Chapter 30 – Last Carnival

Ȓ​ｅ​ađ ‍ｏｎ K‍at̀Ȓe​&a;ｄi‍ɴ​gϹ​ａf​e

“Uncle, have you done this before? I’m surprised. I didn’t know knights liked games.”  

“…Huh? Ah, yeah. Well… I guess so.”  

The large man sitting next to me was one of the 12 Knights of Round Ark.  

He revealed that himself.  

His knight name was “Locust.” Aside from the fact that his face and body didn’t match at all, he was a decent guy.  

Except for the way he kept stiffening up and stuttering in front of me.  

I also met Mertzel, who was sitting far away in the lounge next to the arcade, giggling as she watched us.  

“Hey, Locust!! Why are you acting so shy in front of someone new? Just speak up like you usually do!!”  

“Shut uuuuuup!!”  

“Ahahaha!!”  

I flinched at the sheer force of Locust’s shout.  

Locust was sweating profusely. Was I making him uncomfortable?  

“Ah, um, if you take the elevator and get off midway, you can go to the middle floor. As you progress, you’ll get a blood rock, so it’s best to break through it.”  

“Huh? Ah, okay.”  

Even though his glasses were completely fogged up, he didn’t seem bothered.  

What incredible patience. I wondered if he could even see through them.  

I kept an eye on Locust’s behavior. He had been acting uncomfortable since earlier.  

When I first arrived, I was with Mertzel, and there were no issues then.  

I’m quick to pick up on things. There’s no reason I wouldn’t understand my position in such an obvious situation.  

“Um, I’m feeling a bit sleepy, so I’ll go grab some coffee. Just keep going straight ahead and break through the path.”  

“…Alright, got it….”  

Mertzel had been giggling since earlier.  

I ordered a caramel macchiato in the lounge and sat next to Mertzel.  

“That Locust guy seems really shy around strangers.”  

Mertzel, despite her large frame, hunched over and watched him fiddling with a small pad.  

She had been itching to say something, her mouth twitching as she struggled to contain her excitement.  

“If you want, I can tell you about how he usually acts. Interested?”  

“Huh? No, no. Why would I do that? That’s invading his privacy. He’s clearly uncomfortable around strangers, so why would I….”  

I said that because I understand that feeling.  

I understand not being able to hold your head up properly in front of people. It’s incredibly uncomfortable, but it’s not strange.  

At least, that’s what I think. I’ve experienced a lot of discomfort and shame acting like that.  

That’s why I can be considerate.  

The more you understand someone’s feelings, the better you can be considerate.  

But Mertzel chuckled and dismissed my words.  

“Sorry, but he’s nothing like that. That act of his is all fake, fake.”  

“Ahaha… fake? He seems genuinely uncomfortable around strangers. I know that well.”  

“He’s not uncomfortable around strangers… Ugh, my mouth keeps itching. You should hear what he usually says. Just a while ago, he was…”  

“Mertzeeeeel!!!”  

I was so startled I almost dropped my coffee cup.  

He seemed focused on the game, but he must have been listening intently to our conversation.  

Mertzel laughed heartily, just like before, and waved her hand.  

“Alright, alright. I’ll keep it a secret forever. So, this is a debt.”  

Locust and I made eye contact.  

He stiffened again, his face pale, and turned his gaze back to the TV.  

“…Well, he seems surprisingly bold too.”  

I didn’t expect him to shout like that in front of someone he just met.  

Well, he’s a knight, so he must be different from a true introvert like me.  

Even if he’s introverted, he’s probably more sociable, bold, and all that compared to me.  

I looked at Mertzel, who was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.  

Mertzel finished her caramel macchiato.  

“Hey, Vampire Lord.”  

Then she spoke to me.  

“We’ve decided to keep an eye on you. From now on, we won’t intervene like before, probably.”  

“…Isn’t that normal?”  

“If that’s what you think, then I have nothing more to say. We must always remain neutral, so if you choose to remain a mere mercenary, we can’t interfere. You’ll have to handle things on your own from now on.”  

I took a sip of coffee.  

The sweet flavor spread across my tongue.  

Sugar always makes people feel good.  

It’s not as good as blood, but still.  

“So, will you take on the next request right away?”  

“No, I’ll take a break until next week.”  

Mertzel grinned mischievously.  

“Then how about resting here? You seem to really like games, Vampire Lord. Locust probably likes them too.”  

I looked at Locust.  

Now, his ears were perked up, but he was desperately trying not to look in our direction.  

“…Nah, he seems really uncomfortable around me.”  

“Want to make a bet?”  

“No, I’m fine as long as I can use the computer….”  

Mertzel handed me a key.  

