How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 266

297. Too Many Villains (4)

“What’s going on?”

“Now that you mention it, that lord was acting a bit strange.”

“Strange, how…?”

“Do you know how many carriages have passed since we arrived?”

I glanced at the city and pointed out that no carriages were coming or going.

Not a single carriage had passed.

“Why aren’t any carriages coming or going? We were the only ones trying to enter that city.”

“The Empire is in turmoil…”

“The capital was attacked. It’s hard to believe that other territories would be immediately affected.”

It’s even stranger that there are no travelers or refugees.

“It seems to be under control.”

“For the past few months, someone has been appearing in this and nearby territories, controlling access to all cities.”

“They seem to punish anyone who leaves the city or brings someone in from the outside.”

“…That makes no sense.”

“It’s probably a way to isolate them.”

The capital is isolated, and other territories are controlling all travelers, preventing anyone from coming or going.

The lord kicked us out because he’s worried about their retaliation.

“Retaliation…? He succumbed to the threat of some villain?”

“From the lord’s perspective, the safety of himself and his territory’s people comes first.”

Unlike the bewildered knight, Cruise nodded as if she understood.

“That means they must be quite threatening.”

In reality, as long as they control access, they don’t seem to pose any other threat.

“So? What are you going to do, Aileen? Are you going to ignore this and head straight to the capital?”

Fortunately, now that we know where this is, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find our way to the capital.

It’s a shame we don’t have a detailed map or a carriage, but there’s no reason we can’t go on our own.

“No.”

But I shook my head.

“It bothers me.”

“That villain?”

“Yes. There’s no way someone running rampant like this at this time isn’t involved [in the capital’s attack].”

Whether they’re an ally or a subordinate, someone’s there.

If so, there’s no reason to leave them alone.

I don’t plan to defeat them outright, but I want to check them out.

I don’t want to be ambushed after ignoring them.

“It’s going to be troublesome, so shouldn’t we take this opportunity to check or deal with them?”

Of course, no one objects to my opinion.

* * *

Fortunately, we don’t have to search for that villain.

“They even kindly wrote down eyewitness information.”

I flicked the secret letter and smirked.

The intention is obvious.

We don’t know what happened to the Imperial Family at this time.

But a knight who served the Imperial Family has clearly appeared and asked for cooperation.

That means they want results.

“If we do well enough, that lord will cooperate in various ways, unlike before.”

“Yes… I suppose so.”

I can’t help but notice a hint of disagreement in Yoon Han’s response.

“They’re people too. Their own backyard has to be safe before they can cooperate.”

“I know.”

“And it won’t take long. We just need to get rid of some bats.”

“…Excuse me?”

He seemed confused, not understanding what I meant.

I could explain it, but he’ll see it soon enough.

Cruise, who had been investigating the area as I asked, returned from beyond the sky.

She landed lightly and immediately reported the results.

“…Aileen, you were right.”

She says it’s the correct answer.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead.

“Haa… I don’t know whether to laugh because I guessed right or cry because it’s going to be a pain.”

“What are you two talking about?”

“It’s nothing. It just means I guessed who he is.”

There’s no need to hide it.

I decided to tell him.

“It’s a vampire.”

“…What?”

“I said, it’s a vampire!”

It was easy to guess that the culprit was a vampire, and the lord’s secret letter had plenty of evidence.

“It seems there are traces of that vampire’s activity in this area.”

“And he’s controlling this area as the lord’s secret letter said.”

Cruise and I took turns explaining.

“So, are we going after that vampire?”

“Of course. We have to deal with him to get anything, right?”

Above all, we can’t leave a source of anxiety.

I figured it would be safest to defeat him here.

“Moreover, he’s likely a subordinate or ally of those who seized the capital. So, it’s also an opportunity to get information.”

“Indeed…”

He seemed drawn to that point, and his expression brightened slightly.

Well, he still hasn’t completely gotten rid of his fear.

I can’t help it.

Should I push him a little?

“Come on, how can a knight of the Empire be afraid of a mosquito?”

“…Kuh, a proud knight of the Empire fears nothing.”

I know. Those who say that are the first to scream, right?

“Well, that’s good. It’s a knight’s duty to save the suffering people of the Empire, right? Let’s get rid of him.”

As I incited him, Yoon Han weighed his pride and fear, and chose to follow us.

On the other hand, Cruise seemed dissatisfied, as if she didn’t quite trust him.

She quietly approached me and whispered.

“…That’s a bad way to do it. Isn’t it okay to leave him behind?”

“…He’s capable of protecting himself. Besides, to prove the legitimacy of what we’re doing, it’s best to have an Imperial knight watching.”

Securing a witness is the most basic thing to keep in mind when causing trouble.

“Cruise, I trust you, but I have to ask. Do you have any experience with vampire extermination?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

I guess so. They’re rare, and there’s no description in the original story of Cruise catching a vampire.

