“I’m surprised at how good the treatment is here for a farm.”
As if proving that I wasn’t on the humans’ side, Martini laughed when I added that remark. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed she was quite satisfied with my reaction.
“This is the largest and finest farm in the duchy. Humans could be herded into a small space and just drained of blood like livestock, but blood extracted from humans who’ve been cared for in a hygienic environment has a different flavor.”
I see. It was indeed a convincing argument.
Though it wasn’t a system found on the continent of Terra, in my previous life, egg shells had numbers inscribed on them—dates laid and farm numbers. The final digit indicated the quality of the breeding environment.
If the breeding environment was rated 1, that meant free-range, 2 meant indoor but not caged, and it split into 3 and 4 based on cage width. Knowing this, the differences in taste and price were apparent.
It wasn’t just eggs. There were variations in feed for chickens raised on turmeric, ducks fed on sulfur, or pigs fattened with acorns. Differentiating the feed to enhance the quality of meat wasn’t uncommon.
The same applies to plants. Prices varied dramatically based on soil, climate, and whether pesticides were used.
In other words, the breeding environment significantly influences the taste of the ingredients, which made Martini’s assertion that the blood of humans raised in good conditions tastes better quite understandable.
“Now, shall we go choose? Please let me know if you find a scent you like.”
“……Can I truly choose anyone?”
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. I suspected Martini had something to hide while wanting something from me but asking me to just pick someone made me think of the quote often cited in economics.
If Martini’s analogy was accurate, she was offering to serve me a five-star meal made from the finest ingredients in the country.
However, Martini casually affirmed it was trivial, which only increased my unease.
“Yes, since it’s not like it’s going to wear out. Ah, but as I mentioned, you can’t drink it directly. It’s not a one-time use thing. Once you choose, I’ll serve you a glass.”
It sounded like she was genuinely offering a coffee. Knowing only vampires were present led to a slight cognitive dissonance.
This too would become familiar over time. Thinking back, I realized that even though my kinship with humans had faded, I still subconsciously judged things by the standards of my previous life.
Despite my initial expectation that she wouldn’t show me real A-grade blood, once we stepped into the actual holding area, the scents were decidedly luxurious.
Sure, it was possible that there was better blood hidden elsewhere, but judging by the smell alone, I could assert it was the best I’d encountered so far.
Among them, there were quite a few humans who looked exceptionally strong just by appearance. The thought that I might taste the blood of someone I could never defeat with my current abilities made me feel a little jittery, even though I promised myself to stay tense.
“I’ll start with this one.”
I pointed out the strongest-looking human nearby. Then, within my range of distinguishing scents, I indicated those I felt were above average.
“That one, and that one. Also, the room at the end there.”
No response came back.
Hesitating, I closed my mouth and turned my head, catching sight of Martini looking slightly flustered, and the maid giving me her usual disapproving glare.
“……Was it just one? Then the first one.”
I quickly added a bit of an excuse. After all, she had said to simply choose, so I didn’t realize I was supposed to limit it.
However, the maid’s default expression remained unchanged, and there didn’t appear to be any hint of blame from Martini either. She merely acted unexpectedly.
“No, you can choose as many as you’d like. But can you eat them all at once?”
“Well…?”
I didn’t understand her intent. How many could that possibly be?
Suddenly, images of fine dining menu photos flashed in my mind. Right, I remembered that some restaurants served just a tiny piece of meat on a plate and charged a fortune for it.
The duchy’s vampires might be eager for fine blood too.
Realizing that made me suddenly anxious again. Had I been thoughtless? If I had considered it more carefully, I could’ve anticipated this situation; asserting myself needlessly in enemy territory would not end well.
“I was being short-sighted—”
“I was short-sighted. I forgot you’re still growing. Since there are only older vampires around, I overlooked that you would have a big appetite when you were young.”
Is that so? It wasn’t a big deal if it wasn’t something questionable.
But older vampires? Were there really older vampires in this duchy than her? No, scratch that; I hoped she would forget.
Fortunately, there was no mind reader here to spot the small mistake I had made in my subconscious.
Martini, who noticed nothing awry, added that she wouldn’t judge me on my eating quantity.
“Before coming to the duchy, how much did you eat?”
“Around thirty people in eight days?”
In that brief moment, I saw a fleeting change in Martini’s expression.
It was so transient that I thought I’d imagined it, but when I looked again, she wore a completely serene expression, making it impossible to tell whether I had really seen anything or not.
“Then how many can you eat at once at most?”
“I’m not sure. The most I’ve eaten was probably when I fought against imperial soldiers, but I never counted.”
“I see…”
Whether she was genuinely curious or wanted to change the topic, Martini began asking specifics about that day’s battle.
I answered her questions as she asked. I explained how I ended up deciding to break through the imperial army’s siege and the events that transpired during the chase, culminating in how the battle ended.
When I got to the last fight, where I drained blood from dozens as I progressed and ultimately fell, Martini’s expression turned a little strange.
Though it seemed she struggled with some conflict, it didn’t appear deliberate to show her emotions; I couldn’t read her true intentions.
After finishing my story, Martini maintained a brief silence.
Was something bothering her? I hadn’t lied outright, but I had been careful with my choice of words, wanting to avoid offending her perspective as the duchy’s representative.
Just when I was starting to get anxious about her indecipherable demeanor, she put her smiling mask back on.
“You’ve had a hard time. It must be tough if the humans have it out for you.”
“…….”
“But surviving is also a miraculous thing. I’ve heard your fighting style is quite precarious.”
Well, I had never learned how to fight. She was right, and I simply nodded along.
However, at that point, Martini made an unexpected suggestion.
“I’ll teach you how vampires fight for a while. We can also cover magic.”
“……Magic?”
I wasn’t expecting that, but it definitely piqued my interest. Regardless of her motives, what she just said wouldn’t be bad for me.
She could be trying to assess my capabilities, or maybe there was some hidden reason that I couldn’t fathom, but since I had been in the duchy, there had been no true choices for me.
I just had to prepare to escape as quickly as possible when she eventually revealed her true colors and became hostile toward me.
Deep down, I knew that if she truly wanted to capture me, there was no way I could escape.
“We also need to adjust our plans a bit. Stella, tell the Progenitor to prepare extra blood up to section A8 until further notice. Also, if there are additional requests, I won’t impose any limits for the extras.”
“……I understand the command.”
The disgruntled maid bowed to Martini before disappearing. This time, I didn’t miss the glare she shot me before leaving.
By the way, I just learned the maid’s name was Stella. It’s amusing that I didn’t even know the name of the only maid who had been with me all this time. Of course, it was their choice not to inform me.
“Are you really okay with this?”
I asked Martini again for confirmation. Sure, receiving blood would be good, but I didn’t want to be greedy, especially in a situation where distinguishing friend from foe was unclear.
I didn’t fully understand the meaning of her earlier command, but I recognized it was equivalent to telling me to fill my belly, which made me a bit more cautious.
Yet, Martini only nodded meaningfully.
When she added, “You’ll get very thirsty as we train,” I finally realized.
Ah, I was already in deep trouble. Right, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
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