'Wow, you really are a monster!
Wow!
Hey, it's real!　This tail is real!

　Kids are fearless, and the second year 4 students quickly squirmed. The most popular ones were the unicorns and the cat palace (Ket Shih). The short Nekomiya is more "typical" than the children, especially if we talk about "squirming". He is a black cat wearing boots and a vest. He is very popular with children.

Ha-ha, you guys. "Ha-ha, boys, I don't mean to be a charmer, but.... Beards and tails are not to be tugged.　There they are!　Kids these days don't know how much they're allowed to take... oh, come on!　You can't do that!

　On the other hand, not a single child approached the frightening looking Okumura (Orc) or Kenzaki (Dullahan). Okumura and others didn't seem particularly bothered, but Kenzaki was blatantly shocked. While he was in shock, the bad boy almost took him by the neck, and when he yelled at him hard, he was distanced from the kid again.
　The rest of my classmates were having their own way down the beach. Sugiura has quickly prepared the barbecue and is grilling dried fish and other items on the boat. Hanazono was also preparing vegetables. The mushroom hut was also about to offer its own mushrooms, but Hanazono ignored the mushroom hut with all her might.

''Hmmm, what is this...''
It's a music box. Open it and music will play.
"Hmm, what is this?
It's a garment made of my thread.
'This statue is amazing. I wonder how much it would cost as a rate.
It's a gargoyle, Kagoi. It's not for sale.

　Welkano and his friends, some of the students are displaying "for sale" among the goods brought by the marine caravan. Chiefs of each tribe are gathering one after another, and they seem to be interested in the products for the trade fair.
　The chiefs are looking at some of the items for sale by the students, especially the rare vegetables brought by Hanazono, the Arakune thread prepared by Kumozaki, the music box from Kurumori, and the crafts made by Gokugawara and Gahara. In terms of the quality of the goods, the items Welkano and the others brought in were naturally far superior, but after all, the fleet had sunk, so there was considerable interest in the students' items as replacements.

'Alright, boys!　Younger days are just one time!　That is, youth!　And youth is baseball!　Now I'm going to teach you guys baseball!　This is the bat and ball I got for you!
Saruwatari, the kids are hitting the ground running.
'Ooh, it burns!　Hot!　But baseball isn't the only thing that comes to mind in my youth!　I'm going to teach you all about ballet!　Speaking of sandy beaches, Valley!　The market is set!
"Snowman, you're melting.

　Some members of the athletic department were devoted to missionary work.

'It's a good trend,'

　Looking at such a situation, Goubayashi muttered. Ryuzaki also nodded.

　Participating in the trading meeting was something that Ryuzaki had offered to Welkano in advance. The Caterpillar unit had to be discarded, but Ryuzaki didn't want to discard the heavy duty branch school. After going around to the east side of the continent, they would have to go overland again. At that time, he plans to request materials to manufacture the Caterpillar unit again from the Southern Commerce Guild.
　But as long as we're collecting supplies through the guild, we'll need funds. I'm sure you're aware of the fact that there are a lot of people out there who have a lot of money.

　Of course, that wasn't his only goal.

'I'm just trying to get some blood for Asuka from them somehow.

　In the end, that's the conclusion you get when you've thought it through. Even if we did it by some means, even if we did it by trickery, at some point, we would need to get blood from the humans. If that's the case, the better choice would be to get them to donate their blood with good intentions, since they are relatively friendly to the monsters.
　But it's a difficult request to ask for out of the blue when you first meet them. It would break the tension between the children gathered here and the chiefs of the various tribes and make it easier to negotiate. It may be too difficult, but there is no such thing as being too cautious here.

　While many of the students were interacting with the islanders, there was a girl scurrying around at a slight distance.

　She was the outlaw delinquent girl, the werewolf Inugami Hibiki.
　Unlike the other students, she didn't pass through the Transition Degeneration Gate and become a monster. She was a native werewolf.

''Inugami-san, what's wrong?''

　Remy called out to Inugami, who was clearly wary of something, as he unloaded his cargo from the merchant ship.
　The Inugami glanced at Remy, and with a twitch of his nose, he said

''It smells nasty,''
Disgusting smell?
'Oh...'

　As he says it, Inugami walks towards Ryuzaki.

''Inugami?''
Be careful, Ryuzaki. There might be vampires on this island.
What...?

