Chapter 13: The Pet and the mysterious room

「…..Oh?」

That day, in the middle of the night, Kazuya was suddenly awakened by an impact.

There’s someone who had hopped into the bed in the area by his shoulder.

“So Izuna snuck in again huh?”, he thought as he opened his eyes,

「Haii」

「……Mary?」

Seen through the pale light, was Mary’s face.

「What is it, this late at night?」

「Hey, can I ask you to accompany me with something for a bit?」

「You want me to accompany you for something?」

「Ee (Yes), can you please get up?」

“What can it be?”, Kazuya thought, as he got up from the sofa.

「It’s here. Come.」

Thus, Mary was pulling him by the hand as they exited the room.

The corridor, even if it was dimly lit, still had a gloomy atmosphere.

Within it, Mary and Kazuya were walking.

「What’s wrong, Mary. It’s still the middle of the night y’know?」

「After hearing that you defeated the mold, I felt like taking a look at that room.」

「No. About that… Doing it in the morning or in the middle of the day should be good enough, right?」

「In the morning and the day, I will be asleep.」

At night, the humans in this world typically are… How should I say, bad with the dark（・・・・・）.

Aside from the main street and the few places that have a lamp post, the night is entirely shrouded in darkness.

That’s why, normally, people don’t go outside (at night).

… Aside from vampires, that is…

I’ve heard that vampires have night vision. That’s why, it seems that there’s no difference be it morning, noon, or night. So at night, aside from the main street, no-one else wanders except the vampires and their families.

That’s why I have been told by Izuna to be careful. Nonetheless,

「It is expectedly tough for me to be roused out of bed at midnight, Mary…」

「Fufu, I’m really sorry but I really wanted to see it with just the two of us.」

She showed me her fangs that are longer than that of a human.

Her dog ears were swaying as she spoke.*Pyon Pyon*

So cute. Coupled with her physique, it rouses a protective nature.

Although, from the way she speaks, she’s older than me.

For some reason I feel like I’m being tricked…

Even while thinking that,

「Let’s go, Kazuya san.」

「Yeah…」

Kazuya went down to the first floor, alongside Mary.

Mary, who entered the room where they fought the mold, was looking around restlessly.

「So, what do you think, Mary. What are your impressions?」

「Nn~ although a little of it has remained, it seems to be fine.」

「Remained?」

「If there is a certain amount of remains left from the mold, it is possible for it to resurrect y’know」

「Geh, seriously…」

I want to avoid battling with it again. Both mentally and physically.

「Well, if it’s this much, it should be safe.」

「You know it?」

「Energy drain, energy perception is the vampire’s forte after all. Mou, I think that even if Kazuya had entered alone he should’ve been fine. For the next morning however, thinking that it will be fine after defeating it just once… If you have such thoughts entering the room and die; it is no fault of mine. 」

Don’t say such scary things. Even though I certainly thought of coming back tomorrow morning in order to clean it.

「Fufufu, It’s alright. Since everything is fine.」

Mary smiled at Kazuya as she spoke.

As if. That line meant that she just came here to make sure from the very beginning.

「… Or perhaps, Mary was worried for me and came to the room at such a late hour?」

「Fufu, I wonder.」

Mary who moved her face away as if trying to deceive.

She called me, “Emergency Rations,” while looking at me with those bewitching eyes. However, in reality she seems to be a really nice girl.

「… How should I say this, thanks a lot…」

「You’re welcome. ――Even still, this place… is a bit dim~」

「Well, for a room where sunlight can’t enter and has the requirements needed for mold to multiply, of course it would be dim.」

Even though it is a ten tatami mat room, it doesn’t have a window.

It’s a room that only has a kitchen, living room, and a toilet.

Compared to the room in the second floor, this one’s facilities are pretty old.

Perhaps, because it’s so old, we could probably use it as a storeroom…

Kazuya, who was cleaning the room after defeating the mold, had such thoughts.

「The light is pretty gloomy too huh.」

「Just in case, I wiped it too.」

The transparent crystal-like light attached onto the ceiling worked like the magic stones used in the streets. Magical stones are minerals that contain magical power. To put it in another way, there are batteries attached to it.

Having the whole room powered by it, it’s slightly dark.

「It might be necessary to change――」

It out… The moment I was saying that…

――Fuu

The lights went out.

Because the door was shut, the room turned completely dark.

「Oh? Black out… There’s probably no way that that’s it right?」

The lighting is being supplied energy by the magical stone.

Because there are no wires, having a blackout due to a natural disaster is unlikely…It’s convienent… However, once the magical stone is used up, the light completely disappears…

The devil’s stone has a usage life cycle and if it’s exceeded, it’ll break.

