Chapter 38

Vampire (6)

Mayor Balon of Domihawk City was living his usual daily life.

After finishing a slightly late dinner and enjoying a cup of tea alone on the terrace, he was reading until the early hours of the morning before going to bed.

It was then that an unexpected and sudden visitor arrived at the mansion.

"What... What is Lord Begos doing here at this hour?"

Blinking his eyes, Balon looked at the man who had been led to the central hall by the knights on guard.

Begos, a high-ranking official of the Dominion Castle.

Balon was personally acquainted with him.

That was because Balon, as the mayor, had been tacitly allowing the secret auction hosted by Valkilov in this city, and Begos was a VIP at such auctions.

'Today was the day of the auction.'

Aside from the unexpected visit at this hour, Begos's expression seemed unusually urgent, which made Balon look at him with suspicion.

Begos sighed deeply and said,

"I apologize for coming at such a late hour without any prior notice... There's been an incident at the auction."

"What incident? What do you mean...?"

"Some lunatic went on a killing spree at the auction. All the managers are dead, and Jack is dead too. Valkilov is finished."

"Wait... Jack? You mean the leader of Valkilov is dead?"

Balon was taken aback and asked in disbelief.

Jack, the demon of Domihawk, was one of the biggest figures in the underworld of the Third Dominion, and his sudden murder was bewildering.

Not only was he cunning, but his skills were also renowned throughout the Third Dominion as being incredibly formidable...

"Who could have killed him?"

"I don't know who it was. And it wasn't even a group; it was just one person."

"Just one person... Could it be someone from the Dominion Castle?"

"Would I not know if it were? Anyway, that's why I came to consult with you... Let's go inside for now."

At that moment,

"Mr. Mayor."

A knight rushed in, his voice trembling.

Balon turned to him in confusion.

"What is it now?"

"It's... It's the Seventh Dominion Lord who has come."

For a few seconds, Balon just blinked, thinking, 'What the hell is this?' before he asked,

"Who has come?"

"The Seventh Dominion Lord has come."

To Balon, the knight's words sounded no different from saying the ground had suddenly opened up.

So... the Seventh Dominion Lord? The Seventh Dominion Lord?

'Why?'

Why would the Seventh Dominion Lord suddenly come to see him?

An imposter? Impossible. Who would impersonate a Dominion Lord's name in Caldric and come to see the mayor?

"..."

That was the natural line of thought, so the knights on guard had no choice but to bring the man who had suddenly appeared at the mansion, claiming to be the Seventh Dominion Lord, and the various races that followed him, inside.

Seeing the unfamiliar visitors calmly entering the hall, Balon's eyes widened.

The man at the forefront looked at him.

"Are you the mayor of Domihawk?"

"Y-Yes! I am Balon, the mayor of Domihawk."

Balon, who had been uncertain, bowed deeply at the overwhelming presence.

Even though the Third Dominion was far from the Seventh Dominion, he knew the basic information about the Seventh Dominion Lord: that he was a human male.

So the man in front of him must be the real Seventh Dominion Lord.

Meanwhile, Begos was also shocked to see the man, the Seventh Dominion Lord, and the woman, Ashel, standing beside him.

'That... That...!'

He couldn't recognize them without their masks, but he couldn't mistake them.

The unknown man and woman who had massacred Valkilov's combatants and turned the auction into a bloodbath.

The Seventh Dominion Lord turned his head to look at Veros.

Begos, momentarily stunned, quickly bowed.

"An honor to meet you, Seventh Dominion Lord! I am Begos, the personnel officer of the Third Dominion Castle!"

Now the situation made sense.

It was strange to begin with. How could such a formidable figure suddenly appear out of nowhere?

He had thought there must be some connection to a larger scheme, but he never imagined it would be the Dominion Lord himself.

'Jack, you lunatic... What did you do?'

It was clear that Valkilov had been the one to attack the Seventh Dominion Lord first, after stealing the invitation.

What had happened, and how had things gone so wrong that such an absurd situation had occurred? Begos couldn't understand.

The Seventh Dominion Lord spoke again.

"Mayor, I have a favor to ask of you."

...A favor?

Still bowing, Balon rolled his eyes and replied,

"Of course, please tell me what you need!"

"Did you know about the secret auction hosted in this city by Valkilov?"

Balon and Begos felt their hearts sink.

"That... That is..."

"Of course, you must have known. I'm not blaming you, but I need to talk about the people behind me. They were slaves at the auction and have ended up in a difficult situation."

Begos, who understood the context, swallowed hard.

Balon, recalling the story he had heard from Begos and observing his reaction, quickly deduced the situation.

'So, the one who massacred the auction was the Seventh Dominion Lord?'

