Chapter 34

Vampire (2)

After returning to the accommodation, I decided to have her take a bath first since she was in a terrible state.

Since no one else could help her bathe except Ashel, I entrusted her to her.

After washing the girl, I tried to start a conversation with her.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"......"

"If you're hungry, just say so. I can prepare a meal right away."

"......"

But the conversation was one-sided like this.

She just looked at me warily like a frightened herbivore, fidgeting and tightly closing her mouth.

Vampires can speak the Common Language of the continent, so she must just be wary of me.

"Vampire, are you going to keep your mouth shut?"

Baros, standing behind me, said with an annoyed look.

The girl shuddered and cowered even more at the pressure in his voice.

I frowned and turned to Baros. He looked flustered and bowed his head.

"I'm sorry."

I turned to Ashel and asked.

"Was she like this when you were washing her?"

"Yes, I tried to talk to her, but she didn't say anything..."

This is quite a dilemma.

I'm not the type who gets along well with children in the real world, so I'm at a loss about what to do in such situations.

First, we need to be able to communicate to take her to the Elrod Forest or not.

"Are you from the vampire tribe that lives in the Elrod Forest?"

"......"

She didn't react to that either.

She just looked like she didn't understand what I was saying.

If she were from the Elrod Forest tribe, she should have reacted somehow... so she must be from another place?

'...But thinking about it, that's also a problem.'

It wouldn't be right to take a vampire who isn't from the Elrod Forest and bring her to another tribe's territory.

I was so focused on the idea of taking her to the Elrod Forest that I forgot about this part.

I sighed, looking at the girl who was tightly closing her mouth.

"I don't intend to keep you restrained. If you want, I can take you back to your hometown."

"......"

"Say something. If you have any relatives living in the Elrod Forest, I can take you there."

"......!"

For the first time, the girl, who had been silent until now, showed a reaction.

Her pupils wavered, and finally, she stammered.

"Is there... my kind... in the Elrod Forest?"

I nodded, thinking it was right.

"Yes, there's a very peaceful vampire tribe living there."

"Elrod Forest... where is it?"

"It's to the west of this city... no, not that far. Do you want to go there?"

Please say you want to go.

The girl rolled her eyes and nodded slightly.

I burst with joy inside and nodded back.

"Alright, I'll take you there soon."

"......"

"But are you hungry? You probably haven't eaten properly. Let's have a meal and talk..."

...Huh?

I narrowed my brows as I spoke.

I could feel her breathing becoming rough.

She was fidgeting more than before, and it didn't look like she was in a normal state. What's wrong?

"Hey, are you okay?"

She shook her head roughly, as if trying to regain her composure.

"I'm... I'm fine... but..."

She doesn't look fine at all.

I got up from my seat to get closer to check on her, but she reacted strongly and backed away. I was taken aback and stopped.

"Don't... don't come closer."

"......"

"It's... it's hard to bear, the sweet smell... don't come closer..."

Seeing her, now crying and shaking her head, I recalled something.

'Right, young vampires...'

Vampires are a species that can primarily feed on blood. They have a natural instinct to drink blood from birth.

While they can suppress this instinct as they grow into adults, it's difficult for young vampires. Their instinct periodically erupts.

So, adult vampires sometimes share their blood with young vampires to satisfy their urges.

"Do you want to drink my blood?"

I rolled up my sleeve and extended my arm to her.

"Drink it."

"......"

"It's fine, you can drink. Come here."

I spoke in the most soothing tone I could.

Her expression seemed to relax as if she was under a spell, and she slowly approached me.

Crunch!

A sharp pain in my arm.

The girl grabbed my arm and sank her fangs into it, starting to drink the blood.

Baros and Ashel, who were standing nearby, watched the scene with bewildered eyes.

"Rude... drink my blood, not Lord Ron's. Vampire."

"Leave it. Stay back."

I stopped Baros, who was about to roll up his sleeve, and sat down.

For a while, the only sound in the room was the girl drinking blood.

I felt a bit awkward and embarrassed as I watched the girl, who was hungrily feeding on my arm.

'...But is she okay?'

She's drinking for longer than I expected.

But with regeneration, it should be fine.

"......Phew."

Soon, the girl pulled away, breathing heavily with a sense of satisfaction.

She then looked at me with a shy expression.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's fine."

I wiped the blood from my arm and checked the wound. The injury had already healed, leaving no trace.

After that, the girl's wariness towards me seemed to lessen, and we could have a normal conversation.

The girl's name is Rudica.

She is a vampire from a place far to the north of Caldric, not the Elrod Forest.

The reason she was brought here as a slave was as follows.

"There was a fight between tribes. A bad tribe killed everyone in our tribe and took over our homes."

Though her vocabulary was limited due to her young age, I could understand the situation.

So, there was a war between the vampire tribes living in the mountains, and her tribe was defeated and forced to flee.

The survivors scattered from the mountains, and the group Rudica belonged to wandered, looking for a new home, and eventually encountered slave traders.

"The humans said the adults were a nuisance and killed them all. My mom and dad too. And they caught me and my sister."

"......"

The humans she met were likely the slave hunters of Valkilop.

They probably killed all the adult vampires because they couldn't control them with blood magic.

Capturing and enslaving the minority tribes that live hidden in nature, away from the general public, is also one of the ways these slave hunters acquire slaves.

It's a story that makes me seethe with anger just to hear it.

'...But a sister?'

She wasn't alone; she had a sister.

Rudica continued.

"My sister was caught first while trying to protect me, and I was caught later when I was hiding."

"I see."

