EP.53 The Progenitor and the Masseur
I set the golem down for a moment and stepped between the two vampires. As naturally as if it were something someone just had to do.
"Hey, illegal intruder. The bullshit ends here. Stop and get up."
The gazes of the vampire and the intruder turned to me simultaneously. The vampire looked at me with calm, sunken eyes, and the intruder raised his head slightly and glared.
An intense thought came from the intruder, whose audience had been interrupted.
'How dare you! In this sacred place where I am having an audience with the Progenitor, a mere human dares to intrude? Do you want to die?'
The reason this didn't slip out of his mouth was because of the vampire's presence. If the vampire hadn't been here, he would have rushed at me immediately.
'If not for the Progenitor's presence, I would have torn your body apart right now and drained all your blood with Blood Art!'
Fierce hostility was directed at me. To him, I must look like a spoiler who came to disrupt his long-awaited meeting. And that's actually correct.
But I didn't step in without something to back me up. If the vampire hadn't been here in the first place, I wouldn't have stepped forward.
From the very beginning, the one I addressed was not the intruder, but the vampire.
"Trainee Tirkanjaka."
If I fight the intruder, I'll lose. Even if we get cut and bleed the same way, he just picks up his blood like a dropped coin, but I have to wrap my wounds tight and rest for days.
Then, I just shouldn't fight.
Winning by fighting is amateurish; winning without fighting is the mark of a true master.
I cross my arms and lift my head. The endlessly light atmosphere I usually exuded was exactly for this moment.
I wipe away the smile on my lips, furrow my brows as if displeased, and twist my body slightly to create an unstable posture as if I might lash out at any moment. Enough to make the observer uneasy.
To the intruder who is seeing me for the first time, I might just look like a common thug, but to the vampire who is used to the light and bright me, it will seem a bit unfamiliar.
Unfamiliarity leads to fear. For just a very brief moment, the vampire harbored fear towards me.
…Of course. It wasn't fear of my strength, but the kind of fear you feel for a split second when a friendly friend suddenly turns serious.
The two are surprisingly the same emotion.
"I have endured a lot."
The foundation of magic is neither sleight of hand nor wondrous magical tools.
Playing with the audience's psychology is true magic.
In that sense, I was still a magician.
"Visiting someone's territory in the middle of the night without notice, ignoring the owner, arbitrarily seeking a guest, and not complying with a legitimate request. My territory, my face, and my honor have been threatened."
Advocating justification, I subtly reveal signs of anger. I've given enough clues. The vampire deduced the conclusion of my words herself.
Since everything of mine has been threatened.
'Surely. You're going to kill him?'
That single phrase flashing in her mind. That's enough.
"They say enduring a third act of rudeness is not mercy, but indulgence. As you know, I am a fairly diligent person, so I cannot just let this rudeness slide."
I narrow my eyes and flick a finger from my crossed arms. As if, with just this one finger, I could eliminate that intruder.
Making myself look arrogant, I asked the vampire.
"However, since I have affection for Trainee Tirkanjaka, I will ask one last time. May I kill this intruder?"
I have zero ability to kill him, but the vampire, not knowing that, earnestly requested of me.
"…Do not do that. I beg of you."
In the vampire's mind, I am a strong person comparable to or greater than the regressor. Whether it's an absurd misunderstanding or whatever, if the other party believes so, there's no reason not to use it.
The vampire is strong. Apart from that, she does not like to interfere in others' affairs. She merely watches everything from an extremely bystander-like perspective.
Even when the Military Nation destroyed the old church and found the vampire beneath it, and even when they tried to kill her, failed, and instead tried to put her in the Abyss, the vampire knew but let it happen.
Even such an indifferent her couldn't bear to turn her eyes away from her kin's event. Because she pitied them who were cursed and denounced. Out of a sense of responsibility for creating them.
The vampire earnestly requested of me.
"For the sake of my face, please."
Alright. With this earnest of a request. She won't suspect me even if I stop here.
"If you insist."
Phew. Success.
