After returning to the dormitory, I took a bath first because I was not in a good mood.
Asher was the only one person who could help the girl wash, so I left it to her.
After the girl was finally clean, I tried to talk to her.
“Can you tell me what your name is?”
“...”
“If you’re hungry, it’s okay, tell me. I’ll prepare the meal right away.”
“...”
But the conversation continued to be one-way like this.
She just looked at me like a frightened herbivore and kept her mouth shut with a hint of restlessness.
Being a vampire didn’t mean that one couldn’t use the official language of the continent. Was she like this only to me?
“Vampire, are you going to keep your mouth shut?”
Baros, who was standing behind me, said with an annoyed look.
At the pressured voice, the girl shuddered even more.
I frowned and turned to Baros. He was bewildered and bowed his head.
“Sorry.”
I asked, turning to Asher on the other side.
“Was she like this when you’re cleaning her up?”
“Yeah, I tried talking to her, but she said nothing…”
How annoying.
Even in real life, I was far from getting along well with children, so I wondered what to do in such a situation.
First, I had to ask her something, then take her to the Elrod Forest.
“Are you possibly from the vampire tribe living in Elrod Forest?”
“...”
The girl didn’t even respond to that.
She just didn’t seem to understand what I was saying.
If she was from the tribe living at Elrod Forest, there would have been a response… Then, was she a vampire who lived in another place?
...That would make things more difficult.
A vampire who was not from Elrod Forest. I couldn’t just take her there if she belonged to a different tribe.
I was so distracted by the thought of going to Elrod Forest that I forgot about that possibility.
I sighed as I looked at the girl with her mouth shut.
“I have no intention of confining you. If you wish, I will take you back to your home.”
“...”
“You should at least answer. Or I can take you to Elrod Forest where the other vampires lived. Just say a word and I can take you there.”
“...!”
It was the first reaction that the girl gave me.
I wondered if her pupils were shaking, and then she finally opened her mouth.
“In Elrod Forest… are there other vampires…?”
I was right and answered right away.
“Yes, there is a very peaceful vampire tribe living there.”
“Eh, where is Elrod Forest?”
“It’s far west of this city… No, it’s not too far away. Do you want to go there?”
'Say you want to go, please.'
The girl rolled her eyes from side to side before nodding slightly.
I burst into joy and nodded my head.
“Okay, then I’ll take you right away.”
“...”
“But aren’t you hungry? It seems like you couldn’t eat properly. Let’s eat slowly and talk…”
...Huh?
I did not speak and narrowed my eyes.
I felt the girl’s breathing becoming rough.
She was more restless than before, twisting her legs like that, and no matter how much I looked at it, she didn’t look like she was in a normal state.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She shook her head violently, as if trying to regain consciousness.
“It’s okay, it’s okay… But…”
No matter how one looked at her, she didn’t look good.
I got up and tried to get closer to see the girl’s condition.
Then she reacted violently and distanced herself from me. I was also confused and stopped.
“Oh, don’t come.”
“...”
“I can’t stand it anymore, the sweet smell… Don’t come closer…”
Now watching her shake her head, shedding tears, I remembered something.
'That’s right, young vampires…'
Vampires were basically a race that considered blood as a staple food. That’s an innate instinct for vampires.
An adult could suppress that instinct, but I remembered that there was a setting that it was difficult for a young vampire to do the same. Instinct exploded and dominated periodically.
If I remembered correctly, adults gave their blood to the young vampires to satisfy their needs.
“Do you want to drink my blood?”
I rolled up my sleeves and reached out to the girl.
“Drink it.”
“...”
“It’s okay, you can drink. Come here.”
I said it in the most mature tone possible.
The girl’s expression gradually loosened as if possessed by something, then slowly approached me.
Waa!
A tingling and rising pain in the arm.
The girl grabbed my forearm, pierced her fangs, and sucked blood.
Baros and Asher, who were next to us, watched the scene with bewildered eyes.
“No, that’s… not Lord Ron’s blood, vampire—”
“It’s fine, just leave it alone.”
Baros, who was about to pull up his sleeves, stopped and sat down on a chair as if his strength had just left him.
For a moment, we could hear only the sound of a girl sucking blood in the room.
