99th vampire princess ~The last vampire~ - Chapter Pr

PROLOGUE: A JOYOUS HAPPY ENDING

This is a story I heard from a friend of a friend.

Come on, please don’t give me that look, as if you’re already doubting what I’m about to say. It’s a true story, but nobody believes me. Either way, I just want someone to listen to my tale.

Yes, thank you. I can always trust cute girls like you to be good listeners.

No no, please wait. I wasn’t trying to pick you up. I honestly wasn’t.

I promise, I don’t have any ulterior motives.

It might be rude of me to imply that a cute girl like you would fall for someone with ulterior motives, but let’s just leave it at that.

Alright, 50%. Please listen to 50% of my tale.

Yes yes, thank you. So, shall we head over to that cafe over there?

And let me have your attention from after we’ve ordered, until it’s time to pay the bill.

…Phew. Alright.

What I want to tell you about, are ‘urban legends’.

Oh, has that caught your interest?

That’s right. It goes by many names, such as ‘folklore’, ‘bedtime stories’, and even ‘ghost stories’.

Hmm, are you really interested now?

I guess girls really love such occult stories.

So, urban legends.

Usually, these tales are fabricated by someone, or are just a retelling of old stories with a modern twist.

For example, do you know the urban legend about ‘Mary-san’s doll’?

It’s a creepy story about a phone call that ends with the iconic line ‘Hello, it’s me. I’m right behind you’.

That story was just a retelling of a tale from years ago, titled ‘Riko-chan’s phone call’.

When you called the number of a certain company in Japan, you would hear the voicemail recording of the company’s mascot Riko-chan. ‘Hello, I am Riko-chan! Thanks for calling!’ she would say.

Basically, the story was about a girl who threw away her Riko-chan doll, and received a phone call with the message, ‘Hello, this is Riko-chan. Why did you throw me away? I’m coming to kill you now.”

This was how urban legends were reborn and retold through the generations.

And today, I’d like to tell you the legend of the ‘vampire’.

Hmm? Vampires aren’t urban legends, you say?

Well, in reality, vampires do not exist. The stories were born when rumors spread about an eccentric person, that they were devils who needed to drink human blood to survive.

Maybe there are people who enjoy drinking the blood of some creatures. Anyway, those people just have an unusual habit; it’s not enough grounds to call them monsters.

However, those stories spread far and wide, and more details were added with each retelling, to the extent that vampires have evolved to become infamous and well-known monsters.

In short, they started as nothing but rumors, but gained a real existence as time passed.

And so, actually… There was a ‘vampire’ living in this very city!

Oh… Well, it’s easy to understand why you don’t believe me, but there’s no way I’ll deny it, because it is true.

Alright, 5 minutes have passed. So, what do you think? Would you like to hear the rest of the story?

Haha, you’re right. Since we’ve ordered coffee, you’ll listen to me until you’ve finished your drink. Yes, thank you.

So, about the vampire living in this city…

Well, it’s actually dead now!

And we’ll all live happily ever after.

What? Was that a letdown?

Oh, I see. You want to hear all the details.

Will you spare the time to listen to the whole story?

Yes, OK.

Well, I’ll begin now, so please listen closely.

This is the story about a useless boy and a cute vampire who lived in this city.

First,— yes.

Let me start with the story of the ‘One-man hide-and-seek’.