Vanguard of the Eternal Night

translator: xiin

The antique didn't come back at night.

Victor had no interest in cooking dinner for himself. He ate a little, then thought about what he needed to do tomorrow. He leaned against the head of the bed that night, reading books until he unconsciously fell asleep.

When he regained consciousness after sleeping, Victor received a huge shock.

He seemed to be living in a very realistic dream. He'd become a tutor employed by a viscount in a magical world, and he was responsible for teaching the viscount's five children.

The viscount was very rich, and half of the reason why he'd gotten his title was due to money.

He was also a man who knew how to enjoy himself, and he lived in a big castle with many servants.

Victor: "……" This didn't make sense. He'd never lived in a castle like this. How could he dream up such a perfect scene?

The viscount's five children were like five little demons. They ran around the castle, and couldn't be found for class. Victor, as a hard pressed tutor, was very curious as he ran around looking for them everywhere.

He walked through the lush atrium and found a small house deep within the garden. There was an artificial lake up ahead with a swing on it.

There was a beautiful woman sitting on the swing, and her beauty was difficult to describe with words.

Victor felt that this scene was extremely familiar, and he couldn't help but go forward to look more carefully.

At this moment, something on the ground suddenly moved, startling Victor.

He shifted his gaze, and saw that it was a little child about five heads tall. Looking down from the top, he could only see fluffy and soft red curls, with hair whorls in the middle.

Victor: "……"

The little child spoke with an old person's tone, "This is my territory. Since you dare to break in, you'll be my prey."

"……"

But! Victor couldn't help himself!! Both of his eyes were shaped like hearts right now!! He'd been attacked by Little Tyron's cuteness!

This was a real, little old antique! Even if it was in a spiritual world, it was still a real, young shota!

Victor: "Hey, hehe, hehehehe… Little friend, how odd are you?"

"……"

Little Tyron took a step back, "Forget it, eating strange things can make your stomach upset."

Victor: "……" Is your wifey a 'strange thing'?? You're very good, little old antique, I'll remember this and settle accounts with the old old antique.

Tyron had said before that he’d grown up very fast as a child because of his mixed blood, but he’d spent a long time in his youthful period. This should be the result of the non-stop back and forth between demons and elves: demons had to have the ability to protect themselves and find food when they were young, while elves had a long period of youth where they learned, grew, and laid down the foundation for adulthood.

Little Tyron was in an awkward period where he had to eat a lot every day, and his stomach was like an endless black hole. His fangs and offensive instincts had been nearly mature from an early age, but his size hadn't caught up.

At about five years old, Little Tyron waddled and swayed when he walked.

So, the viscount's boys thought he was easy to bully and would come in groups to bully him.

……

Later on, Little Tyron beat them all up.

Adult Victor was shocked. The five year old Tyron's combat effectiveness had already been better than his own! There had been at least three brats between the ages three and thirteen, and he himself definitely wouldn't be able to handle it so easily.

Victor hesitantly took out a medicine pouch and hung out behind Little Tyron, following him back to the small house in the back.

Little Tyron: "What are you following me for? You shouldn't be short on food."

Victor: "You… you're hurt. It'll be bad if it gets infected. I'll help you put on some medicine."

Little Tyron accepted his medicine, then tossed him two fruits, "I won't take advantage of you. We'll trade. We don't owe each other anything, so you should go and get lost."

Victor: "……" How dare you tell your wifey to 'get lost'?! You'll regret it later, I'm telling you!

The old old antique now had an extra thing to account for.

This dream was so interesting that Victor lay in his instructor's bed that night and couldn't go to sleep, thinking that he might wake up in reality as soon as he fell asleep.

He grabbed his blanket and crept back to see the little old antique.

It was near midnight, and Tyron's beautiful half-elf mother was gone. Little Tyron was sitting on the wall alone.

--He was small, and his legs were short, so he could only straddle the wall. Otherwise, it was too easy for him to lose balance and fall.

Little Tyron was feeding a cat.

That cat was really very small. It was only about the size of a palm as it hid behind the bricks on the wall. It could barely be seen at all.

Little Tyron's face was also only about the size of a palm. He frowned solemnly, and his eyes were a pale gold in the moonlight. His lips were as tender as jelly and almost translucent as he spoke in an overly adult tone, "Who told you to go out and steal things? If someone sees you, you'll die with just one kick."

Cat: "Meow."

Little Tyron: "You're not convinced? I'll kick you right now."

Cat: "Purr, purr."

Little Tyron: "If you continue like this I'll ignore you."

"Meow…" The cat actually managed to pull out two gold coins, putting them into Little Tyron's palm.

