Several days have passed since my encounter with that girl. Well, the right way to phrase it would be: it’s been several days since that encounter with that girl.

May it be at my part time job at the convenience store,

“Hey! Mister!”

At the grocery store shopping for necessities,

“Hey mister!”

Or from across the platform at the train station,

“Hey mister! Don’t ignore me, I know you can hear me even with headphones on!”

That vampire-wannabe had been following me ever since that day everywhere I went. In her defense, she only tries approaching me once a day which is a bit more relieving than being pestered all day. What was this, her daily gacha pull..? I definitely won’t give her the 5-star that is my attention!

However, there has been one thing that’s been bugging me all this time.

“She said vampires aren’t what I think they were..” I murmured to myself as I stared at the clear sky under an oak tree’s shade, sitting idly on a playground’s swing.

What did she mean by that. Was she insinuating that my works didn’t win an award because my depiction of vampires were wrong? If that’s the case then did the judges happen to be vampires and I insulted them with my writing? I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle with the thought. Of course, they weren’t.

“That’s exactly it, young man!” a familiar voice chimed in-between my train of thought.

Having been caught by surprise, I whipped my gaze to the side and saw a familiar looking white-haired vampire-wannabe.

“How long have you been there!? Also did you read my mind just now?”

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“Kek kek, that’s exactly what I did.” she said with a cheeky laugh as she made a whispering gesture with her hand. “You see, unbeknown to most, vampires actually have telepathic capabilities! Though they can only use it under one condition!” The girl proudly proclaimed, trivia that she probably just pulled out of her ass.

Though, out of curiosity, I asked, “And what might that condition be?”

“U-uhm, well..” she was taken aback by my question, fidgeting with her index finger with a very long pause before continuing. “O-one of your undergarments have to be the color of blood.”

My undergarments..

I stood up with haste with a flushed face.

“Y-you pervert! You went all the way to my house to spy on me didn’t you!” I whipped out my phone then started dialing numbers. “I’ll report you to the authorities for harassment!”

“Wait! Hold on! It doesn’t necessarily have to be underwear, it could also be socks! Anything you wear underneath!” She dropped to the ground in an attempt to snatch my phone from me, then began prostrating herself as she failed to do so. “I also didn’t see anything I swear! We can just naturally read minds when the condition is met like how the green light pops up when your friend is online in a game!”

To check the validity of her claims, I lifted my pants up to my ankles. My white sock had a red stripe by the ankle. I suppose this counts as red? But still—

“I’ll report you for harassing me on the daily then.” I said as I put my phone to my ear.

“No please! Some of us vampires have no record in this country, things will get complicated if they find out!”

She still has her vampire act on. I let out a deep sigh as I kept my phone.

“I’m impressed you could read my mind but could you drop the whole vampire thing already, it’s quite embarrassing if I’m being honest. I would believe you if you told me you were an esper, but a vampire? Definitely far from it.”

“Hm? Why not?” She looked at me as she asked, still in a prostrated position.

“Are you dense or something, it’s the middle of the day and you’re still not burning away.” I sat back down on the swing, vexed. “If you’re going to play the role then might as well look into it.”

“Huh?” She murmured in a slightly irate tone. “Like I said, vampires aren’t what you think they are.” She stood up as she said that in a somewhat earnest manner that I might have believed her if I wasn’t well-versed in this stuff. “The things you read in books and see in media about vampires are mostly false.”

Without giving me a chance to rebut, she continued lecturing me about a few things that she knew.

“Vampires don’t burn and die from direct sunlight. They’re at most a mild inconvenience for us, but it’s nothing life-threatening. Garlic and crossed don’t do any damage to us either. They’re merely fabricated nothings we passed down through generations to keep our kind safe. We also have reflections.” She said as she beckoned me to look at a nearby building window. “Having no reflection would make us standout badly in a crowd and raise a few alarms, so our kind crafted that notion as to blend in naturally with society.”

She went on rambling for a few more minutes but I eventually got lost in my own thoughts in the middle of it. If what she’s saying is true then I guess that makes sense. In a way, vampires are essentially the ultimate lifeform, even with just their immortality alone. Posing as a threat to humanity, I suppose fabricated ways to deal with them would come in handy.

“So basically, you really are a vampire then?” I cut her off mid-ramble.

“That’s what I’ve been telling you this whole time!” She held onto her face as she dragged her hands down in frustration.

“Well, to be fair all you did was call out to me from afar these past few days. I don’t know how that would have helped..”

“Because you kept ignoring me!!” She got more enraged that moment I said that. I swear felt a heatwave pass through me just now.

“My bad, my bad.” I let out a smile with a tint of remorse. I then stood up, then beckoned her to follow. “Let’s take this somewhere else, shall we?”