Chapter 13

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 13

Chapter Title: Dawn Fortress

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I'm currently holding the Saintess in my arms.

Even Hans, the one I trusted, betrayed me.

"Saintess...? Would you mind waking up a bit?"

I rubbed and shook her back fairly firmly with the hand on her waist.

"Mmgh..."

The Saintess shook her head as if she weren't pleased.

She's not awake, is she...? Fine, let's set her down first.

My arms and thighs can't take it anymore.

I headed toward a chair to put her down.

But when I loosened the arm around her waist, her arms clamped tightly around my chest.

And when I tried to pull my hand from under her hips, her legs squeezed my waist hard.

I managed to free my hands completely, but the Saintess clung to me like a cicada on a tree, as if refusing to be let go.

Why is she doing this...?

In the end, I sat on the chair with her still hanging off me.

Now it looked like she was straddling me.

"I've got to get this over with quickly."

I need to pry her off fast.

If anyone saw us like this, I'd be arrested for blasphemy.

No matter how you sliced it, it looked like I was in the middle of something lewd with the Saintess.

Even if she's a vampire, a Saintess is still a Saintess.

Priests were everywhere outside, and if one of them caught sight of this...

"Hngh..."

I took a deep breath and tried to push her away forcefully, but the more I did, the tighter she gripped my waist.

I have no idea who said vampires are weak in the morning.

She won't budge an inch... This is what they call 'weak'?

I was just about to give up.

- Lick.

"Huh?"

Something soft and moist brushed past my neck.

No way... it can't be.

"Mmm... yum..."

The Saintess smacked her lips as if savoring the taste.

I touched my neck with my hand and felt something wet.

This is bad.

If this goes on, she'll devour me.

Cold sweat started beading on my forehead.

From what I knew, a vampire barely got full off one human's worth of blood.

Especially the Saintess, who burned through blood all day using her powers.

If she really got into it, there wouldn't even be bones left.

- Slurp.

Then I heard the smacking sound again from below.

Now I was seriously about to get drained dry by a sleeping Saintess.

"Hah...!"

I pushed with all my might to shake her off.

But just like before, she didn't budge.

So I grabbed her face to at least pull it away from my neck.

That was the moment.

- Crunch.

The Saintess's sharp fangs sank deep into my left hand.

A stinging pain shot through my hand.

Red blood dripped down from it.

"Shit... This is really bad."

At this rate, she'd drain me to death.

I could feel my left hand growing colder by the second.

She was sucking the blood out way faster than I'd expected.

Blasphemy be damned—I needed to yell and get someone in here.

- Bang!

That's when the door burst open with a loud crash.

"I was wondering where you'd gone. A secret rendezvous with the Saintess on your first day..."

"H-Hero?"

The Hero stood in the doorway, frowning at us.

- Clack, clack...

Her heels clicked closer.

"I did say to devote yourself to the Empire, but that didn't mean to satisfy the Saintess's urges."

The Hero narrowed her eyes as she approached me, then froze upon seeing the Saintess.

She seemed more shocked by what the Saintess was doing than by our position.

"Ha... Why is she acting up like this now?"

She stared at the Saintess—who had her eyes closed and was slurping away at my left hand—then let out a sigh.

The Saintess looked just like a baby right now.

The Hero blinked in surprise; this must be her first time seeing the Saintess like this too.

"Well... She suddenly fell asleep during the Body Search test. And now she won't let go."

"Your Body Search skills must really be something if it's true."

The Hero stared intently at the Saintess, fascinated.

"She's sleeping so soundly. First time I've seen her sleep outside her coffin. And she's even chowing down on blood."

The Hero poked at the Saintess's blood-sucking cheek, observing her.

Hey, instead of just watching, can you pry this leech off my hand?

"Um... Could you maybe help separate her?"

"Oh, I thought you were enjoying it. Figured it was your thing."

The Hero tilted her head innocently, as if she hadn't realized.

Enjoying getting drained to death? Yeah, right.

"But if you force her off while she's sucking blood, she'll rip your hand clean off."

"...Pardon? My hand would get torn off?"

"She'd reattach it if you asked, but what do you want to do?"

