Chapter 323: 170. The Sealed Ones (Part One)
Translated by A Passing Wanderer
Edited by RED
Inside the Duchy of Ariana’s executive office…
Seran handed a piece of parchment over to me. “This is all the information on the man named Laurence and his family.”
I took a sip of my tea, then received the document. Its contents were brief and concise.
Laurence, along with his childhood friend Alina, left their hometown of Frants’ royal capital to embark on the life of a wandering merchant. They plugged away at this lifestyle for over twenty years, and in the process, they got hitched and spent many happy years together.
However, they found out that Alina couldn’t have children, which had plunged the couple into sadness.
In the middle of this, the war between the Theocratic Empire and the vampires began, and the couple returned to the Kingdom of Frants in order to flee from the conflict.
‘It lines up with the report Harman submitted earlier,’ I thought to myself, then put the teacup down on the office’s desk. I then turned to look at Seran. “Sister, the report came in faster than I expected. It’s well organised and very concise, too.”
“Thanks. I’ve been helping my mother out since I was young, and I’ve become a bit of a pro at these sorts of things.”
It seemed that she really was talented in multiple things.
“By the way, just what is the hint regarding the end of the world, Allen?” she asked me again, while tilting her head.
I figured that she was really curious about it.
While not saying anything back, I recalled the ‘baby’ Laurence and his wife were taking care of.
…Which happened to be the Second Imperial Prince of the Theocratic Empire, Ruppel Olfolse. I was dead sure about that.
But I couldn’t tell what his exact condition was right now.
Just as I got ready to reply to her, knocks came from the office’s door. The door opened up and the twins stared at me through the open doorway. “…Allen, the people you spoke about are here.”
“Ah, is that so?” I got up from the chair.
Beyond the open doorway were a couple of familiar faces. One was Alice Astoria, lightly lifting the helm of her dress and bowing her head in a dignified manner. Marquis Hans Jerurami was next to her, bowing his whole body ninety degrees, while a bucket of cold sweat nervously dripped down from his face.
I smiled deeply at the two. “Welcome, welcome.”
Us three then headed off to another location. Not wanting to be discovered, Hans, Alice, and I all hid ourselves under some robes and hoods. As for Seran, she still had a ton of work left to do, so she chose to remain in the citadel.
We entered the city in the centre of the Ariana Duchy. Despite the hour being late, quite a few citizens were still out and about.
Some were mourning the losses of their family members, while some others were celebrating the news of the devil worshippers and The Farmer all being either apprehended or killed off.
“E-excuse me, Your Majesty? I, uh, I really don’t have anything to report to you, sire,” said Hans.
Even though I hadn’t asked him anything yet, he was oddly shrinking back as more cold sweat streamed off of him.
I ignored that for now and headed to the inn where Laurence and his wife were currently staying. When I quietly pushed the inn’s door open, we were greeted by the sight of a sizeable crowd gathering inside the building.
A large number of people had completely filled up the dining hall of the inn. However, the place remained quiet despite the presence of all these people.
Only one person among them was speaking out loudly, “And then, what happened was, I ended up stepping on the bone and cracking it! And when I did that, all those ghouls just went ‘Swish!’ and turned their heads at the same time. Goodness me, that was so scary back then…!”
It was Laurence. He gulped down some booze and continued on with the recounting of his misadventure to these city folk.
The crowd was obviously deeply absorbed by his story and gave him their undivided attention.
“I beg your pardon, dear customer. We don’t have any openings at the moment and…” the inn’s proprietor walked up to us and pleadingly rubbed his hands while addressing me.
“Maybe you can do something for us?” Alice sneakily slid forward a single gold coin and smiled gently. “Please.”
“Y-yes, of course, miss!” The inn’s proprietor suddenly grew flushed, then hurriedly brought out a table and some chairs out from the kitchen, creating a spot for us.
I settled down on the chair, while Alice and Hans took their seats at my left and right.
“I thought, oh no, I’m really going to die this time. So I offered my final prayer to Goddess Gaia, but then! Goodness me, a flood of holy water just came down like a rainfall from the hole in the ceiling! Yes, like a waterfall! And then, and then…! Lady Seran was reaching down with her hand! If that’s not salvation, then what is? Goddess Gaia definitely granted us a miracle back then!”
