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Chapter 204

The name “Transylvania” pops up in various media quite often. While I might not know much about Romania, the word Transylvania is something many people have heard of, which says a lot.

But what the heck makes Transylvania so famous? It’s because of Bram Stoker’s masterpiece, Dracula.

Whoa! Count Dracula! The vampire! You know him, right?

For that reason, Transylvania earned the reputation of being the vampire’s homeland. The most famous vampire in the world—forget about Chupacabra, they don’t even come close!

There was a reason for my long-winded speech. It’s that Gates are influenced by their surroundings, and that includes the local flavor of the area.

In other words, modern-day Transylvania has many Gates that are notorious for being swarmed by vampires, thanks to its fame as their homeland.

So much so that the cities in the Transylvania region were practically giving up spreading out and were gathering into one point.

That point resulted in the Transylvania fortress, sometimes jokingly referred to as the Transylvania Principality.

The biggest feature of the Transylvania fortress was undoubtedly the numerous Sun God branches that were established there. All the vampires emerging from the Gates shared the common weakness of being vulnerable to sunlight, even though garlic and crosses didn’t affect them.

‘Does Dawn want to establish a Sacred Ground here?’

– No thanks. I don’t need that many people.

I see… If that’s Dawn’s will, then, sadly, it seems unlikely that she could become the leader of the Dawn Church.

What a pity. With such potential, there ought to be a demand that could easily disregard the eccentricities of gods.

– Were you just talking bad about me? My ears are itching.

‘Oh, surely not.’

– I’m letting it slide this time.

How generous of you to let it slide. As I was chatting about such trivialities, we had already reached the checkpoint.

Yeon-woo tilted her head slightly to greet the two intimidating Hunters approaching. Her English was a bit shaky. Aside from the short English she learned before her regression and Korean, she couldn’t speak any other languages.

“Hello.”

In front of her, the Hunters conversed for a moment before adjusting the device hanging at their ears. Afterward, one of them spoke.

“What is your purpose for visiting?”

In truth, everyone must have wondered about this at least once. Darius Blackraven, Albert Lionell, and even those from martial arts backgrounds. Naturally, they wouldn’t be speaking in Korean. So, how were we able to communicate?

It wasn’t because Yeon-woo was speaking different words suited to each person. Even if Nea and Dawn communicated with their willings instead of language, it’s still puzzling.

Ta-da!! Here’s the truth revealed. The whole translation system of magical engineering had simply become widely popular! It’s practically a standard feature that comes with your passport! This is really something, magical engineering is!!

“I’m here to work as a Hunter.”

Yeon-woo said, handing over her Hunter ID. It, of course, contained information about Ian. The guards inspected it a few times on their scanner and, finding no issues, nodded and stepped aside.

“You may enter.”

“Thank you.”

Of course, it was a fake Hunter ID. But it wasn’t just a plain fake; it was a tool used by some large organizations for confidentiality. Let’s call it a gray zone. With the help of the Crescent Moon Order and the Magic Tower, Yeon-woo was able to create it.

Having smoothly passed the inspection, Yeon-woo, lips sealed, spoke to the two children who were holding her hands.

“It’s over now. You can relax.”

““Phew…!””

Tae-oh and Shar released the breaths they had been holding at the same time. How tense were they that they were even holding their breath? For them, apart from the exotic atmosphere of Cheonju City, it was their first overseas trip, so it made sense.

Anyway, stepping into the Transylvania fortress, Yeon-woo’s eyes were met with a truly diverse array of Sun symbols.

Sunflowers, disks, rays… To be able to observe all kinds of sun symbols in one place was honestly far from what one would consider a normal sight.

‘Yeah, lizards really don’t fit in here.’

After all, not many people associate lizards with the sun. While I get that it’s representing the regenerative image the sun portrays, it somehow feels like it would get mistaken for a socialite.

Fortunately, despite such thoughts, the children looked like they were having fun. And rightly so. The decorations that looked like neon cross signs were a little bit scarce, but the architectural style was distinctly different from what they were used to seeing.

“Wow, it looks like a castle….”

“It feels like we’ve stepped into a history book…!”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s take it slow.”

As the children tugged at her sleeves wanting to explore, Yeon-woo walked forward slowly.

There was still some time until she was scheduled to meet Sebek’s priest, Amir. It wouldn’t be bad to explore the city in the meantime.

As for Tae-oh, who was weak, that was one thing, but she had to be cautious with Shar, who was unintentionally pulling far too hard on her arm. Ouch, Shar, easy there…

*

Dressed in a flowing Arab-style garment commonly known as a galabeya, the dark-skinned young man, Amir, was seated in a café. He was fiddling with a steaming hot chocolate that wafted warm steam.

Naturally, the surrounding eyes were drawn to the young man. It was an outfit you rarely saw around here.

Seeing someone who looked thoroughly Arab sitting calmly and sipping hot chocolate isn’t exactly a common sight in Transylvania, a place historically marked by poor relations with the Middle East.

