Ch.82Glass

The sound of hooves echoed through the darkness—clop, clop, clop!

Hwang-gu galloped across the mountain range shrouded in pitch-black darkness.

Three girls rode on her back—myself, Aurel, and our newest addition, Yuri.

Hwang-gu’s back was so spacious that even with all of us riding, there was plenty of room to spare.

I gazed at Yuri, who was nestled in front of me, with a curious expression.

Such boldness to turn her back to me, a vampire.

Her breathing was relaxed, without a hint of tension.

She even gently stroked Hwang-gu’s fur, despite her being a werewolf.

Clop!

After running for quite some time, Hwang-gu stopped and looked back.

Her tail was spinning in circles, suggesting we had completely shaken off the pursuing werewolves.

I dismounted from Hwang-gu’s back and looked at Yuri.

Noticing my movement, Yuri followed suit and got down.

She stood at a slight distance, looking at me.

I had so much to say, but now that we were face to face, words failed me.

I licked my lips once before speaking.

“So, you’re Yuri… right?”

“Yes.”

Yuri nodded in response to my question.

The cold wind blew her cape, revealing her pale skin beneath.

“My name is Charlotte.”

“And this child?”

“This is Aurel.”

“And that one?”

“Hwang-gu…”

This sudden round of introductions caught me off guard.

Yuri nodded, muttering the names under her breath as if committing them to memory.

“About that power you have…”

I carefully broached the subject while moving my shadow.

I was worried she might try to run away.

As my shadow silently extended to cover the ground beneath Yuri’s feet, she casually stepped aside, moving out of the shadow’s reach.

“My power? You mean this?”

Tilting her head at my question, Yuri pulled out a small card.

The shimmering card had [Gender Change Ticket] written on it.

I nodded at the sight.

But wait—had she noticed the movement of my shadow and deliberately moved?

Curious, I tried moving my shadow again.

Once more, she stepped sideways, moving away from the shadow’s reach.

She looked at me with a puzzled expression.

As if asking what I was trying to do.

It seemed Yuri had some ability to detect the movement of shadows.

I withdrew my shadow and smiled awkwardly.

Our paused conversation resumed.

I nodded and spoke.

“Could I borrow that power?”

“This power?”

I nodded.

To unite the special powers of each race, cooperation rather than domination was necessary.

As I was contemplating what to say next to persuade Yuri…

An unexpected answer came from her lips.

“Sure.”

“Huh…?”

Her agreement came so readily.

Aurel and Hwang-gu were clearly shocked, their mouths hanging open.

The two girls clearly hadn’t expected this situation either.

I swallowed dryly and asked for confirmation.

“Um, really?”

“Yes. But I have a condition.”

Just as I was brightening up and nodding, Yuri’s response came.

I actually felt deeply relieved that she was attaching conditions. Helping me without asking for anything in return would have been too strange.

“What’s the condition?”

“Well…”

With an enigmatic smile, Yuri began walking to the side in response to my question.

She looked over Hwang-gu, me, and Aurel one by one before speaking.

“Your name is Charlotte, right?”

“Yes.”

“If you do it with me once, I’ll lend you my power.”

Do it with her once? What on earth did she mean?

I tilted my head at Yuri’s words, blinking in confusion.

Yuri looked at me and licked her lips.

Her small tongue moistened her red lips.

A second of silence passed.

Then Aurel, who had been quiet until now, suddenly jumped forward with a shriek.

“Nooooo!!!”

Aurel’s full-powered howl created a high-pitched frequency that shook everything around us.

At that ear-splitting voice, Hwang-gu lay flat on the ground, covering her ears with her front paws.

Even Yuri frowned deeply and stepped back, as if the sound was painful.

“I won’t hand over Lady Charlotte!”

Aurel blocked my way protectively, glaring at Yuri with an extremely agitated expression.

I finally understood what Yuri had meant, albeit a beat late.

Yuri was openly looking me up and down.

That heated gaze was similar to the looks Aurel sometimes gave me.

I sighed.

Was I foolish to expect a normal response in this crazy world?

I wouldn’t have been so surprised if she had proposed an alliance with humans.

“Are you serious?”

“Lady Charlotte!”

Aurel turned around at my question, looking like a child about to have a precious possession taken away.

“Yes, I’m serious.”

Yuri nodded without hesitation at my question.

I thought briefly before asking another question.

“Isn’t there something else?”

“Hmm…”

At my response, Yuri shifted her gaze to Aurel.

Aurel, who had been fuming with anger, sensed something ominous in that gaze and hid behind me.

“Then I’ll do it with Aurel.”

“N-no way!”

At Aurel’s refusal, Yuri’s expression turned serious.

Her gaze moved again, this time stopping at Hwang-gu.

Looking at the large wolf, Yuri muttered in a small voice.

