Vampire and Chocolatier 〜The genius alchemist’s sweet quest〜

The mansion owned by Sin was said to be located at the edge of the town’s higher ground.

Looking at a map, Ruviria looked like an eagle with its wings spread, and right around its beak – a section of the city where only the most prestigious of the wealthy, the old-fashioned aristocracy, were permitted to reside. 

Alfred chuckled in his mind as he walked down the alley at night. If he could successfully take up residence with Sin, his success as an alchemist would be assured. He would no longer be just looking for a place to stay, but to steal the money to rent a new workshop instead.

However, as they walked off the street and onto a dirt road, Alfred realized that there was a problem.

…The distance between Sin and himself was awfully close. Rather than walking side by side, it would be more appropriate to describe them as sticking together. If the other person was a lady or even a young man, it would be somehow intimate.

Alfred held no prejudice against men who liked other men. There were a few of them at the boarding school, and some even tried to court him. But Alfred himself had no taste for such things – in fact, he was even beaten by his friends for his fondness of women.

It was no problem if the other party liked him, but any more of an invitation would be difficult to turn down. Sin put his hand on Alfred’s shoulder in a familiar manner and leaned in to talk close enough for Alfred to smell his sweet rose-like scent. 

“The road ahead is not paved and there are no gas lights, so it is dangerous at night. How about we hold hands so you don’t trip?” 

“It’s okay, it’s not that dark. Since today’s a full moon.”

The memory of witnessing the swarm of night demons came back to him, and he raised his eyebrows as he frowned at the night sky. Perhaps because he had been paying attention only to what was above his head, his feet were caught in the weeds and he fell down with a loud thump just like Sin warned him about. Sin’s laughter echoed through the quiet night air.

“Don’t be so stubborn. Take my hand, my lady.”

“Don’t be creepy… Wait, why are your hands so cold?”

“Because my heart is warm and fuzzy. Would you like to touch my chest to make sure?”

Alfred got up in silence and started walking again, trying his hardest to pay no attention to the hand he was holding. He was so annoyed he forgot that he was supposed to be sucking up to Sin, but Sin didn’t seem to mind the harsh response. He still laughed at Alfred with a provocative look in his eyes.

He probably saw through the fact that Alfred approached him for money. Alfred was now beginning to realize that the young man in front of him was a nuisance. It was as if he had turned from being the hunter to being the hunted without realizing it.

Alfred widened his steps, trying to put some distance between himself and his predator-eyed companion. Sin, who had been beaming at first, gradually became serious.

“Sorry for teasing you. The road ahead is really dangerous, so please stop for a second.”

“It doesn’t look like it’s dangerous. Is there a snake, a boar, or something?”

“No. People are waiting in ambush.”

Alfred turned to Sin, not understanding what he meant. Immediately after that, however, a noise echoed from the end of the dirt path, and several figures came running out of the thicket of trees that spread out beside it.

There were more or less four of them. They were all moving in perfect sync, but it was clearly not an invitation to a dance. All of them wore black cloaks with hoods on and were holding wide knives. 

Alfred’s judgment was quick at times like this.

He immediately ran away from Sin’s side and, turning to the suspicious bunch, shouted “If you’re after this guy, do what you want! I won’t tell anyone what happened here.”

“You are a heartless man, aren’t you? What if it’s you that they are after?”

That would be absurd. He didn’t remember doing anything that would make someone want to kill him – wait, no. Was it possible that the Goldoc Trading Company people would try to keep their mouths shut about the theft of the telephone so that they couldn’t be sued later?

Alfred turned around with a bad feeling. 

The man who seemed to be the leader said in an emotionless voice, “I have no use for that nobleman. But you, blonde four-eyes, you will die.”

“Ugh! Nothing is going right today!”

The assassins, paying no attention to Sin, came straight at him. Alfred clicked his tongue, turned on his heel, pulled the crown of the pocket watch on his waist, and threw it to the ground with all his might.

The next moment there was a blinding flash of light.

The surroundings turned white and the assassins staggered back. Grasping the opportunity Alfred started running with all his might. Next to him, Sin was following with an aloof smile on his face.