It would have been troublesome if she had said to do as I please, kill or let live. It would be weird to spare him in this atmosphere, but unfortunately, I don't have the means to kill that intruder right now.
But pretending that the absence of ability was the absence of intent, I whipped my body around and spoke to the intruder.
"Know that you survived because Trainee Tirkanjaka's face is pretty."
"U, umm?!"
I created a light atmosphere in an instant, as if flipping a switch. I hear the sound of the vampire being dumbfounded from behind, but let's skip that for now.
"If that face was ugly, I would have personally pickled you in garlic today. That's enough, so back off. Don't cause a ruckus in the dark of night."
"Garlic, pickled?"
The intruder, not wanting to kneel before me, stood up awkwardly. However, even as I spat out abusive language, he neither attacked nor fled, but stood ambiguously, just rolling his eyes.
'The Progenitor, going so far as to call it a request...? Could this human be an incredible strong person, even if he doesn't look like it?'
The vampire came into his field of vision. The figure of the Progenitor, whom he revered endlessly, looking this way with concern, was too serious to call it a prank or a misunderstanding.
The hierarchical order of vampires is firm. Doubting a superior is a blasphemy that makes blood flow backward, and thus, they cannot even doubt the judgment made by a superior.
'It's possible. This place is Tantalus! A place where all sorts of monsters were. The possibility that this human is also a monster beyond imagination!'
The intruder, belatedly injected with manners, straightened his attire. Thinking that he wouldn't offend me even now, he belatedly cleared his throat and extended his hand.
"My greetings are late. I am—"
"Enough. It's still night. You guys might not know, but for humans, it's a time to sleep and be on guard."
I pointed to the collapsed management office with my finger.
"Your room is that collapsed management office. There are empty cabinets, so use one as a coffin and sleep on your own. Don't expect any better treatment than that."
"Ugh."
'I've never been treated like this anywhere I went...! But this is the place where the Progenitor resides. The other residents of the Abyss, while not as much as the Progenitor, will be strong and mysterious. Bow down for now! Survival comes first!'
The intruder only bowed his head to the vampire, and headed to the collapsed management office without even making eye contact with me.
Phew. Thank goodness. For not attacking me.
As expected, if you're going to bluff, do it right. Even a guy who was swaggering around as a noble of the night lowered his head on his own in front of me. There's a point in acting as a strong person while overcoming numerous crises.
My actions weren't wrong. While I was briefly trembling.
"Thank you."
I saw a parasol swaying near my field of vision. The vampire stood side by side with me. I replied calmly.
"What are you talking about, between us. I can grant a request of this degree."
"Between us?"
"Aren't we in a relationship where we fondle each other's hearts? We've formed such a deep connection, after all."
"Pfft. Indeed. That is so."
The vampire burst into laughter. And then, with a face secretly anticipating it, she brought her hand to her own cleavage.
Ah, wait. Again?
The skin splits. The skin splits and what shouldn't be seen unfolds. The light of the lamp doesn't reach the secret place, and nothing is visible in the shadowed cleavage.
But I was confident right now. Confident that I could find the heart hidden inside using only the sensation of my hand.
"While we're on the subject, would you do it once?"
"Now? In the middle of all this?"
"What's wrong with now? Isn't it the perfect time? The surroundings are dark, the whole world is quiet, and no one is watching us."
The red eyes sparkled with anticipation. I let out a sigh and raised my fingers.
I don't really want to recall what followed.
The squishy tactile sensation (heart), fingers groping and digging inside (ribs and lungs), the flashing sensation (lightning magic) and the heated moan felt along with it. The hot liquid (blood) spurting out like a fountain.
While I moderately corrected it in my mind for the sake of my mental health after finishing the work, the vampire satisfactorily adjusted her skin and clothes.
"Hehe. Thank you. I'll be going in now."
With those words, the vampire sat on the pitch-black coffin. And the coffin moved smoothly, without sound or presence, taking the vampire towards the underground armory. The iron door stamped with a red glowing brand opened wide to greet the vampire. Only after the large coffin and sparkling silver hair disappeared did the iron door close with a heavy sound.
