Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Smell of Blood
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"......I'm sorry."
"Traitor."
-Crunch.
The force pressing down on my shoulder grew stronger.
Strong enough that I had to grit my teeth.
"Around here, right? The spot you were covering with your hand last time."
Of course she'd notice.
When I received the military uniform last time, I thought I'd hidden it well, but fooling the sharp-eyed Hero was impossible.
"And now, I can't even tell what this smell is... Animal stench? There are bite marks on your leg too."
The Hero slowly shifted her gaze.
From my shoulder, down to my leg, and then to my hand.
As if she could figure everything out just from the scent alone.
"Gatekeeper... You haven't forgotten our contract, have you?"
"......No."
The contract that would kill me if I didn't properly defend the west from the Empire.
The second priority on my list to break, right after the slave contract I made with the Hero upon our first meeting.
"You're finally opening your mouth."
"I'm sorry."
"I want us to remain friends forever. For the sake of this western front, too."
The Hero's rapier slowly drew closer to my wrist.
The sharp blade touched my skin, stinging.
The Hero's threats had begun again.
But unlike last time, my body didn't tremble.
Because I knew she couldn't kill me.
Even now was the same.
If she really wanted me dead, she would've slit my throat ages ago.
'Like that...'
My eyes shifted to the gruesome object on the ground.
Someone's wrist, still clutched in a torch.
Would that person have gotten off with just a severed wrist?
The Hero was endlessly cruel to those who opposed the Empire.
"But having an impure relationship with the Saintess... I can't forgive that."
You could tell from the difference in reactions between Selena and the Hero.
If they had anything in common, it was that both were psychopaths with blinding speed.
I had abilities related to being a Gatekeeper, but nothing that dramatically boosted my physical stats.
The only exercise I'd done was carrying the Saintess and one-handedly lifting Luru's tail.
So if these women decided to kill me, I wouldn't even be able to resist—I'd just die helplessly.
Like when Selena had decapitated me last time.
My gaze returned to the blade on my wrist and the hand on my shoulder.
Probably... a signal that she wanted a specific answer from me.
From the first time we met, she'd always approached like this before demanding what she wanted.
'What answer does she want to hear...?'
I swallowed hard, loosening my locked throat.
What could it be? What the Hero wanted.
I calmly opened my mouth.
"I absolutely did not have an impure relationship with the Saintess."
I had to weave truth and lies cleverly.
The Hero bitch had an uncanny knack for detecting lies.
"So you're saying you just made her your familiar and that was it?"
"Yes."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"The Saintess said she needed my blood for a good night's sleep. It was all for the Empire."
At the mention of the Empire, the Hero's eyelids twitched.
"For the Empire...?"
"Yes. She said vampires' sleep quality deteriorates if they go too long without blood."
Empire and friends.
The two words that softened the Hero's heart.
Sure enough, she reacted to my words about it being for the Empire.
The grip on my shoulder loosened slightly.
"...So you became her familiar?"
But the Hero's eyes sharpened even more.
As if she couldn't believe it at all.
"I thought if the Saintess's activity increased, the number of injured soldiers would decrease accordingly."
"......"
"If I became the Saintess's familiar, it would greatly bolster the Empire's strength. And it was what she wanted too."
Good, that should be excuse enough.
"......"
"......"
The Hero fell silent, as if calculating in her head.
Then she slowly parted her lips.
"Ha... Yeah... Fine..."
The blade against my wrist slowly pulled away.
"For the Empire, huh..."
"......"
"I have no feelings for the Saintess."
The Hero's lips curved into a smirk.
"Liar."
-Crunch.
"!!!"
A crushing pain shot through my shoulder.
Overpowered by the Hero's strength, my knees buckled involuntarily.
"You think anyone in their right mind picks a lifelong partner just from tasting their blood?"
"......"
"You must've seduced her with that shady hand technique of yours."
The Hero's lips slowly approached my ear.
Calmly and steadily, she whispered.
"Gatekeeper... That was the right answer, though. It was what I wanted to hear. Deep down, I believed in you."
"........."
"You know your own situation better than anyone."
The Hero's eyes were ice-cold.
Empty and pitch-black, like a horrifying void.
The pain in my shoulder kept me from speaking.
"This is your punishment. For ditching your friend and playing around."
The Hero's lips moved away from my ear.
And moments later, the pressure on my shoulder suddenly released.
"Cough... Hack..."
I exhaled the breath I'd been holding all at once.
What a crazy psychopath.
I didn't expect her to crush my shoulder even harder...
"For the next punishment... What should I give you..."
"......"
Wait, that wasn't the end?
