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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 58: The Vampire Disturbance
Jorick was an administrator at the lord's castle.
Though he held the title of administrator, it was merely a name; in reality, he was nothing more than a servant who handled various odd jobs at the castle.
However, in a fishing village with many sturdy and rough men, such an administrator apparently needed to look equally tough to be effective.
About two months prior, a stranger reportedly approached Jorick.
This man, quite well-dressed within the castle, turned Jorick into a vampire and ordered him to do various things.
Primarily, it was about offerings... which was their elegant way of saying capturing blood bags.
'An old method.'
During Pastor Kim's time, vampires had their own systems for obtaining blood, which served as their food source.
They usually had their people infiltrated in hospitals, blood banks, or the Red Cross, or even directly operated such facilities to procure blood.
"What about vampires who don't have money?" you ask?
If you don't have money, even as a vampire, you should die.
Impoverished vampires had to get their hands dirty.
They generally adopted the methods of serial killers or kidnapped people to use them as blood bags.
These methods, especially in modern society, drew attention and made them prime targets for vampire hunters.
"Yes! Yes! And an old man! It was an old man's voice! And there was a young woman too!"
Jorick had seen two vampires: a young woman and an old man, and...
"Appearing like smoke and disappearing as bats... They must be fairly high-ranking vampires."
Lower-ranking vampires were those who could partially transform their bodies into smoke to move quickly.
While not the sole criteria, this was generally characteristic of lesser vampires.
However, the ability to completely transform into smoke and change into a bat indicated the full power of a vampire.
But there was still a higher class of vampires.
"Is there no possibility of an even higher-ranking vampire?" Ray asked.
Iris quietly raised her head.
"Probably not. If there were... we'd have more time for our interview."
"Ack! No! I told you everything I know! Please! Please stop!"
Vampires possessed regenerative abilities so strong that they could be mistaken for immortality.
Even after suffering severe injuries that would ordinarily cause shock and death, they recovered quickly.
In other words, they could be tortured without fear of them dying.
Jorick was defiant at first, but after two hours of interrogation, he surrendered.
What happened inside? Let's just say it was not suitable for viewing by minors.
"Y-you'll save me, right? I've told you everything I know. Really!"
Jorick forced a smile and pleaded desperately, but in such cases, the outcome was predetermined.
"Heretics are for purification."
Whizz!
Iris shot a flash of light, piercing Jorick's heart.
Without the need for a stake, his heart disintegrated at a molecular level, stopping Jorick's life.
"It seems to work on vampires too?"
"Because they are evil beings."
"That's true."
Having dealt with Jorick, they were now faced with a new dilemma.
"If there's a vampire among the nobility, things get complicated."
"If we use the Saintess's authority for heresy interrogation, there wouldn't be a problem, but in that case, we'd have to reveal our identities."
"As long as we can find the vampire, it's fine. But..."
The problem was not knowing who the vampire was.
And if they stirred up the nobles and the castle to find a vampire, there was a risk that the vampire would flee.
"Ray, do you have anything in mind?"
All eyes turned to Ray, who had come up with an ingenious plan to capture a vampire alive.
Ray cautiously asked, "I do have one thing we could try."
"How much money do you have available?"
***
Despite their disguise, the Inquisitors had properly prepared their identities.
They were supposedly from the Grade Barony, a moderately wealthy noble clan from the remote Albion region.
The youngest son, Roy Grade, was traveling with his visually impaired sister, desperately seeking a way to cure her eyes.
This setup was meant to attract mages who might demand money in exchange for healing her eyes.
"Oh my, you must be going through so much at such a young age."
"To wander the country for an ailing sister... Young Master Grade's sibling love is truly beautiful."
The noble resort had a separate sunroom where one could enjoy pleasant sunlight.
There, elegantly dressed ladies were enjoying a tea party.
These were the prominent ladies of Baron Enfield's territory whom Iris had invited.
More accurately, their wives or young ladies.
All the influential women in the territory had been summoned.
"It's not much, but I hope you have an enjoyable time."
Iris gracefully led the tea party with her elegant voice.
Although her eyes were covered by a blindfold, the auspicious aura emanating from her instinctively drew the ladies' favor.
Apart from that, during this tea party, they were working to identify a vampire.
'It's ambiguous.'
The refined ladies gathered there had various colors of souls.
A very small number had truly pious and benevolent sky blue souls, while most had ordinary grayscale souls.
The wife of the merchant guild leader, for instance, had an orange soul.
Among them, the ‘vampire candidates’ narrowed down to three.
"You mentioned Lady Anise, correct? You must be uncomfortable. If you need, I can lend you our castle's soldiers."
This was Baroness Enfield, who had a red soul despite her benevolent and kind smile.
"Oh my~ Young Master Roy. How kind-hearted you are! Do visit our territory if you have time later."
This was Viscountess Mesily, from a neighboring territory of Baron Enfield's, who showed blatant interest in the handsome Young Master Ray.
Her blazing red soul suggested she was no ordinary villainess.
And finally, there was one young lady who silently sipped her tea.
Lucy, a seemingly ordinary young lady who could be found anywhere, but whose soul color was orange, unlike the previous two.
