Chapter 62: The overqualified rookie, part 4
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Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
Dee didn’t stay with us for long — only for three days, in fact.
Without breaking a sweat, she cleared all of the difficult quests and nighttime quests that I assigned her, quickly rising to E rank. Her rank would certainly only continue to rise too.
Using the rewards received for quest completion, she moved into an inn.
「It’s fine if you stay with us, you know?」
「I don’t want to trouble your Majesty any longer.」
「I am no longer the Demon King. Call me Lylael from now on.」
「Very well.」
「Listen, Dee. I’ll still be here, so you can look for me if you have concerns.」
「Thank you for your kindness.」
As I left the house, Dee bowed.
「We’ll still see each other at the guild, so keep up the good work.」
「Yessir!」
And so Dee moved out. Evidently preferring to work at night, she usually came a little before closing time.
「If I had stayed any longer, there are so many things I want to do with you… things that Lylael-sama wouldn’t be pleased with me for」, Dee said as I was about to describe a quest to her.
「Caring for your superior, huh?」
「She’s really one-of-a-kind. I don’t think I’ll ever meet someone like her again.」
As usual, I assigned her a night shift quest that nobody else really wanted to take.
Her diet interested me the most out of all things.
「I can use human food to distract my stomach, but sooner or later, it becomes difficult to suppress that desire…」, was what Dee had told me before.
According to her, vampires suck blood to satisfy both their lust and their hunger. If they don’t do so, they literally become ravenous.
Lyla had asked her how she got by in the demon realm.
「I drank convicts’ blood on a regular basis, even when I was in the army. It more or less fulfilled my needs. Humans’ blood is apparently much better, though…」
I wondered if our realm was a land of unlimited sustenance — a paradise of sorts — for her.
「You might want to keep an eye on Dee.」
「I have no intention to. Whatever you’re thinking about, she won’t do any of it」, said Lyla firmly, looking directly at me.
I still couldn’t trust the vampire fully, even if she did.
The sight of the battalion she had massacred was still firmly etched in my mind. She had used her siren-like charm to draw her targets close before extending her fangs, spitting saliva to prevent their blood from clotting, and then sucking them dry.
I know I’ll never forget that well-rehearsed murder sequence for as long as I live.
The corpses with spear wounds were also completely desiccated, as the spears that had killed them had been enchanted with a curse that sucked water out along with their blood.
Dee appeared once every three days, reporting the completion of her quest and leaving immediately each time. When I asked her if she had any concerns, she said no. She didn’t seem like she was lying, so I just wrote off my own concerns as baseless.
Iris had handed me another letter — the second one now.
「Look, it really came.」
「…I see.」
After reading the contents, I went to the inn where Dee was staying.
「Oh, that beautiful lady? She hasn’t been here for a while now.」
「…Is that so? I see, thank you.」
Not here, huh.
「Guess I’ll debunk the worst possibility first.」
Going to the stable, I saddled the horse specially set aside for employees and left town.
There was a mountain where a small section had been turned into level ground; situated there was a villa for aristocrats where the son of a landlord from the north was staying. After receiving the first letter, I had sent Roger and Neil to gather information for me. Today, they told me what I had been expecting to hear from them.
「There was a weird rumour going around, Aniki…」
「I heard it too, but from a different source…」
…Perhaps my worries weren’t baseless after all.
Lord Bardell was the one who had sent both letters.
「I haven’t heard from some of the adventurers I’m acquainted with in a month or so. Do you know anything about it?」
Of course, I replied that I knew nothing. Unfortunately, it’s quite common for adventurers to suddenly go missing.
On the second letter was written:
「It’s not just the adventurers now — ordinary people have also gone missing. I have tried to do my own research, but nothing has come up as of now.」
Unsurprisingly, the people in that area were worried as well. The baron described how they couldn’t even leave the house out of fear for their safety.
If he’d gone to the trouble of sending me a personal letter, then it must really be a big thing.
After a short journey on horseback, I saw the mansion built halfway up a small mountain. With its lit torches, it looked like a typical villa. As I tied my horse to a tree, the moon peeked out from behind the clouds.
I sensed something moving on the plain. Moving away from me, its signature overcoat and hood were lit by the moonlight.
I started walking toward the villa.
「I only came here first because I really didn’t want this to be the case」, I muttered to myself.
The moon was still partially covered by the clouds.
Activating my skill just to be safe, I blended in with the darkness.
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