The Seventh Lord's Request
Vallong, the mayor of Domihawk City, was spending an evening no different from any other. He had finished a somewhat late dinner, enjoyed a solitary tea on the terrace, and was reading into the small hours before bed.
That was when an unexpected visitor arrived at the manor.
"Begos, sir? What on earth brings you here at this hour?"
Vallong blinked at the man being shown into the main hall by the knights on watch. Begos was a high-ranking Personnel Officer of the Third Lord's Castle, and the two of them were personally acquainted — for the simple reason that Vallong, as mayor, had been the one quietly turning a blind eye to Valkylov's secret auctions in this city, and Begos was a VIP at those very events.
Today was auction day.
That the visit had come at this hour was strange enough on its own. Combined with the urgency written across Begos's face, Vallong could only look at him in puzzlement. Begos let out a heavy sigh.
"Sorry to barge in at this hour without so much as a word of warning, but... there's been an incident at the auction."
"An incident? What do you mean...?"
"Some madman massacred everyone at the auction house. The overseers are all dead, and Jack's dead too. Valkylov's finished."
"I... I beg your pardon? Jack? You're saying the head of Valkylov is dead?"
Vallong stared at him, stunned. Jack, the Devil of Domihawk — the biggest player in the underworld of the Third Lord's Territory — murdered out of nowhere. He couldn't help but be shaken. Jack's connections had been formidable enough, but his personal strength had been equally renowned across the entire territory. He had been a genuine powerhouse in his own right...
"Who killed him?"
"That's just it — I don't know. And it wasn't a group. It was a single person."
"One person...? Could it have been someone from the Lord's Castle?"
"If it were, I'd know, wouldn't I? Anyway, that's why I came to talk it over with you in a hurry. Let's go inside first."
That was when a knight came rushing in, his voice trembling.
"M-Mayor!"
Vallong turned to him, frowning.
"What are you making a fuss about now?"
"I-it's... the Seventh Lord has arrived."
For several seconds Vallong could only blink, certain he had misheard something utterly ridiculous. Then he asked again.
"Who did you say?"
"The Seventh Lord is here, sir. He's come to see you."
The knight's words sounded to Vallong no different than if he'd been told the ground had just fallen out from under him. The Seventh Lord? The Seventh Lord?
Why?
Why would the Seventh Lord suddenly come looking for him? An impostor? Impossible. What lunatic in all of Calderic would impersonate a Lord and come knocking on a mayor's door?
That being the only logical conclusion, the knights on watch had no choice but to usher inside the man who had appeared at the manor claiming to be the Seventh Lord — along with the assorted people of various races trailing in his wake.
Vallong's eyes went wide as he watched the unfamiliar visitors stroll unhurriedly into the hall. The man at their head turned his gaze upon him.
"You're the mayor of Domihawk?"
"...Yes! I am Vallong, mayor of Domihawk."
Still half in doubt, Vallong found himself bending at the waist to a perfect right angle, overcome by an inexplicable pressure. However far this was from the Seventh Lord's territory — this being the Third Lord's domain — Vallong knew at least the most basic facts about him. That he was a human male. So the man standing before him now had to be the genuine article.
Meanwhile, Begos caught sight of the man — the Seventh Lord — and of Ashel standing beside him, and was struck dumb with shock.
Th-that's...!
They had been wearing masks at the auction house, but there was no mistaking them. The unidentified man and woman who had slaughtered Valkylov's fighters and turned the auction floor into a bloodbath.
The Seventh Lord turned his head to look at Begos. Begos, who had gone blank for a moment, hastily bowed.
"...It is an honor to be in your presence, Seventh Lord! I am Begos, Personnel Officer of the Third Lord's Castle!"
Now, at last, the situation made sense. It had been strange from the start. Where else would a powerhouse of that terrifying caliber have appeared from out of nowhere?
He'd figured they had to be connected to someone important — but the Lord himself?
Jack, you insane bastard... what the hell did you do?
It had clearly been Valkylov's side that had tried to attack the Seventh Lord first at the auction house, claiming their invitation had been stolen. Begos couldn't begin to understand what had happened, or how things had gone so absurdly wrong.
The Seventh Lord's mouth opened again.
"Mayor. I've come because I have a favor to ask of you."
A favor...?
Still bent at the waist, Vallong rolled his eyes in confusion as he answered.
"Yes, anything, my Lord! Please, just say the word!"
"Were you aware that Valkylov's secret auctions were being held in this city?"
Both Vallong and Begos felt their hearts drop.
"Th-that is..."
"Of course you knew. I'm not here to hold that against you. This is about the people behind me. They were put up as slaves at the auction, and, well, their circumstances have become rather inconvenient."
Begos, who understood the context, swallowed hard. Vallong, piecing together what Begos had told him earlier with the man's reaction, quickly inferred the rest.
So the one who massacred the auction house... was the Seventh Lord?
The Seventh Lord glanced back as he continued.
"So I'd like you to take responsibility for them. For those who have somewhere to return to, give them ample travel money and send them on their way. For those with nowhere to go, find them suitable work."
