Chapter 55: Chapter 55

As the sun went down, the other party returned to the inn. Tarman said after gathering everyone.

“Now then, let’s exchange information.”

Kald spoke first.

“It’s about Count Vreeland.”

Count Vreeland was a 46-year-old man this year, and the Countess died giving birth to a son early, leaving only one member in his family. The count loved his wife deeply and did not marry anew and took great care of his one and only son. However, it was said that the son was born too weak and would not be able to pass the age of 20.

“It sounds like it’s an incurable disease that can’t be helped with the divine power of the Goddess Church.”

The Divine Healing of the Goddess Church was of course great, but the limitations were clear. Regeneration of limbs, resurrection of lions, and incurable diseases could not be cured even with sacred spells. This was natural, determined by the Goddess.

“It was luck in the world. It would be more correct to say that he is still alive thanks to the Seven Goddess Church.”

Tarman nodded.

“It’s a good part for necromancers to dig into.”

Those who fear death were easily seduced by the necromancer. What was impossible with the sacred arts of the 7 Goddesses was possible with necromancy. Even the providence of the goddess could be disobeyed if it was a wicked way of sacrificing others.

Of course, he had to pay the price for that. Inquisitor Alice also solved the information Serati had gathered.

“Recently, they say that the security of the estate has improved a lot.”

It was thanks to Count Vreeland’s decision to arrest robbers, thieves, and vagrants and banish them from the territory.

“First of all, he looks like a great lord, but……”

At Alice’s words, Kald shook his head.

“I doubt it.”

“Yes. We didn’t hear anything like this on the way.”

On the way down from the capital, he also stopped by the nearby villages quite a bit. However, he hadn’t heard of anything like that there. At first glance, he might think it might be, but it was actually hard to understand.

“A large number of criminals who could have been expelled from their own neighborhoods have flowed into other towns. How likely are they to stay quiet?”

However, it was also awkward that Tarman’s party and the exiles’ movements never coincidentally overlapped. So where did those exiles go?

“Large missings, this is also a common occurrence when necromancers are involved.”

“It seems clear that the Count is upset about something.”

As he muttered, Tarman smiled coldly.

“I personally visited the Count’s castle.”

Of course, he didn’t say a word about the cult. Nothing was gleaned from the meeting with Count Vreeland. The important thing was the fact that he entered the castle itself.

“I found something interesting while touring the count’s castle.”

In some places on the windows, there were curtains with thick fabric.

“Like there’s a need to block out the sun at all costs.”

The eyes of Kald and Alice shone.

“That…….”

“Somehow, this is a familiar story.”

Both of them seemed to have something on their minds. Tarman shook his hand.

“Don’t put it in your mouth. You might fall into prejudice.”

The investigation was not over yet. All possibilities should be left open until the evidence was convincing.

“Until then, we must reserve judgment. Prudence is also a duty of the King’s Order.”

»»————-　★　————-««

Since they were in the position of learning, Karnak, Barros, and Serati just stood by and listened without speaking. But they already knew the answer.

[What do you think happened to that boy?]

[A Vampire.]

He was sorry, but from Karnak’s point of view, it was a search and a rumor, and it was all meaningless. Serati was puzzled and sent a magic message.

[How do you even know that?]

She knew that Karnak was a man who reached the pinnacle of necromancy. Also, being able to easily grasp any trace of darkness, no matter how trivial. However, some parts were hard to understand.

[I can sense the dark energy to some extent, right? In my heart, I was very focused and searched all over the town. But I didn’t feel anything.]

Even Inquisitor Alice, an expert in necromantic exploration, couldn’t find anything.

[Did we go that far?]

[Not necessarily like that.]

No matter how Karnak was, as long as he was human, he often missed too faint traces.

[It’s not like I felt the vampire energy itself. It was thoroughly concealed.]

Infamous Scans

Translator: Anom

Proofreader: Orange

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Properly using necromancy, he properly erased all traces. He probably wouldn’t have found any clues even if Alius came by himself. What Karnak had figured out was not the traces of the vampires, but the tactics he had laid out to hide them.

[There are spells to block vampire detection all over the territory, so why don’t you know?]

If necromancy were involved in any way, Karnak’s eyes could not be fooled. If they left a trace, he would notice it right away. If they erase the traces, he would notice right away through the method of erasing.

[Then what if I use another spell so that even the blocking spell cannot be detected?]

[What is that technique, is it not a necromancy technique?]

[Ah, that doesn’t make any sense…….]

Silently, Serati asked another question.

[Then what now?]

[What’s up?]

[Shouldn’t you let them know this too?]

[What do you mean? Anyway, the other side must have guessed that the target is a vampire.]

Knowing the answer was not enough. The process of proving why he gave such an answer and what the evidence was was equally important. If they know the correct answer through an expedient, shouldn’t they be able to explain why the answer came out so they didn’t get caught?

[Let’s quietly watch and learn from the side. So we can use it later.]

»»————-　★　————-««

At the same time, Count Vreeland’s old castle.

In a darkened restaurant, a young boy in his mid-teens was drinking.

The Count asked, looking at the boy.

“Are you calling the ship?”

