Chapter 4 – End of childhood

R​e​a‌ｄ oｎ& ;K̃a‌tR̈éaｄ​ingCɑｆe

The room is cold. Maybe it feels that way because my situation is so pitiful.  

I’m hungry, my body aches, and I’m cold, so tears are inevitable.  

All of this wasn’t a dream.  

The reality of the situation was starting to sink in.  

“Sniff, sob… Why, why… sniff.”  

I just wanted to fill my hungry stomach. Of course, I admit the method was quite extreme, but I really didn’t intend to hurt anyone.  

Thinking about it, it was an obvious trap. Or rather, an expected outcome.  

Turns out, I’m not the first vampire, and there’s no way there weren’t vampires who thought like me before.  

Those vampires must have tried to rob blood donation centers too, which is why vampire hunters were stationed there.  

It’s like displaying jewels beautifully and filling the place with security. A trap that’s too sweet.  

‘Of course, they were there. They had to be.’  

Yeah, they must have been hiding in society, disguised as ordinary people all this time. To keep supernatural things like vampires from coming to light.  

If it weren’t for my attack, last night would have passed quietly.  

Security, or patrol. Whatever their situation, they must have blended in naturally among the ordinary people, disguised as customers at the blood donation center.  

But still, still…  

The difference between imagining something and actually seeing it is real.  

Beyond imagination, the biggest question now is, “Why do such things really exist?”  

It’s a shocking reality that I can’t help but question even though I know it’s true.  

‘I thought magic and all that were just in novels or comics.’  

Even the slightest hope has crumbled.  

The hope that this might all be a bad joke!  

The fear is slowly becoming as cold as reality.  

I buried my head deep into the pillow.  

And then I felt my stomach growl.  

“I’m hungry….”  

Right, what I need to worry about now isn’t the shape of the world or anything like that.  

It’s my survival.  

‘Even so, to think they’d only want to kill me just because I’m a vampire….’  

I know that as a species, vampires don’t benefit humans, but still.  

They don’t need to be so aggressive! Isn’t there a way for both sides to resolve this peacefully without bloodshed?  

Well, thinking logically, if everyone were like that, there wouldn’t be things like wars. Maybe I’m just a common vampire.  

I could live without drinking blood for a week, but other vampires might be different.  

So maybe they’re in a state of war without words. Or maybe it’s just about money, or complicated interests.  

In the dark room with the curtains drawn, I lay face down on the cold floor, sniffling.  

My stomach growled, and my throat felt parched. I have no idea how to deal with what happened last night.  

How did my life get so messed up?  

I never thought I’d face a threat to my life, I, I…  

Yeah, let’s live peacefully! Whether human or vampire, let’s live peacefully without holding knives to each other’s throats!  

That’s my wish. A wish that won’t come true, just a simple hope.  

I want to cry. I’m already crying, but I want to cry even more bitterly.  

The wounds have healed, and even the torn parts of my clothes have somehow regenerated, so I don’t need to waste money, but physical wounds often turn into psychological trauma.  

As I sat in the corner of the room, trying to calm myself, the doorbell suddenly rang.  

Ding-dong, ding-dong.  

“Delivery~”  

I flinched.  

‘Delivery?’  

I wiped my tears.  

At first, I suspected the vampire hunters had finally found me, but a delivery?  

Getting a delivery I didn’t order is definitely suspicious.  

Even if it’s not the vampire hunters, it’s enough to be wary.  

‘Be careful.’  

Ding-dong~  

The doorbell rang again.  

Finally coming to my senses, I grabbed the doorknob and cautiously opened the door.  

“Delivery. Can you sign for it?”  

“I, I didn’t order anything. Are you sure it’s not a mistake….”  

“It’s an invoice. It seems an invoice has come due to last night’s incident.”  

“Ah, okay… Invoice, invoice. I don’t have the money yet….”  

I said it naturally, but I suddenly trembled.  

And my pupils started shaking as if there was an earthquake.  

I looked up at the delivery man’s face. He was smiling brightly, looking at me.  

What, are his eyes open?  

Half-open, half-closed, his expression hard to read.  

Flustered, I stumbled over my words.  

“Wh-what incident? What incident caused the invoice?”  

“The battle that took place last night at the blood donation center on the second floor of Raven Plaza. The entire outer wall of the second floor was blown away, so the invoice came.”  

“Huh, what? Huh?”  

“This. The cost won’t be small. What on earth were you thinking, doing something so outrageous? Even among vampires, attacking a blood donation center is tacitly forbidden, you know.”  

I froze, blinking a few times, then started backing away.  

He knows me. He knows I’m a vampire.  

