I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 4

by Namekojirushi

  “Uwah!”

  I hadn’t expected her to fall towards me, so I hurriedly pulled the blade out before it went in deeper than I had intended. Then I tossed the knife aside and grabbed Rosalind... Or, at least, I tried to. I’d forgotten how much smaller—and weaker—I was. Rather than catching her, it was more like I let her fall on me.

  “Owww...”

  My head hurt. It must’ve hit the ground when I tumbled over backwards under Rosalind’s weight. I turned to the side and realized her face was incredibly close to mine. I couldn’t tell if she’d passed out from the shock. There were tears pouring out from the corners of her closed eyes.

  Now I needed to make sure everyone was okay, then get Satsuki and Harissa to heal Rosalind’s wounds. I went to get up, but as I did...

  “......re.” Rosalind’s mouth opened softly. “Nami... dare...”

  I told you to stop calling me that, I went to say, but before I could...

  “...Rekka.”

  Interlude: 101 Years Ago

  It was pure chance that Rosalind had come to Japan after the flames of war had threatened her homeland in Europe.

  A powerful vampire like her didn’t need to drain blood to survive. The only reason for her to suck blood was to create servants to help her defeat either those humans who wanted the secret of her longevity and youth, or Silver Slayer who simply wanted to kill her. There was also the inconceivable possibility that she might need to restore her life force after being badly wounded by silver. Yet however impossible it seemed, that had been her fate. And so an injured Rosalind was forced to flee the country.

  Running water was no threat to Rosalind. But she didn’t like it. In order to get to Japan, she had to travel by ship much farther than she ever had before. She would spend more time than she ever wanted to at sea—on the largest body of moving water in the world—and while she was exhausted, no less.

  It’s less like I’ve taken damage and more like I’m just stressed out and tired...

  But that didn’t mean she needed to drink blood. Fatigue could be cured with rest. However, Japan was the first foreign country Rosalind had ever been to. She’d heard it had a completely unique culture, far different from anywhere in Europe. Just by wandering around the city, she could see a mix of different religions. And unlike in Europe, they didn’t oppose each other. Instead, they almost seemed to have fused together somehow.

  In Europe, it was mainly the religious who had effective means of fighting monsters like her. But what about here? Who would it be to attack her now? She couldn’t even imagine. Essentially, Japan was beyond her comprehension. That’s why she wanted to be as prepared to defend herself as possible.

  And she found her prey quickly.

  Rosalind wore European-style clothing, rare for this country, and had an inhuman beauty about her. A foreign girl like her wandering around alone was sure to attract attention from those with less than noble motives. Rosalind merely wanted to restore her life force, so when one such man dragged her into an alley, her intention was to kill him rather than make a servant out of him. But either way, she was unexpectedly interrupted.

  “Gyah!”

  The man she was about to kill suddenly fell forward, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. From behind him, another man appeared.

  “That was a close one, wasn’t it, little girl?” he said.

  Who is this man?

  The second man wasn’t so much a man as he was a boy. He looked older than Rosalind appeared to be, but he was still quite young. He wore cheap clothes and was holding a long piece of lumber that looked like it had been taken from a construction site.

  Did he see me getting dragged into the alley and decide to save me? I didn’t need his help... but he does look delicious.

  The man who’d attacked her was middle-aged and looked like he’d been spoiled by the pleasures of newfound wealth from some project or another. Rosalind wasn’t the type to be picky, but given the choice between some scuzzy old man and a healthy young boy, she much preferred the latter.

  “Let’s get out of this alley and back on the main street,” the boy said. “If you don’t have a place to stay, I’ll help you find one.”

  He was oblivious to her murderous designs on him, so he offered his hand to her with a smile.

  “Don’t you dare touch me,” she said as she slapped it away.

  “Hmm... I see. All right, that’s fine too. Just follow me.”

  The boy turned his back to Rosalind to lead her out of the alleyway, showing no concern for his own safety.

  Idiot.

  Humans had come after Rosalind’s life so many times that this boy’s apparent sense of justice didn’t impress her in the slightest.

  First, I’ll keep him from crying out.

  She fixed her eyes on her target and took a step forward, aiming for the boy’s throat. There was no hesitation in her movements. But...

  “Whoopsies!”

  “What?!”

  Not only did he dodge her attack without even looking, he grabbed her out of thin air as she leaped in for the kill.

  “—?!”

  Rosalind was stupefied. All she could do was stare.

  I understand dodging, but why grab and hold on to me?!

  Had he thought that she’d tripped on the middle-aged man’s body and fell forward towards him?

  “Hmm... Little girl, could it be that you’re not normal?”

  Even her best guess had been wrong. Now she had no idea what to think, much less what to say. Then he proceeded to talk about things she didn’t understand at all.

  “I’ve got this weird thing called the bloodline of the Namidare,” he explained. “I’m used to girls like you who aren’t quite normal.”

  Who is this guy? What is he?

  He was still holding her in his arms. She’d never been touched so gently by someone.

  I don’t understand. What... What is this feeling?! Fine, I guess I’ll just have to kill him!

  The confusion was too much for her to handle, so she decided to cut it off at the source, but...

