Chapter 5
The first wedding dress in five years
“I object to this marriage,” I shouted, pushing open a large set of doors.
I’d finally reached the Vampire’s fortress—the Nightless Castle.
The room in front of me looked like a church sanctuary, and I walked up the red carpet running down the aisle.
I never imagined I’d say something like that, but maybe all guys eventually end up in this sort of situation.
About twenty meters away, a lone man stood at the altar: the Vampire, Scarlet. He wore a white jacket that looked a little like a tuxedo. Beside him was a coffin, and even from a distance, I could tell Siesta was inside it, wearing a wedding dress.
A month after Scarlet had taken Siesta, and two weeks after Natsunagi and I had crashed the Federation Government’s conference, we’d finally made it here.
“An extremely drab man has come to steal my bride, I see.” The vampire groom’s lips curved up at the corners.
“This sort of role is usually played by an unsophisticated sort of protagonist.”
“Ha! A drama with a cheap script.” Scarlet turned to the coffin and leaned down, getting closer to the sleeping Siesta. “You’re merely doing what’s convenient for you and forcing it onto her. You aren’t giving any thought whatsoever to my bride’s feelings.”
“I know how Siesta feels.” Scarlet had been reaching toward Siesta, but at that, his hand froze in midair. “She thinks being with you is boring.”
Just seeing her face told me as much. She’d smiled a lot more than this when she’d worn a wedding dress standing beside me, five years ago.
Scarlet snorted, straightening up again. “How did you reach this place?”
We’d moved on from pleasantries. He wanted to know how I’d made it past the battlefield to the Nightless Castle. The Federation Government forces and the undead soldiers should have been fighting throughout the area.
“I negotiated with the government and got them to temporarily stop their attack. The artillery should be quiet for a while.”
“I see. True; my forces have orders not to initiate any unnecessary attacks. If the enemy has withdrawn, a ceasefire would naturally occur. However…” Scarlet narrowed his gold eyes. “I can’t imagine my comrades would simply allow you to enter the castle.”
He had a point. If I’d shown up without a plan, the undead probably would have driven me away at the gate.
“What have you done with that detective girl? No—you didn’t…”
“Good instincts. That’s right: Natsunagi’s keeping the undead in check using her skills of persuasion.”
Thanks to that, I’d managed to get into the Nightless Castle.
“Impossible.” Scarlet grimaced. “They are dead soldiers who merely keep fighting. They’ve forgotten their instincts from their past life. I made sure of that when I resurrected them. There will be no miracles like the one the Magical Girl received.”
…He was right. We hadn’t been able to appeal to the instincts of the undead soldiers, keeping them pinned down by granting their wishes. But there was another way.
“Undead who resurrect without their instincts have nothing to base their actions on. That’s probably why they listened to you, their master. How long has it been since they were born, though?”
It had been a month since Scarlet had launched his resistance against the Federation Government, and he’d told us that he’d dispatched them here as soldiers even before that. In other words…
“Don’t you think that’s enough time for the undead to evolve a new sense of self?”
“Ridiculous. Are you saying they’ve begun to develop free will?”
“I don’t think it’s that strange.”
Just as will turned into action, and action became habit, habit eventually created new will. The undead had begun to question their habit of constantly fighting and had developed wills of their own—a sense of self.
“You said so yourself once. That human instinct, or consciousness, must dwell in every fragment of their DNA. You told us that was why the undead came back with their instincts intact. The will of living things is just that tenacious. So tenacious that even death can’t erase it.”
Now that they’d retaken their wills, the undead had begun to think to themselves:
Maybe there’s no reason for us to fight.
“That’s how our Ace Detective managed to talk them around. She’s still at it.”
Even the dead could understand Natsunagi’s word-soul. Even a soft whisper would reach them across the battlefield.
And for the moment, the war had ceased.
“Give back Siesta.”
So, right here and now, I’d carry out the job only I could do.
“Are you sure that’s what you want? My blood has been protecting the Daydream’s heart.”
“If that was all you were doing. But I know you’ve got a plan beyond that.”
There was no way I could accept what he intended to do.
Silence fell. The stillness in the sanctuary was so cold it felt like we were inside an enormous fridge.
“I cannot let her go of my own will,” Scarlet said, finally. “As I told you in the beginning, the bride’s will is what matters. Debating this between ourselves will solve nothing.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
But just then, the coffin moved.
“The minimal necessary preparations are already complete.”
Siesta emerged from the coffin, wearing a veil.
Her eyes opened, and she stood on her own two feet, gazing at me from a short distance away.
“My blood has even restored the strength she’s lost since falling asleep. Go on, express the depths of your gratitude to me: The detective you’ve longed to see has awakened.”
With an ominous smile, Scarlet spread his arms.
“Siesta…”
I took one step toward her, then another, reaching out a hand.
Siesta didn’t say a word. That wasn’t all—she wasn’t looking at anything.
We were making eye contact, but she wasn’t really seeing me.
“Is she…?”
“She is not undead,” Scarlet answered. “However, she is something very similar. One could call it a liminal state between human and vampire. In terms of percentages, she’s still very much the former…however, the girl already had DNA from the primordial seed in her. It was already hard to say what she was with any certainty.”
He was right. And yet…
“Siesta is Siesta.”
To me, she was also my irreplaceable business partner. That’s why…
“You’re going to give her back.”
Taking out a small gun, I pointed it at Scarlet.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. It depends on the bride’s will.”
In that moment, a shadow disappeared.
But Scarlet was still there in front of me. That could only mean one thing…
“——!”
Sensing murderous intent, I lunged out of the way, not caring where I landed. Even so, something grazed my cheek, drawing blood.
Here it comes again. I pointed my gun at it.
Siesta was there in front of me, holding a knife. Had the vampire’s blood gotten out of control?
“I never wanted to fight you again, you know.”
Siesta backed away, putting a bit of distance between us. At some point, her eyes had begun to shine the same gold as Scarlet’s.
“I’m not gonna be able to hold back.”
The detective and her assistant were having a rematch for the first time in eight months.
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