So, is he an enemy? Did he come to kill me? Really?  

Like those four insane people last night?  

Of course, I beat them all half to death with a street lamp, but I didn’t expect there to be no pursuit. I thought I’d cleaned up well enough that they wouldn’t find me.  

I thought if they did track me down, it would be when I couldn’t stand the hunger and attacked a human!  

Seeing my pale face, the delivery man chuckled and waved his hand.  

“Ah, have you not been in this industry long? Or have you not been a vampire for long? Don’t worry. You don’t need to be so scared.”  

“Wh-what.”  

“It’s okay. We at Round Ark are an absolute sanctuary. We’re also completely neutral. As long as you don’t cause harm, we won’t harm you, customer.”  

I stared at him blankly.  

The delivery man smiled leisurely, looking at me.  

First fear, then doubt, and finally, baseless relief.  

Even though he explained it himself, I still couldn’t understand.  

“Um, so, you’re saying you’re not here to exterminate me? Like, you’re not a vampire hunter or something?”  

“Of course not. Only we know your address. This industry is built on trust, after all. Of course, if the other side pays enough, we might hand over the information, but no specific requests have come in for you yet. So you can rest easy.”  

My legs went weak. And I plopped down on the cold floor.  

So, this delivery company is a completely third-party force? Not vampire hunters or vampires?  

If he says so, I should believe him, but it’s still bewildering. The talk of this industry, information, requests—it’s all part of a world I don’t know.  

Even though he explained, I still couldn’t grasp the situation.  

Stammering, I spoke to the delivery man again.  

“So, so you’re the only ones who know my address? Others don’t know, right?”  

At my question, the delivery man tilted his head slightly and answered meaningfully.  

“Well, I can’t guarantee that. Others might be conducting their own investigations. That’s something we can’t be sure about.”  

And the moment that meaningful answer ended, the living room window shattered, and three or four soldiers clad in dark equipment burst into the room in an instant.  

“Target spotted! All units, move in! Surround them!”  

I sat dumbfounded near the front door, watching the chaotic scene unfold.  

Three or four gun barrels were instantly pointed at my head.  

The delivery man, still smiling leisurely amidst the chaos, handed me an envelope.  

“Can you sign here, please? Right here, at the bottom right.”  

“Huh.”  

I looked at the soldiers who had invaded my home in droves. They were still pointing their guns, but they seemed to be waiting for my conversation with the delivery man to end, showing no reaction.  

“Hurry up.”  

“Ah, okay. S-sorry.”  

I slowly got up, took the pen the delivery man handed me, and scribbled a shaky signature.  

An awkward silence filled the room, making me want to die.  

The delivery man, holding the signed document, smiled brightly and stepped outside.  

“Well then, good luck. Ciao.”  

“Ah, okay. Ciao?”  

Thud…  

The thick iron door closed, leaving only the pale vampire and the four or five dark-clad soldiers in the dark room.  

It was an awkward silence.  

“Um, so, soldier guys?”  

First, this awkward situation. How, how should I handle it?  

My mouth was dry, and my mind was in chaos.  

In that tense moment.  

And then, in an instant.  

From the balcony opposite the window the soldiers had broken through, another crashing sound was heard.  

Crash!!  

This time, five or six pale-skinned men and women, dressed more casually, broke through the window and flew in.  

They were wrapped in thick, long robes that seemed too warm for spring, perhaps to block the sun.  

In an instant, the situation turned into a three-way battle.  

In this small living room, there were soldiers, the men and women who appeared out of nowhere—presumably vampires—and me.  

The situation was descending into chaos.  

“Enemy reinforcements! Additional support has arrived! What are the guys outside doing!”  

The soldier who seemed to be the superior officer in the back shouted into his radio.  

The radio crackled, giving no response.  

“Damn it!”  

The soldier threw the radio to the ground. Then, with incredible force, he pointed at the vampires on the other side and shouted.  

“What are you here for, you bastards! Do you want to die too!”  

“We’ve come to reclaim our freedom from the filthy fascists!”  

“Wh-what, fascists?!”  

That last part was me.  

At my shrill cry, both sides turned to look at me.  

“….”  

“….”  

A brief silence.  

And then they turned back to each other and started shouting like mad.  

“Yeah, what fascists are we talking about! This is a matter of survival, survival!!”  

“Your actions, trying to exterminate everything but humans, are the actions of filthy nationalist fascists! Die!”  

“Stop talking nonsense!!”  

Flash.  

Light erupted from the vampires’ robes.  

“For freedom!!”  

Ah.  

I want to cry.  

Boom!!!  

And in an instant, I became a homeless vampire, burdened with massive debt and having lost my home.