Chapter 169

Chapter 169

169th Episode: Trick And Treat .”…” “….” In the silence of that fleeting moment, it was El who moved first.

-Nod.

She looked at me and quietly nodded. …What on earth does that mean? Before I could even understand, El shouted to the mercenaries in a solemn voice. “…However, rejoice. Today is not yet the day to take your lives.” “What…?” One of the mercenaries blankly retorted, and El lightly waved her hand. The force extending from her fingertips struck the mercenary’s chest, sending him flying backward. “Ugh!?” “Damn it, Kazantin!” “Shit, not again…” Acting requires audacity. Especially for her. Ignoring the mercenaries who were genuinely frightened, El raised her hand and pointed at me. “Instead, I want that woman.” “Layla? Why…?” “Isn’t it obvious? The blood of a pure maiden is sweeter than your murky blood.” “….?” …Hey, you idiot. “Haa…” “…A maiden?” Just as I was about to sigh at her slip of the tongue, one of the mercenaries tilted his head and muttered. Even to them, El’s words didn’t seem to make sense. “Are you blind?” “Or does your nose-“

-Thwack.

Once again, El waved her hand, and another mercenary fell. “Wake up! She’s a vampire!” It wasn’t just me who was disappointed by that stupid skit; the mercenary captain, Zisor, distorted his face and shouted. But his shout was useless. The force emitted by El was an intangible thing that was difficult to see with the eyes. Shadowless Palm. Even if they had been on guard, they probably wouldn’t have been able to avoid it. The power wasn’t strong, but it was difficult to detect, which meant that her martial arts skills had improved quite a bit while I hadn’t been looking. Also, it wasn’t just her martial arts that had grown. “…It doesn’t matter. Even if she’s not a maiden, her blood led me here…” Her improvisation skills had also improved quite a bit. Could she have been playing the vampire concept all this time? Her cheeks were twitching slightly as I looked at her closely, but El steadfastly played her role. Of course, Zisor didn’t go along with her impromptu acting. “You’re talking nonsense, vampire. We can’t hand her over.” “….” At his firm declaration, I looked at Zisor with fresh eyes. Surely he wasn’t thinking of me that much…or was he? Considering his position, he probably thought that even if he handed me over here, he might encounter another vampire again someday. The Altarquin Mountains are long. Rather than facing her again without a mage, it would be better to fight now. An experienced mercenary captain would have judged so. “Mortal. There’s no need to willingly welcome the death that stands before you.” “….You’ve been talking too much since a while ago. The only thing you’re allowed to open in front of me is your lower mouth, vampire.” “….” Kim Seung-oh, or rather El, who was sexually harassed in an instant, closed her mouth for a moment. She didn’t seem shocked, but rather trying to understand what those words meant. If it was for the purpose of buying time, it was effective enough. The mercenaries didn’t miss the gap created by Zisor and shot arrows at her.

-Swish!

But she wasn’t a weak goblin. El easily caught the arrows shot at her and shouted in anger. “You trashy bastards!” …Was that really something to get so angry about? While sighing inwardly, I also picked up the magic book that was lying nearby and formally took a battle stance. I was wearing nothing, so my body was all exposed, but there was no helping it. In this situation, I had to help her act. “…Everyone, step back.” When I spoke in as low a voice as possible, the mercenaries’ gazes, which had been on El, turned to me. Perhaps because it was a tense situation, their gazes at me, even though I was wearing nothing, didn’t contain any lust. “I was wondering if it was possible, but I’ve finally met you. Ellie…Zebet.” After the attention was focused on me, I opened my mouth again towards El. As if I had been aiming for her from the beginning. “What…?” “That woman is dangerous. You’ll only get in the way, so step back now.” When I spoke firmly, Zisor made a face as if he was contemplating for a moment, then asked as if he had realized something. “…Could it be that your goal from the beginning was that demon?” “I don’t think you have time to be asking questions so leisurely?” I answered his question with a sharp expression. It was different from when I was flirting with a vulgar laugh among the mercenaries. When I spoke while slightly releasing my aura, he seemed to realize that my atmosphere had changed and closed his mouth. “….” After a moment of silence, Zisor soon asked me with a serious look. “…Can you win alone?” “You’ll only get in the way if you’re here.” I answered coldly and looked at El. If she was going to match my rhythm, she should have attacked at least once at this timing, but she was standing still with a relaxed expression – disguised as an embarrassed face. ‘Then, now…’ It’s not good if the conversation drags on for too long. A vampire who waits until the enemy attacks only exists in the heroic tales of orthodox knights. I didn’t wait for Zisor’s answer and opened the pages of the magic book, chanting a spell. “Fulga ro Handz!” Touch of Thunder. That magic, which was specially engraved by allocating two pages in the magic book, draws out the magic power of the core residing in the magic book to the limit and converts it into sparks. The magic power flowing from the core moves along the diagram engraved on the page, and the transformed power turns into the shape of lightning, enveloping my arms.

-Crackle.

