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Chapter 24 – Edim and Jessica Team Up

“Edim, let’s hurry up and bring everyone out of here!”

Jessica, the goody two shoes.

I should have known she’d say something like this…

I was starting to feel down at how nothing was working out right.

Haah.

I had wanted to use all their blood to heal myself.

But if I did that I’d lose Jessica’s trust.

I was stuck playing the role of the “vampire who had a human heart” after all.

Still, this was all to stay in-line with Tilea-sama’s scheme.

As long as I had no idea what was riding on this, there was no way I could hinder it.

I suppose I had no choice.

I cut through all of the chains and freed the women and children, one by one.

Snap.

Snap.

The room was filled with the sound of breaking metal links..

“Ah, t-the chains… Am, am I saved…?”

“T-, Thank you, big sis.”

“T-, Thank you… Thank you!”

And now they were getting noisy again.

Stop it already.

You’re going to call the guards over, damn it!

No, the guards were coming soon anyway.

So the escaping women would have been noticed anyway?

I had to hurry.

“Jessica, do you know where the Fiend is?”

“No. I was only just brought here too.”

“I see…”

What could I do?

If I went around beating small fry up for information I’d run out of stamina.

But if I hid myself and looked for him I’d never have enough time.

If I took too long Ortidiot would come barging in.

“Edim, could it be that you were planning to kill Gordon?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I know you’re a goodie-two-shoes. But even if you’re against it, this is one thing that I――”

“I’m not against it! T-, That cruel man. I-In the plaza he killed so many people. The desperate parents of the girls being taken away. Brothers who tried to protect their sisters. So many… So many people… I-, It’s unforgivable. If you don’t kill him, then I will!” Jessica screamed.

She was normally such a kind girl too…

Gordon was quite the villain, it seemed.

He had picked on the wrong person, though.

Getting ahead of himself and laying his hands on Tilea-sama’s belongings.

It was unthinkable.

For that, I would give him a taste of hell.

After releasing the women in the cell, Jessica and I searched for Gordon’s room.

Unfortunately, not only was the place like a maze but it was also crawling with mercenary guards.

Progress was slow.

“Jessica, we won’t break any ground by keeping hidden like this. I’m going to be a bit more overbearing.”

“Wait. Edim, are you okay? You’ve looked terrible all night.”

Sharp as always.

She noticed even though she had been distracted with our reunion.

She was right of course.

I was on the verge of collapse, dizzy and getting worse all the time.

I was still feeling the regret from not healing myself with the women.

“You’re right. I’m not at my best, Jessica. But I still have to kill Gordon no matter what.”

“Edim, I think you should consider a temporary retreat. I can’t forgive Gordon either, but I don’t want you to die.”

Ugh, so annoying.

Retreat was unacceptable.

I couldn’t report a failure.

I’d probably be executed on the spot if I did.

“It’s fine. I’m a vampire. I don’t die so easily.”

“B-But… I-, I know! We should have Tilea-san help us. You know how strong she is, right? Tilea-san could beat him in a flash.”

Even more unacceptable!

It was unthinkable.

Failing the missing, and then getting your superior to wipe your backside for you…

If I did something so shameful the leadership would lynch me.

No, it would probably be an even worse torture that awaited me.

Uu, scary…

“Jessica, let’s not get Tilea-sa…n involved in this. I owe her my life. Plus, we can’t delay it. The longer we do, the more victims there’ll be. If we don’t kill him tonight, more girls are going to be violated and murdered.”

“Y-You’re right. I can’t just rely on Tilea-san for everything. And Gordon is still ordering girls to come to him. We have to save them.”

“Exactly.”

“But are you really going to be okay? I’ll do my best to help, so don’t overdo it, okay?”

“Yeah, got it. Anyway, about the strategy I mentioned earlier…”

“Strategy…?”

“It’s nothing complicated. Basically while I hide in the shadows, you lure one of the guards over. I’ll interrogate him and find out where Gordon is.”