She was lending me an unused storage room in the building.  

“This favor only lasts until tomorrow. Once you take on the next request, you’ll be just another mercenary within Round Ark’s nest. We can’t openly show you favor, so don’t expect too much.”  

“Too much expectation is poison.”  

I could act nonchalant in front of Mertzel.  

Maybe it’s because she’s easygoing.  

Or maybe it’s because she’s from the underworld, so her vibe is subtly different from ordinary people.  

I thought it didn’t matter and finished my coffee.  

Sweet things are the best.  

* * *  

Late spring rain was falling.  

Normally, on such cold and dreary days, I’d stay holed up at home, but since Round Ark’s headquarters is practically my home now, it doesn’t matter.  

It might sound like nonsense, but considering I don’t even need to leave the building to go to the lounge…  

It’s like living in a luxury apartment. A multi-billion-dollar building with all kinds of convenient facilities on the lower floors.  

Well, I’ll be kicked out once I take on the next request, since they can’t show me favor anymore.  

If I stay here without taking on any requests, it’s like retracting my statement about remaining a mere mercenary.  

It would only be seen as an intention to become a Round Ark employee or a “secured asset.”  

If that happens, I’m sure I’ll lose my freedom.  

Such positions usually come with that kind of penalty.  

Yeah, I want to roam freely, go wild, and have fun, so being trapped in that nest wouldn’t do.  

So, I’m currently wasting time in front of the barrier at Round Ark’s headquarters lounge.  

‘There are hardly any people here….’  

The only people who occasionally come by are Round Ark employees.  

They all either hold their breath or make strange noises when they see me, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.  

None of them seem to have bad intentions.  

‘It’s embarrassing, though.’  

Honestly, it’s hard to accept such unwarranted kindness.  

For someone like me, the best kind of relationship is a professional one—praised for success and scolded for failure.  

There always needs to be a reason. Emotions or events without reason tend to eat away at your mind.  

Kindness is undoubtedly a good emotion, but whether I can accept it is a different matter.  

So, if they keep patting my head too much, I feel like my face might explode.  

I even thought about moving somewhere else.  

I’m a vampire, after all. Shouldn’t I be cautious?  

Are they all just idiots who get mesmerized by appearances?  

I shook my head.  

The bartender at the headquarters lounge was extremely quiet.  

She was a young woman who looked like she had just graduated high school, and aside from when I called her, she never even glanced my way.  

Seeing the cross on her chest, she’s probably a clergy member who doesn’t have good feelings toward vampires.  

She’s the same type as the priest.  

Are all underworld clergy members this stoic and rational?  

I felt like I was developing strange prejudices.  

Anyway.  

‘Everything here is suspicious.’  

I was scrolling through the tablet, checking the requests submitted to Round Ark’s request board.  

But every single one of them was bizarre.  

Of course, briefing videos need to catch the mercenaries’ attention, so they’re all high-quality.  

You can tell the level of the client just by the quality of the briefing video.  

But the content is all either missing a screw or completely insane.  

There are requests to destroy or secure something without any context.  

And then there are requests like playing poker at a specific area on a specific day and time, which are obviously suspicious.  

Round Ark’s policy is fundamentally neutral.  

Unless it’s a special or globally threatening crisis, they mostly adhere to a principle of non-interference.  

In short, they’ve created a space for clients and mercenaries to interact, but they don’t care if they scam each other or tear each other apart.  

What a scary world.  

I shuddered and tried to turn off the tablet.  

Today just isn’t my day.  

Either the good requests have all been taken by other mercenaries, or this is just how it usually is.  

I decided to rest just for today and start working properly tomorrow.  

‘Starting tomorrow… That’s the fast track to ruining your life.’  

It made me anxious, though.  

But just as I was about to turn off and return Round Ark’s perception-blocking tablet, the bartender approached me.  

In her hand was a small terminal.  

“Strigoi, is that you?”  

“Ah, yes… That’s my codename…”  

The bartender listened to me and tapped the terminal a few times.  

Then, the tablet I was holding vibrated and displayed a window.  

“This is…”  

“A request from another mercenary. Please check it.”  

A request where one mercenary hires another—slightly outside my expectations.  

Someone had specifically sent a message to hire me.  

It was slightly different from a designated request, but I guess this method was possible too.  

A mercenary hiring another mercenary…  

Well, it’s not too far from the image of mercenaries doing anything for money.  

It was just a bit unexpected.  

I stared at the glowing button, still urging me to press it.  

After hesitating for a moment, I clicked it.  

What appeared was a short message and the codename of the mercenary who hired me.  

Written in English, the codename was GUREN.  

Guren.  

In Japanese, it means Hongryeon.