Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 68: Traces Found
In the following days, Bianshu Town remained in a state of high alert. Originally, they only needed to monitor the northern front, but now they had to stay vigilant in all directions.
A few residents were so terrified by the rumors of vampires that they not only shut all their doors and windows but even refused to send their children to school—turning down even the free lunches.
This wouldn’t do. The vampire incident had to be resolved quickly.
Under the arrangements of Viscount Jarvis, the patrol schedule and frequency had been significantly increased, though no suspicious activity had been discovered so far.
On the search team’s side, there was no progress either. After all, the Sky Mountains were vast, and trying to find someone deliberately hiding was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
However, the door-to-door inquiry organized by Clive was completed rather swiftly—likely thanks to prior experience accumulated during the recent population census.
Owen listened to Clive’s report and learned that in the past few days, only a few civilians had been injured due to work or other accidents; there were no reports of any deaths.
In other words, the vampire had not attacked any civilians in Bianshu Town.
This was good news—and it further confirmed Owen’s earlier suspicion: that the vampire didn’t intend to harm humans and might even be an innocent person who was forcibly turned.
Combining this with the information reported by Lusha, it appeared that the overall situation in Bianshu Town was still relatively stable, and the vampire incident hadn’t caused widespread panic.
This stability was largely thanks to Owen’s timely actions—whether it was increasing the number of patrol soldiers on the streets or personally checking in with residents, all of it contributed to a greater sense of safety among the people.
During this time, the northern city wall had not been peaceful. There had already been several small-scale attacks by groups of undead creatures.
Though all had been successfully eliminated by combined forces from various units, they were clearly signs of an impending second wave of invasion. The undead army would soon begin a major push southward.
To prepare for the coming crisis, Owen had to consider recalling all the members of the search team.
They could resume the vampire search in the Sky Mountains after repelling the second wave of the undead.
But if they did that, tracking the vampire would become exponentially harder. Who knew how far it might have fled during the delay?
Just then, Lusha arrived at the castle in a hurry with a fellow tribesman, reporting that they had discovered the vampire’s hiding place.
So soon? Owen was a little surprised and quickly had them come in to explain.
Since Viscount Jarvis was in charge of the northern front, Owen had made an exception and put Lusha in charge of the vampire search.
Each search team consisted of one agile lizardman and one member of the shooting squad—so they could back each other up.
There was no need to worry about trust between them. Both sides had fought side by side on the northern wall and had already built a foundation of mutual confidence.
Whenever anything was discovered, the hunter would stay behind to keep watch, while the lizardman would run back at full speed to report to Lusha.
When it came to delivering messages by foot, the speed of an agile lizardman far surpassed that of any human. They could even run across water as if it were solid ground.
“Haa haa! The search team found the vampire’s trail—it’s hiding in an abandoned magic ore mine!”
As soon as he entered the room, Lusha excitedly reported the search team’s findings to Owen.
“Never expected to find it so soon…”
“So quick to find the vampire—impressive efficiency.”
Owen praised.
“Of course!”
Lusha responded proudly.
“My clansmen have lived in the Mystic Forest for generations. When it comes to tracking prey, they’re far better than your human hunters!”
Judging by Lusha’s smug expression, it was clear that one of his clansmen had played a key role in the discovery.
“Can you tell me how you found it?”
Owen asked, wanting to understand the full details.
“No problem.”
Lusha turned to a tall, slender clansman beside him.
“Xilong, you explain.”
Owen recognized Xilong—it was the same lizardman who had once rushed over to him for help.
Xilong stepped forward and began recounting the discovery:
“After a few days searching the Sky Mountains, I accidentally found a buried corpse of a horned rabbit beneath the snow. It’s a weak kind of monster. Its entire body had been drained of blood, leaving only a shriveled husk. Upon inspection, I found vampire bite marks on it.”
“You found a body buried under snow?”
Owen asked curiously. He wondered how the lizardman had noticed it.
“Of course…”
Xilong replied confidently.
“Even if buried under snow, the corpse still emits a faint scent. Humans can’t detect it, but we lizardmen can smell it.”
“I see.”
Owen nodded.
Xilong continued:
“So my partner, Maddy, and I began expanding our search outward from the location of the body. Based on what we know, vampires like to hide in dark places. We found an abandoned magic-stone mine, and at the entrance, we discovered signs of someone going in and out. That’s how we confirmed the vampire was hiding inside.”
The fact that he called his human teammate a “partner” showed how close their bond was.
And that partner was Maddy again—once more contributing significantly to Bianshu Town’s defense. He was clearly someone deserving of recognition.
“Excellent.”
Owen nodded with satisfaction. He then stood up and said to the two in front of him.
“No time to waste. Let’s prepare for the capture operation immediately. If the vampire senses something is off after nightfall and escapes, it’ll be much harder to catch.”
Settling this matter early would help ease the people’s fears and allow them to better focus on the threats from the north.
Owen sent someone to request aid from Bishop Flynn, then took Lusha, Xilong, and Mapel to the northern wall to select a few skilled fighters for the mission.
Owen would be personally leading this operation.
To be honest, he was deeply curious if the vampire was truly an innocent victim. If so, he hoped to avoid unnecessary combat and persuade the vampire to submit to judgment by the Church. That way, they wouldn’t have to keep living in hiding.
The farmer’s previous account described the vampire as wearing only simple animal hides—clearly having suffered much.
After briefing Viscount Jarvis on the situation, Owen personally selected four capable knights to assist in the operation.
Jarvis initially wanted to join, but Owen insisted he stay—someone needed to oversee the northern wall’s defense.
Owen’s safety wasn’t a concern, not with two powerful allies like Mapel and Lusha at his side. He was confident the vampire wouldn’t be able to get close.
As soon as he stepped out of the tent, Owen saw Theresa walking toward him with a serious expression.
“Lord Owen, Bishop Flynn has sent me to assist you in capturing the vampire.”
“With you here, that’s the best I could ask for.”
Owen said with a smile.
Theresa was the most skilled cleric in Bianshu Town when it came to divine magic—undoubtedly the best person for handling vampires.
Once all preparations were complete, the group set out under Xilong’s guidance toward the Sky Mountains.