Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: The Grand Hotel
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“He's a piece of trash.”
The eldest daughter of the Alter family, a noble house in the Demon Country with close ties to the Graves family. In response to Llywen's thorny voice, her father, Baron Gern Alter, sighed and replied.
“But he is the youngest of the Graves family.”
“That's right. Unfortunately, that son of a bitch has the blood of the Graves family, and you, Father, are a powerless noble who would be snuffed out if the Graves family so much as coughed in the wrong direction. And that's why I'm on my way to a ball hosted by that damn bastard.”
Gern glanced at the driver of their limousine and said.
“There are many ears listening. Watch your mouth.”
Llywen shot back with a sneer.
“Do I have to watch my mouth even inside our own car now? I told you we should get a familiar. What is this, it's so embarrassing. What kind of Demon Country noble rides around in a tin can? Not even a familiar.”
“Familiars are not only expensive to buy, but their upkeep is also too costly. It's difficult with our means. Hmm... still, isn't a tin can like this better than a familiar like that?”
Gern said, glancing at a plump white squirrel passing by outside the window. Llywen, who inadvertently saw the person riding the squirrel, was startled and exclaimed.
“Huh? Th-that... isn't that Alma?”
“Hmm?”
Llywen spoke in a stiff voice, looking at Lee Si-woo who was lying on the fluffy back of the white squirrel with his legs crossed, tapping one foot.
“Father. I'll ask you again. Do I really have to seduce a half-wit like that?”
Having seen with his own eyes a scion of the Graves family riding such a low-class familiar in such an undignified manner, Gern lowered his head and said.
“That's precisely why you have a chance. If he weren't a defective product with flaws, how could a fallen noble family like ours ever dare to covet a bloodline of the Graves family?”
Llywen swept her luscious blonde hair behind her neck.
The blue scales on her neck shimmered.
“It's all because we're of the mermaid race, no different from humans when we come onto land. I'd rather have been born an ugly orc. Of all things, to resemble humans....”
Due to the nature of the mermaid race—transforming into mermaids in water and into human form on land—they were suffering because of a new virus that had recently become rampant.
And the Alter family was no different.
The family's already declining state had worsened due to the new virus.
*Squeal!*
Stopped at a red light, the white squirrel let out an angry cry and began tapping the roofs of nearby cars with its tail.
The startled cars slammed on their brakes, struggling to get as far away from the squirrel as possible.
The tail was no different from a cotton ball, so it wouldn't leave a scratch, but they seemed more afraid of getting into a dispute with the familiar's owner than of damage to their cars.
After all, if they accidentally ran over the familiar's tail with a tire, their lives would be sent straight to hell.
In Earth terms, it was no different from a Lamborghini weaving wildly between Sonatas, throwing its weight around.
When Lee Si-woo slapped its back as if to tell it to stop fooling around, the squirrel, which had been excitedly making a scene, grew sullen and lowered its head.
Llywen muttered, looking at Lee Si-woo with a pathetic gaze.
“Demons maintain their human forms without suffering any disadvantages, so why do we have to be treated like this just for having a human form?”
“Because they have power, and we do not.”
“...I asked a stupid question. Still, I sometimes wonder about this. Why did the Demon Progenitor designate the human form as the demon's Polymorph Form? Of all things, humans? What could there possibly be to gain?”
“Well, there are many absurd theories, like the Demon Progenitor was a humanophile, or that he created humans... but who can know the mind of our great demonic ancestor? We can only infer and speculate.”
Was it because she disliked her own human-like appearance reflected in the car window?
Llywen irritably pressed a button, raising the black partition.
*The races of the Main Dimension despise and persecute humans, yet they don't question their own appearances that resemble them. Elves claim that the human form originated from them, and vampires claim they came to resemble them to more easily take their blood... but why do I... feel like it's the other way around?*
While Llywen was lost in her usual delusions, the limousine arrived at its destination.
Arriving in front of the Grand Hotel, which was over 300 stories tall, they got out of the limousine and handed their invitation to the valet.
The invitation only listed the hotel's address, with no mention of which floor the ball was on, so Llywen asked the employee.
“We're here for the Graves family ball today. Which floor should we go to?”
“Please proceed to the 300th floor.”
