I didn’t have time to think about it!
“Satsuki! I happened to see your aunt hanging laundry out to dry on the veranda!”
It didn’t matter what! I just needed to say the first thing that came to my mind!
“And I’ve gotta say... I really don’t know about a teenage girl wearing panties with kittens on them!”
Never in my life, before or after this moment, would I say something I regretted quite so much.
For a moment, everyone in the room was silent. Even Rosalind froze, not believing what she’d just heard.
And finally...
“Wh-Why the heck were you looking at them?! You pervert!” Satsuki’s face went beet red.
I had hoped that embarrassing her would be just as effective as making her mad, but had I managed to make her more mad than embarrassed anyway? Like, really, really mad...
Whatever! All that mattered was that the spell over Satsuki was broken.
“Grr... So that’s how you broke the spell?” Rosalind’s gaze shifted from me to Satsuki.
The moment she looked away, I slipped my hand inside my jacket pocket and pulled out an egg. Not just any egg, mind you. I’d opened a hole in it to remove the yolk, then replaced it with silver powder that Silver Slayer had made for me.
I used my nails to make a crack in the glue I’d used to seal it shut, then flung it as hard as I could into Rosalind’s face. The eggshell broke, dousing her with the silvery powder.
“Gwaaaaah! My eyes!”
Rosalind covered her face with her hand and began to stagger about. The silver powder had burned both eyes.
“Satsuki! We’re getting out of here!”
“Huh? R-Right!”
The panic in my voice must’ve brought her fully back to her senses because she let me take her by the hand as we ran out of the room together. I looked outside one of the windows. We seemed to be on the third floor.
“There’s a staircase in the center. We’ll use that.”
“No, we’ll go out this way,” Satsuki said as she opened the window. “We’re jumping!”
“Huh?!”
Since we were still holding hands, she pulled me right along with her. I felt a floating sensation in the lower half of my body for a second, but my childhood friend chanted a spell, and both of us landed safely on the ground.
“What next?”
“We get out of here and meet up with Hibiki and the others. Let’s run!”
She probably didn’t know what was going on, but she was sharp, alert, and doing exactly what I needed to her to. I was silently grateful as I ran down the hill and got out my cell phone. Neither Satsuki nor I were very good at exercise, so our three companions quickly caught up to us.
“Where are Iris and Lea?” I asked when they arrived.
“Just before you called, the two of them started to move really slowly. Silver Slayer lassoed them both,” Hibiki informed me.
“Moving slowly?”
Was it because of the powder I threw in Rosalind’s eyes? When I asked Silver Slayer—our resident vampire expert—about it, she nodded.
“Then can we break through their brainwashing easily now?”
“Out of all of a vampire’s powers, their charm is the one most dependent on the strength of their mind. The reason the spell’s power was temporarily disrupted wasn’t because of the silver powder, but because she was caught off guard. If you’re asking me whether the vampire is still in that vulnerable state, however, my answer is that I’m doubtful.”
“I see...” I nodded.
Hibiki looked at Satsuki and then me.
“Did you break Satsuki’s charm? How did you do it?”
“It was, um... a coincidence.” I could see murder in Satsuki’s eyes, so I gave a vague answer.
“I don’t really understand... But if there’s a way to break the charm, what do we do? Risk going back to free the others too?”
“Hmm...”
“Um...” Satsuki timidly raised her hand. “I’m sorry, my head’s a little fuzzy and I still don’t know exactly what I’m doing here.”
“Oh, right. I’ll explain.”
Hibiki took over the job of explaining in order to give me some time to think. I had only that much time to make my decision: go back up to the mansion or retreat?
There was still Iris and Lea, not to mention Harissa, who I hadn’t seen yet. If I could break all of their charm spells, that would be the end of my biggest worry. Granted, going back was dangerous.
Just when I was about to make my decision...
“Don’t trouble yourself.”
“Grrrowl!”
A girl’s voice came out of the darkness, followed by the bared fangs of a wolf.
Silver Slayer moved faster than any of us, her silver knife stabbing the wolf right between the eyes. The vampire’s familiar fell to the ground without even making a sound.
Another wolf appeared from the shadows behind Silver Slayer, catching her off guard. But she turned her hair into a forest of blades, impaling the wolf. It disappeared in a puff of fog, what was left of its power returning to its master. Its master, of course, was Rosalind. She stood before us now, vicious intentions still gleaming in her eyes.
“I won’t let you escape...”
She was moving slowly, yet there was a terrible power in her words.
“Everyone, you may fall back.”
Silver Slayer the Vampire Killer seemed neither frightened nor assured as she spoke. It was as if she was simply reporting the best option.
And then the two of them collided. It didn’t even take a minute for it to be over.
“Guh...” Rosalind was lying on the ground.
Not even Lea had been able to best this vampire, but Silver Slayer had done it with ease. No... When I thought about it, she’d been moving sluggishly since she reappeared. The cause was obvious. The silver had burned her eyes and she still couldn’t see. She’d probably relied on her wolf familiar’s nose to lead her here.
“Aah... Ugh...”
