Wendy, the village girl from Sanchos

　In the morning, the adults bring breakfast.
　All of the adults cover their faces with a white cloth with holes in their eyes.
　I have never seen their faces since I came here, but I never wanted to see them.
　But I didn't want to see them.

"Wendy. Gather them in. And eat more than usual.

　The adults are bringing more of our food than usual.
　Some of them are bringing unusual sweets.
　The little ones see this and let out a cry of joy.
　Only Lili, who is a little younger than me, is not happy.

'Wendy ....... Why is there more than usual?　Nana's sister just disappeared: ......

　Lili makes an anxious sound.
　When the amount of food goes up, that's when someone is gone from this house.
　When Nana's sister is gone, the amount of food also increased.

'I don't know. Lili. But if I'm gone, you'll take care of the rest.

　I manage to keep my voice from trembling.

'Oh no, Wendy: "Oh no, Wendy: ......

　Instead, Lili is about to cry.

'Ouch!'

　I'm about to say I'm okay, when suddenly my ears are tugged on.

'What's going on, Wendy?'

　Lili looks at me and nods her head.

'Nope. It's nothing. More importantly, Lili. Hand out the food for me, I've got a few things on my mind.

　I say and leave the scene.
　I can feel Lili's curious gaze from behind my back.
　But there was something I couldn't say.

'What's wrong?　Tiber,

　I hide in the shadows and speak in a whisper.
　In front of me, a small human with butterfly wings flies by.
　It is Tiber, the little fairy.
　She is the one who tugged at my ear. She must have something to do.
　I just met her this morning.
　She seems to be magically disappeared.
　But certain people, and those with high magic levels, can see her.
　She made me look special too.

'Humans!　You have to prepare a meal for Kuroki-sama~. If you don't listen to me, I'll use magic to make you do something terrible~

　Tiber-chan says that and sticks out her hand to me.
　But sometimes I'm not afraid of her because she's so cute in the first place.
　So I feel like I'm smiling when she says she's going to give me a terrible experience.
　And Kuroki-san is very kind. So I'm sure Tiber-chan must be kind too.

''Yeah. 'Yes. I know. Tiber-chan. I'll bring some food to Mr. Kroki later. What would you like, Tiber-chan?
I like that sweet-looking pastry~

　Tiber-chan giggles as she remembers the sweets.
　It's really cute.

I'm sure you'll be able to find it for me. I'll bring it to you later.
'You must bring it properly. Human.

　Back to the dining room.
　The fact that I talked to Tiber-chan cheered me up a bit.




Dark Knight Kroki.

　We ate a meal that Wendy brought us in an abandoned house that was in bloom.
　Cereal bread and onions and bean and turnip soup. Baked goods with sweet fruits.
　The miasma is so dense in this area that the land is barren.
　It should be difficult for crops to grow. But the food is very good for that.

Kuroki-sama. It's delicious. It's very good, even for a human.

　Tiber speaks as he eats his baked goods.
　I've seen how people live in this world, and sweets shouldn't be easy to come by on the scale of this village.
　Tiber shares it with us as much as he can satisfy.
　The children of this village will have a pretty good diet.

'Hey, Tiber. Wendy and the kids are living on their own, aren't they?
Well. I'm sure of it. That human female said something about a lost home.

　Tiber says with a tilt of his head.
　Tiber can't clearly see the difference between human adults and children.
　But she said that humans bigger than Wendy don't seem to live together.
　Wendy seems to be playing the role of a mother in a lost home.
　That's despite the fact that there are adults in this village.
　Then I remember what Wendy blurted out about not wanting to be an adult.

'Huh, so that's what this village is about: ......'

　I look up at the sky and let out a sigh.
　Perhaps the children of the village of Sanshos are the vampires' livestock.
　Wendy and her friends will eventually become vampire fodder once they grow up.
　That's probably why they don't want to grow up.
　It wasn't an uncommon story in this world.
　Goblins sometimes enslave humans, and it was said that humans living in the Ogre-controlled territory in the western part of the central continent were also treated as livestock.
　In the first place, even humans sometimes enslave goblins. So it's not that either of them are evil.
　They're just living their lives normally with each other.
　Still, the reason I feel bad thinking about Wendy's situation is probably because we have the same figure.
　If I had been in sheep form, I would have been hostile to humans.
　And it makes my head hurt to think that much.
　The reason I think like this is because I was summoned by the Demon King's side. Rage and the others who were summoned on the human side wouldn't be bothered by this kind of thing.
　So, no matter what the race is, I'm going to move to return the favor of one lodging and one meal, no matter what the race is.
　That's how I force myself to give a reason for my actions.

