Chapter 119: Everyone's Meal
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 119: Everyone's Meal
Though she had her heart back, Tyr still moved by the power of her Bloodcraft. There was only one reason for Tyr, who had no need to eat, to come to the cafeteria.
“Hu? I knew you'd be here.”
Having sought me out as always, Tyr stood naturally by my side. I cleared the dishes and asked.
“What were you up to?”
“Shei asked a favor of me. She wanted me to finish teaching her Bloodcraft.”
“You’re still teaching her Bloodcraft?”
“It’s been a while, but it seems she’s recently made some kind of decision. The look in her eyes has changed. I’d say she’s become more urgent, more desperate.”
Is it to fight ‘her’ when she comes down?
The Regressor had always been devoted to her training, but it seemed the approaching battle had made her even more frantic.
From what I'd read of her mind, the Regressor's original plan didn't seem to include fighting and winning against her…
Well, I guess the situation's changed.
Which is a good thing for those of us who aren't the Regressor.
“I heard your Bloodcraft has gotten weaker.”
“Hmm. I wonder if it has weakened, or simply changed… In any case, who is there to judge? No one is more versed in Bloodcraft than I.”
“Did you explain that to Shei?”
“Why should I? A master must always maintain their dignity. If the student feels anxious, can any learning truly take place?”
The student is the one receiving the lesson, after all. So it's fine for the master to embellish a little.
Tyr said this with all seriousness. She meant it.
There was a certain fun in conversing with someone whose way of thinking was so different. In the middle of our quiet conversation, Tyr suddenly turned her head toward the dining table.
Callis and the Undying were flaunting their affection.
After watching the Undying feed Callis, who accepted the food, with a slightly envious look, Tyr’s gaze suddenly shifted to my hand.
Wait a minute. I think I’m hearing a strange thought.
“…Hu. Come to think of it, I feel a bit hungry myself.”
“What? But you can live without eating.”
Tyr spoke with feigned dignity.
“Who said anything about food? I am the Progenitor of Vampires, Tyrkanzyaka. The only thing I partake of is blood.”
“So you want to drink blood? Why don’t you ask Shei? Her blood is delicious.”
“Silence. How could I possibly drink the blood of a student busy with her training?”
This won’t do. That won’t do.
In my experience, when someone acts this picky, there’s a high probability they want something specific.
‘Now that I've dropped such a clear hint, he'll surely offer his blood on his own.’
You said it tasted bad. So why are you so intent on drinking it?
And I don’t like injuring my own body. Even here in the Abyss, I have an aversion to getting holes poked in me.
As I just stared at her without responding, Tyr grew restless and began glancing at me nervously.
‘Did he not notice, or is he pretending not to know! Tch…!’
After hesitating, Tyr finally couldn’t hold back any longer and shouted.
“…It's the wish I won from our bet!”
“Huh?”
I asked, taken aback by her sudden outburst. Tyr looked at me with resentful eyes and exclaimed.
“Did you not make a bet with me before? That if I saw through your magic, you would grant me a wish.”
“Ah. That time.”
“I will claim the wish I won then. Share a little of your blood with me!”
“Seriously, you're using a wish for something like this?”
But if it was a wish won through a bet, I couldn’t refuse. I dawdled over to the sink and washed my hands thoroughly.
When I turned around, Tyr was standing there with a slightly expectant look in her eyes. I shook my hands dry and asked.
“Come to think of it, wasn’t that victory a bit forced?”
“That is why I am content with a mere few drops of blood. Is that so precious to you? Precious enough to break your promise?”
“When you put it like that, I’ve got nothing to say.”
Right. It’s just a few drops of blood.
I held out my clean hand. Tyr swallowed hard and looked at my fingers, then summoned a veil of darkness to obscure our surroundings.
‘…Until now, I never needed to go so far as to sink my teeth into a body to take blood. That is a vulgar act, something for my lesser retainers. However…’
With her Bloodcraft incomplete, Tyr had lost the ability to draw upon all the blood flowing in the world.
Instead, the blood within her was entirely her own. To absorb blood from outside her body, she needed to consume it and make it hers.
Even considering that, Tyr, overflowing with blood energy, didn't need to drink blood.
However.
‘How embarrassing. To do something so vulgar and shameful… No, no. This is merely a meal. Something everyone does. There is no need for me to be ashamed!’
Tyr simply wanted to do something vulgar.
Where did twelve centuries of life experience go? It's like her puberty finally hit after 1,200 springs.
“…Then, I shall eat.”
“Tsk. As if cooking for beasts wasn't enough, now I'm an ingredient for a vampire. Since you're eating, you might as well enjoy it.”
And Tyr’s fangs entered my body.
Contrary to popular belief, being bitten by a vampire doesn't turn you into one. For a vampire, drinking blood is nothing more than the act of eating.
But meaning can be given to anything. Tyr bit down very carefully, meticulously, and gently.
“Mm…”
‘It doesn’t hurt, does it…’
Painful? Far from it. There isn't even any blood. Her teeth are just barely grazing the tip of my finger. Is this really bloodsucking? It feels like her tongue is touching me more than her teeth.
‘…Come to think of it, I don’t really need to drink blood. I don’t feel like inflicting a wound, nor do I crave blood.’
This is just sucking my finger.
There’s not a trace of bloodsucking. This is something that’s hard to dress up with any words.
‘Just a little bite…’
No matter how you look at it, this is foreplay.
Her incisors, lightly touching and pulling away, stimulated the tip of my finger. Lost in her not-quite-bloodsucking, Tyr didn't even look at me, completely absorbed in the act.
