Chapter 49
“Turning her into a Retainer seems to have gone well.”
I obtained my Fourth Retainer!
It was a satisfying, yet slightly tense moment.
Why?
Because strangely enough, whenever I made a new Retainer, some kind of embarrassing or awkward situation always occurred.
The First Familiar, Katarina, exuded such an overwhelming presence as soon as I summoned her that I was completely intimidated.
The Second Familiar, Si-Yeon, suddenly kissed the top of my foot, which freaked me out.
And didn’t the third, Riri, abruptly fly at me going “Hug me~” before getting subdued by Katarina?
I was firmly bracing myself, not knowing what kind of unexpected behavior this Fourth might show, but…
“Master, I will serve you well from now on…”
Bow.
Sera bowed her head very politely, showing the crown of her head as she greeted me.
The etiquette she learned in the Knight Order seemed ingrained in her body.
'Phew. She’s well-behaved.'
Feeling relieved inwardly, I immediately decided to check her status.
“[Appraisal Eye].”
[Name: Sera]
[Level: 48]
Her level, which was originally 39, had instantly become 48.
“Oh, a 9-level-up with just one click of a Skill!”
It was definitely a massive increase.
Is this the power of S-rank Potential?
Not just her level, but her overall Physical Stats like strength and agility had also leaped up to a degree incomparable to her human days.
“Not bad.”
The corners of my mouth naturally curled up at the highly satisfying scouting result.
“Exchange greetings with the other children now.”
At my instruction, Sera carefully turned her body toward the three senior Retainers standing behind me.
“Ah, hello…! I am Sera. I-I look forward to working with you!”
Sera bowed politely once again.
The first to step forward was, as expected, the First Familiar, Katarina.
“Welcome. I am the Liege Lord’s First Sword and First Vassal, 'Yu' Katarina.”
After introducing herself with a charismatic aura, she pointed out the girls standing next to her one by one.
“The hierarchy is me in 1st, Si-Yeon in 2nd, and Riri in 3rd. Since you came in last, you will be 4th.”
“Y-Yes! I will keep that in mind!”
Following Sera’s highly disciplined response, Si-Yeon gave a small nod.
“I am the 2nd, Yu Si-Yeon. I look forward to working with you for the Master.”
“Wow! I have a younger sister now too! I’m Riri, the 3rd! Nice to meet you!”
Riri smiled brightly as she grabbed Sera’s hands and shook them.
“Hello…”
As the sociable youngest approached, Sera’s stiffly frozen expression finally relaxed a little.
It was right around the time the hierarchy sorting and greetings were roughly wrapping up.
Grumble-
A small but distinct sound echoed within the quiet office.
“Ah…”
Sera’s face instantly flushed bright red.
‘Right. When a human is turned into a Retainer, they get super hungry, don’t they?’
It was like that with Si-Yeon too.
But what should I do?
Back then I gave her congealed ox blood, but right now I don’t have any suitable blood to give…
“…Maybe I do?”
I called for the Lord who was waiting outside the door.
Creak.
“Did you call for me?”
The Lord, who entered the room, made a slightly puzzled expression upon seeing Sera.
He seemed to have noticed that her eyes had turned red and her overall atmosphere had changed.
I declared in a calm voice.
“Lord, this child is my vassal from now on.”
“Pardon…? W-When you say vassal…”
“Yes. I made her a Vampire.”
“…!”
The Lord’s eyes widened.
He seemed surprised by the fact that I had chosen a mere Apprentice Knight.
“To take in a Knight of our Territory is an honor!”
The Lord expressed his respects with a trembling voice.
“Ah. By the way, Lord, you will need to offer up a little of your blood.”
“…Pardon? You mean my blood?”
“Having just awakened, it seems this child is famished.”
“What?!”
At my words, Sera was startled and waved her hands in denial.
“H-How could I dare drink the Lord-nim’s blood…! I-I am fine with starving…!”
“Raise your head, Fourth.”
At that moment, Katarina spoke to Sera in a strict voice.
“You are now a Retainer who has directly inherited the great Liege Lord’s blood. There is no need to cower before a mere mortal. Take pride and self-respect in becoming the Liege Lord’s vassal.”
“Ah, y-yes…!”
Sera flinched in surprise, hastily raising her head and straightening her back.
The Lord’s face was completely drained of color, but he approached without a word of complaint, perhaps unable to dare disobey my command.
“T-Then… could you roll up your sleeve a little…?”
Even so, Sera couldn’t bring herself to just bite the Lord’s neck, and carefully asked him to roll up his sleeve.
When the Lord rolled up his sleeve, Sera bit down on his forearm with a chomp.
Even though she hadn’t been taught, she seemed to instinctively know how to suck blood.
The Lord looked at Sera, who was clinging to his arm and drinking his blood, with a subtle expression mixed with curiosity and fear.