  “So just leave it to me,” he said.

  Her hand stopped. Her heart pounded. She’d fallen in love. She’d fallen in love with his dazzling smile.

  “I don’t know what it is that you’re caught up in, but don’t worry. No matter how deep your darkness is, I’ll save you from it.”

  “...”

  It wasn’t that she’d never seen a human smile before, but no one had ever smiled at her like that. No one had ever been that kind to her. Her whole body tensed up like she’d been shot through the heart.

  “W-Would you put me down?” It was all she could say.

  “Oh, sorry.” He smiled and set her down on the ground.

  It then became clear how much taller he was. Rosalind could feel him looking down at the top of her head, and her heart began to beat faster.

  “N... Namidare?”

  “Right. Wait, you haven’t told me your name yet.”

  “R-Rosalind.”

  “Rosalind, huh? I figured it would be foreign, but that’s a cute name.”

  “...!”

  His words only made her feel more embarrassed. She had no idea where these feelings were coming from.

  “All right, let’s go someplace quiet where you can tell me your story.”

  The boy kept talking, but Rosalind was at a loss. And so for now...

  “D-Don’t call me ‘little girl.’ Despite how I may look, I’m older than you.”

  ...was all she could manage.

  “Wait, seriously? You really don’t look like it...”

  “Sh-Shut up!”

  “Hmm... Okay, got it.”

  He thought for a moment and looked like he’d come up with some kind of clever trick to play. Then the boy named Namidare offered Rosalind his hand once more.

  “Give me the honor of taking your hand, princess.”

  “?!”

  This was definitely his way of getting ba
ck at her for slapping his hand away earlier, but she didn’t have the mental capacity left to think about that. And she definitely didn’t have the mental capacity left to tell him she wanted to hear him say her name again, so from that moment until the day they said goodbye, he always called her “princess.”

  “Come on, hurry.”

  “...”

  Timidly, she took his hand. That was all that it took to make him smile again.

  “I wonder what kind of story yours is, princess!”

  “...”

  He hadn’t yet fully explained the bloodline of the Namidare, so half of what he said was lost on Rosalind.

  But his hand was so warm...

  And she could feel the kindness in his gaze...

  And when she saw the way he smiled at her...

  For the first time in her life, she wanted someone by her side.

  Epilogue

  It was June, some time after we’d come back from the cave, when I went to visit Rosalind’s mansion again. I rang the bell at the front door of the huge house, but I didn’t have to wait long before I was greeted by a silver-haired maid.

  “Sir Namidare, we’ve been waiting for you.”

  “...”

  “Is something wrong?” she asked.

  “No,” I said.

  I couldn’t tell her that I was trembling in awe at the sight of her. Not to her face. Especially not to someone I knew.

  “Silver Slayer... Wait, I guess you’re Suzuran now, right? Have you gotten used to being a maid?”

  “Yes, thank you for asking.” The silver-haired maid a.k.a Silver Slayer a.k.a Suzuran bowed as she answered.

  She’d gone from being a homunculus to being human, but she still had no paperwork and no place to stay. Harissa was still living with me, so I wasn’t sure what to do about it myself... but surprisingly, it was Rosalind who had volunteered to take her in. She’d scoffed and said something to the effect of, “Hmph. Well, we have known each other a long time.”

  And so now Silver Slayer was taking care of Rosalind as her maid. It gave her a place to live, but there was one other thing she wanted. It was to be rid of her homunculus name, “Silver Slayer the Vampire Hunter,” and gain a new name as a human. So we all came together to pick a new one for her.

  “...Are you sure Suzuran was the right name for you, though?” I asked as I walked down the hallway behind her.

  She turned to me and tilted her head to the side. “I’m sorry?”

  “I mean, it’s a really simple name.”

  Suzuran was the Japanese name of the flower she’d been staring at in the waiting area, lily of the valley. When we were deciding on a name, I’d remembered it and gotten out an encyclopedia to figure out what it was called. I added it to the list of candidates, but I didn’t think she’d actually pick it...

  “I am very fond of the name that you gave me.”

  But her gentle answer dissolved my worries.

  “It’s the name that you, the person who granted my wish, tried your hardest to come up with. When I whisper the word ‘Suzuran’ within my heart, I feel warm here.” She held both hands up to her chest. “Just like the flower that shares my name, I want to meet lots of other people so we can all experience that warmth from now on.”

  “I see. I guess it was a silly question.” I chuckled and scratched my head.

  Suzuran looked at me and laughed softly.

  We talked a little more as we headed for the third floor. We arrived just in time to see the door to Rosalind’s room fly open and a tiny girl pop out.

  “Wh-What are you doing? It was just a little vase!” the young, dark-skinned girl wearing a maid outfit shouted.

  It was Ulaula.

  “Do you know how many you’ve broken today?! Do it again and I’ll send the wolves after you!” Rosalind yelled back.

  Ulaula appeared to shudder in terror and turned to get away from the room as quickly as possible. Only then did she notice us approaching.

  “Oh, it’s that human I hate so much!”

  “If you’re blaming anybody, it should be yourself,” I said, but she wasn’t listening.

