Editing Kino no Tabi:Volume4 Chapter9

==“A Tale of Extortion” —Bloodsuckers—==

My name is Riku. I am a dog.

I have long, white, bushy fur. My face makes me look like I’m always happy and smiling, but it doesn’t mean that I am. I’m just born this way.

Shizu is my master. He is a young man who is always wearing a green sweater. He lost his homeland due to some complex circumstances, and is now traveling by buggy.

And I am together with him.


--


There was a time.

We stumbled upon a country in a highland covered with forests.

The people used the gentle slopes as dairy farms. Between the level land at the bottom of the valley and the river was a town. There were high walls bordering the town, while the farms were surrounded by simple  enclosures built from stones.

“What a peaceful and beautiful place,” Master Shizu said happily in the driver’s seat. He was clad in his usual green sweater.

“It’s small though, as if it’s only a village,” I said, and with a calm tone,

“It’s not necessarily a good thing for a country to be big. The question is, whether its inhabitants are living in happiness and contentment,” Master Shizu continued with narrowed eyes.

“But there is no answer as to what happiness actually is. Maybe it’s important, maybe not.”

“……”

Master Shizu, who realized that I was looking at him, suddenly laughed,

“For now, let’s check it out.”

He turned on the gears of the buggy.


--


We descended the slope.

The residents who were doing farm work noticed the buggy, and looked alarmed for a moment. Master Shizu got off the buggy. He walked closer and called out to them, but they hurriedly returned to the country. After waiting for a while, several men came.

Master Shizu introduced himself as a traveler, and asked permission to enter and stay in the country. The men asked Master Shizu if he has any weapons.

Master Shizu showed them his favorite sword beside the driver’s seat. When he was asked whether this is all that he had, Master Shizu nodded. They then asked him whether he would still enter even if they could not satisfy him with their hospitality. Master Shizu nodded once more, and they gave their approval.

We were told to keep the buggy in a big storehouse near the gate, and that the reason will be explained to us later.

Master Shizu hid the buggy and took his big black cloth bag. His sword was inside it. We walked after a guide and passed through the gates.

Houses no higher than two floors were densely built in the entire town. The alleyways were like mazes in complexity.

Master Shizu looked leisurely at these, remarking at how old and rare they were. When we arrived at a place where the alleys bend back and forth complicatedly every few steps,

“This place is perfect for hide-and-seek,” Master Shizu said.

Upon saying this, the guide gave us a somewhat incredulous look.


--


After walking around the town for a while, Master Shizu and I were guided to a house which seemed like an assembly hall.

Apparently, it was this country’s command center, and there were a number of men and women distributing tea. Master Shizu was invited to take a seat, and then they exchanged greetings.

For the time being, they welcomed the visitor.

“A traveler eh? Well, what do I say..., we would like to welcome you, but you have come at an inopportune time.”

One man said with a gloomy expression.  The other men also had the atmosphere fit for a funeral.

“There seems to be some problem…. If you don’t mind…” Master Shizu said.

They looked at each other for a while, and one of them opened his mouth to speak.

“Thieves are sponging off our country.” 


--


Their story went like this.

For ages, this country had no foreign enemies, and the people lived a leisurely life.

The country was small and had no army or police. Rare disputes were suppressed by the young men.

Several years ago, there came a group of men riding horses. Because they were starving, they willfully killed and ate the livestock.

Naturally, the residents objected and defied them. But several men from this country who tried to stop these thieves were killed.

The thieves coerced the residents trembling in fear to prepare food for them, as they would visit the country once every month. If they refuse, they threatened to rampage and destroy the country.

“Even if we have walls, we cannot leave behind our crops, and if the river is poisoned, we will not be able to live. In the end, we decided that we can abide to their wishes if it’s just food. We had to take up courage and make a bitter choice,” one man said.

“I see,” Master Shizu said in a small voice.

Ever since, the thieves would come punctually each month, and leave after shamelessly taking the food.

Because of the thieves, there was nothing left of the spare food that they have collected until then. If there were to be a severe crop failure, the residents will surely starve. Everyone had to work hard day by day.

“This thing disturbed our peaceful lives, and recently, it has been tormenting us mentally…,” one man said.

“I understand it very well. Thank you for telling me this painful story,” so said Master Shizu. He thought of something for a while, and then asked.

“When would they be here next?”

