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Back at the Urado family’s mansion, in Tatsumasa’s room.

“There, all patched up.”

Kotohime finished wrapping up Tatsumasa’s arm with a bandage. There was a short burst of pain that made Tatsumasa groan, and she replied with a reprimanding stare.

“Koto…”
“It’s your fault for pretending to be in better shape than you were.”

The limbs he had lost to the dragon had managed to regain their shape thanks to the mana recovery potion from Natalia, but that was it, only their shape. The wounds were barely closed, and there was still plenty of internal damage, which also caused him pain.

“Unbelievable… Don’t act like you’re having it rough. Do you have any idea what those girls are going through right now?”
“…”

Tatsumasa fell silent hearing that. He had decided to sacrifice his daughter to protect his land, as he could not think of any other option.

He knew that Ruri was really attached to Ryuka, so he sent Ruri far away, only for her to show up anyway, and not only that, she even came with three Servants of their guest.

As a result, Ruri had been able to defeat Vlad III and rescue Ryuka, at the cost of her own life force. On top of that, one of the Servants, who were there as guests, had fallen into the swamp.

Ryuka used her vampiristic powers to turn Ruri into one of them, saving her life, even if it shrank her own lifespan by a little.

But the Servant suffered a far worse fate, falling into the everlasting toxins left by a giant serpent from an age long past, which consumed any living being that fell within, turning them into a mindless Shiki. Not even the most evolved of spider monsters would be able to survive falling in there.

“Maybe I should’ve mobilized the whole army and all the Urado-Mori…” If Tatsumasa had used all of the forces available to the Urado family, maybe the result would have been more positive.

Hearing Tatsumasa’s regretful musings, Kotohime let out a sigh.

“No one expected the dragon to revive that way, and bringing so many men who don’t know how to fight a vampire to that battle would’ve only increased the casualties. Furthermore, we needed the Urado-Mori to watch over the young vampires here due to the full moon. You told me there was no other option before you made that choice, and I don’t think you made a mistake.”

Weaker vampires could be easily killed by cutting their necks or piercing their hearts, but accomplishing that required skill. The Urado-Mori were trained to do that, and every time there was a full moon, they had to be close to the young vampires in case they went berserk. Because of that, only a few of them were free to go to the forest, and all they could do there was stop the Shiki from leaving.

Not to mention that even the Urado-Mori would struggle fighting a more powerful vampire that could survive a blow to the neck or heart. The only ways to deal with those was by having another more powerful vampire sucking away their lifeforce, by destroying their bodies to the point that they could not regenerate, or through special undead killing weapons like Ruri’s Shinimizu.

In other words, there was hardly anyone who could fight against Vlad III.

“Things won’t always work as planned, and there will always be victims. That’s just the nature of life, and not something we can change. Sometimes good deeds can cause the misfortune of others, and sometimes an evil act saves someone else.”
“I guess I can’t afford to wallow in regret, huh.”
“Your duties require that you don’t.”
“You really don’t mince words, do you?”
“I don’t think it’d be suitable to be a soft woman as your wife.”
“I understand. Also, it was you who told the Urado-Mori to retreat from the forest, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t have the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”

After some short banter, Tatsumasa asked in a more serious tone, and Kotohime covered her lips while playing dumb.

But as they both knew, no Urado-Mori would be able to stand against Vlad III, especially if he returned as the dragon. If any of them got involved, they would surely lose their lives for nothing.

“Now, it’s time for you to rest and recover. We’ll take care of the rest.”

“Koto.” She stood up and headed to the door when Tatsumasa called her in a low voice. “Thank you for everything.”

Kotohime replied with a smile and left the room.

As I sit watching the garden absentmindedly, Olivia comes and sits next to me, wrapping her arms around me. While I feel a bit embarrassed, I don’t have the energy to say anything and just lean into her.

“…”
“…”

While the silence is comforting, I also feel like I’m just trying to run away from reality.

“…I wonder what I should’ve done.” I mutter that while still looking down. “We were just trying to help Ryuka, but I feel like we just made things worse…”

Ryuka had been ready to give her life to seal away Vlad III before he could return. Tsuebe and Tatsumasa also did everything they could so she would suffer as little as possible.

But our meddling ruined their plan and Vlad III ended up waking up.

That resulted in Tatsumasa getting heavily hurt, Ruri nearly died from her katana’s side effects, and Akane fell into the swamp and hasn’t been found yet. That swamp kills anything that falls in it, so Tatsumasa said that it’s very unlikely she survived.

We saved Ryuka, but I still can’t tell if we did the right thing or not. I feel like we selfishly pushed our own wishes onto Ryuka’s family, after they had already decided how to handle things.

“I also feel like Akane did that because of how I used to act all this time, without regard for my own life…”

In a way, everything that happened was my fault.

