The next day.

Having been woken in the middle of the night, I hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep, and I stayed in bed until Azi grew irritated. I had to prepare a lavish breakfast to soothe her foul mood.

I finished my bowl first and was leisurely making my way downstairs when something like a scream suddenly came from below. I poked my head out to see what was happening and found Finlay, yesterday's intruder, facing off against the Regressor.

No, “facing off” was far too mild a choice of words.

Finlay's right arm was already lying beneath her sword.

“Tsk, tsk. Old habits die hard.”

Honestly. She just couldn't kick the habit of cutting people's arms off. Yawning widely, I walked over to them.

“Yaaawn. Trainee Shei, why have you cut someone's arm off again?”

Finlay clutched his shoulder stump, his eyes widening.

'Again? Does this boy routinely go around cutting people's arms off? Surely not!'

Surprisingly enough, reality tends to surpass the imagination. Though in my case, she'd only attempted it.

At my reproach, the mass producer of one-armed people scowled and offered an excuse.

“It's not my fault. Some stranger suddenly shows up and reaches for me.”

“He probably wanted a handshake. Did you swear an oath to leave everyone who offers you a handshake in need of a prosthetic arm? Why do you keep cutting arms off? Do you collect them as a hobby?”

“I wouldn't cut someone's hand off just for offering a handshake. What do you take me for, a psychopath?”

“Oh! How did you know?”

The Regressor's glare stung. If her eyes could shoot beams, they would have severed my arms. I hid them behind my back and hastily added,

“No, but honestly. You tried to cut my arm off too, didn't you? Normal people wave hello when they meet someone. They don't swing a sword and lop off an arm.”

“I didn't do it for no reason. That vampire said something about why a mere human had true blood, then reached for my chest.”

“Aha.”

Now I understood what had happened.

Apparently, Finlay had sensed the presence of the noble Progenitor's blood and gone snooping around the prison's first floor. Then he'd run into the Regressor and angrily demanded to know why a mere human possessed it.

Naturally, Her Prickly Highness the Regressor wasn't about to stand idly by as Finlay reached for her. She'd swung her sword and promptly severed his arm, leaving the frightened, unwelcome guest clutching his shoulder stump in his current state.

A perfectly plausible story. Understanding the situation, I nodded.

“Still, he's Trainee Tyrkanzyaka's guest.”

“That occurred to me just as I was about to take his head off, so I stopped. Besides, merely cutting his head off wouldn't kill him.”

What a nasty piece of work. Her reason for not killing him was that it wouldn't kill him? What was that supposed to mean?

Being a kind, upstanding citizen, I picked up the severed arm and held it up to our unwelcome guest's stump. As the cut surfaces drew close, blood stretched out as though drawn by magnets, joining the two together. With his arm restored, Finlay rubbed it and retreated in hesitant steps.

'Wh-what? He's having a perfectly normal conversation with that monster...!'

One little severed arm, and he was this wary... What a fuss over nothing.

No, wait. Being wary was the normal human response. I'd been surrounded by so many strange people lately that I'd gotten confused for a moment. Seeing the undying one's limbs every day whenever I visited the dining hall, and fiddling with the heart of a vampire who came to see me daily, was warping my common sense.

Pull yourself together. At this rate, I'd stop being ordinary altogether.

I collected myself and spoke reasonably.

“Still, please be more careful from now on. You're lucky he's a vampire. If he were a regular human, we couldn't reattach it.”

“I don't do this to ordinary humans.”

“Sorry? Did I hear that right? You tried to cut my arm off because I'm not human?”

“I said ordinary. How am I supposed to call someone who flicks away an invisible sword with his finger ordinary?”

At that, Finlay stared at me in horror.

'He flicked that sword strike away with his finger? This utterly ordinary-looking man? Impossible. His claim to be the lord of Tantalus wasn't an empty boast!'

I hadn't intended it, but the misunderstandings were piling up in real time. Fear was steadily creeping into Finlay's eyes as he looked at me.

... Why was this rather fun? A man who strutted around calling himself nobility of the night was treating a street magician like this. When else would I ever receive such treatment?

How fun was it? About as fun as stacking oddly shaped stones into a little tower by the roadside. Worth a try.

Now, was there anything else I could pile on?

Just then, Azi came strolling over, full from breakfast. At the sight of the stranger before her, her smile vanished, and she began to growl.

Finlay was bewildered by the sudden hostility approaching from behind.

'What? What's this ominous feeling?'

Finlay turned around. Facing him was Azi, the King of Dogs, baring her teeth for once.

Her cheeks twitched as though something bothered her, and she slowly approached with her eyes fixed on him.

