Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Vampire (2)
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The Brocoslak Clan’s branch in Azantu.
It was the force that effectively controlled the small city of Azantu, located in the western part of the Talia Kingdom.
And I had become one of their vampires.
"Yet, unexpectedly, there’s not much to do..."
A few days of training had ended, but they hadn’t given me any specific orders.
The entire city already had a well-established system in place from long ago, so everything ran smoothly on its own. The vampires only needed to occasionally check if their subordinates were handling things properly.
They’re a long-lived species, so they take everything slow and easy.
They had taken me in as a replacement for the vampire who died, but there was no handover whatsoever. They simply said I’d figure it out as I went along.
Until any special orders came down, I was free to do as I pleased—as long as I didn’t expose myself too much to the city’s humans.
Thanks to that, I could head out in the evenings and chat more with the siblings. But if I did it too often, it might raise suspicions, so I had to keep it moderate.
As I initially thought, maybe I have no choice but to use Hans to draw their attention and slip out of the city.
At first, I’d thought sticking with the vampires wouldn’t be so bad. But these guys treated the city’s humans like literal livestock.
I’d suspected as much ever since they started delivering blood to the mansion.
And in their own way, they were careful about regulating the population.
To me, who shunned blood, they said it was normal at first and that I’d get used to it over time...
I definitely can’t stick around with these guys for long.
As someone whose mind hadn’t been tainted by vampirism, being around them was nothing but uncomfortable.
I was just biding my time patiently when it happened.
Azantu’s Pureblood, Wirak, had summoned all the vampires.
"What’s this sudden call about?"
"Who knows? It’s rare for him to gather everyone like this. It’s been years, hasn’t it?"
The roughly thirty vampires, who usually lived scattered throughout the city, began gathering one by one in the mansion’s lobby.
"You’re the new Lesser Blood who just inherited blood, huh? Lucky you."
"Tch, what was Wirak thinking, taking in trash like that..."
Encounters with strangers picking fights with me became more frequent.
They had the typical look of nobles steeped in a sense of superiority.
It’s exactly the vampire image I had in mind!
As I observed them with mere curiosity, Wirak entered the lobby.
"Greetings, Lord Wirak."
"It’s been too long. Command us in anything."
The vampires swarmed him, fawning shamelessly.
The Pureblood’s status seemed even higher than I’d expected.
"Looks like everyone’s here, so let’s get to the point."
After casually accepting their greetings, Wirak ascended the lobby stairs and began to speak.
"The Fragment of the Immortal King that those Oath of Reverse Heaven bastards had has gone missing."
The room buzzed with murmurs—
I flinched involuntarily at the sudden announcement, but fortunately, everyone around was making noise, so no one noticed anything odd.
"Ah~ You wouldn’t know, right? Some black mages in a nearby village were hiding and ripening the fragment..."
Roselika sidled up beside me and quickly whispered information I already knew.
"Quiet."
The murmurs died instantly at Wirak’s single word.
Roselika, who had been next to me, also stepped back and focused on Wirak atop the stairs.
"The last confirmed sighting was heading toward this city. But then it vanished without a trace. It might have entered the city, or it could have just passed through."
Wirak paused, slowly scanning the room.
For a brief moment, our eyes met, and he stared at me intently before looking away.
Phew, that startled me.
"We’ll search assuming it entered the city."
With instructions to report any suspicious activity immediately from their assigned areas, Wirak dismissed everyone.
"What’s with this sudden mess?"
As we left the lobby, Roselika grumbled and approached me.
She seemed sociable, greeting the other vampires, but she’d been looking out for me since earlier.
"Heh heh~ Partly to pitch to a newbie who hasn’t settled on a blood preference? I’ve got this muscular guy I’ve marked. Wanna grab a drink together next time?"
"I’ll pass. Doesn’t seem like my taste."
I refused firmly with a grimace.
Roselika just shrugged nonchalantly, showing no sign of disappointment.
"This is troublesome, though. The Clan Lord himself is interested in the Fragment of the Immortal King and gave direct orders on it."
"Really? But the black mages must have kept security tight. How did they know beforehand?"
"Who knows~? Grunts like us just follow orders."
I figured there wasn’t more to learn from Roselika.
But the moment I thought that, I realized it was a hasty judgment.
"That’s why our clan moved another fragment here and sealed it away."
"What...? There’s another Fragment of the Immortal King here?"
I stared at Roselika in shock.
"Yeah, something about stealing and fusing it once those guys ripen their fragment. Don’t know the details~."
She twirled her hair casually, as if it were no big deal.
Is this girl higher up than she seems?
I narrowed my eyes at her, and Roselika chuckled, waving it off.
"Truth is, I was dispatched here to Azantu with the fragment a year ago. Why would a small city like this need so many vampires, right?"
Now that she mentioned it, that made sense.
Three Pureblood vampires on the level of the black mage Malcolm, plus over thirty Lesser Bloods clearly stronger than his minions.
And that’s not even counting the Servants and Slaves I haven’t fully grasped...
