The Water Magician

Vampire

One of the most famous monsters in fantasy history.

The being of twilight, the lord of monsters, or perhaps the undead king.

Yes, the undead king is never a skeleton! It is the vampire who is the undead king!

Ryo wanted to assert this loudly...

However, the atmosphere didn't allow for such statements, so he remained silent.

Vampires, or similar beings, have existed on Earth since ancient times.

Indeed, this is true in both the East and the West.

The image held by many people, including Ryo, is largely formed from modern Europe.

It goes without saying that much of this image is due to Bram Stoker's "Count Dracula."

(I'm sure Bram Stoker must have been a person who reincarnated from another world! Just like J.R.R. Tolkien!)

This was Ryo's delusion.

The historical figure who served as the model for Dracula, Vlad III of the House of Drăculești, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler, was not particularly close to the image of a vampire... At best, it was the feel of his portrait and the act of impaling his Ottoman enemies that might be seen as vampiric... Ryo thought.

He was a figure who could even be called a hero for his efforts to defend his weak homeland, the Principality of Wallachia, from the neighboring superpower, the Ottoman Empire.

"Did you just say vampire?"

The one who slowly asked Dogon, as if to confirm, was Priest Graham.

Up until now, he had left all the questions to Hugh and had been a listener, but this was the first time he interjected.

Hugh glanced at Graham, who had changed his demeanor.

"I couldn't make a judgment, but Joe said so."

The swordsman Dogon nodded as he said this.

"Master McGrath, is that Joe among the survivors...?"

"The one you saved, the most critically injured, that spear warrior is Joe," Hugh answered Graham's question.

"That guy. He’s not in danger, but it might take some time for him to regain consciousness. When he can talk, there are definitely some things I want to ask him directly."

"Yeah. Once he can talk, I’ll call you, Graham."

With that, the meeting for the day concluded, and Dogon and another person offered to help care for the injured in the medical room before leaving.

Ryo gestured for Hero Roman to come over.

"What’s the matter, Ryo-san?"

Due to Roman's straightforward personality, he quickly came over to Ryo.

"Earlier, Graham's atmosphere changed the moment the name vampire came up... Did something happen?"

Ryo called Roman to confirm whether anything had occurred between Graham and the vampire.

Of course, he was concerned that Graham's personal feelings could negatively impact their future strategies.

It was certainly not mere curiosity. No, it wasn’t.

"Ah. In the Western Nations, vampires are a special kind of being. They are considered the embodiment of evil... Particularly, the church has carried out vampire hunts numerous times..."

There was likely more to it than just that.

Roman had a somewhat hesitant expression, as if he found it difficult to speak on the matter.

Pushing him for details would be a bad move.

"I see. I understand well. Thank you."

When Ryo said this, Roman seemed to relax a little and exited the room.

In the daimyo's office.

Daimyo Goro and legacy officer Rasharta were seated across from each other.

"About vampires..."

"Rasharta, is there a connection between demons and vampires?"

Rasharta muttered to himself, prompting Goro to ask.

"I’ve been thinking about that for a while... As far as the legends I know, there’s nothing that indicates a connection between the two."

That Rasharta did not know likely meant that there was no indication of a relationship between demons and vampires in the kingdom's lore.

"To search for the missing villagers, we’ve done several forest hunts, including myself, but... I guess we were lucky not to encounter any vampires."

Recalling the forest hunts that could have led to the village's destruction, Goro grimaced as he spoke.

"Well, if you think about it that way, it's good to find out now, isn’t it? Having Master McGrath among the reinforcements is something that doesn’t happen in ordinary circumstances. Plus, with the Hero Party involved... You’re definitely lucky, Goro. Be confident about that."