Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Blood Hook (1)
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Ronan turned his head. A girl stood there, her hood pulled all the way down over her head. Within the shadows draping her face, red eyes glinted.
"...Ophelia?"
"Yeah. Kept you waiting, huh."
It was Ophelia, who had left to study blood magic with one of Sita's feathers. Adeshan's eyes widened.
"Ah, you're the one from the interview...?"
"Yeah. You've... grown a bit taller."
"Whoa, how'd you know? You're Ophelia sunbae from the Magic Department, third-year, right?"
Adeshan clapped her hands in admiration. In fact, she had grown about a finger's width since last month, reaching 176cm. Ronan, who had been stiff, finally spoke.
"Is your research done?"
"Yeah. Not perfect, but... to some extent."
"Good to hear. Honestly, I thought you'd just grabbed the feather and bolted."
"Sorry... There were some complications."
Ophelia's voice carried considerable fatigue. It seemed she'd gone through her fair share of hardships during her absence. Ronan had mountains of questions, but there was something else to address first. He held up the paper that had become a map and asked.
By the way, did you do something to this? It suddenly changed like this."
"Yeah. You were struggling to open the envelope, so..."
"Envelope?"
"Ah... So you really didn't know."
Ophelia nodded. Suddenly, her voice echoed in Ronan's mind.
[It's... a letter made with blood magic.]
"Whoa! Why telepathy all of a sudden..."
Instead of answering, Ophelia turned to Adeshan. Come to think of it, she didn't know Ophelia was a vampire yet. Ronan nodded, trailing off.
"Got it."
[Thanks. It's information compressed into a single drop of blood... Opening the envelope means injecting mana to release the info held in the blood.]
Ophelia continued explaining via telepathy. She said letters using blood were a method vampires favored for secret communications.
"Hmm...?"
Adeshan tilted her head at the sudden silence. Some secretive vibe was flowing between the two that she wasn't privy to.
Adeshan alternated her gaze between the now-silent Ronan and Ophelia. Even under the shadow, Ophelia's face shone with beauty.
...Clap! After a moment of silence, Adeshan suddenly clapped her hands and said.
"Oh right, I forgot the instructor told me to sort some documents."
"Adeshan?"
"Sorry. Let's talk later."
"Did I make you mad? Your face..."
"I'm not mad. Ophelia sunbae, I'll head out first."
Her tone was subtly cold. Adeshan turned away after those words. Her steps were noticeably quicker than usual. Watching her back, Ophelia muttered.
"Good timing..."
"Works out well. Was awkward keeping her standing anyway."
"But why's she mad...?"
"Who knows. Women are hard to figure out sometimes. Anyway, Ophelia, let's talk about the rest somewhere else."
Ophelia looked around and nodded. It was definitely not the place for suspicious conversations, wide open as it was.
They moved to the club building. Creak—the wooden door opened, revealing a dim interior. The other members were still in class and hadn't arrived yet.
The moment the door closed, Ophelia threw off her hood. Suppressed silver hair cascaded down past her shoulders. She stretched as if wringing herself out and spoke.
"Ahh... Feels like I can breathe now."
"Sunlight bothering you?"
"Yeah. Overcast helps a bit, but... Oh, what about that kid?"
"If you mean Sita, she'll be here soon. She's been going out for walks a lot lately."
"I see... I wanna see her quick."
Ophelia slowly looked around the room. With all lights off, it felt like an abandoned cabin, eerie vibes lingering. She caressed the three-tiered candelabra on the bar table and muttered.
"Nice place... This is your clubroom?"
"Not 'your,' it's 'our.'"
"Right. Yeah... So, can I crash here?"
"Of course. You're a member now. Oh, our club rule is everyone uses casual speech. Cool with that?"
"Yeah... I prefer it that way."
Ophelia beamed. She seemed to really like the club.
Ronan briefly explained what happened during her absence. The hellish Vaidian Mountains, midterms, even Schlieffen joining. Ophelia listened intently, eyes sparkling with interest.
"A lot happened... Now that I think about it, I haven't greeted the others at all. What if they hate me...?"
"They're all good people, won't happen. By the way, no letters the last few weeks—what happened?"
"Oh. Had some friction with my parents... They suddenly told me to quit research and rule the fief... But I sorted it out, so it'll be fine."
"Fief...?"
Ophelia seemed on bad terms with her blood relatives, including her parents. They appeared to be from high society, but she glossed over her family matters.
Ronan had no intention of prying. He placed the paper on the bar table and snapped his fingers.
"So, Ophelia, this is a blood magic note, right?"
"Yeah. Exactly."
"Can you tell who sent it?"
"Want me to check...?"
"Yeah. Feels off."
Ophelia nodded. As she picked up the paper, the bloodstain shaped like a map began moving again. The wriggling stain soon morphed into a red hook shape. Ophelia's face hardened.
"...Where'd you get this?"
"What's wrong?"
"Answer first. Did you receive it directly?"
Her eyes were serious. Ronan vaguely said he picked it up from someone he knew. Ophelia folded the paper and handed it back.
"That person... They're after pure blood essence, right?"
"How'd you know?"
"It's written here. The sender... is a group called Blood Hook."
"Doesn't sound friendly. Bad guys?"
"Yeah. Not huge, but... rising stars, I guess."
Blood Hook. A group mainly of young vampires not even two hundred years old, Ophelia explained with a tsk of pity.
"Irresponsible brats. Obsessed with past glories they've never even seen..."
"...Ophelia, how old are you?"
"There's joy in the world... born from ignorance."
Blood Hook longed for the old days when vampires ruled as nightmares of the night. They wandered unclaimed lands, raiding travelers and villages, trading slaves as their main income.
