Chapter 47
Blood Fiend Potential
It meant the potential they would have when turned into a Vampire Retainer through my Unique Skill, [Embrace].
[Si-Yeon had S-rank Potential.]
But although I had seen countless people since Si-Yeon, I hadn’t seen a single A-rank, let alone an S-rank.
Even B-ranks were incredibly rare.
Finding an S-rank Potential in the midst of all that was like finding a diamond among pebbles on the street.
I couldn’t help but give the order almost instinctively.
“Bring that person here right now.”
The Lord’s face looked slightly puzzled at my words.
It was only natural.
My abruptly calling for a mere Apprentice Knight must have seemed inexplicable to him.
However, he erased his bewildered expression and immediately bowed his head.
“Ah, yes. I shall bring them immediately.”
As he gave instructions to a Subordinate beside him, a summons was sent to the Parade Ground, and before long, a single Knight came running up to the platform, panting.
A Female Knight wore light Armor.
She was a young girl with a youthful face, blonde hair, and blue eyes.
Panting as she stepped onto the platform, she was startled to see the Lord and saluted with a highly disciplined posture.
“It is an honor to meet you, Lord-nim…!”
But the Lord quickly gestured toward me.
“This is no time to greet me. Hurry and pay your respects to this person. They are a very Distinguished One who has arrived in our Territory.”
“Pardon? Ah, ah…!”
The Female Knight noticed me standing behind the Lord only then and hastily turned.
“N-Nice to meet you…! I am Apprentice Knight Sera!”
The Female Knight, completely frozen, offered a stiff greeting.
The blue eyes looking up at me were trembling with anxiety.
[Hmm. I brought her here on impulse, but what now?]
I called her reflexively as soon as I saw the window that said her potential was S-rank, but now that we were face-to-face, it was awkward figuring out what to say right away.
It wasn’t like I could just abruptly sink my fangs into her neck and make her a Retainer.
Let’s look at her detailed information first.
I scanned her detailed status through my [Appraisal Eye].
[Name: Sera]
[Level: 39]
[Status: Tense in front of the Lord and an Unidentified distinguished guest, currently flustered by the sudden summons]
[Current Thoughts: “Ugh… What did I do wrong? Did I get caught secretly eating an extra ration bread this morning…?”]
[Blood Fiend Potential: S]
[Oh. Level 39?]
It was a considerably high level for an Apprentice Knight.
Wasn’t that even higher than the youngest, Riri’s level?
[She’s not even an Official Knight, but she’s already at this level?]
It seemed her raw talent was outstanding, not just her potential.
[This is definitely a prime scouting opportunity.]
But one question came to mind.
Could an NPC existing in the Tower of Trials also be turned into a Retainer?
Seeing as the Blood Fiend Potential appeared perfectly fine on the status window, it didn’t seem entirely impossible within the system.
Even if I did make her a Retainer, I couldn’t guarantee whether I could take her to Reality.
[Still, there’s no harm in trying.]
I spoke with my face hidden by my parasol.
“It seems your vessel is not bad, so you catch my eye.”
“…!”
At those words, the Lord flinched.
Sera also widened her round eyes, unable to hide her surprise.
“Th-Thank you…!”
She hastily bowed her head with a bewildered face.
I opened my mouth toward the Lord again.
“Lord. Will you provide a space for me to converse with this child for a moment?”
“Of course.”
The Lord guided us to a nearby office without a word of complaint.
Saying he dared not eavesdrop on a Distinguished One’s conversation, he bowed politely and waited outside the office.
Click-.
The door closed.
“Katarina. Draw the curtains.”
“Yes, Liege Lord.”
Katarina moved without a moment’s delay and closed all the curtains in the room.
Only after the Sunlight entering the office was completely blocked and the inside grew dim did I fold and lower my parasol.
Looking at Sera sitting opposite me, I saw that she was completely frozen.
Her eyes showed she had no idea why she was sitting here.
With a face mixed with bewilderment and tension, she sat awkwardly, maintaining an extremely stiff posture.
[Alright. Then shall I make a Scout Offer slowly?]
“Child.”
I decided to ask about her willingness to be recruited as affectionately and gently as possible.
“Become my Slave.”
“…Pardon?!”
[Sigh. It’s doing this again because of this damn Passive.]
I figured this would happen.
In my head, it was a light Scout Offer along the lines of “Do you want to work with me?”, but after passing through the [Exalted Dignity] filter, it turned into a threat.
“Ah. I’m sorry for raising my voice… But suddenly telling me to become a Slave… that’s a little bewildering…”
Sera replied in a fading voice, walking on eggshells with a pale face.
But actually, I had thought of something in advance for a situation like this.
If the tone of my offer was inevitably rude, I just needed to balance it out by attaching an equally exceptional condition.
“In exchange, I shall grant you one wish.”
A wish. As soon as I brought up that word, Sera’s eyes trembled.
