2. I Discover My First Love in a Trash Heap

Author: Kiki
Raw: https://novel18.syosetu.com/n2498fn/2/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

When I came to, I had returned to life and was lying in what looked like a garbage dump.
I noticed something strange the moment I stood up.
I could see through both eyes. I had all my fingers, too.
There were no scars on my body, nor any stiffness in my facial muscles.
What was more, my body felt unnaturally light, as though I were no longer myself.
I searched for something I might use as a mirror to inspect what had happened to me, but found nothing nearby.
With no other choice, I left the dump, passed through a place resembling a sewer, climbed a ladder, and emerged outside—
There I found a bleak townscape like the European slums depicted in my history textbooks.
Perhaps because the rain had just stopped, the air was thick with the smell of rotting food.
I climbed out through a manhole-like opening, instinctively found the sunlight beating down from above “unpleasant,” and retreated into the shade.
When I looked into a puddle there, I saw my reflection for the first time.
Though filthy, I had finely textured white skin like silk, red eyes, and sharp canine teeth.
My hair was still black, my face had not changed, and I was even wearing the same school uniform. And yet—had I always been this beautiful? The thought welled up inside me.
That would have been utterly impossible if I were still myself.
It seemed the change had reached not only my appearance, but my mind as well.

“I am…”

—Chigusa Hinata.
I clearly remembered that name, along with every memory of my life underfoot.
But my body was something else entirely.
In short, my conversation with the girl who called herself a vampire had not been a dream. It had truly happened.
She and I had become one, and in doing so, we had survived.
As a half-vampire.

So that was why I had instinctively avoided the sun. Satisfied with that explanation but still curious, I stepped out of the shade and into the sunlight once more.
It felt as though my skin were slowly scorching.
And yet there was not enough pain or injury to declare that “vampires are vulnerable to sunlight.”
Was that because I was half human, or were true vampires simply not as vulnerable to sunlight as the stories claimed?

“More importantly… where am I?”

If I remembered correctly, I had jumped from the roof of my high school.
Yet somehow, my remains had been transported to a garbage dump, and now I stood in a slum that was very clearly not in Japan.
If Camilla’s memories had remained, I might at least have recalled the name of this place, but apparently things were not going to be so convenient.
With no better option, I wandered around and surveyed my surroundings. Beyond an alley, in the darkness ahead, I spotted three men.
Looking more closely, I saw that they had surrounded a girl.

—Kill them.

My instincts screamed the command.
Before I knew it, needle-sharp claws had extended from my fingers, and my legs were tensed to spring.

…And just what do you think you are doing, taking control of my body without permission?

At my mild rebuke, the strength abruptly drained from my body.
How frightening. It had felt as though my body did not belong to me.
Once I had regained my composure, I slowly approached the three men and observed their exchange for a moment.

“Hey, Ellis. Think you can give us an answer already?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not interested in any of you!”
“Is it because of Lyle? Ditch that pathetic weakling. We’ve got more experience—we’ll show you a much better time.”
“I’m even less interested in men who think with their crotches!”

It appeared that three pathetic men were surrounding an orange-haired girl with a spirited face, intending to force themselves upon her.
I had endured similar experiences. When men like these failed to seduce someone, they blamed their victim—”This is your fault for playing hard to get”—and surrendered themselves to their lust.
Just as this one was doing now.
One man’s hand reached toward the chest of the petite girl called Ellis.
He groped her far-from-small breast through her clothes, only for her to slap his hand away at once.
Ellis glared at them, red-faced, while the men leered at her with vulgar smiles.
How nauseating.
…
…Oh. Such harsh language was unlike me. Was this the vampire’s influence?
Even so, I believed it was an entirely reasonable assessment.
Unlike garbage such as myself, she was an admirable girl, brimming with the will to live and even devoted to someone she loved.
There was no reason she should be used as these men pleased when they seemed to live by their groins alone and have genitals in place of brains.
If she was to be defiled, it ought to be by something else.

“Excuse me. May I have a moment?”
“Huh?”

When I addressed them, all three men furrowed their brows and glared at me with expressions fit for textbook thugs.
They did not frighten me in the slightest.
In that instant, my body took one look at their faces, decided that discussion was unnecessary, and moved of its own accord.

“Gagh!”

I was short enough to reach only their shoulders, so all I had to do was lower my stance and thrust out my fist. It buried itself in one man’s solar plexus, dropping him.
The other two lunged for me. I evaded them with a light step, sprang into the air, and gave the back of one’s head a small push with my heel.
I drove my knee squarely into the last man’s groin, then helpfully hastened his fall so that he struck the ground face-first.

“Th-That was amazing…”

The girl before me stared in astonishment.
So did I.
My body had moved naturally, but I had never even been athletic. I could hardly believe I was capable of such agility.

“Um, thank you!”

The girl bowed deeply.
How long had it been since anyone bowed to me?
I had bowed countless times while being subjected to violence, but having someone bow to me felt very strange.

“It was nothing, really.”
“But those three are some of the pushiest, nastiest men around here! Taking all of them down was incredible. You were so cool!”
“I see.”
“Is there anything I can do to thank you?”

The fact that gratitude occurred to her so readily suggested she was a very good girl.
I wanted to ruin her completely.
…Hm.
That appeared to be the vampiric impulse inside me.
But now that I looked, Ellis did have a very pretty face.
Her complexion was too healthy for someone from a slum, her breasts were reasonably large, and she seemed to have a pleasant personality.
She looked as though she could prove useful.

“Actually, I… have no idea where I am. I simply found myself here.”
“What? Do you have amnesia or something?”
“I do not believe so. But until a short while ago, I should have been somewhere else entirely. I have nowhere to sleep…”
“Oh, if that’s all, I can take care of it! My place isn’t very clean, though. Is that okay?”