"The humans kept saying something about an auction and said my sister was moved there first. My sister is probably at the auction."

Rudica said, sounding urgent.

From her tone, it seemed she didn't understand what an auction was.

I sighed, looking at her desperate eyes.

'Is she asking for help...?'

Rudica continued, sobbing.

"Can we get help from the relatives in the Elrod Forest? I have to save my sister. She was trying to save me..."

Now I understand why she reacted when I mentioned the Elrod Forest. Of course, it was a far-fetched idea.

I remained silent for a moment and then nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll save your sister too."

Rudica's face brightened.

"Thank you! Thank you so much..."

...I said it casually, but the situation has become a bit complicated.

I can't just take her and leave her sister behind.

'I should go to Domihawk City first.'

I had just received an invitation to an auction there.

I decided to go to Domihawk City, gather more information about the auction, and then decide what to do next.

***

After staying in the city for a day, we set off for Domihawk City.

It wasn't far from Kyubax, so it didn't take long by carriage.

Choo.

During the journey, Rudica kept drinking my blood.

Though vampires can eat normal food, she seemed to prefer the taste of my blood.

I ate my meal with one hand while she was attached to my other arm.

Baros, watching her with a displeased look, said.

"Vampire, stop being rude to Lord Ron and drink my blood. Do you even know who he is?"

I told him it was fine, but he was persistently nagging.

Rudica, who had pulled away from my arm, shook her head at Baros.

"No... it smells bad."

"......What?"

Baros looked a bit shocked.

Do vampires have a preference for the taste of blood?

It seems the taste of elf blood doesn't suit her. She probably prefers human blood.

'...Human.'

A thought suddenly came to mind.

Now that I think about it, I naturally assumed this body was human, but is that certain?

Ashel looks like a human, but her race is the White Moon Clan.

There are other races in this world that resemble humans. Could I be one of them?

'But there doesn't seem to be any special ability in this body...'

Well, I'm probably just human.

I shook off the silly thought and focused on my meal.

After finishing, we got back on the carriage and set off again.

We would arrive in Domihawk City in about two days.

Rudica, sitting next to me, was dozing off, and I, as usual, watched the scenery outside the window.

After a few hours of travel...

"......?"

A faint sound caught my heightened senses. It was quite far ahead.

I intensified my senses and frowned.

'A battle?'

The sound of metal, tearing flesh, and screams.

Clearly, a group was engaged in a fight.

'This is a highway.'

I wondered if some travelers were being attacked by bandits.

As we got closer, the commotion also grew louder.

By the time the situation came into view, the battle seemed to have ended, and there was no more noise.

"......"

I stiffened, looking at the scene in front of the carriage.

There were familiar figures.

A carriage loaded with slaves, surrounded by members and a long-haired leader of the Valkilop organization.

I wondered why they were here but quickly understood.

They were taking slaves to the auction in Domihawk, and our paths coincidentally crossed.

And for some reason, there were merfolk lying around, bleeding and scattered.

The Valkilop members were still holding their swords, staring at our carriage.

I got off the carriage with Ashel and revealed myself to them.

"......Hmm?"

The long-haired man smiled widely upon seeing my face and spoke.

"Ah, young master. What a surprise to see you here. Are you on your way to Domihawk?"

I didn't answer his question and quickly scanned the scattered merfolk.

Half of them were already dead, and the rest were injured, gasping and glaring at the Valkilop members.

I turned my gaze back to the man.

"What's going on here?"

The man answered nonchalantly.

"Oh, we were just attacked."

"Attacked?"

"These beasts were trying to rescue their captured kin. Nothing serious, it happens from time to time."

As he spoke, he gestured towards a cage where young merfolk were trapped.

They were the same ones Rudica and I had seen in the basement of the slave market.

The men laughed and started dragging the injured merfolk.

"They attacked us without thinking, so they have to pay the price. The dead are dead, and the living will be sold as slaves."

The long-haired man sneered, and a mermaid woman gritted her teeth and shouted.

"You cruel humans! You were the ones who invaded our territory, killed our people outside the forest, and kidnapped our children!"

It was a desperate cry, as if her blood was boiling.

I looked at her and then back at the long-haired man.

He smiled and walked over to her, stomping on her head and pressing her to the ground.

"Stop spouting nonsense. Isn't this the natural order? The strong trample the weak."

"Ugh...!"

"I'm sorry to show you such a dirty scene, young master. Please ignore it and continue on your way. We have some cleaning up to do."

The man laughed and ground his foot into her head.

A young merfolk in the cage sobbed and shouted.

"Big sister! Big sister...!"

"Ah, is this your sister? It's a good thing they'll be sold together. The noble masters will surely appreciate the variety."

The demonic laughter echoed in my ears.

I looked at the scene and then up at the sky.

I recalled the thought I had when I saw the slaves at the checkpoint.

'It's just a moment of self-satisfaction...'

So what?

Can a person only live consistently? Is it really human to never act on emotion?

This has crossed my line.

I lowered my head and spoke to the long-haired man.

"What if I let them go?"

The long-haired man turned his head.

"Let them go... What do you mean? Oh, are you offering to buy them here?"

"No."

I said again.

"I won't give you a single gold coin. I'm telling you to just leave them and get lost."

Silence fell.

The Valkilop members dragging the merfolk stopped and stared at me.

The long-haired man's eyebrows twitched, and he spoke.

"What are you...?"

"Can't you do it?"

I nodded.

"Then that's it."

I turned to Ashel.

"Ashel."

"......Yes."

My voice echoed coldly in the quiet highway.

"Kill them all."