she had only become an adventurer a few short months ago, she had already reached the rank of C class adventurer. Quite a rapid rise for someone so new to the field.
“Hah, with you? C rank is nothing. That’s a given,” Miranda said with a nasal laugh, swaying slightly as she downed her drink in the afternoon sun.
“Honestly, I almost feel sorry for whoever had to be your opponent,” she added.
“They were really weak… I didn’t even need to use the sword my master enchanted for me,” Sena said casually, almost as if reporting the weather.
“…That was the right choice. By the way, did that guy survive?”
“Yeah, it looks like he barely made it,” she replied.
“Barely survived…?” I thought, frowning. Was the promotion test really that dangerous? Sena seemed completely unfazed, though, and that in itself was a relief.
Just then, a familiar call came from the home garden.
“Master~!”
The twin dryads, Lala and Nana, were calling. Lala was the one with the blue flower blooming atop her head, and Nana sported a pink one. Though they appeared as children, dryads had no gender; both were neither boys nor girls.
“Lala, Nana, what is it?” I asked.
“Lala na~!”
“Nana na~!”
“Lala na~!”
“Nana na~!”
“Lala na~!”
“Nana na~!”
It seemed their names were finally sticking. Hearing them called delighted them to no end, and now they gleefully repeated their own names over and over. Cute as it was, I suspected they’d already forgotten why they’d called me in the first place.
“So… what do you actually need?” I asked.
“…? …”
As expected—they had completely forgotten. Most likely, they wanted me to water the flowers atop their heads again. I guessed correctly and poured water from the watering can.
“Huuu~”
“Ahh… master’s water feels so good~”
After shivering and savoring the water, the twins buried themselves back into the soil, returning to the garden with a contented rustle.
Flap, flap, flap…
“Huh?”
A shadow darted across above my head. For a moment, I thought it might be a crow, but it was far too small.
“…A bat?”
Looking closer, I saw that it indeed was a bat, hanging upside down under the eaves, oddly staring into the room.
A bat in this spot was unusual enough, and they were normally nocturnal.
As I pondered this oddity, Miranda suddenly tensed, her calm façade replaced by panic.
“That thing… no way… Geo! Get away from it!”
“…? It’s just a bat, right?” I asked.
“Heh heh heh… at last, I’ve found you.”
Before I could respond, an unfamiliar voice echoed through the air, and suddenly a swarm of bats appeared from nowhere, filling the sky with frantic wings.
Flap flap flap flap flap flap!
“Fushaaa!”
“Pipipip!”
“Eeek! There’s so many of them!”
Milk and Pippi bristled, fur standing on end in alarm, while the twin dryads scrambled toward the far end of the garden for safety.
The swarm of bats quickly converged into a single spot—and then, impossibly, began to coalesce into a human form.
“Miranda, did you really think you could escape me?!”
Emerging from the writhing mass of bats was a little girl with golden hair and crimson eyes, a pair of bat wings sprouting from her back.
She looked no older than ten, an innocent child in appearance. But appearances were dangerously deceiving.
After all, Milk and Pippi were on high alert, and Miranda’s face was tense, sweat beading on her forehead as she ground her teeth in frustration.
“Tch… so it’s you, Bladia…!”
“Do… do you know her…?” I asked, unsure.
Whether she was human or not, it was clear that Miranda knew her. But judging by Miranda’s serious and wary expression—so unlike her usual lazy demeanor—the relationship could hardly be friendly.
“She’s a vampire. A very high-ranking one. Don’t be fooled by her appearance—she’s lived for centuries,” Miranda whispered.
“A vampire?” I echoed. I had heard of them: a branch of demonkind that survives by drinking human blood.
Demons, I reminded myself, were beings similar to humans, yet fundamentally different. Created by gods other than the ones we worshipped, they had clashed repeatedly with humanity throughout history, becoming something of a natural enemy. A few decades ago, humans and demons had even faced off in a large-scale war.
Whatever history these two shared, the tension between them was palpable, crackling in the air like a sword about to strike.
“This time, I will settle things with you, once and for all!” Bladia shouted.”
“Cut it out, Bladia! That battle is over! How long are you going to cling to me?!” Miranda fired back.
“No! It is far from over, until I defeat you!”
“Fine then! You can have your default win! I’ll concede! Congratulations, happy now?!”
“That is not the victory I desire! I must claim it with my own hands!”
“What a pain! I told you I don’t want to fight! Go home already!”
“No! I shall not leave until you fight me!”
They shouted at each other, their words sharp as swords. Oddly enough, despite the hostility, there was a strange familiarity between them—as if they were long-time rivals rather than strangers.
“Hmph. If you insist, I have a plan,” Bladia said, a cunning glint in her crimson eyes.
“…What?”
Miranda glanced at me from the corner of her eye. Unfortunately, I was standing closest to the vampire. My heart sank—was I about to become a hostage?
Bladia turned her gaze to Miranda, speaking with a predatory grin.
“Miranda, I shall drink your blood and make you my thrall! You will serve me forever, like a beast of burden!”
Ah… thank heavens, it wasn’t me.
While I exhaled in relief, Miranda’s face crumpled in despair, her hands clutching her head.
“Serve… like a beast of burden… forever…?”