The Abyss, Tantalus, is an isolated space.
Tyr, with her heart beating once more, feels a great sense of gratitude toward me. She can't run, can't escape. Perhaps, if we stay together like this a little longer, her feelings will become clearer.
And she will want something from me.
I am a mind-reader.
I read the desires of others.
Whenever I hear someone's wish, whenever I read the desperate hope swirling in their heart, I come face to face with the desire transmitted across minds.
It is my destiny. I am influenced by it. If it is a wish more important than life itself, that yearning is passed on to me.
Heat flows from hot to cold. That great law also applies to the heart, and for me, who makes direct contact through mind-reading, the transfer is much faster.
Then, with a heart thus warmed, I am compelled to bring their wish to an end, one way or another.
That is why I am a magician.
Even if it’s not in the way they wanted. Or even if it flows in a completely unexpected direction.
I make them face the wish they truly desire.
There is only one wish I cannot grant.
Changing me.
That includes killing me, as well as saving me.
So.
“Why are you just holding it? There’s no blood coming out.”
“Uh, mm?”
“Come to think of it, you really like fingers. You put them in your mouth every day. You put them in your chest, too. I think you like my fingers more than you like me.”
“Ah, wai— Mph.”
I curled my finger slightly, like a hook. It scraped against her fang, and blood began to flow. Before it could even form a droplet, the blood touched Tyr’s tongue and dissolved.
“This is a one-time thing. Me, injuring my precious body to shed blood.”
The moment blood actually appeared, Tyr didn't know what to do. Regardless, the blood that had already been drawn flowed down her throat.
In that instant.
Tyr spat my finger out violently.
Coughing lightly, Tyr wore a rare pout.
“Ughhh… It's disgusting.”
“So it really does taste awful!”
I looked at my finger and saw a tiny bit of blood seeping from the slightly torn skin.
So, you're saying even this tiny amount is so disgusting you had to spit it out? Isn't that basically poison?
“W-wait. This is the first time I’ve taken blood this way…”
“Here.”
“Eek.”
Tyr flinched when I held out my bleeding finger. I pressed down on the cut to stop the bleeding and said.
“I never knew my blood had this kind of effect. I thought it was vampire food, not a vampire-repellent charm.”
“H-Hu. I am not yet satisfied…”
“Take it. My holy blood.”
“Ugh.”
“And you say you’re not satisfied! Forget it. I know you can’t eat it, so we’re done, right?”
Tyr shut her mouth. I pushed through the darkness and strode away.
When I emerged from the darkness with a disappointed-looking Tyr trailing behind me, I saw Azzy and Nabi tangled up, fighting with each other.
“Nyaaa! Give me my tribute, nya-!”
“Woof woof! It's my can! Woof woof!”
Nabi was rampaging, trying to snatch the can. Azzy, unable to bite or restrain her, didn't know what to do.
“What’s going on?”
At my words, Azzy clutched the can to her chest and cried out.
“Woof! She’s trying to take my stuff!”
Is she crazy? Has she already forgotten she was half-dead after the last time she pulled this?
“She must have lost her mind from not having her medicine.”
“Can I bite her?”
“If you can do it without hurting her.”
Azzy gave up on the idea and focused on protecting her can. Just how hard were you planning to bite?
The Undying and Callis were already gone. Only Nabi was making a fuss, persistently trying to get at Azzy’s still-unopened can.
She hadn't taken her claws out yet, but if she went berserk, there would be blood again. I quickly looked for the Regressor.
“Where's the person in charge of the medicine! Get over here!”
She needed to get used to being without the medicine, so it was best to give it to her when things got a little dicey, but if we made a habit of giving it to her when she threw a tantrum, that tendency might become ingrained.
Beasts are simpler than you think.
Though humans are the same, really.
“Bring the mana herb—!”
“Woof! My can—!”
“Nyahhh! Tribute! Give me my tribute, nya—!”
Such a chaotic, yet harmonious moment.
From beyond the wall, I heard a lonely thought.
‘…It’s peaceful. Relaxing. It’s nice to see.’
How is this peaceful? How is this relaxing?! It's not good! Aren't you going to bring the mana herb already?
‘Everyone will probably leave once the sun shines on the Abyss again, won’t they?’
Of course. There’s no reason to stay.
‘But I have to stay here. I don’t know when or how she’ll arrive. Because I have to stop her from getting her hands on the Sword of the Earth, Jizan.’
A bitter smile played on the Regressor’s lips. She fiddled with a long mana herb cigar and pushed herself off the wall.
‘I wish this timeline could be the last. But that's probably not going to happen. I… will probably fail this time, too. Especially after wasting nine whole months in the Abyss.’
With firm resolve, the Regressor stepped into the cheerful cafeteria.
‘So, I won't settle for this timeline. I will find a better possibility… if only to ensure this moment doesn't become meaningless.’
Click. The door opened. The Regressor tossed a mana herb cigar into the air, caught it, and called to Nabi.
“Nabi. Here's today's tribute.”
“Nyahha! Tribute! It’s the tribute, nya! Quick, give it to nya!”
She shot forward like lightning to snatch it, but the Regressor was a beat faster, catching it and hiding it in her fist.
Just as I'd taught her, the Regressor conserved the scent as much as possible, releasing it little by little.
“Stay still. You have to inhale slowly.”
“Nyaa—. Nyaaa—.”
While Nabi got high on her medicine, Azzy, having successfully defended her can, looked down at it with a proud expression.
Between the Nabi-feed I made and everything else…
Looks like there's a lot I'll have to teach them.