Interrogation with the Vampire
The vampire had destroyed the mirror instead of attacking me.
What could be so important that he’d risk his like that to break it?
“Hehe.”
The vampire then looked at me and grinned.
And so I cut off his smiling head with the Devil King Sword.
“Now. Are you going to tell me what that is?”
I asked the severed head.
While keeping an eye on the head, I lined the dried up vampire next to him.
“Do you really think you’ll get anything out of me?”
The vampire head laughed mischievously.
Vampires were generally tight-lipped. I should have used an illusion.
However, it was too late for regrets.
“I’ll find out either way.”
“Aye, you can try.”
As I talked with the vampire head, the dried up vampire was slowly recovering.
“You really do heal quite fast.”
“Hmph!”
I dealt a killing blow to the head.
And then I sent a telepathic message to Nia and Grulf.
‘Hide in the shadows over there.’
Nia and Grulf nodded obediently.
And they went and hid. But Grulf’s tail was sticking out, and so I pushed it in.
And then I cast some concealment magic.
Now even an Arch Vampire wouldn’t notice.
And then I cast illusion magic and waited.
While he was dried up, the vampire was unconscious.
So if everything went well, he would be fooled by the illusion.
I waited for another ten minutes.
The vampire was recovering rapidly.
His face still looked bad, but he seemed to be on the verge of waking up.
I had used an illusion to make myself look like the vampire I had just killed.
“Hey! How long are you going to sleep!”
I shouted and kicked him lightly.
“What…what happened?”
The vampire opened his eyes and looked around.
He would have seen the broken mirror and the ashes of his comrade.
I had also created an illusion of my own body on the ground.
“What happened, you say? That’s what I want to know! Why did you break the mirror!”
“Where’s the enemy…”
“Enemy? I already killed him.”
“I see. Thank you.”
“Enough about that. Tell me why you destroyed the mirror. I won’t forgive you if you don’t have a good explanation.”
“He was a strong enemy, and I didn’t think we could stop him… I thought that as long as it didn’t enter the enemy’s hands…”
“How foolish… How could you think that I would lose to such a human?”
“I am sorry.”
I watched the apologizing vampire and thought.
So they didn’t want me to take it. But why?
How could I get him to tell me?
“It can’t be helped.”
“I am truly sorry.”
“Now fix it.”
“I cannot…it is too difficult for me…”
“I know that! I am saying to find a different method.”
“We will have to go directly to the palace and reconnect the teleportation circle…”
Palace? The ominous word seemed to ring.
Was he saying that it was connected to Eric’s palace?
I pretended to remain calm as I asked,
“Very well then. And how long will that take?”
“Even if I run my fastest… It will take at least three days just to reach it…”
That was a relief. So it wasn’t Eric’s palace that he was talking about.
After all, an Arch Vampire could run to Eric’s palace in a matter of hours.
Of course, that is if you ignore certain factors.
Such as guards and the barrier.
Still, it would not take three days.
But I will have to ask which palace it was. Though, asking it too bluntly will make me look suspicious.
Because the vampire I was supposed to be would know all of this already.
I dropped my head on the ground. Of course, it was an illusion.
It rolled on the ground, splitting away from my body.
“What!”
“Ah, the invader cut off my head earlier. That is why I was delayed in rescuing you.”
I said as I picked up the head and put it back on my neck.
“Is that so. How horrible.”
The vampire said, understandingly.
“But it has confused my memories a little…”
“I see.”
“And so I wish to ask you something… What is this ruin used for?”
“Yes. It is an ancient dragon ruin. And we were going to use it to manufacture the Fool’s Stone.”
“…Ah, I think I remember that now. Sorry. I was confused.”
“No, ask me anything you want.”
“Hmm. Thank you. And where is this…device that makes the Fool’s Stone?”
“It is in the next room.”
“And it has not been destroyed?”
“It should not be.”
So this place was quite important.
“I see. That is good. And are there other devices like this elsewhere?”
“We are desperately searching. But only a few have been found.”
So there were others.
There was just one last thing I wanted to know.
“By the way, where is this palace that the mirror was connected to?”
“Huh?”
Perhaps I had gone too far with that question.
I tried to make an excuse.
“My brain seems to have been damaged from the blow.”
“I see… That is most unfortunate.”
“Indeed. I feel like I am on the brink of remembering it.”
“It is the seat of our Most High King.”
Most high king? That seemed higher than a High Lord.
“And who is that?”
The vampire rushed at me just as I asked the question.
I reacted immediately, and his head rolled on the ground. He glared at me.
“You… Are an imposter…”
“Took you long enough.”
“Memory-loss or not, it is unfathomable for you to not know our Most High King.”
“I see. That’s good to know.”
I said before killing him.