NOVEL WEB Chapter 31
“Levi!! Hurry up and come here!!”
“I’m not scared at all. It’s fine, so come quickly─.”
“It’s safe.”
While the round moon in the dark sky faintly reflected on the river’s surface, the children waved their hands and shouted toward me, standing motionless across the river.
The current was flowing faster than I expected.
Thanks to the log bridge Rune had set up earlier, the children could safely cross the river, but as a vampire, even that simple action was impossible for me.
“What are you doing, Levi?! Are you that scared?!”
Even Aizen’s booming voice was barely audible as my mind grew increasingly hazy.
When I first came to this world and saw the river, I didn’t feel this intense fear. But for some reason, just looking at the fast-flowing water had become unbearable.
And then─.
“Huuu….”
– Thud
I forced my trembling body to move and managed to take one step forward, but it felt like a huge barrier was blocking my path, as if an invisible wall had been erected at the river’s edge.
When I first saw the river, this transparent barrier didn’t exist. That’s why I was even more confused.
“Levi, I didn’t know you were such a scaredy-cat.”
“Sister, close your eyes tight and try crossing once. If you make it safely, I’ll hug you.”
“I’ll hug you too.”
The children had no idea I was a vampire, so they were probably just puzzled and frustrated by the situation.
But right now, the most frustrated one was me. I knew perfectly well in my head that the river was nothing special, but my body just wouldn’t cooperate.
“C-can you give me a little more time…? I’ll try to cross somehow…. Please don’t go ahead without me….”
“We’re not going anywhere without Levi. Don’t worry about that, just calm down.”
“Y-yes….”
Instead of calming down, my breathing only grew more labored as time passed. I couldn’t even tell if I was looking at the log or the river anymore.
If I dragged this out any longer, even the most innocent children would start to suspect something about me….
“Are you okay?”
“Eek─!!”
Just as I was stuck in place, unable to move, Rune’s voice softly reached me from right beside me.
“R-Rune…?”
“So it’s true that vampires can’t cross rivers.”
“Huh…?”
“I, uh, overheard the Elder and the High Elder talking before we came here. They said vampires can’t cross rivers.”
Even though my mind was scattered, I could roughly understand what Rune was saying.
“So you already knew….”
“Yes. But it’s okay. I’m here.”
“What do you mean…?”
Without waiting for a response, Rune gently raised her small hand and slowly clasped mine.
“The Elder also said something else. Vampires can only cross rivers if they’re guided by someone who invited them.”
“R-really…?”
“Yes. So don’t worry.”
I couldn’t help but doubt Rune’s words. While it’s true that vampires have rules about invitations, I never thought it would apply to rivers.
As proof, even now, with Rune holding my hand, my heart was still racing.
“Huh?! When did she get over there?!”
“She was definitely next to Iris just a moment ago?!”
“She’s a fox, a fox.”
Ignoring the children’s loud voices, Rune only tightened her grip on my hand. Her gaze felt strangely warm.
“Honestly, I only overheard it in passing, so it might not be entirely accurate. But I think it’s worth a try.”
“…….”
As Rune said, it was worth a shot. If it worked, great. If not, there was nothing I could do.
– Step
With that in mind, I took a slow step forward with Rune.
I still felt something blocking my path, but unlike the impenetrable barrier from before, it felt slightly looser, as if I could finally breathe.
“Huh…?”
“As expected, the Elder’s words were completely true.”
When I came to my senses, I was standing on the log bridge. Rune’s words, which I had doubted, turned out to be true.
“T-that’s impossible…. I’ve never heard of such a rule…?”
“Even the vampire herself didn’t know the rule, but the Elder did. The Elder is truly amazing!”
My heart still felt heavy. No, it was so heavy that my legs felt like they might give out at any moment.
In an environment where nothing had changed, the fact that I could cross the river just by holding Rune’s hand, the one who invited me, left me feeling utterly drained.
But as it became clear that I couldn’t cross the river without the inviter’s permission, I started to feel a complex mix of emotions.
“W-well…. At least I can cross the river now, so that’s something to be grateful for….”
“That’s right.”