“Yes, Father.”

Putting down the glass, the boy smiled.

Looking at the blood in the glass, the count asked again.

“……Don’t you resent this father?”

“Why should I be resentful?”

Seriously, the boy was laughing.

“For the first time in my life, I knew life could be so easy.”

Neither the severe headache that plagued him all day nor the lethargy of his limbs. He no longer woke up in the middle of the night, waking up crying in extreme pain. The boy looked back at himself as if he was new.

“Other people, they all had this pain-free life.”

The Count cautiously continued his question.

“Are you saying you’re satisfied with living the life of a vampire?”

Now his son had become a monster who covets the blood of others and had to live only in the dark for the rest of his life. Was he satisfied with that fate? It seemed like that.

“Anyway, humans can survive only by killing and eating something. In that respect, I think my father is rather merciful.”

He could not eat animal blood. He couldn’t even eat the blood of a monster. A cursed monster that was doomed to eat only the blood of its own kind. But his son hadn’t killed anyone yet.

Those who offered blood to his son were followers prepared by the Church of the Black God. Received a certain amount of blood from them and count gave them enough money. He did nothing morally reprehensible. And the fact that he couldn’t see the sun……

“I haven’t seen it before, so what?”

He was a very weak son who would quickly become dizzy in the sunlight. Rather, it was much more satisfying now that it moved smoothly even after the sun went down.

“It’s just that my eating habits have changed a little, and I have more things to watch out for. Anyway, it’s better than dying.”

Only then did the Count recall a smile.

“I’m glad.”

At first, he planned to surrender immediately after saving his son. But he didn’t intend to do that anymore. It was because the situation wasn’t worse than expected.

Of course, his son’s life would not be smooth in the future. Vampires were hideous monsters, and if the world found out the true identity of his son, they would try to exterminate them at all costs. There would be no concept of killing. Vampires were undead, just living corpses. For a moment, the Count was furious.

‘My son is a corpse? Are you moving and talking and laughing like that?’

His son hadn’t changed. Still polite and aristocratic, he was the heir who would inherit everything from him. Neither personality nor wisdom had changed at all. Now he got that.

The teachings of the 7 Goddess Church were not wrong. Obviously, their teaching was to follow the world’s logic. Until now. But the world had changed.

Everything in the world was not eternal in front of time and was always changing, and even the teachings of the goddess could not be an exception. The Church of the Black God was not a cult. It was just a new truth in a new age.

The Count whispered to his beloved son, “Be patient. I won’t live you with that body forever.”

When Tesnarak would descend, that child would be able to live a normal life. The dead and living would harmonize and open up a world where they could freely choose their own life and death. Count Vreeland was determined. Therefore, he would devote the rest of his life to that child. Thus, a condition could be formed where that child could live confidently.

“The light of the setting goddess will fade, and the world will be covered with darkness……”

As if possessed, he recited the teachings of the black god.

“When the darkness is at its deepest, the dawn will come, and a new world will come……”

»»————-　★　————-««

The next day, Tarman and his party continued to gather information. They traveled from place to place, handing out wanted letters and pretending to be looking for wanted people, figuring out strange things about the town.

Serati, who had been following Alice, asked subtly.

“……A vampire, right?”

“I didn’t intentionally put it in my mouth……”

Alice smiled bitterly.

“If it’s this obvious, it won’t matter, right?”

Zombies and ghouls were just moving corpses, so daily life was unnecessary, spirits and ghosts were not something that could be solved by hanging some curtains, and necromancers who extended their lifespan with life drained only weaken under the sun and die. Lich or Death Knight? Those powerful enough didn’t even get scratched in the sunlight.

“Those who are undead but have thick curtains at home are usually vampires.”

Nodding her head, Serati asked again.

“So you’re still looking for evidence like this?”

“Yes. It’s a boring job.”

But, he said it could end unexpectedly soon.

“Sometimes good luck comes along. It would be more correct to call it bad luck.”

If the inquiry continued in this way, the cultists usually react in two ways. The first was to just ignore it without scratching it for nothing. It was all too common for bounty hunters to roam here and there looking for a wanted person.

Plus there were cases where they reveal their identity first and then get caught by bad luck, so prudent cultists just hide and wait for them to pass by. The second was if they want to remove the swelling even if they scratch it. Surprisingly, there were quite a few cases like this among cultists with impatient tempers.

“About half and half?”

So, starting tomorrow, they decided to go around after the sun went down.

“If we do well, the other side might attack first.”

“It’s really bad luck. Danger and opportunity come at the same time.”

It was when the two women were walking down the street and having a conversation. A young man approached from the other side. He was one of the vigilantes under the count.

“Are you the Bounty Hunter, Ms. Mela?”

For reference, Mela is a pseudonym Alice was using.

“What are you doing?”

The young man took out a piece of paper and handed it to him.

“I found the wanted man. He told me to tell you.”

“Yes?”

Leaving behind the two puzzled people, the young man left. It was the attitude that he just did it because he was told to do it. The remaining Serati and Alice looked at each other.

“How did he find a wanted man who didn’t even exist?”

“I know, right? This is the first time this has happened.”