Chapter 396
Chapter 396
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 396
Chapter Title: Unknown Threat (2)
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The bustling metropolis of Tar拉克 was abuzz with crowds day in and day out.
At its heart, three figures—a man and two women—strolled leisurely down a well-maintained boulevard.
"...It's just as the rumors said. Vampires are thriving in the west these days, and being here really drives it home."
High Elf Lydia murmured as she glanced at an alley off the main road.
Moments ago, a few rowdy mercenaries had been causing a scene with street vendors there, only to be dragged inside for a harsh lesson.
They'd probably be released only after paying a fine as tuition and donating some blood.
Lydia turned her gaze from the alley and brought a butter-roasted corn cob to her lips.
Clearly pleased, her green hair—linked to the wind spirits—swayed gently under her hood like it was dancing.
"It's largely due to proximity to the Talia Kingdom, where vampires hold power. The allied kingdoms received a lot of aid from them. Plus, Tar拉克, home to Hubert Merchant Company's headquarters, has the most active vampire interactions of any city."
Isa Pristin replied quietly, her mana-infused blue eyes scanning the surroundings. She held mixed skewers in one hand and a bottle of something to drink in the other.
Munch munch
Sip sip—
The two women kept their eyes darting everywhere while their mouths worked busily.
They investigated the city while fully indulging in its unique culinary culture.
"...Isea, is that black drink really that good? It didn't suit my taste at all."
"It's the best. I regret not staying longer last time. Oh, right—they said it only started being stocked recently...?"
At Lydia's question, Isea looked seriously at the drink in her hand.
This was a special menu item from 'Dancing with Orcs,' a Tar拉克 famous eatery run directly by Hubert Merchant Company—cola.
'I heard Hubert's deals in Earth goods, but I never imagined they'd go this far. What kind of unique skill lets them distribute on this scale?'
She marveled at the mysterious Awakener affiliated with the company.
Of course, these goods weren't fully mainstream yet.
Supply was limited, purchase limits per person were in place, and the prices were jaw-droppingly high.
A single small bottle cost as much as a full-course meal at a top restaurant.
But such money woes meant nothing to Isea Pristin, the great archmage of the Crusade, Countess of the Azerion Empire, and closest confidante to Crown Princess Riley.
No—in this distant otherworld, it was practically a bargain to taste Earth culture.
'Haa—I'm alive. How long has it been since I had cola?'
Isea sighed blissfully, smacking her lips without realizing it.
It had been nine years since she arrived in Outerica.
Next year would mark a full decade.
With Earth's essence transfused into her veins, her rusty mind felt oiled up, her spirits soaring.
'I want to stockpile a ton, but the daily limit is a drag. I wish I could meet the supplier someday.'
Someone with such abilities would be high up in the continent's top merchant company.
Their identity would be well-hidden, making a meeting unlikely.
They might even be Hubert himself, an Earth-born Awakener.
'Anyway, opportunity will come soon enough.'
She could request an audience by revealing her status, but as a Hero Party member investigating incognito, private meetings with local powers were off-limits.
As she sipped her cola sparingly with regret, a thought flashed through her mind.
"...Heinrich. Didn't you say Hubert's has close ties with the Church of the Main God?"
Heinrich, trailing a few steps behind at a relaxed pace, shrugged at her question.
He wore full plate armor from head to toe—common enough to hide his striking looks.
"Indeed. They exchange various favors. Above all, it was co-led by Hari."
"...That guy's more capable than he lets on. How many hats does he wear?"
Crusade member saving the world, Fighting King of the Kalkos Tribal Federation, Mercenary King of the mercenary world, and co-head of the continent's premier merchant company, Hubert's.
Isea and Lydia alike were impressed by this unexpected side of the man they thought was just a gluttonous joker.
"Either way, no exceptions now. You never know what's in people's hearts."
She trusted Hari, but not Hubert Merchant Company fully.
And that co-leadership was ages ago.
While he crusaded worldwide, who knew if his old partner hadn't changed?
"Suspecting the vampires seems most logical right now, no? Just a few years ago, they were seen as no better than monsters."
"Mm, true. Before Vampire King Heinz unified them with discipline and brought them into the light, their bloodlust was uncontrollable. Lycanthropes—treated similarly—recently raided our Elven Kingdom and got wiped out."
They shifted to a nearby alley for a natural mid-investigation briefing.
Silently, barriers formed around them, blocking sound and presence perfectly.
"Ah! Of course, I know you championed accepting them, Heinrich... But even if their king bound them with rules, no control is perfect. It could be a vampire still in hiding, unrepentant..."
"I'm wary of Hubert's too. Walking this city, their influence is beyond imagination. If something big happens, odds are it's them."
Vampires and Hubert's dominated the discussion.
As an early brainstorming session, it held little weight, but it left a bitter taste for Heinrich.
He was the Church's Saint Heinrich, Vampire King Heinz II, and Great Merchant Lord Hubert.
