'Do you know where my friends are?'
Avera sat back down on the sofa opposite me and smiled at me.
'Oh, them. They should be in the village. It's the two Oni and the Dragon, right?'
I nodded at her. Well, after that exchange, I at least know that Sirius, Arcana and Sakurako are safe. I held my neck, the left side, and rubbed it slightly. There was an irritating pain about the two holes. It would be more accurate to say that it was itchy.
'Can I see them?'
'No, not until your injuries have healed. There's no point in stretching yourself wide if you're only going to hurt yourself more. You should be healed up in two days, so just chill out until then.'
Two days, huh? I guess that's not bad. Though, I'm worried about navigating around the mansion. If I stay here for two days and try to find things like the bathroom, I'd only be running in circles.
'So, I was 15 when I was summoned here and it was 2039. I wonder, what year were you reincarnated and what age were you?'
The vampire looked at me intently. I guess she really wanted to know who had the seniority in their first life, but she didn't know that I was the one who possessed it. Seems like my small appearance has deceived her.
'Me? Little old me, huh... I was reincarnated in 2042 and I was...'
I stood up and posed flamboyantly.
'I was 25!'
Avera exaggerated a gasp. She looked distraught.
'N-no way! There's no way a virgin boy like you could be older than me. Ah, but I still have the seniority here so–'
'Old woman.'
I said out loud. So... I think I may have said what was on my mind by accident. I could sense Avera's aura becoming more and more murderous over seconds.
'Maybe you should get injured... I'm coming for you...'
'I-I'm sorry... Someone help me!'
In the end, I ended up having to stay at Avera's place, as a patient, for five extra days, not that it would be any different. Seems like this mansion would be my home, for now.
◈◈◈
It's been seven days and I'm finally healed. The stitches were removed from my prior wounds and they seemed to disappear. There's only a scar over my heart, chest and back. Apparently, the sword that struck me was a holy weapon. No matter if the injury is healed, it will still result in a scar.
Well, this is only because I'm a part of the unholy race of Demons and Light magic and holy weapons just coincidentally have to have an advantage over me. I'm not too keen on having a scar on my chest and back, but I guess it won't affect any performance.
Speaking about scars, the cut around my waist didn't amount to much. It healed up before the injury on my chest. That Iron Wyvern guy was strong, but not strong enough to scar my body like a holy weapon.
Currently, I'm outside the gate of the mansion. I've planned to go to the village today, and I'm having the seemingly lifeless maid, Saxon, accompany me. Well, Avera suggested it since I needed a tour guide apparently.
We got on a carriage, led by pegasi, and travelled to the village. It wasn't too long of a trip by carriage. We got there in about seven minutes or so. I got off the carriage and stretched. I guess not everything can be comfy. That carriage was cramped, so I felt slight stiffness in my body.
For some reason, I'm slowly starting to feel more human. Ah, by that I mean the way my body feels. What is all of that about, Ai?
«It's nothing. Just your imagination.»
Hmm, if you say so.
I looked around the village and saw that this place was also multi-raced, similar to Riel. I was happy to find it this way, for some reason. If it was only humans, it would feel weird, maybe because I'm a Demon.
The structure of the village was weird. It looked more like a rural town than a village. Walking around, I noticed that there were no streets and that the buildings were practically built to create pathways for people to walk around.
Those the buildings looked more like barriers, there was one place that stood out. It was at the back of the village. It was a mansion, but smaller than Avera's one.
'That place is where the Lord of this place lives.'
Saxon said.
'Lord? Do they have higher authority than Avera?'
'No, no one in this place has a higher authority than Lady Avera. She controls this whole territory. The Lord works under her and, of course, he is not a puppet of any means.'
Avera rules this whole village and a bunch more. That's impressive. Seems like she has lots of influence too.
'So, Avera commands the whole area and the Lord is the centre of Paragon Village.'
I said.
'Yes.'
'Do the villagers know about Avera?'
Saxon then lowered her voice and got closer to me to answer my question.
'They do, but they do not know the fact that the Mistress is a Vampire.'
That's only natural. I think Vampires are feared creatures just like Demons, so it would make sense for her to be hiding her identity. That kind of reminds me. Avera has been in this world for 5000+ years, right? Then how long has she been controlling this territory?
I looked around me first, making sure that no one would be eavesdropping. Once I made sure, I continued talking.
'How long has Avera been ruling this territory?'
'For more than 2000 years, but Lady Avera says that she has constantly changed her name over time. Apparently, it was first Alice, then Alisia, Alicia, Amy, Amelia, Amelie, An–'
If I didn't stop her there, she would've begun listing ten or twenty more names.
'Okay, okay, I get it! One question, what's her name publically now?'
'It is Avera Scarlet. Though you should probably refer to her as "Lady," or "Mistress Avera" while out in public. To avoid conflict, that is.'
'Yeah, that would be the best choice.'
I suddenly remembered the reason why I came to the village.
'Oh, right! Where are my friends?'
I asked Saxon. She looked shocked for a second then gave a slight smile.
'Follow me. I shall bring you to your comrades.'