What’s this hunter girl trying to say? Oh. I get it. “I took off my makeup for the bath.”
“Ah, I see.”
Ruka felt a little awkward. Ginka seeing me without makeup is kinda embarrassing...
She put up her hands to block her face, but Ginka just stared at her even harder.
“You’re very lovely even without makeup, Ruka.”
“Th-Thanks?”
“Of course, you look pretty with makeup on as well. Either way, I like—”
“N-Never mind me!” Ruka blurted. She couldn’t deal with the compliments anymore. “Weren’t you gonna tell me what the deal is with this room?”
That seemed to snap Ginka out of it. “This is my armory. I have permission from the government for these weapons, so it’s all legal, but please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want to deal with any unnecessary trouble.”
“So you’re saying this room’s, like, bad news?”
“Correct. There are also hazardous materials here, so don’t touch anything without asking.”
“Gotcha.” Ruka glanced around the armory. “But don’t you make weapons out of exoforce?”
Ginka had made a silver spear to fight that retainer, and there were those silver arrows she’d shot at David plus the knife from when she’d busted into the bathroom. Do you need the real thing when you can just make weapons whenever you want?
“That’s true, I can make weapons from exoforce. But incorporating an existing weapon uses less exoforce and makes it easier to wield. I don’t use physical weapons often because they tend to get in the way outside of battle, but I keep them here in case I need them.”
Ruka stared at the swords and guns while nodding along. Some of those look pretty well used. So she’s used these to fight?
“By the way, what does that David guy use?” Ruka asked.
Ginka’s face tensed. “He was fond of a revolver made from refined silver. Hold on...” She messed with her tablet for a bit before showing Ruka. “This is the hunter alliance’s registration profile for David Highgate.”
Ruka looked at his picture. His facial features should’ve made him handsome, but his glaring eyes and sunken cheeks absolutely ruined his look. There was also a ton written in English next to the picture that Ruka couldn’t read.
“Lucid Eye, David Highgate,” said Ginka. “A vampire hunter and one of the leaders of the alliance’s intelligence development group.”
Ruka shook her head. “I don’t get any of this. Can I ask a question?”
“I’ll reply to the best of my ability.”
“VHs aren’t all silvery, then?”
“Silvery...? Ah, you’re referring to my hair and eyes. That comes from my Scandinavian background. Race has nothing to do with hunter qualifications and characteristics.”
“Gotcha. ’Kay, keep going.”
Ginka nodded and lowered her voice. “The intelligence development group created the technology hunters use to coordinate and search for enemies. The vampire search app was David’s idea.”
“Seriously? He’s amazing!”
“Yes. That search system forced vampires to avoid electronics and helped us eliminate them from the human world. David brought about a great shift in our battle with the enemy and was celebrated for his great achievements. Yet...” Ginka’s voice sounded harsh at the end.
Ruka was worried about her. It’s gotta be tough for her to see her former ally, somebody she respected, coming to Japan and trying to make more vampires.
“Oh yeah, what’s that ‘Lucid Eye’ thing about?” Ruka asked.
“That’s his alias. It’s customary for a hunter to be given one based on their combat style or accomplishments. His comes from the fact that he developed the search app.”
“Hmm... Do you have one too?”
“Mine is Silv...” Ginka stopped herself and made a face.
“What’s the matter?”
“I don’t want to say it.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I just don’t.”
“Well, now I really wanna know!” Ruka puffed up her cheeks and gave Ginka a cute look but got ignored instead of an answer. Tch, so shy.
Ginka put the tablet down, and she looked tense again. “For now, we should be thinking about David. I reported him to HQ, so I’d like to believe we’ll get more information back soon. However, the alliance’s capabilities are not what they used to be, and they have gotten worse at responding among other things. It’s best to assume we won’t hear back for several days.”
Ruka noticed that Ginka didn’t say why they were less capable now. She wasn’t going to ask, but she had a pretty good idea. It’s because they think they got rid of all the vampires. That’s right and wrong at the same time. They wiped out the vampires but not the method for making more.
“At any rate, we’ll need to remain on guard against David. Until HQ or one of the branches responds, I would like you to stay at my apartment.”
Nobody knew why David was doing such vicious things, so they had to be careful. It was too dangerous for Ginka to leave Ruka on her own. The situation was urgent and scary, but Ruka grinned.
“Why do you look so happy...?” Ginka asked.
“I mean, we’ll be roommates! Like we’re in college or something. Isn’t that kinda fun?”
“Listen...”
Ruka put her hands on her cheeks and kept grinning. “And if I stay here, I get to use as much Occitania shampoo as I want. Plus you have some shower gel and bath bombs I’ve never used before. So hype!”
“I suppose it’s better than you being depressed...” Ginka muttered.
After grabbing dinner from the convenience store near Ginka’s apartment, the two of them got ready for bed in the living room with Ruka on the sofa and Ginka in a sleeping bag. It was already eleven o’clock, so they turned off the lights.
Ruka checked her socials on her phone, but she couldn’t help feeling on edge. Was that because David had dangled her upside down? Or because she’d helped Ginka treat Yoshiyama?
How’s Yoshiyama-paisen doing? Ginka said there was nothing to worry about, but I can’t help it. I’m sure he’s fine since the ambulance picked him up and all, but what if something crazy happened? That made Ruka nervous, and she really wanted to talk to someone. Good thing that someone’s right here, right now!
“Gin-saaaan, let’s chat.”
“I refuse.”
“Huh?”
“We have school tomorrow, so it’s best to get to sleep.”
Yeah, I guess a lot happened today. Probably a good idea to rest and be ready for tomorrow. I’ll just close my eyes and try to—
“Ah!” Ruka suddenly sat up. She had wanted to ask Ginka something before she fell asleep and her memory got all hazy. “Do you have any dreams for the future?”
“Go to sleep.”
“Come on, just answer this one question. I’ll go to sleep right after.”
“I said, sleep.”
Ruka pressed her hands together. “I’m begging you, Gin-neesaaaan.”
Ginka slowly sat up in her sleeping bag.
Whoa, she looks kinda sexy with her eyes half open like that.
“If I tell you, will you go to sleep?” Ginka asked.
Ruka gave a big nod, so Ginka ran her fingers through her own hair and started talking.
“Before the global extermination operation, I teamed up with another female hunter.”
She sounds a little out of it. Maybe ’cause she’s trying to remember? No clue what this random woman’s got to do with Ginka’s dream, but I guess I should just shut up and listen.
“She was very surprised when she first met me. When I asked why, she told me she used to be a teacher. Pairing up with someone around her students’ age was shocking to her. But she was a hunter, of course, so she soon regained her composure.”
Hearing about a teacher who became a vampire hunter made Ruka think of her homeroom teacher, Tani. She’s so gentle... What would she do if she had to fight vampires? She’d be a mess. No, actually, I can see her surprising everyone and putting up a good fight.
“We spent a few months together, and I told her I was not attending school for the time being. When she heard that, she suggested that I return to school once our battle was over. She said school life would be a valuable experience regardless of whether I enjoyed it. To be honest, I had no intention of doing so. I never imagined the battle with the vampires would end in my lifetime, and my grandmother taught me that attachment to normal life was a sign of weakness.”
Ginka’s awkward chuckle and sigh sounded sad to Ruka.
“She kept encouraging me to go, even though I kept telling her I wouldn’t. She was so persistent, I even started to think that I would never set foot in a school no matter what... But since she never stopped telling me to go until she breathed her last, I decided to heed her suggestion.”
“‘Breathed her last’...?”
“She wasn’t suited for combat. She was incapacitated within a few minutes of encountering the enemy.”