episode_0079

Apart from Elena’s auction ending, Acel’s auction had not finished yet.

The next item put up for auction after the vampire sword was the ‘Black Magic Grimoire’. As soon as that item came onto the stage, Acel immediately expressed his intention to purchase it. Besides him, people who wished to buy the grimoire rose from their seats. Acel immediately bet 50 gold coins from the start.

“50 gold coins have been bid! Higher! Is there anyone who will go higher!”

“I’ll raise it to 70.”

Said a benevolent-looking old man. Not to be outdone, a generous-looking woman also covered her mouth with a fan and shouted.

“80.”

“80! 80 have been bid! Is there any higher?”

“Ho ho, indeed. 85.”

“90.”

“93.”

“95.”

After the woman’s words, the old man laughed heartily and sat down. Acel met the eyes of the woman glaring at him and opened his mouth in a low voice.

“100.”

“100! 100 have been bid.”

100 gold coins. This was within the expected range. However, spending more than this was also a burden for Acel. It wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t spend it, but it was unavoidable that he would have to live scraping by for the time being. If possible, he wanted to end the auction here.

But the woman hesitated for a moment, talked with her companions sitting nearby, and then cautiously opened her mouth.

“110.”

“Oh, damn it.”

110? For one grimoire. And for a grimoire of the heterodox demonic path, this was not just excessive but a ridiculously high amount, like bursting open. Acel gnashed his teeth and glared at the woman who was sneering at him. Then, he let out a deep sigh and narrowed his eyes.

‘Should I just pour it all in?’

If he threw in all the gold coins he had without thinking about the consequences, winning the auction would be easy. But it was a clear fact that the future would be bleak if he did that. He would have to survive by eating only free school meals until the periodic support funds from Weyheim arrived.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t eat them. It wasn’t that he couldn’t eat them… but still, enduring a month by eating only that felt a bit off. He wasn’t picky about food, but he did enjoy the pleasure of eating itself.

But what could he do? To get the grimoire, he had to accept the financial bleeding.

‘If I learn black magic, I might be able to infiltrate devil worshippers or related groups, so it’s right to push myself a bit here.’

Information about black magic was thoroughly suppressed, so if he tried to imitate it with superficial knowledge he’d picked up, he would quickly be exposed by true black magicians. Therefore, knowledge of orthodox black magic was essential. He was also basically interested in it.

So, there was a need to push himself somewhat here. The moment Acel thought so and made a determined expression, Elena tugged hard on his sleeve.

“Huh.”

Acel’s body swayed from the pull that had quite a bit of strength. Elena leaned her body into his tilted upper body and whispered in his ear.

“Shall I lend you some money?”

It was similar to a devil’s whisper. Acel found himself asking back in polite language.

“Excuse me?”

“Yes, I have a little more funds left than expected. I could lend you some…?”

“No, then I’d feel too sorry.”

“I’m okay with it?”

“Even so…”

“If that’s the case, I’ll lend it to you in exchange for granting me 3 wishes later! How about it?”

“…Are you really okay with just that?”

“Of course! No interest needed either! Just give me exactly 3 wishes, and I’ll lend you as much as you want!”

Elena let out a slightly excited breath and said that, her eyes sparkling. Acel thought for a moment, then smiled wryly and nodded.

“I’ll ask for your help.”

At the time, Acel had no idea how this would come back to him. He purely appreciated Elena’s favor and just thought that he should treat her better. That’s why he didn’t see it properly.

“…Hee.”

Her gleaming fangs.

***

Basic Black Magic Grimoire. Knocked down for 125 gold coins.

Of that, 100 was Acel’s, and 25 was Elena’s. After both people had purchased what they wanted, they moved to the back of the stage without looking back. The auction house staff, who had prepared the items beforehand, saw the two and guided them to their respective rooms.

“See you in a bit!”

Elena greeted Acel and slipped into a room. After waving back at her, Acel also stepped into his room.

“Ah, welcome.”

In the room, a woman in revealing clothing was sitting on a sofa. A single black book lay on the table in front of her. Acel looked down at the smooth book cover and sat across from the woman. She smiled sweetly and offered him the tea she had prepared beforehand.

“Congratulations on your successful bid. I watched the fierce competition; it was quite a show.”

“Any precautions?”

Acel asked with a poker face.