'Well, I'm on vacation anyway. Should I just play along? Later, plant some cursed demon realm junk in a likely spot.'
Days into their Tar拉克 arrival.
Heinrich split from the two women—fueled by daily gourmet feasts—and investigated solo.
As the Saintess sparked this, others were involved too.
Inquisitors from the Church had slipped in via Tar拉克's temple and moved in the shadows.
But the sheer vampire numbers stalled progress.
They couldn't purge blindly anymore, causing constant investigative snags.
Hunting an vaguely defined 'unknown threat' didn't help.
These inquisitors had lifelong vampire enmity.
'...Time to wrap this up? Feels bad watching them toil pointlessly.'
Evening neared for regrouping.
In a secluded spot, Heinrich pondered alone.
The Saintess sensed it, so it had to be dangerous—but wasting top gear here felt off.
'It's getting sealed and erased anyway; doesn't need permanence. Infuse with Hela's mana for a few days...'
Then—
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Saint! We found it! It's a vampire after all! At Hubert Merchant Company's...! Lydia's voice rode a gentle breeze into his ear.
Urgent words cut short midway.
'Vampire? At Hubert's?'
Heinrich scowled.
So did Heinz II and Hubert elsewhere.
"Mulro Brocoslak. Report immediately on our Tar拉克 dispatch team's status."
"Security team, go to maximum alert and assemble at headquarters! Contact all Tar拉克 branches for anomalies!"
Panic brief, the two Avatars sprang into action.
Not just them.
Flash—
✨ Great Blessing: Wings of Radiance ✨ Amid brilliant light, vast wings of light unfurled from his plain full-body armor's back.
Flap—whoosh!
One beat launched him skyward.
High above Tar拉克, his golden eyes gleamed as he surveyed below.
'Where.'
Not Hubert HQ—he monitored it live via Hubert there.
Like peering through a microscope, the city parsed element by element, filing into his mind.
'Perpetrator: vampire. Location: Hubert-related.'
His head spun.
He never dreamed actual vampires were the issue.
In his Tar拉克, of all places!
What an embarrassment.
'Think later. Fix first.'
Thought accelerated, time slowed—but he maximized the instant.
Lydia Grandwood: Elven Kingdom's second to Harris. Transcendent hopeful.
Forced comms cutoff? Dire news.
'Just a bit more...'
Fortune favored: he had the perfect tool.
Perk to check subordinates and members: Lord's Authority.
Lydia was peer, not subordinate, to Harris or him—but Tar拉克 teemed with his people.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ <Outerica> -Hubert Merchant Company - Tar拉克 Main Branch └ Status: Danger (Severe Injury) └ Status: Confusion, Fear └ Status: Unconscious └ ...... └ Location: Tulke Kingdom Aonia Earldom Tar拉克 ??? ?? [View Detailed Coordinates] └ Name: Miropha (Hubert Merchant Company Sponsor) └ Name: Aaron (Hubert Merchant Company Sponsor) └ Name: Rafi (Hubert Merchant Company Sponsor) └ ...... └ Name: Diana (Hubert Merchant Company Lord's Secretary) Scanning via other Avatars in accelerated time—
'Found it!'
Crisis statuses, clear as day.
Their shared location? Telling.
Glitched coordinates signaled an overlaid sub-world.
'One hundred percent!'
Wings of Radiance blazed anew.
He plummeted like a meteor piercing darkness.
Coordinates fuzzy, but destination certain.
Because—
The names were all too familiar.
Especially one he saw daily.
This girl arguably bore Outerica's harshest fate.
Plagued by endless misfortune, she finally glimpsed hope for tomorrow.
Grim-faced Heinrich dove into a Hubert staff residential zone.
Holy sword drawn, he ignited a pillar of light-blade, cleaving all barriers with Space Slash.
Shing—
From sky to a ground point.
Everything diagonal to the meteor's fall—severed.
Air, sound, light...
And the flimsy barrier defining its shallow world.
Kaboom—!
The pocket realm collapsed.
Outwardly mundane scenery warped instantly.
A tattooed crone vomiting blood and collapsed; tiny girl fainted in her arms; protective boy grimacing; huddled, trembling citizens behind.
"Saint!"
Lydia, facing off ahead, greeted him joyfully.
Shocked at his speed.
Heinrich rose slowly upon landing.
Wings of Radiance spread wide, embracing the wounded with blazing aura.
'That's the culprit...'
The Knight of Light descended, eyes stern on the perpetrator.
A boy, early teens, scowling before the fallen girl—like plans gone awry.
He'd seen that face once: in an old wanted sketch.
"Found you at last. Temiran McClaire."
"Tch! What kinda bullshit luck? Things go south, and now even the Saint shows?"
The boy vampire Temiran McClaire spat roughly, mismatched to his looks.
Sole son of Zephia Republic's missing VP Kayla McClaire, twenty years gone.
And the second apostle prepared by the abyss-imprisoned god.