I looked down at the top of the girl’s head, dangling from my arms and eating frantically, feeling a little awkward.
'...But is this okay?'
Wasn’t she eating longer than one would normally do?
It should be okay since I had [Super Regeneration].
“...Fah.”
Soon, exhaling a full breath, the girl opened her mouth.
And later, she looked at me with a look of embarrassment and said;
“I’m sorry...”
“It’s fine.”
I wiped the blood off my arm and checked it. The wounds quickly regenerated and disappeared without a trace.
After that, I could have a normal conversation with the girl as if her boundaries had been lifted.
The girl’s name was Rudica.
She was a vampire from a place far north of Calderic, not from Elrod Forest.
The reason she ended up being a slave was like this.
“There was a fight between the tribes. The bad tribe killed our tribe and took over our homes.”
Because she was young, her vocabulary was poor, but I could understand it enough.
So, there was a war between the vampire tribes living in the mountains, and the tribe she belonged to was defeated and pushed out.
And those who barely survived scattered and left the mountain range, and Rudica’s group was said to have wandered around in search of another home and encountered slave traders.
“Humans said adults are annoying and killed them all. My mom and dad too. And they caught me and my sister.”
“...”
The humans they encountered were probably the slave hunters of Valkilov.
They probably thought they couldn’t control adult vampires because they use blood magic, so they must have killed all of them.
Vampires, elves, beastmen, etc., regardless of race, finding and capturing a few tribes living in nature, away from the world, was the best way to get slaves.
It’s nothing new, but it’s an annoying story just listening to it.
...But wait, a sister?
That meant she wasn’t alone and had a sister.
Rudica’s words continued.
“My sister was caught trying to protect me, and I was hiding and then caught.”
“Right.”
“Hey, humans keep saying something about an auction, and they said they moved my sister there first. My sister is probably at an auction.”
Rudica said in an urgent tone.
From what she was saying, she didn’t even understand what an auction was.
I became apprehensive inside as I looked into her earnest eyes.
'Is she asking for help…?'
Rudica continued to say, crying.
“C-can’t we get help from other vampires from the place called Elrod Forest? I have to save my sister. She was trying to save me…”
Now that I see it, this was the reason she reacted when she heard that there was another vampire tribe in Elrod Forest. It was, of course, an absurd idea.
I was silent for a moment, then nodded.
“Don’t worry, I’ll save your sister too.”
Rudica’s face brightened at that.
“Thank you! Thank you so much...”
...I said nothing, but the situation seemed to be troublesome.
However, her sister was still imprisoned, so I couldn’t take her alone to Elrod Forest.
Let’s go to the city of Domihawk for now.
I had an invitation to the auction.
First, I went to the city of Domihawk to learn more about the auction, and then decide what to do next.
***
After staying in the city for a day, we headed straight for the city of Domihawk.
It wasn’t far from Cubax, so it didn’t take long by carriage.
Whoops.
While on the move, Rudica continued to eat with my blood.
It’s not that vampires couldn’t eat ordinary food, but she insisted on only my blood because of the taste.
I ate my meal with one hand, with Rudica hanging from one arm.
Baros said, looking at her with distasteful eyes.
“Stop being rude to Lord Ron, vampire, and eat my blood. Do you know who the person you’re drinking blood from is?”
I said it’s fine, but he’s still doing that tenaciously.
Rudica, who opened her mouth, looked at Baros, and shook her head.
“I don’t like it… it smells bad.”
“What?”
At those words, Baros gave a slightly shocked expression.
Vampires had blood that suited their taste and blood that didn’t.
Apparently, elf blood didn’t suit her taste. I guessed she liked human blood more.
...Human.
A thought suddenly came to mind.
Come to think of it, I naturally thought that the race of this body was human, but was that truly the case?
Although Asher did not differ from a human on the outside, she was still not a human, but someone belonging to the White Moon tribe.
There were many other races similar to humans in this world. Couldn’t I be one of those races too?
'It doesn’t seem like this body has any special abilities, though…'
'So, it’s probably true that I'm just a human.'
I brushed away all my bitter thoughts and focused on eating again.
After eating, we got back on the carriage and set off.
It was only two more days to arrive in the city of Domihawk.
