Chapter 40
The Lord of Arden Castle, Reuben Arden.
When he first heard the news from the Steward that the Distinguished One of legend had visited the castle, he was skeptical.
In this day and age, even the existence of 'Vampires' was mostly forgotten, let alone a Distinguished One.
Aside from special cases like the Arden Family, everyone else treated them as mere fairy tales.
However.
The moment he first faced her, he realized it at once.
“This person is real…!”
She was definitely a Vampire.
Setting aside her appearance, which perfectly matched the descriptions from legend.
That noble and overwhelming aura was absolutely not something that could be imitated.
Besides, wasn’t the castle currently facing a truly difficult crisis?
It felt as if the Savior from the legends he’d heard as a child had actually come.
His deep emotion was genuine.
Nevertheless.
As the Lord of Arden, Reuben had to be cautious.
It was certain that she was a Vampire, and she seemed to be a strong and exalted being.
But was she really “The Esteemed One” of legend?
According to the family’s history books, unlike the great Vampire who had helped their Progenitor, there were also wicked Vampires who harmed humans.
That was why he had carefully proposed a verification process.
Of course, there was one secret he hadn’t dared to tell the Distinguished One.
That stele was not an object meant merely for verification.
If the other Party was a false one approaching the castle with malicious intent, it was also a type of protective device that would immediately Cast a powerful sealing Curse.
In his heart, he wanted to blindly believe her, but as a Lord, he had to be certain in order to protect his Territory.
“What will happen, I wonder.”
That was why Reuben’s heart was extremely tense as he watched the Distinguished One place her hand on the stele.
But soon.
The stele was dyed a deep blood-red.
“Ohh! You truly are The Esteemed One of legend…!”
He finally Cast aside his doubts and was able to trust her completely.
CRACK, CRASH!
The stele shattered, and a stream of blood surged up from within it!
Furthermore, that blood formed into a single orb and gently landed on the Distinguished One’s hand, as if it had found its Master.
Reuben was astounded and couldn’t help but be shocked once more.
'Could it be that the prophecy that we would see blood from the stele… wasn’t a metaphor for the color changing, but meant literally drawing out real blood!'
* * *
I quietly looked down at the red sphere resting on my palm, slightly larger than a ping-pong ball.
What is this?
I activated [Appraisal Eye] first.
[??? (S)]
'S-rank?!'
I didn’t know exactly what it was, but it was an object judged as an S-rank Item.
Its size was small, but because my current hands had also become so small, the sphere felt surprisingly large.
The sensation against my palm was somewhat warm and squishy.
“Oh, fascinating.”
Without realizing it, I fiddled with it, squishing it with my fingers.
It felt like touching slime or a liquid monster toy.
As I kept kneading it, it strangely felt like peace of mind was washing over me.
“Is this why elementary schoolers these days play with liquid monsters and slimes…”
I was briefly lost in such distracting thoughts.
'Gasp? Ah. This isn’t the time for this?!'
I suddenly regained my senses and raised my head.
Beside me, the Lord was frozen like a stone statue with his mouth wide open.
A highly appalled expression.
'Vam-oops.'
It made sense, considering this stele was practically a tremendous heirloom of the Lord’s family, yet it had completely shattered the moment I touched it.
I feel a bit sorry about this.
Feeling a prick of conscience, I made a lame excuse.
“Uh… It’s a pity the stele broke, but it does not seem to be my fault, does it?”
The moment I mumbled that.
Thud!
Suddenly, the Lord fell to his knees on the floor and raised both hands as if in worship.
“Ohhh…! To think that our Progenitor’s words about seeing blood meant literally drawing out hidden blood! You truly are a Great Being!”
'…Huh?'
Aha.
So that was it? The stele breaking was the fulfillment of the prophecy?
Then it’s a good thing, right?
Having grasped the situation, I immediately changed my stance.
“Ahem! Is it not obvious?”
I shamelessly lifted my chin and acted smug.
And slyly, I slipped the Blood Orb in my hand into my Inventory.
“This means this Blood Orb is mine too, right?”
A free S-rank Item, sweet.
Just then, a small whisper came from behind me.
“Wow… Master, are you really the Vampire of legend?!”
Riri looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“As expected of you, Master. Even the prophecy cannot fully capture your greatness.”
Si-Yeon also nodded, her usual expressionless face filled with awe.
And Katarina.
“This is the end of the insolent rock that dared to test my Liege Lord. Having witnessed my Liege Lord’s standing with his own eyes, that human will no longer dare to harbor vain doubts.”
She was looking at the kneeling Lord with a highly triumphant face.
“Good. Now then, next is…”
With this, I was able to clear the quest to gain the Lord’s trust very easily.
And finally, the last quest of Chapter 1 appeared.
[Objective: Listen to the crisis the Lord is facing.]
Listening to the Lord’s situation.
It was said that while the Lord’s difficult spot was always the same, the exact predicament he was in varied from person to person.
However, I didn’t have to solve it right away; just listening to the story would end Chapter 1.
