I'm utterly bewildered by the vampire girl's sudden transformation.
Seriously, what the hell?
Sure, she'd been a bit rebellious during our travels, but nothing like this.
And besides, she was never the type to develop a reverse harem or anything.
If her vampire side had been gradually emerging, I'd get it — but this rapid?
What's more, it's scary that she herself doesn't seem to notice the change.
Like she's been unknowingly affected by some Skill or other.
I have a hunch about it, so I can't exactly rule it out.
She does have the Envy Skill, after all.
But Envy alone doesn't explain all of her behavior.
The irritability and defiance — sure, that fits.
So, the best person to ask about vampires is a fellow vampire.
I charged into the Fourth Army's ranks and grabbed Mela.
"Um, it's really troublesome when you barge in like this."
Yeah, yeah, whatever.
All she was doing was paperwork anyway.
She can handle that later.
This is a critical issue concerning my precious young lady — that should take priority.
Ignoring Mela's protests, I abducted her.
For starters, I showed her a day in the vampire girl's life.
"What do you think?"
"Honestly, yes. This was definitely worth dropping work for."
Mela answered with a solemn expression in response to my question.
I silently urged her to continue.
"First, the young lady's behavior isn't wrong from a vampire's perspective. I experience the same impulses myself."
Oh ho.
"Using seductive arts on the opposite sex — this serves two purposes: securing food sources and selecting potential new thralls. The focus on the opposite sex is likely a matter of preference, of course."
Mela, so you're like that too.
"I feel like I'm being looked down upon, but this is simply the correct way for a vampire to be. Besides, unlike the young lady, I haven't actually acted on it. It's merely a desire that exists within me."
She owned it, then proceeded to expose her own fetish.
What a woman.
"Um, please stop looking at me like I'm garbage."
"I'm kidding."
Yeah, kidding, kidding.
I absolutely do not think of Mela as the enemy of women or some bottom-feeding scum.
"So, to get back on track — it appears the young lady is acting on her impulses directly. And without the slightest hesitation or guilt."
Right.
That's the problem.
"If my opinion is worth hearing, may I share it?"
Please do.
"I believe that during the young lady's growth, her human common sense may have been completely overwritten by her vampire instincts. Otherwise, she would experience at least some internal conflict — much like I did back when I first became a vampire, when my human consciousness served as a restraint, causing even a small amount of anguish. But there's none of that in the young lady. Her human common sense has either fallen away entirely, or her vampiric thinking has pushed it out. That seems to be the state of affairs."
I see.
At least her diagnosis lines up with mine.
"The cause?"
"I don't know. In my case, my human thinking still remains even now. I've never experienced being so thoroughly consumed by vampire instincts without any resistance."
Hmm.
If I knew the cause, I could do something about it.
But without knowing, there's not much I can do.
"There are several possible factors I can think of, but which one it is — or whether it's a combination of several producing the young lady's current state — I simply can't tell."
Fair enough. Let me hear them.
"First, the Envy Skill you mentioned is the most likely candidate. Shiroi-san would probably know more about that than I do."
Right.
There are definitely traces of Envy's influence scattered throughout the vampire girl's behavior.
"Second, the young lady is a born vampire. Unlike me, she is a true vampire from birth. No matter how she was raised by human hands, her fundamental nature is entirely vampiric. One could argue that her previous human behavior was actually the aberration. What caused those traits to surface now, I can't say — but that may be the explanation."
Oh.
Come to think of it, that's right.
The vampire girl had been born a vampire thanks to a Reincarnation bonus Skill from D. She had never existed as a human in this life — only in her previous one.
When I think about it that way, it makes sense.
Her human consciousness had persisted because her past-life memories were pulling at her. But as she grew, her vampire instincts grew stronger in turn.
Plausible.
"Third, the young lady appears to be quite frustrated. Bottling it all up may be what led to this."
Huh?
Frustrated? Why?
"Oh, forgive me — I wasn't clear enough. The frustration is regarding combat. Vampires experience pleasure from fighting. We're a warrior species."
Wait, really?
Vampires are… battle junkies?
Hmm.
That doesn't match my image of vampires at all.
Well — actually, thinking about that one guy, it does make sense.
Oh right. So vampires were combat maniacs all along.
I had no idea.
Come to think of it, I haven't let the vampire girl fight recently.
If she took out too many Monsters, her Level would go up.
I'd been keeping her Level low until all the stat-up Skills were in place.
That neglect had fueled her frustration.
And the built-up stress accelerated her vampiric awakening.
The logic checks out.
Because she has her past-life memories, I don't think she's been completely consumed by her vampire nature at the bottom of her heart. But if she's been acting on instinct to forget that stress, then reason alone wouldn't be enough to hold her back.
Honestly, I'm sorry.
Half the blame for this falls on me.
Alright then — let's let her go wild to her heart's content.
Perfect timing, since our opponent is already nearby.
The enemy also has a Dominator Skill.
And their Level is higher.
A demon forged through repeated cycles of real combat and slaughter.
Against that, the vampire girl is Level 1 — but with elite training, her Status should be considerable.
Skills honed to the extreme.
However, zero combat experience.
Yeah.
This could be quite the fight.