A black suit and black tie draped over long limbs.
Neatly slicked-back hair that gave off a subtle air of elegance.
Skin so white it was pale.
Deep, dark circles under his eyes.
And, of course, his signature expressionless poker face.
The man in black and white, sitting aloof at the end of the car, was undoubtedly J. J.
“It’s been a while… Partner.”
“……”
Thud— thud—
I raised a hand in greeting, then slowly walked over and sat down in the empty seat opposite him.
He showed no expression whatsoever at my greeting.
He remained silent.
“……”
“……”
A long silence stretched between us.
He then crossed his legs, stroked the arch of his right eyebrow in that characteristic habit of his, and spoke.
“…Who are you? I’ve chartered every seat in this car.”
“Seo U-jin. 28 years old. A Hero Candidate from the 131st class.”
In response to his question, I took out my dal and waved it.
“…I see.”
“Indeed.”
Though there was still no change in his expression or voice, I could see a flicker of interest in his eyes.
He had clearly recognized it.
The aning behind this purple border.
“……”
“……”
Silence fell again.
But it wasn't particularly awkward or uncomfortable.
In my past life, my conversations with him had always been half-filled with silence.
I was already used to his unique conversational tempo, where he would churn his thoughts, mulling over and over before finally speaking.
Words spoken at the end of a silence.
This ti, our voices overlapped.
“I have a proposition for y—”
“The reason a Hero Candidate would go all the way to the eastern part of Murim is—”
I yielded the floor to him.
“You first.”
“…Very well.”
He nodded and opened his mouth.
“…The eastern part of Murim is not a suitable place for a newly ascended Hero Candidate. Shandong, in particular, is the frontier of frontiers. It’s not a battlefield bordering the Demon King's Army, nor is it the domain of any renowned Constellation.”
“Well… so I’ve heard.”
“…Judging by your reaction, it doesn’t seem like you have business in the east… Did you perhaps take on the Guard the Train quest?”
“Oh. You knew right away.”
“…There must have been many other places calling for you, even without needing to take on such a quest.”
As expected.
J. J. knew that this purple border signified the top of the class.
No, perhaps it was only natural.
If my mory served right, he had personally seen the last Hero to be issued a purple-bordered dal.
He had no choice but to know what it ant.
I feigned ignorance, shrugging as I replied.
“Well, you’re right… The Guard the Train quest is just for show.”
“……”
“To be honest, the bigger reason I ca here was to et you… Jerry Junior.”
As I casually ntioned his na.
Silence ensued once more.
An ordinary person might have shown a flustered expression, but he maintained his usual poker face.
The only thing that had changed was.
Ssk—
The fact that he was once again stroking his eyebrow with the middle finger of his right hand.
Having finished his thoughts, he asked.
“…I don’t believe I’ve ever introduced myself.”
“Ah. Haven’t you?”
“…I thought you had mistaken for soone else… but it seems that’s not the case.”
…This was the crucial part.
I had to shatter his unique domain, shake him up, and seize the tempo for myself.
Shrug—
“I ca looking for you, alright.”
“……”
“The owner of the newly rising casino tower in the pleasure city and special economic zone of the Murim Empire’s western region, ‘Sichuan’.”
“……”
“The faceless Boss of the J. J. Family, which ranks third in the Sichuan mafia.”
“…Are you an assassin? You’ve done quite a bit of research-.”
I cut him off, pausing for a beat.
“Jerry ‘D’ Junior.”
Flinch—
“…What did you just say?”
I answered his wavering question, driving the point ho.
“Ah.”
“……”
“Jerry. Dracula. Junior.”
Grin—
“…Is that how I have to say it for you to understand?”
* * *
Jerry. Dracula. Junior.
The mont he heard those three syllables, uttered while pointing at him, his rapidly spinning mind felt as if it had been struck by a hamr and ground to a halt.
All he could do was.
‘Why?’
‘Why did that na co out of this wet-behind-the-ears rookie’s mouth?’
‘How?’
‘When did the 131st class even finish?’
‘Was sothing off from the very beginning?’
He could only hurl questions into the void that no one would answer.
His habitual way of thinking, of analyzing situations according to the five Ws and one H, was utterly powerless in this mont.
Grin—
The mysterious Hero Candidate nad ‘Seo U-jin’ curled his lips into a smile.
‘Ah.’
Jerry finally realized.
He had, at so point, lost his poker face and was frowning.
‘I’ve been completely reeled in.’
In just a few minutes.
No, counting only the actual conversation, in less than a minute, he had completely lost the personal tempo he had strictly maintained for decades.
Amidst a sense of bewildernt he hadn't felt in a long ti, all he could do was.
“…How.”
Helplessly pose a question to this enigmatic figure, whom he couldn't judge as friend or foe.
“Don’t worry. I took care of it beforehand, so those voyeuristic Constellations aren't watching… For now, I’m the only one who knows this fact.”
“…I think the part where ‘you’ know is precisely the problem.”
