Master’s Smile

C134 – Captivating Blood

“It’s not a matter of concern. Mel is my servant.”

Litricia insisted while scoffing.

Eeeh…is that true…?

“N-Nonsense…!! She’s my follower…!!”

That’s right. I can see why Vampir shuddered.

Mel was a vampire because Vampir had turned Mel into becoming her follower.

Never have I thought that she would become the servant of another true ancestor….

“…….”

Though, when Mel’s eyes met mine, she giggled and winked at me.

…Ahh, it seems that she wasn’t completely turned over like what I and Vampir had feared.

She probably just wanted to tease Vampir….

And Litricia most likely knew this and allowed it so that she could also give Vampir a shot in the leg.

“KUUUUUUUUUUUUHHH!!!”

Vampir slammed the table a couple of times, looking very frustrated.

Seeing her like this, I can say that Mel and Litricia’s plan has succeeded.

Nevertheless, if Vampir, who is quite powerful, hits an ordinary table repeatedly like that….

A crack sound was heard suddenly and I could guess what that was.

“Oi, can we start now? I’ve been waiting a long time and now I’m getting annoyed with your married couple skit.”

“Couple!? What are you saying!?”

“Ara, were you perhaps talking about me and Master?”

I finally heard the man’s voice for the first time.

Let’s see…. If I recall Mel’s words correctly, his name is Gehirneid, I think.

…Kinda a hard name to say.

“Come on, Vampir, introduce that man to us. It’s the first time you have brought a servant other than Mel…not to mention, a man too.”

“I’m curious about that, as well.”

Litricia and Gehirneid’s eyes caught mine.

Gehirneid was still looking annoyed, but he stared at me as if he was assessing me.

W-Well, I’m just a human who is not as interesting as the true ancestors, though.

And it’s a trivial thing that I’m a master of a small guild.

“Fufun, are you curious? Certainly, that’s because my master butler is wonderful!”

Though, for some reason, Vampir was more proud than I am.

…Eh? Don’t tell me she’s going to tell them all about us?

That silly Vampir is in a good mood.

…Not good. She’s probably going to tell them everything.

“Master is ourーーー”

UWAAAH! As expected! She was going to do that.

Hence, I covered her mouth from behind in a hurry.

Sorry, Vampir! But if you blabber on about “Yelquchira”, it’s going to cause trouble for the others….

I had no choice but to explain myself to Litricia and Gehirneid, who were staring at me with rolled eyes.

I told them that I was the guildmaster of a small guild.

And that I had been captured by Vampir as her food.

“Heee.”

“…….”

From their reactions, it seems like they didn’t suspect me.

Rather, they were more concerned about something other than my origins.

“…Is it really that tasty? His blood.”

“Naturally!”

Vampir, whose mouth was covered, immediately replied to Litricia with a certain ecstasy.

I have no choice but to leave this completely up to her.

Since I would never know what my blood tasted like.

And I’m sure she knows it best, since she’s sucked my blood several times… or rather, very frequently.

“Master’s blood transcends all other blood that exists in the entire world. As a vampire, I’ve drunk a lot of blood in my life, but after I drank his, it seemed to me that all of the previous ones were mere muddy water.”

“Heee….”

“Aaah, I’m getting hungry just talking about it. Master….”

Vampir made an alluring voice and looked up at me.

No, not now.

It’s kinda embarrassing to have my blood sucked in front of other people….

Moreover, won’t you just straightly collapse like a drunkard after sucking my blood as usual?

I don’t know how valuable the Assembly of True Ancestors is, but if it decides the future of the vampire territory, it must be important, right?

If that’s the case, we need to get this done quickly.

“Uuu…such a bully….”

No, no, it was a valid reason.

While me and Vampir were arguing so….

“Hmmm, very interesting. Hey, the man over there…Master…is it fine to call you so? Care to share a little of your blood with me?”

Litricia suggested.

Eeeh…? My blood…?

To be honest, I’m not too keen on that idea.

Vampir is like a daughter to me, and she is a member of “Yelquchira”.

Everytime she sucks my blood, she becomes proper and satisfied with a very small amount.

…Her facade kinda breaks down along the way though.

But what about vampires other than Vampir?

I’ve heard that vampires in general suck every drop of blood out of their prey…, and I mean that in the truest sense of the word.

Hence, there is a profession like vampire hunter….

I don’t want Litricia to kill me by sucking my blood….

Besides, a vampire can, if they want to, turn the person whose blood they had sucked into their follower…, a vampire as well.

Although Vampir didn’t do that to me, I’m not sure what Litricia would do.

When I was thinking of declining her….

“I refuse.”

A short but sharp voice echoed.

I knew it came from Vampir, but it was so cold that I couldn’t believe it was her due to how much it deviated from her usual noisy yet joyful voice.

“W-What? It’s just a little….”

“I refuse.”

Vampir did not show any aggression towards Litricia.

Rather, she gently smiled at her.

The tone of her voice, however, was somewhat tinged with rejection, as if to say, “If you say any more than this, you know what’s going to come, right?”.

It could be seen just by looking at Litricia, who had been bickering with her for so long, and yet now she was keeping her mouth shut.

“…Sigh, that’s enough. The taste of blood is a matter of chemistry, so even if Vampir finds it tasty, it will differ for the others. At any rate, let’s just quickly get on with this because this is too troublesome.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“I concur.”

Litricia and Vampir replied to Gehirneid.

And thus, the “Assembly of True Ancestors” finally began.