It was excessive for a minor city on the continent’s outskirts.
"Originally, it was just Lord Wirak and about fifteen Lesser Bloods here. They reinforced us because of the fragment. But all that effort so far was for nothing."
Roselika sighed, saying we’d be busy for a while.
And she wasn’t wrong.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ah~ Coming out during the day burns the skin."
Roselika grumbled as she adjusted her parasol.
Starting the day after the summons, we had to take turns patrolling the city even during daylight to check for anomalies.
"Definitely... feels unsettling."
I replied, adjusting my wide-brimmed gentleman’s hat with gloved hands.
The sunlight didn’t deal direct damage, but the sense of restricted power wasn’t pleasant.
"I can’t imagine we’ll find anything now."
"No choice~. Even Pureblood Lady Pirita took some Lesser Bloods and started searching outside the city because of this."
Well, I already swallowed it and sent it to Earth, so it’s pointless anyway.
I smirked inwardly, then realized the situation wasn’t so bad.
One Pureblood and some Lesser Bloods have left the city.
Wirak was overseeing the search across the entire city, directing the remaining Lesser Bloods.
Which meant...
There’s only one Pureblood guarding the fragment right now!
And tomorrow, I could summon Hans.
I can sow chaos as planned, steal the fragment to grow Hans, and give them a huge middle finger all at once! No way I’m passing this up.
All that was left was pinpointing the fragment’s location—but I couldn’t rely on Roselika for that.
"No idea~? After arriving in the city, they hid it separately in a place only the Purebloods know, just in case."
As a precaution against an attack on their base.
And until now, two Purebloods had been guarding it continuously.
Ah, this might be impossible.
Things had been going so well.
Maybe I should give up on the other fragment—
"Um... I think I know where that is?"
There was a way.
"What? Diana, how would you?!"
"Eek!"
I grabbed Diana’s shoulder in surprise.
It was early evening. I’d dropped by to see the siblings’ faces and casually mentioned during our chat that the vampires had hidden something dangerous in the city, but I didn’t know where.
"Well, like I told you before. I avoided places with vampires and that dangerous smell."
"No way?"
"Yeah... About a year ago, I smelled vampires giving off an intense blood scent, and something else that felt insanely dangerous."
Diana smiled sheepishly, saying she’d fled far away the moment she caught the scent.
"It was so strong, I still remember it. Never went near there again."
"Oh! I remember too, sis! You told me never to go close!"
Diana patted Aaron’s head proudly, then glanced at me.
"If you need, I can guide you there."
It was the offer I’d hoped for, but I couldn’t nod rashly.
"It’s fine. Uncle will protect you if it gets dangerous, right?"
"...Yeah. Then, could you just take me nearby?"
I nodded and stroked the resolute Diana’s head.
Good deeds do come back around somehow.
The next afternoon.
I was out again with my hat on, searching for the Fragment of the Immortal King.
Of course, the one I’m after is the one the vampires hid.
I walked slowly through the streets to the meeting spot.
Diana was already there waiting.
She met my eyes once, then started walking without a word. I followed at a casual distance.
I’d instructed her beforehand.
No telling how the vampires might be guarding around the fragment. Couldn’t approach defenselessly.
Diana walked without lingering her gaze anywhere for long.
It’s far from where they were originally. She really fled as far as possible.
That intense danger must have driven them to set up far away.
Once we entered a certain street, Diana started sniffing more frequently.
The smell must start here.
A bit further on.
Diana, walking naturally, glanced at a building on one side.
For about three seconds.
Then turned away as if nothing and passed by.
There it is!
A plain residential building, nothing like the vampires’ flashy mansion.
That was where the other Fragment of the Immortal King was hidden.
Like Diana, I pretended disinterest, strolling leisurely while glancing around.
My senses picked up nothing, but something was definitely there.
Now just set the execution date. Got the location, and can summon Hans. Strike fast before variables pop up!
As dusk fell, we regrouped at Diana’s place after spacing out our return.
"Haa, felt like I’d suffocate. That smell, even now..."
"You did great without showing it. Huge help. Now we set the execution date."
I comforted Diana, pondered briefly, then declared.
"Tomorrow at noon. When the sun is high in the sky."
Would’ve loved to start right now, but the sun had already set, so we aimed for tomorrow.
Vampires and undead both grow stronger in darkness, but sunlight weakens them on a whole different level.
Lesser Bloods’ combat power would plummet, and even Purebloods couldn’t fight at full strength.
I planned tomorrow’s strategy and prepared the siblings.
"We don’t have much to pack. Can leave anytime."
"Good. Then tomorrow..."
I briefed the siblings on precautions, said goodbye, and headed to the mansion while surveying the city.
The place where Heinz died and Heinz 2nd became a vampire.
Tomorrow, we leave this city.
Of course, after grabbing everything worth taking! Come to think of it, the mansion’s full of pricey stuff.
I licked my lips and grinned.
Money’s always better the more you have.
I chuckled foolishly to myself and entered the mansion.
And time passed.
The sun rose.
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