The person was clearly a high-ranking official in the merchant guild just by looking at them. The possibility that they already knew about the various aspects he had shown outside could not be ruled out. Therefore, Acel did not stop acting even though Elena wasn’t around. That was an excellent choice.

“…Just as I heard, you have a very cold personality except when it comes to your woman.”

“…Did you observe us?”

“We didn’t exactly observe. It’s just that our staff members came like cuckoos and told us.”

She placed the coffee cup she was holding on the table, pushed the grimoire towards Acel, and continued speaking.

“As you know, it’s a black magic grimoire. If you happen to be planning to learn the magic, I don’t particularly recommend it. Just keep it for collection, just for collection.”

“I’ll handle it myself.”

“Oh my, how cold you are. But since you’re someone who cherishes his woman terribly, I doubt you’ll carelessly dabble in black magic.”

Acel ignored her words, placed his hand on the grimoire, and subtly channeled magic.

This was in case it was a copy or replica so he could dispute it, but thankfully, the grimoire was indeed genuine. From every single engraved letter, the gloomy and arrogant magical power characteristic of black magicians could be felt. He could be sufficiently satisfied with this.

“How should I pay?”

“You can leave the item here and bring the successful bid amount within 24 hours. Then we will give you the item immediately.”

“I’ll bring it right now.”

“You’re quite impatient. Of course, that’s good for us -”

She covered her mouth and smiled like a fox. Acel got up from his seat without looking back and left the room. Not long after that, Elena also came out.

Seeing Acel, she scurried over to him and said.

“Acel! How did you decide to handle the payment? Are you going to pay right away?”

“I answered that I would for now. If you plan to give it tomorrow, I’ll come back tomorrow too.”

“No, let’s handle it quickly and go.”

Acel nodded at Elena’s words. The two left the auction house, fetched money from their respective dorms, and visited the auction house again to pay the amount immediately.

“It has been confirmed. Now this is yours.”

Thus, the vampire sword became Elena’s, and the grimoire became Acel’s. Acel left the auction house with Elena and walked down the street, quickly skimming only the very beginning part of the grimoire.

[Black magic is a magic that establishes a single law separating you from the world. Within that law, you are free, and the world cannot bind you. While other magic follows the theories and laws of the world, we build our own principles. Therefore, there is no concept of lower, intermediate, or higher magic for us. The power of the magic changes depending on how mighty the law you have built and created is.]

“Hmm.”

Acel quickly read the part included in the book’s preface and closed the book again.

Magic that establishes a law between oneself and the world, he thought. He knew it was unique, but he never dreamed that the method would involve drawing a boundary line. If he had met a black magician in person, he might have gotten some sense of it, but unfortunately, black magicians were a rare species. They were not easily found in such open areas.

‘To properly master it, I’ll have to set aside a day and just research.’

A unique magic system he had never seen before. To become proficient, it seemed he would have to accumulate a certain level of skill in the Ice Confinement Technique first, and then immediately try it.

That future was not far off.

“Hey, Acel.”

While Acel was putting the book in his pocket, Elena, who likewise had the vampire sword tied to her waist, turned to him and opened her mouth.

“Do you have any plans after this?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Uh, then could you go somewhere with me for a bit?”

A question she uttered, blushing and slightly averting her gaze. Acel treated it as nothing major and nodded.

“Okay.”

“…! Yeah! Then follow me!”

Having received Acel’s affirmative answer, Elena moved forward at a quick pace, wearing a lively expression. Acel watched her receding back, then smiled faintly and followed her. Had they walked for about 30 minutes like that? Elena stopped in front of the large clock tower installed near the academy’s main building.

It was a building that was practically a landmark for academy students. The clock hanging in the upper part of the tower was announcing to everyone that midnight was approaching.

Acel had observed it from a distance before, but this was his first time seeing the clock tower up close like this. He had to crane his neck sharply to faintly catch sight of the tower’s pointed tip. The blue moon hanging at its peak sparkled especially brightly today.

As Acel was thus gazing at the tower and the moon, Elena turned to him and shouted.

“Let’s go up!”

It was a somewhat abrupt exclamation.

“…Go up?”

“Yeah! If you look down at the academy from up there, it’s really pretty! I wanted to show it to you too.”

“…Isn’t the clock tower off-limits to outsiders?”

