28
Chapter 28
Following the trail where the Slow Stone rolled,
A woman walked slowly down from the top of the mountain.
She looked like a Human, but she was not.
Her true identity was none other than an Elite-grade monster, a Vampire.
"Teddy Bear, there you are."
The Vampire lady I met last time?
What is she doing here.......
A small smile spread across the Vampire's face as she spotted me.
Her expression seemed to say she was glad to see me again.
For now, I immediately dropped face-down on the ground.
I also immediately used the Teddy Bear Camouflage skill.
So that she wouldn't be able to sense my Mana.
Because the Vampire thinks I'm just a normal Doll.
I had completely fooled her during our last encounter.
"...That's a Vampire, right?"
"Why is a Vampire here...."
The faces of the High Orcs turned deathly pale.
They looked absolutely terrified.
Understandably so.
The Vampire here has the same power level as the High Orc who seemed to be the strongest in their village. She wasn't an opponent that these weakling High Orcs, who were only good for their Speed, could ever dare to take on.
"What do we do? If the Chieftain were with us, maybe, but there's no way the two of us can beat a Vampire on our own...."
"Let's just quickly grab our prey and run."
The two High Orcs cautiously read the Vampire's mood.
Keeping their eyes fixed firmly upon her.
They began to slowly creep toward the corpse.
Hey! Don't come any closer!
"You lumps, stop right there."
The Vampire's voice rang out low.
The High Orcs twitched their shoulders and froze in place.
"I will grant you special mercy and spare your lives, so leave that corpse where it is and get lost."
"What? Are you trying to steal our prey right n─"
"Quiet!"
One High Orc flared up in anger,
But the other High Orc wisely clamped a hand over his mouth.
However, the enraged High Orc was stupider than expected.
Smack!
He pushed away the High Orc who was trying to hold him back.
"Leave our prey behind? Don't spout nonsense! We are proud hunters of the forest! No matter how strong the opponent, we will never yield our prey! I would rather choose death than be robbed of the prey I caught!!!"
As if he had never been afraid at all.
Shouting in a booming voice, the High Orc lunged bravely at the Vampire.
Swoosh-!
His face soared into the sky.
His neck had been severed by the Blood Whip swung by the Vampire.
It was a skill very similar to Tosuni's Blood Whip.
Thump. The High Orc's face fell to the ground.
It rolled around before coming to a stop as it bumped against the other High Orc's foot.
Gulp.
The High Orc swallowed hard at the sight of his kin's corpse.
The Vampire asked him.
"Are you a proud hunter, too?"
"No, I am just an ordinary hunter. I don't have anything like pride."
"Is that so? Then you may go."
"Thank you."
The wise High Orc bowed his head in greeting, then immediately turned around and ran away at full speed.
The Vampire, who watched his retreating back pitifully, soon began approaching me.
Prickle.
I can feel a piercing gaze.
The Vampire was staring holes into me.
"Teddy Bear."
Yes?
Are you talking to a Doll right now?
You must be full of childlike innocence.
"Stop acting and get up."
Pardon?
What are you talking about?
I am just an ordinary Doll.
"You're playing dumb to the end. This is your last chance. If you don't get up right now, I will hold you accountable for stealing and eating my Blood Orb last time."
Blood Orb?
I don't remember stealing and eating anything like that.
Don't frame an innocent Teddy Bear as a thief!
...Ah, wait a minute.
Could the name of that blood lump be the Blood Orb?
I do remember stealing and eating that.
Thanks to that, I was able to undergo Evolution into a Vampiric Teddy Bear. Hehe.
.......
Spring!
I hastily jumped up from my spot.
Wait, this Vampire!
She already knew I wasn't an ordinary Doll from the start?
Did she let it slide on purpose last time, pretending not to know?
First, I continuously bowed my head toward the Vampire in apology.
I am sorry for stealing your food!
Bow! Bow! Bow!
"You're finally getting up. Good, I won't hold your thievery against you."
Phew. I'm forgiven.
As expected, a sincere apology always works.
"More importantly, it's still fascinating. To perfectly hide your Mana aura to the point where even I can't sense it."
It seems Teddy Bear Camouflage was activated properly.
Judging from her words, she really couldn't sense my Mana.
Then how on earth did she see through me?
How did she know I'm not an ordinary Teddy Bear, but a very amazing Teddy Bear monster?
"Hmm? You look curious about how I knew you weren't a normal Teddy Bear."
Nod nod.
"In fact, I was awake when you stole my Blood Orb. When I pretended to sleep by snoring, you excitedly approached me."
Aha.
That was an act?
I was the one who got completely fooled.
I guess she hadn't completely dropped her suspicions back then.
Still, it's a relief.
Since the Vampire seems favorable toward me.
If she had been hostile in the first place, she wouldn't have pretended not to know last time.
I don't know why she's being favorable.
Does she really like small and cute things?
Enough to even forgive someone who stole her food?
I was curious, but I couldn't ask.
There's a limit to asking such complex questions using body language.
"Hmm."
The Vampire stared at me intently.
