Chapter 3 - I Want My Daughter to be Free
Lydia Grünewald was a commoner's daughter who lived in Burt, the largest city on the continent of Teilhena.
This world, Red Planet, was watched over by the brilliance of the sun and the blue moon Eden. In mythology, the gods once boarded a divine ship and landed on this planet from Eden. Then, with their miraculous power, they transformed this planet, which was once uninhabitable, into a habitable planet. The gods also unleashed several living creatures that they had brought from Eden onto this planet, and over the years, their numbers continued to increase. Thus, the world called Red Planet was created.
The creatures called ‘falsch’, which were said to be modeled after the gods, had built a civilization on this planet, and vampire was one of them. Falsch was divided into several species due to some minor differences. Falsch with animal features was called 'schimäre, and falsch with bird features was called 'vogel'. There were also elves who were skilled in magic, and vampires who had the appearance closest to gods, but the life cycle farthest from them. These four species were called the Four Great Falsch, and divided the world into four parts.
Lydia was was the epitome of an ordinary woman among the vampires. Except her beautiful face, she had no other redeeming qualities. She was pretty weak that she could only crush an apple with her bare hand at best, and she had never lifted anything heavier than 100 kilograms since she was born. Even if she ran at full speed, she could never run 100 meters under 8 seconds. If it wasn’t bad enough, it was her beauty that brought her misfortune. One day, she happened to catch the eye of Bernhard Grünewald, who was visiting the town, and she was ordered to be his night companion.
To be honest, I didn't like him at all and I wanted to refuse. However, the other party was the lord. I don't know what he would do if I disobeyed him.
But the worst thing was that I ended up pregnant with his child during that one encounter. I don't know how many times I cursed him in my mind, saying; at least use a contraception, dammit!
Thus, Lydia ended up as Bernhard's concubine, but he didn’t treat her well at all. She was given a house that was only a mansion in name, isolated there, and only had one maid to serve her.
I asked for at least a two-storey mansion with a pool and a large bath, but he completely ignored me. Dammit!
Even though I've told him that I wanted to eat medium rare steak made from the highest quality beef every day, he didn’t prepare it every day. Furthermore, the steak was always cooked well done for some reason.
I got fed up and told him that he didn't need to come anymore, and he really stopped coming. That useless man!
This rather strong-willed and brazen woman had a daughter. Her name was Mercedes, and even putting aside her parental bias, she was a lovely girl who looked just like her.
I'm so glad that my genes did their best. I would have cried if she had been born with a tough face like my husband.
My daughter was a pretty normal cute girl until she was about five years old, but from that age on, she started to show intelligence that was unusual for a child. Perhaps she had already understood the situation she found herself in.
She also started reading books in the study every day after a certain point, and even though she said she was going to play in the garden, I knew that she actually went to the nearby mountain.
I mean, without even pretending to play, she went out to the garden and then ran off somewhere with a big rock on her back five seconds later. Even an idiot would notice her. At least make an effort to hide it.
The rock Mercedes was carrying got bigger every day, and by the time she was nine years old, she was running with a boulder measuring about 10 meters on her back.
Like I said, make an effort to hide it at least!
Lydia didn't know if Mercedes was making a preparation to escape from her current situation, or maybe she had another goal in her mind. But whenever she secretly checked the study room after Mercedes visited, there was always a book about Seekers on the desk. Because of that, when Mercedes turned ten and told her something, Lydia wasn’t particularly surprised.
"Mother, I'm going to become a Seeker." (Mercedes)
"Okay." (Lydia)
Mercedes said this with a look of once-in-a-lifetime determination while leaking magical power that would make even an adult vampire faint. However, for Lydia, it was a future that she had expected. This day has finally come at last --- that was all she could think about.
A ten-year-old girl being a Seeker. Of course, there would be dangers, and any normal parent would have stopped her. However, Lydia knew that Mercedes had a talent for fighting. Or rather, without any bias, she was convinced that her daughter was a genius.
It's not as strong as wild beast's, but vampires have what could be called a sense of smell to sniff out the strong. This tells me that my daughter is a bad news.
At the age of ten, she already possesses the aura of a warrior. No, I've actually felt that way for quite some time now, so it's nothing new. That's why I want her to make an effort to hide it at least.
"Umm, are you not going to stop me...?" (Mercedes)
"If you were a normal girl, I would have stopped you. However, I can tell that you've gotten incredibly strong. So, as long as you don't do anything reckless, you can do as you like." (Lydia)
To Mercedes, who seemed taken aback, Lydia answered nonchalantly while sipping her coffee. It was an astonishingly permissive attitude. Or perhaps it just showed how much she trusted her daughter.
Lydia put her hand on her daughter's head and smiled softly.
"I'm that fucking bastard's.... I mean, I'm someone who can't life freely because of the circumstance, but you are different. You are free to live as you please. That is my wish as your mother." (Lydia)
I don't know what my daughter is aiming in life, but I have no intention of being her shackle. I should be the only one trapped in this rotten cage. I want her to be able to fly more freely in the sky. That's my greatest wish.
*****
Mercedes had expected that her mother would be against it because she was only ten years old, so she was very surprised when her mother gave her blessing readily.