“Finding information quietly is a good plan. But how am I going to lure someone over?”

“You seduce them, obviously.”

“Ehhhh!? I-I’m going to be doing it again…?”

“Huh? You’ve seduced someone before?”

“Y-Yeah. When I was fighting the demons with Tilea-san…”

“Well if you’ve done it before, then I’ll be relying on you. Pull somebody over for me.”

Of course I could just run around haphazardly creating vampires as well. The chaos incited would serve me well.

But in that case Jessica would doubt that I actually was a vampire with a human heart…

Hahhh.

Honestly, the reason we need such a convoluted plan is because of you, Jessica.

“Uuu, I don’t wanna.”

“Isn’t this better than using violence?”

“Y-Yeah. I don’t like it, but it’s to defeat Gordon, right?” she consented.

Now we just needed to wait for a target to come along.

After waiting in the shadows for a few minutes…

A bearded, muscular guy who looked the type to be a lech came along.

Exactly the type of pervert you’d expect to love Jessica’s type.

“Alright, Jessica. So what you’re going to do us lure him into the dark. After that I’ll ask him where Gordon is.”

“Uu, can I really do this?”

“You’ll be fine. Stupid-looking men like that love childish bodies like yours the most.”

“Kuh! Even you, Edim!? I-I’m still growing, okay…” she whined.

Having said that it seemed like she had found her determination because she pulled her top down around her shoulders and began sashaying towards the man.

Now is the time for your washboard to shine, Jessica.

“H-, Heyy~ M-Mister?”

“What? Girl! How did you get in here!?”

“M-, My body feels so hot right now. Haaah~ Say, w-, wanna do something nice together?”

Jessica was acting as hard as she could!

Well done, Jessica! Although I wished you could have looked a bit more natural doing it…

Ah well, it was naive little Jessica after all.

I suppose asking for a convincing seduction was a bit much.

“What are going on about, you snot-nosed brat? Get back to your damned cell!”

“Eh!? U-Um, s-something nice…”

“Gordon-sama’s strike zone is too huge. What’s good about brats like these?”

Jessica turned to me in tears.

Ah, so it was hopeless, huh…

I guess she just wasn’t sexy enough after all.

Ah well.

I wasn’t happy about it, but I suppose I’d play the bait instead.

I signalled Jessica with my hands.

Shoulders dropped, she trudged back over to me.

“Uu, I said I couldn’t do it…”

“Yeah. You don’t have enough sex appeal. I’ll take over.”

“Wha-, E-Edim…?”

Jessica came back to my side and we switched placed.

I exposed my shoulders and pulled up my skirt a little.

“Hello, mister~ How about it? Wanna have a little fun with me?”

“Another woman… What the fuck are the guards even doing?>”

“Come on~ Over here~”

“Look, I’m not interested in brats like――”

I casually brought emphasis to my cleavage.

How’s that?

Jessica doesn’t have a ravine like this, does she?

Although I was no Tilea-sama, I think I had pretty good proportions for my age.

“Not bad. I thought you were just some kid but, you’re… Alright, let uncle show you a good time.”

Alright, I got him.

Huhu, now I just needed to lure him into the dark to interrogate him.

I smugly gave Jessica a sidelong glance.

Aha, she looked mortified.

I could see her shoulders trembling.

“Come on, uncle, this way――”

I beckoned him into the shadows like a dancer, and watched as he came closer and closer.

“Guhehehe~ Let’s have a taste fir―― Mn!? It stinks! Don’t you know what a bath is!? Disgusting!”

“Eh…?”

He was almost there.

But his nose twitched and he backed off.

Stink?

W-, Why?

Wait! S-Speaking of which, that homeless guy stank as well…

It was horrible.

It had been like biting into a corpse.

Had that given me bad breath?

“It stinks, it stinks, you fucking stink! I hate brats, but I hate unhygienic women as well. Piss off back to your cell!”

“Y-, You fuckerr!”

Unhygienic!?

How dare a lowly human speak to me like that!