Worst thing I'd ever heard.

Endure the agony of having my hand torn off, or die.

As I hesitated, the Hero sighed and stepped out.

She soon returned carrying something massive.

- Thud!

The heavy object hit the floor with a deep boom.

It was the Saintess's crib: the thorny vine cradle.

"Stay still. Not guaranteed, but she'll crawl in on her own."

"Got it."

The cradle's lid creaked open, and the Saintess—who wouldn't let go no matter what—slithered inside.

"They say vampires instinctively enter their cradles during the day. Guess it's true."

The Hero watched, dumbfounded; this was clearly her first time putting the Saintess in like this.

"Clean the blood off with this first."

"Yes, thank you."

The Hero pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it over.

My left hand now had two large holes matching her teeth.

They were deeper than expected, and blood kept oozing out.

"What about the Saintess?"

"Just leave her. She's sleeping well."

I roughly wiped the blood with the Hero's handkerchief, then went with her to find bandages.

"So... how was the Saintess's body?"

"Pardon?"

The Hero grinned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slyly like a fox.

The earlier touches had been unavoidable, but I had nothing to say.

Honestly, it had felt good.

Looking at her now, the Hero had a mischievous side.

Hard to believe this was the same woman who'd held a rapier to my throat just moments ago.

That expression from back then was still burned into my mind...

"Nice and squishy, right? I love touching her cheeks too."

"......"

The Hero beamed at me.

She seemed like a perfectly sweet girl who cared about her friends.

Knowing her future as a war maniac psychopath made my heart ache.

"Oh... and just to repeat, devoting yourself to the Empire doesn't mean being the Saintess's snack."

"I know."

Who'd want to do it on purpose?

Suddenly, I started resenting Hans.

If that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guy had helped, I could've handled it somehow.

We finally reached the bandages and I grabbed one.

"Where are your gloves, though? You're bare-handed."

"Ah, in my pocket."

"Always wear them when you're out and about."

Gloves too? For the wound?

I tore the bandage and wrapped it tightly around my hand.

Then, as the Hero said, I put on the gloves.

"I'll be going then. Fulfill the contract properly."

"Thank you."

The Hero descended the stairs with her usual hollow expression.

Even after just two meetings, I still couldn't get used to that look.

I watched until she was fully down the stairs, then set off to find Hans again.

Finally, I've got one more. My Life Point.

There'd been more than a few times I'd felt anxious without any Life Points.

I'd survived near-death experiences more times than I could count...

I opened my status window.

Seeing the Life Point properly registered warmed a corner of my heart.

The save point had updated too, so no more worries about resets.

With Hans's guidance, I'd finally arrived at the western gate, Dawn Fortress.

Unlike the cabin I'd lived in before, this was a sturdy stone room about 5 pyeong in size.

The door was solid steel.

The furniture looked a bit dated, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it had a lived-in feel that was nice.

Compared to my old cabin, it was in much better shape anyway.

The props matched exactly what I'd seen in the game.

The main difference from the cabin? A bell on the desk.

Here in the west, ringing it brought someone in.

With the high foot traffic, there were always people on standby.

"Mr. Anderson, since it's your first day, I'd hoped to ease you in slowly, but..."

"It's fine. I'll start now."

Hans eyed me nervously, sweating profusely.

Truth be told, assigning a new recruit to duty on their first day was absurd.

But with Kyle's letter of recommendation, it was procedurally fine.

Hans was just being cautious.

Now that I noticed, dark circles shadowed his eyes.

Probably exhausted from his supply officer duties on the front lines.

"Really, no issue. I'll handle things solo from here."

"Ah... In that case, I'm truly sorry, but thank you."

Hans apologized repeatedly and hurried off.

I'd considered pranking him over what happened earlier, but seeing him like that, I couldn't bring myself to.

The sun was already high outside.

Lunchtime, so probably not many visitors.

I could take it easy and stop midway if needed.

- Ding-a-ling.

I rang the bell on the desk.

The iron door opened, and a skinny man entered.

Yeah, first day, nothing major would happen.

"Show your pass..."

"H-Hands up!!! Open the door if you don't wanna die!!"

Oh.