“Don’t worry about such trivial things!”

It was not a trivial matter at all. If they were caught going up the clock tower, they could face disciplinary action.

But… in fact, Acel wasn’t exactly on friendly terms with leading a proper life either. He thought for a moment, then grinned and nodded.

“Okay, let’s go up.”

“Ehehe!”

As soon as Elena received Acel’s affirmation, she darted over to him, hugged his body, and immediately spread her blood-red wings. Bat-shaped wings created through blood flow molding. When they flapped once, Elena and Acel floated up into the air just like that.

Thus, they reached the upper part of the clock tower through careful control. The two landed in the space for the manager created between the tower and the roof. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Elena folded her wings, placed her hands on the railing, and looked down at the academy. Acel also roughly tidied his slightly dishevelled hair and stood beside her.

“…Oh.”

Close to midnight. The academy grounds, where darkness was more prevalent than light. Nevertheless, as if symbolizing the weekend, many people were still strolling the streets, and shops emitting various kinds of light sparkled brilliantly. Above them, the blue moon elegantly swam across the sky.

It was a beautiful night view. His hair fluttered in the blowing wind, and the distinct scent of spring blossoms wafted strongly.

Even if it couldn’t compare to the night of Weyheim, his impression that it was beautiful was unwavering. Acel leaned against the railing with a warm smile and idly gazed at the night streets. As he was doing so, Elena chuckled and took a step closer to him.

“How is it? Isn’t it pretty?”

“…Indeed. It is pretty.”

Acel smiled faintly and said that, then added one more remark jokingly.

“It might also be because I’m with you.”

“…Wh-what are you saying?”

“Haha.”

As Acel was smilingly accepting Elena’s pestering, who was poking his side while blushing, the moonlight began to gently shine down on the two of them. In the blue light illuminating the upper part of the clock tower like stage lighting, Elena looked up at the sky for a moment, then tilted her head against Acel’s shoulder and whispered softly.

“Acel, I want to use one of my wish vouchers.”

“Already?”

“Yeah. I feel like I can’t use it if not now.”

“…What is it?”

At Acel’s question, Elena just subtly raised her eyes and met Acel’s gaze.

“I want to drink your blood.”

“…I can just do that much for you. Wait.”

“No, not blood from a wound. I want to sink my teeth in myself and suck it.”

“…”

“Would that be okay?”

Elena said that with a mix of embarrassment, earnestness, and excitement. Acel pondered how to take this, then simply accepted it readily.

“It’s okay to do it.”

Normally, he would have seriously considered it. This was because offering one’s neck to a vampire included the meaning of ‘I value and love you’ beyond just ‘I trust you’. Although he didn’t know the ecology of vampires in great detail, he could sufficiently learn what meaning they attached to the act of drinking blood through books.

So, if such a request had been made out of the blue in a normal atmosphere, Acel would have seriously pondered it, wish or not, and then given an answer. Perhaps the conclusion he reached would have been a refusal.

But now was not that time.

He had built enough trust with Elena.

He thought of her as a friend.

Above all, he was intoxicated by the moonlight.

He was intoxicated by the atmosphere.

Her pathetic and uneasy appearance stimulated his brain.

That’s why he permitted it.

No, those were all just excuses.

In fact, there was no grand reason.

He just wanted to do it.

“Here.”

Acel slightly undid his shirt to expose his neck. As soon as Elena saw his pure white skin, she swallowed hard and climbed on top of him as if pouncing. Acel, who was instantly laid down on the ground, gazed up at her blood-red pupils looking down at him and smiled faintly.

“Haa… haa… haa…!”

Elena couldn’t bear it any longer and sank her fangs into Acel’s neck with a crunch. Simultaneously, Acel’s groan from the stinging pain leaked out, and as if more aroused by it, Elena pressed her body closer to him.

“Haa-oop, haa-uh, Hweeeeee…”

Her lips detached from his skin, and licking the wound pierced by her fangs, Elena let out a nasal sound filled with pleasure. Then, she sank her teeth in anew and gulped down the blood flowing from the four puncture marks.

“Drink slowly. You’ll get indigestion.”

Acel stroked her hair and gave a wry smile.

Thus, for a while in the clock tower, only the vampire’s moans and the sound of hair being stroked quietly echoed.