This girl did not have much of a sense of caution, did she?
All I had done was help her a little, and she was willing to let a complete stranger stay with her.
Had there been more people like her, might someone worth less than dust, like me, have been able to live a decent life?

“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name’s Ellis. I’m fifteen—you’re probably about my age, right?”
“My name is Chigusa. I am sixteen.”
“Chigusa’s an unusual name, but I think it’s cute. Nice to meet you!”

I timidly took her offered hand, and Ellis gave me a warm, friendly smile.
The heat coming through her hand felt strangely vivid.
Thump, thump. I could almost feel the pulse in the tiny blood vessels beneath her palm.
Come to think of it, it had been a long time since I had experienced ordinary human contact.
Was that why I felt this curious sensation—as though our hands had joined and I were taking something from her, or perhaps pouring something into her?

 

◇◇◇

 

Ellis led me through the narrow streets toward her home.
We passed through alleys with treacherous footing, where people lay sprawled in such wretched conditions that I could not tell whether they were sleeping or dead. When we emerged into a plaza, a castle-like structure built from scrap materials towered before us.
Similar buildings crowded around it, forming a bizarre town.
Had they been assembled from the mountain of garbage farther back?
Given the building materials, the place had a distinctive odor of its own.

“Is this your first time seeing the Discard District?”
“The Discard District?”
“Yeah. It’s the back side of the capital, Groll. Wherever there’s light, there’s darkness. Just like the name says, discarded people make their living here from discarded rubbish.”

Was Groll the name of the city?
It was becoming increasingly doubtful that I was still in Japan.
But if I was not, why could we understand each other’s language? Was that another benefit provided by the vampire who now made up half of me?
What a convenient power.
Still, if I truly was overseas, an extraordinary phenomenon had occurred.
In other words—after leaping from my school building in an attempt to kill myself, I had somehow been transported to a foreign country in an instant and merged with a vampire.
Even as I said it to myself, it made no sense whatsoever.

“Well, this is my home. As you can see, it’s a filthy wreck. Are you sure you’re okay with it?”

She showed me to a small room about two levels up the scrap-built castle.
On the way, we passed several people who appeared to live in the Discard District. Every one of them was gaunt, filthy, and foul-smelling.
By the standards of this place, Ellis was clearly among the better specimens. It was little wonder men swarmed around her.

“You are letting me stay. I could hardly make demands.”

Ellis stared blankly at me.
Had I said something strange?

“Oh, sorry. Everyone around here is greedy, so it’s rare to meet someone as modest as you.”

I did not consider myself modest when I was already imposing on her for shelter.
But if she said so, then it must be true.
Having talked long enough in the doorway, I followed her inside.
The cramped room was only about the size of two tatami mats. Frankly, it seemed much too small for two people to sleep in, but I was in no position to complain.
Once inside, Ellis took a blood-encrusted knife from within her clothes, hung it on a hook on the wall, and casually seated herself on the floor.

“Sit wherever you like.”

At her invitation, I folded my legs beneath me and sat on the hard floor.
Perhaps she noticed me looking at the knife, because Ellis explained it without being asked.

“Oh, are you worried about that? It’s nothing unusual around here. Everyone’s killed a person or two.”
“Perhaps you did not need my help after all.”
“That’s not true. You settled things peacefully! Without you, two or three people might’ve died, including me.”

The ease with which she included herself reminded me that, beautiful though she appeared, Ellis was still a resident of this town.
But to think such a lawless place could exist in the modern world.
It was difficult to believe, but having witnessed it with my own eyes—vampires included—I had little choice.

“If people die so readily here, why did you invite a complete stranger like me into your room?”
“I don’t know. I just thought you seemed like a good person. My instincts about these things are usually right.”

She grinned, showing her teeth.
I could not imagine what she had seen in me to reach that conclusion.
Still, it was true that the person named Chigusa Hinata would never try to harm another.
She had always been the one being harmed.

“Hmm… Still, Chigusa…”

Ellis leaned toward me and gently bumped her forehead against mine.
My heart gave an involuntary leap when her face suddenly drew so near.

“Whoa, you’re freezing! Are you sure you’re not sick? You look awfully pale.”
“Do I?”

On the contrary, I had never felt better.
Where our foreheads touched, her skin felt extraordinarily hot.
But rather than Ellis having an unusually high temperature, perhaps it was my own body temperature that had fallen.
She patted me all over to check, exclaiming, “Cold!” in surprise each time.

“And your skin’s so smooth. What a waste. Stay in the Discard District and it’ll turn rough in no time.”
“Is that so? I think your skin is beautiful too, Ellis.”

As I spoke, I took her hand.
My instincts told me that I had to.
I did not understand why.
But this piercing sensation when our bare skin met did not seem to be merely the result of heightened sensitivity.
There was no doubt that, for as long as we remained in contact, something inside me was flowing into Ellis.
I did not yet know what it was, but the mere thought of my essence pouring into another person sent a thrill through me.
It was like staining a white canvas the vivid color of virgin blood.

“Um, it’s embarrassing when you hold my hand for so long.”
“I am sorry. But… may I touch you a little longer? Feeling your warmth puts me at ease.”
“…I-Is that so? Well, if it means that much to you, I don’t mind.”

The way Ellis’s tawny skin flushed scarlet as she spoke made her unbearably adorable.
I was seized by the urge to sink my teeth into her.
Of course, I still possessed reason, so I would not attack her immediately—but the day would come, in the not-too-distant future, when she would not reject me even if I forced myself upon her.
Of that, I felt certain.