And during the fight, even an amateur like me could see that she was trying to protect her left shoulder—the one Silver Slayer had impaled with a knife during the battle at the station. When I’d seen her in her room, the wound itself had healed over, but the damage must have been deep.
But then... Why had she followed us?
“I feel something strange, vampire. Everything you’ve done today is a mistake. Your kind are strong and cunning, but not arrogant. And that wound on your shoulder... The old you would’ve detected my sneak attack and evaded it.”
“...Hmph. So what?”
“I’m aware of the possibility that it might be a trap,” Silver Slayer said coldly as she looked down at Rosalind.
The vampire chuckled bitterly.
“Your sole purpose is to kill me, and every action you take is to that end. You have no value to this world, except insofar as a means to my demise. So that’s just what I’d expect you to say.”
“Affirmative. There is nothing you have said that I can deny.”
“You’re such a boring little creature... And now that you’ve fulfilled your duty, will you just turn into a real silent, unmoving doll before you rust away?”
“...!”
Rosalind’s words sent a shock through me.
“Wait, Rosalind. What do you mean by Silver Slayer rusting away?”
“No more or less than what I said. Her only value—her one and only reason for existing—is to kill me. That means that once I’m dead, there’s no reason for her to remain in this world.”
Silver Slayer herself had explained that a homunculus was a tool created to carry out its master’s wishes, and it had been two hundred-some-odd years since she was created. I didn’t know much about alchemists, but if her master was human, he was long since dead. She would never receive another order. And what happens to a tool when nobody uses it anymore? ...The answer was just as Rosalind had said.
“That is my purpose. There is nothing wrong wi
th that,” Silver Slayer flatly declared as she transformed her right arm into a huge sword. “I will now execute my Master Order.”
She raised the sword high over her head. She would bring the blade down on Rosalind’s heart... and bring an end to both herself and her opponent!
“Silver Slayer!” I quickly grabbed her from behind.
“Sir Namidare. What are you doing?”
“Wait, Rosalind. Something’s not right here! Is this really what’s going to make you happy?!”
“Hap... py?”
Silver Slayer tilted her head as if she didn’t understand what that meant.
“Just hang on a second! Both you and Rosalind... I don’t think this is your happy ending!”
I didn’t know if she understood even a tenth of what I was saying. Even though she could have easily shaken me off if she’d wanted to, my desperate efforts to hang on to her delayed her sword strike by several seconds. It was just enough time for Rosalind to make her escape. She suddenly vanished into thin air.
“What?!”
“Huh, what? Why’d she disappear?”
Hibiki dropped into a crouch and looked around cautiously while Chelsea just yelled in confusion.
Silver Slayer’s hair grew out into a big, silver cage that surrounded us. If something was coming, we would know.
“...The vampire’s presence is fading,” Silver Slayer said a moment later, and we all finally relaxed.
“Rekka... What was that back there?”
“I think that was Harissa’s magic.”
Invisibility was a specialty of hers. Rosalind had probably brought her as insurance in case things didn’t go well. We then tried going back to Rosalind’s mansion, but it was to no avail. Iris and Lea weren’t there.
“So she got away, huh?” Hibiki whispered and turned towards me. “Rekka... and Silver Slayer too. I want to hear your opinions on how we should proceed.”
“Opinions?”
“Chelsea and I are going to look for the Demon’s Pot. Will you come with us?”
“No. If you two want to do that, I won’t tell you not to, but I...” I was worried about the three girls Rosalind still had and couldn’t help biting my lip.
“You’re right to be worried. But if she can turn invisible, how are you going to find her now? Do you have any clues?”
“Silver Slayer can track her, and Satsuki’s Magic of Omni... I mean, her search magic can help too,” I answered.
“Rosalind’s hurt, but both Lea and Iris are still fine. You can find them with magic, but you can’t stop them from attacking you while you can’t see them.”
“That’s true, but...”
I looked to Silver Slayer, but she shook her head. I guess not even she thought she could fight an invisible enemy.
“But if we can find the Demon’s Pot...” Hibiki stuck up her index finger so that everyone would pay attention. “If it can really grant any wish, you can get the girls back from Rosalind, or even make Rosalind talk things out with you.”
“...I see.”
She had a point, as usual. It was much better than my idea of following Rosalind without any idea of how to save Iris, Lea, and Harissa. It would even help us solve Chelsea’s story too.
“All right. I’ll go with you then. Silver Slayer, are you okay with that?”
“I cannot win if I pursue her right now either. I will obey you.”
“Then it’s settled,” Hibiki said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Interlude: 100 Years Ago
Somewhere in a church in Japan.
The Namidare boy was standing in front of an injured Rosalind.
In his hand was a silver knife from Europe that he’d gone to great lengths to acquire. It was Rosalind herself who’d once told him that silver was her only weakness. She was so amused at how impressed he was that she could be out in the sun that she’d told him without meaning to. But still, it was hard for a sixteen-year-old boy to get an expensive silver knife like that. Especially while running from a vampire who wasn’t affected in the slightest by sunlight or running water.