Hair stood on end. Azi's fur, and ours as well. The beast's growl carried an intense pressure that gripped the body. Taking its full force, Finlay was terrified.

“Grrrr.”

'A beastkin? Why is a beastkin baring her teeth at me? More importantly, what is this? This deeper, primal terror that makes my blood tremble...'

As Finlay's body shook and Azi's growl grew ever sharper, her feet twitched, ready to spring.

Just before she could leap, I shouted.

“Hey! Azi! Leave that alone and come here!”

At my voice, Azi whipped her head around to face me, then sidled over while keeping a wary eye on Finlay. Pressing herself against my side, she pointed at him as though tattling.

“Woof. Woof, woof. Blood smell. Him. That.”

Apparently, vampires who hadn't reached the Progenitor's level gave off a faint smell of blood. To Azi, he probably seemed like a dead human walking around.

With her sense of smell several times keener than a human's, Azi was inevitably more sensitive to the scent of blood. She glared at him, thoroughly on edge. Without me here to mediate, she might have dismantled Finlay.

I scratched under her chin and said,

“I know. I know that thing isn't human. He says he's just visiting.”

“Woof, woof. Woof. I won't play with him.”

“He probably doesn't want to play with you either, so behave.”

A perfect new source of misunderstanding had arrived. Why not lay it on a little thick and teach Finlay the pecking order here?

Glancing at him, I deliberately emphasized certain words.

“If you're the ‘King of Dogs,’ show a little dignity befitting the ‘King of Dogs.’ You can't react to every little small fry like him.”

'The King of Dogs!'

Realizing who Azi was, Finlay's jaw dropped.

'Is she truly the King of Dogs? The Beast King closest to humanity, who once sided with humans to drive out the inhuman races? And he treats that King of Dogs like a pet...! He really is no ordinary man!'

He clearly didn't understand something: dogs were basically pets. Even vicious hunting dogs acted cute around their owners. The King of Dogs was a dog too, and therefore a pet.

There were dogs that weren't pets, you say? We've agreed to call those wolves.

Anyway, perhaps thanks to my nonchalant attitude, Azi soon lost interest in Finlay and clung to me instead.

“Woof. What today? Food? Ball? Other games?”

“No. I'm not playing today either. I've got work to do.”

“Woof!”

Heh heh. I'd piled on plenty of misunderstandings. Finlay would be too thoroughly cowed to assert himself now. A swordsman who'd severed his arm in a single exchange, the King of Dogs who'd been the vampires' natural enemy, and me, handling both of them with ease.

He'd never dare disregard me again, would he? He'd flinch at my every gesture and obey my every word.

I'd been feeling too lazy to work anyway, and now I'd found myself a fine vampire slave. I'd work him until he was bled dry.

That was when it happened.

“How convenient. You are all gathered here.”

A shadowy presence opened the door and entered. Billowing darkness bore a pitch-black coffin, and the vampire slowly approached atop it as though riding a palanquin.

Holding tightly to Azi, who was beginning to bristle again, I greeted the vampire.

“Oh, good morning. You're up early today.”

“Yes. This is fortunate. With everyone gathered here, I need not go searching for you.”

From atop her coffin, the vampire looked down at each of us in turn, then raised her chin and brought her hands together. Everyone present stopped speaking for a moment and turned to look at her.

From her slightest gesture to the gaze that gave everyone an equal share of attention, she made those who met her eyes forget themselves for a moment and simply look at her. She seemed to know instinctively how to command everyone's attention. Innate charisma, perhaps. Her presence quietly made itself felt without any calculated effort.

Like a scented candle whose fragrance eventually reaches you, even if you don't notice it burning at first.

Like music that makes you pause to listen, even in the midst of a conversation.

The vampire's presence was subtle, yet somehow filled the room. By the time I noticed, everyone was already focused on her lips and gestures.

“Woof, woof? No playing?”

As I always say, Azi isn't a person. She's a dog.

In any case, having captured everyone's attention, the vampire parted her lips and spoke.

“Words that must travel far should have many listeners. Finlay, hear me. I shall answer the plea you made yesterday.”

Her voice was no different from usual, her tone unchanged. Yet her words now felt like a royal decree delivered at court.

Deeply moved, Finlay fell to his knees.

“Yes! This unworthy Finlay is honored beyond measure to hear the Progenitor's command in person. Please, speak!”

As both the Regressor and I watched with bated breath, the vampire looked down at Finlay and declared,

“Yesterday, you entreated me to permit a war. Here is my answer.”

“Whatever it may be, I shall gladly obey!”

“I shall remain silent.”

