Codename Vestia

Chapter 45:

The young Rato and Tora could do nothing but cling tightly to each other. They believed that crying would draw the attention of monsters, which would then come to devour them.

Then, a rustling sound emerged, and something poked its head out from beyond the bushes. Though their lives had been short, that was the most beautiful being Tora had ever seen.

The twins were too stunned to do anything but stare blankly at Gamal. Gamal, after observing the trembling twins hidden among the shrubs, finally asked her first question.

「Are you Siji?」

At the time, they didn’t understand what the ancient Satadi word Siji meant, but their instincts told them its meaning. Rato and Tora intuitively understood it as “twins” and nodded.

Gamal stared intently at them.

「You’re Ota’s children, aren’t you?」

Tora and Rato were shocked to realize that this infamous woman of the forest knew their mother.

「Do you… know Mama?」

Gamal nodded.

In truth, Gamal knew everyone in the tribe. Not just the people in the tribe, but also their mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, and even their ancestors.

She knew that Tora and Rato were Ota’s children, Ota was Sinani’s daughter, and Sinani was the youngest daughter of Tai. She had always been watching from afar.

「I’ll take you home.」

「No.」

Rato and Tora spoke reflexively.

「Why not?」

「Mama doesn’t want us to go back. We’re…」

Tora’s eyes brimmed with tears.

「Because we’re twins.」

Rato gripped Tora’s hand tightly, trying to maintain a composed demeanor. The two children were pale as if they might faint at any moment. It was only natural they hadn’t eaten anything all day.

The tribe on this island considered twins to be ominous.

Gamal was well aware of how twins were shunned within the tribe. Moreover, the twins were mixed-blood children born from an outsider.

Their mother, Ota, had fallen in love with an outsider a stranger with mesmerizing golden hair and blue eyes who had drifted ashore. They spent one night together, but Ota’s father, enraged by this, killed the outsider in a single stroke.

Though mixed-blood individuals were now common within the tribe, at the time, the island rarely saw visitors, making mixed-bloods an additional target of scorn.

Twins and mixed-bloods from an outsider lineage.

Whenever Tora and Rato passed by, the tribe members clicked their tongues in disapproval. It was evident that the twins were emotionally abused within the tribe.

Even if they were forced to return, worse might happen to them.

In fact, Gamal had been watching ever since someone from the tribe brought the twins into the forest on Ota’s behalf and abandoned them there.

After the typhoon awakened Gamal, who had been asleep in a mountain cave, over a hundred years had passed. She had been alone for far too long.

Gamal stretched out her hand and asked,
「Will you come with me?」

The woman everyone had called a monster took the hands of the young twins and led them into the forest where she lived. From that day forward, that forest became the home of the twins.

In the forest kingdom, where even wild beasts dared not intrude, the twins thrived. Though Gamal was new to parenting, her experiences wandering from village to village made her surprisingly adept at it.

Before long, the twins grew into young men with broad shoulders, sturdy legs, and strikingly handsome faces.

“Tora,” one of them spoke, “Nika was the daughter of a warrior.”

Tora continued, “She was full of curiosity from a young age. Just like Marti back then, we used to enjoy spying on the tribe. We even learned everyone’s names. Nika… Nika was truly beautiful. The most beautiful, after Marti. But at the time, she seemed even more beautiful than Marti. Do you think Marti would feel bad if she heard me say that?”

Tora shook his head as if trying to dispel the thought.

“I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore. I think I’ve lost my mind.”

“Keep talking.”

Jain encouraged him deliberately to help Tora stay conscious.

Tora swallowed hard.

“Nika had heard the rumors about us too. The monster woman in the forest and the twin demons who stood by her side. Eventually, she came to find us in the forest.”

***

「Nika.」

Tora murmured, looking beyond the bushes.

「Why did you come all the way here?」

Beside him, Rato spoke disapprovingly.

The tribe never ventured into the forest, believing it to be home to ominous beings. As a result, neither Gamal, who never left the forest, nor the twins had interacted with the tribe in a long time.

The tribe’s ignorance about them had bred fear, and they viewed the ageless, deathless woman of the forest and her twin guardians with extreme dread.

Although the twins were human, just as they had been when abandoned in the forest, the mythical aura surrounding the forest had cast them into the same monstrous category.

Yet, Nika appeared in the forest alone. It was clear that she was terrified, but she put on a brave face as she ventured deeper into the woods.

Tora watched Nika and muttered,
「She’s gotten even prettier.」

Rato gave Tora’s head a light smack.

「You look at Marti every day, and you still say she’s pretty?」

Tora turned to Rato with an annoyed expression.

「Marti is Marti. And honestly, who could compare to Marti?」

Then, Tora slung an arm around Rato’s neck and playfully squeezed.

「Come on, admit it. Don’t pretend you’re indifferent. You think she’s a little cute, don’t you?」

「Let go.」

Rato, annoyed, tried to shake Tora off, but their equal strength turned the tussle into a back-and-forth scuffle. Their playful squabbling grew loud enough to reach Nika’s ears.

Startled, Nika spun around and, trying to sound unafraid, called out loudly,
「Who’s there? Who’s out there?」

Tora and Rato froze.