Most likely, this is what is currently happening.

「I’ll replace it later. For now, I need to get a light.」

Since there are no flashlights here, I’ll have to open the door and grab the light from the corridor.

As he was trying to move,

「W-what’s wrong?!」

*Don* Something hit my stomach.

No, isn’t this feeling that of being hugged.

Something slender is wrapping around my back.

I can’t see through the darkness, but surely the mold didn’t return right…

….Considering that I don’t have any equipment on me, I’d be done for…

While shuddering for a bit, he strained his eyes to look at his abdomen,

「Fuuuuuuu~~~~」

「……M-Mary?」

Mary, had come to hug him tightly. Moreso,

「It’s so dark, I’m scared…」

「Eeee?!」

「Uuuuuu…」

She was trembling and on the verge of tears.

「Ah, umm, ahh… T-there there…」

Because of the sudden situation, Kazuya stroked her head in a panic.

Doing that, her tears slightly settled, but Kazuya’s mind was still filled with confusion.

… Why is the girl who showed composure earlier, trembling to this degree?

I don’t know. In any case, for now, the priority is getting the light up again. However,

「Uuu……」

Holding onto my waist, with her vampire power, she planted herself in place.

I won’t be able to move like this.

「I can’t walk anymore…」

It’s as if a thick root is holding down a big tree.

At this rate, he won’t be able to do anything so,

「Mary. Excuse me, for a bit.」

「Fuee……?!」

I wrap my hands under Mary’s shoulders, who is hugging me at my waist, and carried her up.

Due to Mary’s legs being lifted off the ground, Kazuya was now able to move. And so,

「Yotto (There we go)」

He opened the door.

By doing that, the light from the corridor came in.

With that he decided to leave the room.

「… Look, didn’t it become bright?」

「Un, so it appears, right.」

Coming out of the darkness, Mary seems to have calmed down.

When I look at the girl’s face illuminated by the dim light from the corridor, as expected, there are tears on her face.

It seems that she was seriously afraid.

「… Aren’t vampires the race of the night?」

「――That goes for vampires, but I’m only half.」

「Speaking of, you were half werewolf right…?」

「My father was a werewolf, while my mother was a vampire. That’s why my night vision doesn’t work, and I’m afraid of the dark. ――To the point where I’d sleep, in order to forget my fear…」

ED note: Yeah, it’s dumb considering that werewolves are also creatures of the night. Just go with it…

「Speaking of… Mary, when you sleep in a room, it always has lighting in it.」

Light note: Yeah, he used “Speaking of” (そういえば) twice.

Izuna as well, although she’s bad with darkness, she got used to sleeping in the dark. However, Mary alone, seems to always use the stand-type lamp near the sofa.

The orange colored light didn’t seem to affect her sleep, so I didn’t pay any attention to it.

「By all means, you had placed it there because you are afraid of the dark.」

「… Un. In these past several thousand years of having been abandoned, the night became much more severe for me…」

I see. Well, after being buried under dust for a couple thousand years, there isn’t anything wrong with developing a fear of the dark.

TL note: “Dark phobia” or “scotophobia”

「Whenever I’m afraid, I always crawl towards you…」

「You sneaking in, had that type of reason behind it…」

Each and every time, I thought it was in order to tease Izuna.

ED note: it looks like this was supposed to be spoken by Kazuya but the author left it at a thought instead. The next sentence makes a lot more sense if you think of it that way.

「If I wanted to tease her, I would’ve done it more skillfully.」

「Yup, that’s right… But well, how do I say this? I’m glad that I understand what you’re afraid of…」

「Eh?」

「Un, that’s right. From now on, whenever you feel afraid in the night, come to my side. If it stops your s.h.i.+vering, then it’s a small price to pay.」

That’s right. As a pet, I have the role to preserve the mind of my owner.

That’s why, it’ll be great if she can get ‘peace of mind’ by snuggling up to me, Kazuya thought.

「Th…thanks…Kazuya-San…」

「Ou. Now then, isn’t it about time for you to come down?」

「Eh?」

Right now, their condition is that Kazuya is still being hugged by Mary.

They can’t stay like that forever (as much as they reluctantly wish to)

「Fufu, that’s right… However, just a bit more, let’s stay like this…」

「Nn, roger that.」

「And… Ending up like this, keep it a secret from other people, alright?」

「That too, roger.」

Light note: I wanted to keep the roger TT~TT

「…Thanks…」

After waiting for Mary to regain her calm, quietly, they returned to Kazuya and the rest’s room.