Chapter 243
Chapter 243. Exquisite Delicacy
Well, it’s been a few days since I’ve started taking in the treatment of the Autonomous District citizens, and here I am, Zilbagias.
The number of seriously injured people has decreased quite a bit. I feel like the town is getting livelier too.
I’ve managed to release some information about Liliana and the Teleportation Spell, so I hope they steadily work towards the rebellion while keeping the true threat of the Demon Lord Kingdom in mind.
“Can they really start a rebellion? Are they not all broken-hearted?”
Well… they did seem a bit shocked, but that doesn’t mean they can just give up quietly.
I can’t have them breaking down over this! Regardless of whether they know or not, the opponent’s strength remains unchanged!
If they look too soft, I’ll personally urge them on. That’s the purpose of the treatment, after all!!
“Your Highness, regarding the treatment of the Autonomous District citizens…”
By the way, Nichar, the Night Elf official, presented a bit of a complaint.
He was being super indirect and it was annoying, but to summarize, he wanted to know, “If you’re treating humans and beastmen, can’t you do a little more for us Night Elves too?”
No way. Who would willingly treat Night Elves?
That’s what I wanted to say, but I held back. I expected some backlash from the Demon Lord Army, so this is just right.
“The citizens of the Autonomous District might be under the care of His Majesty the Demon Lord, but in reality, they’re like my assets. If it’s for maintaining my own assets, I’ll put in some effort to manage them.”
I said that with a straight face, like it was the most natural thing ever.
“And Nichar, you Night Elves are first-class citizens of the Demon Lord Kingdom and not my assets. …If you’re willing to give up all those rights and become citizens of the Autonomous District… I might consider it.”
Can you become my assets? What’ll it be? Huh? As I put the pressure on, Nichar slowly retreated.
“Um, Your Highness. Does that mean offering your loyalty and serving as a citizen of the Autonomous District is always possible?”
Tavo, who had been listening in on our conversation, chimed in instead.
“Right. Well, I should probably let my father know this, but I doubt he’d refuse.”
“Is that so…”
Thank you for your response, Tavo gave a slight bow and left, apparently deep in thought.
…Due to my suggestion to the Demon Lord, the hobgoblins haven’t lost their place to shine, but their situation is still unstable.
Maybe, if they end up without jobs and unable to make a living, they could be considering ways to take refuge as citizens of the Autonomous District, I thought.
Well… if it comes to that, I’d allow it. It’s unfortunate for Claire, but hobgoblins aren’t really that much of a threat to humanity just because they look a lot like goblins. In fact, looking back at history, they’ve often been persecuted like goblins. Their predicament resonates with Garunya’s White Tiger Tribe.
If they choose coexistence, I’ll allow it. As long as they don’t pose a threat to humanity… that is.
†††
That day, I continued to engage in blood-soaked training with Virosa.
Then, after a while, Yavka came to visit me.
“Your Highness, about the matter from the other day…”
“The other day?”
“About the revelation of the existence of the vampire species, perhaps.”
Ah, that you accidentally got spotted and covered it up by saying it was a dream.
“How did it go?”
“In the end, it seems it wasn’t discovered. The Autonomous District citizens don’t seem to be in an uproar at all.”
Yavka reported while heaved a sigh of relief. Well, if they had been unsettled, it would have reached my ears by now. Apparently, it hadn’t been noticed.
“Good. If they’re on guard, it’d be hard to feed.”
I maintain the stance that “a bit of bloodsucking that the victim doesn’t notice is fine.” I’m counting on the vampires’ reason and self-restraint.
Fortunately, I haven’t heard of any dried-up corpses being found so far. Given that Yavka carefully chosen who to include, it seems that the vampires in the Autonomous District are acting quite rationally.
…For now.
The issue is whether someone might accidentally screw things up someday and the possibility of those vampires that Yavka rejected sneaking in.
In the latter case, I can only rely on the vampires’ night watch. “The snake’s path is the snake.” If damage occurs, both Yavka and I will be punished under the sun; I’ll chase them to the ends of the earth and definitely kill them.
“………”
Yavka was staring at me intently.
“What’s wrong?”
Even when I made a puzzled face, he didn’t answer, staring at me as if he were in a trance.
Drip… a bit of drool fell from the corner of his mouth.
“………”
Then I looked down at my body, but after a sparring match with Virosa, I was covered in blue blood all over. Even now, it dripped from my fingertips onto the ground.
“Ah…”
Seeing that, Yavka let out a voice of lament.
“What, do you want to drink it?”
When I asked teasingly, Yavka snapped back to reality and wiped his drool.
“I-I’m so sorry! I just…”
He tried to recover his usual haughty expression, but his eyes still looked greedy.
“Is demon blood delicious?”
“I… wouldn’t know, I’ve never drunk it. It would be too presumptuous to ask for it…”
Swallowing hard, Yavka said—
“However… the wonderfully rich fragrance of magical power… this is…!”
—Eyes speak more than words, that’s for sure.
This is what they call drooling… if I dangled a bottle of Ariem Beemy in front of a drunkard, they’d probably make a face just like that.