Oh well, I should consider it as a happy miscalculation.
Mercedes immediately began to make some preparations to take her first step as a Seeker.
Seeker are people who explore and unravel hidden places and dungeons. Of course, that work will require staying in the same place for days, weeks, or even months or years.
I don't want to accept such a high-level job at the beginning, and they probably won't let a newbie to take it to begin with. However, I should at least be prepared for it.
First of all, I will need food that can be stored for a long time. Drinks will also be essential. Since I will be going to many different places, I will need clothes that are suitable for exploration.
Mercedes' current clothes weren't luxurious, but they were still clothes with a lot of frills that commoners wouldn't normally wear. It was something similar to the Norwegian traditional costume --- Bunad, from her previous life.
I need pants instead of a skirt, and it would be better if it's something with a simple design. For weapons.... I'm confident that I can fight reasonably well even barehanded, but I have no one to compare myself with. I have been training hard for the past five years, but there's a possibility that I am very weak compared to other vampires.
There’s no helping it, I guess I'll start with just the clothes on my back.
Mercedes made up her mind and left the mansion.
"I'm off, Mother." (Mercedes)
"Take care." (Lydia)
With her mother cheering her on, Mercedes went outside and leapt to a stop in the air. It was her original magic called Befreien. By reducing the gravity affecting her body, she could increase her movement speed, and if she reduced it even further, she would be able to float in the air like this. However, it should be noted that if the gravity were completely eliminated, there was a possibility that she would simply fly out of the atmosphere.
Mercedes, who was in a low-gravity state, then kicked the air hard to propel her body forward.
Flying freely in the sky like a bird.... It's a dream that mankind have had ever since time immemorial. There are many ways to virtually make this dream come true, such as airplanes and helicopters. Nevertheless, they were still dreaming to fly freely in the sky with their own body.
Mercedes' cheeks loosened slightly at the fact that her wish had come true in this way. Then, as she started to lose speed, she kicked the air once more to accelerate.
Even though I'm in a state of almost zero gravity, this is not outer space, so there's air resistance. If I don't give my body a push regularly like this, it will gradually lose speed before finally coming to a complete stop.
After repeating this several times, Mercedes finally arrived at the capital. The mansion where Mercedes and her mothers lived was located far from the capital. Maybe Bernhard wanted to keep them away from the public eye, so he made them lived in such a place. Of course, Bernhard himself built a large mansion like a castle in the capital and lived there with her legal wife and children.
Oh well, I don't care about my father, whose face I don't even know.
Mercedes was curious about the capital, which she was seeing for the first time, but she didn't show it by looking around excitedly like a tourist. With a composed attitude, she walked down the street while calmly observing her surroundings. The time was midnight, the most active time of the day in the capital. The moonlight was illuminating the dark night, and people were mingling in the streets.
The level of civilization in this world seems to be around the medieval era.... no, it's a little more advanced than that.
None of the buildings lining the streets are flashy or assertive, but if you look closely, you can see that they are built with high-quality construction techniques.
The roads are paved with stone, making it easy for people to walk, and the buildings are well-balanced so as not to ruin the scenery.
Out on the wide streets, people who look like merchants are setting up stalls, and some are pulling what look like food carts.
However, Mercedes felt that there was something off about this scenery for some reason.
Somehow, this medieval streetscape doesn’t feel right to me. I couldn’t help but think that it’s like something recreated with modern technology from the 21st century.
All the buildings are so beautiful. Of course, they have deteriorated from years of use, and some buildings are dirty, but that's not the problem. Everything is just too perfect. It's as if I'm inside a medieval era theme park.
In terms of hygiene, it's not bad either. There is no filth on the streets and I also don't see much trash. Perhaps I should consider it as the convenient parts of the fantasy world that looks like it's set in the medieval era, but.... I still can't shake the feeling that something is off.
“I wonder if it's because I have memories of living in modern Japan....” (Mercedes)
Let's stop overthinking things. I should accept what is in front of me now. Maybe it's bit strange, but that is just how the world I live in.
Mercedes was actually very happy with the fact that the capital was clean. She didn't want to walk around the streets full of filth, after all.
For now, let's take a quick walk around the capital. From what I can see, it's a nice place that's easy to live in.
The buildings in the residential area are clean, and there's something like a park nearby. There are shops lined up in what appears to be a commercial district, and I even spotted a place that looks like a public bath.
Mercedes was impressed by the noble-looking women she saw occasionally, dressed in something similar to the German national costume, Dirndl.
"Germany.... no, Japan? This city seems to have been built by the people from these two countries by working together as they pleased. I wonder what kind of development leads to this." (Mercedes)
The development of civilization is influenced by the characteristics of the land, climate, and environment. If you dig deep into it, you will find that there is a reason for most things. However, this city seems a little distorted. Of course, you can say that it's just my imagination.
After going around the city, Mercedes had memorized the locations of most of the stores she would need in the future.
I don't have any money on me right now, so I won't stop by. However, I'm sure I'll have to go there someday.
"Now then, shall we go to the Seeker guild?" (Mercedes)
Mercedes decided that she had enough sightseeing and headed towards her main destination.