“Tomorrow. We have prepared the food. But as to until when this is going to continue, we don’t know…”

“How many?”

“There are always around twenty people. However, they’re all men, and all ride horses and carry persuaders (Note: a gun)…. They don’t think anything of killing people. You too mister traveler, it’s better for you to be careful not to run into them during your travels. They might take away your car and kill you.”

“Mister traveler, if you can, when you arrive in a nearby country, please tell them of our suffering and save us. However…, there can’t be any country that would send people to help a small country such as this on a whim, right? There’s no merit to it at all…. We understand that. We have to solve our own problems. But, no matter what, an impossible thing can’t be done. It’s embarrassing, but the only thing we can think of now is how we won’t survive without that food,” one man said sorrowfully. The other residents nodded, with faces of resignation.

Master Shizu pondered about something once more.

And then, he told the gloomy men that he has a question.

‘What is it?’ the men replied. With all attention on him, Master Shizu asked with a smile,

“Do you mind if I take another look at the town? I have taken quite an interest in it.”


--


Taking a young man with him as a guide, Master Shizu examined the minute details of the town with relish. He went around alley by alley, confirmed the complex connections, and would come and go around the same place.

The women and children were looking at him curiously as if saying, ‘What in the world is this traveler doing?’ Meanwhile, I…

“A dog—. So big and so white—"

… was chased around by the children.

There was a plaza near the gates. Over there, the residents were stacking up boxes and sacks. The guide spoke.

“Those are… the food that will be taken away tomorrow.”

“That’s a lot. I understand your worry if that much is being taken away from you. During that time, what do the residents do?” Master Shizu asked.

“Because no one wants to get killed, everyone hides in the storage area in their basements. Nobody else goes out. Nothing’s happened yet, but if they start taking women and children…, ah, we can’t bear the thought.”

“I see,” Master Shizu said in a small voice to the man who answered as he shook his head.


--


That evening.

They provided one room in the assembly hall for Master Shizu and me. It was a small room with just one bed, but Master Shizu composedly accepted his simple dinner and politely expressed his gratitude.

“Beholden for a night’s lodging and a meal, eh?” I asked Master Shizu, who started to maintain his sword under the light of a lamp.

Master Shizu took ample of time conditioning his sword, and then returned it to its sheath when he was finished.

“I don’t think it’s such a big deal,” Master Shizu said as he looked at me.

“I can help these people in trouble. I don’t really need any other particular reason. It’s also possible that I’m not doing it for their sake.”

“I see. How are you planning to do it?”

“I’ll ‘persuade’ them,” was Master Shizu’s short answer.

I asked, “I don’t think this country’s residents would approve of your plan without raising any objection. It’s not a pretty thought, to have the residents annihilated by your meddlesome actions, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m doing this on my own accord.… However, that doesn’t mean that I have already decided to do it.”

“?”

He looked at my face,

“If I can’t ‘persuade’ them, I’ll turn tail and run,” Master Shizu quipped. And then,

“That’s why, the inhabitants of this country are totally blameless. There are people who can, and cannot do it. I have the choice to face them or not.”

I asked him one more question.

“Do you like this country?”

Master Shizu smiled a little.

“Maybe.”


--


The next day.

All of the residents stubbornly locked themselves up in their houses since morning. The weather was good, but there was nobody walking around in the town.

We were also told to stay hidden in the basement, but we did not. We stayed in our room.

Master Shizu wore his waterproof parka with a hole on its left hip, and hung onto his neck the goggles he uses when driving the buggy.

A film <ref>Film, as in a camera film. The roll case, or reel case, is that cylinder from where you pull the film out of.</ref> was affixed on the goggles in front of the eyes. Its roll case was attached on both sides. By pulling a string, the field of vision will be cleared in a moment when it was soiled by mud or other dirt.

Master Shizu looked at the plaza from the window, his favorite sword by his side.

The boxes containing food were piled up, along with a tied-up goat. And then, right ahead were the gates that will be opened by the thieves.

I was lying on my side by Master Shizu’s feet, waiting.


--


Probably about noon, the sound of advancing horses was heard. It was headed towards our direction.

“So they’ve come,” Master Shizu said. I also stood up.

Passing through the gates, the men riding horses appeared.

They were men of different ages, from young ones to those at the prime of their life. They were dressed in clothes which were filthy but easy to move in. On their backs were long rifle-type persuaders.

