<Chapter 16>

Thwack!

Just in time, my arm wedged between Valentin and Ardishu.

Valentin’s head slammed into the notebook I had thrust forward like a shield. The clouded look in his eyes cleared.

He’s okay. I let out a breath of relief.

“Teacher! Teacherrrr!”

Ardishu flung herself into my arms, her face pale with fear.

“He—he tried to bite my neck! He said my blood looks… delicious!”

Right… Valentin is a vampire.

The elves and dragons interacted with each other often enough, so they usually got along fine. But once a vampire joined the mix, everything got complicated.

“You were really scared, huh? But it’s okay now. Why don’t you read a storybook for a bit? I’m going to talk to Valentin.”

“Be careful, Teacher. He might go for your neck next.”

“Don’t worry. I’m a grown-up, remember?”

I gently soothed the trembling Ardishu and turned to Valentin.

He picked up the notebook from the floor and held it out to me.

“Returning teacher’s notebook.”

“Thank you.”

Valentin watched my face closely. He knew he’d done something wrong, though he clearly didn’t understand what it was.

“Valentin. You can’t drink someone’s blood without their permission.”

“…If I get permission, it’s allowed?”

I was briefly at a loss for words. That would mean if Ardishu had said yes, thinking it was a joke, then it would’ve been okay?

But saying ‘you absolutely must not drink blood’ didn’t feel right either… I mean, he is a vampire.

“Hmm. Let’s put a pin in that question for now.”

Correction: the real reason for this chaos is my own lack of understanding about other species.

“Everyone, listen up.”

Clap!

I clapped my hands, gathering the children’s attention.

“We all come from different races, so we need to learn about each other. Tomorrow, when you present your block houses, let’s also share about your own species.”

So, I added with a raised voice,

“Tomorrow, you get to be the teacher.”

* * *

The next day.

The kids invited everyone to their own block houses.

Ardishu started first.

“T-this is my house…”

She hadn’t built tall walls. Instead, she’d used soft paper brick blocks to divide sections neatly.

A cozy blanket covered the floor like a carpet, and in one corner sat a stuffed animal from home.

“Wow, it feels so warm and comfy in here! I brought a housewarming gift, by the way.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

Paul and I handed our gifts to Ardishu. Mine was a handmade flower crown.

When the colorful flowers sat atop her silver hair, she looked even more radiant.

“……”

But Valentin hesitated by the entrance, making no move to enter.

Was he feeling guilty for what happened yesterday?

“Ardishu, seems like one of your guests hasn’t come in yet.”

“Hey… why aren’t you coming in?”

She looked at Valentin curiously. After a bit of fidgeting, he finally spoke.

“Cannot enter without an invitation.”

“Why?”

“It is a rule.”

And the moment he stepped into Ardishu’s area—

“Khoff!”

He coughed violently, blood dribbling from his mouth.

“V-Valentin!”

I rushed over to him in alarm.

“Vampires must be invited into someone’s house before entering.”

“A rule… like avoiding sunlight or needing to drink blood?”

“Correct.”

I quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from his lips with a sigh.

‘If only I’d known ahead of time.’

Vampires apparently had more complicated rules than I’d expected.

“Valentin. I invite you into my home.”

“Thank you for the invitation.”

For some reason, that reply felt familiar.

When he first arrived at the daycare, hadn’t he said the same thing? Thank you for the invitation.

That formal ‘admission notice’ must’ve served as an invitation for him.

After the commotion settled, we all gathered in Ardishu’s house. I made sure the kids didn’t knock over the block walls.

“Elves… live on top of the World Tree… and, um, elf houses are really quiet.”

Ardishu seemed to get nervous while presenting.

‘I’d better help her out.’

To ease her nerves, I raised my hand and asked,

“What happens if you fall from the tree? Teacher’s scared of heights.”

“I-it’s okay! Elves are great at climbing trees. If we slip, we just grab the trunk and climb back up, and, um…”

I wasn’t sure what the World Tree looked like, but it was still amazing to imagine a house up in a tree. I couldn’t even picture it properly.

“That’s incredible. Living way up high like that.”

“I was born and raised there, so… actually, it feels a little weird to come down to daycare.”

As the presentation turned into more of a conversation with me, her voice started to lose its tremble.

