Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

“…Hm, nya?”

To my surprise, my eyes opened.
I thought I would die just like that from the Bloodsucking impulses, but seeing my consciousness has returned, it seems I somehow survived.
My throat is still dry, but compared to before I lost consciousness, I feel incomparably better. Mentally, I’m calmer too.
Maybe sleeping once eased the impulse a little?

“Ah, the bed’s warm…”

And to top it all off, I somehow found myself atop of a bed.
Not a rickety old bed like the one in the ruins, but a proper, fluffy one. Ahh, how soft and warm… I love you, dear bed. I missed you. I longed for you.

“Haa… In the future, I want to marry someone who wraps me up gently like you do, Bed-chan. Of course, with three meals, naps, and snacks included.”
“Th-that’s quite an innovative life plan, I guess…?”

The voice I heard was a woman’s. I couldn’t exactly ignore someone who spoke to me, so I lifted my body, which was about to sink back into the bed.
It was a simple room with few furnishings. The owner of the voice was sitting on a wooden chair some distance from the bed I was sleeping in. She was a woman with warm brown hair.

“Have you come to?”
“Yes… um… were you the one who saved me, Odd-Eye-Booby-san?”
“Odd-Eye-Booby!?”
“Ah, sorry. Would Booby-Odd-Eye have been better?”
“That’s not the issue!? It’s not about switching the order!?”

Why does everyone look dissatisfied when I call them by a name? I’m properly capturing their characteristics.
Dichromatic eyes and large breasts. That makes her Odd-Eye-Booby, doesn’t it? She hasn’t told me her name yet, so if I don’t use something that makes it clear I’m addressing her, conversation becomes inconvenient.

“I-it’s true, I was the one who carried you here when I saw you collapsed. And I do have a name, Felnoute Laylia, so if possible, could you call me that…?”
“Understood. I’m Argento Vampyre. Arje is fine, Felnoute-san.”

Felnoute-san let out a deep breath as if truly relieved and stood from her chair. Her distinctive chest swayed softly with the motion.
It seemed she was about to make some tea. But…

“…?”

Something felt off.
Her movements were smooth and certain, yes. The way she handled the tea utensils spreading out on the table beside the chair showed she’s quite accustomed to it.
And yet, something wasn’t quite right. There was an unnatural quality to her movements.
I kept watching, and by the time the tea was ready, I finally realized what struck me as odd.

…She brewed tea without looking at her hands at all.

Normally, when people do something, they look at what their hands are doing. Even with familiar motions, when using one’s hands, the gaze naturally goes to the fingertips.
Especially with something like preparing tea or cooking, things that could cause injury if done incorrectly.
Felnoute-san doesn’t do that. Her neck never tilts, her face stays forward, and she doesn’t lower her gaze as she prepares the tea.

“Here, drink this. It has medicinal herbs in it, it will help you recover some strength.”

As she says that and hands me the tea, I peer into her face and realize why her gaze doesn’t move.
Her two-colored eyes—purple on my right, gold on my left. That means her left eye is purple, and her right is gold.
Neither eye holds any light.
In manga terms, they lack highlights. Clearly, neither eye is focused.

“…Those eyes—could it be that you’re blind?”
“Yes. I fought a certain monster a few years ago…I lost my sight then.”

If that’s the case, it makes sense. Even if she tried to look at her hands, her field of vision wasn’t open to begin with.
I took a sip of the tea she offered, then continued with the topic.

“Can’t it be healed? With magic, or medicine?”
“I tried healing it myself, I also asked renowned doctors and mages… but none of it worked.”
“Huh…I see”

The loss of sight that even magic cannot heal.
I wonder if even my healing magic wouldn’t work?
I’ve allocated my skill points to it until it’s maxed out. I don’t know how proficient she or those renowned mages were in healing magic, but mine should be powerful enough not to lose to them.

“Excuse me, could you come a little closer?”
“Eh, y-yes…?”
“Pardon me.”

Felnoute-san leaned her face toward me. Since she couldn’t see, I spoke first so as not to startle her, before gently touching her face.

…Ah, her skin is smooth.

Whoa, a girl’s skin. I am one now too, but I still feel a bit self-conscious touching her. I should handle her carefully.

“Um… could you close your eyes for a moment?”
“…? Like this?”

