Episode 6 Yuffie's goodwill

 "And you know what, that guy was awesome!"

　With a sparkle in her pure eyes, Yuffie speaks to my back, unable to contain her excitement.

"That was some pretty cool magic."

"What, did he show you some magic?"

"Yup! There was some kind of a glowing arrow that came out and shattered the shield. I don't even know if they did the chanting like Gil said, or if they drew a magic circle on that bow... it was amazing."

"Arrow...."

　Arrow-type offensive magic.... Even so, when it comes to glowing arrows, I'm pretty sure it's not in the scope of general-purpose magic. is it unique magic?

　But how easy is it to show people unique magic, which may be the secret of the magician?

　A magician of that caliber would be wary of it ...?

　--No, things have changed since my time, is it possible that the basic idea of hiding one's peculiar magic is an old one?

　Well, it means that they are at least at the level of the magician who can also handle unique magic. I guess they are not small fry.

"So, that guy--"

"Not that guy, Mr. Cyrus."

"‥‥‥What did this Cyrus guy come to this village for? From what you're saying, he seems like a pretty uptight guy."

".Hmmm, they said they came to this village to investigate some clues. I think.... he's from a unit called 'Variant Hunting'."

　After all, it was variant Hunting. So, is the target really Kuro?

　In any era, humans have always been too stupid to hunt vampires......

　I can't help but notice that even after 1,000 years, people still don't learn, and eventually repeat themselves ....

"I'm sure they're hunting for some kind of monster, maybe it's entered Yuffie's village."

"! Oh, no! I'm sure that's not true. But even if that were the case, Silas-san  is definitely not a bad person. I'm sure they will kind."

　Yuffie clenches her fists and emphasizes.

　I'm sure you have a lot of admiration for it.... But, that's because I'm the only one who's ever known a magician.

　I'm always showing you some sort of general-purpose magic....

"Oh, yeah, and Silas-san has offered to show me some more magic in his free time, so let's go see it together!"

"I'll pass. I'm not really interested."

　I'm interested in a different way, though.

"Why do you say that! Hey, let's go see it together.... Gil can learn a thing or two about magic, too!"

"It's okay, I'm already the best."

"Where does your confidence come from...?"

　As expected, Yuffie's eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"....Huh, forget it, I don't know if you want to see it later."

　Yuffie returned to the village with puffy cheeks and pouty cheeks

　I've done something wrong....

　But if this is really a monster hunt, there's no reason for me to be the one to bother Kuro with this...

　Well, next time I'll show you some more complicated magic to put you in a good mood.

◇ ◇ ◇

"So, what's he like?"

　Kuro leans back against the bookshelf while sipping coffee from her cup

"It seems to be a group of monster hunters after all. Well, I guess they could be after Kuro nine times out of ten. You don't have any other vampire friends nearby, do you?"

"Yeah, well, everyone's falling apart now. Some people meet every few months or so.... Anyway, where did they find my footprints?"

"It's hard to imagine.... Is there anyone who could ever track a disguised Kuro....? Have you done anything recently?"

"Uh, recently‥‥‥‥"

　An uncomfortable silence flows

　Kuro sips her coffee once more while turning her gaze.

"~~Hmm..... Do you have an idea?"

"Oh, that was something of an accident! It's not my fault. It's just that Casper's got a bad attitude. So I had to."

"Damn, what do you mean, 'Lady Claudia-sama, the vampire of Jenegand? I can't believe it."

"Shut up. Just because my footprints were read doesn't mean they reached me personally. And if it comes down to it."

"You like it here, no. It's not just a matter of clearing the dew, as usual. We have to politely ask the monster hunters to leave."

　Kuro groans while looking at me with her jittery eyes.

　Don't look at me like that. It's your fault for leaving such a trail of chases.

"It's not that the magician of the monster hunter, Cyrus, is wary of us, he's just showing off his magic to Yuffie, so you won't have to meet him as long as you keep quiet"

"I agree.... Oh my, well, it's boring without this kind of stimulation once in a while. I've gone through so many years and I've had so much fun that I've run out of entertainment. I've long ago discarded the idea that we can just destroy everything. You have to enjoy the process."

"I'm amazed that you ever thought of it that way... Please don't try to destroy the human race."

"Ha-ha, no way. You want to wipe out the entire planet just because it's full of bugs--"

"No, I'm done comparing it to a bug every time. I'm full."

"Terrible..."

Knock Knock--

　Suddenly there's a knock at the door.

　Me and Kuro look back toward the door at the same time, pause for a while, and look at each other.

"Guillll! I know you're there!"

　Once again the door is knocked.

"What's up with Yuffie? It's rare for her to come home in the daytime, so this is unusual."

"Fufufu, she is going to come see you even if there's nothing to see. It's finally happening."

"Shut up, what do you mean it's finally happening?"

　I get up and walk to the door.

　Even though I turned her away in the morning she's already in a good mood, calling out to me in a good tone of voice.

　Well, I'm grateful that she's in such a good mood this quickly.

　I put my hand on the door and slowly open it.

"What do you want, Yuffie? Weren't you going to see the magicians magic--"

　I can feel the thick magic flowing in from the gap as soon as I opened the door.

　What is this feeling... it's not Yuffie's!

　Behind me, I feel Kuro also put her cup down and go on alert

　When I opened the door carefully, I saw Yuffie and another man dressed in a black robe standing behind her.

　I didn't even sense him until just now.... Don't tell me it's this guy...?

　Even Kuro, who noticed it the moment he entered the village, didn't realize he was on the other side of this door until now.... Is this an illusion spell? It cut of this high level of interception.....

　In the tense atmosphere, the first one to open her mouth was Yuffie.

"Mr. Cyrus, this is Gil! The one who was so stubborn and pretentious that he didn't want to see any magic."

"Ho, this is Yuffie's friend and magic teacher...."

　Silas smiles serenely.

"Gil, I went out of my way to bring him here because you're so stubborn, you should be grateful!"

"Ha-ha-ha, thanks a lot...."

　This guy really did it.....!

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