Kuroka wanted to accept what he said. She wanted to carry the burden of her sins and live on facing forward. She decided that she would change.
However, that was simply Kuroka’s own resolve. There was no obligation for any sorcerers to help a former member of Azazel. She felt like she was deceiving this man. It gave her an irrepressible sense of discomfort. She thought it would be better if she could just run away on her own.
But if she tried to do that, this sorcerer would surely come to save her. This left her in a complete dilemma, and Kuroka ended up just remaining in his arms obediently.
There was also one more reason for her bewilderment.
I wonder what this is? It feel kind of... nostalgic.
The scent itself wasn’t nostalgic, but she felt like this wasn’t the first time she was held in somebody’s arms like this. She tried searching her memories for why she thought this, when suddenly, the sorcerer came to a stop.
“Hang on a sec Blacky.”
He then put Kuroka down. She could sense cold stone beneath her four paws. It wasn’t a flattened surface, but more akin to a cobbled surface by a river. It wasn’t suited to be traversed by carriage. It was more the kind of stone used in the alleyways or to compensate for steep inclines. This was likely one of the hill paths leading further away from the church, or some sort of staircase.
The sorcerer seemed to be opening some kind of door. He was facing a wall, so perhaps there was some sort of hidden path. Thinking of how it required both his hands, it was likely quite heavy, or was some sort of apparatus which required sorcery to manipulate.
He seemed to have noticed Kuroka’s worried gaze, as she then replied with a meow and he returned to his work. The mechanism apparently took quite some time to open, so Kuroka took the time to search her surrounding for other presences.
She had no choice but to be bewildered by her transformation into a cat, though the whiskers poking from her nose were unexpectedly exquisite.
Even without anything touching them directly, she could precisely feel the flow of air from them, and could even recognize the oscillation of sound from them. It seemed that the roots of the whiskers were particularly sensitive.
When she brought her nose close to the ground, she could even sense muffled footsteps. Going down from four ears to two was like having a wall behind her at all times, but thanks to her whiskers, it could be said that her field of vision, so to speak, had expanded.
Sensing through her whiskers that multiple footsteps were approaching them, Kuroka’s fur stood on end as she let out a menacing hiss.
“Shit. They already caught up? This way Blacky.”
The door had apparently finished opening. The sorcerer once more picked up Kuroka, and though the sound of footsteps were now distant as her whiskers were no longer next to the ground, she now sensed a strange vibration in the air.
This is... some kind of flapping...?
The flapping didn’t seem to be coming from insects, but it was too rapid to be that of birds. It also felt like there was an entire flock of them. Kuroka was unable to identify them, seeing as she was not yet accustomed the sensation from her whiskers, but she could tell that the flock was headed straight for them.
Kuroka turned toward the flapping and hissed menacingly. Even if she couldn’t speak, she could at least convey the impending danger to the sorcerer, who turned around in irritation.
“What is it now?”
Contrary to Kuroka’s expectation, they didn’t begin running again, but she felt like her body was floating in the air. It wasn’t because she was being embraced. Apparently the sorcerer had jumped off something.
We’re falling...? And... really far?
They were maybe plummeting down a water well. She could tell from the sound of the wind that they were falling through a narrow space. Thinking of how they had yet to hit the ground despite falling for a few seconds, it must have connected to quite a deep location. But the sound of flapping wings was persistently chasing after the plummeting pair nonetheless.
What’s chasing us?
Even now, Kuroka had no idea what was chasing them. Judging from the sorcerer’s reaction, it was likely something inhuman. And being so focused on that flapping, Kuroka failed to notice that the footsteps that were chasing them had suddenly vanished.
“Oh my, what a convenient place for a seat.”
She suddenly heard a young girl’s voice. Following that, what sounded like the sorcerer gasping from being crushed rang out. Apparently the owner of the girl’s voice fell on top of the sorcerer. Judging from the impact of the collision, she appeared to have quite the small build.
“Guagh. Th-The hell?”
“My goodness, I thought it was a chair but it seems to be alive. I’ll be using the top of your head for a bit.”
The girl giggled in a sweet voice.
But... what is this smell...?
Was it perfume? It was just the slightest bit sweet, but she practically couldn’t smell anything like sweat or saliva from this person’s hair or skin. It was like a counterfeit smell made to imitate that of a living being, like they were a puppet, or a sorcerer-created homunculus.
Perhaps having noticed Kuroka’s wariness, the young girl brushed the cat’s head. Her hand was cold, small, thin, yet somehow gentle.
“Please do not be afraid. I am not your enemy.”
“Wh-What’s with this brat? The hell did you come fr—”
“Do you not have something more important to focus on? The ground is getting quite close.”
“Erk!”
The sorcerer panicked and decelerated their descent instantly. It was likely some sort of floating sorcery. However, now that their descent had stopped, it meant they weren’t running away anymore. Kuroka could sense something enormous falling down from above.
“Oh my, it seems some fresh ones have gushed out already.”
“Fresh ones... oh crap!”
