After enjoying a brief victory from biting off the tails of the retreating Allied forces on the western front, we hurriedly returned to the Grand Duke’s Castle.
“I feel a bit disappointed.”
If it were up to me, I would have loved to chase down those fleeing humans and significantly reduce their numbers, but alas, it was morning.
The vampires, cornered like a cat against a wall, were only able to counterattack due to the influence of the solar eclipse.
The concept of “a world where the sun disappears” can only be manifested in an area within a certain distance from me. It was incredibly frustrating that I had to merely watch the fleeing humans from behind, but what could I do?
Not to mention, I had to calculate the time we had to retreat to the Grand Duke’s Castle.
Just earlier, I had thought about dropping the sun first. When I stood atop the hill, I had seen some vampires from the Sahelrn Duchy being roasted by sunlight in real time. Even if the castle was close, if we let our guard down, we might witness the second round of the “How to Make Vampire Roast” process.
In fact, arriving back at the Grand Duke’s Castle was a little too close for comfort. But in the end, all the surviving vampires managed to return safely, so it couldn’t have gone too badly.
“Sis, are you feeling uncomfortable?”
Plona’s worried question snapped me back to reality.
I did feel a bit drained after forcibly maintaining my unique magic until it was a close call, but it wasn’t hard to lie here in bed. I quickly shook my head, not wanting to worry her.
“No, I was just lost in thought. It’s nostalgic.”
While Martini and Stella excused themselves, saying they would handle some follow-up work, I laid on the bed with Plona and Eleonora beside me, waiting for their busy tasks to wrap up.
Moreover, this room was the same one I had stayed in three years ago when I was at the duchy.
I had collapsed with my innards spilling out, chased by imperial soldiers, and when I somehow passed out and woke up, I found myself here. Back then, it truly felt like I had fallen into a tiger’s den.
“It’s definitely the same room.”
But why? Everything from the room’s structure to the furniture was just as I remembered, yet while it had only stirred up tension back then, now it evoked something both fresh and oddly nostalgic.
Maybe it felt different because I wasn’t in the position of a guest who had just escaped death but rather one free of the scrutiny of others.
When I briefly shared that past, Eleonora’s eyes sparkled quietly. It seemed she was curious about what had happened before we met.
“Speaking of which, where is Lavina?”
“She said she would go sightseeing around the castle.”
Plona gave a puzzled expression of “Huh?”
Lavina is… quite unusual. What kind of elf plans to wander alone in a vampire’s lair for the first time?
Of course, she did take some sort of makeshift identification just in case, but having proof that she wasn’t walking snacks and being completely reckless are two different matters.
I’d also heard that Jeil and his subordinates were resting elsewhere. I’m not sure if the Grand Duke’s Castle has enough space left to accommodate several hundred suddenly appearing vampires, but that’s not my concern.
*
Just as I was thinking this, I got a summons from Martini and Stella, who had returned after quickly putting out some fires.
Following the presence of Lavina, who had been enthusiastically exploring every corner of the castle, we headed to the Grand Conference Room, where Martini, Stella, and even Jeil had already arrived.
“…How have you been?”
Martini, rising hurriedly from her seat, lightly bowed her head with glistening eyes, suppressing some sort of emotion, causing Jeil to turn away as if he had seen something he shouldn’t.
“Yeah, it’s been a while.”
Martini and I exchanged greetings that were long overdue from the battlefield.
We shared stories of how we’ve been since last time and how we managed to bring back vampires from the Helraig Duchy as well.
“To think you actually managed to persuade Jeil, I never expected that.”
“Hah, it’s just for this war. Who would—”
“Jeil.”
A casual reminder to shut up.
I called his name and lightly tapped my lips with a finger, causing the veins in Jeil’s temples to pulse as he leaned back in his chair, attempting to grumble while putting his feet casually on the table.
But what will you do if you get mad? What can you even do?
It’s been said that when lending money, you sit to lend and stand to collect.
We had already crossed two borders with troops and barely set foot in the Sahelrn Duchy, so if he has complaints, what’s next?
Shall we just turn around again? Without the help of my unique magic on this long road?
“If you’re confident, give it a try.”
If you can’t do it, then just endure. Just like I endured Jeil’s stubbornness to persuade him to lend support after fighting and winning in the Helraig Duchy.
Seeing Jeil turn his head away with a blatant expression of discontent, Martini chuckled softly.