It wasn't a particularly difficult request, but Vallong found it baffling. That a Lord would concern himself with the welfare of mere slaves struck him as deeply peculiar. Was this simply the Seventh Lord's nature? Or was there some other meaning behind it? He couldn't guess — and he certainly didn't dare to ask.
"Leave it to me. I will personally guarantee their safety, without fail."
"Good. That's all I came for. We'll be going, then."
And with that, the Seventh Lord turned on his heel, leaving the slaves behind. His escort knight and a vampire followed after him.
Startled by the way he had appeared from nowhere and departed just as abruptly, Vallong and Begos scrambled to see him off.
"S-safe travels! It has been the honor of a lifetime to receive you, Seventh Lord!"
Neither man straightened his back until the departing figures had vanished completely from sight. Inwardly, they were flooded with relief. Had even a sliver of blame been laid on them over the auction... the mere thought was horrifying.
True, this was the Third Lord's territory, and the administration of Domihawk City fell entirely under the mayor's authority — but since when did a Lord care about such paltry jurisdiction?
"...I feel like I've aged ten years."
Begos muttered it with a face that looked thoroughly drained, just as his words suggested. Vallong nodded in agreement.
"Why on earth would the Seventh Lord come all the way to Domihawk...?"
"How are the likes of us supposed to fathom the thoughts of such great personages? Consider ourselves lucky it ended without incident."
Vallong looked at the slaves left standing there and sighed.
"So the person you mentioned from the auction house... that was the Seventh Lord, then?"
"That's right."
"Then what's to become of Valkylov?"
"What kind of question is that? It's finished. Completely. If you've got any remaining ties, you'd best cut them, and quickly. Hah... I should hurry back to the Lord's Castle myself. What a bolt from the blue this is."
The matter of the slaves' welfare was handled simply and cleanly, using the mayor. Well, the mayor who'd been looking the other way on the auctions was the same kind of scum if you got down to it... but there was no need to stir that pot any further. The massacre at the auction house had only happened because Valkylov attacked first. It wasn't as if I'd been out to deliver justice.
We headed straight back to our lodgings. Rudika had been waiting quietly in the inn room with Varos. The moment she saw her sister, her eyes flew wide.
"Sister!"
"...Rudika!"
They ran straight into each other's arms. The older sister, who hadn't fully trusted me — who'd kept a trace of wariness on her face the entire way here — took one look at her little sister and burst into tears as she pulled her close.
I watched them for a moment, then asked Varos,
"Any trouble?"
"None, my Lord."
Once the sisters' reunion had run its course, she finally turned to me with all suspicion gone from her face and offered her thanks.
"Thank you so much for helping us."
The older sister's name was Rubika. I sat the two of them down in front of me. It was time to bring up Elrod Forest — the real reason for all of this. Rudika had already heard it, but Rubika had not. She listened closely, holding her sister tightly against her side.
"Elrod... Forest?"
After hearing everything, Rubika — who seemed by nature cautious and wary — showed a flicker of unease, just as I'd expected.
"Another tribe's homeland... we don't even know if they'd welcome us..."
These were sisters who had already been driven from their original home by their own kind, left without a homeland. Asking them out of the blue to go find another vampire tribe — this was the reasonable reaction.
There was a reason vampires had such a poor reputation in this world. Fully grown adults could suppress their bloodsucking instinct, but that didn't mean every adult actually did. They were no different from humans, really. Adults could control their desires better than children — but since when did the world consist only of such admirable adults?
And the Tyrant Lord, the Sixth Lord, is the worst of them by far.
When those types gathered into a tribe, they became exactly what you'd expect: a pack of bloodsuckers hunting down every race in sight. The tribe that had invaded the homeland of Rudika's people had probably been that sort.
"Don't worry about that."
I spoke with conviction, hoping to wash the unease from her face.
"The vampire tribe living in Elrod Forest is an exceptionally gentle one. They'd reject a human like me, but their own kind is another matter. Even as outsiders, if you explain your circumstances, they'll take you in without a fuss."
Of course, I had never actually seen them myself. The reason I could still say it with such certainty was that I had played the game. When the story reached the Elrod Forest episode, there had been vampires among the tribe who'd drifted in for reasons similar to these sisters'. The Elrod Forest tribe had embraced even people like that, living together in peace. Save for one little "problem."
And by solving that problem, there was a chance I could obtain the Blood Arts I so badly needed.
Rubika was silent for a while, seemingly lost in thought, before she asked me,
"But you... I mean..."
"It's Ron."
"Right. Ron... are you acquainted with the vampire tribe that lives in Elrod Forest? Listening to you, it seems like you know them quite well."
...She'd gone and poked at an awkward point. These two probably thought I was introducing them to a new tribe out of pure goodwill. It was actually the opposite. I was using these sisters to create a connection with the vampires of Elrod Forest.
Feeling a slight pang of conscience, I nodded.
"I happened to cross paths with a vampire from there once. That's how I know about Elrod Forest."
Either way, I needed to get them to Elrod Forest, so putting them at ease was the priority for now. Rubika sank into thought once more, then nodded as if she'd made up her mind.
"All right. We'll go to Elrod Forest, like you said. Thank you for showing us this much kindness."
"Don't mention it. You made the right call."
The persuasion was done. Now it was time to head for Elrod Forest — and the Blood Arts waiting there.