The problem was...
"Madam, it's time for your medicine."
"Yes, butler..."
The old butler behind the young lady.
He was one of the attendants that each invited wife and young lady had brought with them.
'An old man...'
An old man who had accumulated blazing red evil deeds.
This matched the old man's voice Jorick had mentioned.
'It's ambiguous, ambiguous.'
A young woman. An old man. Either could fit.
Baroness Enfield was a local native.
As the lady of the castle, she was the most likely candidate in the series of vampiric incidents.
As Earth's vampires did, vampires generally formed their own localized territories to establish ‘blood farms’ that could be long-lasting and sustainable.
So, when a vampire disturbance occurred, targeting the local influential figures usually yielded high probabilities.
For the same reason, the neighboring Viscountess Mesily was also a possibility.
Ray had a habit of judging people by their souls, but there was something creepy about Viscountess Mesily.
'Her physiognomy is bad. Very bad.'
She was a femme fatale who would devour men.
The kind of person who, if left in a church, would have an affair with middle-aged deacons and cause a huge ruckus.
And finally, the third candidate, Lady Lucy.
Strictly speaking, with an orange soul, she could be considered a suitable villain, but the descriptions of the young woman and old man Jorick testified to fit perfectly.
And why would her butler happen to be such a "villain" of all people?
'Well, I'll know the details once I deploy my trump card.'
"Then, are you all not feeling peckish from just drinking tea? Let's have lunch."
"Oh my, is it that late already? I was enjoying talking to Young Master Roy so much."
"I plan to make lunch myself today."
"Young Master Roy himself?"
The eyes of the wives and young ladies turned to Ray.
They seemed surprised that a noble young master would cook himself.
"I picked it up as a hobby while traveling with my sister."
"We look forward to it~"
Ray grinned and began preparing the meal.
In their accommodation, there were only Len, Yan, and Iris, but Ray usually did the cooking.
Shouldn't the person with the lowest seniority handle the cooking duties?
"Um... Young master. Are you... really going to do it?"
"Why now?"
"No... I just wonder if it can really find vampires."
Ray grabbed a frying pan from the kitchen counter.
The method Ray proposed to find vampires was to feed them garlic.
It had been proven by Jorick that vampires in this world were terrified of garlic.
So, if Ray used his spiritual sight to narrow down the candidates by looking at their evil deeds and then fed them plenty of garlic to find anyone showing an unusually strong adverse reaction, then that person would most likely be a vampire.
So, how do you feed garlic to a vampire? It was simple. Just feed them food made with garlic.
"This is the Aglio e Olio pasta I learned in its homeland. Heh heh!"
Pastor Kim, who frequently traveled to Rome, had many opportunities to taste authentic pasta.
He was also dragged around by a priest who had a strong pride in pasta, saying, "Pastor Kim, you just haven't been to a really good pasta restaurant yet."
And so, he had many opportunities to learn authentic pasta-making.
"Garlic is the key to Aglio e Olio. You use 'a little' garlic for flavor and sweetness."
"Um... Young master?"
"What's wrong, Yan?"
"Garlic... you said 'a little'..."
Yan looked at the large handful of garlic Ray held with an incredulous expression.
Was that quantity for everyone? Well, there were over twenty people, so perhaps that much was needed.
"It's just a little."
However, Yan's expectations were completely shattered.
Ray poured in a handful, about 20 cloves of garlic, and then repeated the same process 20 more times.
"To eat Aglio e Olio, you have to eat twenty cloves of garlic! You should eat sliced garlic with the noodles and whole garlic as a snack, shouldn't you?"
That's right. It was true that he had learned authentic pasta-making methods, but to Koreans who lived steeped in garlic, the taste was bland and insipid.
'Well, then just add more garlic.'
「Cazzo! Pastor Kim! You are ruining the pasta right now!」
The Italian priest complained, but Pastor Kim preferred to cook with plenty of garlic regardless.
And so, when the Whole Garlic Pasta: Korean Edition, rather than Aglio e Olio, was served...
"Huh, the aroma is quite something..."
"My goodness, such a mountain of garlic."
The wives and young ladies were horrified by the twenty cloves of garlic piled on each plate.
Regardless, Ray kept his eyes on the three designated suspects.
"Alright, eat up! A vampire wouldn't be able to eat this, right? Who's the vampire?!"
"Oh, um... I don't quite have an appetite."
"Me, me too. Oh my~ Did I eat too many sweets?"
"I apologize..."
"Huh?"
An unexpected situation: all the suspect candidates refused.
It was a mishap caused by too much garlic.
"Let's go after all three of them," Ray suggested, having failed to pinpoint a strong suspect.
"Honestly, I didn't expect all of them to refuse the pasta. Could it be... all three are vampires?"
"...I think it's just because of the garlic."
In any case, the Aglio e Olio Pasta Korean Edition couldn't pinpoint the vampire.
But Ray's spiritual sight was still effective.
"You're sure one of those three is a vampire?"
Baroness Enfield.
Viscountess Mesily.
Lady Lucy.