“This is the easiest one.”
I just had to listen to the story.
“So, what crisis did you say this castle is facing?”
At my question, the Lord hastily straightened his posture.
“That is - “
But I cut off the Lord before he could speak.
There was something very important.
“Let us go up and talk.”
“Ah, yes…! I will Escort you immediately!”
It’s too damp down here, so it feels gross.
* * *
After moving back to the reception room, they waited.
The Lord brought out a cup of warm tea and spoke with a heavy tone.
“It seems that the Neighboring Domain is preparing for war.”
“War?”
“Yes. Intelligence of an Army gathering near the border has been coming in for a few days now, and the people of the Territory are sensing the atmosphere to some extent, so everyone is trembling in anxiety.”
“…War, huh.”
Among the crisis scenarios I saw in the strategy guides, this War Scenario was said to be the most difficult.
There were many reviews saying that a large-scale war was hard to wrap up quickly with just average martial prowess.
But I have Katarina and Si-Yeon.
The two of them finished off the Black Cow, so a medieval Army was nothing.
“However, there is one even bigger problem.”
The Lord continued with a dark expression.
“The Neighboring Domain preparing for this invasion is backed by the might of the “Holy Imperial Church”.”
“The Holy Imperial Church?”
“Yes. As the Distinguished One surely knows, the current influence of the Holy Imperial Church on the Continent is so mighty that even His Imperial Majesty the Emperor cannot carelessly oppose it.”
“…”
Hmm.
As soon as I heard the words “Holy Imperial Church”, one thing popped into my head.
'If it’s the Holy Imperial Church, doesn’t it use divine power?'
In otherworld fantasies, when words like Holy Imperial Church, Temple, or Holy Knight appear, it’s usually related to divine power.
But what is the number one natural enemy of Vampires in movies or anime? Isn’t it divine power?
When I checked last time to see if there was a penalty regarding crosses, fortunately, I didn’t seem to be affected by such things.
Still, genuine divine power might be a different story.
I don’t think Katarina and Si-Yeon would be pushed back in terms of combat power even in this other World.
But if a Priest or a Holy Knight actually popped out and poured out Divine Magic, my Retainers could be weakened too.
'…I’m a bit nervous.'
But I couldn’t show it in front of the Lord anyway.
“Hmm. The Holy Imperial Church, you say.”
I deliberately let out a small snort.
“What threat could the mere faith of humans pose?”
“…!”
“I shall personally assist you. I will handle it lightly.”
In an instant, the Lord’s eyes widened.
“A-Are you serious?!”
“Do not make me say it twice.”
“Ahhh…! T-Thank you…! Truly, how can I ever repay this grace…!”
The Lord once again brought his hands together and bowed his head deeply.
And at that moment.
Ding!
Along with the sensation that the World had briefly stopped, a System Window popped up before my eyes.
[You have completed all objectives of the First Story.]
[The Tower of Trials evaluates your story.]
[Calculating…]
[Evaluation Score: 111]
[Rank: S+]
[The Final Reward greatly increases!]
[You have acquired 100,000 gold.]
[You have acquired experience!]
“111 points?”
I heard the score was on a 100-point scale, so isn’t this incredibly high?
Did I get some extra points for discovering a hidden route?
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
On top of that, the experience came in all at once, raising my level by 3.
With this, I finally reached Level 30.
“Oh, I hit 30.”
Originally, there were many reviews saying that while the Nightmare Difficulty tower had good rewards, it was stingy compared to the difficulty, making it not worth the effort.
It was even more so because rewards other than gold and experience weren’t given immediately, but were settled all at once upon clearing the final chapter.
But I cleared Chapter 1 doing almost nothing.
I just got an Unidentified S-rank Item for free, leveled up 3 times, and gained 100,000 gold.
'Nightmare Difficulty is super sweet, isn’t it?'
Who said it wasn’t worth the effort?
There’s no free ride quite like this one.
[Automatic Return in 10 seconds.]
Anyway, it was now time to return home.
“Hmm. It is time for me to return.”
As I stood up, the Lord hastily stood up as well.
“I-I will Escort you on your way…”
“That will not be necessary. Let us meet next time.”
Waving my hand coolly, I took my Three Retainers and returned outside the tower.
* * *
When the light cleared and I opened my eyes, I was back in my familiar Studio Apartment.
'…'
My precious Home Base.
But perhaps because I had just been looking at the Lord’s flashy and large reception room.
My Room, which I had worked hard to decorate rather luxuriously, looked too cramped and shabby.
“Tsk. I really should move.”
I made up my mind anew.
Even if it were on the level of a Lord’s Manor, I would move to a wider and better place.
Well, anyway, the moving issue was something I could solve gradually.
There was something else I needed to pay attention to right now.
[You have reached Level 30.]
[A new Skill has been unlocked.]
[You have acquired the Skill, 'Jinjo’s Domain'.]
A new Skill notification that popped up at the same time as reaching Level 30.
'Jinjo’s Domain'.
The name itself felt somewhat extraordinary.