Forsaken Priest of the Hero's Party-Chapter 43: Viscount Layton

Hm? Oh, he’s quite a handsome person. Are all vampires like that?

That’s what I thought as I looked at the smiling nobleman.

Already after sunset, he took off his thick coat and came to us, enjoying the cool night breeze. Grinning, he approached us but then flinched in surprise upon seeing Roka.

“The sun’s...”

Fear briefly froze on his expression before disappearing.

It was because I hid Roka, who is nothing short of a terrifying living weapon to vampires, behind me. Only then did the young nobleman let out an embarrassed laugh.

“Ah, this, I apologize. I was momentarily flustered, so...”

Just as there are nobles and commoners among humans, vampires also have their own class system. At the very top are the true ancestors. Next in the hierarchy are the noble-class lords. And the rest are the lower vampire casts.

The gentleman in front of us didn’t seem to be of a lower class in any way.

“I am Layton Valencia, a lord-class vampire serving Duchess Vlad Shmira.  As it may be an unfamiliar rank to humans, you may also call me Viscount Layton.”

Indeed, Mr. Layton seems to be a nobleman by both vampire and human standards.

The problem is that the sun is impartial to all of us regardless of such class distinctions.

By the way, since vampires have their surnames and given names reversed, does that mean his given name is Valencia and his surname is Layton?

As I had that question, Mr. Layton answered with a smile.

“Having the surname and given name reversed is a privilege of the true ancestors. Vampires below the rank of lord do not have a naming method different from yours. My given name is Layton and my surname is Valencia.”

I thought it was a peculiar method, but it turns out only the head of the clan does that.

As I was newly feeling the mystique of a different race’s culture, he slightly backed away while looking at Roka.

“And I would appreciate it if the young wolf lady over there could keep some distance. Ah! Please don’t misunderstand. Some of my kin do not like the taste of beastmen’s blood, but I do not discriminate against beastmen. It’s just that, well, the sun’s magic power that the young lady possesses is truly dangerous to us.”

Even if they are nobles, they do not withstand the sun well, and it’s no different even for the queen. Mr. Layton said so.

“So sometimes I envy you humans. I have never seen the thing called the sun. To us who have to flee to the shadows just by seeing sunlight, the sun is an unknown entity. I still don’t know what it looks like.”

He has seen it in pictures. He has heard of it through oral traditions.

But he has never seen the real sun with his own eyes.

If the sun is the source of light and heat and an object of reverence to us, it is an object of fear and the unknown to vampires. Mr. Layton briefly looked at Roka with strange eyes before shifting his gaze.

“Might you be Her Highness Princess Ardein? I pay my respects to Your Highness. Please forgive my disloyalty in doubting Your Highness, even if briefly.”

Perhaps it’s because he is a viscount of the empire despite being a vampire?

Upon seeing the princess, Mr. Layton knelt down and bowed his head. Sister Ardein showed a glint in her eyes and retorted.

“Do you have a reason to be certain that I am Ardein?”

“I am sensitive to the scent of blood even among my kin. How could I not recognize the fragrance of the golden bloodline? The blood of dragons does not easily become muddled even when mixed with human blood, and it has been uniquely passed down for a long time. Your Highness, please forgive me for momentarily thinking you could be an impostor.”

“It doesn’t matter. The empire is not so indiscreet as to call that disloyalty.”

“You are a bit different from what I’ve heard...”

Mr. Layton stood up with a look of surprise, and his gaze next turned to me.

I thought it would quickly pass over, but it lingered unexpectedly long. I could feel Roka’s hand gripping my clothes tighten.

“You don’t need to look at me with such eyes. Navy blue is not my preference.”

Did Roka glare at him? Mr. Layton spread his palms and waved them.

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

“I don’t know about others, but it’s really scary when the young lady stares like that. I may be much stronger than the young lady, but if I accidentally get exposed to the sun’s magic power... instant death.”

“Hmm, I know the world is vast, there are many races, and each has diverse characteristics, but...”

Having seen Mr. Hans’ hand turn to ash with my own eyes, I can fully understand that they are extremely vulnerable to the sun. However, no matter what, it was hard to comprehend.

No matter how all things in the world have compatibility with each other, the relationship between vampires and the sun didn’t feel natural no matter how I thought about it.

“I didn’t know vampires were this weak to the sun. I thought sunlight only weakened your strength to some degree.”

“That would be the case. If it becomes known that we are deathly allergic to the sun, the safety of our race would be endangered. Spreading fake information containing some truth was also a countermeasure to protect us.”

Mr. Layton looked at me and politely bowed his head as he spoke.

