Tosho Meikyuu:Volume1 Chapter3

630 Pages until Memory Loss

◇◇◇630 Pages until Memory Loss

As you may imagine from your classroom number being over a thousand, the lecture tower of the ‘Apothecary’ has countless classes, and therefore, lots and lots of students.

All the students will leave the classroom at the same time, and start to migrate toward the cafeteria. Thus, you can imagine how crowded it is during lunch break.

"Tch…we’re late. Who knows how long it’ll take for us to get through the crowd …?"

The murderer walking before you mutters in disdain. The spiral staircases connecting to each floor of the lecture tower is filled with a dense crowd of black-haired people (there are people of other hair colors like blond and brown, at least half of them anyway). The mass migration of people is why the ‘Apothecary’ has a lunch break lasting an hour and a half.

(A-As expected from the famous ‘Apothecary’, just the number of students is amazing enough…)

"There may be several hundred people within sight.it will be impossible for this true ancestor to appear and fight."

(No, it’s probably unlikely that we’ll fight here. Since she didn’t expose the vampire (me), this murderer probably wants to interrogate me or torture me into submission.)

During the argument in the classroom, the murderer did not reveal your true identity. In that case, she probably has a reason for keeping you alive. In that case, even if she, who has much better magic than you, probably won’t use magic that would kill the interrogation target (you) instantly.

(…And besides, I have the immortality of the High Daylight Walker and the absolute protection magic in my talisman. I may miss an opportunity to win, but I won’t lose and die…!)

You gently lay your hand on your chest, feeling the talisman crystal.

To protect his beloved son, the Doctor Magna gathered all his skills to create this magical tool.

This one and only relic sealed in this ‘Apothecary’, the absolute protection magic of Okutsuki—the most powerful mage of the ‘Apothecary’.

(…Despite that, this protective charm only works once. Father’s magic is truly a last resort.)

"Umu. Given the risk of your identity as a vampire being exposed, I shall appear to fight if push comes to shove. I swear in the name of High Daylight Walker and I shall not let any harm befall my dearest!"

(…I don't need a vampire’s help. I’m the one fighting.)

In response to the ultrasonically whispered confession of love, you reply with a soft sounding rejection. Even you, who may not be truly familiar with the concept of love, are not so foolish as to trust the love a vampire speaks of.

You and the vampire have a common agreement, that both of you are antagonistic towards the murderer…but this is merely a fragile partnership based on mutual interests. You do not think the love spoken of by the High Daylight Walker is true, and It is also dangerous to rely too heavily on Arteria's fighting skills.

(…I don’t think the High Daylight Walker is likely to save humans for no reason. Vampires are a natural enemy to humanity, and it’s possible she’s trying to use it…I can’t rely on her power.)

A High Daylight Walker is a natural enemy species of mankind, and also the most powerful monster in Library Labyrinth. You do not know how why she granted immortality to a human…but in any case, you cannot expect on her assistance. You should abandon the optimism that the vampire will help you, and fight the murderer seriously.

"…Oi, murderer, how much further do you plan to walk?"

"Can a vampire not be so friendly towards me? My ears will rot."

"Hmph, it’s better if its those bullhorns that rot instead of those ears. Maybe you can look more like a human…eek!"

You try to gauge the Murderer’s reaction, and the moment you speak to her, your right index finger suddenly disappears. There are many around you, but the savagery of the murderer remains merciless.

"D-Did she just attack you in a public place…?"

(Damnit, I was stupid to expect common sense from a murderer!)

You hide your right hand in your pocket, waiting for the severed fingertip to regenerate. The amount of blood smoke is higher than when you were stabbed in your flank, since part of your flesh is missing.

(…This is bad. Let’s hope nobody around us notice my aura …)

You remain alert to your surroundings so as to avoid being suspected of being vampirized.

"…Did you see that? That transfer student’s giving off that red aura again…"

"I-I see it too! I can’t believe it materializes to something so thick…!"

"Oh yeah they’re going to do it. He said it comes out when he's emotional."

"D-Do it, as in, erm, that thing!?"

"No doubt about it!"

The absolutely wrong conversation can be overheard a few meters away behind you. Your classmates have misunderstood your relationship with the murderer, and are tailing you to peep on your date.

However, you are unable to notice them due to the crowd and your wariness against the murderer.

"Now then, get ready to turn left. If you want to run, you can choose the right."

"If I turn right here, wouldn’t that mean that I’ll be in the air?"

"Oh my, don’t you understand that I’m telling you to jump from the stairwell and kill yourself?"

"I know! I mean I don't want to die!"

The main staircase of the 'Apothecary' connects the upper levels of the Labyrinth to the top of the tower, a distance of nearly a kilometer, so a fall into the central stairwell means a certain death.

Well, in your case, you will not die due to the fall, but will be tried in a vampire inquest for not dying, and will be submerged in a sulfuric acid bath and converted into black charcoal.

After walking for nearly 20 minutes in fear of your death, you eventually step out into the outermost shell of the tower. This is the place that protrudes outward from the center of the main lecture tower, similar to a terrace.

(…Somehow we ended up outside the lecture tower…?)

You squint in the fierce sunlight and scan your surroundings. Upon this terrace built from the advanced architectural techniques excavated from the Labyrinth, there are little aquaducts formed by sunbaked bricks.

The aquaducts are decorated with sculptures of angels, and the green roof is made of vines intertwined with the pillars. The young leaves of the planted trees sometimes rustle with the wind, and though they do manufacture the perfect atmosphere for a man and a woman to meet. …

(…It doesn’t feel like anyone else is around. Is she going to turn this place to a battlefield…!?)

As long as the murderer is next door, you shall never ever have a a peaceful lunch break.

(…It’s quite a large space, but there’s hardly any obstructions. It’ll be troublesome if she summons stone shapes or shoot stone spares at me like yesterday …!)

"Oh my, is the world of daylight that unusual for a vampire born in the darkness?"

The murderer asks as she walks to the center of the terrace and turns her head back. The Mediterranean sea breeze blows upstream the lecture tower from the city below, swaying the murderer's golden hair and causing it to sparkle.

"Phew. The fragrane of the sea sure is pleasant, though I imagine vampires prefer the smell of death and darkness."

"I-I usually prefer the fragrance of the tide too…though the sunlight does burn my skin a little."

You can feel a tingling warmth on your exposed face and the backs of your hands…fortunately however, there is no sign of turning into ash, as per a typical vampire.

"… And? You didn't bring me all the way down here just to fight, right?"

You wonder about your enemy's attitude, expecting spears to fly the moment you two are alone. Given her actions till this moment, you have assumed she is a lunatic who delights in murdering…

"…I’ll be honest, I want intel. Confess obediently, and I may spare your life, you know?"

How surprising, she offers to spare your life in exchange for information!

(That’s a lie!)

"That is a lie, no?"

It is a lie.