The Seventh Dominion Lord glanced back and continued,

"So, I want you to take responsibility for their well-being. Send those who have a place to go with enough money for the journey, and find suitable jobs for those who don't."

It wasn't a particularly difficult request, but Balon was puzzled.

It felt bizarre that a Dominion Lord would be concerned about the well-being of mere slaves.

Was this the Seventh Dominion Lord's nature, or was there some other meaning behind it?

He couldn't guess, but he dared not question it.

"I will take care of it. I will ensure their safety."

"Thank you. That's all I needed. I'll be on my way."

With that, the Seventh Dominion Lord turned and left, followed by a knight and a vampire.

Balon and Begos, taken aback by his sudden arrival and departure, bowed.

"Please take care! It was a great honor to meet you, Seventh Dominion Lord!"

They kept their bows until the visitors were completely out of sight.

Inside, they were greatly relieved.

If the Seventh Dominion Lord had held them responsible for the auction in any way... The thought was terrifying.

Of course, this was the Third Dominion, and Balon had the authority to manage Domihawk City, but how could a Dominion Lord be bound by such trivial authority?

"Feels like I've aged ten years."

Begos muttered, looking exhausted.

Balon nodded in agreement.

"Why did the Seventh Dominion Lord come to Domihawk City...?"

"How can we guess the thoughts of such great figures? We should be grateful that this passed without incident."

Balon sighed, looking at the slaves left behind.

"So, the person Begos mentioned at the auction was the Seventh Dominion Lord?"

"Yes."

"Then what will happen to Valkilov now?"

"Of course, it's over. If you have any connections, sever them quickly. I need to return to the Dominion Castle as soon as possible. What a disaster."

***

The issue of the slaves' well-being was resolved simply and effectively by using the mayor.

While the mayor, who had turned a blind eye to the auction, was equally culpable, there was no need to stir things up further.

The massacre at the auction was only because Valkilov had attacked first; it wasn't about enforcing justice.

We returned to our lodging immediately.

Rudica was waiting in the inn room with Baros.

Rudica's eyes widened when she saw her sister.

"Sister!"

"Rudica!"

They ran to each other and embraced.

She had been wary of me the whole way, but seeing her sister, she broke down in tears and held her tightly.

I watched them and then asked Baros,

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes."

After the sisters' reunion, she finally relaxed and thanked me.

"Thank you so much for helping us."

The sister's name was Rubica.

I sat the two sisters in the front. It was time to discuss our main goal: the Elrod Forest.

Rudica had already heard the story, but Rubica had not.

Rubica, holding her sister close, listened intently to what I said.

"Elrod... Forest?"

After hearing the story, Rubica, who seemed cautious and careful, showed a hint of unease.

"Another tribe's territory... We don't know if they will welcome us..."

After all, the sisters had been driven out of their own home by their own kind.

It was a normal reaction to be hesitant about seeking out another vampire tribe.

Vampires have a bad reputation in this world for a reason.

While adult vampires can suppress their bloodlust, not all of them can control their desire for blood.

It's like humans; adults can control their desires better than children, but not all adults are excellent at it.

'Specially the Sixth Dominion Tyrant is the ultimate example.'

When such vampires form a tribe, they become a pack of vampires hunting other races.

The tribe that had invaded the territory of the sisters' tribe seemed to be of this type.

"Don't worry about that."

I reassured her with a confident voice.

"The vampire tribe in the Elrod Forest is very peaceful. They might reject a human like me, but they would be different with their own kind. Even outsiders would be accepted if the situation is explained."

Of course, I had never met them in person.

But I could be so confident because I had played the game.

In the game's story, there were episodes where vampires similar to the sisters had sought refuge in the Elrod Forest and were accepted.

The Elrod Forest tribe had embraced them and lived peacefully, except for one 'problem.'

And by solving that problem, I could potentially obtain the blood magic I needed.

Rubica, after a moment of contemplation, asked me,

"But you... I mean, you...?"

"My name is Ron."

"Yes, does Ron have a connection with the vampire tribe in the Elrod Forest? You seem to know a lot about them."

...A bit of a tricky question.

These two probably thought I was introducing them to a new tribe out of pure goodwill, but it was the opposite.

I was using them to establish a connection with the vampires in the Elrod Forest.

I felt a twinge of guilt and nodded.

"I once had a connection with a vampire from there, which is how I know about the Elrod Forest."

Regardless, I needed to bring them to the Elrod Forest, so it was important to reassure them.

Rubica, after a moment of contemplation, nodded.

"Alright. I'll go to the Elrod Forest as you suggest. Thank you for your kindness."

"Good decision."

The persuasion was over.

It was time to head to the Elrod Forest to obtain the blood magic.