“With a dog, that’s a bit…”

“Grrrr…!”

Hwang-gu raised her fur and eyed Yuri warily.

Maintaining a low stance, she approached me.

Like Aurel, she also hid behind my back.

As I was wondering what to do next, a sudden idea came to mind.

I reached into the shadows with both hands and pulled out a small girl.

“Huh…?”

The girl emerged clutching crayons in both hands.

She tilted her head as if wondering what was happening.

“Oh…”

Yuri’s eyes sparkled at the sight.

Seeing her reaction, I was confident this proposal would work.

“How about her?”

She was a child with an appearance similar to mine. It was unfortunate for the children, but some sacrifice was necessary for the greater cause.

But Yuri shook her head.

“Not her. Do you have another child?”

Was she picky? I frowned and showed her another child.

But Yuri shook her head again.

I went ahead and called out all my children from the shadows.

A flood of pale girls poured out from the shadows.

Yuri stared blankly at them before walking toward one particular spot.

The direction she was heading was where Bbi-bbi was.

Bbi-bbi, having been pulled out while drawing, was sitting on the ground sketching in her notebook.

“I’d like this child…”

Yuri said, glancing at me for approval.

The fact that she prioritized her preferences over being surprised at the summoning of subordinates made me realize Yuri wasn’t quite normal.

I looked at Bbi-bbi with an astonished expression.

She seemed not to understand the situation, tilting her head and looking up at Yuri.

“Lady Charlotte? What is this human? Is she food?”

Yuri licked her lips at Bbi-bbi’s innocent reaction.

I closed my eyes.

Some sacrifice was necessary for the greater cause.

It wasn’t like she would be damaged, so lending her once should be fine.

I sighed and asked Yuri:

“What cash items can you purchase right now?”

“Well… Berserk Potion and…”

Yuri answered my question by telling me about all the items she could purchase, the points she had, and what she needed to do to earn those points.

Her method of earning cash points was the same as Thief, or Smooch.

The system awarded a certain amount of points whenever they negatively affected each race.

While Smooch earned points by hunting vampires and werewolves, Yuri used a different method.

She used the Gender Change Ticket.

Yuri explained that she could earn a massive amount of points each time she used a Gender Change Ticket.

“Here, take these.”

Yuri spent all her points to purchase various buff potions and handed them to me.

There were over 10 Berserk Potions alone, and counting the other buff potions, there were about 40 in total.

“Now I can do it with her, right?”

“M-me? Lady Charlotte? What does she mean by ‘do it’? Huh?”

Bbi-bbi asked me with wide eyes at Yuri’s question.

I gave her an awkward smile and patted her head.

“I’ll explain later.”

I called the children back into the shadows.

The deal with Yuri was sealed. If I could continue to use her power, it would be a great help in tackling the episode bosses that would appear in the future.

“Let’s go!”

We rode Hwang-gu back toward Seoul.

***

After arriving in Seoul, I gathered the clan leaders and informed them that we had secured a human with special powers.

Prix brightened up and demanded the Gender Change Ticket item, but Yuri refused to hand it over.

“I’ll give it to you if you do it with me once.”

Yuri made a bold proposal to Prix.

Prix grabbed the back of his neck and collapsed.

Yuri was true to her desires.

And she was kind enough to share her power if those desires were fulfilled.

I don’t know how others might see it, but I didn’t think Yuri was asking for anything unreasonable.

After the meeting, I brought Yuri to my clan hideout.

I had to keep my promise to her.

I gave Yuri a room and summoned Bbi-bbi inside.

“Lady Charlotte?”

Bbi-bbi looked at me with a tilted head at the sudden call.

Had she sensed something instinctively?

She pattered over to me.

I grabbed Bbi-bbi’s shoulders and said:

“Bbi-bbi.”

“Yes?”

“This will be over soon.”

“W-what…?”

“That’s Yuri. You need to listen to what she says. Understand?”

“L-listen to her?”

Bbi-bbi glanced over at my command.

Yuri smiled brightly and waved her soft palm slightly.

“L-Lady Charlotte…? Where are you going? Huh? Why…?”

I removed my hands from Bbi-bbi’s shoulders and stepped back.

Bbi-bbi reached out to me with trembling eyes.

“Your name is Bbi-bbi, right? Come here.”

Yuri called Bbi-bbi in a gentle voice.

Bbi-bbi began to move according to that command.

I smiled bitterly and closed the door.

Click-

-Eeeek!

Subtle moans flowed from inside the room.

About 10 minutes later, the door opened.

It was Bbi-bbi who came out.

“Lady Charlotte…”

“Bbi-bbi?”

“That person fainted…”

I looked inside the room at Bbi-bbi’s words.

The room was filled with heat and a peculiar scent.

Inside, Yuri lay covered with a white blanket.