Chapter 1

The waning moon, so I've heard, is called such because it is the night before the full moon, when one eagerly awaits its arrival.

The moon shining in the sky is incredibly beautiful, and thinking that a full moon would be even more so, I can't help but regret that tonight is the fourteenth night.

The late-night road is deserted, and the occasional passing vehicle does not stop.

I'm sure I must look drunk or something. Perhaps no one has even noticed me.

Scattered on the ground is the new novel I intended to read when I got home.

Its sales can hardly be called good, and the reviews criticize it as a boring story with no purpose for the protagonist.

However, I empathized with this unpopular protagonist of an unpopular novel.

Indeed, the lack of purpose for the protagonist is a precise criticism, and it is a flaw in the story.

Without knowing what the protagonist wants, the direction of the story cannot be determined.

But I wonder, do those who harshly reviewed it have a purpose in their lives?

Does someone in a passing car have a clear life goal, such as wanting to become this or that?

I can hear the sound of a train in the distance... Is the salaryman on that train, returning from work, someone who became a salaryman because he wanted to? Is that his purpose?

I don't think so. At least, I'm not.

If the hero in a fantasy story has the purpose of defeating the demon king and saving the world, or if the protagonist in a boxing manga has the goal of becoming the world champion, how many people in this reality actually set clear goals and strive for them?

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

A question that children are once asked. They answer with dreams.

"I want to be a baseball player," "I want to be the president," "I want to be a scholar," "I want to be an idol."

Their innocent answers, unaware of the harshness of reality, the struggles, and the difficulties. But they are filled with dreams.

At that time, everyone must be a protagonist with a purpose. Everyone is the protagonist of their own life, and in childhood, the world sparkles.

But as one grows up, one learns of setbacks, talent, and reality, and eventually forgets their dreams and lives just to live.

So, perhaps we are all protagonists of stories without purpose.

Like the moon in the sky, which is never fulfilled... a moon that is forever incomplete, lacking the important thing called purpose... perhaps that is us.

And now, my boring story is about to end.

It's not a dramatic ending. If I had saved a child and been in an accident, it might have been a bit more impressive... but I just bumped into someone who was running up the stairs of a pedestrian bridge, fell, and hit my head.

That someone ran away and is nowhere to be seen.

My blood stains the ground, my limbs are paralyzed, and my consciousness is fading.

Feeling all of this, I thought...

—Ah... what a boring story...

With that final thought, I closed my eyes while gazing at the waning moon.

My eyes will never see the full moon again.

◆

When did it start? When did I recognize a life that wasn't mine?

When did I realize that this life was my second?

In the girl's memory, from the day she noticed, there was a life of someone she had no recollection of.

Her name was Mercedes. Her family name was Grünwald.

She was born as one of the many concubines' children of Baron Bernhard, a vampire who ruled vast lands.

When did she recognize the memories of her past life... I think it was around the time her sense of self began to form. In other words, quite early on.

But to Mercedes, it was more like the knowledge of someone unknown rather than a past life.

She could understand what kind of person and what kind of interests this person had, and even knew the cause of death.

But it felt like someone else's life... like being shown a digest of someone's life she had never met and being told, "This is your past life," and saying, "Yes, I see," and accepting it was impossible.

And that digest of a story was terribly... terribly boring.

To Mercedes, the person who provided this knowledge was not "my past life" but "someone who was apparently my past life."

But this knowledge was undoubtedly useful to her.

Because of it, she was able to establish her sense of self at a young age and develop a thinking ability that rivaled adults.

And she was able to understand how precarious her current situation was.

Walking through the house, which was a bit too small to be called a mansion, she thought.

Mercedes Grünwald is a vampire.

Since her birth, she has repeated 365 days about five times. In other words, she is five years old.

When I say vampire, she is not the undead type from her knowledge.

In this world, vampires are strong, can use special powers called magic, have long lifespans, excellent regenerative abilities, and a slight aversion to the sun.

They drink the blood of other creatures, but not in large quantities.

It might sound gruesome to say they drink blood, but there are creatures that do.

To put it bluntly, they are like mosquitoes.

So, they can have children, and being splashed with holy water won't burn their skin.

And, of course, mosquito repellent doesn't work.

Hearing this, you might think it's a great life. Indeed, in terms of species, it's not a bad deal.

What about her appearance?

Looking at the mirror on the wall, she confirmed her own image.

Her hair, which can look blue or silver depending on the angle of the light, is tied back and reaches her waist.

Her still youthful face is undeniably beautiful, even to the point where modesty would be considered rude.

Her slightly upturned, golden eyes change like a cat's depending on the brightness and her mood, but now they are not much different from a human's.

Her nose is slender, her lips are cherry-colored, and her skin is white.

In this life, she seems to have been blessed with good looks. At least, she doesn't seek any greater beauty.

To be self-congratulatory, I have a firm belief that I will become a beauty in the future.

Physically, there are no issues. Rather, being a vampire, she is incomparably stronger than humans.

Up to this point, there should be no complaints. She can proudly say she is blessed.

But Mercedes felt a sense of crisis about her birth. Or rather, her environment and current situation.

