NOVEL NEXT “Uh, wait a minute!”
The Dragonkin girl called out to me as I threw down the pouch of gold and turned away.
But I don’t listen to the words of someone weaker than me. Sorry, but there’s no reason for me to stop.
Creek. Boom!!
“Ugh—”
…I tried to ignore her, but the artistic sound effect made me instinctively flinch and stop. The final flop sound was particularly comical.
When I glanced back, the girl was sprawled out dramatically. Looks like she tripped over her own feet while trying to escape from between the bars.
Right. Those who try should be rewarded. She’s going to die soon anyway, but even if she has no human rights, she deserves to speak at least once.
“Why?”
As soon as I asked bluntly, the girl, who had her forehead on the ground in front of me, sprang up. She seemed to be trying to act normal, but her tail got caught in the iron bars again and she fell over.
I was embarrassed just watching. I wanted to look away, but our eyes met perfectly.
Her eyes were trembling. But soon, as if nothing had happened, she freed her tail from the bars and knelt in front of me.
“I-I’m not, um… you know, eating?”
Is she fearless? Or is she just brainless?
If I had unexpectedly saved a life she thought was lost, she should just reach out and take the opportunity instead of boldly speaking to a vampire. Surely she knows her life could be gone with just one of my whims.
If I were in her position, I would have hidden silently until the storm passed and somehow tried to escape. Not that it would guarantee survival, of course.
“Yeah. So just take that money and get lost.”
“Why are you saving me…?”
But the girl was surprisingly persistent, trying hard to gauge my mood.
If she’s alive, it’s just good luck; why would she ask for my thoughts? Still, even though I kindly gave her a positive answer, her expression was not particularly bright.
She said she doesn’t like pain, but does that mean she didn’t have any attachment to life? If she has no attachment to life and wanted to die, then all my worries would feel silly.
Just to be sure, I asked. If she’s going to jump into my mouth, there’s no reason to refuse.
…No, wait. Should I refuse that instead? There’s no such thing as a free meal in this world.
“Why? Do you want to die?”
“N-No! But, um, you’re just not killing me…”
“They’re humans, and you’re not.”
Is there a need for any other reason? That was a perfectly clear answer without the need to say something like, “Seeing you reminds me of the past.”
I left the girl, who looked shocked at my perfectly logical conclusion, and finally stepped out of the tent.
I had seen everything I needed to see here. After giving the kid the leftover gold, I extinguished all the torches and left the camp.
The reason I put out the torches was just in case. I didn’t expect anyone to pass by in a short amount of time, but it’s never bad to be careful. This way, as long as I’m not unbelievably unlucky, I won’t be spotted by the slavers until they return, likely looking for someone to make a deal.
I don’t know when that will be, but by then, I won’t be here, so it doesn’t matter. Now, that aside…
Pitter-patter.
“……”
Pitter-patter.
“…Why are you following me?”
The girl, who was running behind me a little too closely, flinched and hid behind a tree instinctively.
Does she think this will make her invisible? I wouldn’t be able to ignore her, even if I wanted to, thanks to the sound of the grass crunching underfoot.
“Uh, um, well…”
“Don’t you know the way down? Just go that way.”
I casually waved my hand in the direction I came from.
Honestly, I didn’t think she could find her way just by being told that, but that was none of my business.
Watching her reminded me of the times I was tortured in the Luminous Kingdom, and I hesitated to just kill her. It wasn’t like I was trying to do a good deed; I really didn’t care if she got eaten by a wild animal or starved to death as long as it was out of sight.
The world is a cold place. You have to find your own way to survive, whether you live or die.
“Um, not that… but can I follow you?”
“No.”
Has she lost her fear? It seems like that will-less doll that would just give up easily suddenly has a mind of its own.
She didn’t seem stupid enough not to realize what it meant to follow a vampire… No, on second thought, maybe she actually is that stupid.