“The World Tree is super special. It was born alongside the world, and it’s full of powerful energy. Its leaves are said to be the origin of all medicine.”

It sounded like something out of a fairytale.

“Why do you live in a tree though? Are you monkeys?”

Paul cut in with a teasing grin.

“Elves are guardians of nature. We live there to protect the World Tree.”

Maybe it was because she was playing ‘teacher’ today, but Ardishu spoke with surprising authority.

“Why do elves not drink blood?”

“U-um… I think it just doesn’t taste good?”

At that, Valentin nodded in understanding.

After the explanation, Valentin stepped forward with his housewarming gift, a paper necklace.

“This is garlic. If dangerous vampire appears, this beats them.”

Looking closer, the paper actually had garlic drawn on it.

A vampire teaching others how to defeat vampires…

‘He only knows about his own kind, so that must be why he thought of that.’

Valentin had clearly put thought into his gift.

“Thank you. Now I’ll be safe if a vampire suddenly tries to bite my neck.”

Ardishu said with a smile, putting on the paper necklace.

Next was Valentin’s house.

He’d built it tall with waffle blocks, looking almost like a fortified tomb.

“I learned it from my father. Vampires live underground. Because of the peace treaty, we can’t drink the blood of other species. That’s why we’re weaker.”

Not drinking blood sounded like a serious weakness for a vampire.

“So what do you eat now? Rice?”

Paul asked bluntly.

“We drink animal blood. We don’t like most food.”

“I see. So vampires are putting in that kind of effort for the sake of peace.”

“Teacher Sora’s words are correct.”

Valentin puffed up proudly, pleased someone appreciated his species’ efforts.

Ardishu hesitated, then raised her hand.

“I asked my big brother yesterday… is it true vampires can turn into bats?”

“Yes, they can.”

Valentin clenched his fists and closed his eyes. With a poof, he transformed into a bat…

“…But still can’t fly.”

A teeny-tiny baby bat!

“So cuuuute…!”

I clamped my hands over my mouth. The fuzzy little bat had bright, curious eyes.

“Tch. That’s nothing. I can turn into a huge dragon!”

“Dragon turning into dragon is obvious.”

It was a fair point, and I almost burst out laughing. Thank goodness I held it in before Paul noticed.

Last was Paul’s house.

“Hey. You’re invited too. Come in.”

Paul muttered at Valentin with a slight glare.

‘Wow, he’s really taking this seriously.’

Paul had stacked his blocks into a round igloo shape. It even had a ceiling and walls, which was impressive for something he built on his own.

There wasn’t room for all of us inside, so I set Ardishu on my lap.

“Everybody knows about the mighty dragons, right? Dragons are the strongest race! We’re also the closest to Almighty God Serenity! That’s why we led the Holy Relic summoning ritual!”

Paul rattled off his speech in one breath. He must’ve memorized it for this moment.

‘So the summoning ritual was led by the dragons.’

That explained why the black dragon approached me back then.

‘If something had gone wrong, the blame would’ve fallen on the dragons. Humanity had to contribute to peace and prove our value as a holy relic.’

Now I understood why they’d stepped in to help.

“Dragons don’t die easily either. We can live for a thousand, even ten thousand years!”

Ardishu and Valentin gasped in awe.

“Elves live around 2,000 years, vampires about 1,500, right?”

Even I couldn’t help but whisper, “Wow…”

I knew the numbers, but hearing them out loud made the gap between human lifespan and theirs feel enormous.

“Humans don’t live that long, huh?”

“Nope. So?”

“Then wait a bit. I’ll give you a dragon heart! Then you can live forever! A dragon heart is basically, uh, a magical heart full of dragon power—”

Before I could explain why I couldn’t accept that, another comment caught my attention more.

“How long is ‘a bit’?”

“Like, 200 years! Just hang in there for 200 years!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘Hang in there’? That’s such a dragon thing to say.

“Hmm, that might be tough.”

“Why?”

“Humans only live about 100 years, tops. And I’m already twenty-two—”

“S-so before my human form even grows up as tall as you… you’ll be gone?”

Paul looked genuinely shocked.

He probably knew it in his head. Everyone knew humans had short lifespans.

But this must’ve been the first time it hit him for real.
 

<To be continued>

Join the GS Discord to stay updated on the latest chapter releases:

https://discord.gg/PRZEAJZE3J