Chapter 15
The vast room stands empty save for a single pedestal in the centre.
As I feel the gaze of a bewildered young girl behind me, who stands atop that pedestal, I face Mireille, the leader of Al-Reten.
In this room, only Mireille, the girl, and I are present. Mireille opens his mouth with a gleam of amusement.
「Keh keh keh. Had I known you’d stand before me like this, I would never have picked you up that day. After that human mob burned down the village of the vampires, taking with them your fellow villagers, friends, family… burning everything. Leaving you completely alone.」
「I’ve generated enormous profits for Al-Reten over the years I’ve been affiliated. Weighing that against what’s happened now, you should forgive me. And don’t bring up the past. It’s an embarrassing history.」
I am Romulus.
From birth, since I was an infant… I’ve lived this life as Romulus.
I know of Romulus’s childhood from a game.
It told of how humans burned down his birthplace, the only village inhabited by vampires in this world, leaving him with a burning hatred for humanity. From that hatred, he became a demon set on wiping out the human race.
That’s why… that’s why I moved to change such a future.
But it was in vain.
No matter where I went, I was powerless, a fallen one, a fool who couldn’t protect anything.
Unable to do anything because of my weakness, I just watched my village, my friends, my family get burned. My revenge on the humans who torched the village was also impossible due to my own weak-willed heart.
I just wandered the world like a living corpse.
「I had high hopes, you know? Seeing you excel in our organization at such a young age.」
「Sorry about that… but it seems the responsibility was a bit too much for me.」
「Keh keh keh… So what? Are you going to repeat the past? Protect the child that the woman who picked you up left behind?」
「I don’t plan on spending my life in the slums. It’s a stepping stone for the future.」
「I see.」
「So, what will you do? Ideally, I’d like to leave here as if nothing happened.」
「As long as you’re my enemy, fulfilling the assignment is impossible. Even though you were captured so easily by those low-level thugs, your abilities haven’t diminished. In fact, every year, they seem to sharpen… Keh keh keh. No matter how much I try to gain an advantage, if you get serious, the damage would be too great. I guess there’s no choice but to abandon the mission… but let’s have a bit of fun after such a long time.」
Mireille draws his sword with a vicious grin on his face.