You Can Bite Me If You Want

Leticia's sharp gaze, tinged with a slightly sour expression, made me turn my eyes away. Just meeting her eyes head-on felt like torture. It was as if I were sitting on a bed of thorns.

The whole story went like this. While she was in the shower, I figured I had some time, so I decided to check every skill I could use. I thought I'd have plenty of time to look through most of them, even if I couldn't get to all. From what I remembered, her habit of taking forever in the bath hadn't changed at all.

In that sense, my judgment was correct. No matter how many times I'd told her that long showers were bad for her skin—until my words practically formed calluses on her ears—she'd never listened. So I assumed things would be the same even after all these years. Never mind that I knew absolutely nothing about the current Leticia.

Anyway, I opened the skill window while listening to the sound of running water from the bathroom.

I immediately clicked YES on the system's question. Then I hurriedly scanned through the skills to see what this Charlotte character had before Leticia finished her shower.

There were many other skills besides these, but most of them couldn't be viewed yet because I didn't meet the rank requirements. It seemed skill points were still awarded as quest rewards, just like before. Each skill could be leveled up to a maximum of 15 to 20 points.

I flipped through the skill window with practiced ease, reading the descriptions, then started investing points into what I assumed were the essential skills first.

Tap. Tap.

After fiddling with the skill window for a few minutes, I slowly lowered my hand.

At a glance, the overall skill balance didn't look bad. Normally I would've dumped all my points into the skills that seemed most important, but given the situation, it was better to try out a variety of them. I'd used the remaining skill points frugally to build a decent foundation.

After investing in the bloodthirst skill, I looked at the blood gauge that appeared before my eyes.

"It's completely full right now."

I'd expected it to be empty. Interesting. Did it start fully charged by default? The blood gauge was a deep red, like pooled blood. Seeing the bat-wing-shaped gauge filled to the brim, I let out a breath.

"Even if the power is weak, having more skills is better."

Since this was a character shrouded in complete mystery—with no information about her story or skills on the official homepage or anywhere online—I figured spreading points evenly was the smarter move. At least it was better than having nothing.

Honestly, as someone more used to ripping enemies apart with a sword than using skills, I wasn't even sure how often I'd actually use them. Still, having them meant I'd probably use them sometimes. Unless it was a buff, though, I doubted I'd use them frequently. If I did use them, it'd probably be in combination with my sword.

I stroked the scabbard at my waist and muttered.

"That should cover the basic setup."

What remained was the cash shop, but I could check that later. I was curious what items were available, but there was something I needed to do first. Since I'd already invested in the skills, I might as well test them out.

"Attack skills are out... I'm curious about the demon form too, but... maybe this one?"

Bloody Pressure.

Despite the embarrassingly chuuni skill name I couldn't bring myself to say out loud, the effect was solid. The moment I felt the refreshing yet creepy sensation of blood draining from my body, a red effect slowly began to envelop me.

Oh, this is pretty—

"My speed is like the wind."

...Huh?

The words slipped out automatically. Suspicious, I activated Bloody Pressure once more, and another line came out.

"Feel the power of the vampire known as the King of the Night!"

U-uh?

What the hell. No one said anything about skill voice lines! Well, it was an RPG game, so having voice lines for skills wasn't that strange. But why did a character who wasn't even on the official homepage have them? Come to think of it, the fact that she had skills at all was already surprising, but I hadn't noticed that at the time.

My embarrassment at the spoken lines lasted only a moment. The red effect wrapped around me once and vanished, and I immediately felt much lighter. That made sense—it was a skill that raised Agility by one rank. The difference was obvious compared to when I wasn't using it.

"Not bad."

I let out an impressed sigh. The short exclamation was genuine praise. Any skill that could be useful in combat was always welcome.

I thought checking the skills like this would pass without any trouble.

"What are you doing?"

If only that sudden voice hadn't reached my ears, it probably would have. My body froze at the crystal-clear sound. I turned my stiff neck like a robot that hadn't been oiled, only to meet Leticia's eyes. She was barely holding back laughter, her expression somewhere between amused and exasperated.

That was the truth of what had just happened.

"It's fine. You don't have to make excuses. You're in a strange new land, different from where you lived. You'd do anything to adapt."

"That's not what I meant at all."

"What do you think I meant? I didn't think anything in particular. Getting all defensive will only put you at a disadvantage."

"...You say that with a face that clearly says you won't believe me no matter what I tell you."

When I flailed my arms around in embarrassment, trying to explain, Leticia quickly wiped the smile from her face and sighed.

"It happens. Just like humans, demons have quite a few eccentrics among them."

"No, it's really not like that..."

"Your Demon Realm and our world are similar yet different. The amount of mana in the air must be different too. You'd need to do something like that to adapt, right? That thing you just used was magic, wasn't it?"

If I had to compare it to something, it looked similar to the Saintess's blessing, so it was probably some kind of body-enhancing magic. Leticia added with a slight curl of her lips, saying she'd seen vampires use something similar on the battlefield.

"It's an outdated spell that uses incantations you don't see anymore, but I got a good look at your magic skills."

"Your backhanded sarcasm is top-tier."

It was even more irritating than speaking bluntly. And to think she had this kind of personality even though she wasn't a woman.

"Hoo, it's hot."

Steam still rising from her body as if she'd just finished showering, she wore nothing but a single bathrobe that barely covered her. The moisture clinging to her damp hair and her red lips created a strangely seductive atmosphere.

Even though my body had been turned female because of this character, the person inside was still a man. There was no way I could stay calm looking at that. If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd still had the equipment, I might've gotten hard. We'd already gone as far as two people could go, so getting flustered over mere nudity would be contradictory, but I couldn't help reacting anyway.

What if someone else was around? The only person allowed to see her naked was me.

Just like before, the tips of my ears turned slightly red. I pointed straight at her and said,

"Why don't you put on some proper clothes? What are you doing, showing yourself like that in front of a woman you don't even know?"

My incoherent nonsense made Leticia let out a dry laugh.

"You're a woman too, so why are you so flustered? What's wrong with looking like this in front of another woman? It's not like you're a man."

I'd said it before, but the core of me was male. After saying that, Leticia walked over to the bed as if nothing was wrong and stood in front of me. Then, with a smile, she looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into my face and continued.

"That's not what's important right now, is it?"

"...If you're talking about the contract, I'm ready."

"Good. Then shall we begin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right away?"

Her satisfied answer made me tense up for no reason. When making contracts with demons or devils, they usually used blood to create a binding mark. This time was no different. There was nothing special about it.

"Wait. Before that, I want to confirm one thing..."

Leticia swept her hair back and tilted her neck forward so I could see it clearly. My eyes widened. Had she noticed after all?

As her pale neck was revealed, the thirst grew even stronger. I swallowed hard. Leticia asked in a calm, seductive voice.

"You want to drink, don't you?"

"...What are you saying."

"You can bite me if you want. You can't hold back anymore, can you?"

"......Your intuition really is terrifying. Is this what it feels like to become an obedient dog for your master?"

It wasn't a pleasant feeling. Drinking blood from a human—knowing it was a necessary act for survival—still filled me with instinctive revulsion. I frowned.

"So you don't want to?"

"...No."

Even so, I couldn't refuse. Whether it was the effect of using the skill or if I'd been thirsty from the start, the craving was intense right now. Accepting the irresistible temptation, I opened my mouth slightly and sank my fangs into Leticia's neck with a soft chomp.

"Hah...!"

A small moan escaped her as sweet yet slightly bitter blood filled my mouth.