“It does not age, fall ill, or die, and as long as it can continue to be supplied with human blood, it can live forever. Its nature is cunning and cruel……”
A stern voice filled the dark classroom.
“According to ancient texts, sometimes their souls can create new bodies with just strong obsession alone. Even if their physical body is destroyed, you cannot be completely at ease……”
During ancient biology class, the children were usually busy nodding off, but today not a single person dozed and everyone listened attentively to Master’s words.
“Now, let’s move on to the next chapter.”
Elijah found Master’s attitude of flipping through chapters faster than usual strange. It wasn’t just him who felt it, as the children began to speak up one by one.
“Master! Tell us more about vampires!”
“Clover’s belly is really sticking out, is there a vampire inside his belly?”
“What do vampire fangs look like?”
“Master, do vampires really get reborn even after you kill them?”
“Idiot, why worry about that when you can’t even kill them?”
This was the first time the children had been so enthusiastic during ancient biology class. Master, who had been silently listening to the children’s clamoring, hummed with displeasure.
“This is an absurd story. There’s no need to learn unnecessary knowledge. Things like vampires don’t exist in the world. They’re novels made up by storytellers.”
“What if they really exist?”
“Master, please look at this…… Could I have been bitten by a vampire?”
Clang, clang. Jade picked up the bell on the table and shook it briefly. The children stuffed the words they wanted to say into their mouths and pursed their lips, falling silent.
“Vampires are nothing but lies made up by adults to discipline children like you who don’t study or listen. There’s no need to study this separately.”
While saying the last words, he looked intently at Elijah. Since diligent Elijah always reviewed the parts learned that day right until bedtime, it was a subtle reminder that there was no need to do so.
“The next chapter is about the birds that guard the magic towers, and these birds are among the magic towers of the four directions……”
Elijah, who had been listening attentively to Master’s teachings, suddenly felt his arm go numb. It was because Rose sitting next to him was gripping his arm too tightly.
“Scary…… Elijah. What if a vampire appears while we’re sleeping?”
Even after class ended, Rose couldn’t quite forget the story he’d heard today. The other children were the same. They had only listened to the vampire story for about 10 minutes out of the six hours of class, yet Elijah couldn’t understand why everyone remembered only that story so well.
“Even if you kill it, it gets reborn again…… How can that be? It’s scarier than ghosts……”
Rose trembled while tightly gripping Elijah’s sleeve.
“I absolutely can’t get bitten. If I get bitten, I’ll die.”
Of course, anyone would die if bitten by a vampire. It was written in the book like that. However, Elijah didn’t bother to say such things.
“Such things don’t exist in the world.”
“How do you know, Elijah? They might really exist.”
“Master said they don’t exist. So they don’t.”
“What if a vampire appears?”
“……”
“Will you protect me with magic, Elijah?”
Rose, who made his mouth into a circle, made a whooshing sound and spread his hands wide. He was imitating the children’s action of pouring magical power over magic circles.
Vampires didn’t exist in the world, so there was no way Rose would get bitten, but Elijah just nodded.
“Yeah. I’ll protect you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Rose wrapped his arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
“Elijah really is the best. I can’t live without Elijah……”
Elijah awkwardly hugged his body in return. They were clearly similar in build, yet his heart was anxious as if he were embracing a very small and fragile cotton doll.
“I don’t need anything else. I just need Elijah.”
“……”
The spring breeze that pushed away winter blew gently and tickled Elijah’s cheek. It wasn’t even a season to be hot yet, but sweat formed on the back of his neck for no reason.
“What are you guys doing there?”
At that moment, Igrit, who suddenly appeared, looked at the two children embracing each other.
“Elijah, let’s go to the forest together.”
He gestured to Elijah. When the warm season came, their hobby and only play was to go pick berries and flowers that poked their heads out.
However, this time he didn’t feel like it. Elijah looked at Rose. Igrit frowned with a displeased face and said.
“Leave him behind.”
“Why?”
At Elijah’s question, Igrit started to get increasingly irritated and jutted out his lips. He glanced at Rose and opened his mouth.
“Why do you ask why? He’s not even a mage.”
Elijah replied with an indifferent face.
“You’re not a mage either. All you can do is light candles.”
“What?”
He knew he’d provoked Igrit’s anger, but Elijah didn’t particularly want to apologize. Because it wasn’t wrong.
Igrit, whose face had turned bright red, glanced at Rose while clenching both fists. To say such things in front of him—Elijah was really mean.
