The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

The castle of The Mirage Demon King. It seems to be on top of the mountain, just like Rainel’s castle. Most Demon Kings have many enemies. They’re usually on hostile terms with not just humans, but also other Demon Kings. When you become the hated Undead Demon King, you make every living being into your enemies. It’s natural that this Demon King would build a castle on top of the mountain that would be easier to protect. He perished though.

The MirageDemon King and his retainers were all annihilated by the Order of Death Knights of that generation and all that was left was a sturdy castle. The Order of Death Knights tried to destroy the castle, but apparently, the nobles who supported them in subjugation of the Demon King at that time stopped them. Back then, the area around the castle was controlled by the monsters, so losing the sturdy castle that was already there must’ve been a pity.

In fact, the nobles from that time made good use of the Mirage Demon King’s castle, settled the surrounding area and established their country. After that, the inconvenient castle was abandoned, but it wasn’t destroyed. That’s the reason why the castle of the Mirage Demon King is still standing even after hundreds of years.

Now, the old castle is known as the symbol of humanity’s victory.

I love traveling. I won’t be disappointed even if we don’t find anything.

A few days after carrying Senri on my back, we reached a nearby town without any incident. Throughout our journey, nobody suspected us. Looks like this country that was at the front lines until hundreds of years ago has become known as a fairly safe country now.

I’m put in the suitcase and we enter the town. I lay quietly in the bag where sunlight doesn’t reach. I lose strength all at once. We’re approaching flowing water. I hear the sound of water flowing. The fact that it makes sound means that this town has perfect countermeasures against vampires.

Most towns use flowing water as a countermeasure against vampires, but the extent of it depends on each town. For example, the countermeasures of Romberg, which was under Rainel’s onslaught, were almost perfect, as they were surrounded by deep canals. But this town also feels like one of the top-class strongest out of all the towns I’ve visited.

In peaceful towns, measures against vampires tend to not be taken seriously, but this place seems different.

“I’m here to… look at the sights.”

“Did you come to see the castle too?… There have been a lot of people recently. Is anything there?”

I hear the voice of a young man. Damn it, if I was riding on top of her head, I’d be able to get his attention… Looks like a delicate woman like Senri on a journey alone stands out a lot. She was often called out for no reason during our journey. It’s good that people aren’t wary of her, but that doesn’t make me feel good as her pet dog. On the other hand, when I’m riding on top of her head, Senri changes from a beautiful maiden into a maiden with a dog on top of her head, so their gazes mostly gather on me. If I act charmingly, they sometimes give me food too.

But right now, I’m powerless. No matter how long I wait, my strength doesn’t come back. I can’t even move my tail. We’ve visited various towns until now, but this is the first time we’ve had to undergo an entry inspection on top of the water. As expected from the place where the Undead Demon King stayed, or so I should say. Skeletons aren’t supposed to be weak against flowing water, but they definitely dug this waterway thinking about having countermeasures against vampires while they were at it.

“I’m in a hurry…”

Perhaps sensing that I was having a hard time, Senri finished up the conversation. At the same time as my strength returned, I tapped the insides of the suitcase with my tail, protesting that I wanted to be let out as soon as possible.

☠

Senri walked a long time around the town with me in her suitcase. This was a first. She’s kind. Senri always thinks about me first and whenever we arrive at a new town, she usually immediately looks for an inn where she can block out the sunlight.

My strength came back, but for some reason I don’t feel well today. The occasional smell of garlic that gets through is only making me worse. Garlic is the natural enemy of vampires. If it gets inside my body, things will get really damn bad, but even just the smell doesn’t feel good. On top of that, there seem to be many rivers in this town.

In the end, Senri stops after more than an hour. I wait patiently. I listen to the voice booking the inn and we enter the room. The swaying of the suitcase stops, followed by the sound of curtains shutting. Since I have nothing to do, I keep protesting with my tail during that time.

I hear Senri’s voice from outside of the bag. “Baron… I can’t get rid of the sunlight in this room.”

“Ky~un”

“No… I’ve been looking for an inn for a while but they all have thin curtains. This town―― ‘Dessend’ has almost perfect countermeasures against vampires.”

“kyuuun…”

What a terrifying town we have arrived in. I jump out of the suitcase without caring. The faint sunlight spilling in from the gaps of the white curtain hurts my body and I immediately hide in the shadow of the bed. Senri hurriedly takes out a cloak from her luggage and puts it on me.

“Kyu~n”

The room was the worst room I had ever seen. The sunlight coming in from the thin curtains was on the level harmful even to a Lesser Vampire like me. But that wasn’t the only problem. I discovered it with a single glance.

“There are… too many crosses… in this room… Senri… it’s full of crosses.”

The ornaments are inlaid with the design of a cross here and there, just to the extent that it’s hardly noticeable. Moreover, those crosses are extremely close to what the vampires are weak to. Crosses are one of the weaknesses of vampires, but it’s not like they’re weak to all crosses. The ratio is what’s important. So I might be okay if I accidentally come across something in the shape of the cross in the town, but the design of the cross that’s been casually inlaid everywhere in this room accurately struck my weakness.

A cross isn’t something that kills vampires just by existing and it’s also not something that could make me lose my strength. But when I’m near it, my mood might worsen a bit and I’ve learnt from my fight with Keeper how troublesome a cross-shaped silver sword might be.

“Why did you choose this inn…”

Replying to my complaints, as I lay under the cloak trembling, Senri apologizes.

“I’m sorry. But every inn is like this. There were crosses on the gate too so I couldn’t let you out.”

“?! Does this town have a grudge against vampires?!”

“Probably, yeah. No, they probably had a grudge in the past. This is a phenomenon sometimes seen in towns that fought against the undead. Garlic and silver products are the specialty of this town. Their burial rites involve cremation on top of the water. There are many rivers flowing inside the town.”

This is the worst. It must’ve been a few centuries since this country had to fight against the undead, but it stuck around as the culture. If I was a genuine vampire, I would be in a much worse state. This is terrible…

I was struck with a single fear and asked hesitantly.

“Don’t tell me… the Sun is always out here?”

“… There’s no town like that.”

Looks like I was able to avoid the worst case. I made up my mind and lifted my dogification.

My body hurts. But when I control blood power and cover my whole body, the pain is alleviated. This is the kind of pain I don’t want to experience for a long time, but it’s not unbearable. I can’t stop trembling because of the crosses, but I can endure that too.

I turn the luggage over with my trembling hands and put on my clothes.

“End, don’t push yourself too much. It’s not like the castle is in the middle of the town. You just have to leave right away.”

Senri is right, but I haven’t enjoyed this town yet. It would be impossible to go out as a vampire, but I should be able to figure something out as a lesser vampire. I should be able to cut off the garlic stench to some extent by wearing a mask. I appeal to Senri while lying on my back.

“Senri, let’s go to the bathroom. I want some blood.”

I feel like hugging Senri’s body tight and drinking her blood. If I replenish a lot of my power, I should be able to endure going outside too. Senri almost unhesitatingly disregarded my weak request. “… There’s a window in the bathroom too. So that’s impossible. Besides, everywhere in this room seems to be decorated with silver so be careful.”