Chapter 5: You must bring enough money to escape

“…because you fled in such a hurry that you didn’t bring enough money?”

“No, no!”

Sensing the compassion in Cynthia’s gaze, Ina’s face flushed crimson, and she muttered softly, “Well… actually, there’s a bit of that… as a reason…”

“Why—”

“Please don’t look at me like I’m an idiot, okay?”

Ina yanked her hands back, burying her tomato-red face in them.
A muffled voice slipped through her fingers: “I want to know what those Holy Church people are up to, too.”

“You want revenge on them, right? I get it.”

“…You’re right.”

Ina surrendered to the flow, picking up Cynthia’s words.
“So—?”

“Hmm…”

Cynthia eyed her, pondering.

Bringing one extra person wasn’t a burden, and it might even help disguise her identity.

Plus, this witch’s dark magic… it could prove useful?

Like a specialized tracker hound for sniffing out the Holy Church?

“I’ll take you along, but you follow my lead.”

After a moment’s thought, Cynthia nodded.
“What’s your name?”

“I… Ina. A genuine witch.”

For some reason, when introducing herself, Ina emphasized her witch identity.

“I’m Cynthia, an ordinary vampire.”

What’s so ordinary about you?!

Ina glanced at the black wings behind Cynthia, her voice trembling as she asked, “I’ve heard only high-level vampires have black wings… right?”

“I’m a mutant.”

Cynthia blurted it out without hesitation—technically, not untrue.

“But…”

“I’m a mutant.”

Cynthia repeated firmly.

“Oh, oh.”

Though Ina sensed something off, the earnest look on the girl’s face made her drop it.

“In that case, let’s head out, Miss Cynthia… Why are you holding my hand?”

Cynthia had suddenly seized Ina’s hands, looking up to meet her eyes with such gravity that Ina’s heart raced.

“Miss Ina, are you afraid of heights?”

“It’s not scary… why do you ask?”

“As long as you’re not, then let’s go.”

“Huh?”

The flap of wings sounded from behind Cynthia, and Ina suddenly understood her intent.

Unfortunately, before she could protest, the two rocketed into the air like a launched missile, soaring skyward in an instant.

“Wait—wait a minute—I am afraid of heights—I’m afraid of heights ahhh!”

“Huh, here we are.”

The town wasn’t far, and soon Cynthia and Ina touched down in the woods on its outskirts.

But for Ina, experiencing her first aerial jaunt, the landing left her ashen-faced, collapsing to the ground.

To put it mildly, if they’d gone any higher, she might’ve lost control mid-flight.

“You look awful.”

Cynthia stood with one hand on her hip, peering down at Ina and extending a hand.
“Need help?”

Who do you think caused this?

“Thank you…”
Though inwardly railing against Cynthia’s recklessness, Ina plastered on a smile, took the offered hand, and rose shakily.
“Flying… it was a novel experience for me…”

“Hmm? Don’t witches all know how to fly?”

Cynthia’s question made Ina’s heart stutter, but she recovered swiftly.
“There are witches like me who can’t…”

“That makes sense—otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten caught by the Holy Church.”

“…The Holy Church people should be in this town, but I’m not sure exactly where.”

To steer away from further probing, Ina shifted the topic back to the Church.

“Let’s head in and scope things out.”

Cynthia eyed the town ahead, mulled it over, then retracted her black wings.
She darted from the woods, striding toward the settlement.

After steadying her racing pulse, Ina followed, approaching the town’s fringes.

The place wasn’t prosperous, its structures simple, yet brimming with orcish flair.
Most residents were sub-humans sporting furry ears and tails.
At the wooden wall’s entrance, guards questioned passersby.

Though some ordinary humans milled about—travelers and merchants—this was Ina’s first visit to the Karmoz Empire, leaving her a tad uneasy.

She snuck a glance at Cynthia.
Back in the Holy Church, she’d heard tales of the empire’s citizens suffering under vampire rule, especially non-vampires eking out miserable existences.

If true, these orcs might not take kindly to a vampire-human duo, right?

But to her surprise, Cynthia marched straight toward the guards, unmasked.

No choice—Ina trailed after her.

Yet the anticipated clash never came.
Instead, upon spotting Cynthia, the guards’ eyes lit up, their voices rising in excitement:

“That hair color… you’re—”

“I’m here to investigate something. This one beside me is my assistant.”

Cynthia’s gaze flickered, and she raised a hand to hush the guard.
“Take me to whoever’s in charge.”

“Yes, right this way.”

One guard stepped forward, gesturing politely for Cynthia and Ina to follow.

“It was that easy to get in?”

Ina blinked in astonishment.
This flew in the face of her expectations—the orcs showed no hostility toward Cynthia, only a trace of reverence.

This girl’s no ordinary vampire!

But oddly, whenever the orcs’ eyes turned to her, their gazes held a peculiar glint.

“It’s just a gate—what’s the big deal?”

Cynthia replied to Ina’s murmur as they trailed the guards.

“Maybe it varies by place…”

Ina whispered, then froze, sensing something—a prickle that drew her eyes to a nearby alley.

What was that just now?

“Hey, Ina, what’re you spacing out for?”

Cynthia’s voice pulled her from afar.
Ina realized she’d halted and hurried to catch up.

“This is my first time in a village like this. Got curious—sorry.”

“It must be quite the novelty for humans visiting us.”

The lead guard smiled at them.
“The building ahead is the mayor’s residence. I’ll go notify him—please wait here a moment.”

“Alright, go on.”

Unbeknownst to Cynthia and Ina, as they waited, a pair of bloodshot eyes glared from the distant shadows.

“Damn it, isn’t that the ‘Black Saint’? But why’s she cozying up to those filthy vampires?!”