Vampire Hunting

“Winner, Americano!”

Round of 32 victory.

Weak.

‘How many more fights until someone worth fighting shows up?’

Amel finished the match.

And cheers erupted.

Waaaaaah!

The stands were packed.

People celebrated Amel’s victory as if it were their own. Cheers continued as she left the stage.

Rumors spread quickly.

A beautiful female prosecutor defeats her opponents with overwhelming skill.

Moreover, rumors that Anonymous had entered the swordplay competition spread subtly.

People bet on who Anonymous was, and Amel’s beauty also spread rapidly, riding on the coattails of those betting rumors.

Yuha said, looking at the audience,

“They all know what’s pretty.”

“More importantly, how is it?”

Amel asked.

“It seems like half of the Heroes have been taken care of, and there are no civilian casualties yet. And I sent you the executives I found via text.”

“….”

Looking at it, there were dozens of unread messages piled up in the chatroom with Yuha.

When she opened it, screenshots taken from the game were lined up.

The screenshots were of people’s faces.

Below the screenshots, the names and statuses of each Vampire were attached.

Baron, Viscount, Count.

Quite a few nobles.

There were also Vampires who weren’t nobles, but it was difficult to know the hierarchy among the Vampires.

She looked to see if Velosa was there, but,

‘She’s not here.’

Of course.

Amel knows the sight Velosa would have seen.

If she saw the hurricane, there’s no way she would have come.

She knows very well that it wasn’t an ordinary commotion.

‘I promised Velosa I’d release the Seal, though.’

She keeps her promises.

Unless it’s a method that requires sacrifice.

“….”

Well, whatever.

Amel pointed to the screenshots.

“So, these are all Vampires? What about the Duke?”

“Still searching. He’s a dangerous person with the Great Devil’s Seal, so I want to find him as soon as possible, but it’s not easy.”

“…Even with your intuition, you can’t sense that this person is the Vampire Duke?”

“It’s a convenient ability, but it’s not omnipotent. Even if intuition discerns the truth and lies of the other party, it’s only within the scope of what the other party knows.”

It seems that if you use intuition during interrogation, it will read even the information the other party mistakenly believes as the truth.

Considering the convenience of intuition, it wouldn’t be easy to avoid relying on the answers it gives.

Anyway,

“It’s okay to kill these guys, right? You seem to have only sent the ones who are okay to kill.”

“That’s right. If you go to arena 6 now, you’ll be able to meet one.”

“Okay.”

She went hunting right away.

She met the Vampire right away.

She was tailing him, but,

When she deliberately made it obvious that she was tailing him, he went into an alley, so she followed,

And he attacked her as if ambushing her.

Blood-red fingernails.

A sharp, bloodstained Slash is emitted with the index and middle fingers raised.

Amel dodged the Slash by slightly tilting her body, and, entrusting her body to inertia, she skied past the Vampire.

“….”

Amel found the Vampire,

And immediately engaged in battle.

The Vampires were clustered together, so she ran to the strongest Count among them and fought, dodging his bloodstained fingernails, [Slash].

She cut off his neck.

The neck flew up.

She snatched it in mid-air.

“Just let me ask you one thing. Did you know I was hunting Vampires?”

“….”

The [Vampire Count]’s response was like he knew in advance that she had decided to hunt Vampires.

She knows he couldn’t have known.

It was meaningful.

‘Did he become wary because Baron died?’

Just that?

Did he figure out the method of distinguishing them?

It was too quick and sensitive of a response for just that one time.

I don’t know.

‘I don’t necessarily need to know.’

There’s no need to know.

Yuha will figure it out with her intuition anyway.

Bloodstained Dagger.

“….”

Ah, could it be because of this?

She was using the Bloodstained Dagger.

She cut off the [Vampire Count]’s neck with this, so is it okay?

“Hmm…”

It’ll be fine.

More than that, the [Vampire Count] recognized the Bloodstained Dagger.

As expected, is it because he’s of higher status? His reaction was different from the Baron’s.

Crackle.

Electricity ran through the [Vampire Count]’s neck and burned it black.

It turns to ashes.

It crumbles.

“….”

….

“…Haa.”

Fighting isn’t fun these days.

Maybe it’s because the opponents are weak.

‘Is that… all?’

Amel placed her hand on her listless heart and lowered her head.

If you can’t enjoy the game in the game world, it ends there.

She was wary of her listless heart.

A heart that can’t feel fun.

How do I resolve this?

She had high expectations for the Hero Tournament, which is full of fights, but it seems like there will be a lot of unnecessary things until the finals.

What flashes through her mind is,

The child’s words of gratitude.

“….”

It lingers in her mind.

Amel is realizing the real reason she has been fighting until now. She may not be able to fight for the same reason as before.

Thank you for saving me.

“….”

….

“….”

Then is it unavoidable?

‘How embarrassing.’

Amel newly established her reason for fighting.

The reason she had been fighting until now was because fighting was fun, enjoyable, and refreshing. She liked growing and becoming stronger.

She pours everything into defeating the strong enemy in front of her.

She became stronger as quickly as the strong enemy, following the trajectory of that victory.

