Vol 5 Chapter 1 (1/2)

The Silver Wolf Doth Savor!

Vampires were make-believe creatures

That hat the wo as she lived

‘Believe’ was a so word

After all, there was no hint of uncertainty in her opinion

The woman knew that vampires did not exist

It ht be s like vampires

And so, the woain stepped out of her friend’s house with a bit of alcohol in her system

Though she was alone, she had come by car; she would be safe She justified her intention to drive drunk by re herself that she was not even tipsy

“Make sure the va up a traditional myth that had been part of the island for years

“Better a vampire than a creep like you”

That was the last thing she said to her male friends

‘But seriously It’s dangerous out there Be careful, okay?” Said her fe the murder case they read about in the newspaper

“Don’t worry The dead girl’s ex-boyfriend or whatever’s probably pissing hiht about now”

That was the last thing she said to her female friends

She had heard the news A woman’s body had been found somewhere on the island

But she did not think it was so to worry about

If the island was hoht have been scared

But Growerth was a large island with a population of well over a hundred thousand She believed that she could not be unlucky enough to be ets

If she had known at this point that the police had found a second body, things ht have been different If she had known that aa ht have been different If it had occurred to her that the ht have been extremely cautious

But she believed She tried her best to believe that a mere hope could be reality

It was a large island, with a population of over one hundred thousand What were the chances?

But the world betrayed her

Vampires were make-believe creatures

That hat the wo as she lived

If she continued to live, that is

Her corpse was found inside a dried-out well on the outskirts of the city

It was clear that she was killed at the bottons of anyone cli up or down—other than that from the police officers ent to retrieve her There were no es of the well, and the lid covering the well had been broken years ago and lost

Perhaps sle shoe, could have escaped; but there was no sign that an entire hu had climbed out from the well

Fro the walls of the well, it was clear that the woman was killed there

That alone ht on the possibility ofelse: The stone cover over the top of the well, which weighed in at several hundred kilograms

There was no sign of any heavybeen driven near the well And if the stone lid had been brought here by human hands, just how many culprits were out there?

As talk of Satanists and cultists’ rituals began to arise, the police began to investigate with multiple killers in mind

But the people began to silently bring up ruh the streets

Strangely enough, it was the very sa the mass disappearances

'Maybe vampires were behind the murders'

Norhed off But the wounds on the victims’ necks—marks that looked like they had been bitten—lent an eerily realistic tone to the rumor

The investigators, of course, were not swayed But so And certain people involved with thecontact with the island

It was as though they wanted to bring the island’s darkness into the open, enjoying the people’s fear from the front-row seats

<=>

“Mr Mayor Could you give us a cos?”

The media was camped out in front of City Hall A bespectacled female reporter stepped up first with a question The lasses that made him look quite intellectual, answered mechanically

“The police are currently putting all their efforts into the investigation However, I cannot guarantee if it will be minutes, days, or weeks before the case is solved All I can say is that ill put a stop to these murders as soon as possible, so I would like to ask for the cooperation of every citizen on the island Please take care to avoid walking around alone at night, and avoid deserted places”

Reciting a perfectly-practiced warning, Watt Stalf narrowed his eyes and continued emotionally

“I’m sure many citizens are frustrated that the culprit has not yet been apprehended But let it be said that we are all eager to put the killer behind bars”

The reporters bombarded the mayor with yet more questions

The er in his voice, when the bespectacled reporter from earlier suddenly blurted out an outlandish question

“Mr Mayor There are rumors that the culprit may be a vampire, or a olf—“

Nore question to ask

Some people chuckled But others looked quite serious

Anyone who knew the details concerning the murders would think at least once:

“Was this really the work of humans?”

The incidents had begun only a week earlier

On the first night, the first victim vanished

Initially, it was thought that she had siht, she was discovered dead Fear and worry began to course through the streets

She was not the only one Three wo in the past week, and all were found dead

The victims were all women in their teens or twenties

From their corpses, it was clear that they had died of blood loss from the wounds on their necks

The grisly marks on their necks, which almost looked like their throats were torn by anis

The wounds were clearly bite marks, but no saliva of any sort was found on them Some news outlets decided to emphasize this mysterious fact

The announcements sent to the media and the police only increased the scale of the commotion

But the island of Growerth was the only place lost in this particular storm of confusion

The attention of the mainland and the rest of the world had been seized by a more provocative incident elsewhere:

The mass disappearance in southern Germany

It was a case where the population of an entire village vanished, leaving behind only a single girl The village was a clutteredthat its inhabitants were no more The entire world was shocked by the incident, and soon reporters froathered in the area

So place on Growerth were caused by someone influenced by the case in southern Gers were co announcean to move onto the island

Naturally, the mayor could neither allow the situation to escalate nor allow any more citizens to be murdered

“Vague rumors and misinformation only causes confusion in the city I would like to ask that no one blow any gossip or speculation out of proportion” Watt Stalf said, expertly holding back his anger He ended the press conference and disappeared inside City Hall

<=>

The mayor’s office

“So? Any idea who’s behind all this?”