“You must be the priest who healed our soldier. Now, I’ve kept the guests standing for too long. Let’s all get in the carriage first. It may be shabby, but it’s still the carriage with the best ride in the territory. It’s also pulled by the territory’s specialty, blood horses.”

The large and spacious carriage had room to spare even with all five of us riding. There was enough room for everyone to sit comfortably, but Roka and Her Highness sat tightly on either side of me. Before I could say anything about whether we really needed to sit like this, Her Highness whispered in a low voice.

“Kyle. I’ll call you Kyle for now since the vampires are here. Will Kyle also call me Your Highness for now?”

“Your Highness. There seems to be no need to stick together like this...?”

“No, we must stick together. A priest who can heal vampires is not as simple a matter as you think. It wouldn’t be strange if the story of Kyle has already reached the ears of Duchess Shmira.”

“You don’t know how blatantly that man was staring at you earlier, Master.”

Roka chimed in as well. The child clung tightly to one of my arms and became smug like a guard dog.

Hey, it seems like you’re the one making me uncomfortable.

“I’ll be disappointed if you’re that wary, haha.”

Mr. Layton entered the carriage and took off his hat, placing it beside him. Then he sat across from us and shouted for departure. The coachman answered affirmatively, and soon the carriage began to move.

Not long after the carriage started, Mr. Layton grinned.

Not at the beauty Her Highness, nor at the pretty girl Roka, but deliberately looking at me.

“Priest, or even the young lady over there. If you’re bored, would you like to solve a riddle?”

No one particularly said they were bored, but it was awkward to interrupt.

It was because Mr. Layton began to speak very passionately, leading the conversation.

“What do you think is the most powerful thing in this world?”

“Grimudo.”

Her Highness snorted and answered immediately.

“I don’t know why you’re asking such a thing.”

“Haha, but that’s not the case. Grimudo may be stronger than all of us combined, but can he boast that he is stronger than the sun in the sky? Can Grimudo’s power extinguish that sun that brightly illuminates the day?”

“Then, is the answer time?”

Something stronger than the sun. It would probably be either a stronger star or time. Even stars have a lifespan just like us.

It’s just that they are allowed much more time than us.

“Time. Indeed, time is definitely one of the most powerful things in the world. But even that time is ultimately one of the laws of the universe.”

“Laws...?”

“Yes, young lady. The laws of the universe. Absolute laws that are incomparable to the laws we make, and that no one residing in the universe can escape.”

After a brief pause, he slowly muttered.

“In front of that overwhelmingly chilling power, everything in the world is meaningless. When our ancestors took over the continent, thought of themselves as rulers, and believed they had conquered everything in the world...”

“The laws of the universe changed. It was truly the first time. No matter how strong any vampire was, they could not escape it. After all, any of us are ultimately residents living in this universe.”

The woman beside me retorted as if saying why he was telling a story everyone knew.

“I know that you vampires were cursed by the ancient gods.”

Her Highness may know, but this is the first I’ve heard of it. A curse from the ancient gods. Weren’t the ancient gods beings that only appeared in stories?

“And that the ancient gods, the laws of the universe themselves, became enraged and inserted a new clause into their being, and as a result, their ego was annihilated.”

Apparently not.

“Thanks to that, we went from being the Rulers of the continent to scared bats. Actually, even so, I don’t really understand. No matter how glorious the past long before I was born was, what does it have to do with me? I don’t think vampires need to conquer the continent again.”

I finally understood why Mr. Layton had been consistently looking at me.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he had ‘That’ sort of interest in me.

“But isn’t that too much? The sins of our distant ancestors, whom we haven’t even seen the bones of, are being passed down to us who have nothing to do with it.”

“Is the reason you’re telling me this because you want me to solve that problem?”

“Priest. I’ll ask you straightforwardly. I can’t force you, but I hope you’ll tell me the truth.”

His smile completely faded for the first time.

As if to have a serious conversation, he took a deep breath before speaking.

“The only thing that can bypass the laws of the universe is the same law. Is the one you serve perhaps an ancient god?”

I couldn’t answer that question. Because I didn’t actually know if ancient gods really existed. Weren’t they just beings in stories?

My Lord, an ancient god?

Were ancient gods even a separate classification in the first place?

I didn’t know about that, and I didn’t know about the Lord either, so there was no way I could answer. I was silent for a moment, then looked at Mr. Layton and asked.

“What exactly does the term ‘ancient gods’ refer to?”

“What?”

Even though it’s embarrassing that I, a member of the hero’s party, don’t know this knowledge, it would be better to ask than to answer on my own without knowing anything.