“Phew…”
Not long after, Sera pulled her lips away.
“I’m sorry… I drank too much…”
“Ahem, it is fine.”
The Lord looked slightly dizzy after donating his blood.
‘Right. You shouldn’t overexert yourself after donating blood.’
Seeing that made me a little worried.
I opened my mouth toward the Lord.
“Do not move your body strenuously today, drink plenty of water, and go to sleep earlier than usual.”
I was giving him post-blood donation precautions.
“…!”
But the Lord flinched, then soon put on a resolute expression and bowed his head.
“I shall absolutely keep the commandments you have bestowed upon me!”
Commandments?
It’s not to that extent; it’s just health guidelines.
Well, it’s good if he follows them well.
“And bring a thick cloak suitable for this child to wear.”
“Ah, yes! I shall bring one immediately!”
The Lord went outside, and quickly brought back a thick cloth cloak with a hood.
I took it and handed it to Sera.
“Keep this on for now.”
“Thank you…”
Sera took the cloak and wrapped it around herself.
She had just awakened as a Vampire.
Since she probably hadn’t perfectly adapted to her new body yet, it was better to block out the Sunlight for now before going outside.
As we opened the room door and stepped outside, Sera glanced at the Sunlight leaking in slightly from the hallway windows and shrank her body a little.
It seemed she was mindful of my earlier warning that she “must turn her back on the light of the sun.”
Seeing that, Katarina spoke calmly.
“There is no need to be so frightened.”
“Yes…?”
“We, who have directly inherited the Liege Lord’s Noble Blood, are free from the Curse of Sunlight. It merely makes us a little dizzy and tired.”
“Ah, is that so…?”
Only then did Sera look relieved.
“I-I thought I would never be able to see the light again…”
“Do not underestimate the Liege Lord’s authority. Mere Sunlight cannot do anything to us.”
“Ah…!”
At those words, Sera let out a small exclamation and looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
“Good. It seems things are roughly sorted out, so is War Preparation the only thing left to do now?”
I recalled Sol-Peul-Jeon-Sa’s strategy guide in my head again.
To clear the second chapter, I had to meet the standard values for various conditions, such as the soldiers' training level, overall morale, and the security of sufficient Military supplies.
The Territory’s state had to be recognized by the system as being ready enough to wage war.
It wasn’t over just because I picked up a Retainer…
Ding!
[You have completed the objective of the second story.]
‘It’s over?!’
The World abruptly stopped.
I stared blankly at the System Window, my mind completely blown.
[The Tower of Trials evaluates your story.]
[Calculating…]
[Evaluation Score: 100]
[Rank: S]
[The Final Reward greatly increases!]
[You have acquired 100,000 gold.]
[You have acquired experience points!]
[Your level has increased by 2!]
What is going on.
The conditions were met just by scouting Sera?
No, Sera did become incredibly strong at level 48, but even so, there’s no way the Territory’s Military strength standard was instantly maxed out just by adding a measly one person, right?
It would be a different story if she were a national-power-level Vampire on par with Katarina.
But she’s still a rookie Vampire.
Besides, the score is 100 points.
It wasn’t an S+ rank that completely exceeded 100 points like the one in the previous 1st chapter, but it was judged as perfect preparation, receiving the highest grade, S rank.
“Is there some other reason?”
I didn’t know the details, but it was definitely a huge win for now.
Since I didn’t have to do the headache-inducing War Preparation, I offered a “thank you”.
[Automatic Return in 10 seconds.]
The time to return home approached much faster than expected, like that.
However, one point of concern crossed my mind.
“Wait. Sera is originally an NPC inside this tower, so will she be able to go outside?”
When the Tower of Trials first opened, many people attempted to bring the wondrous items or people inside the tower out into reality.
But they couldn’t.
According to the tower’s rules, living beings or objects inside could absolutely never be taken outside.
Only the things provided by the system as clear rewards could be taken out into reality.
Therefore, it wouldn’t be strange at all even if Sera were left behind in the tower.
Flash - !
A bright light blinded my vision.
The light cleared and I returned to my Home Base.
Right before my eyes, Sera stood perfectly fine, wearing the cloak!
“Oh. I can bring her along?”
Come to think of it, it was similar with Si-Yeon.
The Tower of Trials originally made it impossible to enter together with another person.
However, after Si-Yeon went through vassalization, the system treated her not as a “separate human” but as a “summoned beast,” allowing us to enter together.
Perhaps by a similar principle, Sera escaped the tower’s NPC classification and could be brought along, treated as my Retainer.
“W-W-Where is this…?”
Sera panicked as she looked around the modern Apartment living room.
“There is nothing to be surprised about.”
At that moment, Katarina placed a hand on Sera’s shoulder and solemnly declared.
“This is a great land. It is the Liege Lord’s Territory.”