Volume 1, Chapter 7.1 – 1 – The Silver Savior (Interlude)

I am Christina.

A proud Holy Knight of the White Moon Kingdom’s Third Knight Order, currently serving as the Vice Commander of the Fourth Squad in the Faren Region.

Among knights, Holy Knights are a special class chosen by a Holy Sword.

Through a strange twist of fate, I was chosen by the Holy Sword Sesrumnir and became a Holy Knight.

The reason I have been stationed in Zarabia is solely due to the existence of the infamous Vampire, Schwarz.

He is a powerful Vampire rumored to be the next Demon Lord.

To make matters worse, no magic affects him aside from the holy attribute, and he evades physical attacks by turning into mist.

Furthermore, he brainwashes people one after another with terrifyingly powerful Charm Magic, and mows down his enemies with a Vampire-specific combat style that manipulates blood and shadows.

Every town and village near his lair has been destroyed, and the people have become his food.

At this rate, Zarabia will be his next target.

Therefore, we organized a subjugation party to challenge Schwarz. Numbers mean nothing against an opponent like him.

I gathered a small group of elites, focusing on those with strong willpower and high resistance to Charm.

The plan was simple: infiltrate his hideout during the day and immobilize him with Holy Water.

Then, I would deliver the finishing blow with my Holy Sword.

As a racial trait, Vampires are weak to sunlight.

No matter how powerful a Vampire is, they weaken when exposed to the sun and eventually turn to ash and die.

Ideally, it would have been best to have a Priest who could use powerful Purification Magic accompany us, but considering the march through the forest and Schwarz’s combat prowess, it was deemed difficult.

After all, he is simply too strong.

If we ended up fighting him, the knights wouldn’t be able to buy a Priest enough time to cast their magic.

And a Priest, already exhausted from the march, would be unable to protect themselves or escape. In that case, we were better off without one.

Thus, we decided to proceed with this plan.

Upon entering Schwarz’s forest, we encountered a mysterious girl.

My first impression was that she was a terrifyingly beautiful girl.

She had beautiful silver hair, red eyes, slightly pointed ears, and skin so white it was without a single blemish.

Though her features were incredibly refined, they didn’t feel cold or sharp; instead, she had a gentle countenance that gave those who looked upon her a sense of peace.

Such a beautiful girl was dressed in a simple one-piece dress and sandals—an outfit completely out of place for such a dangerous, deep forest.

What’s more, this clearly out-of-place beauty was using a ferocious Silver Wolf as a backrest while eating forest grapes.

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And before our very eyes, small birds were carrying the grapes over to her!

Bathed in the morning sun by a spring in the forest, her figure was so ethereal that I thought I had encountered a forest fairy.

“Good work. You guys can go now.”

She spoke to the birds in a beautiful voice, and they flew off into the depths of the forest.

“Good morning. Um… my group of white-armored friends?”

Who on earth was she? Moreover, was it even possible for someone in the White Moon Kingdom not to recognize the armor of the Knight Order?

Regardless, I was the captain of this subjugation party. It was my responsibility to speak with her.

When I stepped forward with that thought, her hauntingly beautiful face stared intently at me.

What is this?

I fell into the illusion that everything was being seen through by those beautiful yet gentle red eyes.

And then, my heart began to race. Just looking at her made me feel all fluttery.

This was strange. I was supposed to be straight. Why was I getting all flustered just because a woman—an obviously younger beautiful girl, at that—was looking at me like this?!

“Pleased to meet you. Are you the commander? I am Fiene Argentata.”

I was surprised to hear her introduce herself.

To my shock, she had a family name, meaning she was a young noble lady.

Judging by the name, she didn’t seem to be a noble of our country, but failing to show courtesy would be a disgrace to my nation.

I hurriedly saluted and introduced myself loudly so as not to be rude.

“It is an honor to meet you for the first time, Fiene-sama. I am Christina, serving as the Vice-Commander of the Fourth Squad, Faren Region, of the White Moon Kingdom’s Third Knight Order.”

According to Fiene-sama, it seemed she had been brought here by someone and didn’t even know where she was.

Perhaps she had been kidnapped, or sold off by her family, or maybe she had fled from an unpleasant political marriage.

In any case, she needed protection.

Having made that judgment, I decided to temporarily suspend the subjugation mission and bring Fiene-sama back to town.

◇ ◇ ◇

Then, that night, we were attacked by Schwarz.

Even Holy Water had no effect on him while he was empowered by the dark night!

Moreover, he was trading blows equally with my Holy Sword.

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No, that’s not right. Schwarz was far superior.

As expected, the night was a Vampire’s domain. The moment the battle was dragged into the nighttime, our defeat had probably already been decided.

My armor was shattered, and the Holy Sword was knocked from my hand. It was checkmate. Just as I was about to give up, Fiene-sama woke up and stepped out of her tent.

This was terrible. There had still been a chance Schwarz would be satisfied after drinking my blood!

I shouted instinctively.

“Fiene-sama? Why did you come out?!”