For a moment, Llywen's face stiffened.
“The 300th... floor?”
The Grand Hotel, said to be the most luxurious in the Demon Country's capital, Jigo.
The 300th floor here was not a place just anyone could go.
It was a VIP floor reserved only for the heads of prestigious families or the masters of influential magic towers.
*They're letting someone like Alma use the 300th floor, not even the family head, Lete? The Grand Hotel... are they out of their minds?*
While Llywen and Gern were frozen in disbelief, Lee Si-woo, who had approached them unnoticed, spoke.
“Thank you for coming, Llywen Alter. Please forget our past ill-fated connection and have a wonderful time today.”
Lee Si-woo, with a miniaturized Bbi-bbi on his shoulder, left with these gentle words of greeting.
Was it because of his small frame, or his straight back and confident stride?
He was so different that it was hard to believe he was the same timid, gloomy person from before.
Llywen watched Lee Si-woo's retreating back with a confused gaze.
***
The Grand Hotel's sky lounge, true to its reputation, had a magical quality that lifted people's spirits.
The venue, filled with marble, featured a Romanesque interior, as if designed by someone from Earth.
The atmosphere was elegant, exuding the restrained luxury currently in vogue among the nobility.
“What do you think? The sky lounge. Isn't it magnificent?”
As a dark elf with a greasy impression approached her, a noblewoman covered her awkward smile with a fan and said.
“Yes, it's lovely. But it seems you were invited as well, Mr. Voluf?”
The noblewoman was indirectly asking why a rake like him was here. Voluf replied with a smile dripping with butter.
“How could I not attend a ball hosted by my dearest friend?”
“...You seem to still be close with young master Alma?”
“Of course. We're inseparable, like a needle and thread. And Alma relies on me so much. I'm quite sure that if I hadn't helped, this ball would never have happened. And this is a secret, but....”
Voluf whispered in the noblewoman's ear.
“This sky lounge, too, Alma was able to rent it thanks to me, you see? Honestly, how would a friend as naive about the world as Alma know anyone at the Grand Hotel? It's all thanks to me.”
Llywen Alter, who had been silently listening to their conversation nearby, spoke in a bored tone.
“Mr. Voluf, that's enough of your lies. What merit does an illegitimate son of a count's family like you have for the Grand Hotel to grant you favors? They'd sooner do a favor for a stray mutt.”
Stung by Llywen Alter's sharp retort, Voluf sneered.
“Oh, Llywen Alter. As expected of that loathsome shell of yours, your manner of speaking is utterly vulgar. Or has your personality soured because your family is in rags these days? The have-nots are always the sensitive ones, aren't they?”
Voluf had struck a sore spot. Llywen gritted her teeth, her eyes glaring.
“...Is it as bad as someone your age who can't even keep it in his pants?”
“Hehe, I am rather famous in that department, but don't you worry. No matter how desperate I get, my eyes won't wander to a beggar. Keke, it would be quite a spectacle if you got pregnant and tried to leech money off me, wouldn't it?”
As Llywen trembled at Voluf's flippant remarks, a monotone voice called out to him.
“Voluf.”
Realizing it was Lee Si-woo who had called him, Voluf scampered over like a eunuch summoned by a king.
“Oh, my friend, Alma! Why? Is there something you need? Should I bring you more champagne? Or should I bring over a few nice noble ladies like before?”
Amused by Voluf treating a ball—a place for nobles to foster connections—like a club, Lee Si-woo chuckled and gestured with his eyes toward the sofa in front of him.
“Sit.”
Voluf's expression stiffened slightly at Lee Si-woo's commanding tone, but he quickly relaxed and said affably.
“Ah, so you needed someone to talk to. You should have just said so.”
“Are you my friend?”
To that subtly questioning remark, Voluf immediately replied.
“Just a friend? No. Best friends. Soulmates.”
“Hmm....”
Perhaps his heart sank at Lee Si-woo's somehow sullen expression, as Voluf began to shower him with flattery.
“Renting out the entire sky lounge of the Grand Hotel? Wow, you've become a big shot while I wasn't looking. Truly. I was so surprised, you know?”
Lee Si-woo grinned at Voluf's words, as if he had completely forgotten how he'd been blabbering just moments ago, taking credit for Lee Si-woo's achievement.