''Hey, Tiber. You saw a human bigger than Wendy in this village. What was it like?

　From what Tiber told me, the adults in this village are probably servants of the vampires.
　Otherwise, Wendy wouldn't be playing the role of the mother.
　And the adults who hide their faces don't live with the children.
　Thank you, I have a bad feeling about this.

'I was hiding my face - but I didn't feel like it. I didn't feel strong~. Kuroki-sama. They didn't seem to be able to see you either~
Yes.

　Tibel used the magic of invisibility (Invisible).
　It could only be seen by those with high magical power, or those with breakthrough powers, or those who had been given it.
　And if the adults couldn't see Tibel, then there was no one with high magic power.

''I can use Tiber's magic to poach that much~''

　Tibel flies happily in the sky.
　In fact, Tiber is much stronger than humans.
　As expected, her arm strength and endurance are lower than humans, but her magic power is several times greater than humans'.
　To begin with, despite their cute appearance, the little fairies (faeries) are terrifying to humans.
　They can use powerful wind and spirit magic, and their magic surpasses that of a napier or dryad.
　Some humans have been enchanted and died a debilitating death after being circled in the same place forever.
　In other words, don't be fooled by appearances.
　Among those little fairies (faeries), Tiber is said to be quite strong.
　And Tiber considers humans to be a lowly race.
　When Tiber followed Wendy, I was a little nervous.
　But when she brought me a meal, Wendy seemed normal.
　I'm relieved that they didn't seem to do anything in particular with the magic.

But, Tiberias, you can't be too careful. You can't be too careful. It's possible that they have some special abilities. If you do get close to them, be careful.
"Yes. I understand~

　Tibel replies that it doesn't seem to matter.
　She is clearly underestimating it.
　However, her ability to sense danger is high. The adults are probably not that dangerous.
　If that's the case, then the one to be on the lookout for is the vampire, the lord of this village.
　That vampire should live in a castle near this village.
　You can see the castle from this abandoned house.
　I look out the window of the abandoned house.
　The castle is built on top of a hill. It looks as if a ghost lives here.

It's not a ghost.　What's that?

　It was while he was looking out the window at the lord's castle.
　A huge empty ship is approaching the lord's castle.
　The empty ship is dim, as if it is foggy.
　You can feel the spirit energy from the empty ship.
　If you look hard enough, you can see many ghosts clinging to the skyship.
　This is truly a ghost skyship.

"Kuroki-sama~. That's dangerous ....... It's very scary.''

　Tiber makes a shaky voice.
　He nods at the voice.
　Probably quite a powerful enemy aboard.
　I watched the ghost sky ship (Ghost Sky Ship) carefully.




◆Jusio, the vampire count

　We return to the castle in the ghost skyship, which belongs to the Princess.
　Accompanying the Princess is Prince Saja and I, along with an attendant knight and handmaiden.

It's been a long time since we've been in this castle. Jucio. The human being you're raising in the village you've entrusted to your care has a good taste to it. I have to compliment you.

　The princess praises me as she sits in the chair where the castle owner sits.
　This village is one of the places where people are farmed.
　They kidnap children too young to suck blood and raise them, and when they are old enough, they are given to the princess.
　Many of the children are sucked to death, but some are lucky enough to be turned into maidservants or vampires.
　In fact, I was raised in this village.
　I wonder if the flowers in that abandoned house are still blooming.
　We'll see about that later.

'No, Princess. This is also because the men Prince Saja has sent to us are excellent. It wasn't my power.

　I look at Prince Saja standing beside the Princess.
　The men that Lord Saja has sent to me are excellent, and they have been instrumental in raising the children.
　Thanks to them, I have had little to do.