A woreeted Watt as he stepped inside

“If we could actually get so concrete for once…”

The wo so far back that the back of the chair looked just about to break Her feet were on top of the h she was quite mature and voluptuous, there was a hint of youth in her face

Playing on the television was footage of the reporter speaking in front of City Hall The wolance

Watt sighed quietly He took out a pair of sunglasses frolasses

His attitude did a 180 as he sla to hide his hostility

“Things’d be fucking simple if you were the culprit All I’d have to do is snuff you out right here and now—oh, the killer was an illegal iproblem”

Watt’s tone, his expression, and even the air around him was completely different And it was only because the woman was neither a citizen nor a human that he allowed his hidden self to surface

shi+zune, the Eater-turned-vaerently rejected his claim

“Like I said before You’re at the top of my shi+t list If I wanted to make a mess on the island, I’d have driven a tanker truck into City Hall by now”

She shot a lare at the man who turned her into a vampire Watt responded with a hostile look of his own

“A vahter here The decay must’ve spread all the way up your brain at this point; I thought I turned you into a va zombie”

“…It’s strange Right now, it’s like you’re trying too hard to make sarcastic comments”

“What?” Theshi+zune uncrossed and re-crossed her legs over the desk

“I can practically hear your body going to pot”

“…”

Watt was silent shi+zune grinned condescendingly

“Word on the street says you got your hands on Relic’s powers But I guess that was too good for your half-blood body”

“‘Too good’in that chair without the citizens’ support”

“A chair is a chair Doesn’tin it”

“Same difference” Watt cracked his neck and showed off his sharp canines “Power is power Doesn’tit, whether it’s me or Relic, that pampered little prince”

“But it’s not like sitting in theto killnowhere”

“I’d be just fine with an endless argument”

“I should just videotape this and send the footage to theto find out that their sweet mayor was actually a foul-ht die of shock”

Though she was the one who suggested that they end the argument, shi+zune had wanted to end with a hostile comment She finally stood

“I’ back now Try and stay alive, Mr Mayor If I don’t kill you one day, anyway”

“You ca you don’t even mean?”

“…I just came to tell you that I’ to nag at you before I go—you kno I still have an Eater’s senses?”

Eaters were hus who crossed a forbidden line in the quest for power that surpassed those of vampires They drank the blood and ashes of va their strength and reflexes An Eater who had even once drank the blood of a vampire had the ability to sense the presence of vampires, just as they heard sounds or smelled odors shi+zune had once walked this path in the quest for revenge, and even now—as the hunted rather than the hunter—her sixth sense remained with her

shi+zune grinned impishly and reported to the mayor the results of her ‘scan’

“I sensed a few vauess the dark side of the island has its eyes on the incident, too”

“…”

Watt was silent

“Be careful, or you’ll end up e yourself in front of people Humans andvampires”

shi+zune shrugged and stepped out of theto the end

“I’ll be cheering for you from the shadows, Mr Mayor”

<=>

A series of text es

Pamela: [What did you think of the uil?]

Diuil: [It was unexpected I had heard that the mayor was a rather uncouth man]

Pamela: [That is only the face he shows to humans As a vampire, he is violence incarnate]

Diuil: [I see]

Pamela: [Ulti a man for you to concern yourself with, Master]

Diuil: [That is not for you to decide]

Pa to overstep my bounds]

Diuil: [Not to worry, Pamela In any case, what of the castle?]

