EP.119 A Meal for All
Though his heart had been restored, Tir still moved by bloodcraft. For Tir, who had no need to consume anything, there was only one reason to visit the dining hall.
“Hugh? As expected, you were here.”
As always, Tir had come seeking me and naturally stood by my side. I tidied up the plates and asked.
“What brings you here?”
“Shey asked a favor of me. To teach her the rest of bloodcraft.”
“Are you still teaching bloodcraft?”
“It has been rare lately, but she seems to have resolved something recently. Her gaze has changed. Whether you’d call it more urgent or more desperate, I cannot say.”
Was it to fight the one who would be descending soon?
The regressor had always devoted herself to training, but with the final battle approaching, she seemed to have grown even more hurried. According to what I had read, her original plan hadn’t included defeating that woman in battle, but… well. Circumstances must have changed. It was good news for those who weren’t regressors.
“I hear your bloodcraft has weakened.”
“Well. Whether it has weakened or simply changed… how could anyone judge? There is none more versed in bloodcraft than I.”
“Did you explain that to Shey?”
“Why should I need to? A master must always maintain dignity. If the disciple grows uneasy, can learning truly take place?”
In any case, it’s the disciple who receives the teaching. So the master can afford to inflate herself a little. Tir said that with utter seriousness. He meant it. Conversations with those of a different mindset held their own amusement. Amid the calm flow of talk, Tir abruptly turned his head to look toward the dining table.
Kallis and the Undying were rubbing salt in wounds. Tir watched the Undying feeding Kallis and Kallis accepting with what looked like a touch of envy, then suddenly directed his gaze toward my hand.
Wait a moment. I feel like some strange thoughts are brewing.
“…Hugh. Come to think of it, I too feel a slight hunger.”
“Huh? You can live without eating, can’t you?”
Tir feigned dignity as he spoke.
“Who said anything of food? I am the progenitor of vampires, Tirkanyaka. What I take is only blood.”
“So you’re saying you want blood? Why not ask Shey, whose blood tastes good?”
“Be quiet. How could I drink the blood of my disciple, who is busy with training?”
This won’t do. That won’t do. In my experience, when someone gets this fussy, it’s highly likely they have an ulterior motive.
‘I’ve dropped hints this plainly; surely he’ll offer his own blood.’
You claimed it was disgusting. So why are you so intent on drinking it? And I dislike wounding my own body. Even if this is Tartarus, the thought of holes in my flesh is a bit repulsive.
When I just stared blankly without reacting, Tir fidgeted and watched my every move.
‘Has he not noticed, or is he noticing but pretending not to? Tch…!’
After hesitating, Tir finally could not hold back and shouted.
“…It is a wish won by wager!”
“Pardon?”
The sudden outburst made me ask again. Tir glared at me with resentful eyes and exclaimed.
“Did we not make a wager the other day? You said if I discerned the trick of your magic, you would grant a wish.”
“Ah. That time.”
“I demand the wish I won then. Grant me a little of your blood!”
“My goodness, using up a wish on something like this.”
But if it was a wish won by wager, it couldn’t be helped. I reluctantly walked over to the sink and washed my hands clean. When I turned back, Tir stood there with slightly expectant eyes. I shook off the water and asked.
“Now that I think about it, that victory was somewhat forcibly achieved, wasn’t it?”
“Thus, that is why I am settling for a mere few drops of blood. Do you find even that too precious? Enough to break a promise?”
“Well, when you put it that way, I have no retort.”
Fine. A few drops of blood.
I held out my cleanly washed hand. Tir gulped audibly, stared at my finger, then summoned darkness to veil the surrounding view.
‘…Until now, there was never a need to deliberately sink fangs into flesh to take blood. That is the crass act of far lesser kin. However…’
With bloodcraft no longer intact, Tir had lost the ability to draw in all blood flowing through the world. Instead, the blood within her was wholly her own. To absorb blood from outside, she needed the process of drinking it and making it her own. Even considering that, Tir, overflowing with blood vigor, did not need to drink blood.
However.
‘…How embarrassing. Such a crude and shameful act… No, it is not. This is merely a meal. Something everyone does; I have no need to feel shame!’
Tir simply wanted to commit a crass act.
Where did all twelve centuries of existence go? Puberty had come after 1,200 springs had passed.
“…Very well. I shall partake.”
“Tch. Not only do I cook beastly dishes, but now I’m to be vampire food. While you’re at it, eat it deliciously.”
And so Tir’s fangs entered my body.
Contrary to popular myth, being bitten by a vampire does not turn one into a vampire. For a vampire, feeding is merely the act of eating. However, meaning is easily assigned. Tir bit down very carefully, meticulously, and gently with her fangs.
“Mmm….”
‘It won’t hurt, surely…’
Hurt? There wasn’t even any blood. The fangs just barely grazed the tip of my finger. Was this even feeding? To the point that her tongue touched more than her fangs did.
‘…Come to think of it, there is no particular need to drink blood. Wounding him or coveting blood is not to my liking anyway.’
At this point, it’s just sucking on a finger.
There was no trace of actual feeding. This was, no matter how you worded it, difficult to disguise.
‘Just a slight nibble…’
It’s practically a caress. No matter how you look at it.
The brief, fleeting touches of her front teeth stimulated my fingertip. Entirely focused on this bloodless feeding, Tir didn’t even glance at me and remained absorbed.
Tartarus, the Abyss, was an isolated space.
