16. The Reckless Battle of a Maiden in Love

Author: Kiki
Raw: https://novel18.syosetu.com/n2498fn/18/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

When I left the church and returned to the castle, Leia was making herself at home in my room.
I did not remember giving her a spare key, but unlocking a door was doubtless effortless with her magic.
Watching her lie on my bed and idly kick her feet, she looked strangely young.
Judging by her appearance, Leia was probably about Chigusa’s age. Yet now and then she wore an oddly mature expression.
Surely she could not be older than I was. Still, people called her a witch—could I really assume she was the age she looked?

“Hello, Miyako. You’re back. We helped ourselves to your room first.”

The bipedal black-cat doll sitting on the table—Reese—rose to speak to me.
Leia slowly pushed herself upright as well, remaining seated on the bed as she watched me in silence.

“Going by that expression, you got a nice change of pace. My advice was right after all, wasn’t it?”

Reese puffed out its chest smugly.
I could not argue with it… though running into Chigusa had been pure coincidence.

“I’m not sure it was thanks to you, Leia, but it did clear my head. I think I’ll keep taking walks from tomorrow on.”
“I’m glad. Generally, I cannot recommend that a woman walk through the city alone, but I doubt you have anything to worry about, Miyako.”
“It still doesn’t feel real to me, but you’re right. I don’t think I could lose to just anyone anymore.”
“If anything, you must take care not to kill someone by misjudging your strength. By the way, Miyako, where in the city did you go today?”

I had expected it to ask.
But of course I would not tell them about Chigusa.
The kingdom wanted fighting power.
If they learned she was at the church, they might try to bring her to the castle.
And then—she would have to face the students again.
That would be far too cruel to do to her. It was not merely a matter of earning her trust.

“I only took a walk today, but I did pick out a few shops I want to visit after tomorrow.”
“Shops? Food? Clothes? Trinkets?”
“Food, I think.”

Clothes and trinkets interested me too, but I did not yet have the peace of mind to enjoy them.

“Then I recommend the confectioner’s on the main street. Their cream pie is simple, but it’s wonderful! The crust is crisp, it’s filled with fragrant cream, and if you have one fresh from the oven, well…!”
“…Do you want me to bring you some?”

Reese and Leia both shook their heads at once.
Apparently they did want some. I would make sure not to forget tomorrow.

 

◇◇◇

 

The next day, I put the pies Leia had recommended into a paper bag and visited the church.
When I entered the chapel, its broad interior was empty.
But perhaps they heard the door close. Two figures in habits emerged from a door at the back.
One was Chigusa; the other was an unfamiliar girl about her age.
They must have been working in the back. Both their clothes were rumpled, and their cheeks seemed faintly flushed.

“Sorry. Were you busy?”

When I stood and called out to them, Chigusa gave an unusual wry smile.

“No, not at all. You really came, Ms. Mikage.”
“I only just promised I would. By the way, who’s this?”

I looked at the orange-haired girl clinging to Chigusa’s arm, and our eyes met.
Then—for some reason—she glared at me.
Had I done something to make her dislike me?

“She’s Ellis. At this church, she—”
“I am Sister’s most beloved little sister!”

The girl called Ellis shouted before Chigusa could finish.
Sister… That was an unusual way to address someone.
And ordinarily, I did not think someone would call herself “most beloved.”
As expected, Chigusa smiled wryly at those words. Then, after a small sigh, she spoke with a tender expression.

“Honestly… yes, just as Ellis says. She is the dearest little sister I found in this world.”

Ellis’s face brightened happily.

“I see…”

Whatever the details of their relationship, there was no question that they were close.

“Ellis, I’m going to talk with Ms. Mikage for a while. Would you mind going back inside?”
“All right. If that is what you say, Sister, then just for today.”

Though she looked dissatisfied, she obediently did as Chigusa asked and disappeared into the back of the chapel.
After seeing her off and making sure the door had closed, Chigusa sat down on a pew.
I sat beside her and immediately raised the subject.

“So Ellis is different from the Nunnally you mentioned yesterday.”
“It isn’t only Ellis. There are several other people living with me as well.”
“Huh…”

Chigusa, living communally—and apparently getting along with everyone remarkably well.
It might have been rude to think so, but it surprised me.
Even if she had been freed from the bullying, I had not imagined a person could change so quickly.

“Then it was a good thing I bought extra. These are sweets the town says are delicious.”
“I thought I smelled something nice. They were a gift? Then I’ll gratefully accept them. Everyone likes sweets.”

I handed her the paper bag.
I disliked feeling as though I were trying to buy her favor, but she seemed pleased. Perhaps it had worked.

Then we began to talk about trivial things.
To bridge the time we had lost and the distance between us.
Of course, there were awkward silences, and sometimes I chose my words badly and made the atmosphere uncomfortable. But that was my own fault.
I did not expect things to go well from the start.
Little by little, I had to work at becoming the people we used to be.
That was the only atonement I could offer.

 

◆◆◆

 

Ever since Miyako had begun visiting the church every day, Ellis had been in a foul mood.
It was not because Chigusa was being taken from her.
Chigusa belonged to everyone. She did favor Ellis in particular, but fundamentally she loved all her companions.
With the vastness of her heart, she ruled them as though embracing them, offering comfort and sharing happiness with them.
In a sense, she had been an absolute presence—until Miyako appeared.