Little Tyron said, "Hmph. I raised you because you had talent, but I didn't tell you to start stealing now. If you get kicked to death now, it'll be a waste of the two months I spent raising you. You still owe me a lot, so grow up honestly. I'll start to squeeze you for your worth when you're older."

The cat grew obedient after listening to him. It was probably very happy to hear that it was useful and rubbed against him with its face.

Little Tyron took out a loaf of bread, broke off a piece, and fed it to the cat.

After a while, he looked down at Victor, who was beneath the wall, and spoke disgustedly, "Why are you still here? Have you heard enough?"

Victor actually felt like he'd broken into the holy land by mistake. He said humbly, "Sorry, I just wanted to come see you."

Little Tyron broke off a piece of bread and said, "Say 'ah'."

Victor was used to listening to the old antique, so he subconsciously replied, "Ah?"

Little Tyron was satisfied with his obedience, so he made a decision and tossed the bread into his mouth.

After being fed by Little Tyron, Victor became Little Tyron's person.

Little Tyron: "Isn't this a matter of course? You ate my food, so now you're my human."

Victor spoke excitedly, "I'll help you steal food to eat!"

Little Tyron: "What a disgrace. Even the cat knows to steal money."

Victor: "……" Little old antique! You just wait! I'll go and bully the old old antique when I go back! It's never too late for a gentleman to get revenge!!

It turned out that the old antique used to have a cat when he was a child. He'd been careful and attentive with raising it, and would always remember to share with the cat when he had food to eat.

Later on, Victor would visit them often, and brought over blankets for them.

The little old antique would cover himself and the cat with the blankets, wait for Victor to tuck them in and say goodnight before condescending to say good night back.

It was just that the cat died early. In war, the lifespan of any creature was short. It only lived for two years before dying of gastrointestinal diseases.

The little old antique had grown up smoothly to seven and a half years old. He still wasn't big, and looked like a young little shota.

Victor found it a little strange. This period of time didn't seem to pass for him at all, and it was all like a dream. He had a very confused feeling, like he'd walked down a road and two years had already passed. The little cat turned into a big cat, while the little old antique was still a little old antique, and Victor had just gone through a scene in his dreams.

In the dream, Victor had only just thought about it, and found that he had a lot of magical knowledge. Even if he didn't go to study any secret methods, he could still be a mainstream mage who could open a shop or teach or something similar.

With such an idea, he'd become a respected mage in the next scene.

Mr. Victor, the mage, had changed from being a tutor in the viscount's family to being a counselor. The five children from back then had already gone out into the world one by one. The eldest son, who was 15 years old, had gone out on official business. He respected Victor very much every time he came home.

Victor still liked to run to the back yard.

The cat tried very hard to steal, but Tyron had trained it to be very cautious and it often wasn't able to bring back money. Out of shame, the cat would bring back prey like birds and fish. Little Tyron never scolded it, and it was as though he'd forgotten about how he'd said he'd squeeze the cat for its worth when it was a child.

After the cat died, Little Tyron buried it in the yard.

He didn't have the concept of 'settling down for peace'. He'd practically been born with the survival instincts of a little demon, and he'd learned wisdom from the human society around him--so, this behavior had been taught to him by Victor.

Little Tyron buried the cat and stood there silently with Victor.

Suddenly, Little Tyron spoke up, "What is this thing that makes my heart hurt?"

Victor was full of tenderness and replied, "It's 'liking something'."

Little Tyron said, "Take it away, I don't want it."

Victor hugged him and couldn't say anything. A while later, he spoke, "But, you have to get used to the feeling of loss. Your life will be very long and very wonderful. There will be many people who accompany you, and many people who ultimately leave you. Nobody in the world can do anything about parting."

Tyron said, "I shouldn't have chosen to like such a weak creature that dies so easily. In the future, I won't like them anymore. As a human and elf, it's easy to like this kind of thing and feel sad. Since it's like this, it's better to be a demon."

By the time he said this, Little Tyron had already been in contact with Bluebell for some time.

The old antique never 'liked' cats again.

Victor felt so much heartache that he begged to sleep with the little old antique that night.

Little Tyron was expressionless, "You humans only know to be proud because of another person's indulgence?"

He looked very angry, so Victor coaxed him with a small cake he'd made himself.

Little Tyron found a way to back down and accepted the 'bribe'. He made room for Victor on the bed without another word.

Victor's mind was full of the old antique. He secretly crossed out several items from the account book in his mind.

After a while, Little Tyron suddenly turned around and spoke coldly, "You lazy human. Don't you think you've forgotten something?"

Victor quickly came back to his senses. He reached out for the blanket and tucked him in, whispering, "Good night, my little old antique."

The little old antique replied, "Good night, the last human I'll raise."

Victor: "……"

The little old antique turned back and muttered to himself, "I'll never raise such a soft and weak thing ever again."