The Hero tapped her chin with her finger, pondering.
"...I've decided. Come to the gate early tomorrow morning."
"Pardon?"
"You have to finish that proof from last time."
Proof... She means the Body Search from before?
Finishing that now?
The Body Search that got interrupted when the Saintess caught us.
We stopped right before spanking the Hero's butt.
Didn't she hate it now?
"Answer me."
"Yes, understood."
But I couldn't bring myself to ask why.
Because if I refused, she'd really make my lips kiss her rapier.
Hearing my answer, the Hero's eyes curved into thin lines again.
"Then... I'll go finish cleaning up. Get home safely."
The Hero picked up the torch she'd tossed on the ground.
And with the air of someone who'd accomplished her goal, she leisurely walked toward the center of the west.
'She's just leaving like that...?'
What was this unnatural situation?
Meeting me in the dead of night, suddenly asking about the Saintess...
And it ended with me Body Searching the Hero tomorrow morning.
Then why did she crush my shoulder just now?
'No way... Surely the Hero isn't...'
I considered if she'd created an excuse for the Body Search, but I dismissed the thought.
It was the Hero, after all... No way.
Right...?
I suppressed the pain in my shoulder and carefully stood up.
Then slowly... headed to the inn.
But... why'd she mention the smell of blood?
...
-Creak...
Deep into the night. In front of a rundown frontier inn.
"...She should be asleep by now."
A girl whispering to herself quietly.
Eyes glowing deep crimson, massive wings attached to her shoulder blades, fangs gleaming sharply in the moonlight.
Anyone would call her a demon at first sight.
But the girl knew better than anyone that no one was around.
"Hah... It took way too long to calm down today."
Suppressing her trembling hands, she slowly passed by the inn's window.
"Tch... If he's her familiar, shouldn't she show some restraint? He's getting bolder by the day."
The girl swallowed hard, cooling her flushed cheeks with the back of her hand.
She stopped in front of the second-floor window.
-Slide.
She quietly opened the window.
The wings on her back retracted into her body and vanished.
"Sleep well..."
The man was sleeping soundly, exhausted.
Not even his breathing changed as she entered.
'I was so nervous—what if he opened the door to the cradle today...'
The girl glanced at her damp clothes, reminiscing.
She'd planned a surprise to startle him, thinking he'd wake her.
But the man showed no reaction, not even stirring.
Yet what he did was beyond her wildest imagination.
She thought touching women's bodies was inevitable for his job, but...
A woman's crying voice.
The quiet sound of flesh rubbing.
Sweet moans filling the gatehouse.
'To think he'd go after her like that...'
The sounds made it obvious what was happening, and the girl couldn't bring herself to open the door.
It felt like a piece of her heart would shatter if she did.
From the moment he touched his friend's butt onward, she'd watched him handle women's bodies without missing a beat—but today's feelings were new.
From the friend, to married women, western virgins, and even the beastkin who came yesterday.
Each time, her heart raced and her lower body tingled.
She twisted her thighs, debating whether to touch herself to endure it.
'It's dirty...'
She couldn't touch there.
To her, that place was just filthy.
But today's sounds were unbearable.
She'd even sung songs in her mind to hold back, but it took far too long to calm her body.
And her chest felt... stuffy, somehow.
Unlike other emotions, her heart pounded with a faint ache.
The girl quietly approached the bed where the man lay.
And slowly climbed onto his stomach.
Her heart raced at the sweet scent emanating from his body.
The aroma that had tormented her so viciously earlier now tormented her lower body.
'His face really is...'
The man slept soundly with eyes closed.
Drool trickled from the girl's mouth.
She felt like hiccuping but held it back.
'They say good-looking rice cakes are tasty...'
The girl's gaze fixed on his neck, just below his face.
Her target was his neck, yet she stared piercingly at his sleeping face.
"I'm glad I marked you..."
A massive wave of satisfaction filled the girl's chest.
Young... and a face to her liking.
The girl's lips approached his ear.
And his blood tasted good too.
Today's events hadn't pleased her, but...
"Oppa... This is just something I say while you're asleep... Do you really think I made you my familiar just because I liked your blood?"
She tossed out the question slyly.
Her lips curved up almost to her ears.
"What woman in her right mind would take a guy she's met twice as her mate...?"
Carmilla de Saint Croix.
"That's why other women are after you too..."
The Empire's current—and first—Saintess.
"You're so naive..."
The Saintess, who should remain pure... straddled the man's body.
An inexplicable sense of liberation enveloped her.
"...So... I'll enjoy you deliciously again tonight."
And... the Saintess's lips slowly moved toward Anderson's neck.