Chapter 402
Chapter 402. Entrusted Feelings
“Alex! I’m so glad you’re okay!”
As I stepped onto the deck of the NeedAlun, Leila rushed towards me with a tearful face and hugged me tightly.
“I’m sorry to worry you, but I’m soaked, so you’re going to get wet too.”
I patted her back, trying to prompt her to let go, but Leila held onto me tight and wouldn’t budge. The lukewarm gazes of the crewmen were just too much…
It seems that the lake pirate ship had sunk, and she had heard from Arthur and others who escaped first that “Alex went down to the hold to chase after a vampire.” Understandably, she must have been really anxious. If the roles were reversed, I would have been incredibly worried too.
However, unlike my human self, Leila possessed dragon power. Apparently, she was seriously contemplating whether to revert to her true form and dive to rescue me. If I hadn’t resurfaced after thirty seconds, she was prepared to rush in regardless of her identity being exposed… How close was I to disaster?
“Alex! Thank goodness you made it back!!”
Naturally, Arthur and the others were happy about my survival.
“We escaped without you…”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t rescue you.”
Arthur and Bishop Lexar had sour expressions. They had been clearing out the lake pirates from above, meticulously hunting down their minions, but it turned out they were at the stern when the ship started tilting, so they decided to escape using a lifeboat available there.
There seemed to be differing opinions on whether it was alright to flee without me, but Bishop Lexar made the quick decision to retreat. Shortly after that, the ship reportedly snapped in two, confirming that his judgment was indeed the right call.
“What happened to the survivors?”
“Three were rescued in total. The two you saved, and one woman who managed to escape on her own.”
The woman reportedly introduced herself as “Julietta.” …Romeo’s girlfriend. Just as Beatrice had said, she was saved…
“And what about the vampire?”
Bishop Lexar asked with a serious face.
“I took care of it. It was turned to ash by the spirit’s attack.”
I hadn’t seen it firsthand, but Beatrice was trustworthy.
“I see… And what about the spirits?”
“…They all vanished.”
At my response, Bishop Lexar placed a hand over his chest, offering a prayer for the dead.
“They fulfilled their duty… By the way, how far away do you need to be from the deceased to call them using spirit magic?”
“Uh, it depends on the time and situation…”
Suddenly, Bishop Lexar asked with keen interest, leaving me at a loss for words.
“Well, if I die, I’d want you to turn into a spirit for me. It would be wonderful to still fight against vampires even after death, even if it’s just for one time.”
Right? He looked for agreement, and the other vampire hunters nodded in unison, way too serious about their professional motivations. I get their feelings, but, you know…
“Certainly, it’s an option…”
Even Arthur seemed to be positively considering it. Please, don’t make me think about making reservations for the afterlife…
“Actually, it might be quite helpful, don’t you think?”
Ugh…
Anyway, under the guise of needing to investigate and analyze further, I retreated to the cabin with Leila.
Along the way, I spotted a woman who seemed to be Julietta; she was wrapped in sheets on the deck, sipping tea while shedding tears.
Staring at the surface of the lake. The crew standing around her looked anxious, fearing she might jump back in…
…I couldn’t find the words to say to her.
She probably wasn’t looking for my words. No, actually, nobody around was.
If she was seeking something… well…
“……”
In any case, all I could do was watch in silence.
†††
“To be honest, I don’t remember much from the beginning since I was so desperate, but I definitely cursed three of them to death.”
In the cabin, Beatrice, summoned again, spoke softly.
The spirits that desired revenge against the lake pirates had been secretly released when I boarded the ship. Having absorbed a ton of dark magic, those spirits had become the equivalent of low-level demons. They seemed to unleash their formidable strength, wreaking havoc.
Spirits refer to those whose souls have been warped due to overwhelming hatred.
In other words, their hatred was insane enough to distort their very souls. Converting that into a curse with dark magic and striking directly… well, a bunch of pirates with no magical defenses, equipment, or training wouldn’t last a moment.
It’s not so much that Beatrice was strong; it’s more that the human lake pirates were incredibly weak.
“But… after I cursed a particularly horrible pirate that I’d recognized, I started feeling indifferent about it all.”
Beatrice sighed, gazing off into the distance.
“Revenge is a hollow thing, isn’t it…”
…….
“Because no matter how many of my hated enemies I kill, myself included, the dead won’t come back to life. Nothing can be retrieved… Of course, it’s still a hundred times better than dying without doing anything.”
Beatrice turned to me, graciously bowing.
“That’s why I truly thank you, Hero. Thank you for giving me the opportunity for revenge.”
“No, you don’t need to thank me. I learned a lot from you, and it helped.”
“Well, anyway, since that cured my desire for revenge, I’ve been wandering around the ship.”
—Meaning, during the time when I and the spirits were beating up the vampire jerk, she’d been roaming inside checking for hostages.
When the ship started to tilt with a hole in the bottom, she went to inform Romeo, who was waiting under the NeedAlun, saying, “Your girlfriend is in danger.”
By now, there probably wasn’t much of his own will left in Romeo, but upon hearing about “his girlfriend’s crisis,” he swam off in a flash.
She then followed the spirits, confirming the blinding glow.
“I was worried I might get caught up in it if I got too close, so I watched from afar, and it turned out to be the right move.”
After the light extinguished, she checked back, and all that remained was the ash of the vampire.
She had avenged herself, guided a girl in the same situation to safety, and even witnessed the annihilation of the vampiric leader. Feeling that she had nothing else to do, she floated up and ran into me.
“It felt kind of… like a dream.”
Beatrice sat on a small chair, leaning against the wall by the window, gradually fading as she spoke.
“If I were to wake up like this… another ordinary day would begin, attending tea parties, going to parties, sampling new sweets… I’d have to beg Daddy for a new dress… Oh, and I still need to get the secret family recipe from Mommy… I haven’t remembered everything yet… I need to master it by the time I get married… but I was always just playing around…”
Her voice trembled toward the end.
“I wasn’t really a good girl…”
She forced a bright smile, trying to laugh it off self-deprecatingly.
“…So please, send me a letter.”
Ah.
“I’ll make sure to deliver it.”
I nodded—and when I blinked, there was no one there anymore.
An empty little chair.
On the side table nearby was a bundle of papers—messages I had dictated to write to each family member or loved one based on what I heard from the deceased.
I planned to deliver them while going around the Aulitos Lake’s shoreline as much as possible.
And among those letters—
“To Julietta”
Her message was also there.
