Chapter 5 : Descendants Of The Wolf – (2)

At sunrise the next day, I began a journey northward with the priest and the female hunter who assisted him.

Each of them had a well-groomed horse, but I, having come from the slums, had never even ridden a donkey, let alone a horse.

“You’ve never ridden a horse before, have you? Then ride behind me. If there’s time, I’ll teach you how to ride.”

“Father, that won’t be necessary. I can learn when I get to the training center.”

It seemed the priest was planning to let me ride behind him on his black horse, but the woman strongly opposed the idea.

“Hey, kid. You ride behind me.”

“…Yes, ma’am.”

And so began a very uncomfortable journey.

The black-haired woman, who had her hair neatly braided and tied up, seemed clearly displeased with me.

Every time the horse jolted and our bodies touched, she shot me a death glare.

I had to rely solely on the stirrup under my foot to maintain a precarious balance throughout the ride.

We rode for about half a day.

My butt was in agony, my back felt like it was about to snap, and sweat poured off me like rain.

The woman didn’t seem to think poorly of me, perhaps because I didn’t complain once.

That evening, she handed me a water pouch and asked,

“Your name is Aiden, right?”

“Yes.”

“How old are you?”

“I just turned eighteen this year.”

“I see. I’m twenty. And as a hunter, I’ve got five years on you. So you’d better show some respect.”

I thought about saying, That’s not even a big age gap, but I held my tongue.

In the mercenary group I used to be part of, hierarchy by years of experience was strictly enforced.

I nodded and replied,

“Then may I call you ‘sister’?”

“Wha—what? No need to go that far. Just call me ‘senior’ or something.”

“Hahaha.”

“Don’t laugh!”

For some reason, the priest behind us burst into hearty laughter.

“Camilla, don’t be too hard on young Aiden. After all, we’re all part of the same family now.”

“…Yes.”

Seeing the woman respond reluctantly, I learned for the first time that her name was Camilla.

Knowing someone’s name is a first step to building rapport.

It meant I could start asking more questions.

“Senior Camilla, are hunters people who kill vampires?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Why else would we exist?”

“There’s a whole Hunter’s Guild? Are there really that many vampires in the world?”

“There are. Most of them hide, so you don’t notice, but there are way more vampires on the continent than you imagine. And if you count their thralls, the number is even greater.”

Camilla placed particular emphasis on the word “thralls.”

Even someone as clueless as me could understand what she meant.

Thralls, or blood-bound servants.

According to the priest, vampires infect humans and turn them into their own kind, using them like puppets.

Then why did Lily turn me into a thrall?

Why wasn’t I a puppet?

And why did the vampire queen let me live?

The priest’s words from the previous night kept circling in my mind.

Seeing how quiet I had become, Camilla must’ve thought I was feeling intimidated.

With a firm expression, she gave me a stern warning.

“So keep your head straight. Vampires are cunning and vicious.”

And her claim that there were more vampires than I might think was proven true that very evening when a small device carried by the priest lit up.

“Camilla, Aiden. We need to make a stop.”

“A hunt?”

Camilla asked calmly, and the priest nodded.

“Yes. The device is reacting.”

Near the northern road border of the Empire, there was a moderately sized village.

I vaguely remembered staying there briefly during my mercenary days.

The village usually survived by harvesting from the nearby orchards, selling dried apples in the winter, and trading animal pelts hunted from the surrounding mountains.

As soon as we arrived and dismounted, my nose caught the strong scent of blood.

“There’s a smell of blood.”

“What?”

Camilla wrinkled her nose and tried to sniff it out, but her face remained confused.

“What do you mean, smell?”

“Uh… how should I put it… It smells like blood that’s been soaked into the ground.”

“What are you even saying?”

“I just… I have a good nose.”

“Haha.”

The priest laughed as he stepped down from his horse.

“Indeed, Aiden. I just caught the same scent.”

“You did, Father?”

Camilla bit her lower lip, perhaps irritated that the rookie hunter had detected something before her.

The priest drew the massive sword from his back and spoke.

“Camilla, give Aiden a weapon.”

“But Father, this child hasn’t even gone through the official training program yet…”

“When did we ever stand on ceremony like that? During the planting season, don’t even children help in the fields?”

“…Understood.”

At the priest’s faint smile, Camilla reluctantly reached into a bundle strapped to her horse and pulled out a long sword to hand to me.

It was unlike the weapon I’d received from my old mercenary captain — it came with a proper sheath, was made of high-quality steel, and polished enough that I could see my reflection in the blade.

But more notably, it had a unique feature.

“Is this… a saw blade?”

One side of the blade had serrated teeth.

The priest nodded and explained.