With an awkward smile, I was about to take another step forward when─
────────────
【You have been invited to a party】
– Rirune
– Levinia Fallen Grace
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“…A party?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, nothing. Let’s go.”
Though the notification raised many questions, I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I had already spent too much time crossing the river.
For now, I had to be satisfied with having crossed the river for the first time. I had no room for anything else.
“I wonder if I’ll have to do the same thing when I go back….”
.
.
.
“This is our village, the Loen Forest─.”
Following Rune, I safely arrived at the Loen Forest. I thought it was quite far, but it turned out not to be that distant after all.
“It doesn’t look much different from our forest.”
The only differences were that, unlike our forest, which was now mostly inhabited by beasts, the Loen Forest was home to various monsters, and its area was incomparably vast.
“That faintly visible giant tree over there is the World Tree, Loen.”
“If it’s still faintly visible from here, that means the village itself is enormous, right?”
“Yes! Isn’t it amazing?!”
As we approached the village entrance, Rune puffed out her chest with confidence.
Her cuteness made me smile faintly, but the children, now wary of Rune after the river incident, didn’t even blink.
“If I knew this would happen, I would’ve held Levi’s hand from the start.”
“I could’ve done it too….”
“I’m jealous….”
The children, still sulking over what had happened, surrounded me, eyeing Rune with suspicion. Their behavior was both cute and pitiful.
“I understand feeling jealous, but that doesn’t mean you should exclude Rune. That’s not nice.”
“W-who said I was jealous?! I just felt like Levi was taken away for a moment, that’s all.”
“I was jealous. My stomach’s boiling.”
“Me too.”
I let out a deep sigh.
It’s not good for the children’s emotions to fluctuate so wildly over just me. If it goes beyond attachment to dependence, I can’t predict what effect it will have on them when they grow up.
Before it gets worse, I need to correct this.
“I don’t want to scold you over this. Relying on each other is important, but sometimes you need to be open to new things too.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Isolation is never good in any situation. Just as you care for each other, care for Rune too.”
At my quiet words, the children glanced at each other awkwardly. They seemed to vaguely realize their mistake, but their expressions still showed they didn’t fully understand.
“…I’m fine. It’s really nothing.”
“What are you talking about, Rune? It can’t be nothing.”
“It really is nothing. So don’t worry about it.”
I thought Rune was just trying to lighten the mood, but strangely, her expression showed no awkwardness at all.
“I’ll go inside and bring the Elder. Please wait here for a moment.”
“…Oh, okay. Got it.”
With just that, Rune ran off toward the village entrance without looking back.
“Did… I make a big mistake with Rune…?”
“I was just jealous….”
“…….”
Seeing Rune’s indifferent reaction, the children finally began to realize their mistake and started blushing.
“It’s good that you realized it now.”
I didn’t have much else to say. It was better to let the children reflect on their own rather than adding more words.
“Rune seems… like she’s been through this kind of thing a lot….”
Ellie, who had shown the most jealousy, muttered quietly.
“Yeah. She doesn’t seem very old for an elf.”
The more I learned about Rune, the more complicated I felt. What kind of treatment had she received in the village to accept such things so casually?
– Tap, tap, tap─!!
After a few minutes, two silhouettes appeared in the distance, quickly approaching us from the village entrance.
“I brought them─!!”
Soon, a gruff-looking old man appeared before me, panting. This must be the village Elder Rune had mentioned.
“Huff, huff, huff…. What in the world…. How did this….”
For some reason, the Elder looked extremely pale, as if he had encountered something completely unexpected.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Levinia Fallen Grace from the Elm Forest.”
“Y-yes…. It’s an honor to meet you…. My name is Levand….”
Even while introducing himself, the Elder couldn’t stay still, fidgeting constantly. His expression was stiff, clearly tense.
“Why are you so restless? Is something wrong?”
“N-no─!! It’s not that…. It’s just, well….”
An awkward silence fell between me and the Elder. His face grew paler, and sweat poured down like rain.
It was as if he was struggling to bring out words he had only thought about─.
“Sigh….”
After a long pause, the Elder let out a deep sigh and finally opened his tightly closed mouth.
“D-do you…, perhaps…, not like Rune…?”