Suddenly felt extremely unfair.
I mean, if Ludrik saw my method’s spicy side, I could understand, but we’ve only exchanged a couple of sentences at most!
No matter how you slice it, this isn’t a blood donation center. Am I supposed to waltz up to complete strangers, those beastmen, and say, “I buy blood. Please stick a needle in my arm and pour me a glass”?
Even if vampires have a terrible reputation among humans, I mean, there’s free food all over the forest. If anyone really thought I’d do that, it’s downright absurd!
While I admired their unique way of thinking that I couldn’t even imagine, it made me want to sue for defamation to think my first impression was so low within just 10 minutes of meeting.
But unfortunately, this is a world where vampire rights don’t exist.
Even if I cry out for the judgment of the law, the judgment of my heart would stab me a hundred times faster, so I had to endure this humiliation in silence.
Yet, I couldn’t help but be incensed by the egregious slander.
I threw a scornful glance at the beastman kid who seemed to lack awareness, and Kanak, feeling awkward, cleared his throat and attempted to pivot back to a civilized conversation.
“Why is a vampire looking for ordinary food? Are you a gourmand?”
Gourmand. Among vampires, the term generally refers to those picky eaters seeking the finest blood, but sometimes it’s just a label for those oddballs who occasionally enjoy ordinary human food.
The source of this information? The duchy, of course. From a vampire’s perspective, aren’t they more like “weirdos” for eating food? But hey, if that’s what they call it, who am I to argue?
Maybe it’s because such language habits were formed back when they were still human. Or perhaps it’s that they think food is food as long as it tastes good, even if they don’t get the necessary nutrients.
I know it well enough myself. It’s true that blood tastes the best to a vampire’s tongue, but that doesn’t mean ordinary food feels utterly tasteless.
Thanks to that, there were days when I didn’t realize I was a vampire until I almost starved, but those days are all behind me now.
“I’m not the one eating it.”
I gestured towards Eleonora, who was standing at attention behind me.
As Kanak’s gaze shifted, Eleonora stepped forward, fully shedding her oversized cloak.
When she tossed aside the cloak that was large enough to transform a snotty preschooler into a muscle-bound beast, her black hair, which was starting to regain its luster, revealed protruding horns and a tail near her tailbone.
“……Dragonkin?”
Kanak muttered.
Most beastmen don’t have horns. There are exceptions like lizard beastmen with their skin covered in scales, but generally, beastmen carry traits like ears and tails.
In a sense, the wide acceptance and numerous exceptions are exactly why people say dragonkin are a type of beastman. But the pair of horns instead of ears and the vertical pupils made it clear that Eleonora was indeed a dragonkin.
Yet even after seeing that with his own eyes, Kanak’s first question was one of doubt.
“Is it really a dragonkin?”
Am I supposed to just let that slide? I wanted to say, but I held my tongue.
It just shows how rare dragonkin are to run into.
Unlike beastmen, who are quite numerous among humans, dragonkin are rare, often cooped up with elves, making them equally elusive.
Even participating at the largest slave auctions in human countries, it’s said it would be a rare special day to spot a dragonkin; need I say more?
It wouldn’t be strange for a beastman, too busy fighting against humans, to meet a dragonkin for the first time.
“It’s real.”
As I responded, Eleonora’s tail wiggled back and forth. It seemed she wanted to prove she wasn’t a fake.
I quietly observed Kanak’s emotions shifting from doubt to suspicion, then to surprise.
“How surprising. I never expected to meet a dragonkin, let alone with a vampire’s group, in a place like this.”
But perhaps it’s true that someone with a knack for one field accepts things in another field quickly.
A dragonkin traveling with vampires; honestly, if it were someone else’s business, I’d wonder what the heck they were up to. But Kanak reached the acceptance stage within mere seconds.
“But if she’s a dragonkin, that gives you even less reason to accept this offer.”
Of course, here it comes. This is why I often tried to keep Eleonora’s identity under wraps.
While vampires aren’t that well-liked, dragonkin are also a race with much animosity.
Though it’s a recent trend that they’re viewed as expensive slaves by humans, the animosity between dragonkin, elves, and beastmen has been in play for ages.
Claiming to be elevated beings, descendants of dragons, the dragonkin inherently make beastmen dislike them, and elves enjoyed throwing fuel on the flames, asking how the progeny of dragons could barely live to 500 years.
Thus, the suffocating enmity among the three races continues even to this day, centuries later.
Honestly, the blame lies all on the dragonkin. While I thought that maybe the beastmen might have forgotten all this since it was a long time ago, it seems the deep-rooted conflict still persists across generations.
Or at least, from the way they aren’t flipping tables and shouting in fury, perhaps things are a bit better than before.
Still, one can’t forget that anticipated problems and a model answer often come hand in hand. This might not be the ultimate answer, but I prepared a counter-answer regardless.
