“Bolton!! You said the vampires are coming?! They’re here, right?!”
The intruder crashed through the door without knocking, boldly shouting without a care for the tense atmosphere.
Not sensing any hostility, I just moved my eyes to scan the newcomer.
With flowing platinum hair and emerald eyes gleaming like jewels.
Long limbs, snow-white skin, and those pointy ears.
Definitely an elf. The familiar scent reminded me of the blood I caught a whiff of when I briefly encountered elves in the forest not long ago.
“Oh my, Lavina! I tried to stay quiet, but how did you find me?”
“Of course, I overheard! Do you know how many ears I have outside?”
Bolton muttered in disbelief, but the elf called Lavina responded with a confident huff.
…Is eavesdropping really such a bold act?
I was momentarily thrown into a moral dilemma.
“Bolton, who is that elf?”
“Um, you probably don’t know Duke Bantecha. Her name is—”
“Hello! My name is Lavina Vercheria. I’m also indebted to this place!”
What is this unexplainable distance?
I instinctively shrank back from her infectious personality.
She reminded me of Plona when we first met, except that the Plona back then didn’t know I was a vampire while this elf does and is still acting like this.
Thinking of it that way, it feels definitely off-kilter.
“As you can see, she has a tendency to let her curiosity run wild, but Lavina has been a great help to the city. The small-scale farming possible down here is thanks to her.”
“Hmm, I created a magical light source that allows plants to photosynthesize even if they can’t stand sunlight. Do you vampires perhaps need blackout curtains that completely block sunlight, blood supplements, or sunscreen? If you could help with testing, I could provide them.”
She’s one of those quirky wizard types who dives into her interests with reckless abandon.
Just the thought of Raul made me recoil, but oddly enough, one word caught my attention.
“Blood supplement?”
“Oh, are you interested in that? Yes, for vampires, it’s like the ultimate fertilizer! It’s a magical potion that brings us one step closer to food innovation, and you’re already showing interest! What’s your name?”
“…Aria.”
Did I say that too casually?
I involuntarily reacted and was overwhelmed by a barrage of words coming back to me, leaving me speechless.
Yet still, I couldn’t just let Lavina’s explanation slide. If her words were more than just chatter, I might be able to adjust our plans to a much better direction.
“Right, Aria! Um, the blood supplement is a byproduct I accidentally created while magically enhancing livestock feed. It stimulates blood creation! Though it seems to have some minor side effects, if you consume enough energy, blood multiplies! How about that, a captivating product for vampires?!”
“Uh, sure…”
I threw a desperate look at my companions for help.
However, Eleonora looked like she couldn’t keep up with the conversation, mouth agape, and Plona seemed to be battling thirst, alarmed, as she frantically wiped her drool.
Fortunately, Stella appeared to understand why I was nervously thrusting my hand into the lair of this strange elf.
Stella continued the conversation in my place.
“What do you mean by side effects?”
“It’s not a definite thing, but there seems to be one. Well, I can’t conduct clinical trials on the local residents, can I? So far, I’ve only found out that the speed of blood production is a bit… no, actually quite a lot faster, so if we don’t extract it quickly, it could be risky. The remaining effects and side effects will need to be tested.”
At this point, Stella and I exchanged glances naturally.
An extreme increase in blood production speed. In other words, it means you could obtain a lot of blood from fewer prey.
I’m not sure exactly how much, but if the effects are real, then our plan to remain hidden until the humans fully believe in my death could be made much safer and more certain.
Normally, you wouldn’t just trust the words of someone you just met, but if Bolton is proclaiming she’s ‘been a great help to the city,’ then it’s worth at least checking out with my own eyes.
Even if it turns out to be a useful item, it’s still incomplete, so we’ll need to test it as that elf said, but if it succeeds, could it mean we could literally copy human blood?
If that’s possible, then I wouldn’t need to leave this underground city until discovered. If I can increase my minimal food supply to bolster my strength, is there any better environment than this?
“Hmmm, Duke Bantecha? Just in case I’m asking this, I’ve heard it’s useful for vampires, but if so, then would material procurement from outside…”
“You don’t have to worry about that. Even if we can achieve self-sufficiency for blood by capturing a few humans, I will provide the necessary materials.”
“Hahaha! Lavina is a truly excellent wizard, so you need not worry about the quality of her inventions! She occasionally creates strange items, but I vouch for her skills!!”
What a sudden shift in attitude!
Watching Bolton bang on the table laughing heartily after confirming that his creative pursuits wouldn’t be hindered, I was astonished, but at least I had gained a guarantee that she was skilled enough to have a dwarven master vouch for her, so it might not be… bad. Maybe.
“Then let’s go now! I’ll show you immediately, so follow me!”
Without waiting for a response, Lavina spun around and boldly opened the door, rushing out.
Bolton chuckled. In those somewhat vacant eyes, a resignation that didn’t seem to match the dwarven determination glimmered.
“To add a note, she’s not always this noisy! She does have a flaw of not being able to stay quiet when she has a chance to learn something she’s curious about!”
Bolton nodded, understanding the feelings of a craftsman as he defended Lavina.
Even so, she feels completely different from the elves I met in the Mist Labyrinth.
I was slightly curious how an elf ended up in a place like this, living with dwarves, but before I could ask Bolton anything, a loud voice shaped like words flew in from outside.
“Are you coming? Hurry up!!”
“Bolton, I’ll go on ahead.”
“Yeah, yeah. By the way, you’re heading to Lavina’s house, right? It’s the second house on the right with a blue door across from there!!”
I offered a light nod of thanks before hurrying after the chattering elf with my companions.
Lavina’s house wasn’t far away. From the inside, it looked more like a research lab than a home.
Listening to Lavina’s incessant chatter with one ear while letting it flow out the other, she eventually brought out a bottle filled with a transparent liquid that shimmered yellow-orange from a box in the corner of the room.
“This is the blood supplement!!”
Standing proudly as if saying, ‘Look at me; I’m impressive!’ Lavina puffed out her chest.
…But how do I verify this?
I wanted to respond somehow, but I didn’t know what was so great about it, so I found myself speechless.
“May I take a look at it for a moment?”
“Yes, there’s more if you need it, and I can make more if it runs out!”
Fortunately, Stella, claiming to be the country’s greatest dark magician, took the vial and began examining it.
Something about the potion flickered slightly, and it seemed she had some form of verification method that I couldn’t grasp since I learned magic theoretically and only used my instincts.
“…Impressive. I never thought an elf could make something like this.”
“The original intent was for a small amount of livestock feed, but isn’t serendipity the essence of magical potions?”
Serendipity, the term for unexpected discoveries. A phrase that denotes significant inventions or findings arising from sheer coincidence.
It seems she wants to emphasize that it wasn’t originally created for vampires but happened to be made along the way.
Seeing Stella take an interest, it didn’t seem completely worthless, but still, an important part was missing.
“I get how it’s made. But what do you gain by showing this to us?”
“What I gain, you ask?”
I nodded slightly.
While it’s important to determine if the blood supplement is genuine or not, what’s more crucial is her motivation.
She’s willingly handing over her invention to total strangers, vampires?
Bolton’s assurance aside, considering how much vampires are hated, I found it hard to believe she invited us here out of pure goodwill.
“I have a lot of curiosity. I have to verify my curiosity, or it drives me insane. So even if it’s a product of chance, I can’t bear the thought of my invention remaining incomplete.”
Lavina’s previously chattering voice grew calm.
Suddenly, under the silence, I noticed an undeniable elegance and grace emanating from her, and I realized that if she wasn’t so loud, she really was an elf after all.
Then with her next words, I found myself nodding along involuntarily.
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