Pamela: [Security see the premises at most]

Diuil: [I see Then on’t have any problems]

Pamela: [They are a rabble of impulsive brutes It will be but child’s play for you to obliterate them, Master]

Dioals, Pamela Today, we are here only to observe]

Paies]

Di just how splendid this rare beast called ‘Relic’ truly is]

<=>

Growerth was a large island in the North Sea, under the jurisdiction of Germany

Not only was it a proe island, it was also under development as a tourist destination It was also actively establishi+ng sister cities overseas in countries like japan, America, Italy, and China

Including Neuberg, several cities were on the island, upon which was everything froes to modern-day civic centers and hotels The cities were also surrounded by scenic displays of nature—about the only kind of environlaciers

Of course, there were no skyscrapers on the island—other than the city hall building, five-story hotels were about as tall as they went And yet not a single roos by the large streets that had been renovated into hotels were also quite popular with visitors

In more recent years, the annual festival had beco into a tourist hotspot Local opinion on the development was still mixed

Many small peaks rose up near the center of the island, covered with deciduous trees And near the top of a peak on the southern side of the island was a large castle taken straight out of the Middle Ages Waldstein Castle, the symbol of Growerth and one of its most popular tourist destinations

Its majestic beauty harmoniously blended with the viridian forests and mountains Countless visitors lost thehts as they stepped into the storybook setting

Thanks to the fact thatwere displayed on the prehtseeing destination on the island known for its rich culture

But most people had no idea

The castle was not merely the boundary between industry and nature—it was the boundary between the world of humanity and the dark world of ‘Others’

And that the vaned over the island sat in the throne in the residential area as the Lord of the castle

Relic von Waldstein

He was the adopted son of the former Lord, Gerhardt von Waldstein, and the current master of Waldstein Castle

But was he in this seat of his own accord? There was no clear answer

His adopted father offered to also pass down the title of ‘viscount’ But titles were norraded a rank when they were passed down And to add, the title of ‘viscount’ did not exist in Germany, except for one exceptional case when it was accorded by the King of France Gerhardt explained that this was the reason why the Eranted him this title—‘A title that should not exist for a creature that should not exist’

[Considering the unusual circumstances, I do not believe any hu down this title of viscount to you as it is, my son]Gerhardt had said irresponsibly, but Relic could not agree

Other va or flocks of bats with ease; Relic’s powers, though identical, could do so on a grander scale—transfor it like a part of his own body

He was a being worthy of the envy of all creatures, not only va vampires sat in the throne that symbolized his position, and—

Sighed loudly as he listened to a maid’s lecture

“…I never thought I’d still be studying at this age”

Sitting in the large throne with his knees bent in front of hi

There was a high but narrow desk set up in front of the throne Atop the ornately designed piece of furniture was everything froh-end laptop

Relic sighed again at the sight of the reen lasses

“Master Relic In hu school Life is a never-ending journey of learning You have nearly an eternity to continue to learn and teach others”

“Hearing that h it’s true I need to learnin the future”

Though he was reluctant, Relic acknowledged the point of his education and turned to the notebook in his hands It was crammed full of tiny letters, and anyone who knew German could tell that it was a research paper of some sort

Suddenly, the letters grew hazy

Realizing that a thick fog had settled around him, Relic chuckled

“Did you co you even more”

He had spoken to thin air

But no one in the castle thought strangely of patches of foghappened to be colorful, with patches of red and blue, they could instantly tell that a certain freeloader was behind the phenomenon

“A… What’s this, Relic? What is it? If it’s that boring, you should quit Just put it down!”

A high-pitched voice echoed fro from inside the haze, but from the haze itself

The voice and the fog soon gathered andappeared next to the reen

The clownlike va in place, she smiled at Relic

“Say? Whatcha doing?”

“Well, I’ about vampires”

“Really? Why now? Did you want to learn more about yourself?” The jester wondered The bespectacled maid answered in Relic’s place

“Even humans study about their own bodies, Pirie Of course, in this case, Master Relic is studying social science rather than biology”

“Het it”

Pirie tilted her head, then rotated her head a full 360 degrees She had probably turned her neck into fog, but it was a sight that ht kill the faint of heart

Relic, already used to such things, smiled kindly

“Have you ever heard of Clans? Not the word ‘clan’, but the terroups of vampires”

“Hmm… Mmm… Oh… Oh! I think I’ve heard of the about ‘fucking Clan assholes’! He said ‘fucking Organization assholes’ a lot too, so I thought they were the sa Weren’t they?”

