Chapter 20: How to Pierce a Vampire’s Weakness

“Ugege...”

Mikoto Hikari let out a bizarre groan the moment the front door opened.

I glanced at her, and her face had gone completely pale.

Just moments ago, she was all smiles, practically skipping along.

“Something wrong?”

I quickly stepped in front of her and gently nudged her behind me.

Then, cautiously peered into the house—but there didn’t seem to be anything particularly unusual inside.

“I don’t know... this smell might really be bad for me...”

Her reply came in a muffled voice.

No surprise there—she was pinching her nose tightly.

I sniffed the air deliberately, sharpening my sense of smell.

First, the savory scent of searing meat drifted over.

Then faint hints of onion and garlic.

...It was a delicious, appetite-inducing aroma, perfect for lunchtime. What could possibly be wrong with that?

My stomach was on the verge of growling—just as I was about to say so—

“...Garlic?”

As I said it aloud, Hikari nodded vigorously, head bobbing up and down.

Come to think of it, vampires do have a few things they’re weak against...

So, in a panic, I rushed into the kitchen.

“M-Mom! Turn on the fan—quick!”

I shouted.

“I’m so sorry. I thought I’d make something Hikari-kun likes as a welcome-to-the-neighborhood meal... I never imagined her entire physiology changed along with her appearance.”

In the living room—now with every window wide open along with the fan running—Mom clasped her hands together in a gesture of apology.

“No... it’s okay... You were being thoughtful, Yoko-san... But this time, I think it’s just too much for me...”

Meanwhile, Hikari was still looking a little better, but her face remained pale as she staggered around.

Eventually, she collapsed onto the sofa, burying her face into a cushion.

“The... the garlic smell’s seeped into the furniture...!”

She was practically in tears.

“If it’s that bad, maybe you should just go back to your room? I can help you up.”

“...Even if it’s you, Yosuke, I will not forgive you if you get any closer right now...!”

I had only meant to offer out of concern.

But Hikari hissed fuuuh! like an angry cat ready to fight.

A faint blue-white glow appeared on her fingertips.

Probably magical energy.

Since Mom wasn’t reacting at all, she must’ve angled it so it wasn’t visible to her...

Still, the message was crystal clear—any closer, and she was ready to strike.

“M-My bad. I’ll stay at least three meters away.”

“Good.”

...Well, I can’t really blame her.

What Mom had made was a special garlic steak, with beef soaked in a heavy garlic marinade.

For a vampire, that was probably nothing short of a lethal weapon.

Still, it would’ve been a waste to throw it out, so Mom and I made the difficult decision... to finish it ourselves.

In other words, right now, to Hikari, we were walking stink bombs.

Not even brushing our teeth was going to win her forgiveness.

“Phew...”

...Come to think of it, with Hikari’s portion included, we ended up eating well over one-and-a-half servings each—no wonder it was such a heavy meal.

I relentlessly carved into the thick, borderline violent slabs of meat with my knife, savoring every bite.

Each time the juices burst out, I mixed them with the sliced garlic and brought it all to my mouth.

The red wine-based sauce was exquisite too—honestly, even if there hadn’t been any urgency to get rid of the food, I probably would’ve devoured it all without a second thought.

I did feel a little bad for my best friend, but I couldn’t stop a satisfied sigh from slipping out—

“I wanted to eat some too...!”

Hikari ground her teeth and glared daggers at me.

That said, there wasn’t really anything I could do. I could only watch from a distance as she staggered her way upstairs.

About an hour passed.

I made my way to Hikari’s room, knocked twice, and waited for a response.

“...You can come in.”

As soon as I followed her words and stepped inside, she leaned in close and sniffed me, checking me like some kind of customs officer.

From the top of my head all the way down, she left no spot unchecked.

“Okay, you pass. Smells like the usual Yosuke.”

“Glad to hear it.”

After that whole ordeal, Mom and I had thoroughly scrubbed ourselves down in the bath.

Thanks to that, the garlic stench had finally faded enough to meet Hikari’s standards.

“Alright, I’m coming in.”

I sat down without hesitation and casually looked around the room.

Hikari’s old room used to be a chaotic mess of manga and clothes, to the point where you couldn’t even find a place to step.

But now, it was barebones—just a bed, a wardrobe, and a study desk. Still pretty stark and empty.

Since it used to be a storage room, it gave off a chilly, unwelcoming vibe no matter what.

I figured she'd fill it out more over time, but...

As I was worrying whether the place felt too uncomfortable, Hikari, now sitting on a floor cushion, called out to me.

Unlike me, who was sitting cross-legged, she was in formal seiza.

At first, she seemed like she was going to sit like I was, but then probably realized she was still in her school uniform skirt, so she quickly adjusted and folded her legs properly.

“So, what’s up?”

“Well, after what just happened, I thought I should learn more about vampires—so we don’t run into this again. I mean, I obviously can’t ask Mom about any of it. If something happens, it’s better if at least I know what I’m dealing with, right?”

“I appreciate that... But vampires don’t actually have that many weaknesses, you know?”

I had gone ahead and borrowed a few occult books from the library just in case.

But when I tried bringing up what they said, apparently most of it was completely off the mark.

Take crosses, for example.

They only work because of divine protection and genuine faith. A mass-produced factory trinket has zero effect, apparently.

She also burst out laughing—practically doubled over—when I brought up that so-called countermeasure where you scatter rice or seeds to make the vampire stop and count them.

“Come on, I’m not a pigeon! Of course I’d ignore something like that! …Besides, if that actually worked, no one would ever have a hard time fighting vampires.”

…Well, fair enough.

That’s exactly why Hikari had been summoned in the first place.

When I asked about garlic, she said there was no equivalent in the other world.

And from what she described, the smell was comparable to kusaya or surströmming—utterly repulsive, but not deadly. She grumbled about it with a face like she’d swallowed something bitter.

“Hmm, silver swords were effective, but that makes sense. Silver is stronger than iron or steel when it comes to magical affinity. But it’s not like anyone walks around getting attacked by swords these days... so there’s no real need to worry.”

Honestly, some of it sounded so far-fetched I wanted to interrupt with a sarcastic What are we even talking about here?—but more importantly, it seemed like my worries were mostly unfounded.

“Oh! I totally forgot—running water is bad. Vampires have terrible compatibility with the water element, so I can’t go to the ocean or rivers anymore. Damn it…! Even though with this body, I could finally enter the girls’ changing room legally...!”

She clenched her fist and made a face full of regret.

“...Hey, hey.”

“I’m fine with pools, but school swim classes are already over. …Yosuke, next year, let’s definitely go somewhere, okay?”

Honestly, that sounded ethically questionable at best…

But telling her to go change in the boys’ locker room clearly wasn’t an option either. So I decided to just let that whole topic slide.

Yeah. We’ll leave that problem for next year.