The three Ray had singled out, according to his explanation, had similar physiognomies and descriptions to what the deceased Jorick had testified.
The Baroness and Viscountess were both young wives, under 30, and Lady Lucy was unmarried, so they were within the age range.
While Ray's claim about physiognomy was uncertain, given the empirical evidence of catching Jorick, it couldn't be entirely ignored.
"Let's capture all three."
"All three?"
"Even if we put the other two aside, the Baroness isn't easy to deal with."
"Right. So, Lady Lucy and Viscountess Mesily first. The Baroness is inside the castle."
Entering the castle was not easy for a mere vacationer.
Unless they were invited.
So, they would interrogate the two who were residing in accommodations outside the castle.
If the two were innocent, Baroness Enfield would become the prime suspect, and then they would invoke heresy judgment and formally interrogate her.
"Where should we start?"
"...Simultaneously."
"Simultaneously?"
"Since that vampire disappeared, the other vampires will be on alert. We need to handle this with speed."
And so, Iris and Len headed towards Lady Lucy. Ray, along with Yan, went to Viscountess Mesily.
And there.
Ray saw a vampire.
***
The accommodation where Viscountess Mesily was staying was located in front of the beach, boasting Baron Enfield's famous ocean view.
The daytime coast offered a fresh and gently warm feeling on the skin, but at night, the daytime scenery vanished completely, replaced by an eerie abyss.
It was difficult to perceive anything beyond the darkness.
The sound of waves crashing with the cold sea breeze was chilling.
Because of this, the seaside accommodations experienced night faster than other residential areas.
It was reasonable to assume that Viscountess Mesily had also gone to bed early.
All the lights in the accommodation were off, the curtains were drawn, and even small sounds were suppressed.
However, the moment they entered the interior, everyone would notice.
The horrifying scent of blood filling the Viscountess's accommodation.
The smell of approaching death.
"Grr, Aaargh...!"
That scent of death was emanating from Viscountess Mesily.
"You, you...!"
The floor was covered with corpses.
The Viscountess stared into the darkness beyond, as if resentfully.
However, the Viscountess's fierce momentum didn't last long.
Her widely dilated pupils gradually lost their light, and the heart that had been supplying blood was on the verge of being staked.
"You mustn't kill her completely, Lucy."
"Phew... I know."
Johnson, in his tailcoat, surveyed the surroundings with a blood-stained dagger in hand.
The massacre that had taken place in the Viscountess's accommodation was mostly his doing.
"Hoo...!"
Lucy opened her mouth towards the Viscountess, who was barely clinging to life.
Sharp fangs immediately emerged, piercing the Viscountess's flesh.
"Gah, Argh! Ugh!"
Gulp, gulp.
The Viscountess felt her blood being absorbed in real-time and struggled.
But her body, impaled by a stake, remained immobile as if preserved in space, and ultimately didn't stop until all her blood was drained and she became a mummy.
"Haa..."
Lucy, having completely drained the Viscountess's blood, breathed heavily.
"Well done, Lucy."
"Is this... right?"
Lucy looked at the Viscountess, who had died a gruesome death.
Impaled through the heart and having all her blood drained, her body would turn to ash.
But Lucy, who had horribly murdered her ‘kindred’ felt uneasy.
"This is not the time to worry about others. It's good that we found a vampire thanks to that noble brother and sister, but the 'coffin' is still nowhere to be found. It wasn't here."
"What on earth are they planning by stealing his coffin...?"
"There's only one candidate left. We absolutely must prevent that coffin from being opened."
"I know."
Lucy wiped her blood-stained mouth, but the strong scent of blood still lingered.
She wanted to go wash up quickly.
Johnson also urged her.
"This is not the time to let our guard down. There are still 'ghouls' hidden by those bastards remaining here."
"I know. The vampire assassination succeeded, but let's deal with the out-of-control ghouls before they rampage."
It was at that moment, as Lucy gripped the sword at her waist tightly, that an attack came.
Thwack!
A sword, flying from somewhere, pierced directly through Lucy's chest.
"Gah?!"
"....?!"
A sharp and precise sneak attack.
In response, Johnson's senses heightened, and he focused on the direction from which the attack came.
Clack!
Clack!
A sound like falling water drops echoed on the creaking wooden floor.
A shadow slowly loomed in the moonlight-bathed corridor.
The sound of waves crashing in the quiet night was drowned out by footsteps.
"......"
Johnson supported Lucy, who was gasping with her sternum pierced, and stared down the corridor.
There, the attacker stood, the tip of his blood-stained sword trailing on the ground.
"We are the agents of God. The earthly enforcers of divine punishment. Our mission is to utterly exterminate the foolish ones who defy our God, down to their very last piece of flesh."
Blood dripped from the crossed swords. In the shape of a cross.
Rumble!
A descending thunderclap revealed the blood-stained face of a madman.
"Estella!!"
A chilling chant accompanied by glowing eyes.
Even the seasoned veteran Johnson recoiled, overwhelmed by his aura.
The Inquisitor of the Solar Theocracy. A current and former vampire hunter.
He uttered clear hostility, staring at the two of them. It was plagiarism, though.
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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