It might shock her if her sight actually returned and she suddenly saw light, so I had her lower her eyelids for the moment.

…She’s a good person.

She helped a collapsed stranger despite being blind, and now she’s obediently following what I say.
She’s a good person, and she saved me. Leaving another debt unpaid would be a bit, no, a huge weight on my conscience. So I’d like to repay her by healing her eyes.

…I could only hope it works, though.

Healing magic comes in various types; healing wounds, lifting curses or poison, purifying the body, such and such.
If it were a simple injury, some simple wound-healing magic would fix it. Which means her eyes lost their light for some other reason.

“…Please be able to see again.”

The chant sounded sloppy, but I’m pouring a considerable amount of magic power into it and selecting the appropriate healing magic.
A healing magic spell that dispels curses…perhaps it’s better to call it a dispelling spell. That’s what I cast on Felnoute-san’s eyes.

“…Eh.”
“How is it?”
“Eh, ah… l-light, the-the light…”

…Seems like it worked.

Even with closed eyes, some light seeps through. The fact that she can perceive it means her vision has returned.

“Calm down. Slowly open your eyes.”
“Y-yes…”

With clear hesitation, Felnoute-san opens her eyes.
The odd-colored eyes that reappear in my view are no longer dull like before.
They recognize the light, recognize me, and her pupils tremble. Good, it seems to have healed properly. So it really was a curse.

“I can…see… I can see…!”
“Looks like it.”
“All these years, and I’ve already lost hope, and yet… Thank you… thank you, Arje!”
“No, this is repayment for saving me.”

If I kept accumulating debts everywhere I go, I’d be too bothered to be able to nap peacefully. As unmotivated as I am, I’m the type of person who keeps my accounts settled.
Felnoute-san, clearly overwhelmed, grabbed my hands. It almost hurt. She must be that happy.
I don’t know exactly how many years she was blind, but judging from how smoothly she prepared tea, it must have been quite a long time. I can vaguely imagine the hardships she endured.

“This, just for repayment… How, how could I live with myself after this, if anything, I’m the one who needs to repay you! I’ll give you anything, anything you want! I’ll do anything for you!!”
“Kyan!?”

She pressed toward me with such intensity that I was taken by surprise. I ended up being pushed down by her.
My beloved bed gently caught me, but this position might be a little dangerous. Her differently colored eyes were serious as they looked down at me.
To a third party, this would clearly be a situation ripe for misunderstanding. It would probably look like I’m being “pressed” in an entirely different sense.

More importantly, even though my Bloodsucking lust was currently subdued, a mere herb tea wouldn’t quench my thirst. If she got too close, I might just lose myself and bite her.
The fact that I found myself fixated on her slender neck and thinking, “That looks very delicious,” shows just how dangerous I currently am.

“Um, could you calm down a bit?”
“Ah… I-I’m sorry!”

I lightly pushed at her shoulders, and Felnoute-san withdrew without resistance.

…Still, I really let out girly shrieks when I got surprised.

I said “Kyan” again. Since my body is female, it’s not exactly incorrect to react like that, but mentally it feels a little strange.
It’s not exactly unpleasant… How do I say this? More like embarrassing, or ticklish, something like that.

“I’m sorry, but, um, I don’t think I can live with myself unless I do something for you. What you’ve given me is far too great to be a simple repayment.”

From my perspective, what I just did is more than appropriate repayment.
I probably would have died if she hadn’t picked me up in that alley, and she even gave me a warm bed to boot.
Since she saved my life, restoring her eyesight is the least I should do.
But Felnoute-san doesn’t seem convinced. She did step back as I asked, but her gaze remained serious.
We’re just getting nowhere. And more importantly, I’d like to take a nap in this nice clean bed, but it’s hard to sleep with her looking at me so intently.

…Well, if she insists that much, I suppose I’ll ask.

It’s true that I’m currently troubled by something. And if I don’t resolve it soon, the next major surge of impulse might really kill me.
Honestly, you didn’t tell me that being a vampire had this many drawbacks, Loli Grampa. Next time we meet, I’d have you take responsibility and support me for life.

“…Can I make a strange request?”
“Yes, ask me anything.”
“Would you let me drink your blood? A small plate’s worth is fine.”