As blue sparks settled in the shape of grasping both hands, Zisor’s expression next to me hardened. “….” “…Hmm.” El’s expression in front of me also seemed to harden slightly, but there was no need to pay attention to it now. I didn’t care about their expressions and chanted the next spell. “Filla Ro Amor.” In order to deceive the mercenaries, I had to make the fight with El look quite plausible. And, in order to make it look plausible, flashy magic was the best. Since the core of the magic book was all being used to maintain the Touch of Thunder, this time I drew out magic power from my dantian and chanted the spell.

-Whoosh.

Then, a fierce flame rose up and wrapped around my body. Armor of Flames. And Touch of Thunder. Looking at me with the power of the two elements wrapped around my body, Zisor nodded as if he finally trusted me. “….Be careful.” Before I knew it, his words had become polite. Could it be that he knew how to distinguish between public and private matters? “Don’t even think about coming back.” I gave him a faint smile and said a short farewell. // The mercenaries left without even tidying up the campsite. As expected of experienced people. They knew very well that their lives were more important than mere baggage. Of course, it was clear that the march ahead would be difficult without that baggage. After the mercenaries disappeared, I stretched out flames and lightning into the air.

-Whoosh.

Since it was the middle of the night, the flames and lightning were easily noticeable. In order to show evidence that we were fighting, I had to continue the fireworks display several times. In the middle, El’s anxious expression caught my eye, but I didn’t know why. Did she think I was going to tell her to fight? It seemed like a good idea, but it wasn’t the atmosphere for that right now. After pouring out a bunch of magic like that, El and I were finally able to face each other comfortably. “….” “….” Correction. It’s not comfortable at all. In the silence that followed for a while, El opened her mouth first. “…Um, the clothes…?” “Ah, that’s right.” …I had forgotten. // After finding and putting on clothes, El and I headed far away from the campsite. There was a possibility that the mercenaries might come back, so we couldn’t talk near the campsite. On a mountain peak far away from the campsite, we sat side by side and started talking. “…Have you been well?” “Yeah…and you?” “Me? Well, I’ve been doing well.” When the light greetings ended, an awkward silence lingered. “….” “….” Was it because we showed each other unsightly appearances? Words didn’t come out easily. There were many things I wanted to ask. Why she was wandering around here alone. And why she was trying to attack the mercenaries. But before asking all of that, I had to somehow smooth over this awkwardness. “…Huh?” I first offered her a handshake. “Long time no see.” “Ah, yeah.” And El smiled awkwardly and accepted my handshake. With just this, the atmosphere became much more lively. “By the way, those clothes are pretty.” “…R-Really? Thanks.” Starting with light conversation, we began to talk about our past actions. “By the way, what were you doing with those mercenaries?” “Hmm…are you asking because you don’t know?” “…No, never mind.” After laughing at her who was disgusted, I asked again. “By the way, what happened between you and that guy?” “Guy…? Ah, Lution?” “Is there anyone else besides that person?” “…No.” El’s face looked a little bitter as she answered. What could have happened? Before I could ask about it, El answered first. “I dumped him.” “….Huh?” “No, to be exact, I didn’t dump him…” Looking at her rambling, I felt like an interesting story was about to come out. The emotion on her face wasn’t a negative emotion like being tired of him or disliking him. A face that was wistful and longing. With an expression containing subtle emotions, she simply explained the reason. “…That guy, he told me to have a child.” “…Ah.” “I said I didn’t want to, but he said he wanted to have one.” If you take this world as the standard, it’s certainly not strange for El to have a child or two. However, the problem is that she’s not in a position to do so. “But…as you know, I’m…that, right?” “A demon who’s crazy about blood?” “No, you crazy bastard. Not that, but I was originally a man.” “That was twenty years ago, so what? You’ve already had sex, right?” “That’s true, but having a child is a bit different.” Certainly, it was different. It meant that we were completely blending into this world. In fact, there’s nothing particularly different even if we live like that. We weren’t reincarnated into this world with a special purpose. And El didn’t seem to be able to accept that kind of life yet. “So I dumped him. I didn’t break up completely, but I told him to take some time and think about it.” “What did that person say?” “I don’t know. I just left a letter and came out.” “…Haa.” Wouldn’t he be worried then? If they knew each other well enough, they would have noticed that El was strong, but still worrying was a different matter. When I sighed and shook my head, El protested again as if she knew. “I, I know too. I’m going to go back someday….Someday.” “To give birth to the child of the man you love?” “..I just don’t want to go back.” Looking at her making a bitter face, I gave a wry smile. And then I asked the next question. “By the way…why were you doing that vampire act?” “….” Then, El didn’t answer. I couldn’t see what her expression was like with her head down, so I couldn’t know. I didn’t ask about it anymore. Playing a concept isn’t necessarily bad. The question of which is better, playing a sex toy or playing a vampire, is a pathetic one that doesn’t even need to be judged. “Shall we pretend this never happened…?” “Deal.” In the end, El and I had no choice but to make a promise to each other.

We agree not to breathe a word about this to anyone.