“……Just you wait! I’m not going to play with you anymore!”
Igrit, who had been grumbling for a while, turned sharply and walked away with large strides. It seemed like words he’d put all his effort into, but in reality it didn’t have much impact on Elijah.
“What’s in the forest?”
Rose, who was holding Elijah’s arm, asked.
“When the weather gets warm, flowers bloom. If more time passes, berries grow too.”
“Wow, amazing. I’ve never been to a forest so I didn’t know.”
Elijah, who had been staring blankly at him, hesitated for a moment and asked.
“……Want to go?”
A smile spread across Rose’s face.
* * *
The two children walked along the path that followed the stream. In the unlandscaped forest, various plants were taking root from seeds of all kinds that had flown in from here and there.
The trees that had dropped dry branches all winter as if completely dead now shook their densely packed green leaves as if nothing had happened, casting soft sunlight.
Elijah led him, sometimes watching Rose’s feet so he wouldn’t trip over tree stumps protruding here and there, and sometimes wrapping his shoulders so his arms wouldn’t get scratched by the thorny vines wrapped around rotten logs.
When the two arrived, the children were already gathered in groups of threes and fives doing something. Laughter constantly flowed out from among the children who were crouching on the ground looking at small wildflowers or hugging trees and half-climbing them.
Igrit, who spotted the two, pulled the children near him and whispered something. Elijah could clearly tell what scheme he was plotting. He was probably saying childish things like “don’t play with him” or something.
Unlike the indifferent Elijah, Rose couldn’t keep his eyes still for a moment as if he’d come to another world.
“Elijah, look at this. It’s sparkling!”
He who had been carefully looking at the leaves hanging on a not-so-high branch said.
“Is it a jewel?”
“That’s dew. It rained at dawn.”
“Dew? Then this isn’t a jewel?”
Rose, who tilted his head, looked at Elijah with wide eyes. The sunlight finely fragmented through the leaves cast sharp shadows on his white face.
“It’s sparkling like this though?”
Elijah swallowed a small breath. The most sparkling thing at this moment was Rose. He was just like a fairy living in the forest. Curious eyes urged an answer from him.
“……Yeah, it’s dew.”
Elijah pulled the branch and tilted it toward Rose. The dew beaded on the leaf surface rolled and fell onto Rose’s palm.
“It’s cold.”
Rose smiled brightly and held out his wet palm. When Elijah wiped the moisture with his sleeve, Rose held his hand. Elijah thought it was good that he brought him to the forest.
“What’s this?”
“Wild raspberry tree.”
“That?”
“That’s…… probably a hazelnut tree.”
Rose found each and every part of the scenery that wasn’t particularly special to Elijah fascinating, taking it in with his eyes and touching it.
“What’s this?”
“That’s…… I don’t know either. It’s just a wildflower.”
Rose, who suddenly stopped walking, plopped down and crouched in that spot. With one hand still held by him, Elijah just stood still and waited for him.
“Pretty.”
Rose, who stood up, suddenly reached out toward Elijah. Elijah, startled for a moment, fiddled with the small flower stuck in his ear.
“Don’t take it out. It suits you well.”
His ears were as hot as if they’d been heated by midsummer sunlight. That heat soon spread to his cheeks and the back of his neck, so Elijah lowered his eyes for no reason. He didn’t know why he felt so shy and embarrassed.
“Elijah, Elijah! Look at this!”
At that moment, someone called Elijah desperately. Iris, holding a long pole, gestured to him from a little distance away.
“I think you need to get this down!”
Someone’s old shoe was caught high up in a tree. Several children had already gathered around the tree, as if they’d already tried hard.
At the weak pulling force on his hand, Elijah looked back at Rose. It was obvious he didn’t want him to go. Elijah briefly considered just ignoring them.
However, if he didn’t help, the children would struggle with that tree for a while, and then Master would eventually find out and all the children who were here might receive unnecessary lectures. It was better to just go quickly, get the shoe down, and come back.
“……Let’s just help with that.”
“I don’t like them. I’ll stay here.”
“……”
After hesitating for a moment, Elijah finally let go of Rose’s hand.
“I’ll be right back. Wait.”
He turned and ran toward where the children were. Looking closely, the position where the shoe was caught was so high that it was impossible to reach with the pole Iris was holding.
“Elijah, get that down for us.”
Elijah silently stretched out his hand. Soon a green light appeared from his hand. The light that wrapped around and climbed the tree lightly tapped the shoe that was half-caught on a branch.
