Volume 8, Prologue: Vampire Assassin (1/2)

Volume 8, Prologue: Vampire Assassin

Translated by Taffygirl13 (proofread by Trespasserby & Minthe; C/E edited by lucathia)

I quietly walked through the darkness without a sound, making it impossible for anyone to detect my presence. This was an innate ability of a vampire, a naturally-born race of the night—being able to tread silently while retreating under the cover of the dark.

However, I was not currently wearing an old-fashioned suit and cloak, the traditional clothing of a vampire. Compared to that type of complicated style of dress, black, skin-tight clothing was more appropriate for my current task.

The young master had once said I was very strong, but my strength was a different type compared to his or X’s. If they were warriors, then I was an assassin.

If this had been spoken by any other person, perhaps it would be purely words of flattery, or even a joke. However, the one who had stated this was the young master. Since he had already said it in such a way, I was more confident that I could be a successful assassin.

I have to be!

Aside from assassination, the main type of work an assassin performed was stealth investigation. I currently needed to do the latter. However, if absolutely necessary, I would not reject the idea of executing the former either.

There were many distressing matters at the moment, the greatest one being the master…the Sun Emperor. However, the choices he had presented were extremely simple: betray the young master or betray X. There was nothing that needed to be scouted out, and there was also no room for negotiation—

A vibration suddenly came from my chest pocket. It was my cell phone that had been changed to silent mode. Perhaps I should have completely turned the power off before formally starting. Although it was a quiet, subtle vibration, I was certain that there were many humans or non-humans that could sense the faint sound.

I answered the phone. “Ezart, is something the matter?”

“Hey, you have to promise me! If you plan on coming to blows with someone, you have to contact me! Otherwise, I’ll tell on you to Ah Ye!”

“I do not want to make any move. I am simply investigating under cover.” If I truly do make a move, I would kill, not fight.

“Investigate… Hmph! So boring!” Ezart evidently had no interest in a task like scouting, which relieved me. “Did the painkillers’ effects wear off?”

I thought this over. It was actually not an easy determination, similar to how a drunk person would not believe they were drunk. I did not believe I could necessarily differentiate between the conditions of being or not being under the influence of the painkillers, but since a great amount of time had passed, there was likely not much of an impact left even if there was any remaining.

“I believe it has worn off.”

“And you still want to do this?”

“Indeed.”

“Pfft! You have more guts than I thought!”

“…Thank you for your praise.” I abruptly thought of another matter and quickly reminded him, “Ezart, please do not mention me to the young master. The young master’s ‘ability to detect changes in expression’ is extremely powerful. He will recognize if you are lying.”

“Hahaha—” Ezart burst out into laughter for a long time. “Relax! If anyone could deceive Ah Ye, it’s definitely me! I’ve tricked him to the point where he has no idea what parts of my words are lies! As a reward for how gutsy you’re being, let me teach you how to deceive him. Do you want to learn?”

I should not be lying to the young master, but currently…

“I do.”

“Then, you have to fight ten rounds against me!”

“…Three rounds.” Haggling typically started from cutting seventy percent, with the final deal ending at thirty or fifty percent. This was common bargaining knowledge.

“Pfft, fine!” Ezart did not seem to be particularly skilled at haggling. How fortunate. “All you have to do is lie to him often. After a while, he’ll be desensitized to it.”

“I do not understand your words, and I am even more unwilling to lie to the young master ‘often.’ Moreover, you do not seem to lie to the young master frequently.”

Ezart snorted and replied, “I’m going to go skiing. There isn’t any danger. I’ll be back in a few days.”

…It turned out to be an extreme exploration that was highly dangerous, and he did not return for several months.

I understood. It was not truly lying, but rather exaggerating or concealing details. However, after enough occurrences, the young master would be unable to determine which words were exaggerations and which were actual lies.

“How about it, useful, isn’t it? You got away cheap for just three rounds!”

“In reality, I feel it is very bad.” I absolutely did not want to learn how to lie to the young master.

“But it’s very useful!”

“It is quite useful.” I could not help but admit that at this time, I indeed needed the skill of “deceiving the young master.”

“Butler,” Ezart suddenly called out.

“Yes?”

“Seriously though, don’t accidentally die!”

“I will try my best.”

“Not just try, but guarantee it!” Ezart stressed emphatically, “If Ah Ye goes crazy, it’s no joke. He’s not all that different from his brother, and what makes him lose control the most is when those by his side get injured or killed!”

I understood this very well. When I had previously been captured by Madam Avexila and had gotten injured heavily to the point of near-death, the young master had been extremely furious. From then on, I was the only person left that possessed the surname of Endelis.

“I understand. I will be highly cautious. However, I must turn off my cell phone from now onwards, and will be unable to be contacted for a period of time.”

“Get in touch with me in at least three days. Otherwise, I can only tell Ah Ye that you might have been captured by somebody again!”

“That is fine.” If I could not be reached after one day, Curtis would likely start to rashly attack others, let alone after three days. Besides…I do not think I get captured often? Why use the word ‘again’?

“If the situation looks bad, use painkillers immediately. When you’re under painkillers, your strength fucking explodes! Even Ah Ye can’t catch you at that speed!”

I glanced down at my left thumb where I currently wore a ring with an outrageous style. Previously, Ezart had worn it on his middle finger. However, I could only wear it on my thumb in order to barely keep it in place.

“I will try not to use the painkillers.”

“Whatever, just don’t die!”

“I will try my best.”

Having lived for over a hundred years, the words “resting in peace” were constantly on my mind. When Sadina also passed, this intention had even reached its peak. Only now did I finally stop thinking about following after them. How could I bear to give up my current life?

I turned the cell phone’s power off and raised my head to look up. In the evening, the distant cross was especially conspicuous. Daystar City was unlike Sunset City, which had multicolored lights glowing at night, making it as bright as daytime, a rainbow-colored day. Still, Daystar City was not lacking in light either. The streets could be said to be very bright, which was disadvantageous for concealing one’s whereabouts. However, to a vampire, this difference was not a significant one.

Shadows always existed underneath light. Regardless of how many streetlamps were lit, the roads were filled with areas of darkness, which I traveled between. Despite walking among crowds of people, no one could sense that a vampire was currently brushing past them.

I walked up to the church, its doors securely closed. Fortunately, there were a few windows open. This was extremely lucky, as “open windows” were an extremely rare sight in Daystar City. That was likely a result of the stifling hot weather, which resulted in air conditioning being on for all hours of the day, naturally making the windows impossible to open.