　With that said, the jungle is spreading out in the direction of Inugami's gaze.
　The sun is setting and darkness is falling on the jungle. What she is glowing with is the very look she is giving the avenging enemy against her clan. The fact that Inugami sensed the smell of it means that it's not just a vampire. "It's a blood clan. At the very least, if they have the combat power of a pawn class, there are only a limited number of students who can deal with them.

　However, it's not a large island. If vampires are lurking on the island, it's not a place where they can hide for very long.

　Or is it that they are hiding in hiding among the humans of this island?
　Ryuzaki made a grim face and stared at the jungle as well as Inugami.




''Wait, Benii.''

　Before he could proceed with the conversation, Ei interrupted him.

''We only have a vague idea of the abilities that Beni's blood possesses. Just give me a more structured explanation of what you know about it.

　At his words, Sakuma nodded in agreement with him. She must have been curious about it too.
　Beni sighed with a sigh, and scratched her hair that was stuck to her forehead again as she said

''An explanation...... A lot of us were brought up by our parents from the time we were born, so...

　While saying that, she explained again.

"Spiritual genes, energy bodies that flow through the blood, these are the 'vampire factors' that remake the human body into a vampire. From now on, we'll use this to unify what we call it.

　Beni and the other vampires do not bite humans to add to their ranks, but they can turn their targets into vampires by pouring their own vampire factor into the blood of their opponents. The vampires created by this technique have the lowest status among the bloodline. These are the pawns.
　In the original world, those human sympathizers who believed in the bloodline of Beni and the others and supported their vampire society were selected to become pawns, especially those who had made a significant contribution to the bloodline. Pouring the factor into human blood was not something that could be done so easily. It was akin to a kind of ritual, and required preparation in advance.

　This is not limited to pawning. The act of "separating the blood" that Benii was supposed to perform for the students as part of the blood family's plan also falls under this category. They poured their own factor into the target's blood.
　The procedure of the ritual can be largely skipped by monsters that do not have any bodily fluids, including blood, present. Namely, Kyousuke the Skeleton, Ei the Wisp, and Kagoi the Gargoyle.

　Now, the effect that the vampire factor has on the target is immense.
　Even if a mere human turned into a pawn, such as a simple improvement in physical ability or the ability to regenerate at high speed, the benefits were immeasurable. Furthermore, when vampires mingle with each other, they can form children and compound into more powerful factors. There are Knight-type, Bishop-type, and Luke-type factors according to their characteristics, and the vampire with the strongest factor in that era is the 'Queen'.

"Asuka-chan..... That was pretty amazing.
Yeah.

　Beni said simply.
　However, the original factors are all owned by the "king" and the vampires cannot oppose the king who has the original factors.

''That "king" is what I've been wondering about.''

　Kyousuke raised his hand.

'What do you mean you have the original factor?　You mean the very same individual who turned humans into vampires (pawns) in the first place?
I don't know much about it.
You don't know?
'The first vampire of my bloodline.... If the ancestor had, say, a child, would the original factor be passed on to that child, or would the child cease to be an original when it crossed with the blood? I don't know that part.

　If it's the latter, then the holder of the original factor is a ridiculously old person.
　Vampires have an image of living in eternal time, so this is not so surprising.

　Another disadvantage that can occur in addition to the king's existence is "thirst". This "thirst" is the reason why vampires are vampires, and it can be said that it is precisely because they suffer from thirst that they are vampires.
　The vampire factor, which circulates in the body at the same time as the blood, is consumed by life activities and the exercise of abilities, and returns to the basal state. The factors in the basal state are like waste products, which are stored in the body to cause dis-ease. It causes symptoms similar to uremia. This is thirsty.

　The only way to get rid of the dry spell is to bring the factors in the ground state back into the excited state.
　There are two ways to do this. The first is to get fresh blood. The factor is activated and multiplies as it flows through the bloodstream in its unadulterated state. The multiplied factor is in an excited state, so the new blood is supplied with a fresh supply of factor.
　Another means is to wait for time to pass. But, as mentioned earlier, the factor in the ground state is waste products. In addition, the force of the factor is also consumed by life activities. The speed at which the factor becomes excited is faster than the speed at which it consumes its power and returns to the ground state, so this method is practically useless.

　Beni speaks flippantly, but it's about to get hard to understand.

''So it's like dialysis?''

　Ei said.

'Yes. So, this thirst is a factor in bodily fluids, and anyone who has a medical (...) life activity will develop it.
Me too?
Sachi too. So the only way to solve the problem is to suck the blood of the same species and make a factor adjustment.