“Aileen, what about you?”

“I don’t either.”

“But you’re so confident.”

Cruise sighed, as if she already anticipated the hardship.

“Vampires won’t be easy.”

“I know. Their vitality is tough… and depending on the individual, their magic power rivals that of mid- to high-level demons.”

Those who writhe when you drive a stake into their heart or a priest recites a prayer are just minions of the vampire.

Real vampires are quite terrifying.

Still, there’s one reason why I’m relaxed.

‘There weren’t any major vampire villains in the original story.’

Vampires aren’t usually on the list of people to watch out for.

Vampires are only mentioned in the setting, but they never actually appear.

Of course, there’s a villain in Volume 2, but didn’t Sylvester already kill him?

So, there’s nothing to worry about.

…However.

‘The problem is… that’s only if things go well.’

This is just my wishful thinking.

And based on my experience so far, this damn world always shows the opposite result.

The world always loves despair.

‘Let’s not be surprised by anything that comes out.’

Anyway, based on the information, we headed to the place where he was hiding.

A forest tens of kilometers away from the city.

It seems that the vampire, presumed to be him, frequents that place.

“And traces of magic power that the vampire left behind while flying were detected.”

Based on the information and the results Cruise detected, we began searching the area of the forest from early morning to find his hideout.

Of course, it won’t be easy.

And it’ll be a pain if the sun goes down. The darkness is his home ground.

“If we can’t find him, I’m thinking of setting the whole forest on fire. Then he’ll either burn to death or come out. Don’t you think?”

When I said that, the two of them looked at me with squinting eyes and couldn’t speak.

I was just referring to the methods often used by the Inquisitors of the Church? Isn’t that common sense?

Fortunately, it seems we won’t have to resort to unnecessary destruction of nature.

He’s coming out.

“Fortunately, it seems he wants to welcome us first.”

How delightful.

Flap, flap, flap, flap, flap!

A noise that sounds like thousands of pigeons flapping their wings at the same time echoed throughout the forest.

“Th-this is…”

“Bats.”

We saw countless bats flying into the sky above the trees of the forest.

“They’re not real bats. They seem to be familiars [magically created creatures] made of magic power.”

Cruise calmly analyzed and followed them with her eyes as if she was interested.

“To command familiars of this scale. He must be a fairly prestigious species.”

“…I don’t think this is the time to be happy about that.”

Considering that the prestigious vampire is our enemy, this is not the time to be interested.

Yoon Han asked, somewhat anxiously.

“But what is he going to do with those bats?”

“It’s obvious. He’s trying to create a battlefield that’s advantageous to him.”

The bats flew endlessly into the sky and gradually formed a black cloud, soon darkening the sky.

It’s a giant parasol.

“It is said that the vampire’s greatest enemy is the light of the sun.”

“UV protection? What a meticulous guy.”

Cruise judged seriously, and I made a sarcastic joke.

Well, it’s within expectations.

Of course, the enemy would think of countermeasures for a daytime battle.

“Then. It’s time for the vampire himself to step up… Hmm? He’s already out.”

“Defend.”

I reached out and formed a magic crystal shield, and Cruise reflexively deployed a barrier without discussion.

Then, a barrage of red bullets from beyond struck the barriers we had deployed.

It’s powerful, but not enough to break through our defenses.

It’s probably a light greeting.

“You lowly things dare to crawl in without fear. Heeheeheehee! Well, that’s good. The taste of a human who has lost their fear isn’t bad either. But the best is the taste of a rotten mind.”

Saying those words, he revealed himself.

A being who spreads dark magic power like a cloak and fixes his body in the air.

“…Huh?”

The problem is, as soon as I saw the vampire, I was stunned and stared blankly.

Elsarria Ru Cantarest – Episode Boss (Role Lost)

His name.

I definitely recognize it.

No, is that all?

I even chuckled a little while thinking about that guy earlier, saying it couldn’t be.

That vampire.

Vampire Lord Elsarria.

Isn’t that the name of the vampire who was the boss of Volume 2 and was already reduced to ashes by Sylvester?

What’s even more annoying is that the vampire with that name now has the appearance of a young man in his early twenties.

‘In the original story, he was supposed to be a skinny old man…’

Not only was he resurrected, but he also rejuvenated?

“Well, here’s a reward for coming all the way! I will personally… Kuaaaaaa!”

Half of his body was turned to ashes and he fell.

He was directly hit by the Sprite’s lightning that I shot without asking.

“Aileen?! That was sudden!”

Cruise turned to me, startled, and shouted.

She probably never dreamed that I would attack without saying a word.

“Ah… I thought he looked like a troublesome vampire. I thought it would be better to kill him in one shot if possible.”

I scratched my cheek, making excuses.