Amel is also aware.

Of how quickly she is becoming stronger.

That intense speed is like a sweet drug.

But now, that speed has been curbed, and there are only a very few opponents left who can be called strong enemies.

She can no longer use the reasons ‘I want to fight a strong enemy’ or ‘I want to give it my all’.

More than anything,

The fight with Force was good, but,

Compared to before, it was a bit lacking.

There was a sense of omnipotence that came from the scale.

But that was it.

It had expired.

So, she changes the reason.

‘I’ll protect.’

“Hmm…”

How embarrassing.

Her face turns red.

She cools the heat on her cheeks with the back of her hand.

She was embarrassed.

It’s cringey.

‘Protect… huh.’

But she feels her heart becoming moist from that resolution.

Protect.

Reason.

When she changes the reason for fighting, the sensation of gripping the sword changes.

It’s a strange feeling, as if her hand and the sword have become one and are sticking together.

By killing the [Vampire Count], she can ruin their plans even a little and, in the end, protect the people… the children.

Amel thinks that her efforts will make the children smile,

‘Ah… damn it.’

The corners of her mouth keep rising.

‘It’s still embarrassing.’

She smiles awkwardly.

But her eyes change.

Her listless eyes, which had been languid, become sharp as if they have captured a target.

“….”

She puts the Bloodstained Dagger she was holding back into her Inventory… no, she took it out and carried it around.

If there’s someone who can recognize the Bloodstained Dagger, it would be a high-ranking person like the [Vampire Count]. She was confident that she wouldn’t be robbed.

It would be good if they revealed their identity by being baited.

And,

‘Hite keeps moving around.’

Hite, who was attached to the [Vampire Maid], kept changing locations.

Since she calls herself a capable one, she’s probably moving to a Vampire with a higher status among the Vampires.

She memorized the face of the next target from the screenshots uploaded in the chatroom.

She comes out of the alley.

Buzzing.

Buzzing.

The streets are densely filled with people who came to enjoy the tournament.

Amel, who met Mew at the Magic Shop and received a magic robe. When she pulled down the hood, the magic power concealed her face in shadows.

Since she’s a tournament participant, everyone recognizes her even if she just walks around a little.

While moving through the crowd.

“Ah!”

She hears an exclamation that is clearly directed at her.

It was the Elf she saw at the inn.

She was sparsely visible in the crowd.

She stood still and waited for the Elf to come, and the Elf jumped with childlike eyes and ran towards her.

The Elf came right up to her and said,

It was the Elf she met at the inn.

“Americano…”

“…?”

“Master.”

“…Huh?”

Master?

She heard a longed-for name.

It’s only been a few months, but.

“So, you’re Evga’s daughter?”

“Yes. According to my father’s will, I have come to become Americano’s servant.”

“….”

What timing.

Evga.

[High Knight Evga]

It was the knight she met in the Tower of Trials.

She had agreed to accept Evga’s daughter as a servant in exchange for hearing the conditions for the second Transcension.

Thanks to hearing the Transcension conditions, she was able to use it as a growth accelerator.

She can’t ignore that favor.

“….”

“…Is there anything you want me to do?”

Amel looked down at the Elf girl who revealed her name as Eldora. An Elf with a small height that she could look down on like a child.

She actually has skin and an impression that look exactly like a child.

“There’s nothing for you to do.”

“I will attend to your needs.”

“I don’t need it.”

In the first place, Evga wanted her daughter to be taken in as her servant, meaning she also wanted her to be taken in as a disciple like a knight’s servant.

“First of all, I owe Evga a favor, so I will take you in as something like a servant. That’s my promise with Evga.”

“Then…”

“But there’s no need for you to attend to my needs. And I’ll postpone your treatment for later. I have things to do right now. For now, just enjoy the tournament and wait for it to end.”

She got up.

“Please take me with you! I’m pretty strong too, even though I look like this!”

“Do you have money?”

“Yes?”

She took out money from her Inventory and gave it to her.

“I’m busy. You said you’ve lived longer than me, right? Then don’t act like a child and stay put until I’m free.”

“…Do you have other things to do besides the tournament?”

“That’s not something you need to know.”

Even if Eldora is strong, she’ll be weaker than a High Knight.

Knights are divided into Lower, Middle, Upper, and High ranks. She’ll be weaker than a High Knight, so is she around an Upper Knight?

The middle ground between the knight of Pibbslow Fortress and the level of High Knight Evga.

Thinking about it that way, she didn’t seem that strong after all.

Amel stroked Eldora’s head and left her alone in the store.

Slyly. She looks back.

She’s an Elf and has lived a long time, but,

In terms of Elves, she’s still a child, right?

“….”

It’ll be fine.

Eldora, left alone.

Her hands trembled.

“Treated like a child.”

She was treated like a child.

Eldora is an Elf.

She’s young compared to the age of Elves, but she’s an adult compared to humans!

Eldora, who has lived with humans since she was young, has a human age standard. Her body is young, but Eldora considers herself an adult.

‘Something is definitely happening.’

She’s not busy because of the tournament.

Eldora was quick-witted.

Uselessly so.