Tir, whose heart now beat once more, held great gratitude toward me. There was nowhere to flee, nowhere to hide. Perhaps, if we stayed together just a little longer, that emotion would clarify itself. And then she would want something from me.
I am a mind reader.
I read the desires of others. Whenever I hear someone’s wish, whenever I read that earnest hope circling in their heart, I confront that wish directly—heart to heart. It is fate. I am influenced. If it is a wish more precious than life itself, that fervent longing is transmitted to me.
Heat flows from hot places to cold places. That great law applies even to hearts, and it is transmitted much faster to me, who touches them directly through mind reading. Then, with a heart made warm, I somehow, in whatever way, see the wish through to its end. That is why I am a magician.
Even if it’s in a way I don’t desire. Even if it flows in an utterly unexpected direction.
So that they face their true wish.
There is only one wish I cannot grant.
That which changes me.
From killing me, to saving me.
And so.
“Why are you just nibbling? There’s no blood.”
“Eh, mm?”
“Now that I think about it, you’re incredibly fond of fingers. Every day you put fingers in your mouth. Into your chest too. It seems you like my fingers more than you like me.”
“Ah, wa. Ulp.”
I curled my finger slightly, like a hook. Blood welled up as her fang grazed it. Before the blood could even bead, it touched Tir’s tongue and dissolved.
“This is the only time. Wounding my precious body to shed blood for you.”
When the blood actually flowed, Tir was flustered. But separately from that, the blood that had already flowed went down Tir’s throat.
In that instant.
Tir violently spat out my finger.
Coughing slightly, Tir made a rare expression of distress.
“Uugh… it’s disgusting.”
“So it really is disgusting!”
Looking at my finger, a very tiny amount of blood was leaking from the slightly torn skin. So, you mean to say even this tiny amount was so disgusting you spat it out? That’s basically poison, isn’t it?
“W-wait. This is the first time I’ve taken blood in this manner…”
“Ugh.”
“Uht.”
Tir flinched when I held out my bleeding finger. Pressing down on it to stop the bleeding, I remarked.
“I never knew my blood had this effect. Turns out it’s not vampire food but a vampire repellent charm.”
“He, hugh. I am not yet satisfied…”
“Take it. Holy blood.”
“Oof.”
“What satisfaction could there be after that! Forget it. We know you can’t eat it, so it’s over now, right?”
Tir closed his mouth. I strode through the darkness.
Pushing back the darkness and emerging with Tir following after me with a wistful air, I saw Azi and Nabi tangled up and fighting each other.
“Meoow! Hand over meow’s tribute—!”
“Woof! It’s my canned food! Woof!”
Nabi was rampaging, trying to steal the can. Azi could neither bite nor subdue Nabi and was utterly flustered.
“What’s going on?”
As I spoke, Azi, clutching the canned food preciously, cried out.
“Woof! She’s trying to steal my stuff!”
Had she gone mad? How recently was it that she ended up half-dead in that state?
“Not taking her medicine must have made her blind to who’s in front of her.”
“Can I bite?”
“If you can do it painlessly.”
Azi gave up trying and focused on guarding her canned food. How hard had she been planning to bite?
The Undying and Kallis had already vanished. Only Nabi was making a fuss, persistently bothering Azi and eyeing the unopened can. She hadn’t unsheathed her claws yet, but if she went berserk, we’d likely see blood again. I urgently sought the regressor.
“Where’s the one in charge of medicine! Come quickly!”
To help her get used to situations without medicine, we should give it when things are a bit precarious, but if she gets a habit of being given medicine when she rampages, that tendency might solidify later. Beasts are simpler than you’d think. Same for humans, but still.
“Bring the magic herb—!”
“Woof! My canned food—!”
“Meowrk! Tribute! Hand over the tribute—!”
Thus, a clamorous yet harmonious moment.
From beyond the wall, a lonely thought reached me.
‘…So peaceful. So leisurely. It’s good to see.’
What part of this is peaceful, and what part of this is leisurely! It’s not good! Why aren’t you bringing the magic herb right now?
‘Everyone will leave when the sun next shines on Tartarus, right?’
Of course. Since there’s no reason to stay.
‘I, who don’t know when or how she’ll come, must remain here. I must keep the Earth Sword, Jizan, from falling into her hands.’
A bitter smile lingered at the corner of the regressor’s lips. The regressor fiddled with a long roll of magic herb and pushed away from the wall.
‘I’d like this cycle to be the last. But it probably won’t be. I… probably, will fail this time as well. Even more so if I waste 9 months in Tartarus.’
With a firm resolution, the regressor stepped into the friendly dining hall.
‘So, I won’t settle for this cycle. I’ll find a better possibility… If only to not make this moment meaningless.’
Bang. The door swung open. Tossing and catching the roll of magic herb in the air, the regressor called out to Nabi.
“Nabi. It’s your tribute for today.”
“Meowha! Tribute! It’s tribute! Give it to meow quickly!”
As Nabi dashed like lightning to snatch it, the regressor seized it a beat faster, concealing it in her fist. Just as I had taught, she slowly released the scent, being as sparing with it as possible.
“Stay still. You have to inhale it slowly.”
“Meow-. Meoow—.”
While Nabi grew intoxicated by the medicine, Azi, having successfully defended the canned food, was looking down at it with a proud face. Between the canned food for Nabi that I made, and other things. There really was a lot I needed to teach them.