On the night the festival ended, there was an after-party.

 

Not all members of Class A attended, but some students who ran the booth gathered for a dinner meeting.

 

I didn’t attend.

 

The brief feeling that had filled the emptiness in my heart at dawn was bound to disappear quickly.

 

It was a night of many thoughts.

 

I walked on the mountain path behind the academy.

 

Only a few people would come to this place because of its rough terrain and poor lighting, but it is a more convenient route home.

 

I actually prefer dark paths with few people.

 

My eyes were specialized for seeing in dark places, so brightly lit areas with street lights sting a little.

 

As I walked, I organized my thoughts; most of them were about Rena.

 

Although I felt emotions less intensely than others, the feeling of watching the fireworks festival left a slight lingering impression.

 

‘Relationships with humans, huh.’

 

Come to think of it, I had never thought about my relationships with those around me.

 

Taking Rena, who was the closest to me, as an example, it wasn’t a relationship that could be dismissed as just an acquaintance.

 

Would it be right to call her an acquaintance?

 

She wouldn’t be a friend.

 

I don’t know what Rena thinks of me, but humans and monsters can’t be friends.

 

Starting from their way of thinking to their actions, even what they eat as staple food is different.

 

Relationships that transcend species are impossible.

 

The history we’ve already gone through proves this.

 

Just looking at the case of Amy, who died recently, you could tell.

 

Although I’ve been suppressing my instincts and mingling now, I can’t guarantee when my attitude towards Rena might suddenly change.

 

If I stood before Rena in a starved state, could I resist my appetite?

 

If I fell into an extreme state of hunger where rational judgment becomes blurred, could I really resist killing Rena?

 

I don’t know.

 

Since I couldn’t guarantee that, I couldn’t carelessly use the word ‘friend.’

 

Though I felt a bit sorry for Rena.

 

As I was organizing my thoughts while climbing the ridge, I sensed a presence nearby.

 

Do people come to a place like this too?

 

It wasn’t just one presence.

 

The presence didn’t feel nearby. So, I had to close my eyes and focus on my senses.

 

“……”

 

And then I opened my eyes.

 

There was a smell of blood on the ridge behind the academy, where no one was expected to come.

 

The sweetest smell among all those I had smelled so far.

 

I hurried my steps as if drawn by the sweet scent.

 

It wasn’t that I was hungry; what I felt was closer to simple curiosity.

 

***

 

At the place where she had wanted to go, there were two people; a man and a woman. They were engaged in a fierce battle, each holding a sword in their hands.

 

It was a high-level battle that would be difficult for an ordinary person to even follow with their eyes.

 

The weight of their swords was considerable.

 

The movements of their bodies were extraordinary, as waves of magic power residing in the swords reverberated around the area.

 

But there was no killing intent in the sword strikes.

 

The two were competing with real swords, but it didn’t seem to be a fight to the death.

 

That’s because the levels of the two were unequal.

 

The woman was noticeably stronger. If she had intended to, she could have killed him several times over already.

 

But the man wasn’t a pushover either.

 

His movements didn’t look skilled, but he was slick.

 

He could parry all the sword strikes coming at him by seeing them with his eyes.

 

It would be impossible to do this with human dynamic vision.

 

The man, who looked like an ordinary student, was doing things that even humans who had transcended boundaries couldn’t do.

 

Of course, that alone couldn’t make up for the overwhelming difference in experience and skill.

 

-TANG!!

 

After a sharp metallic collision sound spread around, the boy’s sword flew into the sky, making him vulnerable – particularly his neck.

 

The woman’s sword changed its trajectory, stopping just before slicing the boy’s neck.

 

It was an amazingly precise movement. It was as if stopping right before the contact had been calculated in her head; the fine control of force was remarkable.

 

She stayed still for a while and then retrieved the fallen sword.

 

Her reaction was lukewarm, as if her business was done.

 

“We’ll stop here for today.”

 

“……”

 

After that, she turned her back and left, having said only what was necessary.

 

Suddenly, the man was left alone in the mountain, tattered and wounded, as if he had rolled on the ground several times.

 

At that point, I revealed my presence by pushing through the grass.