And even with such a weapon in his hands, a normal human was no match for a vampire. For one thing, she was far, far stronger than he was. Vampires could turn into fog and dodge any attack. They could summon bats and wolves—even control them. Not to mention they could suck someone’s blood and make them their slave, instantly ending the fight. But even so, he’d been successful.
He’d used his brain—and legs—and finally managed to defeat her. She couldn’t help but be amazed by him, even after he became her enemy. She couldn’t help but be drawn to him.
“Namidare...” she called his name, half unconsciously.
Rosalind put her hand on the edge of a long, wooden pew bench and tried to stand up. But her strength failed her. Her arm just spasmed and shook. She couldn’t feel her legs either.
Silver steals a vampire’s very life force. The wound itself would heal, but the loss of that life energy was potentially fatal. It took far longer to recover than physical stamina, and its loss made her slow and even more vulnerable.
Just when she started to think about lying there and letting the Namidare boy finish her, a girl appeared in the church.
Rosalind’s eyes went wide and she gritted her teeth. It was the girl who’d stolen Namidare from her.
“No! Don’t come over here!” the Namidare boy screamed to her.
“But I’m worried about you!” she yelled back to him.
The two of them both cared deeply for one another. And when she saw it, something in Rosalind snapped.
“You... You’re the one who...!”
She’d thought her fingers lacked the strength to move, but now she felt them snap through the pew. Her legs began to move once more, too, as she found her will to fight renew.
“It’s your fault...”
“Aah!” The girl screamed and fell to the ground at Rosalind’s gaze.
I was here first!
She pushed her limbs beyond their limits as she flung herself into the air. Her red eyes were fixed on the girl she hated.
You’ll pay for taking Namidare from me!
Until now, Rosalind had always gotten everything she ever wanted. She thought that she always would. That included Namidare. He’d been with her ever since they’d met one year ago. That is... until that girl had appeared.
“He was supposed to be mine forever!”
Just before her fangs reached the girl...
“Rosalind!”
The Namidare boy threw himself between them. Rosalind hesitated for just a moment... but that was what decided everything.
The silver blade slashed through her dress—along with the picture she treasured—and dug into her heart. The silver caused most of her bodily functions to shut down. The only reason she didn’t shut down entirely was that the Namidare boy had stayed his blade at the last second.
But even so, half of her heart was destroyed and her body entered a coma as her mind went dim. Just before everything went black...
“I’m sorry, Princess...”
She heard the boy’s words of apology as she helplessly closed her eyes.
Chapter 4: Past Me and Present Me
According to Satsuki’s Magic of Omnipotence, this “Demon’s Pot” was in a cave on an island in the Atlantic Ocean with a very long name. Going overseas meant getting luggage ready, getting tickets and passports, and all kinds of other stuff. Chelsea handled all of that for us, but I was pretty sure that the way that she handled it wasn’t legal. Her words were something to the effect of, “Treasure hunting isn’t exactly a nice business, you know.” Satsuki was a little hesitant at first, but in the end, she agreed to it all.
And so we stayed up all night getting ready. We took a plane first thing in the morning, and we landed in a country with a name far too long and complicated for me to even remember. Then it was a long trip on a bus, followed by another bus, then a train, then another bus, then a trol
ley, and then another train. At that point, I didn’t have the faintest idea where we were, but when I asked Chelsea, she said we were heading to the sea. That much made sense, considering we were supposed to be heading to an island.
We traveled through the night, switching from one method of transportation to the next. When we were finally getting close to the port, we ran into a problem. The driver Chelsea had arranged for wasn’t waiting at the taxi pickup like they were supposed to be. After getting off the phone with the company, Chelsea bowed her head to us and apologized.
“Hahh... I’m sorry. Looks like it’s going to take a while.”
“No, it’s not your fault, Chelsea.”
“We’re just fine.”
“Sorry about this,” Chelsea said, apologizing again before going off in search of somewhere to get us all something to drink.
“...It sure is hot, isn’t it?” Satsuki said as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.
It certainly was hotter here than it was in Japan. Even so, Hibiki silently sat down on her bag and closed her eyes. I was impressed with her ability to avoid expending unnecessary energy at times like these.
Huh...?
I suddenly realized that we were missing someone and began to look around.
“Oh...”
I spotted the silver-haired girl in a long coat sitting down at the edge of the waiting area.
“...”
I walked over to her, but Silver Slayer was staring at something intently... or maybe not? Like usual, her expressionless face was hard to read. I followed her gaze to see what she was looking at only to see a flower growing out of a crack in the asphalt.
“Do you like flowers?” I asked.
“Negative. The emotional concept of ‘like’ is not one I have been loaded with.”
“Then why are you staring at it like that?”
“...I don’t know.”
I raised an eyebrow.
There was something different in her voice just then from when she’d said she “didn’t know” about Rosalind’s past.
“Do you spend a lot of time looking at flowers like this?” I decided to question her from a different angle.
“I did not at the time I was created. Ever since my master created me, I devoted my full efforts to slaying the vampire.”
I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 4 Page 9