Kousuke let out a large sigh after finishing his communication with Clara.
His initial intention was just to get in touch, but he was able to achieve more than he expected.
Thanks to Clara, being able to communicate with his original era at any time has given him a lot of mental leeway.
Shurein, who had been watching Kousuke’s demeanor from the side, sensed from his expression that the outcome was better than expected.
Shurein couldn’t hear the content of the conversation.
“It seems like things went well, doesn’t it?”
“Ah, Shurein. Sorry. –Yes. That’s right. I gained more than I expected.”
“Oh? What do you mean?”
To Shurein, who tilted her head, Kousuke began to explain the content of their recent conversation.
“Hmm. It does seem to be heading in a much better direction than before.”
After hearing Kousuke’s story, Shurein’s expression brightened as she said so.
“Right? Well, it’s not yet confirmed that I can return completely, though.”
“Wanting that much at this stage would be asking for too much.”
After all, they were in a situation that was almost impossible, being in the past in the first place.
Neither Kousuke nor Shurein believed that even the gods could interfere without preparation.
Kousuke nodded at Shurein’s words and suddenly looked like he had an idea.
“For now, let’s leave the method of returning to them to contact us, but what are we going to do now?”
“Let’s see. Since we have some leeway, let’s take a good look around the village. Also, I still want to investigate the rituals of this era, just as before. We probably won’t get this chance again.”
Kousuke nodded at Shurein’s unsurprising answer, a look of interest on his face.
“If we’re going to do that, why not investigate the children Shurein was curious about when we went to the market?”
The thing that surprised Shurein the most since coming to this village was the large number of children.
Kousuke had noticed that Shurein was particularly drawn to the children when they went to the market together.
Shurein, thinking it was an unconscious action, was surprised inwardly that Kousuke had noticed.
“Mmph!? No, it’s true I’m curious. But there are so many other things I want to investigate…”
“Yes, yes. There’s no one else here, so you don’t need to be embarrassed. More importantly, isn’t it necessary for the vampires’ future?”
While not as extreme as elves, vampires that Kousuke knew also had few children.
In such a situation, it would inevitably affect the survival of the species in the future.
Even the elves in the tower, whose birth rate had improved, were not in a clearly stable state.
It would be better for vampires to address this issue sooner rather than later.
Kousuke, who deliberately framed it as a problem for the entire species, was met with a plausible nod from Shurein.
“…That might be true.”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
Kousuke smiled as Shurein showed a more positive expression.
Despite everything, Kousuke himself was thinking about having children with Shurein.
Of course, he had no intention of forcing her, naturally.
***
Communication from Clara could only be received by Kousuke.
Therefore, when Shurein went out with her staff, Kousuke would accompany her.
After all, Shurein wouldn’t even know if Clara was trying to communicate with her.
Now that he had some mental余裕, walking around the past village with Shurein could be considered a date, so Kousuke was all for it.
However, Shurein had easily seen through Kousuke’s thoughts, and while she was bewildered, Kousuke noticed her rarely (perhaps?) unable to hide her happy smile.
In the end, one could say they were two of a kind.
“Looking at them like this, they seem no different from ordinary humans.”
Kousuke muttered as he watched the children running around energetically in a small plaza in the village.
To Kousuke and Shurein, the village wasn’t particularly large, but there were already more than ten children visible.
In the vampires’ village in the tower, this was an impossible number given the population ratio.
“…Indeed. I thought so when I saw them before, but what’s the difference?”
“Who knows. I don’t think you can tell just by looking at children, can you?”
Kousuke and Shurein were currently in a place with only children.
It would be harsh to say they were neglected, but adults, both men and women, worked regardless, so there weren’t any parental watchful eyes on the children once they grew a bit.
However, this wasn’t unique to this village; it was the same in towns and villages of any species in Kousuke’s era.
There was no余裕 for mothers or fathers to constantly cling to their children and monitor them.
Kousuke and Shurein watched the children for a while, and then a woman who appeared to be one of the children’s mothers arrived.
When the woman called out a name, one of the children ran towards her.
One of the children who had been playing waved goodbye, indicating that she was a proper mother.
However, in such a small village, anyone attempting an abduction-like crime would be quickly identified, so there would be no one foolish enough to do so.
Watching the mother lead the child away, Kousuke murmured,
“What can I say… it’s truly a normal scene. …Huh? Wait? A normal scene?”
Kousuke tilted his head, a slight unease stirring from his casual remark.
“What? Did you notice something?”
“Hmm, no, what is it? Was there something strange…? Ah, I got it.”
Kousuke compared the scene before him with Shurein and understood what felt off, nodding his head vigorously.
When he thought about it, it was quite simple.
“I think it’s strange that I recognized the scene before me as ‘normal’ now, but didn’t think of the scene in our village as not normal.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
Shurein tilted her head at Kousuke’s wording, which she didn’t quite understand at first.
“Um, how should I put it…? Vampires have few children. Normally, this should be abnormal, but isn’t it stranger to accept it as normal?”
This was a fact Kousuke wouldn’t have noticed if not for the scene before him.
After all, Kousuke hadn’t lived in a world with other species.
That’s why, in Kousuke’s mind, the logic of “vampires = few children” held true.
However, seeing the scene before him made him realize that this was a mistake.
If that was the case, then by investigating why the vampires of Kousuke and Shurein’s era accepted having few children as perfectly normal, they might discover something.
Shurein listened to Kousuke’s explanation and crossed her arms, deep in thought.
“In other words, there must be a reason why the number of children has decreased, making it no longer normal.”
“Well, I suppose so?”
Kousuke felt like he was straying a bit from what he originally wanted to say, but he nodded anyway.
I kind of feel like the title is a bit misleading, but I decided on this title because they’ve gained some mental余裕.
And so, the two of them came to tour the village (mainly to see the children) using that newfound余裕.
Well, I think you can probably guess why I brought up this story.