One by one, they passed through the gate without any caution and climbed down their horses. The not-so-very spacious plaza was filled with horses and men.

The men raised a cheer over their reaping. Then they immediately began to load the boxes onto their saddles.

“Twenty-two,” Master Shizu said.

“As we’re told, they’re all men.”

“Almost all of their persuaders are rifles, eh? Just as I thought. How convenient.”

“Will you do it?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Master Shizu answered.

He strapped his goggles on and wore the sword on the belt fastened around his waist over the parka.

Master Shizu walked towards the plaza while I waited by the shade of the house.

The thieves made strange faces upon seeing Master Shizu, who looked quite unusual with the parka, sword, and goggles. A number of them immediately took the persuaders from their backs and loaded them.

“Hello.”

Master Shizu spoke in a totally normal tone as he slowly approached. Among the thieves, a bearded middle-aged man who was not doing any work lightly waved his hand to his comrades. Other than one person beside the bearded man who had his rife-type persuader ready, all the other men returned to loading the boxes on their saddles.

“Yo, brother. You’re not from this country, are you?” The bearded man said. Master Shizu stopped from a distance, and stood in front of them.

“Yes, I’m a traveler. I just arrived here yesterday.”

“Whether you know it or not, these are our rightful earnings. Don’t interfere, mister with goggles and sword.”

“I’m not interfering,” Master Shizu immediately said, and then continued.

“But won’t you listen to one last request? I want you to stop troubling the people of this country.”

“Huh? Did the leaders here ask you to say that?” The bearded man asked.

“Nope. I’m doing this on my own accord.” 

“……”

The bearded man looked at Master Shizu with an appalled expression for a while.

“Brother. You won’t live long, you know.”

“Really?”

With a sour expression, the bearded man admonished and threatened.

“A person who gets into a fight he cannot win is an ''idiot''. I can say from my experience that you will get yourself killed.”

“My thoughts, exactly. By the way, your answer?” While saying so, Master Shizu moved his body lightly and subtly, and approached them with a half-step.

“Huh?”

“Won’t you stop this?” He took another half-step while speaking.

“……”

The bearded man was dismayed, and this time, moved his fingers to shoot Master Shizu.

The man took his persuader, aimed at Master Shizu’s heart, and fired at point blank range. Master Shizu took the sheath with his left hand and with the sword grip in his right hand, pulled off the sheath with his left. The blade which appeared deflected the bullet obliquely.

Master Shizu took two steps forward, struck the man with his left shoulder, and thrust the sword deeply into his heart.  While this man fell to the left, he pulled out his sword and mowed down the neck of the bearded man in front of him. As this guy fell forward, he slashed the man right behind diagonally from the shoulder. All of this took place in roughly four seconds.

Blood spurted around Master Shizu in an interesting manner, making ''bushubushushu'' sounds in the background. As a result, the waterproof parka became of use to Master Shizu. 

Three men down.

The thieves froze in place as they witnessed this scene. They did not realize immediately what was happening.

“Y…y…y…y” A nearby man was trying to say something.

“You bastard!” The words which he was finally able to spit out were his last. Soon, he was impaled through his stomach.

Master Shizu ran, burst through the men who were still working, and skillfully killed each person en route. It was in complete rhythm.

The second man, who was to the right of the first, had his windpipe gouged out with the edge of the blade. The third was disposed off with a direct attack to his chest. The fourth man, who was carrying a box, had his head and both arms severed. The box fell right below, with his arms still attached.

Master Shizu made a turn while running and vigorously cut down the fifth man’s torso.

As the upper half of the body fell on the ground, Master Shizu ran through the plaza and concealed himself beside the house. One guy who had fast reflexes fired at Master Shizu, but he has already disappeared and was not hit.

Eight dead bodies or more like, ‘humans who were turned into corpses in a blink’ tumbled in the plaza. Meanwhile,

“Damn!” “Kill him!” “Chase him!” “Son of a *****!” “That bastard!” “That a*****e!” “Beat him to death!”

The thieves shouted out their feelings without reserve.


--


I turned from the opposite side of the house, took a detour, and ran through the alleyway where Master Shizu headed. Soon, I found Master Shizu waiting in ambush in one corner of a narrow alley.

When I tried to approach, Master Shizu lightly shook his hand and I stood back aside.