The Organization was a group of vampires founded by Relic’s adoptive father Gerhardt It had no na of vampires considered unusual even by their peers But it boasted a membershi+p of over twenty thousand—the undisputed leader when it came to size alone

Relic was created as a result of one of the Organization’s experiins at this point, and held no particular feelings towards the Organization now

“Yeah Clans are separate froood terh I only just learned about it, so s aren’t so bad after all”

“You are still a little lacking in knowledge, Master Relic” The rinned sheepishly “But Master Gerhardt deserves some of the blame as well To think he hadn’t spoken of the Clans to you or Miss Ferret… And to think that he’d allowed the two of you to travel overseas without that knowledge The next tiive him a stern lecture”

The , and sounded quite pleasant But Relic still had the feeling that she was quite angry with Gerhardt He shrank back

“…I’m sorry I’ll study hard and learn all the details”

“You truly are honest, Master Relic I’m sure you’ll one day become a beloved Lord”

S honestly this time, the maid turned to Pirie and handed her some documents as well

“Since you’re here, Miss Pirie, why not join the lesson? Let us learn about Clans”

<=>

Countless vampires existed all over the world

Some nue number at all

And very few of these va powers humans came to expect frory villagers

The Organization was founded by such vampires in order to protect themselves from human persecution Presently, there were about one hundred officers and twenty thousand anization as well—those who saw huainst hu with humans, and many others Due to the influence of Gerhardt, the current chairman, the onized humans as little as possible

Meanwhile, there were other groups of vampires called ‘Families’ or ‘Clans’, which were very much like aristocratic human families

As the word implied, Clan members considered themselves family Clans were composed of vampires with blood relations, humans turned by a faation

There were no precise standards, but co children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren—were called ‘Clans’ According to the Organization, seven were currently in existence

The Viradis Clan based in Eastern Europe, which boasted over a hundred members and over a thousand servants

The Xiang Clan of China, which was too nureat influence over human society

The Chagzulu Clan, with a massive territory that spanned the coasts of the African continent

The infamously exclusive Aleksandros Clan, based in multiple places in Russia, Europe, and America

The mysterious kumanobe Clan of japan, whose base was unknown and who participated little in human society

The Sunfold Clan, openly hostile to the Organization and treating hu more than prey

The all-female Shreemeice Clan, which also accepted unrelated va as they were female

Most Clans saw huanization

One reason was that Clan‘true’ vaanization, which accepted purebloods and dhas, spiders, and wateranized hoodlums

The Xiang Clan and the Shreeanization, occasionally even sharing information with them

“There were more of them in the past, but these seven are the only true Clans left today Several in the United States were assianization You see, because many vampires cannot cross the ocean, there were relatively few vain with Others, like the Hijiribe Clan in japan, interled with humans to the point that they dissipated naturally The Ridlock Clan of the as eradicated by another Clan Roinally part of a Clan herself, but because she is the only surviving er counted as a Clan”

Pirie gasped in wonder at the maid’s lecture Relic nodded

“I see… So the surviving Clans are powerful organizations in their own right”

“The Viradis Clan poses the greatest threat to the Organization, and the Xiang Clan is keeping their power in check by often interacting with the Organization The Shreemeice Clan maintains a position of absolute neutrality, and poses little danger as well”

Relic chuckled

“An all-feet neutrality, I’d almost like to be friendly with them” He joked

The jester, who had been listening quietly next to him, shrieked

“NO! Relic, you can’t cheat on Hilda! I’ to tell on you~!”

“What?! N, no, that’s not—“

Even the maid chuckled

“Oh? Then ere you thinking of, Master Relic?”

“Uh… well”

Relic was at a loss for words The jester snickered She partly turned her body into fog and wrapped herself around him

“Well, you’re a guy too, Relic Maybe you want to play Lord properly and hoard all the girls to yourself! And, and, and! Every night you’d— …Ohh! What are youme say? You’re awful, Relic! You studnoodle, you!”

“‘Studnoodle’…?”

Pirie prattled h Relic’s dignity as Lord of Waldstein Castle was no more, the maid looked on warmly

“Ouch, Pirie That hurts! Anyway, I’m surprised you listened to that lecture about Clans so quietly”

“Hm? But it’s fun to learn about stuff I didn’t know!”

It was a surprising answer fro

“If I don’t know a lot of things, I can’t trick people perfectly It’s not right to play tricks if I don’t know everything!”

“Huh So that’s what goes on in that head of yours” Relic laughed, and turned to the maid

“I have a question”

“Yes, Master?”

The maid bowed politely Relic spoke up hesitantly

“Uh… well… would I be nothing special to those Clan vampires?”

“…”

The htly Silence followed

“I, uh… I don’t think I’m anyone that special, but… there’s the reason I was ht that ht not be too happy with someone like me”

Relic was the product of the Organization’s experimentation

That did not mean that he was a clone or an artificial creature of sorahbred of vampires, so to speak

He was created to be like the Clan va all sorts of abilities held by va absolute power A jack and master of all trades