You might be wondering why am I still alive...Well, even I still wonder about that, too.
I should already be dead right now, yet, I was given a second time to become myself again; the same person who had lived for hundreds of years already.
Well, I did not exactly remember everything that happened after I got killed by him. But the second time I opened my eyes and regained consciousness, I was already outside my body, outside the so-called dungeon I"ve built.
[ You"ve said earlier that you don"t have a name yet, right? ]
The second I"ve heard the voice, I already knew who the person was; it the same person who just killed me, Vlad Alucard.
[ How about Shin? That sounds like a cool name. ]
[ Shin? ]
I didn"t exactly know what he was talking about then, as I was only able to regain consciousness, but I still humored him and did not stay silent.
[ The heart, mind, and soul. ]
[ ... ]
[ That"s you, right? ]
My head was still in a daze, but I can still remember it...
The day that I got my name...
Shin...
***
Vlad told me the reason he came to my dungeon.
He said that he did because he thought that there would a vampire living in my dungeon.
At first, they didn"t really know that the place was a dungeon, they thought it was just an abandoned ruin. There were many adventurers that were sent there to investigate, but since no one ever came back, the guild wasn"t able to know of my existence.
Vlad said that he was disappointed that he was not able to see what he was expecting to, but after that, he had also said that he got interested in me.
He asked me all about the vampires I mentioned that had taken shelter in my dungeon. He said that he was just recently been transformed into a vampire and wanted to know everything about his new existence. I had many things I wanted to ask him about, too: like how he was able to become so powerful and what was his previous race, but he did not give me any answers at all.
But despite that, I gave him all the answers I know of.
And I also told him about my existence. It seems that Vlad isn"t really that knowledgeable about the existence of us, dungeon masters.
And so I"ve educated him and told him everything he wants to know.
***
A knock was heard from the door, and one of his Vampire slaves entered.
[ You have a visitor, Vlad-sama. ]
[ Aylchan! ]
A voice came in delight. It was not Vlad, but Shin, who had now taken the form of a man wearing a suit.
[ Shin-sama. ] Ayla bowed as she turns to Shin.
[ Still as gorgeous as ever, Aylchan. ] again, he said those words with delight, like he was a different person from both his demon and loli form.
[ Thank you, Shin-sama. ] she says, finishing their usual exchange, then turns to Vlad.
[ Who is it, Ayla? ]
[ It"s Carlo-sama. ]
[ Oh? It"s Carlo-san again, huh? I wonder what it is this time...? ] Vlad furrowed his brows as he heard the name of his visitor.
It has been a week since they have conquered the dungeon, and since the invitation to the capital was sent. The fact that Carlo was the person who had delivered the letter to him concerns Vlad that he must have visited his mansion again to bring the topic of him going to the capital.
[ Carlo? Who is this person? ]
[ Yes, he was the first person I"ve ever made relations in this city. In fact, everything I currently own, I bought from him. ]
[ Really? So you owe this person, Vlad? ]
[ Again, call me Vlad-sama or master when you"re in that form. ] Vlad muttered, annoyed.
[ Umm... That"s right... I"m never familiar with calling someone "master" since I was the master just a week ago... But I will try my best. ]
[ Haah... Ayla, you can bring Carlo-san to the guest room, I will follow soon. ] with a sigh, he gave his order.
[ Un. ] again, Ayla vowed and left the room, leaving him and Shin again alone.
[ Carlo-san... She acts like a superior worker and I hate it... She could"ve been my boss if I was still in j.a.pan... I don"t want to say this, but Shin, don"t act so rudely towards her. ]
Vlad had finally taken off his cool act and finally went to his usual self. He only shows this side of him to Shin and sometimes to Ayla and Stella; the real Kagayami Shiro.
[ VlVlad!? I mean, master!? You"re actually showing some worry for the first time...? ]
[ No, that"s not it. I was still a little confused when I first met her, and I acted in a really embarra.s.sing way... Ever since then, I just can"t seem to act rude and cold towards her... ]
[ Really? I wonder what kind of person this is... ]
[ Well, I still don"t know how she works beside her business with mine, but it seems she"s really famous not just in this city, but the whole country itself. I heard bad rumors about her, so the idea that she"s just acting nice towards me to get me into her business might be possible, well, not that I care. ] Vlad had this thought inside his head ever since he got his first interaction with Carlo.
Vlad thinks that it might be due to the fact that she"s hiding her true gender that makes him warry of her. Every time he"s near her, his senses peaks, trying to inform him that what"s in front of him is his natural prey, a young woman. This makes it difficult for him to focus on their interactions.