  “You’ll regret the day you showed yourself to me! I don’t need a contract. I’ll kill you right now...”

  “GET BACK TO WORK!” Rosalind roared from inside her room.

  “Aaah!” Ulaula screamed and fled down the hallway.

  “...Even as a vampire, she hasn’t really changed much, huh?”

  “She was originally a demon, so not even turning her into a vampire seems to have affected her mind.”

  Maybe demons had a different kind of mind than humans and animals? Rosalind was still clearly in control though, and she’d said she wasn’t going to let Ulaula drain anybody’s blood. And, well, if Rosalind said it, I could believe it.

  “Sir Namidare, my mistress awaits.” Suzuran bowed slightly in front of the open door and ushered me inside.

  “Roger that. I’ll just pray she’s not in a bad mood,” I said as I went inside. Suzuran softly closed the door behind me.

  “...Hmph. So you came, Rekka?” Rosalind languidly sat up on the bed where she was resting.

  “Hey, how’re you doing?”

  “...Tired.”

  She was wrapped up in blankets and her eyelids were swollen. All she’d done since we get got back was cry.

  She’d woken up shortly after we’d returned to her mansion from abroad. Once awake, she finally accepted that she couldn’t get the past back and that my ancestor would never smile at her again... Then the tears started. Even after she’d calmed down long enough to decide what to do with Suzuran and Ulaula, she would still break down and sob for most of the day. The next thing I knew, she’d missed two weeks of school.

  But the truth was that the rest of us had been out of school without permission for a week while we were off looking for the pot too. Rosalind had started skipping classes around the same time, but she was the only one who hadn’t come back to school yet. Speculation and nasty rumors abounded, plenty of which involved me. The teachers had repeatedly asked to talk with me about it, and I was honestly getting pretty tired of it.

  “Listen... you think you’re about ready to come back to school?”

  The reason I was here today, in fact, was because my homeroom teacher had told me to visit Rosalind.

  “No. I can’t let anyone see me like this.”

  Hmm... Well, that I could kind of understand.

  “Oh, that’s right. The pool’s opening soon. Our school does it a little earlier than the others, I guess, and they’re putting the water in early next week.”

  “Flowing water isn’t a weakness of mine, but that doesn’t mean I like it!”

  What...? Swimming class was the most popular class in the whole country this time of year. I never imagined anyone would get upset over it.

  “...Well, anyway. You’re the one who used your charm to create all that fake paperwork and get them to accept your transfer, right? If you don’t start coming to school, they’re going to start calling you Rosalind the Truant, and I don’t think you want that.”

  “...”

  Still nothing. She just looked away. Okay, I figured it was time to try my last resort and tell her what I really thought. If that didn’t work, I would just go home.

  “I want you to go to school, though.”

  With that, she gave me a little glance.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “It’s got to be boring sitting in the house all day, right?”

  She laughed.

  “Rosalind, you’ve... you’ve had a rough time, so I want you to be really happy now.”

  “...Does that mean that you’re going to make me happy?” She turned to me, looking up at me needily.

  Come on now...

  “Listen... weren’t you supposed to stop treating me like I’m my ancestor?”

  “That’s not what I meant!” She leaped out from under the covers and crawled towards me... but then realiz
ed how desperate she looked and quickly pulled the covers around herself again. “That’s... not what I meant, Rekka.”

  She sounded really hurt, and I realized that I’d made a mistake.

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “Indeed. As long as you understand...”

  There was a moment of silence between us. And finally...

  “You win. Starting tomorrow, I’ll go to school.”

  “Really?”

  That would make me happy. Her too. But she put a condition on it.

  “Just for tomorrow... will you walk to school with me?”

  “Sure, but... why?”

  I didn’t really mean anything by asking, but Rosalind pulled the covers all the way over her head.

  In a barely audible voice, she whispered, “D-Don’t make me say it...”

  ▽

  It was Sunday, just one day before the pool opened. We’d gone to the airport to say goodbye to Chelsea.

  “Bye, guys. Thanks for everything, really.”

  “Don’t sweat it. Right, Hibiki?”

  “Yeah,” Hibiki said, nodding.

  “You guys really aren’t treating this like the big deal it is. Does helping people come as naturally to you as breathing or something?” Chelsea joked, laughing a little. Then she looked to the side. “And thank you too, Satsuki. Without you, I never would’ve been able to figure out how to make that elixir from the philosopher’s stone so quickly. And Iris, your spaceship helped a ton too.”

  “Don’t worry about that either. It seems like I caused a lot of problems for you too, so we’re even,” Satsuki said.

  “That’s right. I didn’t come to my senses until the middle of the climax, and then I got knocked out. The only thing I really could do to help was play taxi,” Iris added.

  “I-I was totally useless,” Harissa said, a little disappointed.

  “No, that’s not true!”

  “You were great!”

  “You did just fine!”

  Satsuki, Iris, and Chelsea surrounded Harissa and tried to make her feel better. She was just the kind of girl that nobody liked to see sad, like some cute little animal. As they fawned over her, we heard the announcement that it was time for Chelsea’s plane to board.