kscans

Chapter 8 - A New Familiar, A First Encounter

"Alright, let’s get back on the road."

After finishing our battle with the Thousand Wolves, I was about to start moving again when Mummy Ichigo-kun tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hm? What is it?"

Mummy Ichigo-kun then brought both hands to his mouth and made a biting gesture.

"Um, are you hungry?"

But Mummy Ichigo-kun shook his head as if to say, no, that’s not it. He then pointed to the Thousand Wolves scattered throughout the forest and made the biting gesture again. Eat the Thousand Wolves? But Mummy Ichigo-kun doesn't seem to eat, and I’m a vampire, so meat is… oh.

"Are you telling me to drink the blood of these Thousand Wolves and make them my familiars?"

"Koku koku."

Mummy Ichigo-kun nodded his head in agreement. I see. It’s true, for a vampire, having wolf familiars is as classic a trope as having bats.

"Alright, then let’s make a lot of familiars!"

◆

"Uppu, I’m so full…"

My stomach felt like it was about to burst. Yeah, that makes sense. They’re called a Thousand Wolf pack for a reason. Even if it was only the survivors, there were still a lot of them.

The way to make a vampire familiar is to drink their blood, so after drinking the blood of hundreds of them, it’s no wonder I feel like I’m going to pop.

"But strangely, it feels like I could still fit more."

The contradiction of being full yet still having room for more. I think it’s a vampire trait… or maybe it’s more like I’m just tired of eating the same thing over and over? Maybe I still have room for dessert?

"But it was worth it, I think."

I gazed at the countless wolves lined up before me. They were standing in perfect formation, like an army, awaiting my command.

"From today, you are all my familiars. It’s a pleasure to have you."

""""Gau!!""""

The undead Thousand Wolves howled in unison. Wow, that’s impressive. If they were my enemies, I definitely would have wet myself.

"Now then, I need to give you a name. ‘Thousand Wolf’ is a bit of a mouthful."

"?!"

As I pondered what to name the Thousand Wolves, Mummy Ichigo-kun suddenly tensed up as if on high alert.

"Eh? What? What’s wrong?"

Is it a new enemy? But Mummy Ichigo-kun waved his hands dismissively, gesturing that it wasn't that. If it’s not an enemy, then it’s fine, but…

"Alright, I’ve decided!"

Having gathered my thoughts, I decided on a name for the Thousand Wolves.

"Thousand Wolves, your name is…"

""""Gau… gulp.""""

"Your name is the ‘Wolf-chan’s’!"

With a bishiri, I pointed at the Thousand Wolves and declared their new name.

""""………Gau?""""

The Thousand Wolves—I mean, the "Wolf-chan"s—all tilted their heads in unison. They then looked at each other before turning their gazes back to me.

""""Gau?""""

The "Wolf-chan"s skillfully pointed to themselves with their front paws as if to ask, us?

"Yes, you are the ‘Wolf-chan’s’!"

"Gau gau."

Then, one of the "Wolf-chan"s waved its front paw and pointed to itself. After a pause, it pointed to its companions one by one.

"Yes, all of you together are the ‘Wolf-chan’s’. There are too many of you to think of individual names, so I’m just lumping you all together as the ‘Wolf-chan’s’."

""""Gyauuuun?!""""

I mean, if it were one or two, I’d think of individual names, but with this many, you know.

"Gyau gyau!"

The "Wolf-chan"s started to appeal to Mummy Ichigo-kun about something.

"...pih."

Then, Mummy Ichigo-kun held up a single finger and conveyed something to the "Wolf-chan"s, and they all slumped their shoulders and hung their heads.

""""…Gauuuu.""""

I feel like I just overheard a very rude conversation.

◆

"Gau gau!"

After the naming ceremony, we finally resumed our journey. One of the "Wolf-chan"s that had been scouting ahead returned and started gesturing at me. I wonder if something happened? Then, Mummy Ichigo-kun, who was beside me, pointed ahead and made a gesture with his index and middle fingers, swinging them back and forth as if they were walking towards us.

"Is someone coming this way?"

"Gau!"

The Wolf-chan nodded its head in confirmation. Hmm, if the "Wolf-chan"s are warning me, it must be someone I should be wary of.

"Alright, let’s see what’s going on. Everyone, hide for now."

""""Gau!""""

I had everyone hide in the shadows and hid myself as well. After waiting for a while, I heard the gacha gacha of metal scraping and the sound of branches snapping underfoot.

"Is that… a human?"

Indeed, what appeared was a group of humans clad in armor and robes—so-called adventurers. They were looking around nervously as they advanced through the night forest.

"That’s unusual, humans traveling through the forest at night."

Normally, humans don’t move around in the forest at night. They set up camp and prepare for ambushes while waiting for dawn. Did something happen that forced them to keep moving?

"We should be near the place where that pillar of fire shot up."

A pillar of fire? What’s that? I don’t know of any place around here where such a strange phenomenon occurs…

"And the localized blizzard, too."

"…"

A giant pillar of fire, a localized blizzard…

"Jiii…"

Mummy Ichigo-kun stared at me silently. Oh, fine! It was me! I’m the culprit! It seems these adventurers came to investigate the aftermath of my battle with the Thousand Wolves.

"It was definitely magic, but the question is who cast such a large-scale spell in succession."

"I doubt a single person could do that. It’s more plausible to assume it was cast by multiple magicians."

"Even so, why would such a large force be this deep in the forest? And we need to find out what kind of enemy required the use of such powerful magic in quick succession."

"Jiii…"

Hey, you can’t blame me! I didn’t think my full power would cause such a disaster! Well, it wasn't my full power. But I was in the middle of a fight, so maybe I wasn’t holding back enough.

"But this is a chance, isn’t it?"

It's a chance to make contact with living humans. Since I was reincarnated in this world, I know nothing about the human side of things. What I learned from my teacher at the castle was only information about human society from a vampire’s perspective. If I can get information from them, it might be useful later when I’m trying to get my own domain.

"Fortunately, it seems they came to investigate the magic from before."

I’ll use that to my advantage.

"You there."

""""?!""""

I deliberately revealed myself to the adventurers.

"W-who are you?!"

The adventurers immediately took up a battle stance at my sudden appearance.

"What’s this?! A pure white woman?!"

"Be careful! She’s no ordinary person!"

"There is no need to worry. I am the one you have been searching for."

I spoke in as polite a tone as possible to ease their wariness.

"You say you are the one we were searching for?"

The one who seemed to be the leader, though still cautious, took the bait, likely wanting information.

"Yes. You came to find out who cast the spells from earlier, did you not?"

"…Are you saying that was you?"

"Yes."

Good, good, this is going well. Now I can befriend them and get them to tell me about the human side of things.

"Then tell me, what were you fighting?"

"Since we are in a place like this, it must have been a monster, don’t you think?"

I wasn't lying. It was the truth, after all.

"I see. If that is true…"

The adventurer leader shifted his gaze from me to my side.

"Then why isn’t that Ghoul behind you attacking you?!"

"Eh?"

Wondering what he meant, I turned around, and there, for some reason, was Mummy Ichigo-kun.

"Why are you here?!"

Th-this is bad, bad, bad! My whole plan is ruined! I have to cover this up somehow!

"G-guuuuuuu."

But then, I noticed that something was off about Mummy Ichigo-kun. He wasn't swaying as usual; his body was trembling as if he were holding something back.

"Eh? What? What’s wrong…?"

"Guoaaaaaaah!!"

Mummy Ichigo-kun let out a bestial roar and charged. At me.

"Wait, why?!"

Wh-wh-what is happening?!