「We’ll get caught. Let’s go.」

The two moved silently, retreating further into the cover of the forest.

When no response came, Nika seemed to convince herself she had misheard. Swallowing hard, she resumed walking. Whatever had brought her into the forest, it was clear she had no intention of turning back.

Tora and Rato, who knew the forest like the back of their hands, followed her in silence.

But Tora’s attention was elsewhere.

「Her chest is… pretty big.」

Rato, leading the way, glanced back and scoffed.
「Obvious virgin talk.」

「Like you’re one to talk.」

After all, living isolated in the forest left them no opportunities to meet women.

Rato shrugged nonchalantly.
「At least I’m not an obvious one.」

「Wow, how impressive,」 Tora retorted flatly. Then, as if realizing something, he turned to Rato.
「But seriously, why’ve you been so prickly? What’s bothering you?」

「I’m just wondering why she suddenly came to the forest.」

Tora wondered the same thing, but he was more curious about what someone like Nika, with her slender arms, thought she could accomplish here.

It was then that Nika wandered toward the edge of a cliff. The dense undergrowth probably obscured the drop from her view.

「That area is…」

Before Tora could finish, he grabbed a fallen branch and threw it to the side, creating a distraction.

Nika stopped in her tracks and whipped around.
「Who’s there?」

Fortunately, she halted just short of the cliff. The rain from the previous day had softened the ground, which began to crumble beneath her.

Nika let out a scream as she lost her balance and fell backward.

Tora dashed out and grabbed her arm. Nika looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes.

Snap.

The branch Tora was holding broke, and the two began to slide.

Tora was startled, but his knowledge of the terrain and physical agility allowed him to twist his body. He shielded Nika with his own body while grabbing a sturdier branch to stop their descent.

Nika, still trembling from shock, panted erratically.

「Are you okay?」

Rato peered down from above.

When Nika saw the identical face, her wide eyes darted back and forth between the two.

Rato grabbed onto some vines and climbed down, extending a hand. Tora took his brother’s hand and climbed back up, pulling Nika up first.

Nika, now back on solid ground, glanced between the two brothers.

「You two are…」

Rato turned to Tora and said,
「Let’s go.」

There was no benefit in lingering around a tribesperson, so Tora, without a word, began walking away.

「Wait…!」

As expected, Nika hurriedly reached out to stop them.

「I… I need to take the monster’s hair.」

Both twins knew that the tribespeople referred to Gamal as a monster. Even so, hearing her called that right in front of them stoked their anger.

Just as Rato was about to snap, Tora held him back and asked,
「Why do you need her hair?」

It didn’t seem like she meant any harm, but her motive piqued his curiosity.

With a determined expression, Nika replied,
「I need to prove that I’m as brave as Udan.」

Udan was Nika’s younger brother a cocky little brat who must have provoked his sister’s pride.

「Then shouldn’t you attack and take it by force?」

Rato remarked sarcastically. Tora, noticing the deliberate edge in his twin’s tone, realized Rato was trying to provoke her. While Rato wasn’t usually this mean-spirited, he clearly wanted to test her.

Nika, however, shook her head as if she had already considered the idea.

「I was going to ask politely. I can’t fight anyway.」

「You’re going to ask a monster?」

Rato’s incredulity deepened. Nika hesitated, clearly aware of how absurd her plan sounded.

「I heard… they don’t attack first. Maybe they’ll listen…」

Rato and Tora exchanged glances, silently acknowledging her peculiar personality.

「The monster you’re looking for is right there,」 Tora said, gesturing toward a wooden cabin where Gamal sat on the porch.

Gamal looked curiously at Nika, while Nika, utterly bewildered, glanced back at Tora. Gamal tilted her head and asked,
「What’s Nika doing here?」

「You… know me?」

Nika’s astonishment was obvious. Her informal tone prompted Tora to comment,
「Marti’s way older than you. Much older.」

「But…」

Nika hesitated, turning to Tora for clarification.

「She’s a monster, after all.」

Rato added with a mocking tone. But Nika, her focus entirely on Gamal, didn’t even notice his jab and asked,
「Then… can you use terrible magic? Like the rumors say?」

「I can’t do that,」 Gamal answered truthfully.

Nika, flustered by the response, pressed further,
「Then… what can you do?」

Caught off guard by the question, Gamal glanced at the woven basket she had been working on. Tilting her head slightly, she replied,
「Basket weaving?」
Nika glanced at the half-finished basket and unexpectedly noticed how well-crafted it was.

「Oh, I see. It’s really well made. I think you’re better at this than my grandmother.」

「I’ve been doing it for longer.」
Tora and Rato exchanged looks. This wasn’t quite the scene they had envisioned.

Meanwhile, Nika scrutinized Gamal carefully, occasionally marveling at her beauty. Finally, she asked,
「Are you really not human?」

Gamal nodded.
「I’m not.」

「Then what are you?」

「A vampire.」

Gamal answered honestly, and Nika burst into laughter. The tribe’s myths included creatures similar to vampires, so Nika understood the term.

「There’s no such thing as that!」