“I'm sorry, but I've always been a big shot. Unlike you, that is.”
Voluf's expression turned strange at Lee Si-woo's subtle jab.
“Well, I mean, that's true, but... am I not the son of a count? It's a bit much to compare me to you, but it's not like I'm that far behind....”
Lee Si-woo crossed his legs and twisted his lips into a smirk.
“You're not far behind me? Hmm, do you really think so?”
When Lee Si-woo asked him point-blank, Voluf flinched and answered in a barely audible voice.
“Well... no, to be honest, I am a bit behind....”
Was it because the timid look on Voluf's face was such a sight to behold?
Lee Si-woo suddenly burst out laughing and clapped Voluf on the shoulder.
“You've become quite the coward since I last saw you. What use are you if you get so disheartened by a few jokes? Come on, don't be like that, just relax. There's something I need you to do for me later.”
Voluf's face brightened instantly at Lee Si-woo's words, and he asked in a frivolous tone.
“Ahem, so it was a joke. Of course, you wouldn't treat your best friend so harshly. After all I've done for you. More importantly, you have something for me to do? Just say the word! If it's a favor for you, I'd willingly walk into a pit of fire.”
Lee Si-woo's eyes sparkled.
“A pit of fire... don't forget you said that.”
Startled by the ominous nuance, Voluf was about to say something, but his attention was diverted by someone's arrival.
“The Successor of the Vampir family, Tia Vampir, has arrived.”
When she appeared, it was as if time in the sky lounge had stopped.
Black hair that cascaded down like a waterfall.
Crimson eyes as calm as a red lake.
Eyebrows, fine and dark as if drawn with a brush; skin and lips as white as snow, like a drop of blood fallen upon it.
People swallowed dryly at her appearance, which seemed to have been crafted by a god with great intention.
In a sense, this was close to magic.
Because those who saw her, regardless of gender, were utterly captivated by her.
As if they had been suffering from a deep thirst and had just discovered an oasis.
*'It's just a shell.'*
Surprisingly, Lee Si-woo also felt his heart pound the moment he saw her.
As if sinking into a cozy, warm mud pit, he knew it was dangerous to fall for her, yet he was drawn by that warmth, dipping his feet into the mire.
As if he wanted to throw himself in, even if it meant drowning in that very moment.
「Tia」 ★★★★★☆☆☆
Level: 510
Race: Vampire
Strength: C Agility: B- Endurance: C+ Mana: B-
Talents: [1] Hemomancy [2] Mist Form [3] Physical Immunity [4] Blood Control [5] Peerless Beauty
Technique: Breath of the True Ancestor
Unique Ability: Charm
In the end, Lee Si-woo closed his eyes.
He felt that if he looked at her any longer, he would make an irreversible mistake.
*'This is strange. A mere talent shouldn't be able to disturb me this much... Why?'*
Lee Si-woo concluded that his turbulent heart was due to Tia's talent, Charm.
Otherwise, there was no way he would lose his composure over a mere woman.
*'How could I let my eyes wander to a woman like that when I have Ha-yun? Lee Si-woo. Are you out of your mind? Don't be swayed by a pathetic talent. And remember. Remember Ha-yun, who is suffering somewhere right now.'*
Annoyed with himself, Lee Si-woo clicked his tongue softly and shut his eyes.
However, Lee Si-woo wasn't the only one caught in a strange sentiment at that moment.
Because Tia's heart, too, had started pounding as if it had broken the moment she saw Lee Si-woo.
*'Alma Graves....'*
But she gently closed her eyes, erasing him from her mind and sight.
*'Get a grip. Even at this very moment, Si-woo is captured and suffering at the hands of Adrian... and I'm letting my eyes wander to a strange man? How foolish....'*
With a light self-reproach, she passed by Lee Si-woo with a cold expression.
As their paths crossed, a brown hand suddenly shot out between them.
Voluf, having snatched the hand of Tia as she passed in front of him, planted a deep kiss on its back and said.
“Tia Vampir. The jewel of the Demon Country, the flower of Jigo. Would you grant me the honor of a dance?”
Even as he spoke, Voluf did not seem to have any intention of removing his nose and lips from the back of her hand, as if savoring the scent of her skin.