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Vasha muttered reluctantly.
It was as if the whole city had been redeveloped, completely transformed, so she hadn't suspected a thing.
But once she thought of it as Noctiluca, she noticed certain familiar corners here and there.
'Yeah, if I go down that alley, it should lead toward the slums… and if I come out this way, there used to be that inn, the one run by that so-called goddess of fortune or fairy.'
Vasha traced back her memories, comparing the past and the present.
Back when she first set foot in Noctiluca, the innkeeper had thrown her out for not having enough money. Now, in that spot, there stood a stylish hat shop.
A wise choice for confident elegance, Narwhal Hat Shop.
Through the glass window, filled with splendid, high-end hats, the slogan was displayed. Vasha's jaw dropped.
'What on earth happened here…? Was it the aftermath of that vampire attack back then?'
Vasha glanced all around the city. Still, no matter how you looked at it, there was no way the scenery could change this much in just a year or two.
The thought that much more time might have passed than she had assumed made her back feel damp.
She needed to figure out the truth as quickly as possible. And to get more detailed information, the only choice was to head where humans gathered.
Vasha hurried toward a place brimming with human presence.
Even though it was late at night, the streets were crowded with people. In her old world, maybe that was nothing unusual, but in this one, such a sight was rare.
'At least that part hasn't changed.'
Seeing people walking around late into the night, it seemed the city's title as "the city that never sleeps" still held true.
With her neck craned, looking this way and that at the transformed Noctiluca, Vasha's gawking made her look naïve enough to be taken for a country bumpkin.
Still, since Noctiluca had plenty of outsiders, her appearance didn't seem too strange. In fact, there were even pickpockets who preyed exclusively on such drifters.
Yet oddly enough, no one approached Vasha. On the contrary, people kept their distance, even subtly avoiding her.
As she took in the changed scenery of Noctiluca, Vasha quickly realized that people's behavior toward her was somehow… off.
The sharp, wary, suspicious glances cast her way…
'…What the-? They're looking at me like I'm a vampire or something.'
Since that wasn't entirely wrong, Vasha felt a pang of guilt and pulled her cloak tighter around herself, quickening her pace.
Only after ducking into a deserted alley, away from those persistent gazes, did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
At this rate, trying to get information from people seemed like a lost cause.
'Wait… come to think of it, do I even need to go around digging for information?'
A realization belatedly flashed through her mind.
'It'd be better to head straight for Laurus's villa! Honestly, have I lost my senses? Why didn't I think of that sooner?'
Even if some time had passed, a wealthy noble like Laurus would never hand over his villa so easily. The villa Vasha had once used as a hideout was very likely still owned by House Renfield.
Besides, Laurus was an exceptionally loyal follower.
Even if Laurus and Todd aren't staying there now, he would have kept it ready for my return.
The surrounding buildings might have changed beyond recognition, but finding Laurus's villa, located away from the Noctiluca city center, wouldn't be difficult.
Having decided on her destination, Vasha was about to set off for the villa when suddenly, the sound of flapping wings reached her ears.
Flap!
"Wait… that ominous sound…"
It was a sound she'd heard many times in her dreams. Of course, whenever she heard it in her dreams, it had always turned into a nightmare.
She really didn't want to turn around. She didn't want to get involved.
But as if mocking her wish, the owner of the sound swooped down from the sky, stopping right in front of her nose.
[It is truly a pleasure to see you again after so long.]
"…Pleasure, huh?"
Grinding her teeth, Vasha glared, not at a face, but at a sheet of paper.
There were so many people she actually wanted to meet… and yet, the very first one she ran into was this thing.
'If it's connected to that shining door, of course it'd be the first to notice I've crossed into this world.'
Seeing Rasa again, the anger she'd spent a year suppressing through sheer self-control flared right back up.
Because of it, how much trouble had she gone through?
Just recalling the past made her feel like even tearing Rasa apart wouldn't be enough.
As if reading her mind, Rasa immediately hopped back out of her reach the instant her fingertips twitched.
Vasha smiled sweetly at it.
"What? Didn't you say you were happy to see me? Come closer, let's savor this reunion. Huh? Because of you, I had to leave without even saying a proper goodbye to my still-young familiar!"
The more she spoke, the angrier she became. Her fingers clawed through the air like a fruit-picking pole, menacing and ready to strike.
Twisting its body frantically to avoid her grasp, Rasa hastily printed out new text.
[This is no time for that.]
"Oh no, this is exactly the time for that."
But since Vasha only kept twisting her body away and refused to even glance at the text it displayed, Rasa quickly blurted out its business.
[I understand you wish to reunite with those you've been separated from as soon as possible, but everything has its proper time. It's still too early.]
"And who gave you the right to decide that? You drop all these so-called trials on me and expect me to just obediently follow along like I'm some vampire who only does what you tell me?"
Far from convincing her, Rasa's words only fanned Vasha's irritation.
[To bring that time forward, you'll need a bit of luck.]
[And to gain that luck, why not accumulate some good deeds?]
[Sudden Trial: Rescue a dying boy somewhere in the city!]
[Reward: A stroke of luck that will bring forward your reunion with the one you're separated from.]
I knew it, its sentences were getting longer for a reason…
Vasha shot Rasa a cold glare.
The moment it saw her, it was as if it couldn't rest until it handed her another trial, never mind that one was still unresolved. And now, barely after she'd fallen into this world, it was already speaking of a 'sudden trial'?
No, if she thought about it, the very fact that there was still an unresolved trial was the real problem.
'That inheritance quest, honestly, shouldn't that count as cleared by now? What's the point of dumping so many trials on me if the reward criteria are this strict?'
The previous trial had been different from the ones about finding fugitives or securing a hideout, in those cases, her goals had been clear.
But for the trial to "secure" the Van Drake inheritance and "earn" her familiar's favor, there were multiple ways to interpret why she hadn't completed it.
Maybe it was because she hadn't personally secured the inheritance.
Or maybe it was because she hadn't gained Todd's favor from it.
'Could be both, for all I know.'
At first, she hadn't even considered the second possibility, but thinking it over now, she realized she should.
'Even if I did win his favor back when I recovered the inheritance, if our time apart made his affection drop bit by bit…'
He would've resented her for not coming back when she said she would. And the longer she stayed away, the more that affection would have plummeted.
Vasha let out a long sigh.
Just like before, this trial's criteria were maddeningly vague.
Rasa had said, "Rescue a dying boy." But did that mean just pulling him out of danger was enough? Or did she have to completely eliminate whatever was threatening him? Did she have to heal all his injuries too?
And when it came to healing, did she have to do it herself, or would handing him over to a doctor suffice?
'If I'm not careful, I could waste time and get nothing out of it.'
Right now, she had neither the time nor the mental space to gamble on something that might or might not give her a "small stroke of luck."
She felt sorry for that so-called dying boy, but Vasha was a vampire, not a volunteer worker.
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