From the corner of the alley, the barrel of a long persuader peeked. Master Shizu pulled it with his left hand and thrust his blade on the throat of the man who appeared. At the same time, a stray bullet flied out and bored through the wall of a house.

“Did you finish him off?” From the other side of the corner, the voices of other thieves were heard. Master Shizu answered.

“Yeah.”

Master Shizu pulled and threw down the man who exposed himself, and he vanished from my sight.

“Ugh-!”

“Damn y—!”

The voices of some two people were heard. And then, Master Shizu returned while shaking off the blood from his sword.

I approached.

“Three guys here, so only half of them are left?”

I nodded.

Master Shizu ran through the alley without making any sound, and I followed.

We stopped when we crossed a somewhat wide alley. From the direction of the plaza,

“Someone fired.”

“Did they kill him?” A voice was heard. I lowered my nose and peeked. I saw three men coming towards our direction with their persuaders poised and bodies in half-crouching position.

I informed Master Shizu the number of opponents. He waited for a while, and after matching the timing, lightly poked his feet behind me.

I jumped out.

“Wha—!” A man was surprised and aimed his persuader towards me. I leaped to the opposite side.

“Damn, it’s a dog.”

“Don’t scare us like that!”

The men approached. Then, Master Shizu jumped out, passed through the man up front, beheading him. Before he could react, a fountain of blood spewed forth from his neck. Immediately after, the man behind received a blow on his chin from Master Shizu’s left elbow. Master Shizu moved his right arm longitudinally, moving his sword the same way, piercing through the man’s flank.

“Bastard!” 

The last man turned his hand persuader towards Master Shizu. Master Shizu threw down the man who ‘became a corpse too soon’ with his left hand.

The man extended his arms and fired. It was too close. Master Shizu stepped up front to the right, and simply moved away from the line of fire. The man raised the persuader with both hands, and as he lifted it neck-high it fell in front of him.

“Eh?” The man looked at his arms, which had become shorter. Blood curiously spurted out from them, in rhythm with his heartbeat. Master Shizu grasped the man’s collar and threw him down the corner I was in.

“Ah—? Ah—? Ah—?”

The man noisily flapped his arms, as if playing ‘otedama’ <ref>A traditional Japanese children's game, where small bean bags are tossed and juggled, usually accompanied with singing.</ref> At that moment, I saw Master Shizu’s shadow, about two feet away from the man, aiming.

''Hyu-! Pabon.''

There was the sound of a bullet cutting through the air, followed by the sound of a head exploding. Half of the head of the man Master Shizu grabbed vanished. He slightly dragged and flung the sacrifice, and went back to my corner. Immediately, he fired several bullets onto the wall.

“Just eight left.”

Master Shizu made a little run and proceeded to the interior of the alley. On the way, he pulled the string of his goggles and cleared the visor that was dirty with blood. He also wiped a piece of brain that splattered on his cheek.

Master Shizu, and me who was following behind, came to the place where the alleys bend back and forth complicatedly every few steps.  Master Shizu deliberately flapped his parka and dropped blood all over the place. He went back and forth the same place.

And then he set his back on one wall of a house in a corner and quietly waited.

After some time, voices echoing from the walls were heard.

“Hey, let’s get outta here. The boss is already dead.”

“Are you going to let it end like this?! Let’s beat that guy to death!”

“But”

“Shut up!”

The two men approached noisily.

Master Shizu waited in silence. The footsteps came closer.

The men were drawn in by the bloodstains. They went towards three more in the opposite direction. Master Shizu jumped out. He confirmed the alley the two went into in one glance, and gave chase. I followed.

He caught up with the two who turned around a bend. Master Shizu joined in behind their backs, as if the three of them were comrades.

Master Shizu quietly turned one of the men before him from the back with his left hand. He covered his mouth and pierced his flank.

He released the man who died silently, and did the same thing to the second man.

“Six more.”

Master Shizu escaped the alley perfect for hide-and-seek, and nimbly ran through the town while confirming both sides.

Master Shizu stopped all of a sudden, and I collided with his back.

Someone spoke,

“Damn, another dead end.”

“Over here.”

I heard noisy running steps and impatient voices.

Master Shizu ran towards the direction of the voices. The two men ran towards the plaza. Master Shizu deliberately showed himself,

“Are you done?” and called out from behind the two with a big voice.

“Y-you bastard!”