Finlay expressed neither disappointment nor dismay. He merely accepted it with his head bowed.

He must have descended here hoping for a glorious holy war. The best future he envisioned was returning to the surface alongside the Progenitor; the worst was becoming lost in the bottomless pit. He had plunged into the pit prepared for the worst in pursuit of the best.

Yet even with that hope shattered, he sounded not the least bit disappointed.

Quite the opposite.

“I shall obey! Thank you for granting me your answer!”

He was simply overwhelmed by the very fact that she had answered him.

There was no need to persuade a lower-ranking vampire, nor to show one consideration. Just as no river flowed upstream from below, there was nothing a thrall could offer their blood lord. Only when asked for an opinion could they make a plea.

“In recognition of the effort you made to come here, I shall explain a little further.”

Glancing toward the Regressor and me, the vampire added a brief explanation. I realized she was speaking for our benefit, not Finlay's.

“I have never forbidden that child Valdamir from waging war. Indeed, I have never forced my will upon my children. War is theirs alone to bear, and shall come by their own decision. I have already faded into history. It may be another matter if they need me, but I shall not step forward of my own accord to become their symbol.”

“I shall obey.”

“Thus, even if all is prepared, I shall not be the first to step forward and call for a bloody war. That is my will.”

“I shall obey.”

“Then return to the surface. This is no place for you.”

An inviolable command.

Yet Finlay, who had continued to bow his head in assent, reacted differently this time.

“Forgive me, Progenitor, but I cannot obey that command.”

“Why not?”

A vampire refusing the Progenitor's command was unthinkable. Thus, if a thrall said they could not do something, it was not a question of willingness, but ability.

That was why the vampire asked his reason instead of reproaching him. Finlay slammed his forehead against the ground and cried out,

“Forgive me! But this is beyond my will. I have no means of leaving the bottomless pit! Thus, in my incompetence, I cannot obey the Progenitor's command. Please put me to death!”

“No means of leaving...? Did you not prepare one?”

“I never had one to begin with!”

'It is common knowledge that ascending takes more effort than descending, but he made no preparations at all to return to the surface? I am becoming rather curious. What could have happened outside to make him seek me in the bottomless pit, with no prospect of escape?'

The vampire pondered at length, but thought alone could not resolve her questions. Her curiosity mounted. Yet she had already made her decision, and she refrained from pressing him further lest the answers shake her resolve.

“Wait. This is Military State territory, and someone has been sent down to administer it. He should be able to send you out. Let us see.”

Instead, her gaze turned to me. Singling me out precisely, she spoke in something close to a command.

“Instructor. Finlay can have committed no crime warranting confinement here. His arrival was a mistake, an accident. I wish for him to be returned to the surface.”

Huh? Me?

Wait. What? Send that intruder safely home?

You want me to do it?

“Sorry? Me?”

“Who else is there here but you?”

The vampire looked at me as though it were obvious. Meeting her gaze, I felt cold sweat trickle down my back.

No, Instructor or not...

I'm actually a prisoner too, you know?

“If this nation called the Military State owns this place, it must surely know how to leave. I ask that you arrange this for Finlay.”

If I knew a way out, I'd have been the first to try it. Would I still be stuck here?

“I am the Progenitor, Tyrkanzyaka. Of the calamities named for Kanzyaka, the monster that shall devour the world, I am the sole surviving scourge. Renowned knights spilled their blood before me, and countless heroes perished seeking my head. Though I have fallen so low as to seek refuge in the bottomless pit, that does not erase my deeds.”

“Fallen so low! Progenitor, that is unthinkable! Every vampire on the surface offers you reverence. To speak of yourself so...!”

But why were they demanding this of me? I was being backed further and further into a corner.

More importantly, had he really come without making a single preparation to escape?

Then there'd been no reason to keep that unwelcome guest alive, had there?

“... You do not answer. Is it difficult? If that is truly impossible, then I shall ask on the strength of our personal bond. Please see him returned to the surface.”

I couldn't answer because I lacked the ability to fulfill her request. Sensing danger, I was frantically racking my brains.

But the vampire took my silence for refusal. Lowering her voice, she declared,

“If you refuse, I intend to return Finlay to the surface myself. The bottomless pit may be infinite, but the time I possess is eternal as well. Darkness is my domain. If I keep ascending, I shall reach the surface eventually. However, once I have returned Finlay there, I doubt I shall trouble myself to come back here.”

Finlay's head shot up, and the Regressor's face stiffened in shock. Her words meant only one thing.

She would go to the surface and not return.

In other words, unless I granted her request, she would break out of prison.

I was in serious trouble.