It seems their relationship wasn’t as sweet as I thought it was after all.
“Let’s stop with the unnecessary chatter. For now, let’s discuss what’s happening in the current situation.”
“…As you’ve seen, the situation isn’t great. We’re struggling to make effective use of the underground tunnels for ambushes, and while the Allied forces are slowing their advance towards the Grand Duke’s Castle, that’s about it. Honestly, had the Progenitor not shown up last night, things could have gotten really dangerous.”
While Jeil’s overtly evasive remark caused Martini to roll her eyes lightly, she regained a serious expression and began briefing on recent events since the start of the conflict, directing her explanation towards me, not Jeil.
“You knew it would be a tough fight, right? Why didn’t you call me?”
“The other half of the reason is my prediction that even if the Progenitor came alone, the odds wouldn’t be substantially favorable. And the other half was me feeling unworthy to ask for a favor after unilaterally forcing responsibility on you when you left the duchy.”
So that’s how he felt.
It seems he felt burdened by having to impose a debt on my already limited options back then. It was unexpectedly sentimental, to say the least.
I was taken aback. The Martini I remembered was strong, calm, and seemed capable of standing tall against any adversity.
She was typically very clear about distinguishing between public and private matters and knew how to use me coldly if necessary.
“Honestly, I never imagined we’d be working with the forces of the Helraig Duchy. I guess I have nothing left to teach you.”
Feeling bad about potentially having to summon her again, Stella added as if to excuse herself.
Yet her last remark, somewhat overly exaggerated, made it seem like she was a bit proud too, which was interesting.
But honestly, I didn’t feel bad at all.
After all, her hesitation to drag me into danger was a consideration of my position.
Deciding to repay a favor was ultimately my choice.
Even while understanding that my relationship with the Sahelrn Duchy wasn’t based on pure goodwill but rather mutual interest, it was my own will to choose this path.
Amidst that, I had also heard these folks cared about me beyond a simple debtor relationship, and even if that was just lip service, it was hard to complain about getting into another hassle because of it.
“Well, it’s alright. In the end, we managed to avoid the worst of it.”
“Yes. Thanks to the Progenitor bringing the elite forces of the Helraig Duchy, we genuinely have a fighting chance. And Jeil… I appreciate your help. I never expected you to come directly.”
Still, in this particular matter, Martini, despite showing slight discontent towards Jeil, who had his legs up on the table in a rather disrespectful manner, was polite enough to express her gratitude.
“Save the thanks for after we win. For now, we should focus on the fact that today’s daylight should be safer than expected. After seeing that magic, it wouldn’t be wise to let our guard down.”
“Speaking of which, was it a solar eclipse? How did you master that magic?”
“I created it with the help of Lavina while we were in the Underground City.”
Lavina, who had been sitting at the far left end of the table, shyly shifted her gaze as all eyes turned toward her.
No matter how tough and resilient she appeared, this kind of attention seemed to make her a bit uncomfortable, as she shot me a look for help.
“From what I saw earlier, it seems using it for long periods would be quite burdensome, right?”
“That’s correct. And while maintaining the area, complex combat is quite difficult. Simple stuff should be fine though.”
“Then it’s still better to launch offensives after sunset.”
Discussions began around how to lead this war to victory.
Various strategies were suggested, but everyone was in agreement that we needed to end this quickly.
“The biggest advantage we have is that humans know little about the Progenitor’s unique magic. We know there are limitations to that magic in various ways, but from the humans’ perspective, it’s like they suddenly lost an absolute shield called the sun, putting them in a situation where they have to stay alert 24/7.”
“It’s also better while there’s still uncertainty about how many elite forces are coming from the Helraig Duchy and how strong they are.”
Certainly, prolonging this was of no benefit. The vampires of the Sahelrn Duchy were already exhausted, but in last night’s battle, the Allied forces suffered more losses than the vampires towards the end.
Continuing forward while soaked in fatigue would be quite a gamble, but it was a risk that needed to be taken to win.
“There’s no need to think too long.”
As I opened my mouth, the murmuring in the conference room fell silent.
Yesterday ended with me just focusing on maintaining the barrier, but if we fought again today, it wouldn’t go down like that.
This time, we would be heading directly into the battlefield, where the enemies, whom we had been fleeing from all this time, awaited us.
“After today’s sunset, we will finish this with a full-scale assault.”
But despite that, I had no hesitation. I was already quite resolute.
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