Kousuke, who had spent the day slowly touring the village, received a report about Aneta from Shurein, who had returned later than him.
“Hmm? So that means we’re looking at the third person who can see us?”
“That’s right.”
“Still, it’s true that the conditions are unclear.”
If it applied to all the elder’s bloodline, it would have been simple, but that had already been denied. This only made things more complicated.
Shurein nodded as she watched Kousuke touch his chin and ponder.
“I met a few more people after Aneta, but unfortunately, there was no one else. Of course, members of the elder’s bloodline were among them.”
“Hmm. It’s becoming even more unclear.”
As Kousuke said this, tilting his head, Shurein then asked him, “How was it on your end, Kousuke?”
“I’m completely helpless on this side. Part of it is that I was just leisurely walking around, but the village was bigger than I expected, and I was surprised that I couldn’t see it all in a day.”
“Well, even if there are only a few hundred people, they are producing enough to support that many.”
The scale was that of a village, but it was impossible to see everything in a single day. Unlike the towns Kousuke knew, this was partly because the spaces between each house (or hermitage in this village) were wide once you moved away from the center. It was unclear how they dealt with the monsters that should have been appearing.
“I was impressed that you can handle monsters.”
Shurein nodded in agreement with Kousuke, who said this.
“Indeed. From what I saw, it doesn’t seem to be protected by a strong barrier, so they must be dealing with monsters by hand every time they appear.”
Vermilia Castle, which Shurein managed, had a barrier around its perimeter that prevented monster attacks. Although the village where the Vampire and Igirid were now was beyond that range, if necessary, they could simply escape within the barrier, making it much easier to defend than this village.
After saying that the village was more about the effort of the people living there than its structure, Kousuke told Shurein what Ines had told him.
“Come to think of it, there’s a market tomorrow, so I think I’ll go check it out.”
“A market…? Ohh. That’s interesting.”
Shurein, who basically thought of it as a self-sufficient settlement, reacted to Kousuke’s words. Of course, just because a market is held doesn’t mean traveling merchants will come, but she was also interested in how the people traded goods. Kousuke smiled and responded to Shurein, who looked at him with a hint of surprise.
“Want to go together?”
“Mmm… That’s right. Let’s do that.”
Although Shurein’s heart was still in the books found in the elder’s hermitage, she agreed to Kousuke’s words.
***
The next day.
Kousuke and Shurein stood at the place they were told the market would be held.
“This is…”
“It’s more lively than I expected.”
Both of them were surprised by the scale of the market, which was larger than they had anticipated.
In a village with only a few hundred inhabitants, nearly a dozen stalls were set up, packed closely together. It was as if the entire village had gathered there. It was no wonder that Kousuke and Shurein were surprised.
“How is it? It’s quite lively, isn’t it?”
Ines approached Kousuke and Shurein, who were standing still, pleasantly surprised, showing a hint of pride and boasting. Of course, compared to the large cities that Kousuke and Shurein knew, the scale was smaller, but comparing them was fundamentally incorrect.
Furthermore, Kousuke and Shurein weren’t just surprised by the scale of the market.
“…Are Vampires making this?”
“…I am also surprised.”
The Vampires Kousuke knew didn’t hold large-scale markets. Vampire businesses were generally handled through individual transactions, and business matters were mostly left to Igirid. This wasn’t because Vampires didn’t conduct business, but because they emphasized individual connections. However, that common sense was blown away by the scene before them.
Kousuke shifted his gaze from the scene before him to Shurein.
“What does this mean?”
“…It means we, too, once had a time like this. Or perhaps, it’s something lost to the passage of time.”
Shurein, even more shocked than Kousuke, replied with admiration. Kousuke and Shurein didn’t necessarily want the Vampires of their time to do the same things as what was happening before them. They simply believed that the beings called Vampires of this era engaged in activities similar to other races.
And Shurein, who had been watching the market, paid attention to something else besides the way business was conducted.
“…There are many children.”
“Huh? Is that so? From what I heard from my elders, they said things were finally returning to normal around this era.”
Noticing Shurein’s murmur, Ines said with surprise.
“By ‘normal state,’ do you mean before this village was built?”
“Yes. That’s what I’ve heard. I only know this village.”
Ines nodded with a serious expression at Kousuke’s question.
Since Ines was born after the village was established, she knew nothing of the preceding era. She only heard stories from the older generation. The current situation was the norm for Ines. That’s why Ines didn’t understand what Shurein was surprised about.
Kousuke, for his part, hadn’t paid any attention to the number of children until Shurein murmured about it. This was only natural, as it looked like a perfectly normal sight to Kousuke, a Human. However, when pointed out, it did seem like a large number of children for what was understood to be a Vampire settlement. Kousuke only knew the Vampires in the tower, and considering that multiple clans were gathered there, it should have been a normal sight for the Vampires of his era. However, the Vampires of the current era, at a glance, seemed to have the same number of households as ordinary Humans. While Shurein’s surprise confirmed that his own common sense wasn’t wrong, it also raised the question of what the scene before him actually meant.
Of course, the one most surprised by the scene before him was Shurein. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say she was shaken rather than surprised. At the same time, she understood somewhere in her mind that the reason there were so many children was that the very concept of procreation was completely different for Vampires than her own values. Therefore, the question that came to mind next was, what was that difference? Understanding it seemed far more important than reading the books in the elder’s hermitage, and she began to seriously observe the market.
The two experienced a bit of culture shock while observing the market. Shurein, in particular, might have experienced more than just a “bit.”
