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“This is horrible.”

I found myself muttering the very words Satsuki-san had spoken when we first entered the mountains.
I’d heard about how his companions were injured, so I’d expected quite a few of them to be hurt. But I never imagined there would be this many.
The pack was so badly injured that it would have been harder to find an unharmed white ape. The hot spring—presumably gathered for their treatment—was still shallow and stained with blood. The phrase “Blood Pool Hot Spring” flashed through the back of my mind before vanishing.
The white ape, who had brought us here, calmed the pack, which had begun to stir at the sight of the sudden visitors.

“Calm down. This vampire has come to heal your wounds. She’s not like the others.”

Reassured by his calm tone, the pack quieted down.
The fact that they obeyed their leader’s words immediately suggests they’re quite well-disciplined. The tense atmosphere hasn’t completely subsided, but any clear signs of hostility have vanished.

“What is going on here… Why are there so many injured ones?”
“It seems there’s a reason for it… But don’t worry, I’ll heal them.”

Although he told me it’s a vampire’s doing, what possible reason could there be to go this far?
If they just wanted blood, there are plenty of other ways to get it. Besides, I’d think human or demi-human blood would taste better than that of monsters like these.
The reason I think that is because I personally find that “the blood of humans or races close to them smells more delicious,” so perhaps other vampires prefer animal blood.
But even if that’s the case, this is terrible. Some of them have had their arms, legs, or even eyes crushed. Satsuki-san took a breath as if in disbelief, and,

“It’ll be quite a task to heal this many with magic, but are you okay with that, Arje-chan?”
“Yes. No problem.”
“Hmm. Well then, I suppose I’ll go take a look at the hot springs.”

Rocking her large coffin, Satsuki-san drifted away from us.
Since she’s the one volunteering to investigate the hot springs, I’m sure it’ll be fine to leave it to her. Besides, even if I went to check it out myself, I don’t really know the ins and outs of how the hot springs work anyway.

…I’ll just do what I can.

I took a step forward. I know what needs to be done, so there’s no need to rush. Once the frills stop fluttering, I slowly look around.
The white apes in front of me are clearly wary of me, but that means they’re alive. As long as they’re not dead, I can save them all.
I took a breath and turned my palms toward the countless white figures. Approaching them one by one to heal them would take too much time and might only heighten their anxiety, so I’ll heal them all at once.
Using a healing spell over a wide area consumes a lot of mana, but my mana has been boosted to its limit by my skills. As long as I don’t cast it repeatedly, it shouldn’t be a problem.

“Pain, pain, fly away.”

The same words as always. But I’m in a world where these words don’t exist as a matter of course.
What’s “normal” in this world are the giant apes standing right in front of me.
And what’s about to happen is also just another ordinary occurrence in this world.
Words take root in my magical power and manifest as magic. A wave of healing spreads out, washing away the blood and covering the wounds.

…Though, to be honest, I can’t exactly clean up the hot spring.

If it’s a curse, I can lift it even on inanimate objects, but healing magic has no effect on non-living things.
Since removing dirt is part of healing magic, the blood-filled hot spring remains just as it is.

“Your healing magic is truly amazing.”
“Is that so? Um… Apehead-san?”
“APEHEAD!?”
“Well, I just didn’t know your name. Do you have one?”

The one who spoke to us was white ape, who had led us here—in other words, the head of the pack.
I don’t know his individual name, and he hasn’t introduced himself. Plus, calling him the Head White Ape is too long and a hassle, so I’ll just call him Apehead, short for Head White Ape.
It’s easy to understand and easy to say. I’m confident it’s on par with Behaki.

Apehead-san wore an ambiguous expression for a moment, but eventually slumped his shoulders.

“……Call me whatever you like.”
“Then, Apehead-san.”

Since I’d gotten his permission, I decided to call him that without hesitation.
He didn’t exactly look pleased, to put it mildly, but if he didn’t like it, he should just say so. Between Behaki and him, they’re both such reserved people. Though neither of them is actually people.

After the white ape members all looked at me with disbelief for a moment, they finally relaxed their guard toward me.
It’s no fun being glared at forever, so I decided to loosen up a bit myself. Phew, I’m exhausted.

“Arje-san, um… something’s a little off here.”
“What is it?”
“There are no females or young in this herd.”
“…You’re right, there don’t seem to be any young. No females either?”
“Yes. I only smell males.”

I can’t imagine Kuzuha-chan lying, so it must be true. As for me, I can’t tell the difference between the scents of males and females, though.
That’s a question from Kuzuha-chan, but I’m the one who can talk to Apehead-san. I turn to him, who’s still standing next to me with a puzzled look on his face, and ask.

“Apehead-san, it seems there are no females or children here.”
“O-oh… Most of the females and children were taken away. The few who remain are hidden deep in the mountains.”
“Was that abduction also the work of a vampire?”
“That’s right. One named Elsie.”

Elsie. I try repeating the name silently, rolling it around in my mouth, but of course, I have no memory of her.
The only vampire I know is Satsuki-san, and I just met her today. In this world, no matter where I go, the scenery is unfamiliar to me.

Still, it probably wouldn’t hurt to remember that vampires like that exist. As long as I’m traveling, there’s no guarantee I won’t run into one somewhere.
I don’t know her motives, but I’ll file her away in the back of my mind as someone who seems troublesome and dangerous.

“Oh, Kuzuha-chan. Do you know a vampire named Elsie?”
“No, I don’t, I’m afraid.”

Yeah. Well then, I’ll just file her away as “someone I don’t really understand, but who seems like a hassle.”

“Apehead-san, do you know why this person named Elsie did something like this?”
“I don’t know. But her original objective was ‘the women and children.’ She was unhappy that we stood up to her, so she cut off the hot spring, injured us, and took the women and children away.”
“Huh, I see.”

The hot spring and the injuries were sort of byproducts—or rather, the result of them fighting back against her attempt to take the females and children, and losing.
It’s a mystery why this person named Elsie wanted the white ape females and children, but their existence is essential for the survival of the pack. It’s only natural that the white ape would be angry.
It seems that anger didn’t ultimately reach its target, but it was a perfectly natural reaction.

And you can tell from Apehead-san’s tone that this anger—this hatred—runs deep.
The other white ape also visibly tensed the moment they heard the name “Elsie.” Was it out of fear, anger, hatred—or perhaps all of the above?

In any case, I simply can’t provide that level of care. Healing magic can only remove wounds, curses, and impurities.
They’ll have to deal with the emotional scars on their own.

“Apparently, someone shut off the hot spring and took the children and the females away. I hear a few of them are still here, though.”
“Wha…How could anyone do that?!”

After hearing the explanation, Kuzuha-chan’s face turned so red it looked like steam might come off it.
There’s a saying about “hair standing on end with rage,” but even her fox ears were pointing straight up toward the sky in fury. All three of her tails were standing completely on end, showing just how overwhelming her anger was.
For her, the hot spring was the whole reason she came here, and having her family torn apart was surely something she couldn’t view as someone else’s problem. With both of those things at stake, it was only natural for her to get this angry.
But the person responsible wasn’t here anymore. There was nowhere to direct her anger. Partly to calm her down, I decided to speak to Kuzuha-chan.

“Kuzuha-chan, calm down. Let’s go over to where the hot spring is bubbling. Satsuki-san might have found a solution.”
“……Yes, I suppose so.”

The hot spring hasn’t completely dried up. It’s still flowing, albeit only a little.
I wondered if Satsuki-san had been able to figure out what was causing the flow to decrease.
To find out, I decided to take Kuzuha-chan with me to meet up with Satsuki-san.