Ch. 104: Explanation During Watch
“Shall I keep watch during the night? I don’t need sleep.”
Loren and Lapis ate the stew that Lapis had made, but as she had said in the beginning, Dia didn’t even try to eat a bite.
Loren thought it was a waste, but he felt that it wasn’t right to try to get her to eat, so he didn’t say anything.
“Do vampires only drink blood?”
“Not really. But we prefer not to.”
“Should I go catch some mice or snakes in the area? I’ll squeeze them really hard.”
“It can’t just be any kind of blood.”
Dia frowned, but Loren nor Lapis knew what kind of difference there was in blood.
But they decided that since Dia herself said so, there must be a difference, and Loren took out a leather pouch that contained wine from one of the bags.
Dia complained that the smell of leather would stick, but she took the cup that was given to her, as if she felt awkward just looking at them eat, and started sipping it.
After all of that had passed and they finished eating, was when Dia said that she would keep watch.
“There’s no way I could let the client keep watch.”
Loren argued immediately.
Dia was indeed a vampire, as well as an incredible being called and Elder, but at the same time she was their client, and as one who was hired, there was no way he could let his client keep watch.
Lapis agreed with him, but Dia cocked her head slightly at his words and replied.
“But I don’t sleep, you know that?”
But Loren wished that she would.
Although he knew she wasn’t a threat, she was still a vampire, and it was scary to think that she would be walking around during the whole night.
But telling someone that didn’t sleep to sleep was strange thing to do as well.
“That’s up to you.”
“No, putting aside the fact that I’m an undead or a vampire. It’s going to start getting dangerous from tonight.”
The words that came out so smoothly from her mouth almost slipped through Loren’s mind, but he quickly asked Dia again.
“What was that about tonight?”
“I think it will be dangerous. It won’t be strange for those who don’t want me to get to the ruins to start interfering.”
“Do you have any idea of what might be coming in detail?”
“Most things won’t be surprising. Humans or monsters or vampires. Anything they could muster up, I believe.”
As Dia said such a disturbing thing like it was nothing, Loren was about to draw the great sword on his back, thinking that this job was going to be messy as well, but Lapis stopped his wrist.
“Lapis?”
“I think Loren should sleep and regain your energy.”
“What are you trying to get out of Dia while I’m asleep?”
“Since when did Loren be able to read my mind!?”
“It’s so obvious!”
“You two are so carefree.”
As Loren glared at Lapis, who had a fake smile on her face, he peeled her hand off of his wrist.
Lapis drew hand back towards her chest, rubbing the back due to Loren grabbing it too hard, and as she watched Loren draw the great sword from his back, she asked Dia with a sigh.
“Then does that mean we will keep going? There’s no reason to camp here if no one’s going to sleep.”
“Personally, I would prefer the two of you to sleep.”
If they weren’t going to rest, there was no reason to camp.
Lapis thought that it would be better to keep going towards their destination rather than stop.
“I’ll be having you two work quite a bit tomorrow, so I was going to keep you safe until morning.”
“The way you say it makes me nervous.”
He had no idea what Dia meant by them working quite a bit, but since she was willing to keep watch since she wanted them to be well rested, he guessed that it wasn’t going to be an easy task.
On top of that, she was an unearthly being called an Elder, so that made the worry pile up even further.
“This is the reason I’ve asked humans, who have inferior abilities, for help. I’m a vampire. Since the ones who are trying to interfere are vampires as well, it’s fine to think that they know my weaknesses, is it not? I’m a vampire as well.”
Thinking about Dia’s words slowly, Lapis asked her to continue.
“It means that it won’t be surprising if they ready something that I can’t deal with. That’s why I asked humans for help in the case that happens.”
An Elder devising a plan to interfere with another Elder and being carried out by an Elder.
Since they were the same type of being, it was obvious that they would know the best about themselves, so it was possible to think of things that would be effective.
“Since we’re still far from our destination, it’s unlikely that they would send in something lethal. Which is why I wanted you to rest now while you could.”
Dia’s words, which was comforting since it meant that their current situation wasn’t that dangerous, but at the same time, it told them that the closer they got to the ruins, the more dangerous it would become.