As mentioned earlier, there are vampires in this world. The fact that I say "this world" indicates that this is not Earth. It is called the Red Land, the Red Planet.

It's a cliché, with no twists, and it's as if the mass-produced mecha that appear and explode in a second in light novels, but it seems I was reborn in another world.

And as mentioned at the beginning, Mercedes was born to a vampire father and mother as a concubine's child.

Moreover, her mother seems to be one of the lower-ranking concubines.

This is evident from the house she is given... a small house that looks like a poor noble family's residence in the countryside.

One might think that being given a house is enough, but the fact that she is not even allowed to live in the main house is telling.

Moreover, her father rules vast lands and has plenty of money and buildings. Yet, this is the treatment she receives.

The window frames rattle in the strong wind, and parts of the floor creak when walked on, as if they are rotting.

Once a day, I see G and rats. This is terrible.

To make matters worse, Mercedes has never seen her father's face in the five years since her birth.

She has never seen her father visit her mother. Even for a long-lived vampire, even for a concubine, leaving a wife for five years is unthinkable.

From these circumstances, it is clear. Her mother is disliked by her father... or perhaps, she is not even thought of at all.

Mercedes thinks. The current situation is manageable.

She seems to receive a minimum allowance and lives a modest life with her mother and the old woman who takes care of her.

But this won't last forever. The reason she and her mother can live like this is that she barely has the right to inherit the family name... although this right is almost non-existent.

The Grünwald name will be inherited by the legitimate child. That's fine, but the problem is what happens after that.

Once the official successor to the Grünwalds is decided, all the concubine's children, including herself, will be useless.

Given this careless treatment, it's overly optimistic to think they will be taken care of after the successor is decided.

...They will be abandoned. It's best to predict this.

Mercedes thinks further.

What should she do when that time comes?

Should she just wait for a future that might come tomorrow?

No, that's impossible. Why would she stand idly by in the face of a known misfortune?

But what can she do?

She has no wealth or reputation. All she has is this body of a vampire.

"Ah, Miss. Are you going out today?"

"Yes, old lady. I'll play in the garden for a bit. No need to tell Mother."

"Have a good day."

She greets the old woman who takes care of her as they pass in the hallway and walks past the study.

Inside are bookshelves lined up in a small space, a small desk, and a chair.

On the desk, books she has read countless times are piled up, and every word and sentence is etched in Mercedes' mind.

Recognizing her past life and correctly understanding her current situation, Mercedes first immersed herself in reading books.

To prepare for the day that would surely come, she sought what she could do to survive even if she were immediately cast out by her father. She explored ways to keep herself, her mother, and the old woman alive.

And Mercedes was grateful that the goddess of fortune seemed to be on her side. Or perhaps it was the goddess of misfortune.

In any case, there was a path.

In this world, there is a job that anyone, regardless of age or status, can take.

The price is one's life. By paying a single chip, one buys danger and earns a day's living as an outlaw.

They are called explorers, and they earn money by conquering the numerous secret places and dungeons in the world, the most dangerous job in the world.

For a five-year-old Mercedes, this is the only way to earn money.

However, even as a vampire, relying solely on innate abilities would quickly turn her into a corpse. First, there are vampires among the explorers, and many have not returned from their missions.

So, Mercedes thought. The conclusion was simple and childish.

—She needed to become stronger.

A simple answer that anyone could think of. It's a no-brainer, but if she could do it, she wouldn't be struggling.

But childish or not, she only has this body. So, she has to use it.

Therefore, whenever she has time, she goes outside to train herself.

When she goes outside, the blue moon illuminating the sky catches her eye.

The moon in this world is blue and is also called Eden. Why it is blue is unknown.

Mercedes looks up at the softly glowing full moon and reaches out her hand as if to grab it.

Of course, her hand can't reach the moon.

But in her vision, her small palm grips the moon as if holding its light.

This life, this existence, which she has been given.

She has no intention of letting it rot away.

This small, empty palm.

But she will grasp something. Whether it's wealth or reputation, she doesn't know, but she will grasp the proof of her existence in this world, in her hand.

On the day it all ends, she wants to be able to say, without regret, that it was good to be born.

No longer will she end as a waning moon.

"I want to live without regret and die with a smile."

She will run through this second life with all her might.

Without stopping, she will keep running.

And one day, she will die with a smile. This is the goal the girl set for her second life.

"I will live. I will live this second life with all my might."

A vow to the moon, heard by no one.

The full moon seemed to shine a little brighter.

Full Moon (What is this kid doing alone? Is she having a second-year syndrome?

Well, whatever, I'll just shine a bit.) *Shine*

Flame

<（゜∀゜）/ Hello everyone... It's been a while, but not really. This is Firehead.

I've been taking it easy, but finally, I've started a new serial.

I'll be doing a vampire reincarnation story, as I mentioned briefly before.

The protagonist's goal is to die without a single regret in her life.

She doesn't have goals like saving the world or defeating the demon king. In a sense, she doesn't care what happens to the world as long as she can die satisfied. At first, she is very detached and lacks human warmth.

She is a thin, hollow personality, indifferent to both others and herself.

But I want this to be a story where such a protagonist gradually grows more human and becomes more emotionally rich.

If you like this kind of story, please join me again.