Lately, they also acted as treasure hunters, procuring anything for the right price. Ronan thought a moment, then revealed it came from Professor Jarodin of the Magic Department. A faint wrinkle creased Ophelia's porcelain brow.
"Jarodin...? You mean the tower mage from the Full Moon Tower...?"
"Yeah."
"That's why it was in front of Tower 41... Those kids are begging to die..."
"What do you mean?"
"This note... It's an invitation saying if you have the pure blood essence and want to accept the offer, come find us. The map marks the meeting spot."
Ophelia said they'd demand outrageous payment. If money, an unimaginable sum; if an item, nothing less than a cataloged treasure. And if the other side seemed desperate...
"...They might demand you become a familiar."
"No way. Jarodin's no idiot."
"To the desperate, no time exists but 'right now'... They might not demand it immediately but require it in the near future, sealing it with a blood pact."
A blood pact was an unbreakable promise—violate it, and you die. Ronan scoffed.
"Doesn't make sense. Just kill them all and take the stuff. No reason to accept such a dumb deal."
"Of course, someone like Jarodin could turn those kids to dust in seconds... The issue is the item: pure blood essence."
"Why's that?"
"It's a lump of pure mana only blood magic can handle... The kids probably have it unprocessed. They'll only finish processing after payment, then let you take it..."
"Hah, weak-ass punks."
Ronan recalled his past life. Ten years from now, Jarodin was nowhere on the battlefields. Hard to imagine he'd become a slave to lowlife vampires like Blood Hook.
Strictly speaking, pure blood essence was just one ingredient among many revival attempts. No guarantee it'd resurrect his wife— no way he'd accept such a deal.
'If he's sane.'
But Jarodin was addicted to love. In any field, mistaking slim odds for certainty was the addict's hallmark. Ronan stroked his chin, pondering.
'Good guy.'
Ronan didn't dislike Jarodin. Honestly, he liked him—a damn fine person, bluntly put.
Even if for his own gain, enduring the curse to help was worthy of thanks. Ronan, groaning softly, spoke.
"Ophelia. Help me out."
"Huh? Help how...?"
"Write a reply. Accepting the offer."
Ophelia's eyes widened. Ronan explained the plan he'd just devised. Clear as always, but utterly insane.
"You're serious...?"
"Yeah. Just change the meeting spot."
"Sorry, but I can't go with you. Family issues..."
Ophelia trailed off. Seemed related to her home. Ronan yawned hugely and waved it off.
"Yawwwn... Don't need you to come, dummy. I'll go alone, don't worry."
"...Kids by vampire standards doesn't mean much compared to mortals. Without knowledge, they're even more savage and brutal."
Ophelia explained Blood Hook's dangers. Not strong compared to high vampires, but more hazardous to humans. Centuries of malice and cunning crumble human body and mind like sandcastles. Ronan chuckled.
"Got it. You're not stopping me despite the warnings, so you don't hate the plan either."
"That's..."
Ophelia shut her mouth. Silence implying agreement. A faint sigh escaped her lips.
"Fine... But without me, how'll you handle the pure blood essence...?"
"Oh, that."
Ronan was about to speak. Tap tap. Suddenly, tapping came from the curtained window.
"She's here."
"Huh?"
Ronan approached the window and pulled the curtain. Whoosh! As he opened it, a shadow rushed in, plastering to his face. The black, fluffy feathers tickled his nose—he nearly sneezed.
"You're back."
"Ppe!"
"Where'd you wander off to this time?"
Ronan scooped Sita up in both hands. She smelled of the sea—must've gone all the way to the dawn shores.
"You know how much shit I got from Lucy 'cause of you? You didn't catch another manta ray, did you?"
"Ppaya~"
Sita tilted her head innocently and nuzzled Ronan's cheek. Ophelia stood, clasping her hands.
She'd grown bigger since last time. Staring entranced at Sita, Ophelia's mouth parted softly.
"...Come here?"
"Ppeah?"
Ophelia extended her hand. Sita blinked vacantly before hopping to the bar table right in front of her. Ophelia stroked her as if handling fragile jewelry. Sita stared intently, her eyes flickering briefly.
"Ppat."
At that moment, a rose made of blood appeared before Sita. Just like the one she'd shown Ophelia before. Sita bit the rose and offered it to her. Ophelia's eyes went wide.
"This...!"
"She remembers you."
Ophelia took the blood rose with trembling hands. Sita hopped onto her shoulder. Ronan, hands in pockets, said.
"I'll take her with. Just teach her how to handle that pure blood whatever. That work?"
After a silence, Ophelia spoke.
"Yeah... Should."
"Gotta wrap this before Jarodin does something stupid, so teach fast as you can. Heading out next weekend."
"Okay. Let's start now. Since I can't go, I'll teach extra hard. So much I wanna share..."
"You two go ahead. Be there soon."
Ophelia had volunteered to be Sita's master. She carried Sita out of the building. Silence filled the now-empty room. Ronan idly touched his sword hilt and muttered.
"...Can't lose talent like that."
Ronan recalled the mana Jarodin had emitted while coughing. If he might turn foe, better to kill preemptively—a rational powerhouse.
But the world didn't run on rationality alone. He knew trying everything left no regrets.
As Ronan refined his plan. Shoooo—whoa! A chilling aura pierced the wall, making his shoulders hunch.
"Ugh...!"
Hairs stood on end across his body. Ronan whipped his head around. Red mana, like Sita's or Ophelia's, seeped through the door crack.
"Fuck, what the hell are they teaching?"
Ronan kicked the door open and stepped out. His eyes widened at the sight outside.