Because of my voice, Schwarz took an interest in Fiene-sama. Dammit!

“Oh my? Why is someone like you with such people?”

“Well, you could say it’s just… circumstances.”

“Very well. It’s time for my meal, so I’ll entertain you later.”

“Haa…”

Their conversation wasn’t even remotely on the same wavelength, but I understood one thing: after sucking my blood, this monster intended to harm Fiene-sama.

“Fiene-sama! Please escape!”

But Fiene-sama wouldn’t run. How tragic. This was the end.

“Kuh… I will not become a thrall of a Vampire. Kill me now.”

Just as I prepared for death, Schwarz was engulfed in an unbelievably powerful light of holy attribute purification.

She was overwhelming the formidable Schwarz, and during the night—the time of the Vampire, no less.

“Wh-what? How… why do you have that…”

Schwarz vanished. I couldn’t understand what had happened. Did Fiene-sama just do that?

Then, a further miracle occurred. A warm light of Healing Magic spread out from Fiene-sama, and those who should have been mortally wounded were healed in an instant.

“Speechless” was the only word for it.

“Well then, I’m gonna sleep. Goodnight.”

Fiene-sama said this matter-of-factly and returned to her tent to rest.

As if she hadn’t done anything significant at all.

Ah, so this is what it meant for the Holy Sword to lead me to the Saint!

At that moment, I became certain. This person truly was the Saint of this era.

◇ ◇ ◇

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Afterward, we escorted Fiene-sama to the town of Zarabia.

Then, Fiene-sama attended an audience with the lord. I was even granted the honor of having lunch with Fiene-sama, but an incident occurred during this luncheon.

Something had seemed a bit off for a while—actually, even since she attended the audience—but after eating the food served at the luncheon, Fiene-sama collapsed.

Could this be… poisoning?

Thinking this, I glared at Viscount Masshilroom.

However, seeing how the Viscount and his daughter were in a complete panic, it didn’t seem to be intentional.

“Viscount! Quickly, prepare a bed! Also, investigate the possibility that Fiene-sama’s food was poisoned!”

I carried Fiene-sama in my arms and laid her body down on the prepared bed.

We would need to stand guard until she woke up.

I called the members of the subjugation party and quickly organized a guard shift.

Naturally, I took the night watch.

There was no way I could leave guarding Fiene-sama’s bedroom at night to a man.

And that night, Fiene-sama woke up.

“Chris-san. My apologies. I’ve caused you unnecessary worry.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Yes. I feel much better now.”

Relieved, I asked her a few questions.

Apparently, the food wasn’t the cause. Thinking I might be of some help, I offered my cooperation, but she brushed it off with a clearly deceptive, joking tone.

“Well, you see. I’m actually a Vampire. I collapsed because I was trying to suppress my urge to drink blood~♪”

No matter how many secrets she might have that she couldn’t reveal to us, wasn’t this excuse a bit much?

In the first place, Vampires are beings of pure dark attribute.

It’s common knowledge that they turn to ash if exposed to sunlight, and there’s no way they could use Purification Magic or Healing Magic.

Besides, Fiene-sama’s eyes are human. If she were a Vampire, she should have eyes with vertical pupils like Schwarz.

“Is that… not okay?”

Of course it’s not okay. I mean, why are you saying that with such a cute expression?

Ah, I’m getting that weird feeling again.

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Then, Fiene-sama started saying something even more bizarre.

“Then, please let me drink some of your blood, Chris-san. Just about a teacup’s worth will do.”

It seemed Fiene-sama intended to keep insisting on this whole “Vampire” act.

Even though the end result of this would be her drinking blood.

“Yes. Please.”

It seemed Fiene-sama’s resolve was unshakable. It couldn’t be helped.

I cut my wrist with a knife and let the blood drip into a teacup.

Drip, drip, the blood fell into the cup until it was filled with my lifeblood.

“Here you go.”

As I handed it to Fiene-sama, she took it and healed my wound.

I could see a flicker of regret on Fiene-sama’s face.

“Well then, itadakimasu.”

And so, Fiene-sama swallowed my blood, looking as if it were truly delicious.

Her pale skin flushed slightly, and an indescribable sort of sensual charm drifted from her.

Before I realized it, my gaze had become fixed on Fiene-sama.

Then, a clearly strange emotion welled up inside me.

I want to make Fiene-sama mine alone.

I want to ruin her.

Fiene-sama licked her lips. That gesture felt intensely erotic.

“Thank you for the meal. That was my first time drinking blood, but it was really delicious.”

“I-I see. Well, I’m glad to hear that.”

Honestly, I was panicked. I was worried only about whether she had noticed this strange emotion of mine.

“Well then, Chris-san. Goodnight. See you tomorrow.”

Fiene-sama said this and lay down. Soon, I could hear her quiet breathing from the bed.

“Fiene-sama… a Vampire that sleeps at night is a bit of a stretch, even for a lie.”

I remained there for a long, long time, absentmindedly watching over her beautiful sleeping face.