　Perhaps that was one of the reasons why Benii was reluctant to part with his blood to the other students.
　And it's also one of the reasons why he was compelled to offer his blood to Kyousuke. The reason why he deliberately added the word "medical" to the beginning of the vital activity is because the vital activity that Kyousuke performs is not due to the activity of organs or the circulation of blood. As a skeleton, Kyousuke does not suffer from thirst.

　The continuous use of the Phase 3 ability causes the blood to temporarily lose its power, in other words, the same condition as thirst. However, Kyousuke is not adversely affected by the factors in the ground state. With the passage of time, he could wait for the factor to return to the excited state. That was the way it worked.

　For now, I understood the situation.

"If I could give back the blood I got, I would. How do I do that?　I'm a bone. There's no blood.
Yeah. No.

　At Kyousuke's words, Beni nodded.

''.........''
.........

　No way, by any chance, you don't have any idea what you're doing.

'Maybe there's a way to do it, like putting the utsurogi in a pot and serving it with the broth.
'Is that what you want?　I'm not a katsuobushi!
I can't think of anything else to do but eat the bones.

　Beni said the words, whether he was serious or joking, I'm not sure.

　He said lightly, "I'll get my blood back," but it was still not an easy thing to do. Kyousuke is discouraged. Even if he could return the bones by crunching them, if he could, he doesn't know how much to feed them.
　If he could return the blood, he might be able to leave the fresh factor with Ei the Wisp or Kagoi the Gargoyle and pull it out in a time of danger. But even if they could eat bones, they wouldn't be able to eat fire or stone, so it's still impossible.

"What if Utsurogi-kun and Himemizu-san... well, what about combining them?

　Sakuma said something like that in a whisper.

''If it's Extreme Cross, you can get blood out of it, can't you?
I don't want to do that one bit.

　Beni said in a slightly strident voice. Kyousuke nodded his head.

''Why?''
'With the Extreme Cross, the factor is partially back to the ground state, and that's half of it being Princess Water. I think it's because we don't know if the factor will return or not.
Well, yeah.

　Beni nodded at Ei's words. But somehow it seems that that's not the only thing he really wants to do.
　However, since he doesn't want to do it, he shouldn't do it. I'll forget about this matter.

'So you don't know if you can return blood after all? Why did you tell me that?
I'm a family man. I just thought you should know.

　With that, Beni exhaled heavily and leaned his back against the wall.

'Talk, I'm tired. Then I'll go back to my room...
'Oh, Asuka!　Let's get off the boat!

　As he was about to turn away, Sakuma pulled on Benii's arm to stop him.

'Beni, Ryuzaki said he's going to negotiate with the people on the island to see if he can get some blood.
Don't hold your breath. Sachi, come with me to my room.
Uh, yeah...

　With that, Benii walked back towards his room while Sakuma lent him a shoulder.

''Beni,''

　At his back, Ei calls out to him.

''Please pay attention to Harui and Snake Mound once in a while. It's surprisingly hard not to have your friends depend on you.
Kaoru said the same thing to me.

　Beni blurted out and entered the room.

　Perhaps because it had been a while since the ship stopped, Ei seemed to be feeling much better. Seeing such Ei, Kyosuke muttered to himself.

The actuality of this is that it's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.

　When I asked him fearfully, Ei laughed with a sly smile.

''I think it's your growth in being able to read other people's bad intentions in depth, but I don't really have that intention.
I'm counting on you, Ei.
Come on. I didn't mean for that to happen, all right?

　Later, Kyousuke and Ei went up to the deck.

　On the deck, Rin, who had been waiting all alone for a long time, was shedding large tears, but it took a great deal of effort to comfort her.




　After dark, the merchants retired to their merchant ships to prepare for the trade fair that was to be held in a few days.

　For some reason, however, Berger, the chief of Delph Island, agreed to host a welcome party for us. He was advised to do so by a man who is his right hand man. He didn't show up at the reception, but only told the chief to welcome him.
　It's a big deal for him to invite not only the merchants but also the second year and fourth class students to the welcome party. In consideration of the large size of the students, the party was held in the square in the center of the village. Dark-skinned men with paint all over their bodies banged on the drums, while a glamorous woman, lit by a bonfire, performed a fierce dance.

'It's like a continuation of a school trip...'

　I was struck by what someone said. It certainly feels like that, too.