Amir’s appearance resembled that of a countryside priest depicted in a painting. Although it wasn’t the best comparison for someone who worshipped a different god, his kind eyes and simple demeanor reflected that.

‘What’s going on?’

Amir thought about this while savoring the hot chocolate, which spread warmth like the heat of a desert inside his mouth.

He understood the importance of this matter well. As a priest of the order, he didn’t want to see the young lambs under his care living in what resembled a ruin.

The goal was to eventually resurrect the order. At minimum, he wanted to create a place where the children could live happily.

And the shortest route to that goal was the request he was currently considering. Being one of the two priests who could handle external business, Amir accepted the request.

Even now, when he closed his eyes, he could still vividly recall that day, etched in his memory. The anonymous benefactor who had generously donated a huge sum of money asked if he could meet the priest, and that had greatly offended the head priest.

Amir understood the sentiment. He had endured his fair share of suffering from those who would trade away girls for a fat paycheck. However, he thought that was no reason to respond with outright anger.

Fortunately, the anonymous benefactor stated that gender didn’t matter; all they wanted was a priestly title. Amir was the only one able to handle such external affairs. The head priest was too old to travel that far, so that was a perfectly natural outcome.

That said, the head priest had looked at Amir with an even more anxious expression. If they were a deviant who didn’t care about gender, wouldn’t that be even more problematic? Amir could only smile wryly at that. The head priest worried too much.

Amir felt strangely optimistic. Even though the god he served, Sebek, wasn’t one associated with this kind of request, he had a sense that he was being guided somehow.

Not too long after, children who were hard to find in Transylvania, even more so than Amir, walked in. Upon seeing the oldest-looking boy, Amir intuitively realized.

That boy was the reason the divine had led him here.

*

It wasn’t hard to identify Amir, the priest of Sebek. After all, Egyptian-style garments are quite rare in the heart of Europe.

As soon as I stepped into the café we agreed to meet, Amir’s figure caught my attention. Noticing Yeon-woo entering through the door, Amir smiled brightly.

After casually placing an order, Yeon-woo sat across from Amir with the children. The amiable Amir opened the conversation.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Amir. You’re Ian, correct?”

“Hello, Amir. I’m Ian. This is my younger sister, Anna, and my younger brother, Theo.”

“Hello there.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Hehe, such adorable siblings. Welcome, Anna, Theo.”

The four exchanged greetings calmly. Fortunately, it seemed that Riley had already prepped the basic conversations. While it wasn’t exactly a suitable topic for a café, the place was thankfully quiet, and they had settled in a corner.

Yeon-woo manipulated her Aura to set up a light barrier. It was the same method Aaron Chester had used before. It was the perfect setup for discussing confidential topics.

“I heard you have a request. May I hear about it and decide?”

“Of course. Even if you can’t grant my request, I won’t be asking for the donation back. I trust you’ll use it for a good cause.”

“That’s… Thank you. To be honest, financially, things are quite tight.”

Amir smiled broadly at Yeon-woo’s words. Just saying that had successfully improved their rapport. This meant the chance of Him refusing the request had decreased. Although the request wasn’t particularly difficult, so that part wasn’t a concern.

“To get straight to the point, I would like to meet Sebek. Could I request a divine invocation?”

“…A divine invocation? Are you considering converting to our order?”

“Well, not exactly… I happened to meet Sebek before, and I wanted to ask him something, so I came to see you.”

This statement left Amir with a suspicious stare. Meeting a god by chance? This wasn’t a good explanation even in Yeon-woo’s view.

Is our god that easy to meet? Isn’t it strange to meet him like some alleyway drunk?

“R-Really! I met him too!!”

“Yeah! Theo met him too! Don’t doubt us!”

Seeming to find the awkward silence uncomfortable, the two children jumped in to support. Amir, chuckling at their antics, sipped his hot chocolate to collect his thoughts.

“Well, I’ll first check with Sebek if such a meeting ever happened. Is that alright?”

“Ah, of course. I’d appreciate it.”

Fortunately, it seemed that his response had a somewhat positive effect, as Amir closed his eyes. And if a lone priest had the capability to directly connect with the god, then he must be a highly trusted priest.

Yeon-woo was an exceptional case; under normal circumstances, only one or two people across the entire order would have the ability to converse directly with their deity.

This meant the priest in front of her was a capable individual destined for seniority. While it would be a blessing for the small Sebek Order to have just one reliable priest, it was still something.

In any case, with a lightened heart, Yeon-woo waited a few minutes for Amir’s reaction.

– Long time no see, young warrior. What brings you here?

“…Phew, the invocation has been completed. If it’s not too much trouble, may I join the conversation?”

Suddenly, a small alligator appeared in front of Yeon-woo, speaking. Recognizing the familiar divine power emanating from it, she nodded.

“That’s the rule, right? It’s fine by me, although it might be a little shocking.”

She had no intention to show any concern. There was simply no need for that.

(Continued in the next chapter)

 

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