People let out a sigh of admiration or started praying when Laurence got to that part.
I shifted my gaze over to the staircase leading up to the inn’s first floor, and watched Alina come down while carrying the baby.
“Hey, Hans?” I muttered quietly.
Hans froze right there and then.
“It’s time for you to make a report.” I pointed at the baby within Alina’s embrace. “Tell me just what that baby in her arms is.”
Hans’s head turned to the side, creaking noisily like a broken machine. His gaze finally landed on the baby in Alina’s care.
Through the gap of the fabric carefully wrapped around the baby, a thin and withered arm could be seen.
This baby’s arm reached up towards Alina. A happy giggle could be heard coming from the baby, too.
“It’s… Ruppel Olfolse, isn’t it, sire…”
The Second Imperial Prince, Ruppel Olfolse.
I already knew that the baby was him. But that’s not what I was asking here. “I’m asking you what exactly he has become.”
“…He’s nothing more than a vampire, sire.”
“Oh, really? Is that all?”
“…”
Hans must’ve heard what was being said while Kirum was being tortured.
{Just what have you all created?! That, that was no longer a vampire!}
…And he must’ve also realised something back then.
Hans squeezed his eyes shut. “A-at least, the last time I saw him, he was definitely a vampire.”
“And now?”
“I’ll have to check to make sure, sire. It’s impossible to tell just by looking at him from a distance.”
There was no point in checking it out, though. I had checked Ruppel’s data out already, anyway.
I recalled the info I had seen while killing The Farmer.
[Name: Roy.
Age: –
Attributes: Weak divinity, idiot-ification, vampire vampirism.
+ Mom, dad, I’m really happy!]
That was a fairly brief set of information. Also, that ‘vampire vampirism’ thing in his attribute window? I couldn’t figure what that was all about.
Even his name had changed, while all of his abilities seemed to have been reset.
I heard that Ruppel had turned into an invalid and his mind had been completely lost. As for the change to his name, I figured that that was because the married couple gave him a new name.
“If it wasn’t for his appearance, I’d have thought I was looking at a different person altogether.” I shifted my gaze over to Hans and asked him, “You punk, just what kind of experiments did you and my grandfather do on him?”
Hans took his time before barely opening his lips. “…It was something the ancient Holy Emperors have been experimenting on for a very long time, sire. The… creation of a completely different existence to vampire.”
A completely different existence to vampire, was it? He was talking about experimenting on the vampires using the blood of the Imperial Family.
“His Imperial Majesty said that if we managed to succeed, then there would not be a need for war anymore.”
“…”
“And His Imperial Majesty also ordered me not to… tell this to anyone.”
“Including even me?”
“…Yes. At least, not until you ascended to the throne, that is…”
“Even though I’m acting as his proxy now, with all of his authority?”
Hans kept his mouth shut.
This guy… He used to have a really loose pair of lips in the past, but he seemed to have finally learned how to keep his trap shut. It probably was part of his desire to respect Holy Emperor Kelt’s wishes, though.
I got up from the chair.
“Laurence, could you please keep it down? Our baby can’t sleep because of all the ruckus.”
“Oh! Sorry about that, dear. But look, even our baby loves to listen to me talk!”
Laurence smiled as he looked at the baby in his wife’s arms. The crowd all smiled in content as well at the couple.
He poured more booze into his mug and shouted out, “In any case! Let me continue on with my tale! It happened right then! His Majesty the Holy King raised this weapon, the musket or whatever it was called, and then…?!”
I pushed the hood back. Laurence regaling the crowd with his story saw my face and froze up stiff on the spot.
Clatter…
The noises of someone shoving the chair back in surprise could be heard next. The citizens inside the inn were shocked into silence, and hurriedly kowtowed on the floor.
Laurence also sobered up in an instant and tried to prostate himself, but I held my hand up and signalled that he didn’t have to bother.
He made a stupefied and unsure face, while Alina was alternating her own stunned gaze between me and her husband.
I ignored them and walked up to the baby in her arms. “Hey. It’s been a while, brother.”
The baby’s eyes shifted over to me. His roundish eyes visible among the scorched-black skin quietly took in my face… before they began shaking.
Fear quickly dyed the baby’s expression, then he began flailing about with his arms and legs while bursting into a loud wailing.
“Wuuu-eeeeeehng…!”