One man was surprised, turned around and opened fire. The amateur shot completely missed. As if making fun of him, Master Shizu backed away a little from the aim of the second bullet.

Master Shizu gestured at me, and disappeared to the back of the alley.

The man who fired, still poising his persuader, came towards my direction. The man behind pulled his shoulder,

“Don’t chase him anymore!” and stopped him.

“But!”

“Don’t you get it? There’s no use getting killed in battle here. Let’s back off now!” The man behind said coolly.

The alleyways which could only fit one person were all memorized by Master Shizu, and he can win over them by silently laying ambush. The long persuaders they were wielding are a disadvantage in this field.

While I was thinking about this, Master Shizu, who took a detour from the back alley, jumped out and cut off the head of the calm man.

While the other man was surprised by the shower of blood before him, the blade thrust right through his heart.

“Four left, eh?”

“They’re not nearby,” I answered while chasing after Master Shizu.

“It will be bad if they get away.”

Master Shizu ran to the gate where the men entered. He spied on the plaza from the shadow of the house nearest the gate.

On the plaza where the corpses stumbled and the horses were standing, there were four people. Three of them were forcibly piling up the food on their horses.  They were trying to pull the stubborn goat.

One person shouted.

“Hey! Are you trying to get away by yourselves?!” He tried to pull a nearby man from his horse,

“Shut up!” He pulled out his revolver and fired. Two shots to the chest.

“Three left,” Master Shizu said.

Immediately, one of the other men rode his horse towards the gate.

Master Shizu, who considered passing through my side, backed down a few steps. And then he ran towards the house.

“Hup—!”

Master Shizu climbed up the wall, scaled it in a moment, and extended his right hand horizontally. His sword grazed the horse’s ear and hit the rider’s throat, and then he jumped off to the other side.

Master Shizu landed. The headless horseman rode for a short distance, but soon the horse stopped and he fell over.
 
“Two more,” Master Shizu said, and slowly came out from the corner.

Those ‘two’ were finished loading up their horses, and was about to straddle them. They stopped as they saw the flying head of their comrade and Master Shizu appearing without hesitation.

Master Shizu walked towards the plaza as if taking a stroll. I separated myself from him a bit.

“D-die!” The man who shot his comrade, aimed his persuader at Master Shizu. Master Shizu looked. The man fired.

The first two shots missed. The third shot to the shoulder, and the fourth shot to the flank, were deflected by Master Shizu with his blade.

Master Shizu continued to walk. With an expression of shock on his face, the man continued to pull the trigger.

''Kacha, kacha, kacha.''

“Hi–!”

The man threw the cylinder sideways and discarded the empty cartridge. From his waist belt, he took out a bullet reloader. And then,

“Hi—!”

Both his hands trembled so much that the bullets won’t get in. His hands and teeth were making ''kachi kachi kachi kachi'' sounds.

Master Shizu’s footsteps came closer.

“Hi—! Hi—! ——Ah—!”

His frantic efforts were in vain, and the bullets fell from the reloader and scattered on the floor.

“Uwaah!”

The man threw away his revolver. It flew towards an empty space——''dosu''——, and fell. Master Shizu vanished from the man’s field of vision.

The man’s eyes opened curiously. Our gazes met for a moment. At the same time, blood began to gush out from the throat of the man behind him, who stood rigidly in his place, and fell.

“Hey”

“Aaah!” From behind, the man’s right shoulder was pierced by a blade.

Master Shizu started asking questions.

“You guys, do you have any comrades?”

The man still stood on attention, and answered obediently.

“N-n-n-n-n-n-n-none!”

“Will there be an organization looking for you if you’re gone?”

“None!”

“You people do not have any proper training for battle. How came you were doing something like thievery?”

“B-b-b-b-because it’s easy. N-no, before we were farmers, but…, it was hard and painful… so we ran away from our country…”

“And so, you’re extorting from a small country?”

“Y-yes. L-life is not easy, you know!”

“… Yeah, you can say that again.”

The man was happy upon hearing Master Shizu agree, and turned his head and glanced at him. And with a somewhat twitchy smile, he spoke.

“I-isn’t it?”

Master Shizu smiled gently.

“That will be over, too.” Master Shizu moved his hand as he spoke.

“Huh?” were the man’s last words.

The face with the twitchy smile rolled on the ground, still smiling.