“Just wondering, what kinds of things would be used?”
Unlike Loren, Lapis was more interested in the methods of interference.
Although Elders were vampires, they had almost no weaknesses in the first place.
Things that were fatal to Trues or normal vampires weren’t effective against Elders.
“You won’t be able to even if you tried, but the simplest is overpowering me with the power of another Elder. Between us Elders, the older you are, the stronger you are. And among them I am the youngest.”
Dia laughed, saying there was no way she could win, but to Loren and Lapis that was already something close to a death sentence.
“Then wouldn’t it be over if an Elder that doesn’t want you to make it appears?”
“Not quite. Of course, I’ll get overpowered, but the opponent wouldn’t have the strength to deal with you two after. Which means that as long as I’m with you, there won’t be a situation where you would face off directly with another Elder.”
“That’s some good news, although barely consoling.”
Lapis said with a suspicious tone and expression.
Loren thought that if they ended up fighting against an Elder there was no way of winning, but even if that Elder and Dia faced off against each other, he quickly realized that they still wouldn’t have the upper hand.
“If we get into such a situation, we’ll have to go against whatever forces the Elder brings without your help.”
“Yes, you would.”
“What kind of things are we going to have to face, damn it.”
“No idea. I would think that it wouldn’t be anything I can’t handle, though.”
Dia said it to give some comfort, but it wasn’t comforting at all.
There weren’t many things that an Elder couldn’t deal with, and if something like that was brought out, there was nothing they could do about it.
“Well, I hope a high-class dragon won’t come out.”
“If something like that comes out, I give up.”
‘If it’s something around a bone dragon, I’ll be able to help Onii-san.’
As Loren spoke in a fed-up manner, Shayna said to him encouragingly.
Bone dragons, which were made up of bones, were slightly different than the dragons that Dia was talking about, but it was still as dangerous.
Loren and Lapis had been chased by one before, but putting Lapis aside, if Loren was to face off against it head on, he couldn’t imagine beating it.
“I’m not sure about low-class dragons. It will be easy for them to prepare wyverns and lesser dragons, which aren’t far off from beasts.
Wyverns had forelegs that were assimilated with its wings, and stood on its hind legs, looking like something that failed to become a dragon.
Lesser dragons were low rank dragons, and only thought about hunting and mating.
Among the nations on the continent, they had organizations that used them for sending messages during battle as well as supporting and attacking from the air, and since they humans were able to tame and use them, there was no way Elders couldn’t do the same, so Dia said that it wouldn’t be surprising if they use them for interference.
“For vampires by the way, it wouldn’t be strange if True classes come.”
“That’s a scary thing you just said.”
Loren wished she would say such important things in a more serious manner, but it seemed like to Dia, True class vampires weren’t much of a threat.
The difference in strength between Trues and Elders was imminent, and it was to a point where there was a wall between them, and to Elders, Trues weren’t threatening at all, but to a human like Loren, either one was an eccentric monster, and were beings that he didn’t want to face if he could.
“There are power struggles and factions among vampires as well. Trues were originally people who longed for great power and long lifespans and willingly became undead, you know? Of course, they would try to fawn upon factions that will benefit them.”
“Not being able to get away from those strains even after dying is pretty sad.”
Loren thought that they became undead to escape these things, but Dia had a different opinion.
“There’s no way you could escape from those unless you die and perish. I think that the ones who try to become Trues by magic or rituals want to be caught by the strains and struggles of the undead instead of the living.”
Loren wondered if that was the case, but the only ones who knew were the Trues that became undead by such magic, so there was no way to confirm.
“Well, even if something like that came, I could deal with it easily. If you get tired you can go to sleep if you want, okay?”
As she said it in a way that made her seem like she was their caretaker, Dia hugged the wineskin that Loren had handed her earlier, which she had been pouring wine from and drinking it since dinner time.
Not sure what to think of at the sight of Dia, who looked like a young girl, holding a wineskin, Loren plunged his great sword into the ground next to him and although he couldn’t see into the darkness, he started looking around hoping he could at least catch something that would let them know something was coming, while Lapis threw more firewood onto the dying fire, strengthening it.