What’s this country called?

To be honest.

Young Sang couldn’t answer that question.

Generally speaking, a country’s name is what other nations call it. But the Blood Clan rules the entire world. Pay attention—that means the whole world. All beneath heaven belongs to the king.

The Blood Clan has one universally recognized king, and only one—the True Ancestor.

The True Ancestor is immortal, so there’s never been any need for a change of dynasty.

This is a nameless country. You could call it the Blood Dynasty, the Blood Empire, the Kingdom of Night, or even the Dark World.

History is recorded using the Blood Calendar, too.

Kahn is a remote, backward little town in the Far East of this continent. It belongs to Baron Loren’s territory—in short, it’s a godforsaken backwater, far from the center of power. At least the surroundings are nice, and there aren’t many threats from outside. It’s a fine place to lie low and survive.

Oh.

By the way.

The noble ranks are, in order, duke, marquis, count, viscount, and baron. They’re almost all held by the Blood Clan. There are a few human nobles who are viscounts or barons, but never a count or anyone above one.

Back to the present.

Sang, Luna, and Adolf were still sitting beneath a tree on the outskirts of town, quietly watching the beautiful sunset.

“Watermelon, your birthday’s coming up soon too, isn’t it?” Luna asked out of the blue.

Sang thought for a moment, then replied, “Mm… in a few days, I’ll be turning fourteen.”

Adolf was the only one of them who’d had parents. Luna and Sang had both been abandoned at the orphanage, and neither of them actually knew their real birthday. They just celebrated the day they’d been found.

At that, Sang finally caught on and said helplessly, “Luna, I get it. You weren’t reminding me about my birthday—you were hinting at your own. We have the same birthday!”

“Heeheehee~!” Luna giggled.

Sang let out a soft sigh. “What are you up to?”

“I want that weird instrument you made yourself…”

“Oh, you mean the harmonica I made!?”

“Yeah, the harmonica.”

Mm.

Sang couldn’t build any world-changing technology, but he could make little toys. A harmonica, for example. This world didn’t have that kind of instrument, so he’d made one not long ago just for fun. He’d played the background music from Spirited Away for the children, and it had enchanted them all.

Luna especially loved the harmonica Sang had made.

Sang felt mischievous and teased her. “The harmonica? Sure, I can give it to you. But it’s my birthday that day too. What are you going to give me?”

Luna’s face fell. She pouted. “Hmph. I don’t have anything to give you.”

“Then you’re not getting my harmonica.”

“Fine, don’t give it to me! I don’t even want it~!”

Just as young Sang and Luna were chatting away, Adolf poured cold water on them. “You two need to stop obsessing over birthday presents. Turning fourteen means becoming an adult. You should be thinking more about your futures.”

To be honest.

In this cruel, cold otherworld, no one knew what tomorrow would bring. Orphans like them, with no one to rely on, usually didn’t live long. Every extra day was a gift, and very few people ever thought about the future.

Thinking about it, Adolf really was an odd one out. Unlike the other children, his tragic past had made him hate the Blood Clan. He hoped that one day he’d grow strong enough to protect humanity. A knight was perfect for that—he wanted to become a powerful, righteous knight.

That was why Adolf had trained hard from a young age and taught himself swordsmanship. Even some of the grown men in town couldn’t beat him. A few wandering swordsmen had once praised him, saying he had the makings of a knight.

However.

To Sang, a transmigrator, this was actually pretty laughable. Being a knight was the most prestigious profession in this world. There really was a Knight Academy, and it even accepted exceptionally gifted human students.

But even if you became a knight, you’d still end up as a dog of the Blood Clan. You wouldn’t protect humanity—instead, you’d become an executioner with blood all over your hands.

Adolf was the most mature of all the children, but in the end, he was still a fourteen-year-old boy from a backwater. His ideas were bound to be a little naive.

Young Sang knew better than to crush someone’s dreams. You couldn’t just take a child’s hopes away. All he could do was wait and see.

Adolf’s words caught Luna’s attention. Gazing at the beautiful dusk in the distance, she said with genuine feeling, “Honestly, I want to be the orphanage director when I grow up, just like Big Sis Lillian!”

Luna was an ordinary girl in many ways. She had the youthful energy and wilful streak of a fourteen-year-old, but she could be gentle and kind, too.

Adolf asked again, “What about you, Watermelon?”

Sang yawned, stretched, and rubbed his messy bangs. Looking utterly listless, he said, “I could do anything. I just want to live comfortably. Eat, sleep, wake up and eat again. Stare into space when I’m bored.”

“Are you a pig?” Luna complained.

“Th-then should I be more specific?” Sang said.

“How specific?” Adolf asked curiously.

Sang shamelessly grinned. “I want to be able to buy as many apples as I want!”

Luna and Adolf exchanged a glance. They both looked helpless—and yet, this was exactly what they’d expected. The three of them had grown up together, and they knew Sang far too well.

This guy was lazier than you could imagine.

He was only fourteen, but he acted like a seventy-four-year-old man.

A little while later.

Night was about to fall completely. This was a remote little town, and visibility got especially poor after dark. Wild animals and human traffickers often showed up, too.

Adolf was the most mature of the children. Thinking of their safety, he told the other two to head back to the orphanage with him.

However.

Halfway there, Luna stopped in her tracks. The two boys turned to look at her in surprise. “What’s wrong?”

Luna said shyly, “There’s… the annual summer festival in town tonight. I heard there’ll be fireworks. I want to see them…”

Before Adolf could answer, Sang stepped forward and said dismissively, “I don’t want to go to some summer festival. What a pain… Only an idiot would watch that kind of thing…”

Sang didn’t mean a word of it. He simply understood one thing: Adolf was the one who called the shots among the three of them. Adolf was mature for his age, and he’d object for the sake of their safety. If Sang didn’t provoke Luna, she wouldn’t get angry and would just go along with Adolf’s decision. And then they definitely wouldn’t get to go to the summer festival.

Just as expected.

As soon as Luna heard Sang’s words, she got worked up. “You jerk! I want to go, so what? You’re so annoying! I hate you, Watermelon! If you’re not going, I’ll go by myself!”

After saying that, Luna headed toward town alone, looking rather upset.

Sang and Adolf exchanged a glance, then hurried after her.

At any rate.

All three children ended up going to Kahn Town’s summer festival. Along the way, Luna and Adolf walked up ahead, close together, chatting quietly and laughing loudly. Sang trailed behind at his usual leisurely pace. Seeing Luna and Adolf walking side by side put him in a good mood.

Kahn Town’s summer festival was what you’d expect from a remote town—not all that exciting. The main draw was the big, lively crowd, along with plenty of vendors selling snacks. The only real highlight was the fireworks at the end.

Luna and Adolf were having the time of their lives.

Sang didn’t think much of it. He’d seen big spectacles before, and this was a small-town festival on the same level as a country fair back in his old world.

But the crowd was so thick that Luna got separated from them as they walked. Sang and Adolf panicked. She was pretty and had no strength to speak of—a perfect target for human traffickers. The two of them wordlessly split up to search for her.

Meanwhile.

On a bench beside the bonfire in the town center sat a simply dressed girl with shining golden hair. It was Luna. She’d been so absorbed in the festival that she’d accidentally gotten separated from the others. Now she was frightened and could only stay where she was, waiting for Adolf to find her.

Adolf… He’d definitely find her.

She shouldn’t have come to the summer festival after all… The thought made Luna feel like crying. She wasn’t a particularly brave child…

Just as Luna sat there, feeling uneasy, someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around. The tall figure she saw wasn’t Adolf, who was taller than the other boys his age, but a short, skinny one.

“Watermelon…”