Kuroka sensed yet another object falling down from further above. This time it was even larger, and there were more than one of them.
Judging from the footsteps from before though... it’s kind of late?
The footsteps she had heard before were basically right on the sorcerer’s tail when he jumped. But they weren’t so light that they could belong to this little girl.
And as if to answer Kuroka’s confusion, she could sense the girl stretch out her arm as the sound of clanging chains rang out.
“Gah?!” “Gyeee!”
The presence of falling objects vanished together with some screams. No, the presence itself was still there. They had been obstructed, and their fall was cut short.
“Well, as to be expected of a hidden passage in Archdemon Palace. It seems the traps are in perfect condition.”
“Traps...? I guess so, huh?”
The sorcerer looked directly above him and muttered dubiously. Apparently there was something quite peculiar directly above them.
But... Archdemon Palace? That’s the name of the former Archdemon’s base, right...?
That’s apparently where the sorcerer escaped to. Kuroka had heard rumors that Archdemon Palace was located underneath Kianoides, but she didn’t really believe that something like that existed right below a town where an Archangel was stationed.
The group’s descent eventually came to a stop, and the sorcerer landed on the ground. The atmosphere was cold and stuffy. They seemed to be in some sort of cave. The sorcerer then called out to the girl, who was still riding somewhere on his shoulders or back.
“So? Who the hell are you? What’re you doing here... actually where did you come from? And why do you know about Archdemon Palace?”
The little girl continued brushing Kuroka’s head and replied in a tone that was difficult to judge as serious.
“I’m the same as you. I’m also being chased by those strange beings. And after spotting you running away from them, I decided to accompany you.”
“Accompany me...? Hang on, how long you pla
nning on sitting on me? Get down.”
If he didn’t like it, he should’ve just shook her off, yet the sorcerer just stopped at complaining.
“Oh my,” the girl replied with a giggle, “you’ll carry this child around but I’m not allowed? I do believe that I am no lighter than a cat myself.”
“There’s no way in hell... huh? Hey, you injured?”
Kuroka could tell through the hand petting her head that the girl’s body stiffened up just a little.
It’s true. She smells of blood.
Following the scent, Kuroka lapped at the girl’s side. Even though she could smell the blood, there was no taste.
“...There really is something wrong with me today. To think I would be so incapable of concealing it.”
Her voice was surprisingly frail, and gave off an air of exhaustion in complete contrast to her usual attitude.
The sorcerer then scratched the back of his head helplessly.
“...Seriously. What an unlucky day. Come on, show me. I can do any kinda simple treatment.”
“It is well beyond you. After all, I’m not among the living.”
As she replied, the girl brought her hand to her face. She was likely showing him the inside of her mouth or something. The sorcerer gulped down in surprise.
“You’re... a vampire?”
“Yes. That’s why there is nothing you can do for me.”
“...Why is a vampire being chased by those guys?”
The girl shrugged her shoulders.
“I do not know. Is that not the same for you two?”
“You’re using me as a damn chair here, don’t you think you can be a bit friendlier?”
The girl was apparently exactly as Kuroka imagined judging from her young voice, but the sorcerer wasn’t so foolish as to be beguiled by that. It was clear as day that this girl knew what was going on. And in response to the sorcerer’s vigilant suggestion, the young girl let out a sigh with a nod.
“Friendlier...? I suppose so.”
The girl cocked her head to the side in consideration, and then Kuroka sensed her smile. She began rustling about in what sounded like a packed handbag, though it seemed to be strangely round, and fished out something strangely long for the size of the bag.
“I shall yield this to you.”
“The hell is this? A cane... from the church?”
Kuroka’s tails stood on end.
A cane? Is it maybe mine?
The little girl continued speaking in a nonchalant tone.
“I picked it up earlier while running about. But, this is no simple cane. Indeed, this is the legacy of a certain tribe that was wiped out five years ago.”
Kuroka stiffened up. However, the sorcerer was far more shaken by this than she was.
“...Hey. Why the hell do you know that?”
The girl ignored his question, and continued as if singing.
“Now about that tribe, there happened to be but a single survivor. This cane is originally something that she should possess, but alas, she has vanished and is nowhere to be found.”
“By vanished, you mean she’s being chased? Or are you saying that cane is the target?”
“Now then, I wonder which it is? All I can tell you is that you should be the one to return this cane to that girl.”
Kuroka could tell that the girl’s focus had shifted. She was now certain. This girl approached them knowing full well who Kuroka truly was.
But, why is this sorcerer so perturbed?
It seemed that this sorcerer had some sort of link to that incident five years ago...
“Why?!” the sorcerer yelled back angrily, then said, “That brat back then was just some tabaxi, right?! Why does she gotta be hounded like this?!”
Huh...?
Those words finally connected the dots in Kuroka’s mind. That was exactly it. Kuroka was in fact the only survivor, and by the time she came to, she was already being sheltered by the church. She completely thought that her mother had carried her all the way there, but she never knew why her mother’s body wasn’t there.
