Chapter 37: Perfect, It Really Is Vampires

Perfect, It Really Is Vampires

Xi Ya felt like he was about to have a brainstorm.

He ran through what the village chief had just said in his head again, deciding to start with the worst-case scenario.

Assuming this really was the work of the demon race, the question was, what was their motive?

There were only a few types of demons that enjoyed toying with their prey.

The only ones that fit were the Nightmare clan.

That group’s specialty was keeping their prey living in fear.

Nightmares thoroughly enjoyed watching their prey struggle in terror.

The more Xi Ya thought about it, the more it seemed to match, but something still felt off.

If it was a Nightmare, why just steal some poultry?

That was far too childish.

Going by Nightmare MO, they would go directly after the villagers first.

Weave various nightmares of death for them, sow seeds of fear, then cash in those nightmares one by one, triggering panic among the villagers.

They’d toy with them, and only once they were completely broken would the Nightmare reap them.

Besides, the Sorn Empire wasn’t a place where just any demon could sneak in easily.

The Shadow Demon from before only got past the Border Army’s perception by hiding in shadows.

A race like the Nightmare, which focused on psychic attacks, wasn’t good at infiltration.

More importantly, the demons who took the risk to sneak into the empire all had missions.

If the demon race sent a Nightmare in, it couldn’t be just to mess with the people in this village, right?

That made no sense at all.

Wait.

Xi Ya thought of the stake at the village entrance.

Seeing that Xi Ya wasn’t responding, the village chief muttered to himself:

“Strange, who would kidnap Jack…”

“Xi Ya?”

Dailina noticed Xi Ya seemed to be spacing out.

She reached out and waved her hand in front of his eyes.

No reaction.

She withdrew her hand, turned to look at the village chief, and said in a low voice, “He’s thinking. Don’t disturb him for now.”

Xi Ya was still immersed in his brainstorm.

What kinds of demons usually ended up on the stake?

The first one that came to mind was vampires, the Blood Clan.

In many works from his previous life, vampires were the demons most often burned at the stake.

Of course, he didn’t think these villagers could subdue a Blood Clan member and put them on a stake.

A Blood Clan member could level the entire village with a single spell.

But among the Blood Clan’s progeny, there were low-level vampires spread through biting.

Low-level vampires didn’t have the overwhelming power of a true Blood Clan.

A group of ordinary people could plausibly take one down.

If it really was vampires, then everything made sense.

Low-level vampires could also use simple Blood Magic.

Their bloodlust was strong, and they would drink the blood of any animal.

The vampire started by stealing poultry from the villagers to feed.

Then gradually became unsatisfied with poultry blood and started getting ideas about humans.

Last night, it made its move and took away the three drunk men.

The reason the villagers hadn’t found anything wasn’t that they weren’t thorough, but because they couldn’t detect the residual mana from Blood Magic.

‘Hmph. That’s right. It has to be this.’

A lightning-fast case solved.

He was a great detective!

Good.

This hypothesis was fine.

Now he needed to verify it.

Xi Ya suddenly slapped his palm, startling Dailina beside him.

“Village Chief, when we entered the village, we saw a cross set up at the entrance. Did you burn something?”

If the village chief answered “vampire,” the case would be closed.

Then all he’d need to do was find the vampire.

But Xi Ya noticed the village chief hesitate.

His eyes flicked to the side unnaturally, and his lips moved as if chewing over something hard to swallow.

Xi Ya’s heart sank.

What kind of reaction was that?

‘Don’t screw with me. If he’s trying to brush me off, then I’ll have to start thinking hard about whether this village chief had a hand in it too, if he was an accomplice.’

“…Uh, yes. We did burn something.”

“Last month, a sick person appeared in the village. She… she caught some strange disease. She wanted to bite people. At first, it was just livestock, but later…”

His voice started to choke up.

“Later, she tried to bite her husband. We caught her.”

Xi Ya didn’t interrupt.

He quietly listened as the village chief continued.

“We locked her up in the cellar, hoping she’d get better. But her illness seemed to get worse. Even during the day, she’d go berserk, banging her head against the wall until her face was covered in blood. She’d call her husband’s name, saying she wanted to see him, but then she’d shout for him to stay away… In the end, the villagers decided to burn her at the village entrance.”

Hearing this, Dailina covered her mouth with both hands and let out a soft gasp.

She hadn’t expected something like that to happen in the village.

Seeing the village chief’s expression, one of intense grief barely held in check, Xi Ya roughly understood what had happened.

The sick person the village chief described sounded like someone infected by a vampire.

They wanted to bite people, had a strong bloodlust.

Since that person was infected, it meant there really was a vampire near the village.

Perfect.

It really is vampires.

He’d already gotten the clue he needed.

There was no need to press further.

That person was probably a relative of his.

Being forced to burn one’s own family… no matter who, it wouldn’t be easy.

If he kept asking, it would only reopen the village chief’s wounds.

Better to find the culprit and solve the problem.

That would make the village chief feel a bit better.

“I understand. Thank you for the information.”

Xi Ya stood up, looking confident.

“I already know who did it. Please allow me to inspect the villagers’ poultry enclosures.”

All he needed next was to confirm if there were any traces of Blood Magic left at the scene, and then he could settle it for good.

“Huh?”

The village chief was clearly stunned.

How could this young man have already solved the case?

He felt he hadn’t provided any useful clues at all.

The burning he’d just asked about happened last month.

What relation did that have to this case?

The village chief couldn’t figure it out, but looking at Xi Ya’s school uniform, he felt a strange sense of trust.

‘No wonder he’s a student from the Royal Capital. I’ve heard all those students are geniuses.’

Even though he wanted to ask who the culprit was, the words died in his throat.

‘Forget it. Don’t disturb the young man’s investigation. I’m just an old man. I wouldn’t understand even if I asked.’

“Alright, go take a look.”

The village chief nodded his agreement.

“Huh?”

Dailina’s eyes went wide.

“Xi Ya already knows who the culprit is?”

She’d been wondering why Xi Ya asked those questions, and now he was saying he knew who did it.

“Yeah, nine times out of ten.”

Xi Ya smiled lightly.

“I just need to verify it. Once that’s done, I’ll tell you who it is.”

“Xi Ya is amazing…”

Dailina murmured.

“Haha, you flatter me, Dailina. Come on, let’s go check out the poultry enclosure.”