Shrug—
“A problem only becos a problem when you make it one.”
“…Do you know the aning behind that na?”
“Of course.”
To Jerry’s probing question, U-jin maintained his smile and continued.
“Count Dracula.”
“……”
“The head of the Vampire Clan who once held the rank of Count in the Demon King's Army, and a traitor to the beastkin. It ans you are a direct descendant of that Dracula family.”
“……”
As U-jin's answer flowed like water, Jerry added with a sense of futility.
“…For a newly-ascended Hero Candidate, you seem to know far too much.”
“Well, that may be true… but you know better than anyone. There’s no one in this world without secrets.”
“……”
“Just think of it like that.”
Jerry, or rather ‘Jerry Dracula Junior’, was currently hiding his family na and living under the identity of J. J. within the territory of The Order's Allied Forces.
The reason was simple.
The na ‘Dracula’ was not welco anywhere.
“…It seems my secret has just vanished.”
“Not at all.”
Pfft—
“……”
“It didn’t vanish. It just beca a secret between the two of us.”
* * *
…About a century ago.
When ‘Count Dracula’, the focal point of the ‘Vampire Clan’, died, the Vampire Clan’s standing within the Demon King's Allied Forces grew increasingly ambiguous.
The fatal risks of an unjust background—having originally belonged to The Order's Allied Forces—and the absence of a leader.
Under their pitiful position, which could not be restored unless Count Dracula returned from the dead.
The Vampire Clan was eventually pushed to the very front lines of the War against Demons.
As with any war.
The vanguard is always where the most casualties occur.
After suffering damage on the level of racial annihilation from repeated deploynts to the front lines, the Vampire Clan finally t its end at the hands of vampire hunters who despised them and scoured the continent.
Therefore.
From the perspective of Jerry Dracula, the sole survivor of an exterminated clan, he could neither rely on the Demon King's Army nor could he, after having betrayed them, now extend a hand to The Order's Allied Forces.
In the end, the best thod he could choose was to launder his identity and live hidden among ordinary people.
The new identity thus created for Jerry Dracula Junior.
Was that of ‘J. J.’, the faceless boss of the ‘J. J. Family’, a casino cartel ranked among the top three in the pleasure city of Sichuan in the western Murim Empire.
“……”
Completely cornered, Jerry asked U-jin.
“…What do you want? Money?”
How he found out was no longer important.
Now that his information had been so perfectly exposed, there was no way to do anything about it, even if he learned how.
There was only one thing Jerry could do.
Buy ti by eting his demands.
…And, though it was a sha, a big sha, to throw away everything he had built, to look for a chance to launder his identity once more.
That was Jerry’s only move to escape this predicant.
“Partner.”
“……?”
However.
“An intermittent collaborative relationship based on a mutually complentary business model… is what you called it.”
At U-jin’s unexpected reply, Jerry’s thoughts once again ca to a halt.
“…Is this a joke?”
“Do I look like it?”
“…On the off chance, I considered the possibility that I was failing to understand your high-brow humor.”
Shrug—
“Sorry, but I don’t think so.”
“……”
“Unfortunately, my situation isn’t leisurely enough to be cracking jokes.”
“…This is a proposition I cannot understand.”
…From Jerry’s perspective, it was only natural that he couldn’t accept U-jin’s proposal.
In this situation, anyone could see that U-jin had him by the throat.
And it was a powerful weakness, one that ant he would have to at least pretend to die if told to.
“…A partner, you say.”
There was no precedent, as the last of them was known to have died out long ago, but if the survival of the last vampire…
And the fact that he was a direct descendant of the Count Dracula, were to be reported to The Order, Jerry’s mind conjured up two likely outcos.
Execution.
Or imprisonnt in an exorcism prison.
No… he would be lucky if it were one of those.
If not, an end of being slowly torn to shreds by the horrific hands of vampire hunters would likely be waiting for him.
Therefore.
…There was no way Jerry could understand the ulterior motive of U-jin, who was demanding a horizontal relationship like a ‘partner’ despite having such a strong grip on his neck.
“What I need is a ‘partner’ with the sa goal. The things I’m planning to do are a bit dangerous, so I can’t work with a subordinate or a friend who might backstab the mont the situation changes.”
“…If it’s dangerous work, then I must also decline.”
Grin—
“Why don’t you at least hear out?”
“……”
“I think it’ll be an offer you can’t refuse.”
Jerry repeated U-jin’s words.
“…An offer I can’t refuse.”
“……”
“…I see.”
As Jerry muttered in a tone of half-acceptance.
U-jin fiddled with his right earring and said casually.
“Black Magic.”
“……!”
“To be precise… reviving your Dracula family’s traditional Blood Demon Art. That’s my proposal.”
Silence—
Their eyes t, and silence flowed between the two.
U-jin rolled up the shirt covering his forearm and murmured.
“…If you get the gist, then bite here.”
“……”
“Don’t make it hurt.”
Jerry’s brow furrowed once more.
…It was the second ti in decades.
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