[ I really just can"t understand what"s their difference... ]
The picture of the girl she just can"t seem to like appeared on his mind - Alicia.
They"re both young ladies yet the other one stands out more than the other.
( My blood raises when I see Carla, while it boils when I see the other... No, I can also definitely see Alicia"s appeal, too, but Carla seems really just... the purer one... )
[ Is it the face? The att.i.tude? Is the other one a virgin while the other is not? Or is it really just my personal taste? I should"ve read books about vampires more back in j.a.pan... The only vampire I know of is Vlad from Bad******, and like him, I never even tasted blood yet... ] again, Vlad mutters those words, ignoring the confused look on Shin"s face.
[ If you"re really that curious, why don"t you go to the demon country where your race lives? If you can beat them into submission and ask them, you"ll get your answer. ]
[ Yes, that"s what I"m actually thinking. ]
( I would go there now if it wasn"t for another mysterious person... That hero Hana is also someone I need to investigate... Tachibana Hana, she definitely has j.a.panese blood on her, that will mean that I"m not the first to be transported here... Other than the creatures here in this world who already lived thousands of years gaining experience, people like me are the only ones who can match my character... ) Vlad turns serious as he mutters those words.
[ All I need to do is choose where I should go first... Will I go to the capital? Or the Demon country? Which will it be? ]
[ Vlad-sama, since that Carlo person might probably here to convince you, how about you decide it then, after your meeting...? ]
[ That seems to be a good idea. ]
As he takes his words to it, he stood up.
[ Then, let"s go meet with her. ]
***
[ Another servant I wasn"t aware of? Is he also one of your family"s servant? ]
[ That"s right. He has a very rich history with our family. ]
Carla, who"s sitting just across Vlad looks at Shin with a very curious expression.
[ A butler... his face looks similar to eastern countrymen... It"s too ordinary and bland. ]
[ ...! ]
Those words almost made Vlad spit out the coffee he was drinking.
He turns to look Shin again.
Yes, it was definitely a very familiar face.
A slim, middle-aged looking man with deep eyes and black hair wearing a butler suit. It was the image he had projected to Shin to make him take its form since he doesn"t have a normal-looking one.
And shortly to say, Shin"s current form was Vlad"s real j.a.panese appearance, it was the very look of Kagayami Shiro.
And Kagayami Shiro"s face and structure is none other than bland and ordinary.
It was just something he wanted to experiment at, but since everyone has already started to know Shin with that face, he decided to just let him keep it, at least for now.
There was also another reason why Vlad had done this: he wants to see his slaves" reaction to his real appearance.
At first, they were wary of him but soon took him as a normal person in the house. Their reaction was quite normal, and it was very different from the current reaction of Carlo in front of him; a n.o.ble.
[ I honestly think that he"s not fit to be your servant, how about I introduce you again to some slavers? ]
( ... ) Vlad looks at her straight to the eyes for a second before he answers:
[ No... That won"t be necessary, I"ve known that face since the day I was born and I won"t be able to get rid of it. ] he said as he put down his coffee on the table.
[ Oh-ho? Is that so...? Well, it seems he"s a really important person to you... ]
[ Yes, he is... ] Vlad answered with a dejected tone.
[ Boss... was that what you call sarcasm...? ] Shin whispered on his side.
( ... )
[ Anyway, what did you came here for, Carlo-san? ] ignoring Shin, he changes the topic of their conversation to remove the awkwardness.
[ Right... I know you already know it; I came here to inform you again of the invitation to the capital. ]
[ Yes. ] Vlad nodded as he was already expecting her to say that.
[ Now, Vlad-san. The last time I came here, the higher-ups from the capital only gave me a simple invitation to give you. Well, this time, they gave me another one. ]
[ Really? ]
Carlo reached a letter to Vlad.
Immediately, Vlad turned to read it.
( ... ) he moves his eyes from left to right, and when he was finished reading the paper...
[ This is... ]
[ Yes, even I was surprised. ]
[ ... ] again, Vlad took a look at the message written on the letter.
( So they finally managed to remove my curse, huh? I was expecting it to be a little bit faster since it was not a high-tier spell, but it"s still surprising to hear they were able to finally remove it. )
[ Really... I show my powers once and stronger people will show up... ] Vlad mutters as if he"s talking to his self.
[ Was that your actual plan? You did that to him to see stronger people? ]
[ No, that"s just mere coincidence. ]
[ Is that so...? ]
[ Yes, anyways, tell me more information about this. ]