Then, she grabbed my body with both hands and lifted me up.
"As expected, the Subordination process has been canceled. Did it fail because you're a Doll?"
Subordination process?
What's that about?
"Huh? Looking closely, you've gotten much stronger than last time. It seems you've even undergone Limit Breakthrough... Then it might not be that Subordination failed because you are a Doll, but rather that the Subordination was blocked during the Limit Breakthrough process."
What do you keep saying?
Did you secretly do something weird to my body?
You shady old lady!
"Ah. Do not misunderstand. I had no intention of making You my subordinate. The Subordination proceeded automatically because you ate my Blood Orb."
Aha. So that was it.
I misunderstood.
I'm sorry, Noona.
It was all my fault.
"Anyway, it is a relief. The connection with you was suddenly severed, so I was worried you might have died."
She worried about me?
Miss Vampire is quite affectionate.
Even though we've only met once.
I was slightly moved.
Since it seemed she purposely came here to check on my well-being.
The Vampire must have stopped by the place where I originally was, and when she didn't see me, she followed the trail left by the rolling massive object all the way down here.
Bow, bow!
I expressed my gratitude once again.
I'm thankful she worried about me, and thanks to her, I also managed to protect the human woman's corpse.
I guess I don't need to cremate her.
I can now make her a grave as originally planned.
"By the way, is this corpse perhaps a Human's corpse?"
Nod nod.
That's right, it's the Human who saved me.
After affirming her question, I carefully picked up the Baby Doll I had placed on the ground.
"...That child isn't an ordinary Doll, either."
She recognizes it immediately.
That's right, she is of a similar kin to me.
"Hmm."
The Vampire narrowed her brow.
She let out a low hum, looking back and forth between the Human, the Baby Doll, and me.
"Ah!"
An expression of having realized something.
As if having finished assessing the situation, the Vampire soon curled the corners of her lips slightly, wearing a peculiar smile.
"You lewd, perverted Teddy Bear."
Huh?
Suddenly?
"So you kidnapped this Human, bred with her, and gave birth to a Baby Doll."
What kind of nonsense is this again.
Is there something wrong with her head?
Do you think I'm some sort of breeding Teddy Bear?
Even if we did, how could she give birth in just a few days.
Shake shake!
I shook my head wildly from side to side in strong denial.
No making strange assumptions!
I don't even have a reproductive function in the first place!
"Does that mean you didn't kidnap her?"
Nod nod!
Don't turn a good-hearted Teddy Bear into a kidnapper!
"I apologize. I misunderstood. So you two locked eyes and bred consensually, is that it?"
Shake shake shake shake!!!
I said no!
I didn't breed!
It seems this Vampire really has some mental issues.
I knew it the moment I saw her sunbathing naked.
"You didn't breed, either? Then what is that Baby Doll."
I don't know either.
The Human woman had her.
I pointed at the woman's corpse with my front paw.
"...I don't understand the situation again."
The Vampire scratched her head.
It makes sense that she doesn't understand.
"Hmm... Anyway, you do know the Human lying dead over there, right?"
Nod nod.
We have a connection.
"Was she perhaps a precious existence to you?"
A precious existence?
Uh... The Human woman is my benefactor, but she wasn't particularly precious to me.
After pondering for a moment.
I nodded my head again for now.
Because there was no reason to go out of my way to deny it.
And I had a feeling that something good might happen if I called her a precious existence.
"Is that so? That's a shame. I was just thinking how lucky it was to find a Human corpse... But since you say she is precious to you, I will not dissect her."
Oh.
The woman's corpse almost got dissected.
It's a good thing I chose my answer well.
"Instead, I will do a simple experiment... no, just a simple check."
I tilted my head.
What kind of check are you going to do?
I won't tolerate any damage to the corpse.
"Do not worry. Rather, this check will be a good thing for you too."
The Vampire stroked the small anchor she was carrying on her back.
What is that?
It's an item I didn't see last time.
As I briefly laid eyes on the anchor, information popped up thanks to the Helper skill.
[Soul Weapon]
┗Pw.80
┗Rnk.Rare
Soul Weapon?
Why does she have that?
The Soul Weapon was not connected to the Vampire.
I guessed she had probably taken it from a Human.
"This Human also possessed a Soul Weapon. Good, since her own Soul Weapon is here, I can check more accurately."
The Vampire examined the woman's corpse.
In the midst of doing so, she turned her head and glanced at me.
"Teddy Bear. I will ask one last thing. Is it okay if your precious existence becomes a race other than Human?"
A race other than Human?
Wait, does that mean she can bring this Human back to life right now?
If so, I would be thankf... No.
Can I really decide something this important?
Shouldn't I get her consent?
Ah. She's dead, so I can't get her consent.
But I can't get the Baby Doll's consent either.
...I don't know.
Nod nod.
If possible, please revive her for now.
We can just get the woman's consent after she's revived.
"Understood."
The Vampire took out a small box from her embrace.
Then she opened the box's lid and picked up a piece of the Blood Orb.
The Blood Orb flowed smoothly into the mouth of the woman's corpse.