“You really are an alchemist. I’m surprised you can do magic like that.”

“It’s a magnesium-based explosive. It’s just a flashy glow with no lethal power.”

In hindsight, he should have planted a bomb that could blow up a body. He thought that it was fine for self-defense since it was only supposed to buy him time to escape, but the assassins quickly recovered and closed the distance between them in one fell swoop. They were so fast that one would think they had a steam turbine on their backs.

“I wish I had another weapon. Do you have a knife or something?”

“I have a gun. But I don’t want it to get dirty.”

Alfred snatched it from him without a second thought.

It had so many jewels inlaid all over that it was almost too heavy to bear. He thought it would be a small gun with no practicality, but it turned out to be a single-action revolver. Alfred turned around, took aim, and shot at the assassin who was close at hand. The man fell to the ground with a flop.

Seeing that the threat was gone, Alfred stopped running and fixed his glasses with one hand. 

“I come from a military family. I’ve been training since I was a kid.”

“I see. The more I get to know you, the more interesting you get. But I think it’s still too early to relax. I don’t think they’ve had enough fun yet.”

Alfred turned around with a start and saw that some assassins were about to get up. His aim was precise; he even scored a direct headshot. 

The cold night wind blew as if to encourage fear, and the pitch-black hood of an assassin was flipped up. But what was under the hood was not the face of an ugly man – but the head of a beast covered in gray fur.

“You’ve got to be kidding me… Why should I be targeted by these people!”

“You haven’t forgotten, have you? This is Ruviria, where you can find anything but God.”

The werewolves gave a muffled laugh. If the knowledge from books was to be believed, he would need silver bullets to defeat them, not the normal lead ones. But they weren’t conveniently available.

 The other side knew it, too; they had suddenly taken a relaxed and composed attitude.

“Is there any way we can get out of this?” Alfred asked Sin since he had nothing left to lose. “I don’t exactly want to get shredded by a werewolf and die.”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see you screaming and getting eaten up.”

“Stop joking. No, you are not joking, are you?”

Sin seemed to really be enjoying the situation. Alfred would like to call him a scum aristocrat with a perverse taste… but he was the one to complain, with how he wanted to abandon the man in the first place. After all, they had just started to get to know each other. They haven’t yet reached the point of risking their lives for one another. 

“But if you insist, I will help you. For a price, of course.”

“At this point, I will give you anything but my life.” 

“Good boy. I will make an effort to ensure it becomes a happy choice for you too,” Sin said, patting his head.

Alfred thought that whatever happened later would be a small price to pay for saving his life, but suddenly he felt that he had made a grave mistake. Sin was overjoyed, like a little boy who had just gotten a puppy as a gift. 

Much to Alfred’s confusion, Sin took off his kaftan. In his tight black suit, he was the same height as before, but somehow with much longer arms and legs and broader shoulders. With such a lean physique it was hard to believe that he was still the same person.

He didn’t appear to be hiding any weapons. How was he going to get out of this predicament? He wasn’t going to fight a pack of werewolves unarmed, was he?

“You seem to be a young pack that has migrated here from somewhere else. The noble werewolves seem to be in need indeed if they had to move all the way to Ruviria in search of money.”

“How do you know so much?”

“Because you dare to face me so carelessly. Those who don’t know how to behave don’t live long.”

Singh quickly extends his arm. The next moment, the werewolves groaned. They were down on their knees and shaking as if their heads were being held down by invisible hands.

The werewolves, themselves supernatural beings, were staring at Sin as if he were something unfathomable. As for Alfred, he was beyond terrified. It was like watching a well-made play.

Sin’s eyes were blazing with light. Blood red, burning red. The glittering embroidery on his suit began to glow in response as his entire body was enveloped in a pale light like that of fireflies.

How could he have claimed to see the truth of all things? The young man who hit it off with the coffee shop, who bought him a chocolate drink, was not a generous nobleman.

-He was a vampire.

An immortal monster, an embodiment of an alchemist’s ideals.