…Suddenly, a mischievous thought arose. Or maybe it was intellectual curiosity.
“Want to try it?”
When I offered my hand, Yavka’s eyes went wide, as if he were a drunkard receiving imaginary liquor.
“It’s… it’s really okay?!”
“Yeah. It seems the bloodsucking species has been doing well after all. As a reward for bringing that together, here you go.”
After all, I’ve been pouring it all over the ground carelessly since earlier. I’m also quite curious about what happens when I let a vampire drink demon blood.
“Ah… thank you so much…!!”
Yavka trembling with emotion knelt before me. Then, he slithered his tongue out, opened his mouth, and cupped his hands like a bowl to catch it, resembling chicks begging for food from their parent birds.
Ah, so that’s the style? Well, I definitely don’t want to be bitten, so this works.
I tightly clenched my fist, causing the blood to seep from my wound.
Then, I poured the dripping blue blood into Yavka’s mouth—
Yavka’s body jerked.
“…Huh?”
“Huh?”
“Huoooooo!!”
Yavka rolled his eyes back and collapsed, convulsing. Huh? Did he die…?
“Gah… Nn…! Oof…!”
Nope, he’s not dead at all. He’s rolling around while covering his mouth with his hand. Did the magic power become too strong and turn toxic? But wait, he looks kind of ecstatic…
“Woof woof!”
Is it my cue? Liliana rushed over, but if she touches him carelessly, he’ll turn to ash, so stay back! This is too messy! I utilized the situation instead to heal my wound.
After waiting for a while…
“Excuse my… unsightly situation…”
Yavka stood up, legs trembling like a newborn deer.
“How was it?”
“It felt like rising to the heavens… I never knew such deliciousness existed…”
Ah… Yavka’s cheeks flushed, and he looked absolutely enchanted. He stared hotly at me, panting hard. Those fangs are out!
“I see…”
Even when praised for the deliciousness of my blood, I found it hard to react. …Hmm, is Yavka’s magic power just a little stronger now? The ritual of drinking blood is what vampires do to grow their power.
“Ha… Ha…!!”
Wait a minute, are his eyes okay? Is he alright?
“Looks like a drug addict hooked on top-notch stuff…”
What I felt vaguely was articulated specifically by Antendeixis.
“Just so you know, if you try to assault me, I will resist.”
I warned him while raising my fist.
“Nonsense! That would never happen!”
Snapping back to reality, Yavka shook his head furiously.
“Rather, my loyalty to Your Highness has increased even further! I will remain devoted to you as always…!”
Really now? Isn’t that more about hunger than loyalty? Well, if Yavka tries to attack a hundred people at once, I’m hardly worried anymore.
Yavka expressed several more thanks for the blue blood before elegantly exiting, clearly trying to recover from his earlier disgrace.
…However, the following day, while training with Virosa again, he returned.
“Um, Your Highness… about the blood I received yesterday…”
Again? You want more?
“If possible, might I allow our comrades in this town to taste the unnecessary blood during training…?”
Hmm? The fact that he wants to share it with others is quite interesting.
“What’s your intent?”
“Once one tastes Your Highness’s blood, they won’t lose control over the blood of the Autonomous District…”
Yavka responded with a somewhat sorrowful expression, looking a bit sad.
“Actually… just earlier, I had the blood of a human in the town… and, well… compared to Your Highness’s blood, it had absolutely no flavor at all… I don’t feel the desire to drink more as I did before.”
Ah…
So, they’ve become spoiled with the taste instantly…
“The comrades I’ve gathered in the Autonomous District can all exercise self-control, but if they know the taste of Your Highness’s blood, unfortunate accidents are sure to be avoided… whether that is truly a happy thing, I’m not sure…”
With a heated look, Yavka gazed at me.
“It seems I’ve really gotten addicted…”
Seems that way…
But letting the vampires regale themselves with the taste of demon blood…
That’s… quite the interesting prospect…
“Looks like it will get interesting,” Antendeixis chuckled wickedly. I, on my part, managed to suppress my malicious grin behind a usual smile.
“Very well.”
I agreed readily. This contributes to the safety of the Autonomous District citizens, and most importantly…
Vampires are still vampires.
Creatures that can’t escape their thirst for blood. Then…
I’ll teach them about prey far superior to the humans they call prey.
Right now, they might not be able to act recklessly.
But when the Demon Lord Kingdom is in chaos and ruins… what then?
If the demon race is cornered, injured, and bleeding…
How will they behave…?
Since that day, during the training with Virosa in the Autonomous District, vampires have been appearing in small numbers to taste my blood.
However, watching the old vampire lose himself in pleasure over my blood is quite hard to bear…
By the way, Yavka, who always shows up as a representative, has been indulging along with the others, moaning and convulsing in delight.
Well, since I’m in a position to take responsibility if anything happens, I can afford to let him indulge a bit.
…It was during such a time that the fifth Demon Lord’s Prince, Spinethia Sauroe, had completed his conquest of the eastern part of the kingdom and visited Evaroti with his legions.
