Our destination was, as Senri had said, a smaller city than Semesera or Engei.

　The buildings were made of stone and the road surface was bare of earth. The number of carriages and people was much smaller than in Semesera, and the city was shrouded in darkness, but there was a sense of calmness in the air.

　As I expected, there was a ditch in front of the gate, and water was flowing, but the flow had almost stopped, as if it had not been maintained very well, and we were able to cross the gate without much impact.
　Nice town. The number of mercenaries was small, but not so small as to make hiding difficult. It also seems to have at least a handful of stores. It might not be a bad idea to stay here for a while if there are no pursuers.

　Oh, if only the Amulet of Shadows hadn't been destroyed, I could have relaxed at .......

　As soon as I was attracted to the stalls, Senri pulled my hand hard.

　He was resting on my back as we moved along, but his complexion was not looking good, as if exhaustion from the strenuous march had taken its toll. Probably the main reason was that we had gone through the forest without any preparation.

　I'm trying to act unnoticed, but I can smell it.
　She's been a pain in the ass this whole time. Even the replenishment of supplies at Semesera was done by Senri. I would have liked to do it myself, but not many stores are open until nightfall.

"Senri, you need to rest. It's not so easy to find them when you've come this far, is it?

"End, I can't rest ...... if you don't get your act together. I think you've been a little distracted lately.

　Senri's voice was somewhat reproachful.
　That's a terrible thing to say. I'm going to think back on my recent actions for a while.

　............ I may have been a little too forgiving, that's for sure.

"Oh, I'm sorry. "Yeah, I'm sorry. You know, it was the first time I'd ever had someone I could let go.

"...... Yeah. ............ What about you, Lu?

"Lou felt a little differently, I guess. She wasn't ............ strong.

　If Luu had survived, he would not have been able to relax so much. That may give you more freedom, but it doesn't make you a better partner.

　He stopped looking around and followed Senri. His back is incredibly small.

"Let's stay in town for a bit. If we stay in the inn, we won't have to worry about our cover being blown, right?　As long as no demise knights come to town, that is.

But ......

Don't worry, I'll take good care of you. I'll take good care of you, just like Senri did for me ....... I like to move my body.

　Senri had his doubts. But he was aware that he was not in perfect health.
　I don't like the idea of Senri collapsing either. I'm well aware that humans are not that strong.

　She is slender. Although she is well trained, she is soft to the touch, and without her blessing, she would not be able to fight the Dark Ones. I've been relying on her so far, but it's time to turn the tables a bit.

　Either way, he needed to take a break somewhere.

　Senri let out a small sigh and gave a slightly annoyed smile.

............ Okay. But you need to be quiet, okay?

I know, I know. What do you think I am? ......

　Even I wouldn't leave Senri to go around the city. No matter how charming the city is, the important thing is to be cautious.
　That's how I've survived so far.

§§

　As I did in Semesera, I took a mid-range hotel. Two similar single rooms. The Lord's jewels were worth a lot of money even if they were disposed of in a hurry, so we should be able to survive for a while.

　Since it was already midnight, I asked Senri to get ready for a quick rest.
　Probably a big part of the reason she's not feeling well is the lack of sleep and the disruption of her internal rhythm. Humans are daytime creatures and need a good amount of sleep.

　Senri worked while I slept and stayed awake most of the time while I was awake. It's only natural for a demise knight to get sick from this.
　From now on, I might as well let her sleep at night, even if it makes me a little sad.

　I'm used to being nursed, but it's a new feeling to be on the receiving end.
　Humming to himself, he picked up the food and took it to Senri's room. The innkeeper didn't say anything, but I wondered what he thought of us coming to the inn together and taking two rooms. We wouldn't look like travelers, peddlers, or mercenaries.

　When we reached the front of the room, we stopped in front of Senri's room.

　Vampires are cursed not to enter a room without being invited. This is probably the strangest disadvantage a vampire can suffer.

　True vampires are unable to enter other people's homes. As a subordinate, I might be able to break in if I had to, but it would be very unpleasant to my senses.
　I don't know what the hell they are judging, but this curse is quite strict. You can enter an inn or a store without permission when it is open, but not when it is closed.

　In the case of an inn with many rooms, you can enter the lobby and dining room, but not the guest rooms. Probably, the permission of the guest who has taken the room is required for each room.

　Because of this curse, vampires cannot sneak into the room and suck the blood of the owner. Even if the window is open, even if there is a chimney that can be entered, even if there is a pure virgin in the room exposing her defenseless form on the bed, they can never enter the room. In that sense, vampires are fair monsters.



　Well, for now, it's not a weakness, since I don't intend to break into other people's rooms and sip their blood, but there will come a time when it will become a big obstacle.

　However, leaving that aside, I have come up with a way to use the curse to my advantage.

