138
Chapter 10. Sometimes, Running Away Is the Best Strategy
Who could have guessed that, in another world she had suddenly fallen into, she would stumble upon traces of her lost memories and identity?
On top of that, she had even ended up with a familiar, something she thought she'd never have in her entire life. Naturally, the importance of the world she had crossed into quickly outweighed that of her original one in Vasha's mind.
She grew attached to that other world, and just when she had finally settled in, she was suddenly brought back to her original world, just as abruptly as she had first crossed over.
Vasha tried every method she could think of to return to that world.
Before she knew it, a full year had passed in the midst of all that research…
"Damn it, Todd's not going to let me off easy."
Just picturing her familiar, a little wildcat, bounding around energetically made cold sweat trickle down Vasha's neck.
'Is a year considered "a short while"? Would that count?'
Thinking in vampire terms for a moment, she quickly realized that she and Todd had only spent about half a year together.
'Hmm… trying to pass off a year as just "a short while" would be pushing it.'
Vasha gave up on that idea right away. Regret followed soon after.
If she'd known it would take this long, she wouldn't have said she'd "be back soon." Todd was bound to latch onto those words and use them as ammunition against her.
And when you know a blow is coming, it only hurts more.
Vasha let out a rueful sigh.
'Setting the scolding aside, I'm worried about whether he's doing all right…'
She believed Todd would be able to manage even if something went wrong, but at the same time, she couldn't help but think, what could such a small kid do all alone?
Her head ended up filled entirely with worries about whether Todd was safe, whether he was too angry, and whether he was managing on his own.
Because of that, the search for her lost memories, the very reason she had wanted to return, had long since been pushed to the back of her mind.
'My last hope is that time in that world has stopped… Whatever the case, I'll have to do my best to get back there as quickly as possible.'
Even though she racked her brain, using the few spells she had learned in that world, it was clear that crossing between worlds was no simple matter.
'In the end, dimensional travel is still just a form of teleportation. As long as Todd, the "destination", is over there, all I need is enough magic power to make the jump.'
It sounded easy enough, but the real problem was figuring out how to gather that magic power in the first place. She couldn't even estimate how much would be needed.
'Even if I became a high-ranking vampire, I'd probably still be short on magic.'
Vasha sighed. If she wasted too much time like this, doing nothing but speculating, she might end up losing even the "destination" itself, and then all her efforts would be for nothing.
'Ah, what an unlucky thought.'
Startled, Vasha shook her head.
Maybe it was because she kept worrying about Todd, but if she let her guard down even for a moment, her thoughts would jump straight to the worst-case scenarios.
"Ugh, times like this… I should at least move my body."
As luck would have it, tonight was a full moon. Feeling stifled, Vasha decided to head to the place she always visited on full moon nights, hoping to maybe pick up a hint.
It was the very alley where the shining door had once appeared.
The first time she'd encountered the door, and even when she'd returned here, the full moon had been out.
Full moon nights had an unusually smooth flow of magical energy, making them ideal for sorcery, so it made sense there might be a connection to the door's appearance.
In the past, she would never have visited the same spot so regularly; it would have been too easy for other vampires to tail her.
But she had gotten stronger, and moving about had become far easier than before. In fact, some of the other low-ranked vampires were starting to avoid her altogether.
'I guess I really have gotten stronger.'
Once, that thought would have made her proud, but now, knowing it still wasn't enough magic to cross worlds only left her glum.
Upon reaching the alley, Vasha sharpened her senses to the fullest and scanned every corner. She didn't forget to check the traps she'd set, just in case the door had appeared when she wasn't around.
"Tsk."
But there was nothing. Gathering up the stubbornly silent traps, Vasha grumbled.
"If that so-called shining door would just appear right now, I'd even forgive it for dragging me here against my will. Seriously. Huh?"
Muttering something that could be taken as a threat, she threw a punch into empty air, then glanced around with a faint look of expectation.
Of course, the alley was as quiet as ever. Her face flushed bright red with embarrassment.
'Humans say that when they lose something, they threaten it to make it come back… and then the lost thing appears!'
For the past year, she had come to this alley every single full moon without any real results.
They say desperation drives people to religion or superstition, and apparently vampires were no exception.
Unable to find a way back, Vasha had even tried all sorts of strange human superstitions that were supposedly popular.
Last time, following a human "ritual for opening a door to another world," she'd drawn odd patterns and burned incense.
Of course, it had been a bust, and by the looks of things, so was this attempt.
"Sigh… I'm the fool for expecting anything from humans every time. There's no way a door would appear just because I said a few..."
At that moment, white light flared behind her, like a spotlight shining over her shoulder. Vasha slowly, awkwardly turned her head.
"…There it is?"
Her eyes went wide as she found herself face-to-face with the brilliantly glowing door.
"Did… did the threat actually work?"
There were plenty of questions, why the door appeared now, what determined its timing, but now wasn't the moment to think.
Afraid the door might close if she hesitated, Vasha threw herself into the light without hesitation, just as she had the first time. The dazzling radiance swallowed her whole.
***
Vasha emerged into a shadowy alley in a city where no moonlight reached. No sooner had she appeared than the rats squeaking in one corner scattered in a panic.
She was in such a rush that she immediately tried to trace the soul-bond that connected her to Todd.
But the link, like something shrouded in fog, felt only faintly there.
'It's definitely still there…'
Maybe the connection, cut off while they were in different worlds, just needed time to fully reestablish itself.
'There's nothing wrong… right?'
This was different from when she had first found Todd. Back then, it had been in a quiet forest, and she'd had clear hints, look for the weakest presence, and the strong scent of blood.
But now, just by sniffing the air carried on the wind, she could tell there were far too many humans around. Picking out Todd's presence in this crowd wouldn't be easy.
'Seems like this is quite a populous city.'
First, she needed to figure out exactly where she was.
Vasha stepped out of the alley at once, pulling her hood up over her head. It was night, so there wasn't really a need for it, but she remembered how Todd had repeatedly told her not to show her face so easily to humans.
'Still… there's something familiar about these streets.'
She tilted her head at the odd sense of déjà vu. Yet the buildings and everything else here were things she'd never seen before.
As she glanced around, her eyes caught on a tall spire rising high above the rooftops in the distance. It was the cathedral of Lamphas.
'…Normally, at the very top of a cathedral spire there's a bell, but in the parish with the Lighthouse of Dispelling Evil, there's another structure above that, isn't there?'
Seeing the spire, Vasha was certain this city had the Lighthouse of Dispelling Evil.
The fact that she, a vampire from another world, had picked up even this much knowledge about local cathedrals was entirely thanks to Todd.
'Heh. I really did pick the right familiar.'
Feeling proud, Vasha took a good, long look at the cathedral in the distance.
'There aren't many cathedrals with the Lighthouse of Dispelling Evil in the whole kingdom, and each one has its own distinctive feature.'
For example, the Great Cathedral of the Holy Nation was known for its domed architecture, while the one in Prunus was distinguished by massive statues adorning its roof.
And the only one Vasha had ever managed to see, even from afar, the Great Cathedral of Noctiluca...
'…Is known for its two "brother towers," one large and one small.'
"Eh?"
Vasha's eyes went wide before she realized it. Beyond the rooftops blocking her view, two tall towers rose side by side.
"This place… is Noctiluca?"
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 Comments