I inwardly downgraded my assessment of her intelligence.
But if I could get rid of this annoying kid with just one word, it wouldn’t be a bad deal. So, thinking this was a foolish act, I kindly reminded her of my danger.
“I’m a vampire, you know? You saw what happened to the humans. Do you want to end up like them?”
“If that’s what you want, you can use me like a bento. Just take me with you.”
Is she really out of her mind? The charisma of true insanity made me instinctively take a step back.
I was sure now. She’s genuine.
I don’t know how long she’s been a slave, but it seems she’s a bit broken from all her hardships.
My eyes must be reflecting a mix of horror for looking at a crazy person and pity for looking at a pitiful one.
She flapped her hands, likely feeling that her words weren’t being taken seriously.
“I’m not crazy!”
“Sounds like you are.”
Who wants to be a vampire’s bento box without being insane? It’d be far more realistic for a lion and a rabbit to be friends.
While there’s a tiny part of me that’s tempted by the chance to ‘supply quality Dragonkin blood’ with her permission, that’s from my perspective. There’s truly no reason for someone to volunteer to be eaten.
But the girl was quite stubborn. Desperate, even. She wouldn’t back down, shaking like she was trying to ignite one last spark.
“I’m not joking. You can drink my blood whenever you want. I’ll do the chores. I’ll serve you as my master. After all, I was meant to die as a human slave, so please use me as a slave.”
What could have made her like this?
She didn’t scream. Didn’t weep or appeal emotionally.
But even in her calm tone, the desperation in her voice cut through like the cry of one hanging from a cliff.
She started to appeal desperately for her skills.
She’d gotten used to starvation, so she could get by with just a little food; her stamina was good so she wouldn’t be a burden; and she learned a bit of dagger usage from her deceased father, among other things.
I thought I might be stuck listening to her self-PR forever, so I interrupted her.
“Offering that doesn’t get you anything from me.”
Although I had decided to temporarily put aside my extreme mindset of thinking everyone in the world was my enemy, it didn’t mean that I would blindly trust anyone.
My belief that there’s no such thing as a free favor was rock solid. Therefore, unless we could prove that our relationship would benefit both sides, I wouldn’t consider someone not an enemy.
Martini and the vampires of the Duchy protected me, risking their current safety for the future of their kind. While I still wondered if I was worth such value, at least the Duchy proved their sincerity.
Without a valid reason, I couldn’t lower my guard, even if the other party is a little girl. Those who often say they’re willing to lose benefits will almost always be those who are ready to hit you and recoup their losses.
No. Should I just kill her instead? After all, it occurred to me that I really didn’t have to worry about that kid.
If she’d just quietly left for somewhere I wouldn’t know, it would be different, but after being given a chance, she’s following me around and clinging on—why should I waste time chatting until we settle on a mutual understanding to part ways?
“No. You’re going to die alone anyway. There’s no place for Ain, a slave with a master, except here in the human country. You’ll just be caught and sold again.”
“…Try hard and go back to the Dragonkin lands.”
Of course that’s impossible. The land of the Dragonkin is to the north of the Luminous Kingdom. It would be impossible for a little girl to reach there from the Armes Kingdom, even if she were human.
“My father said we were exiled from the tribe. There’s no longer a place for me in this world.”
I hesitated; my hand that had been about to cast magic to send her off painlessly froze.
“So if I’m a hindrance, just eat me now. If I’m going to die anyway, it would be slightly more meaningful to be a meal for a vampire and get my revenge against humans…”
Ah, I see.
The impression of her as a fragile and will-less doll and her surprisingly bold self-advocacy created a gear that perfectly fit into the gap of discomfort.
The girl seemed a bit broken, but she wasn’t crazy. She was simply making a highly rational decision, accurately aware of her chances of survival.
A life with nowhere to go. A past persecuted by humans. And a fierce desire for revenge against humans.
The girl understood her situation precisely.
