CH 1

“It’s morning-!”

The thick black curtains are thrown open.

The blinding light of the morning sun floods the room without mercy.

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

A deep-throated scream rings out.

The owner of that voice is an older looking man, writhing around on top of a canopy bed with a distinctly gothic taste.

“Mister, it’s time to wake up!”

With an earnest smile, the girl approaches the bed.

And, with a strength that couldn’t be imagined from that small body, tears off the blankets.

“Mister, wake up!”

“The morning sun is painful!”

“Jeez, an excuse like that isn’t going to work on me. Besides, I don’t even understand what the problem is.”

“Hey, little miss Saint, do you not remember this uncle telling you that he’s not good with mornings?”

“It’s that attitude that keeps you from returning to society, you know.”

The girl’s cheeks inflate like a small furry animal’s as she sulks.

The man with the fair complexion and red eyes already seemed exhausted just looking at her.

This has been going on every morning recently.

And today is no exception.

He sat up on the edge of the bed.

Squinting his eyes as the morning sun mercilessly bore down on him, the man spoke.

“Listen up, this uncle here is a vampire. The morning sun is deadly to me. Do you understand?”

“But you’re alive!”

“Well, it’s true that I’m strong enough to withstand the sun if I’m inside… But it’s tough. It’s really tough, you know? Because I’m a vampire.”

“Jeez, what kind of nonsense are you saying? Vampires only exist in the old stories. It’s useless to try and pull the wool over my eyes.”

This is the problem.

This man is the genuine article who once pushed the limits of treachery and heinousness – a real vampire.

However, growing tired of the bloodshed and conflict, he decided to withdraw from that life. And after locking himself away for a long time, he began to wither away.

He no longer survives on human blood, when he has rare bouts of motivation he will hunt down an animal in the dead of night and live off its blood for a time.

Other than him, vampires have long since become extinct.

It seems that the very idea of a vampire has passed into myth, only being found in fairy tales.

The man who had once been feared the world over as “The Monstrous Enemy of God” and “The King of Vampires” was now little more than “The Shut-In that Lives in the Old Suburban Castle”.

The passage of time is an insidious killer.

The girl has a newly motivated expression.

“Don’t worry, mister.”

“What is this now?”

“It’s one of our duties to reintegrate hopeless people like mister back into society. God will always look after his children.”

“I’m not so sure about that… If anything, this uncle is more like one of God’s enemies.”

“Don’t worry. I understand. When times are tough, everyone has thoughts like ‘God is my enemy’ or ‘I’m a vampire’, right?”

Her smile was filled with charitable affection.

Apparently, I’m being viewed like a youth going through an angsty period.

Unthinkable.

If someone was attempting to force him from his abode with military power, he would be able to respond.

But, it’s hard to understand the motivations of someone who is only using persuasion and conversation to the same ends.

He originally withdrew from the world because he was tired of the endless fighting and subjugating.

If he was challenged in combat he would be able to answer in kind… Well, in theory. He wasn’t young anymore.

“You sure are full of energy every day…”

The man searches through his bedside cabinet.

Pulling out his pipe, he magically lights it with a point of his finger.

“Don’t your parents worry about you coming to visit this uncle every day?”

“I don’t have any, so there’s no problem!”

“Ah, that’s sort of… not something to be so chipper about…”

“The temple selects the next Saint from amongst the orphans. In other words, a child sent by God. So, to me, my mother and father were close to God.”

“You sure are enthusiastic about it.”

“Yes! I’m overjoyed to have been chosen as the Saint of this generation!”

“Hmph, is that so.”

As he exhaled purple smoke, the girl started coughing.

The man became flustered.

“Ah, sorry, sorry! I didn’t realize you didn’t like smoke.”

In a hurry, he extinguished the pipe and dumped out the ashes.

His shadow morphs and collects the ashes as they drop.

But, she didn’t see it.

The saint is still rubbing tears out of her eyes.

“N-no, I don’t mind! No matter what, I will be okay! I will endure all hardships until I can rehabilitate mister back into society!”

“About just now, you know, uncle didn’t mean to do that…”

“Yes! I know that mister is a kind person!”

“…Is that the case?”

“I’m sure that if you go back into society, you can get along with everyone!”

No matter what kind of conversation they have, it always seems to circle back to returning to society.

It’s tough.

The man puts a palm to his forehead.

And-

“Listen, Saint, I have no need to work. I have a roof over my head, and I don’t need money in order to eat. So stop wasting energy on me, and go save some other troubled soul out there.”

“But, mister, you aren’t the deed holder of this castle?”

“No… this is uncle’s castle…”

“But, aren’t you squatting here illegally?”

“Well… I’ve been sleeping here for a few centuries now.”

“A few centuries you say… Haa… Yes, I’m sure it’s true.”

“It’s not the delusion of an angsty youth, alright? I really am a vampire who has lived for over six hundred years, and since I’ve been living here for centuries it may as well be mine, right?”

“If you’re really a vampire, please do something to prove it!”

“O-okay…”

The man looks troubled.

Even if you’re suddenly told to just do Vampire-like things…

For the time being, he’ll try staring.

A vampire’s eyes are endowed with a magic known as “Bewitchment”.

Regardless of sexuality, if one stares into a vampire’s eyes when he’s this close, that person will become melomelo (a word from a dead language) instantly, but…

“Is there something wrong…?”

The saint does nothing but tilt her head to the side.

…As he half expected, it didn’t work.

Something seems to have nullified his magic.

If the world hadn’t become so peaceful, such a talented person would never have been sent on a mission like this, and to such a remote place.

If that didn’t work, then…

The man looked at the saint’s neck.

She wears very modest clothing. But despite that, her neck was exposed.

Pure white skin.

So youthful… If he dug his fangs into that neck and “Poured the Magic” directly into her, there’s no way she would be able to nullify it.

But…

“…Yeah, how should I say this, it’s won’t do anyone any good to get excited like that.”

“Excuse me?”

Sinking the fangs into the neck of a woman- It’s almost akin to a sexual act.

The man looked the girl over.

Pink hair.

Healthy looking skin, without blemishes.

She has a cheerful face and wears clothing that doesn’t expose much of her figure, her whole body exudes an aura of energetic youth.

She should be around the middle of her teenage years. Though he’s not confident in saying that. This man has always found it difficult to estimate the age of these short-lived humans.

That aside, how should he put it?

She wasn’t someone he could see sexually.

He could only see her as someone’s daughter, not a woman, and his motivation evaporated.

“I’ll show you just how much of a vampire I am when you’ve grown up a little.”

The man laughed.

The girl just looked even more confused.

“What do you mean by that?”

“No, no. Anyways, just give up on this uncle and go someplace else.”

“No! I cannot leave this poor mister who is living a lonesome existence day in and day out!”

“Well, this is a problem.”

The man laughed again, it was all he could do.

Even if it was just a small thing, she had changed the withered vampire’s everyday life.

Every morning he is having such a lively conversation, and his life is becoming a little brighter, but still…

The vampire won’t leave the castle.