My hand shot out and held his neck in a vicegrip.

“Guoohh! W-What the hell is this power? I-I can’t breathe. Gahh! S-Save me!”

“H-, Huh? What’s going on?” called another guard.

Thanks to the first one’s noise they were beginning to gather.

T-This was bad.

I had to get my answers now!

“Oi. If you don’t want me to strangle you to death then tell me where Gordon is!”

“Guh, w-who would, tell you――?”

“Hmph.”

I increased the strength of my grip.

I could hear the start of his bones creaking.

“Guahh! I-I’ll speak! Cough, cough. Please stop this,” he wheezed before telling me what I wanted to know.

Since I was done, I dropped him onto the floor.

He shouldn’t have pissed me off to begin with.

According to him, Gordon’s room was on the top floor.

As long as we kept going up, we’d find him.

“Jessica, I know where he is now. He’s on the top floor.”

“…Yeah. But why did you start yelling? I heard you guys arguing about a smell or something but――”

“J-, Jessica, we’ve got other things to worry about. We need to take him down already.”

“You’re right.”

Together, the two of us evaded the encroaching guards as we made our way to the top floor.

Unfortunately the further we went, the more guards there were.

We couldn’t continue like this for long.

On the other hand I didn’t have the stamina to mow down all of these weaklings either.

“Jessica, we can’t just keep running past them. Can I count on you to clear the path for me?”

“Y-Yeah.”

Her mana surged as she prepared for battle.

Alright.

Jessica would take care of them for me, and I’d save my stamina for the coming battle instead.

Phew.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Circulating the mana through my body, I prepared to recover.

I continued with the technique for a few minutes.

After a while I began to feel a little better.

Opening my eyes, I began setting out for the top floor again.

How many people had Jessica taken care of?

Wai-, she hadn’t taken care of a single one!

Actually, wasn’t she kind of in trouble?

Jessica was firing magical bullets at the mercenaries but seemed to be having trouble finishing the job.

Actually, Jessica was being toyed with by their magical bullets and arrows.

Hahh, humans really were weak.

To think there was a time in my life when I was seriously competing with creatures like these…

Ah, oops.

Camilla-sama was about to lose a belonging if I didn’t do something.

Jessica, you’re not allowed to break without permission.

Haah.

Damnit.

This was going to be a hit to my stamina for sure.

I generated a few magical bullets before firing them upon the mercenaries.

“Kuaah!”

“W-What is that power!?”

“H-Hiiee! How can magical bullets be so strong!?”

It hadn’t taken much to crush their morale.

Unfortunately that hadn’t translated into deaths.

A number of them were injured but I couldn’t defeat them while holding back like this.

Their numbers weren’t going to decrease at this rate.

Trying to converse my mana would only waste time.

Haah, haah…

I was still so dizzy though.

This time I circulated my mana to the limit to overwhelm the guards.

I had almost run dry now, but the two of us would have been defeated otherwise.

“Get back, Jessica.”

“B-But…”

“Just listen. I can’t let you die! Get back!”

“Y-Yeah.”

After she did as I told, I faced off against the mercenaries.

There were only a few floors left until the top.

As long as I could get rid of these small-fries I was basically there.

“Come on, you garbage. Those of you who want to die, step forward!”

“”Waaaaaaaaaah!”” they screamed, as they charged me half-mad.

It seemed that the pressure I put on them earlier had caused them to fall into a panic.

Haha, it seemed that I had some hope now.

Had they taken up proper military formation I might have been screwed.

But like this they were just target practice.

I fired.

The lot of them danced around like fools.

A few of them came at me with swords, so I snapped them before snapping their necks in turn.

Not long afterwards…

Haah, haah, haah…

I did it.

Somehow, I managed to finish off all the soldiers on this floor.

Uu, d-damn it.

Quite a lot of my energy had been expended.

If I collapsed here I wasn’t sure I’d get up again.

I leant against a pillar to catch my breath.

Huh.

Where was Jessica, anyhow?