'Thank you, Mr Welcano,'

　Welcano, the leader of the troop merchants, and Ryuzaki, the leader of the second year 4 group, were seated side by side.
　It's a good idea to have a good time.

''I don't remember doing anything to be thanked, but...''
When he introduced us to Chief Berger, he said something about us being trustworthy, so...
'That was a promise. A merchant keeps his word, you know.

　Welcano's mannerisms were not curt, but that alone convinced Ryuzaki that this was a man with a sincere way of thinking in business. After all, he'd like to buy the materials for the Caterpillar Unit through his own hands somehow.
　However, Ryuzaki still has some things to think about.

　One is the story of Inugami. There are vampires on this island.
　Once the commotion is over, it will be difficult to get Redeemer's blood. Whether we fight or drive them out, we need to keep it to ourselves. The question is what form the vampires are hiding in.
　We need to properly consult with Kyousuke, Goubayashi, and the others who could be an asset to the fight.

　So, an extra loud applause echoed through the square. The dance is over.

The dance was just finished. All right, now it's time for us to perform!

　As soon as he said it, one of the students stood up. A small scream came from everywhere.

　It was the headless officer of public morals, Kenzaki Megumi.

'Let's have a demonstration. Goubayashi, come with me!
What, me...?
You or Okumura are the only people who know martial arts.

　At Kenzaki's words, the giant body of Goubayashi sluggishly stands up. It's three meters long, but it looks like a big, cloud-like man, since it's in the midst of all the other students and humans sitting there.

''Are you sure you want to improvise?''
All right. I'll pick it up. You can catch it. ...and don't hurt me, okay?
We'll do our best.

　There is a lot of excitement, and then Kenzaki and Gowbayashi begin a fierce mock battle that you would not expect to see in a demonstration. Kenzaki probably doesn't intend to hit them, but they don't look like they're meant to, but they attack Goubayasi one after another, and Goubayasi deals with them all.
　Kenzaki is also neatly stopping it, and not a single blade has touched Goubayasi's skin, but from the side it would appear that Goubayasi is catching all the swords with his arms. Eventually, Goubayashi caught the sword swung down with two fingers, stepped on the back of Kenzaki's knee and aimed at his back with his back fist.

　When he stopped his fist with a snap, the performance ended and the square erupted in applause again.

　Once this happened, the flippant 2nd grade 4 class did not stop. They raised their hands one by one and in no time, the welcoming party turned into a surprise monster one-hit wonder competition.




　In fact, not all the students were present at the welcome party. Beni was still sleeping on the ship, and there were a few students who were waiting on the ship in case they needed to be prepared. As for Beni, if he was going to welcome them, he would give them blood.

　However, for reasons completely unrelated to Beni, Inugami Hibiki had sneaked out of the square.

　The smell of blood.

　Inugami was sensitive to the special smell that the example blood family emitted. That blood smell wasn't just one or two. More than one of them had drifted in from the jungle. Turning his body into a wolf with white and silver fur, Inugami followed the smell. He had taken off his sailor suit, skirt, and underwear, but he would be able to retrieve them later.
　Inugami looked up at the sky as he followed the smell. Since he came here, he'd been ticked by the full moon twice, the first time in the dungeon and the second time on the ocean, but he hadn't had much of a chance to exert his power.

　Even though he came to another world, the moon's magical power remained the same. That was one of the few pieces of good news for the Inugami.

　However, it's a half moon now. It's also a lower moon. It's far from the time to give it your full strength.

　We can't be reckless. It looks like we'd better go back to the square once we've followed some of the smell.
　Maybe it's the fact that we've been living among those drinkers that has made us feel that our ability to manage danger has been dulled. It's better to keep as much of a safety margin as possible.

　We followed the smell of blood for a while, until we came to a point where the smell suddenly became much stronger. I let my nose twitch and scrape the ground. There were probably five sources of the smell. At least here, there are five vampires.

'(Is it time...)

　If you go any deeper, you may be putting yourself in danger. If the smell is this strong, it won't go away so quickly, so the better option would be to go back to the plaza once and re-examine it with the other members tomorrow.
　A shadow suddenly crossed the corner of Inugami's vision as he was about to turn back.

　He turned his head with a huff. An unpleasant odor that tugged at the back of my nose. A shiny black armor.

　It was a group of men.

　Moreover, the face is very familiar to me.

(The driver...?)

　Two months ago, he was the man in the driver's seat of the bus that had, by chance, caused the fall.