“Yes. It’s called a serrated sword. It’s the standard weapon of hunters. You’re supposed to receive it upon graduating from the training center, but let’s just say you’re getting yours early.”

“…Why the saw teeth?”

“Which do you think is harder to heal — a clean cut or a torn, ragged wound?”

Camilla answered with a look that said isn’t it obvious?

Sure enough, from my mercenary days, I remembered that torn or crushed wounds healed much more slowly.

So this was a weapon designed specifically for dealing with vampires.

“Let’s go. There’s a heavy aura hanging over the village.”

The priest, serious and focused, spoke with his one remaining eye.

We headed into the village.

In a world this dangerous, no one welcomes strangers.

So we had no expectation of being received warmly.

At least, not until a villager recognized me.

“You… You’re that mercenary, aren’t you?”

It was a small stroke of luck.

One of the villagers I had spoken with during my stay here last year remembered my face.

“Aiden, you know this man?”

“Yes. I took on a request here back when I was part of a mercenary company.”

“Hm.”

The priest didn’t say anything further, but gave me a slight nod.

I knew what he meant.

So I accepted the villager’s invitation and followed him to a secluded house on the edge of the village.

Inside was a small boy who quickly stood up in alarm when the man waved his hand.

“Sorry about that, he’s a bit slow. You remember him from last time, maybe?”

“Yes. I remember him being quite the troublemaker back then.”

“Don’t mind him. Must be a moody teenager now.”

The villager gave a light chuckle before getting to his point.

“Man, what luck! A mercenary showing up right when we need one. Where are the others from last time?”

“Oh, well… they’re camping nearby.”

“Camping? Hm, maybe I should go find them myself and make a formal request. The thing is, the bandits around here have gotten really aggressive. You remember how the local lords were fighting a small war recently, right?”

“Turns out a bunch of deserters from that war have turned into bandits. It’s been nothing but trouble since.”

“Where is the village chief? Shouldn’t he be the one arranging the request, like last time?”

“Oh? Uh… he caught a cold, apparently. He’s resting in his room. I’m acting in his place for now.”

“…I see.”

“So, should we head to the camp now? This time, we can pay even more than last time.”

The villager acted like it was urgent.

If there really were bandits nearby, then it was an urgent matter.

During the harvest season, every hand was essential.

If the village got raided, it would be a serious loss.

Still, I frowned.

There was something I had noticed—not just now, but from the moment we first met.

I hesitated.

Should I say it?

Carefully, I brought it up.

“You seem healthier than the last time I saw you.”

“Oh? You remember that? I’ve been drinking lots of herbal tea since then.”

The man casually carried on the conversation.

I took a deep breath. If I acted carelessly, others could get hurt.

But I wasn’t the same as I had been yesterday.

Now I carried the title of a hunter.

I had to find Lily.

To do that, I needed to become a great hunter.

So I had to live up to the name now.

I recalled the priest’s words from the night before, and I spoke:

“Excuse me, sir.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you want to live… or die?”

“…What kind of question is that?”

The villager frowned.

But I continued, unfazed.

“Why are you pretending to be human?”

“…What?”

Again, let me remind you—

I have a good nose.

It was several minutes later when the boy, Aiden, stepped out of the house.

His appearance was horrifying.

Blood was splattered all over him, and bits of torn flesh clung to his shoulders and face.

He looked like death itself.

Camilla was speechless.

“W-what happened to you?!”

She ran up to Aiden, shocked.

But the blood and flesh weren’t his.

Aiden casually brushed a bone shard off his shoulder and spoke.

“You were right, Camilla. This saw blade sword—it’s perfect for killing vampires. If you rip them faster than they can regenerate, they don’t even have time to scream.”

“…Y-you killed him? The villager?”

“Simultaneously a vampire. I’m not sure if he was a noble or a thrall, but the scent was the same as the one we saw the other day. So I just… sliced first.”

“Just sliced him? Are you serious?”

Camilla was completely thrown.

So this newbie—this greenhorn who had only just received his hunter’s blade and hadn’t even completed formal training—killed a vampire purely based on scent?

Camilla hadn’t even noticed the villager’s true identity.

“Why did you kill the vampire?”

The priest asked calmly, taking over for Camilla, who was still in shock.

Aiden blinked a few times, as if confused why the question was necessary.

“I heard vampires are cunning and wicked. I figured if I didn’t strike first, he would.”

“Hmph. Any other reason?”

“Above all… I’m a hunter now, aren’t I?”

“…ōtōtōt.”

The priest let out a hearty laugh and placed his hand on Camilla’s shoulder.

He smiled, as if he had expected all of this.

“Camilla, didn’t I tell you?”

“That child will make a fine hunter.”