She hadn’t died, had she?

She had gotten behind me but I was too busy with the guards to pay attention to her afterwards.

“Hahh, haah, J-, Jessica, are you okay…?”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

“T-, Thank goodness…”

“I’m sorry, Edim. All I’m doing is being a deadweight. H-Hey, are you really okay?”

“Haah, haah, I-, I said I was fine. M-, More importantly, we need to hurry.”

“We can’t! Edim, I know you’re strong but you’re overdoing it. Let’s rest first. I can’t see you beating Gordon in your state.”

Perhaps she had a point.

My stamina wasn’t increasing, but the enemy numbers would.

I needed blood.

And all the better if it came from a beauty.

And there was a beautiful girl right in front of me.

I wanted it.

If I didn’t drink, my power would never come back to me.

Jessica belonged to Camilla-sama, though.

I couldn’t lay a hand on her.

Unfortunately…

I had to apologise to Camilla-sama.

In order to realise Tilea-sama’s order I had no choice but to do so.

Camilla-sama, please forgive my trespass.

“J-, Jessica, I need a favour…”

“What is it? Ask me anything.”

“Haah, haah, c-could you share some of your blood with me?”

“Eh!? T-That’s…”

“It’s fine. I won’t take all of it. I just need a little. Just a little…”

“O-, Okay… Just a little then.”

“Haah, haah, don’t worry, Jessica… I-, I wouldn’t ever kill you. We’re… friends, right?”

“Yeah. You’re right. We’re fine.”

All I had to do was invoke the ‘friend’ card and she was readily holding her arm out for me.

Huhu, how typical of her.

She was offering her blood to a vampire…

It was all the cuter to see that arm tremble just a little.

Relax, Jessica.

You belong to Camilla-sama.

I won’t kill you nor turn you.

I just want to enjoy you a little.

I took her arm into my hand and pulled her into my embrace.

And then I pierced my fangs into her soft neck.

“H-, Hey, Edim…?”

“W-, What is it? Haah, haah, you said that I could.”

“I-I did but, w-why are you touching me there? Hey-, wah!”

“Just bear with it for a bit… Vampires always get a little hot and bothered when drinking blood.”

And I still had horrible memories from those hobos.

I needed someone nice and pretty to clear those out.

“N-No, b-but, hahh, hahh, hang on…”

“Hahh, hahh… Y-, You’re adorable, Jessica. Just adorable…”

I kissed her adorable nape and chest between sips of her blood.

“Hahh, hey, t-that’s… Stop it! Stop!”

“Haah, haah, j-just hang on a little. This isn’t a bit deal.”

“Hic! No! You really have changed, Edim. You’re not a human…”

She was crying now.

Ah geez, had I gone too far?

I suppose the old Edim wouldn’t have done this, huh.

Well, since I was feeling better now, I suppose this was good enough?

“S-, Sorry, Jessica.”

“You’re horrible, Edim…”

“I really am sorry. It might sound like an excuse, but I kind of lose my mind while drinking blood.”

“Hic…”

“Come on, I’ll do anything, so forgive me. I’m feeling a lot better now that you shared some blood with me. Thank you.”

“…A-Are you better now?”

“Yeah. I really feel a lot better. Oh, I know! To apologise, how about I treat you to that Lintd Teahouse?”

“You still remember that place?”

“Of course I do. Didn’t you turn down my invitation because you had homework to do?”

“Uuu, uuu, you really do remember. Even though it happened before you turned… Uu, Edim…”

Jessica ran over and hugged me.

Haah, man I was tired.

What was this rollercoaster of tears, anger, and consolation?

“Do you forgive me?”

“Uu, only if you treat me to chiffon cake.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll treat you to as much as you want.”

“Ehehe, it’s a promise then. Maybe we should invite Tilea-san and the three of us can go together.”

Inviting Tilea-sama to go to a teahouse…

Jessica just dropped something difficult.

I wonder how jealous the leadership would be if I actually went through with it.

 

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