　Holding the tray with the food on it, I stared at the thin wooden door.
　I hadn't knocked yet, but I didn't feel bad about it. The fact made him happy.

　I don't have a key. This means that I'm not an intruder to Senri, that I'm accepted. It's a sign of trust.
　If Senri had been hostile to me, she would not have allowed me to enter the room, and I would have felt very uncomfortable with the curse.

　That was the best proof that Senri was not against me, at least not yet.
　If I had the ability to turn into mist, I wouldn't be blamed for breaking into the room through the keyhole.

　Oh, how good it feels to be accepted. Just to confirm this, I rented two rooms this time as well.

　While I was deeply moved, I heard a key turn in the lock and the door opened.
　Senri, who had finished bathing, changed into her loungewear and removed her glasses, was looking at me with a quizzical look on her face.

What are you doing here, stopping and not knocking?

No, I was just about to do that.

I was just about to." "............ Well, okay. If you're standing in the hallway, you might get caught. Come on in.

　Senri gave a small sigh and explicitly invited me into the room.


§§.


　While Senri was resting, I decided to stay in my room and read.

　There were plenty of things to do, plenty of things I wanted to do. I couldn't go out and hunt like I had in the villa, but I needed to build up my strength.

　He didn't want to spend all his time in Senri's room, watching her sleep, out of concern for her well-being. The air of the undead, her natural enemy, was probably eating away at Senri's spirit unconsciously. A wall between them may not mean much, but it's better than nothing.

　And, of course, it would stop him from wanting to suck a little blood while watching Senri sleep.

　I read the only undead book I had from the Lord's mansion, and a primer on non-attribute magic that Senri had bought for me.

　I didn't know this, but it seems that magic used by mages is divided by attributes.
　There are five major attributes: fire, water, wood, metal, and earth, and each person is born with a certain attribute that they are good at, and the magic they can use is determined by that. Those with fire magic can't use water magic, and vice versa, and there are rare cases where people are blessed with powerful magic powers of multiple attributes, and those people become mages.

　The mage who shot me with a flaming arrow was probably a mage with fire attribute.

　So what is non-attribute magic?
　Non-attribute magic is magic for the poor people who have magic power but no attributes.

　It is said that all living beings have magic power, but most of them do not have the right attributes.
　Those who do have neither strong nor weak attributes can use magic of all attributes, but their power is not as strong as that of mages with attributes.
　And as a result of thinking about how to effectively utilize the magic power of such people, non-attribute magic was created!

　Non-attribute magic has very little in the way of offensive magic, but it has a nice selection of useful techniques, such as making a small fire, creating a cool breeze when it's hot, extracting water from the air, and kneading dirt to make mud dumplings.

　I had magic power (or rather, vampires are known for their enormous magic power), but I had no attributes. The crystal that Senri had bought me to measure my attributes only emitted a colorless light, indicating the fact that it would be difficult for me to use magic to improve my combat abilities.

　Senri had a grim look on his face, but it wasn't his fault, and magic is magic, even if it's non-attribute magic.
　It's not my fault that I can't use it, and it's not like I'm trying to be a mage. It doesn't bother me.
　Learning and growing is fun. In a good mood, I asked Senri to buy me an introduction to non-attribute magic and decided to study it.

　Fortunately, as a lowly vampire, I have more magic power than most. There is no shortage of practice. If I can use magic in small numbers, it will make traveling with Senri more convenient (by the way, Senri can't use magic. (Incidentally, Senri doesn't use magic. Healing magic uses positive energy, not magic, so technically it's not magic.


　And there was one thing Senri didn't tell me.


　Necromancy is a non-attribute magic, although it's not listed in the introductory books on non-attribute magic, and probably not in any commercial grimoire.

　Senri doesn't know it yet, but I'm the vessel of the King of the Dead.
　She once said that the King of the Dead is defined as a special kind of undead who can use necromancy. Then, with the mighty lord at the controls, I have room to use his abominable arts.

　There is no grimoire, no instruction manual. But the knowledge the Lord possessed is within me.
　It's just sealed away in the depths, and there's definitely a way to know.

　Of course, even if I learned it, I couldn't proudly use necromancy in front of Senri.
　But it's good to keep that in mind. The power will prolong my life.

　Life is so much better now.
　Senri gives me blood regularly and we joke around as we travel the world. It's inconvenient, but it doesn't interfere with my freedom. It's impeccable. Maybe they'll even let you bite their necks once in a while.

　But I'm not optimistic enough to think this life will last.

　I cast spells according to the instructions in the book, painstakingly building up my internal magic power. A small spark of fire flutters at the tip of my index finger.
　I check it and give a small smile.


§§


　It was on the third day of my incubation that I received a letter from an unknown sender.
　I hadn't done anything to arouse suspicion. The letter was inscribed with the symbol of a cross, a vampire's weakness, as if to harass me.