 

I was interested in the man who was emitting a sweet scent so strong it hurt my nose.

 

I opened my mouth to ask, “What are you doing there-“

 

“…Who are you? How did you get here?”

 

“……”

 

I’m pretty sure I asked first.

 

He countered with questions before answering mine.

 

Is it right for me to answer first?

 

He seemed to be wary of me, so I couldn’t get close.

 

But it’s okay.

 

I knew how to deal with humans who were wary of me.

 

I took a step forward and showed the clothes I was wearing.

 

It’s the uniform of the Imperial Academy.

 

“A uniform? First year.”

 

As expected, his wariness greatly decreased.

 

By the way, you can distinguish the grade by the color of the ribbon.

 

He looked like a second-year student, so I used the fact that normal people aren’t usually wary of juniors from the same school.

 

At that point, I asked again.

 

“What were you doing in a place like this?”

 

It wasn’t something I should say, but he was quite a peculiar-looking man.

 

People with black hair were rare in this world.

 

He was a person with black hair and blue eyes.

 

He opened his mouth.

 

“Well… I was having a private lesson. Usually, no one comes here during the festival period…”

 

“Do you usually do private lessons with real swords?”

 

“No, this time I asked for it. I asked to be treated as intensely as possible. Since I’m still weak, I spend most of my time training.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

Objectively, his strength wasn’t weak.

 

Rather, he seemed to have no match among the academy students.

 

It’s just that his opponent was a monster.

 

Sword Saint Freya.

 

She might not remember me, but I know her.

 

I wasn’t sure when I saw her from a distance, but I was certain after getting closer.

 

As far as I know, there’s only one human who can show that level of skill.

 

I couldn’t not know.

 

She was the woman who cut off my right arm with a single sword about a year ago.

 

Was she still alive?

 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t kill her then.

 

Who on earth is this man to consider a woman of that caliber as his private tutor?

 

Despite his appearance, he might actually be from a high noble family or an important figure in the Empire.

 

“What about you? What are you doing in the mountains like this?”

 

“This is the way home for me; it’s a shortcut.”

 

“That’s no good. Next time, go on the properly made road. The mountain path at night is more dangerous than you think.”

 

This is a path I often pass through. I haven’t seen anything dangerous.

 

So I asked, “What specifically is dangerous?”

 

“Sometimes fierce beasts roam around, and above all, it’s easy to get lost at night when you can’t see well. Even if you’re an academy student, if you’re a first-year, it’s better to use safer roads as much as possible.”

 

Animals can be chased away, and I have good night vision.

 

So, his advice wasn’t applicable to me.

 

It was bothersome to explain, so I just nodded and said that I understood.

 

“Well then, I’ll be going now. You should be careful on your way home, too.”

 

“Ah…”

 

He said that and turned to leave.

 

Without realizing it, I tried to stop him, but then didn’t.

 

I had reached out my hand but withdrew it without grabbing anything.

 

Should I have grabbed him before it was too late?

 

It was a short conversation, but there was a lot to take in.

 

That man wasn’t an ordinary human, and I still didn’t know his name.

 

Even though I looked him straight in the eye, I was unable to look into his mind.

 

It wasn’t because he had a high mental defense like Albert. It was something different, an external factor, that blocked me.

 

It didn’t seem like I could penetrate his mind even if I used magical energy.

 

However, I remember the scent of sweet blood that made me dizzy.

 

This was the first human that my body had reacted to this much.

 

That’s why I was more interested.

 

I saw that right after the duel, the man was bleeding. And even though he had left, the blood he had spilled on the ground remained.

 

“……”

 

I shouldn’t eat it.

 

Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I was already reaching out my hand.

 

I bit my tongue hard with my sharp fangs.

 

Pain helps to wake up the mind.

 

With a slight pain, the acrid taste of blood spread throughout my mouth.

 

As a monster who lives on human blood, it was a horrendous experience for me to taste the blood of my kind.

 

“Keck, keck!!”

 

Maybe because I’m not human, my blood tasted so bad I couldn’t eat it at all.

 

It made me feel sick to my stomach, so I spat it out on the ground again.

 

All in all, my first encounter with that man wasn’t very good.