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We arrived in Renshia right around the time we’d expected—late at night.
Since we’d been traveling at quite a speed to get here, I couldn’t possibly sleep on Behaki’s back.
To be honest, I’m pretty sleepy, so I’d rather get a good night’s sleep first and then set out to solve this—

“—That’s strange.”

The village was far too quiet.
It was the middle of the night, and it was a small village to begin with. It’s normal for it to be quiet, but this was a bit too much.
Not only was there no sound, but I couldn’t even sense the presence of people. The village was so still that you could call it silence.
There was an atmosphere there where even the sweet scent of flowers seemed to emphasize the eeriness.

“Renge-san, what’s going on…?”
“…I’m sorry. I had no choice but to do this.”
“…What do you mean by that?”

Kuzuha-chan, cradled in my arms in her young fox form, looked puzzled, but I had a vague idea of what was going on.
Sure enough, something troublesome had happened.

“Hyaa…!?”

Holding the tiny fox close to my chest, I leapt into the air. After hovering for just a moment, I touched down on the soft earth.

“Behaki, please stay back.”
“Understood.”

Since we’re connected, my intentions are conveyed without needing to spell them out. At times like this, having a contract is incredibly convenient.
Just as I’d said and hoped, Behaki moved away from the village. Next, I released Kuzuha-chan from my arms, and she quickly returned to her human form.

Kuzuha-chan’s tail and ear fur were bristling; she was on high alert. After all that commotion, she seemed to have realized just how dangerous the current situation was.

“……I’m sorry.”

After offering her apology, Renge-san looked at us.
The gaze directed at us was clearly unfocused. Her honey-colored golden eyes held no spark of will.

This trouble was more troublesome than I’d anticipated. Though I felt disheartened by this, I ran through the possibilities in my mind.

……She’s probably being controlled by something, isn’t she?

She said the Honey Eaters were being controlled by thieves.
But if it wasn’t just the Honey Eaters that were controlled, or rather actively being controlled, then the situation before me would make sense.
What I can’t wrap my head around is why she summoned me here.

If they could control the villagers at will, bringing in outsiders is nothing but dangerous—so why did they bring us all the way here?
In fact, when Akisame-san came for an inspection, the reason they manipulated the Honey Eaters was presumably to hide their own presence.
I don’t understand why they would go so far as to expose something they’d already concealed just to bring us here.

“Arje-san, that girl…”
“Yes, she’s probably being controlled. I’ll fix it.”

As I answered Kuzuha-chan, I held out my hand.
Whether it’s due to a curse or magic is unclear, but Renge-san is clearly under some kind of influence. If I remove that, I should be able to understand the situation a little better.
I channeled my mana and prepared to cast a spell.
Feeling the flow of mana coursing through my body is something I’ve done countless times since I was reincarnated. I’d even say I’m used to it by now.
All that’s left is to form the words that will trigger the spell. I take a breath, and the words—

“—I wouldn’t do that if I were you, you know?”
“…!?”

A chill ran down my spine.
My concentration vanished in an instant, and I canceled the spell that was just about to be cast.

The voice that brushed against my ear was intensely passionate and almost ecstatic.
I turned around to face the direction the voice came from.

And then, I saw gold.

“Good evening.”

The gold strewn across the darkness of the night was the color of her hair, gathered into two ponytails.
A girl who unhesitatingly let her golden hair—adorned with a bat-shaped hairpin—flow freely against the night’s darkness and her black dress. Her eyes were as red as fresh blood, unmistakably revealing that she was the same kind of being as me.
The fangs peeking out from the twisted smile that seemed to split her pale skin were, as expected, the sharp fangs characteristic of vampires.

Narrowing her crimson eyes as if melting them into a viscous liquid, she looked at me.
That gaze was less hot and more cloying. It was a gaze unlike any I had ever felt before.

……Who is this person?

The moment our eyes met, I sensed danger.
I shivered, every fiber of my being—right down to the tips of my ears—trembling. The night air felt unnaturally cold.
Outwardly, she looked just like me—a girl, and one who could even be called a girl of unparalleled beauty. In stark contrast to my silver appearance, she was golden—a perfect beauty, I thought.
But it was clear that what lay within her was anything but the cute innocence of a girl.
I wouldn’t exactly call myself a “girl” on the inside either, but she seems even more… different from me.
Is it her vampire instincts, or something else entirely? Sensing clear danger, I stiffened.

Whether she was aware of my tension or not, the golden vampire spoke to me with great amusement.

“She dies if you try to forcefully break the curse on her. That’s the nature of the curse.”
“……And you are?”
“Ah yes, my name. You want to know my name, don’t you! Well then, listen carefully, my bride! After all, from now on, you’ll be calling it with love every single day!!”

Spouting nonsense, she fluttered her dress and danced through the night.
She took bouncy steps and came right up to me, in high spirits.
We were almost the same height. She looked straight at me with eyes the same color as mine, as if piercing right through me.

“Elsie. That’s my name.”
“-…!”

The name she spoke sounded familiar.
Elsie. That’s the name of the vampire who cursed the hot springs—the one I heard about in Sakurazaka.

She must be the one who created this situation, too. And, of course, the one who had Renge-san bring me here.

What could a dangerous person—one with a bounty on her head—possibly want with me?
I caught her speaking about a bride, but I have absolutely no idea what she means.
The only thing I know for sure is that the person standing before me is dangerous. I get the feeling that if I make a careless move, I have no idea what she might do to me.

“…So it’s you!!”

Unlike me, who was frozen in place, the fox girl beside me could move.
She knew about the other person—Elsie’s—deeds. And she was clearly furious about it.
Kuzuha-chan created her clones in an instant, becoming three.
Three foxes, three times the combat power. Attacks from multiple directions surrounded the golden figure, as if devouring it.

“Ahaha… this is intense, isn’t it?”

A twisted smile on our opponent’s lips, before she vanished.
Mist Form. The vampire’s unique ability—one I knew all too well—activated, causing her form to vanish.
Having lost their target, Kuzuha-chan and the two Cloneha-chan immediately halted their attack and scanned their surroundings.

“Where…!?”
“Over here, over here.”

A cheerful voice cut through the night’s darkness.
The voice came from the direction Renge-san was in. The mist gathered, and Elsie-san took shape once more. She appeared on horseback, nestled close beside Renge-san.
Elsie-san, now visible, playfully traced her finger across Renge-san’s cheek as Renge-san stared blankly ahead.

“Calm down. Let’s talk for a moment, shall we?”

As she said this, her finger rested on Renge’s neck.
It was a slender finger. But it was clear that it wasn’t as weak as it looked.
It would surely be faster for her to put some strength into that finger than for me or Kuzuha-chan to do anything.

“……Kuzuha-chan”
“……Yes, I understand.”

She was using words that sounded like an invitation to talk, but in reality, it was nothing more than a threat.
Renge-san is someone I couldn’t care less about, but if she were to lose her life, I couldn’t take responsibility for it.
There was nothing we could do right now but obediently comply.

The golden vampire gave us a sly smile.