--


Master Shizu collected the riderless horses and tied them together. He removed his goggles and wiped his face. He took off his parka and rolled it. He looked for a place not wet with blood, and placed the parka and the goggles there.

“Master Shizu,” I spoke.

“Hmm?”

“Good job.”

“Stop it,” Master Shizu shook his head with a bitter smile.

“Killing people as a specialty, is not something worth praising or something to be proud of.”


--


A considerable time passed before the residents timidly came out of their houses.

After he was finished wiping his sword and returning it to its sheath, Master Shizu leisurely sat waiting at the plaza.

Surprised screams were heard as the corpses were discovered all over the alleys.

Soon, a crowd gathered in the center of the plaza, the surroundings of which was dyed deep red with the corpses’ blood. As one would expect, there were no children.

Surrounding from a distance, the people looked at Master Shizu with surprised eyes.

“… Mister traveler. You killed them all? With a sword?” One man spoke. Master Shizu stood up.

“Yes”

“A-all of them...?” Another man asked.

With a countenance which is neither too happy nor sad, Master Shizu replied in an expressionless tone.

“Every single one of them. Twenty-two people. They do not have any comrades. From here on, you do not have to prepare food for them. You can go back to your original lives.”

When the people heard this, an expression of relief ran through their faces.

But this only lasted for a moment. Eventually, they turned a discerning eye at Master Shizu, who seemed to have transformed completely from the previous day. I saw the men speaking in low voices.

When Master Shizu realized the result of what he has done, he lightly closed his eyes for a short time.

“This is too much…” The words of one man caused a spark.

“That’s right. No matter how you look at it, this is overkill. It’s too cruel,” another man said.

“But, this is…, it would have been better if they weren’t killed! And every single one of them, too. Don’t you agree, everyone?”

A man raised his voice, and the people’s faces became cold. ‘That’s true,’ they answered. Everyone looked at Master Shizu from a distance with cold, sharp eyes.

One man took a few steps forward.

“Mister traveler. Do you realize what you have just done?” The man spoke.

“You’re a murderer!”

“……”

Master Shizu remained silent and listened to the man’s words.

“We, the people of this country, for whatever reason, couldn’t bear the thought of hurting people, much less killing them. It is evil. We must not kill. Am I wrong, everyone?”

Voices of agreement rose from the crowd, much louder than before.

“Mister traveler, we are different from you. We cannot approve of using violence against people, even if it’s only a little.  We do not recall begging you to present us with a mountain of corpses.”

“That’s right. I did all of this on my own accord,” Master Shizu said austerely, while he gazed back at the people glaring at him.

“Mister traveler, we don’t want people like you in our country. Please leave this country immediately. This is what all of us think,” said a man who was acting as the representative of the residents.

Master Shizu gave a small nod. “I understand. ——Someone, please bring me my bag. It’s in the assembly hall.”

Soon the bag was brought before Master Shizu.

Master Shizu expressed his gratitude and hung his parka and goggles on the bag. With his sword still on his waist, Master Shizu carried the bag.

“I’m truly sorry for the trouble, but I’ll leave the disposal of the corpses to you. The persuaders and the horses though, still have plenty of use. Everything belongs to you,” Master Shizu said. No one said a word in reply. They all stared towards Master Shizu coldly.

“Thank you for letting me stay. Well then, I’ll be taking my leave,” Master Shizu politely thanked them.

“Let’s go, Riku,” Master Shizu walked and headed towards the open gates.

And I followed.


--


Master Shizu rode the buggy through the forest road. He was going slower than usual. The sunbeams streaming through the leaves flickered on the buggy.

Even if I look back, the small country beyond the trees and the valley can no longer be seen.

I asked from the passenger seat, “Are you disappointed?”

Master Shizu shook his head. His expression as he gripped the steering wheel was the same as always.

“That place is their country. And that was their choice. We have to honor it,” Master Shizu said. And then,

“I wasn’t expecting anything more. And, that’s good enough,” he added.

“They sponged off on you, didn’t they?” I asked.

“Yeah. They are a strong people,” Master Shizu nodded.

I asked just one more question.

“Did you like that country?”

Master Shizu smiled a little.

“Who knows.”

==Translator's Notes==
<references/>

Nope, the story has no relation to vampires... ^_^ The word 'bloodsucker' is synonymous to words like 'extortionist', 'black-mailer', 'parasite', etc, and refers to people who depend or 'sponge off' others.