Pitch-black darkness and silence arrived. I also approached the lamp I had set down again.
Only then did the golem spew out words like a burst dam.
[What was that just now? What on earth did you do?]
"Something tingly and feeling good."
[Tingly?]
"It's hard to explain. Just think of it roughly as a massage."
If it could understand just this, it would be a god or a telepath. The golem, which was neither, tilted its head and reached its own conclusion.
[Anyway, it seems your relationship with the Progenitor is not bad.]
"An effort to survive."
The golem nodded.
[Then the story can become much easier. The visit of another vampire is an unexpected situation. Active response from on-site personnel is required.]
I replied nonchalantly.
"Yes. Work hard. Ah, don't forget to give me compensation."
[Compensation?]
"You're not thinking of shutting your mouth about it, are you? I stepped in between two vampires with the body of a normal person. I just risked my life for the Military Nation, so there should be at least some compensation."
[It is the duty of a citizen of the Military Nation to serve the Military Nation.]
What nonsense. I abruptly hoisted the golem up. The golem, lifted into the air with its neck grabbed, flailed its limbs and cried out.
[Stop the threatening behavior immediately. If negative evaluations accumulate, there may be disadvantages regarding your release or post-evaluation.]
"If the Captain's orders accumulate excessively, it seems I'll die before receiving any evaluation or whatever. Make a demand that makes sense. If you're going to use me like this, you should have brought a real instructor instead of me."
[Aren't you still impersonating an instructor to survive right now? Impersonating a soldier is originally a serious crime punishable by up to the death penalty. I think the fact that this office overlooks that is a sufficiently meaningful compensation.]
"Hah? Just because sound comes out doesn't make you a speaker, Captain A.B."
I popped the golem's speaker off. The golem, having lost its mouth, frantically flailed its limbs and reached out toward me.
"Even if it doesn't look like it, I'm working with my life on the line here, Captain A.B. Let's consider the other person's circumstances when speaking from now on. Answer."
The golem urgently moved its head up and down. After enjoying that sight enough, I flicked the speaker with my finger.
The golem quickly reached out to catch the flying speaker, but the iron frame was too hard to grab anything. The golem floundered like a person who touched fire and barely caught the crystal ball speaker in its arms. It's pitiful how it hugged it preciously, afraid I might steal it.
The golem, somehow reattaching the speaker, spoke as if exhausted.
[…I will compensate you with one thing, as long as it is permitted by this office's authority. However, even if this body breaks, overstepping authority is impossible.]
As expected, whether it's a golem or a human, they only become obedient when they feel a threat to their life. I set the golem back down.
"It's nothing much. Just send me a few things like Mana Herbs. I've been using life magic every day lately, and my mana is completely drained, leaving my body weak."
[Mana Herbs are a Level 3 luxury item. That is not permitted for you—]
When I tapped the speaker, the golem quickly changed its words.
[However, for supply purposes, it is a requestable item. Since there is a justifiable reason, I will supply it to you within a few days.]
"Alright. Pack it tightly. Honestly, compared to what I'm doing right now, Mana Herbs are nothing."
After blustering once, I turned my body. Yawn. I'm sleepy. I need to go in and sleep quickly.
Sufficient sleep is the shortcut to longevity. I took a big yawn and tried to return to my room.
Then the golem grabbed the hem of my pants again.
[Wait a moment. Please transport this body to the cafeteria.]
"What?"
[Without your cooperation, it is difficult for this body with many disabilities to return to the cafeteria. Please take this body to the cafeteria...]
"I can't hear you well. That's strange. I heard you well when I came here, maybe your words got stiff again?"
When I made a gesture of picking my ear, the golem stopped speaking. It seemed to have noticed what I was demanding.
[You have an obligation to fulfill this office's legitimate request...]
"Try answering again. What did you say?"
After a brief moment of contemplation, the golem answered in a halting voice.
[…Please, carry me. Brother.]
I also replied.
"Alright."