The tedious packing process finally came to an end. Sairi and Hilvia stood at the doorway, peering inside the room, which was now truly stripped bare—everything movable had been taken.
“Um… Hilvia Sister, we took so many things from the inn. Won’t the owners be angry? Aren’t we being kind of unscrupulous like this?”
Sairi voiced her worry uneasily.
“What’s there to be afraid of? This inn charged quite a lot, and I originally booked the member suite. I already told the front desk last night, and even paid extra. They agreed.”
“As long as that’s settled…” Hilvia’s words eased Sairi’s heart quite a bit, at least they wouldn’t be scolded by the staff for being unethical when they left…
With everything packed, the keys were handed back to the clerk, and Sairi and Hilvia’s journey officially began!
Time flew by quickly, and the two soon left the town together.
Walking on a small path outside the city, Sairi couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer and asked again about the Bloodspirit Empire.
“Um… Hilvia Sister, how exactly are we going to get to the Bloodspirit Empire this time?”
“It’s simple. Remember the Wind-Ringing Grassland I told you about? We just cross through there, keep heading west, and you’ll feel the atmosphere growing darker, the sunlight weakening. That’s when we’ll have entered the Bloodspirit Empire.”
“Will there be vampires in the Bloodspirit Empire?”
“Of course. If there were no vampires, it wouldn’t be called the Bloodspirit Empire.”
The mention of vampires sent a shiver down Sairi’s spine. It seemed their trip to the Bloodspirit Empire wouldn’t be smooth sailing…
“Then… should we prepare some other things, like garlic, onions, and crosses?”
“Oh?”
“What? Is there something wrong with my suggestion?”
“No, I’m just curious. It seems your understanding of vampires is still stuck in the bedtime story stage used to lull kids to sleep~”
“What do you mean by ‘bedtime story stage’? Hilvia, are you teasing me again?”
“What I mean is, the Bloodspirit Empire has many kinds of vampires. There are bloodkin queens and bloodkin princesses of unknown age, as well as various bloodkin dukes, barons, and knights.”
“They even have the beautiful, strong, and considerate Blood Order Maid Corps. Below them are bloodkin servants and blood thralls. The rest are just common folk like us humans—only they’re vampires.”
I see. So those terrifying, man-eating vampires don’t really exist. The vampires here are more like an improved version.
Hilvia continued.
“Because of the long-standing peace, the blood supply for the bloodkin is stable. Other countries supply them, and the Bloodspirit Empire also has its own internal sources.”
“Of course, this is all cooperative; the bloodkin also provide peacekeeping help in return.”
“I see. So the vampires in this world should be fairly easy to talk to?”
“You could put it that way. At least they’re not monsters who don’t even speak a language—they speak at least two.”
“Two languages? Why would the bloodkin need so many languages? Shouldn’t one species have only one language?”
“Uh…” Hilvia turned to look at Sairi, who had a purely innocent and confused expression. For a moment, Hilvia just smiled and relaxed.
“You called me dumb before and got upset. This just proves it! Since peace has lasted so long, countries have to communicate with each other. Besides their own language, they have to learn at least one other country’s language.”
“Of course.”
“Right? How could you forget… hehe (^-^)”
“I think you’ve just eaten too many steamed buns and turned silly.”
Hilvia poked Sairi’s forehead with a finger, making her giggle.
“So what foreign languages do they usually learn?”
“Most ordinary people speak their own language plus the human language. Of course, many speak five languages, too. Those are usually the ministers and generals basically—”
“Wow, it seems our Kingdom of Humans is pretty impressive, huh?”
“Unfortunately, not.”
“Why not?”
“The countries have been peaceful for so long, and even if they weren’t, the Kingdom of Humans can’t easily defeat others. The reason humans speak more languages is simply because humans breed too much and cause trouble everywhere once they’re well-fed. Like us two, for example.”
“Ah…”
Though this reason sounded harsh, and Sairi wanted to argue, she felt deep down that it was quite a solid and realistic explanation. And right now, Hilvia was a perfect example.
“Well, not bad. At least the people of all countries get along well, and there’s no war. Let’s try to make some friends in the Bloodspirit Empire and sneak in some free meals!”
…Hearing Sairi’s heartfelt words, Hilvia didn’t know how to respond at first. After hesitating for a while, she decided to speak up.
“Well, the countries aren’t as peaceful as you imagine. Everyone’s just too lazy to fight. When you enter another’s territory, you still have to be discreet and not attract attention.”
“If someone doesn’t like you, they’ll mess with you. So once we’re inside the Bloodspirit Empire, remember to keep a low profile and wear your cloak and hood.”
“Oh, got it, got it!”
It seemed this world wasn’t as chaotic as she thought, but also not as friendly as she imagined.
Oh well, as long as Hilvia’s around, everything will be fine. Hilvia can handle anything.
Hehe…
!!!
WDF! What was that just now? What’s with entrusting my fate to someone else like that??
How could I think that way? I’m a real man, a true man! An independent man!
Distracted, Sairi started mentally sweeping away such thoughts, walking much slower and staring down in a daze.
Hilvia noticed and leaned over, waving her hand in front of Sairi’s face twice, but there was no response.
“Sairi?”
Still no answer. Sairi was deep in thought.
Hilvia decided to take action—sneaking behind Sairi, she wrapped her arms around her and called loudly.
“Sairi!!”
“Ahhh! I’m here!”
Sairi was startled.
Since being reincarnated as a girl, Sairi felt she’d become easily distracted, and her mind seemed to run on a single thread. It had to be some mischief from the Goddess Sister!
She was originally smart but now felt dumb—definitely the Goddess Sister’s doing. Next time the Goddess Sister contacts her, she must interrogate her thoroughly!