'Yes. I must give you credit for that, Zasha. And I feel quite at home in these arms you've given me.

　The princess raises her left hand and smiles at Prince Zasha.

''No, I'm glad that I was able to help your sister. The demonic beast's left arm that I prepared for you. Please use it to your heart's content.''

　Lady Kimiko bows her head.
　It was then that the vampire's handmaiden enters the audience room.

''I would like to speak. Your Highness. Lord Brag and the rest of the village have come to greet you, Your Highness.

　Brag, the human-faced rat, had led the soldiers of this castle to search for the escaped Dark Knight.
　Of course, the security of this territory would be thin, but the security was thick to begin with.
　Even if Brag led his troops, there would only be a small hole in the ground.
　It was unlikely that he would accidentally slip through that hole and enter this territory.
　So it's unlikely that a dark knight would have entered this land.

"Good. "Good. Let me through.

　As the Princess said this, a man-faced rat and a group of people with white hoods covering their faces come in.
　Brag must have rushed back when he heard that the Princess was coming.
　He looks a little tired.
　And the men from the village are those sent by Prince Zasha.
　They seem to have come to greet Prince Zasha when he arrives.
　I told them that the princess was coming and ordered them to feed the children as much as possible, just in case.
　I wanted to take as much blood as possible.
　If the princess wishes it, I'll have to give it to her.

'Princess Zafarada!　Long time no see!　Loyal subject Brag!　I'm back now!

　The lead brag bows as he stands upright on his hind legs.

"So. It's been a while, Brag. I see you've been out searching, but I wonder if you've found the Dark Knight?

　The Princess asks and Brag shakes her head.

'Yes!　My lady!　It was a group of infiltrators in the area, and they captured every suspicious man in the area!　Fifteen of them, and they are all pig-faced!　There will surely be a Dark Knight among them!

　Brag reports happily.
　Then he looks at the princess as if expecting something.
　Brag wants to be a vampire.
　He would do anything to get that wish fulfilled.
　In the first place, Brag seems to be a former human and wonders why he's turned into a human-faced rat.

Yeah. That's a lot of catches. But Brag. Continue capturing pig-faced men just in case. If the Dark Knight is involved, there's a price to pay.
Haha!

　Brag falls flat and leaves the audience room as it is.
　The men in white hoods are left behind.

'Well, you're the ones Zasha made, aren't you?
Yes, ma'am. Sister. Boys. Grab a cape and say hello to your sister.

　The white hooded ones take off their hoods and show their faces as Prince Zasha says.
　Their faces are full of claws and scratches.
　They were all human beings who had been altered by Lord Zasha.
　Unlike the undead, modified humans do not produce miasma and can live on little water.
　They don't get sick and their children don't have to spend a lot of money to keep them.
　It's a good thing that they are able to keep their children safe.

You are the great sons of death. This Daring. On behalf of all of us, I greet you.

　A modified human who calls himself Daring bows his head.
　Daring is a priest of a cult that worships a great death monarch.
　He was made a converted human by the Duke's master for his work. He is now the de facto head of the village.
　When Daring bows his head, the other converted humans also bow.
　There are other modified humans, but only those here have decent intelligence.
　The other modified humans are mere laborers, deprived of their deadly intelligence.

''I see, so this is the modified human you created?　Zasha?　We're just like normal humans, except for our looks, but what else do we have in common?
I'm sorry. 'Sorry, sister. These men have no particular characteristics. However, there are others who have been modified for combat. May I show you?

　Prince Zasha-sama says happily.
　He must really want to show her.
　However, the Princess didn't seem to be interested.

''I'm sorry, Zasha. I'll leave that for another time.''
'I see. ......'

　Lady Zasha is dispirited.

'More importantly, Dark Knight. I hope one of the people Brag has captured has hurt me, but if not, we need to find more. I'll use this territory as a base for a while. Zsasha. You must do the same as Zalbute. And bring your captors to this land.
Yes, sister.

　With that, Prince Zasha leaves.

'Well, let's go and see the men we've captured. I'd like to tear them apart with this left arm, but since your father has ordered me not to kill them, we'll have to hold back.

　Then the princess smiled fiercely.