Didn’t that mean that there was someone else who got Kuroka out of there? Their heart was beating like a hammer. They were so nauseated by their agitation that they felt like vomiting.
No, it’s also possible that he’s the sorcerer who attacked us... right?
Abandoning all thought was the same as escaping. That was why that possibility came to mind. But this sorcerer was simply too honest for such doubts.
Would someone who would so desperately try to save one cat be able to perform that sort of massacre?
Even if he was the culprit from five years ago, his ego would surely be unable to bear the weight of his sins.
And then, the little girl spoke as if to definitely thrust the truth before her.
“That girl is not a tabaxi, but a cait sith. She is a descendant of the Silver-Eyed King and an atavist of an ancient bloodline. Did you not notice it yourself? She’s been so near to you all this time.”
Kuroka’s heart began beating like a hammer from the confusion and unrest.
I don’t know any of this. I’m scared. Why does this person know so much about me that I don’t?
She was especially scared of what sort of expression the sorcerer was making right now. If what she said was true, Kuroka was saved by a sorcerer, yet devoted herself to Azazel out of hatred for sorcerers. And this was known by the sorcerer who saved her. Such was the case, but...
“Like I know the damn difference between a tabaxi and a cait sith. Besides, I don’t know anything that happened to that brat after throwing her into the church.”
Kuroka completely thought that this man realized that she had become a cat, and opened her mouth in astonishment. She could also tell that the girl was making quite a sorrowful expression herself.
“I thought you were quick-witted, but perhaps that was a misunderstanding...”
“Hah?”
The sorcerer showed no sign of realizing, and the girl let out a sigh as she pointed above them.
“That’s all the time we have for chatting. It won’t hold any longer.”
“Tch. You’re gonna properly explain all this later you hear?!”
“...I intended to explain it in a rather easy to understand way just now, though...”
Just this once, Kuroka sympathized with the mysterious girl. The sorcerer then hoisted the little girl onto his shoulder and handed Kuroka over to her.
“Hey, don’t you dare drop Blacky, got it?”
“Yes, yes. I won’t drop her... you properly understood, right?”
For the voice had such a pitiful hint of unease to it that Kuroka couldn’t help but meow back at her. However, even though she appeared to be a small girl, the feeling of her lap and her merciless voice reminded Kuroka of her own mother.
That... was mom...
The strange being that she had met immediately before becoming a cat smelt like the enemy who had burned her village. However, they had the same voice as her mother. Did her mother become an undead? Moreover, why did she only appear now...?
She received no answers to her surge of questions, and had no means of asking them either.
“Why are you talking to a cat?” The sorcerer mumbled with a sigh. “More importantly, at least tell me your name.”
Kuroka could tell full well that the girl’s face was saying “You’re the only one I don’t want to hear that from.” She then put on an all-important air as she answered him.
“Alshiera. It’s quite the coincidence, but today is my birthday.”
“Alshiera...? A vampire pretending Alshiere Imera is about her? That’s some great taste you got there. Then you just call me the fairy Tonto.”
Tonto was the name of a fairy who brought presents to all the good children on the night of Alshiere Imera. The fairy itself didn’t exist and was just a tale for children, but it was something like a mascot for Alshiere Imera.
“Oh my, I have yet to utter even a single lie,
though...”
The girl once more shrugged her shoulders regrettably.
But, if she isn’t lying, what exactly does this all mean?
Because of Kuroka’s job, she had memorized the church’s scriptures to the point where she could read them aloud. Alshiere was the name of a particularly important saint in the church. And since the god of the church had no name, it could even be said that Alshiere was a name which represented the whole church.
And here a vampire, the complete antipode of a saint, was naming herself as such. If it wasn’t just some sort of spiteful choice like the sorcerer thought it was, then just what meaning was there behind that?
The mystery only deepened further, but as the sorcerer began running once more, Kuroka was no longer able to think about it anymore.
◇
Back in town outside a certain general store.
“Mrr? I feel like I just sensed a surge of love power from Lady Kuroka.”
“Hey Miss Gremory, do you know where Kuroka is?” a small vulpine girl asked.
“I’m not entirely sure, but I can sense her. An extraordinary torrent of love power has taken shape with Lady Kuroka at its center!”
Gremory stood up with a seriously rotten expression as Nephy sent her a cold gaze.
“...Miss Gremory. We must currently consider Kuroka’s safety, could you be quiet?”
“I feel as though you’ve been particularly strict toward me lately, Lady Nephy.”
With her heart immediately torn apart, Gremory sank to the ground and cradled her knees.
“Thank you very much, Lord Barbatos. We managed to get by without Master Zagan noticing us thanks to you.”
“You guys just thought I was a damn handyman, right?”
Barbatos was left inevitably glaring at them, to which Chastille bowed her head while gripping the edges of her skirt.
“Sorry. But you really saved us. It’s true that we’re thankful for it, Barbatos.”
“Urgh... Well, whatever.”
Chastille looked up at him with a sincere gaze, and Barbatos turned red and looked to the side, making one wonder where all his criticism had gone.
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 8 (Premium) Page 14