I teleported into a random forest.
I handed over the vampire master and servant sleeping in the Demon King's care, then teleported back to town once more.
I looted a bunch of stuff from the chaos of the fire.
Then I created a pocket dimension and tossed everything inside.
I was trying to replicate the spatial magic Skill called Storage, but it's tough. Apparently, magic that affects space has a high difficulty rating.
I set up a tent I'd swiped and started making a simple meal with the ingredients I'd also swiped.
The Demon King was sitting there with eyes sparkling.
Come help me out, would you?
As I was gobbling down the finished dish, the person who'd been guarding us woke up.
According to the Demon King, her name was something like Melazophis—some fireball-sounding name.
"Where is this?"
"Somewhere in a random forest. I wanted to have a proper talk, so I knocked you out and brought you here."
"I… see."
Melazophis was a mouthful, so I'd just call her Mela.
Mela was still a little wary.
Well, can't blame her—we're complete strangers with unknown identities.
Mostly because of the Demon King's behavior. No one would believe that guy is the real Demon King. If they did, that'd be… something.
"Thank you so much for rescuing us."
"You're welcome~. Well, you were kind of a bonus, though. The real target was that little one over there."
The Demon King pointed at the vampire child who was still sound asleep.
"Might I ask you a few questions?"
"Sure. I'll answer whatever I can."
"The town—the Lord and his wife… what happened to them?"
The Demon King turned his face toward me.
I shook my head.
When I'd gone to procure supplies, I'd also checked on the vampire child's family. The results were, unfortunately… well, you can imagine.
Mela must have read my reaction. She stifled a cry of grief.
For several minutes, she kept shedding tears. Then she wiped them away and looked up, her face still puffy and red.
"Forgive me for such an unsightly display."
"Nonsense. Tears shed for someone else can never be unsightly."
The Demon King gazed at Mela with a tender expression. He'd said something similar when we went to rescue her—he'd taken a liking to her, it seemed.
"One more thing—there should have been another female servant of the young lady present at that location. Do you have any knowledge of her?"
"You saw it too, didn't you? She's dead."
"Yes… of course."
There had been that faint sliver of hope—the wish for a miracle, perhaps. She hadn't expected much, but there had been that lingering "what if." Even as she tried to compose herself, her disappointment was impossible to hide.
"Then let me ask once more—who and what exactly are you?"
"Then maybe I'll give you a serious answer."
The moment I said that, the oppressive pressure radiating from the Demon King intensified. It seemed he'd switched on an intimidation Skill he normally kept off. It barely affected me, but the change produced a dramatic effect.
Sweat poured from every pore on Mela's body. Her face was frozen in terror.
As if by extension, I could sense the forest's creatures all fleeing at once.
"I am the genuine, authentic Demon King. The Demon King
Ah, when you strip away his usual patheticness, he really does feel like a proper Demon King. With this kind of pressure, Mela had no choice but to believe. Besides, someone who could exude this level of intimidation wasn't exactly common.
"Demon King… The Demon King—why?"
Under normal circumstances, she'd be terrified and desperate to flee right this instant. Yet with admirable courage, she planted her feet and shielded the vampire child. Not only that, but in a hoarse voice, she fired back a question.
That's some serious resolve.
"Hmm. Hey, White—what should we do?"
This was about whether it was okay to speak freely, right? Should be fine, right? So I gave a nod.
"Then allow me to explain."
The Demon King released the pressure and launched into a rapid-fire explanation.
"So, some idiot in this world caused a huge mess and ended up causing trouble for another world."
"Huh?"
"Just listen. Young people from that other world ended up dying in large numbers because of our world's mess. Feeling responsible for that, a god picked up the souls of those who had died and reincarnated them into this world. They're called reincarnators."
"I… see."
Mela was listening with an expression that said she couldn't quite follow any of this. Can't blame her—getting hit with this kind of far-fetched story out of nowhere.
"These reincarnators are born with memories from their previous lives. On top of that, they received bonus abilities from the god. Whether that's related or not, the people who attacked you seem to be targeting reincarnators."
"Um, how does that relate to… this?"
"Oh? You're not catching on, are you? What I'm saying is—this little one right here is one of those reincarnators."
"Wh—!?"
Surprise flashed across Mela's face. But it wasn't as dramatic as the Demon King had been hoping for.
"Hmm~. You don't believe me?"
"I'm afraid such a baseless story is simply impossible to accept."
"Is that so? No suspicions at all? Has this little one been strangely mature compared to other babies? Done anything odd for an infant?"
"That's…"
"Your face says you have."
Well, yeah, of course she has. No matter how good an actor you are, a high school student can't pull off playing a baby flawlessly. If you could, you'd win a leading role award. The reason she hadn't been caught was simply because her body really was a baby. People deceived by appearances would overlook minor inconsistencies.
"Also—and I think you've noticed—this little one isn't human. She's a vampire."
"So it really is true?"
"Yep. By the way, you are too."
"Then… the time the young lady bit me in my half-dreaming state… that was real?"
"Exactly. It seems the little one received the vampire Skill from the god, so she was born a vampire. Judging from her Status, she seems to have realized that and spent a long time experimenting and trying to figure things out."
"What do you mean?"
"Since she has Skills like Memory and Arithmetic Processing, maybe she was searching for some way to hide the fact that she's a vampire?"
"Do you possess the Appraisal Skill?"
"Appraisal Level 10. Impressive, right?"
I gave a smug grin for the ages.
"Well, we can go over the details together once the little one wakes up. Incidentally, I saved the little this time because we had a prior connection. That white one over there—she's a reincarnator too."
Mela looked at me, so I gave a light nod.
She seemed slightly taken aback, but I'm sure it was my imagination.