Rudica, who was sitting next to me, was nodding her head as if she was about to fall asleep at any second, then immediately shook her head, and looked out the window as usual.
How many hours had she been like that?
“...?”
With my [Super Sensory], I felt something happening far ahead. I strengthened my senses and narrowed my eyes.
A battle?
The sound of metal scraping, the sound of flesh being ripped, and the sound screaming.
Clearly, it sounded like a group fight was taking place.
It’s the same road we’re taking.
I wondered if thieves had attacked another passerby.
The distance was getting closer, and therefore the noise was also getting closer.
By the time the situation came into view, the battle was over, and there was no more noise.
“...”
I hardened my expression as I watched the scene unfolding in front of the carriage.
It was something very familiar.
A wagon carrying slaves, the members of Valkilov’s gang and a long-haired man in the middle.
For a moment I wondered why they were here, but then I understood.
It seemed our route and time of travel coincidentally overlapped with those who were transporting slaves to be auctioned off at Domihawk.
I saw the figures of beastmen scattered around them, their blood sprinkled around.
The men of Valkilov had not yet pulled their swords, and were staring at the carriage over here.
I got off the stopped wagon with Asher and showed my face to them.
“...Hmm?”
The long-haired guy looked at my face and spoke with a wide smile.
“Ah, young master. How did we meet again in a place like this? Were you on the way to the Domihawk?”
Without answering his question, I glanced at the beastmen scattered around.
Half of them were already dead, and the rest were panting and staring at Valkilov’s gang members.
I turned my gaze back to him.
“What’s going on here?”
He replied in a nonchalant tone.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just being attacked by these wild beasts.”
“Attacked?”
“These cubs planned to attack us to rescue their people imprisoned there. It’s not a big deal. It happens often.”
When he said that, there were young prisoners locked in iron bars where he pointed with his chin.
They had been locked up in the basement of the slave trader with Rudica before.
The men giggled and grabbed the fallen prisoners one by one and dragged them.
“They attacked us without knowing what they should and shouldn’t do, so they should pay the price? The dead are dead, and we will sell the living into slavery.”
At the long-haired man’s sarcastic words, a female beastman gritted her teeth and shouted.
“You cruel human beings! Aren’t you the ones who invaded our home first, killed the tribe members who went out of the forest and kidnapped our children?”
It was a desperate cry, as if blood was boiling from her throat.
I looked at her like that, then looked back at her long hair.
The long-haired man walked towards her with a grin and stomped on her head and slammed it to the floor.
“You’re saying something funny. Isn’t that the way nature is supposed to be? The strong tramples the weak, just like this.”
“You…!”
“Ah, I’m sorry for showing you such a filthy side, young master. Don’t worry and go on your way. It seems like it will take a while for us to clean up.”
As he said that, he giggled and rubbed the female beastman’s trampled head.
One young prisoner, who was locked in a cage, cried.
“Oh, my sister! My sister…!”
“Oh, was this your older sister? It’s good that the sisters will be sold as a pair. Those nobles with various tastes will be equally pleased with you two.”
The sound of the devil’s laughter echoed in my ears.
I looked at the sights and then looked up at the sky once.
I recalled the thoughts I had when I found the slaves at the checkpoint.
It’s just a momentary self-satisfaction.
Then I wondered, what if a person could only live doing what’s comfortable for them? Would that still be a person?
Sometimes, if one didn’t act as their emotions lead them, were they really a person?
'This has crossed the line of my patience.'
I lowered my head again and said to the long-haired man.
“How about letting them go?”
The long-haired man turned his head in this direction.
“Let go… What do you mean by that? Oh, are you saying that you’re going to buy them right here?”
“No.”
I said again.
“I don’t have any gold coins to give you. I’m telling you to just leave them alone.”
Silence descended upon my words.
All the members of Valkilov, who were dragging the prisoners, stopped their movements and looked at me.
The long-haired man wiggled his eyebrows and opened her mouth.
“Now what is that….”
“Can’t you?”
I nodded.
“So that’s it.”
Then he turned to Asher.
“Asher.”
“...Yes.”
My voice echoed coldly on the quiet road.
“Kill them all.”
It is so satisfying to see the mc saving people 😮💨
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