“What were you daydreaming about?”
Hilvia stepped in front of Sairi, twirling a strand of her golden hair with her fingers.
“Uh… nothing much. Just curious if you know anyone in the Bloodspirit Empire? You mentioned before that each country has a guardian who fights alongside the gods.”
“So the Bloodspirit Empire must have one too. And since you’re the Human Kingdom’s Holy Sword Hero representing humans in battle, you should know the bloodkin lady there, right?”
“Hmm,” Hilvia paused briefly, then grinned, “You’d be surprised that your little brain can actually figure things out sometimes. Yep, I do know someone there, but not very well—maybe we don’t get along that well.”
That made sense. No wonder Hilvia kept saying this world isn’t as friendly as Sairi imagined. It’s a huge world; not everyone knows each other or has good friendships. Just seeing someone is already a blessing.
“Alright then, let’s keep moving, Hilvia Sister!”
“Okay, come on, keep up!”
Hilvia reached out her left hand and took Sairi’s right hand. Although this wasn’t their first time touching hands, Sairi still felt a little nervous.
They really were like inseparable best friends, but Sairi’s heart refused to accept it in the same way a man would. This caused her reactions to such contact to be awkward.
As a real man, she should stand tall and explain, but she hadn’t. As a female friend of Hilvia’s, she wanted to be considerate and agreed to Hilvia’s handholding, but kept hesitating.
Sairi felt stuck in this awkward middle ground.
Forget it, she’d just keep delaying. The important thing now was following Hilvia out of the Windspring Forest.
The two walked quickly. Unlike other adventurer teams or simple merchants, all their luggage and belongings fit neatly inside Sairi’s hairpin, making their burden incredibly light.
If it were anyone else, they’d be struggling to carry huge bundles of luggage. The hairpin gifted by the Goddess Sister was truly the most useful present.
“Sairi, do you still remember that Wind-Ringing Grassland I told you about?”
“Eh, the one without actual bells but when the wind blows, it makes a ‘ding-ling’ sound? I’ve remembered it well.”
“Good. After we walk a bit further and leave the Windspring Forest, we’ll see that dense and lush grassland. Excited?”
“Excited! Of course I’m excited!” (^_^)
“Seeing you so motivated, I’m relieved. Since it’s a border area, both the forest and grassland are huge. We probably won’t reach the places where people live inside the Bloodspirit Empire today. Most likely, we’ll have to camp out on the grassland overnight.”
“No problem. Lying on the vast grassland, gazing at the stars and watching shooting stars is pretty romantic!”
At least it didn’t sound boring. There were no phones, computers, or internet in this world. When she first arrived, she felt down, but now she’d come to terms with it.
“That’s good. Later, let’s pay attention to the surroundings. If we can hunt, we should, to save on the supplies we brought.”
“Eh, why? There’s already plenty of supplies in the hairpin. Why bother hunting? Isn’t that just being silly? What are you scheming now, Hilvia?”
“Because I’m not sure if once we enter the Bloodspirit Empire, we’ll be able to find towns or people’s gathering places quickly, or if they’ll help us. We don’t know how they’ll treat us. So just to be safe, we should be cautious.”
Makes sense.
Hilvia might look young, but she was meticulous, like a seasoned military strategist or a tactician in the royal court.
“But Hilvia Sister, don’t worry too much. I can go a long time without eating. My body is special. Those supplies can be saved for you. I feel like I can eat raw meat or wild vegetables without trouble. I’m not eating to satisfy hunger or regain strength anyway.”
“That won’t do. Sairi, you’re so kind and cute. Letting such a sweet little sister eat raw meat and dig for wild vegetables… I’d feel so heartbroken. And it’d make me, the hero, look really unkind.”
“Oh, Hilvia Sister, you’re too polite! You don’t know my constitution? I feel like I could even eat inorganic things. Trees, grass, even dirt and stones on the roadside… probably?”
“Pfft… you really are a glutton.” Hilvia was stunned by Sairi’s bold claim.
“I don’t care. Anyway, I’m not going to use the supplies in the hairpin alone. Either we both don’t use them, or we both use them!”
Seeing she couldn’t win the argument, Hilvia had to give in.
“Alright, alright. Let’s keep moving~”
“Yeah~ Let’s go.”
The two continued forward under the sunshine and gentle breeze, walking along the forest path, leaving long footprints and mud stains on their boots.
Surprisingly, the journey was smooth. Sairi had worried about being chased or encountering other adventurers, but now she realized her fears were unfounded.
Moreover, they didn’t meet a single person or even a wild beast, so their hunting efforts bore no fruit.
Yet Sairi enjoyed this quiet atmosphere. It felt like a group of friends hiking or visiting a nature reserve in midsummer—peaceful and harmonious.
The forest was filled with insect chirps and bird songs, and she and Hilvia walked side by side, whispering to each other.
Even near the forest’s edge, no living creatures appeared.
“Sairi, look ahead!”
Startled by Hilvia’s voice, Sairi looked forward to see the path suddenly opening wide.
She ran a few steps forward and stood by the last tree at the forest’s edge, gazing out at the vast greenery, stretching endlessly.
The breeze rustled the grass with a clear “ding-ling” sound. Hilvia’s words had been true.
“Hey, Hilvia Sister, let’s hurry! I want to feel what it’s like to lie in the grass!”
“Sure, but don’t walk too fast, or if something sudden happens, it won’t be good.”
“Got it!”
But fate had other plans. Just as Hilvia warned Sairi to be careful, a large tree beside them suddenly shook as if struck, showering leaves down. A hoarse cough came from the branches above.
“Who’s there!” Hilvia quickly pulled Sairi behind her, summoning the Holy Sword to shield in front of her, eyes tense as she stared at the tree.