"So why is the Empire chasing you anyway? What did you do?" Chimaru asks while I keep on walking, following the dirt path toward the next city, still at night. I could see as clear as day, so I didn't have much trouble finding my footing, but I did notice how Chimaru came close to falling after tripping several times, which meant he didn't see very well.

"I killed some sort of noble guy who killed my mother and then tried to kill me, but he failed. Then, with the help of my adoptive father, we killed another nobleman they sent to snuff both of us out, so yeah, they want my head on a pike with a lot of vigor." Man, saying it like that made me sound badass now that I thought about it.

Perhaps what I thought was right. It's not that I am weak. My enemies are too overpowered, even with my most recent access to what I assume is the grade-one KP engine. In actuality, my kit is pretty good once you lay it all together.

I am a vampire who is immune to the sun. I have a constant anti-magic barrier that sure doesn't let any magic reach me, not even support or healing magic. Still, it also acts as a barrier that protects me from magical warfare, and I have a regenerative body thanks to my vampire blood along with night vision.

I would say that this second try at life is my best one, which is why I am trying to protect this little body so much. I don't know if I will have a much better chance if I swap bodies after another death; the only thing that could be better would be if I reincarnated as some sort of noble.

Aside from my current situation, where I must flee from an entire empire, this second chance is not bad. My first reincarnation was meant to punish me for being a liar, so I assume that this second time, I will have been given a fairer trial. I got to give it to the reincarnation goddess. I definitely learned my lesson with that first try, where I got raped and suffered a lot.

If that first try was meant to be hell, I should accept it and hold no grudge against the goddess. I mean, she did say I would be sent to hell forever, so being raped and drugged up for who knows how long and also being physically abused by my father isn't as bad as eternal burning in a lake of fire or something.

I'll take physical abuse anytime over burning up in hell. Still, I can't help but feel sickened at what awful things my first father in this world did to me. Who in their right mind would rip out the tongue of their own kid like that? I could've died right there! Man, that guy was a truly despicable man.

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I hope that the goddess takes care of him when he dies. For all he knew, he was abusing an innocent child and still went ahead and did all that awful stuff. Unlike Buster, my first father didn't teach anything useful; damn it, I Miss Buster so much, and it's only been a couple of days since I last saw him.

I know he said he would be okay, but all that blood I saw on the floor has made me think the worst. I mean, how could've he survived something like that? I feel guilty for his death, even though he always told me he was doing it all out of his free will. If heaven exists, I wish Buster to go there along with Thomas, for both didn't owe me anything to help me but did so anyway. Such valiant men.

Why am I tearing up over it? Come one man up! I don't need to cry over them! I just I! My body suddenly stops in the middle of the road as tears begin pouring out me while my mind remembers that scene where Thomas and Buster got pierced by a lot of spears and arrows by a bunch of cowards who could've never taken them down in a fair fight.

"What's wrong, Sis?! Why are you crying?" Chimaru reminds me of the task at hand, which finally lets me put my emotions under control. "It's nothing, Chimaru. Let's just keep going." I respond to him as my eyes slowly dry up, and I come to my senses again.

Man, I don't remember being so overly emotional before reincarnating in this world. In any case, I suppose being overly emotional over big things like those is expected, so it's not that big of a deal. I just hope it won't become a regular thing for me to cry that much.

Since Chimaru couldn't see very well without some light, I quickly stopped to craft a makeshift torch for him, which he used to follow me since I didn't have time to waste if I wanted to help the people from Maple. In many ways, Chimaru would prove helpful, one of them being that he is a local from Maple Town, so they will probably believe his word more than mine.

I am still just an outsider to the Romaritime Nation, so letting Chimaru take over the responsibility of sounding the alarm instead of placing myself in danger of deportation or arrest was a blessing in disguise. Sure, Chimaru will slow me down, but it places me in a better position to avoid trouble while I get my shit together in this foreign land where I have nobody but this kid as my ally.

My only fear of traveling with such a young child is getting into trouble. I mean, he is incredibly young, and while I am also not an adult, I know how shady this would look to anyone peaking into our trip. In any case, I suppose there's no plan or journey without risks, so I will take my chances with the kid for now.