If she could hang on to the only possibility of surviving, that would be enough. As long as she kept living, it was better than dying.
But if she was doomed to die anyway, then she would sacrifice her life in a way that could inflict some harm on the humans she hated so much. That was her resolution.
She was like me.
She’d already been hurt by humans, and the fact that being captured by humans meant her end gave way to the intense hatred she now felt towards them.
There was nowhere in the world for me to reside either, and all I could do was cling onto the dream of revenge in the distant future while struggling to survive today.
No matter how angry and sad I got over the fact that I could not live a life others took for granted, nothing would change. The resentment piled up within turned to poison and stacked higher and higher.
“What’s your name?”
“—So, uh? Ah, Eleonora.”
And so I knew.
I could understand because we were in similar situations.
The Dragonkin girl, Eleonora, is not my enemy.
It’s unlikely that this child will become my enemy.
There was no falsehood in her deep-set eyes and calm demeanor.
From the start, there was no reason to lie about wanting to be eaten if I wasn’t going to take her in. Even if there were ulterior motives, they wouldn’t work if she didn’t stay alive.
However, I needed to clarify whether to prioritize life or revenge. If it were the former, she might very well choose to betray me for survival when a better opportunity arose.
“Life with me won’t be pleasant. I’m being chased by humans. I can’t slip away halfway. Still, do you want to follow me?”
“Yes.”
Despite knowing that just being with me would lead to a dismal fate, Eleonora’s simple affirmation was unwavering. Her golden eyes were desperate yet resolute, as if proclaiming her sincerity.
So what should I do? If I assume she’s not an enemy, then she has potential value.
I decided to weigh the pros and cons of taking Eleonora with me versus not taking her.
First, the thought of making her a follower left my mind.
Creating a follower would mean sharing my source of power, True Blood. While I might consider that once I got sufficiently stronger, right now I wouldn’t want to expend energy to make a follower.
Moreover, turning this girl into a vampire would mean losing a valuable source of food while increasing the amount of blood I need to find.
Plus, unlike me, followers can’t move under the sun, so in the current situation, attempting to cross the Armes Kingdom while posing as a human was not an attractive choice.
So, what would I gain by taking her like this?
The most important thing is, of course, regular access to Dragonkin blood.
The Duchy also had places where humans were raised. Martini was able to provide me with so much blood every day because of that facility, alleviating the concerns of hunger among the Duchy’s vampires.
In comparison, my current method of blood sourcing depended on pure luck. I was prioritizing stealth, so I was just snatching humans in less populated areas, but ultimately I’d starve if no humans came my way.
Eleonora, though still young, holds a strength far beyond what most humans could muster within her blood.
If I can keep this rare yet powerful Dragonkin alive by my side and receive blood regularly, it would be a significant advantage in both quality and stability.
If Eleonora grows into an adult, she’ll surely become even stronger.
Honestly, I don’t expect much from the dagger skills she picked up from her father. But even without skills, there’s no way a fully grown Dragonkin would be weaker than a few humans.
She might even be stronger than me. If that time comes, she could be a source of quality blood and a reliable ally in battle.
From this perspective, the long-term benefits are definitely there. But the problem lies in whether we can survive until then. Given my situation where I can’t safely guarantee tomorrow, can I afford to travel with a little kid?
The scales of profit and loss balanced uncertainly.
In a situation devoid of clear answers about which option is better, the final decision came unceremoniously from a small impulse.
“If you get in my way, I’ll abandon you.”
“…! So that means I can follow you?!”
“If you don’t want to, then don’t.”
“No! No way! I’ll go with you!”
I really don’t know if it was because I couldn’t just pass by a girl resembling my past self or simply because I deemed the benefits she could bring me significant, but even now, I’m unclear.
I can’t predict what this choice will lead to in the future. But no matter what happens, my duties remain unchanged, and thus my journey with the little Dragonkin girl began.