“She hates dragonkin too. She was exiled from her tribe when she was young.”
“Exiled?”
Phew, at least his interest was piqued.
I read once that a fast way to get closer to others is to gossip about a common enemy, and its effectiveness was climbing right before my eyes.
Back when I had my head in the clouds, I found it hard to believe, but knowing the ugliness of human nature and gathering only negative claims was proving to be extremely beneficial.
“When she was young, she was exiled with her father from her tribe and wandered the continent, but when her identity was revealed to humans, her father died, and she ended up in the hands of a slave trader. Then I accidentally came across her when I freed an unfortunate slave.”
Ta-da! Now we have double the public enemy to gossip about!
By splitting ‘the dragonkin tribe,’ mostly composed of unfortunate tales like Eleonora, and emphasizing the maliciousness of humans, how could the leader of the beastman resistance army ignore this? The ones who chose to turn a blind eye to the existence of vampires and opted for an uncomfortable coexistence because they hated humans?
“……Then let’s say that’s the case for now. But assuming we accept this offer, what benefit does that give us? You said you’d purchase, so you must have prepared some form of payment. What are you planning to pay with?”
“Payment will be through labor and human currency. Take her during the day and put her to work. Of course, that’s limited within the barrier, so she can’t be involved in battles. Plus, I’ll pay you three times the price you purchased her at.”
See? Smooth as butter!
I’ve surpassed the first hurdle, and once the negotiations are accepted, it’s one urgent fire put out. Even though I mentioned paying three times as a goodwill gesture, it wasn’t anything tremendous in reality.
Buying her would be just three meals a day, tops. Since that’s the only expense I’d incur where I wouldn’t be spending money at all, it’s no big deal.
This is what throwing away Plan A: division and specialization has birthed as Plan B.
It’s a bit ridiculous to call mere fair trade a plan, but all that’s left is waiting for them to accept it. The ball is already in their court.
Waiting for Kanak’s response made me inwardly anxious.
Having confirmed that Kanak is unexpectedly superior in violence—a method of ultimate conflict resolution—over me, scrapping Plan A turned out to be the right decision, but going through Plan B and getting rejected would indeed be annoying.
If they turn me down, do I have to go home, raid some houses while hunting, and bring back some bread? The fourth progenitor of vampires becoming the dinner thief of Pahera… now that’s a title you don’t see every day.
How fascinating it would be to hear that story.
Still, I truly hoped that I wouldn’t have to become the main character in that tale.
“Labor, huh? Though she seems a bit young, being a dragonkin means she would have some considerable strength. We’re always at war, and due to chronic personnel shortages, we wouldn’t turn down even a laborer. Since we’re buying food in bulk anyway… Sure, if you’re offering to triple the price, it’s not like we can’t spare a meal’s worth.”
Is it really going to work? It was unexpected that they’d show more interest in labor than money, but whatever hard work they make her do doesn’t concern me at all.
Why? Because I’m not the one doing the work!
It sounds awful to say it this way, but I am trash.
Realizing that I’m adapting to this trashy world and living in an appropriate manner made me secretly pleased. Looks like everyone’s living like this.
Of course, that’s a joke, but Eleonora said she wanted to earn her keep, so it’s all good. We’ve already made an agreement.
There’s no point in just lounging in this tent at night, so I’d rather engage in some productive activities, even while catching some exercise.
A proper sleep schedule (with only vampires around) and some work (hard labor), plus a healthy diet (beastmen’s rations)—that’s the foundation of a healthy dragonkin blood… Now, that’s something I can’t resist.
“Of course, that’s assuming she does her job well. But I see you don’t have any binding magic cast on her. What’s your relationship then?”
“A slave and a master.”
“No binding?”
“Technically, she didn’t have to be a slave. She just wanted to be treated that way.”
“Hm.”
Kanak’s expression wavered, unable to distinguish if I was teasing him or being serious. I also couldn’t fully grasp his tastes, so what could he know?
If he doesn’t know, then just memorize it and roll with it. No need to overthink!
But suddenly, Kanak did something that completely threw me off.
“Doesn’t seem like a joke… Hey, dragonkin. If you’re following vampires out of lack of options, we might be able to accept you. As long as you work well, you won’t face discrimination. Isn’t it better than being stuck with vampires?”
Kanak addressed Eleonora, not me.
The expectation that beastmen wouldn’t entirely take a dragonkin into their group was shattered, and I suddenly felt the air grow cold.
“… Don’t cross the line.”
With a click, tranquility descended upon my mind like an invisible switch.
The chill of my voice was even colder than I intended.
This guy is hitting on Eleonora right in front of me?
Just a moment ago, he was talking about dragonkin, then suddenly acts all opportunistic once he thinks she’s valuable?
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