　He was also a vampire. It's only natural that he would let the bus conveniently crash into the transference denaturation gate that was set up. Or maybe Inugami just hadn't heard of it, and Beni had already brought that information to the class.
　From the looks of it, the class is a pawn. Half a month now, he might be able to fight to the death, or even bite them to death. But there are traces of four other vampires on this island. It would have been optimal to retreat without recklessness, but right now Inugami had a reason not to do so.

　A child. A human child.

　Out of the corner of that driver's eye, probably a welcome party drink or something. Two children, presumably an older sister and a younger brother, were slowly carrying the drink in a large bowl. The vampire was clearly aiming at the two of them.

　A brief hesitation. But Inugami made a decision.

''Gruoohhh!

　He kicked up the earth and rushed out, closing the distance in an instant, until he was behind the vampire. The sagging face of flesh turned around, and for a moment it twisted in fear. The Inugami opened his mandibles and sank his fangs into the slack throat. As it did so, it shoved the vampire, wide and vertical and small, down with its paws.
　The driver flinched, but Inugami didn't let go of his jaw. He glanced over and saw his sister and brother slipping directly toward the square. For a moment, I thought my brother looked at me, but I didn't have time to pay any more attention to him.

　Now, what should we do from here?

　Do we continue to turn the werewolf's poison all over his body and wait for all the factors to die?
　Or do we forcefully bite off the throat whistle?
　If it turns out that the children have escaped to a safe zone of certainty, I can retreat from this place for good.

　But neither of those outcomes came to pass.

　Without any warning, a foreign object bit into Inugami's body. It was like a lead bullet. A stabbing, intense pain ran through him, and fresh blood was scattered. As if to poke the moment Inugami staggered, the vampire under his paws forcefully shook off Inugami.

''Guh...!

　Just when I thought I could let him go, the second bullet bit into my shoulder.

"Ta-ck...!

　With a scream, Inugami's body rolled to the ground.

''I've heard that the descendants of those canines are lurking around.......''

　I hear a man's voice, different from the driver's.

'Oh, thank you for your help, Akasagihara-san.
Oops, can you call me by that name? Asaaki-san.

　Words exchanged and Japanese names. You can be sure. These are the bloods. Inugami manages to get up, but he's not strong enough.

'How are things going with the Queen? Have you made contact?
''Those skeletons from the report were waiting on that heavy cruiser. I couldn't do anything extra for them. I even made them hold a welcome party and pay people off, but hey...

　Queen. Contact with Asuka Beni. Is that what they're after?
　From the way they talked, it was even possible that they knew that Benii was not well. I don't know what their purpose was, but I knew it was not a rogue thing anyway. Somehow, I think I have to get out of here and let Ryuzaki and the others know, but after all, I can't move my body.
　The two continued their conversation as if there was no longer any Inugami. It's a lick, I thought, but now that they're in this state, they can kill the Inugami whenever they feel like it. This is the flip side of that.

　Around the end of two or three stories about Beni, the driver, Asahibi, suddenly looked at Inugami.

''But bringing in a gun, that's a thing.......''
Well, just in case something goes wrong. It's the kind of warhead that lingers in your body and leaches out neurotoxins. Well, he won't be able to move for a while...

　A gun, it was still a gun. It's better that it wasn't a silver bullet that was eaten, but since it's come to this, it might be the same thing.

"Do you want me to kill him?

　Saying that, Asahibi comes closer.

　Somehow, someway, I have to tell someone in the class about these guys. Struggling desperately, Inugami stuck his claws into the trunk of the tree at hand.

''No,''

　The man who was called Akagihara said, in a voice that made me woozy.

''I've come up with a good idea. Mr. Asahibi, we'll screw the Queen, a good way to do it.''
I wonder what it is. I'm curious about that.
Do you understand why our king wants to eradicate the blood of these little bastard dogs?

　He is a very wasteful man. Inugami, with his claws hooked on the trunk of a tree, managed to get himself up, but he was kicked in the side and fell down again.
　Seeing the Inugami lying on the ground, Akasagihara sniffed. He crouched down and forcefully grabbed the Inugami's lower jaw. There wasn't even enough strength left in the Inugami to oppose him. Akasagihara stared at the inside of Inugami's mouth, which was full of fangs.

''These guys' saliva is able to force the vampire factor back to the basal state. I'm the only survivor, for all intents and purposes. It's something that we met here. Let's put it to use.