At the same time, the text of the [Appraisal Eye] floating in my vision quickly changed.
[Current Thoughts: 'It’s scary being told to suddenly become a Slave… But if they can really grant my wish, I could even become a Slave. Still, even this person wouldn’t be able to grant my wish… Something like avenging my parents…']
[Oh?]
She was avenging her parents.
There seemed to be something like a heavy backstory.
I should probe in this direction, shouldn’t I?
Sera parted her lips for a moment as if hesitating, then soon answered timidly.
“Um… I don’t really have a wish…”
“How dare you try to deceive me. Do you not wish to avenge your parents?”
“…!”
Sera’s face stiffened hard.
“H-How did you…”
She was astonished as if she had seen a ghost.
It was understandable she was surprised, since I had instantly seen through the deep secret she alone harbored.
“There is nothing in this World that can escape my eyes.”
As I arrogantly added that, she bit her lip for a moment before eventually confessing the truth.
“My parents' enemy is… a Holy Knight belonging to the Holy Imperial Church.”
Sera’s voice trembled slightly.
The story was horrific.
Under the pretext of subduing Heretics, a certain Holy Knight massacred an entire ordinary merchant caravan traveling along the road.
Sera’s parents had been among those innocent victims.
What was even more absurd was the excuse left by the culprit, a Holy Knight.
“That it was an unavoidable Sacrifice for the Greater Good… Those were his only words. Hic…”
In the end, Sera couldn’t control her emotions and quietly shed tears.
[Wow. What a piece of trash.]
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Were they a group lacking even the basic common sense that not a single innocent person should suffer unjustly, even if it meant letting a hundred criminals go?
Sera was left all alone after losing her parents at such a young age.
But her opponent was the Holy Imperial Church, which currently holds the most formidable power on the Continent.
It wasn’t at a level where a mere orphan girl could protest or take revenge.
That was why she had entered the Knight Order while thoroughly hiding her past.
With the sole goal of becoming a Knight first to build her strength, and then taking revenge personally someday.
[To think such a pure and fragile-looking child had such a painful past.]
I felt a sense of pity.
But my sentimentality was brief; I began to run some very realistic calculations.
[Let’s see.]
I had decided to help the Territory’s quest right now.
The Holy Imperial Church was the very one behind that Hostile Force, wasn’t it.
Moreover, coincidentally enough, she said she knew that Holy Knight also resided in our enemy’s Territory.
If so, that meant the enemies we had to fight overlapped anyway.
The Holy Imperial Church might wield immense power on the Continent, but since I wasn’t even from this Continent anyway, it was none of my business.
Once I cleared this floor, I wouldn’t even have to see the Holy Imperial Church again.
Then couldn’t I just push through the War Scenario and get her revenge as a bonus?
Having finished my calculations, I readily declared.
“That wish, I shall help you with.”
Sera snapped her head up.
Her tear-filled blue eyes looked at me desperately.
“A-Are you serious…?”
“However”
I pulled up the corners of my mouth and drove the wedge in.
“Only if you swear to become my Slave.”
Sera flinched and trembled.
A short silence flowed.
But her eyes soon became resolute.
“Yes…! If you really grant my wish, I will become a Slave…!”
As if becoming a mere Slave was nothing if she could avenge the grudge she had harbored her entire life in her heart.
[Nice.]
Yes! Scout was successful!
…Just as I was about to rejoice.
Come to think of it, there was still a remaining procedure.
[Ah. Right. To become a Retainer, I have to turn her into a Vampire.]
If I just glossed over it with the word Slave and then abruptly sucked her blood and turned her into a Vampire, that would be no different from a complete employment scam.
Even so, it would be right to inform a kid who had lived her whole life as a human about her impending species change.
Besides, from now on she’d have to be careful of Sunlight, wouldn’t be able to eat food with garlic, and would get thirsty and hungry if she didn’t drink blood.
I had to tell her clearly about those drawbacks as well.
But there weren’t only drawbacks, so let’s make sure to explain all the pros and cons.
I made up my mind and opened my mouth toward Sera.
“There is a ritual you must undergo to become My Servant.”
“…?”
“You must empty out all the lowly mortal blood flowing through your veins and fill them with my Noble Blood to be reborn as a new existence.”
“!!”
“Then you shall gain the Power of Blood and Shadow, and the Power of Wild Beasts, and you shall possess Eternal Beauty and a Body that Transcends Human Limits…”
After explaining the stat increases and Type Skills she would gain upon becoming a Vampire, I immediately added the side effects that would follow.
“However, in exchange, you must turn your back on the light, you will feel Revulsion Towards Human Food, and you shall covet blood in an Endless Thirst.”
“Th-That’s…”
Sera’s pupils trembled like crazy.
Huh…? Wait a minute.
When I organized it in my head, it was definitely just a minor notice about the precautions regarding a species change before employment.
How did it end up sounding like a contract with some evil entity?!