Even Ellis could understand the reason for the melancholy expression Chigusa sometimes wore.
It was because of the memories Chigusa had left behind when she was human.
Chigusa herself had told Ellis that she and Miyako had known each other since childhood.
Those words made Ellis certain.
That must have been—Chigusa’s first love.
And that first love was not over.
Their reunion had rekindled it, trying to drag Chigusa back to the memories of her human days.
That was the source of her melancholy. That human-looking expression.
And yet it was Chigusa herself who had made every Demi-Vamp living in the church, Ellis included, abandon their humanity.

Ellis was furious.
Not at Chigusa, but at Miyako, who kept meeting her despite knowing what those meetings meant.
If Chigusa had simply charmed Miyako and made her a thrall, Ellis would not have been so irritated.
But Chigusa hesitated to so much as touch Miyako’s hand.
After their first embrace, she avoided physical contact. Then, at one of their later secret meetings, she finally took Miyako’s hand of her own accord—only to let go almost immediately in regret.
Watching that scene, Ellis had felt anger unlike anything she had known.
It was jealousy, but it was also a religious sort of outrage: as though her goddess had been defiled, or her god blasphemed.
In any case, the feeling had grown beyond what Ellis could bear.

“I’m sorry, Sister. Just for today, I’m going to be a bad girl and disobey you.”

That night, Chigusa had once again spent private time tenderly comforting Ellis.
Ellis was easily reassured by even a small gesture from Chigusa, yet Chigusa still gave her all the affection she possessed.
It pained Ellis to betray her, but she no longer believed she had another choice.
She kissed the forehead of the peacefully sleeping Chigusa beside her, then fled the room—and the church.

Thump!
Once outside, Ellis lightly kicked off the ground and leapt onto the roof of a nearby house.
She sprang again, then to the next roof and the next—racing through the nighttime town, faintly lit by the light pouring down from the heavens.
From the rooftops, the town spread clearly before her.
Beyond the rows of houses lay the Discard District in the distance, where Ellis had once lived and from which Chigusa had taken her away.
In another direction stood the residential quarter of noble estates, while at the center loomed the enormous castle where the royal family lived.
That castle was Ellis’s destination.

A moat surrounded the castle, and at this hour its drawbridge had been raised.
For a Demi-Vamp’s physical abilities, however, jumping the river was easy.
After successfully entering the grounds, Ellis rounded to the side of the castle and looked up.
There was a window.
It was shut, but that posed no problem. She could sever the lock with her claws.
Then, unfortunately, a patrolling soldier appeared.
The first blow decides it—if she killed him before he could raise an alarm, there would be no trouble. Keeping low, Ellis swiftly closed in.
The soldier noticed her only when she had already come within a single step of striking his neck.
He hurriedly leveled his spear and thrust. Ellis vaulted over it in a somersault.
Landing behind him, she lashed out with her claws and cleanly took his head.
The soldier fell with a dull thud.
There had not been much noise. There would be no commotion until someone found the body.
To be safe, Ellis dropped the corpse into the moat. Then she looked up at the window again—took a short run-up, crouched, and made a great leap.
She drove her claws into the wall to hold herself in place, cut through the window lock with her free hand, and slipped neatly into the castle.

She landed without a sound in a second-floor corridor.
Now came the problem.
Ellis did not actually know where Miyako’s room was. All she knew was that Miyako lived in the castle and that her quarters were separate from those of the other students.
Even as a human, Ellis had never been the type to think far ahead before acting.
Asking someone from the Discard District—where people struggled desperately from one day to the next—to plan ahead was unreasonable.
Chigusa had always made up for that weakness, but unfortunately Ellis was alone now.
Keeping hidden and silent, carefully avoiding the soldiers, Ellis searched for Miyako’s room.

Most of the soldiers had not noticed her presence. But one person had sensed her already.

Leia Hersig, the witch who lived in the castle.
Why, even in the depths of night, were only soldiers too weak to stand against Ellis stationed in a castle meant to protect the royal family?
She was the answer.
She constantly watched the entire castle with magic so that any intruder could be dealt with immediately.

“A vampire. I heard Camilla had been eliminated by the knights, but it seems one of her companions remained. So this means Miyako’s condition was that thing’s doing.”

Reese spoke as it watched Ellis wander through the castle in a crystal’s reflection.
Seeing Ellis draw ever closer to Miyako’s room, Leia and Reese rose.
They left the room, naturally, to meet Ellis.
They had already chosen the place.
Before the corridor leading to the detached ground-floor wing where Miyako’s room stood, there was a broad, plaza-like space.
It had once been used as a storeroom, and traces of that use still remained.
Leia waited for Ellis in that dim place, and before long they came face-to-face.

“A girl… and a cat doll?”
“You have been running all over our grounds as you pleased, vampire.”
“Look who’s talking. I came here to kill the insolent human who invaded my personal space.”
“Says the one who violated Miyako with a curse.”

Reese’s voice seethed with anger.
Ellis, too, glared fiercely at those who protected Miyako.

“You don’t intend to move aside, do you?”
“Neither do we.”
“Then there’s only one thing to do!”

Ellis extended her sharp claws and readied herself to fight.
At the sight of her, Leia and Reese smiled together.

“I cannot understand it. Even Camilla was defeated and killed by knights weaker than us. So why do you, a third-rate vampire who cannot even melt into shadows, think you can challenge us?”
“I don’t know who this Camilla is, but I have a reason I need to kill Miyako!”
“I see. Perhaps being third-rate means you cannot even grasp the difference in our strength. Then die and learn it, vampire who can only live by parasitizing others!”

There was no longer any possibility of conversation.
Leia’s lips moved slightly, and light appeared in her palm.
Seeing it, Ellis kicked off the ground and rushed toward her.

“Miyako—I won’t give her to you!”

Power struck power.
The crash thundered through the silent castle, shaking it in the dead of night.