“Natalia.” Olivia gently starts combing my hair with her fingers. “I appreciate that you’re always trying to protect me. You keep saying that you’re weak, but I think that’s only because you’re too kind, and that’s why I like you, just like Erika and Akane do. I’d say that’s why Akane decided to save Erika.”

Akane and Erika…too…

“I’m also sad about Akane, but don’t think that it was your fault. I know it sounds like a contradiction, but we’re happy that you’re always protecting us, and we also don’t want you to get hurt. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we all want to protect you too, so don’t just keep blaming yourself.”

“…Thank you, Young Lady.”

Akane and Erika were always fighting, but I guess they still cared about each other enough to risk their lives…

The Urado-Mori were scanning the forest where they had fought the night before, evaluating the damage and killing the remaining Shiki.

So far, the only non-combatant casualty confirmed was the shrine maiden who had been bitten by a Shiki at the start, but there was extensive damage to the inner sanctum, as well as the large opening left when the cave with the swamp caved in.

While it was sad that an innocent shrine maiden had lost her life, it was almost a miracle that there were no other casualties.

But in exchange Vlad III was completely gone now. Though only vampires had been able to sense his existence in the past.

“I’ve tried many times, but I really can’t sense him.”

He was Urado Tatsutoshi, the heir of the Urado Family, and Ryuka’s older brother. Tatsutoshi was standing at the edge of the large hole, dripping his blood into the depths to examine them.

Due to his high position in the family, Jinkuro was also there as his guard.

Deciding the results were conclusive and there was no need to keep searching, he heard some noise behind him.

Turning around, he saw one of the guests, the dragonborn Fan Yen, and two of the Servants walking there, while a Urado-Mori who had been searching for Shiki tried to stop them.

“Esteemed guests, is something the matter?”

When Tatsutoshi spoke to them, the Urado-Mori ran up to him with a troubled look.

“Lord Tatsutoshi, they keep insisting on coming to the inner sanctum, and refuse to leave…”

That Urado-Mori had been informed about Vlad III, and was told to not let anyone approach the hole or the inner sanctum, so it was only natural that he kept trying to get Fan Yen and the other two to turn around.

“As I said, I won’t interfere with anything here. And it’s not me, but her who needs to do something here.” Saying that, Fan Yen pointed at one of the Servants behind her, Clarissa.

“A dear friend of hers passed away here. Give her a chance to give a final farewell.”

Tatsutoshi looked at the large wolf with golden fur, and saw that her face certainly looked sorrowful as she looked at the hole. He had also heard that last night, a spider and plant monster had joined the fight, but only the plant monster survived.

He surmised that the other Servant in front of him, which looked like a dragon walking on two legs covered in leaves and flowers, was the Servant who had survived.

Considering all of that, he moved aside to open the way for Clarissa.

“Please, go ahead. Just remember that the edge of the hole is still brittle, so be careful to not get too close.”
“Are you sure about this, Lord Tatsutoshi?”
“Yes, I’m done with my search anyway. And I’d never get in the way of someone wanting to mourn a friend.”

Jinkuro seemed a bit doubtful, but Tatsutoshi had made up his mind.

“You have my thanks.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you. And I’m sorry you had to get caught up in our family issues. We’ll be forever indebted to you and the friend you lost.”

Fan Yen thanked Tatsutoshi for his consideration, and he returned the gesture. Even if they were in an informal situation, it was still something involving his family.

The Urado-Mori looked unsure of what to do there, but Fan Yen appreciated Tatsutoshi’s generosity. Meanwhile, Clarissa walked past them, until she was a safe enough distance from the hole.

The scent of the battle from the previous night still lingered in the air. She could feel the piercing smell of the noxious swamp below, and the rotten stench of the Shiki. But there was also a metallic scent, which went from the surface all the way down the hole.

As a wolf, her pack, her friends, were the most important beings in her life.

She had been at the bottom of the ladder back when Olivia graduated from the Magic Academy, but then Akane came, and became something like a little sister for her.

There had been times when they played together, times when Natalia got mad at them for not understanding the rules of society, and many times when she had to break up the fights between Akane and Erika. They had experienced a lot together, as friends.

But now Akane is dead. This was the first time Clarissa had experienced the death of someone so close to her, and she could no longer restrain the emotions welling up within her.

“Awoooooooooooo!! Awooooooooooooooo!!”

Clarissa raised her head and howled, as if spitting away her anguish and her tears. Her howls were extremely loud, piercing the ears of those standing nearby, but none blamed her for it.

Eventually her howls stopped, and Clarissa walked back with her head held down. Not because she was done, but because her throat had dried up.

“Shall we go back?” Fan Yen asked her, and Clarissa gave a slow nod.

“I’ll accompany you.” Tatsutoshi decided to join them on the way back as well.

Erika stood there for a moment longer, as a flower on her back blossomed and detached, being carried by the wind into the hole. Then she glanced there one last time and muttered something.

“Shaaa sha, sha.”
Why would you do that for someone like me, you idiot.