Around the time the sky turned red, Victoria stood in the town’s park.
Before her stood a tent. A large tent, like those used by nomadic peoples of the grasslands.
The smell of medicine. And then, the scent of blood.
“Robert Herman. Are you there?”
“I am. But I’m done for the day. I’ll see an emergency if it’s one… oh?”
Inside the tent was a man in his late thirties, wearing a white coat, of medium build. He appeared with a very kind smile, then his eyes widened as he looked at Victoria.
“You’re a vampire too, perhaps?”
“Yes. I am Victoria. Like you, I am a vampire.”
Vampires can sense their own kind by their presence.
It was clear at a glance that Robert Herman was a vampire.
“What business does a vampire have at a hospital? I’m afraid I can only treat humans.”
“I came to confirm who Doctor Robert, who has been active for a hundred years, is. And right now, I’m in the mood for a chat.”
“I see, a chat. It’s been a while since I’ve met one of my own kind. I welcome it. Please, have a seat. Would you like tea or coffee?”
Victoria was offered a chair in the examination room, but she decided to continue the conversation standing.
“What I want right now is blood for transfusion.”
She brought up the topic of blood to probe him.
“…Unfortunately, a wandering doctor like myself can’t get blood for transfusion. The same goes for medicine. I collect the materials myself and make them, somehow managing.”
“That’s very admirable. But why are you doing something so harsh? As a fellow vampire, I’m curious.”
“…There were various things in the past. I purely want to save as many humans as possible. That’s what I’ve come to think.”
Robert looked down, a dark smile on his face, and spoke quietly.
Various things in the past—.
Vague words. But for a vampire, it’s something many would empathize with. Especially those who became vampires later in life.
Born as a human, then becoming a vampire. If you have such an experience, there are bound to be various things.
Victoria also recalled her own past and became sentimental.
“Robert. You’re not a member of the Night Watch Organization, are you?”
“The Night Watch Organization, huh? An organization that aims for coexistence between vampires and other races. Judging by your tone, are you with the Night Watch Organization?”
“Yes. The Night Watch Organization is a powerful organization. They can provide you with medicine and blood. That blood can be used for transfusions, or for your meals.”
“…Meals, huh?”
“Yes. We can’t live without human blood. You know, Robert, I can smell blood on you. And it’s the scent of someone who has recently drunk blood.”
“Well… I guess a strong vampire can go years without drinking, but I can’t do that. I sometimes ask patients to let me drink a little.”
“Robert, please don’t underestimate me. Your presence is that of someone who has sucked someone to death. And from directly below… from under the ground, there’s a dreadful presence. Perhaps, there are corpses buried there? And corpses that were killed so brutally that they emit a curse.”
Victoria had no choice but to point it out.
Until she entered this tent, she had even respected Robert.
Providing free medical care and traveling the world. No matter who he was, it was an honorable act.
But the Robert she actually met was a fiend.
“Kuku… kukuku! I guess I can’t hide it from my own kind. Ah, that’s right. I killed people. But it’s not accurate to say I sucked them to death. I killed them and then sucked all their blood. It’s completely different. Please be careful… kukukuku!”
“Why would you do such a thing?”
The smile on Robert’s face seemed to be one of genuine joy.
It didn’t seem like he was desperate because his murders had been exposed.
Rather, he was happy that it had been exposed. It was as if he had been itching to confess to someone, and that opportunity had finally arrived—that’s what his smile looked like.