“Eleonora, absolutely not. It’s too dangerous.”
“Huh? Dangerous? The potion can fail to analyze, but once analysis is done, there won’t be any variables, right? As long as you draw blood on time and drink one bottle a day, it’s not dangerous at all!”
Aria shot a sharp glare at Lavina, who was interrupting without understanding the situation.
She felt like slapping her, but knowing the conversation would drift elsewhere, she held back, her eyes full of a threatening “I really mean it.” Still, Lavina just shrugged, cleared her throat, and turned away, refusing to backtrack on her words even if her pride as a creator was at stake.
“Please let me know. Can I take the blood supplement?”
Taking advantage of the confusion, Eleonora asked again.
Aria raised her eyebrows even higher, but this time Eleonora had made up her mind to push through, no matter what happened.
“Well, that’s true. We’ll know for sure once we draw and measure your blood, but it should be fine. You’re a Dragonkin, after all.”
Lavina answered as if she had been waiting for this moment.
It was obvious that Aria cared for that Dragonkin girl, so she proceeded with clinical trials based on humans, but if it was meant for Dragonkin from the start, concerns about side effects were unnecessary.
Humans become accustomed to magic through continual use, and in the process of becoming familiar with spirits, they also build resistance to magic.
Thus, magical resistance usually corresponds to one’s magical ability. Since magical skill relies on talent, ultimately, resistance is also a matter of talent.
However, as the term ‘most cases’ suggests, exceptions definitely exist.
One representative example of magical talent not correlating with magical resistance is, precisely, the Dragonkin.
Most Dragonkin don’t have particularly high magical aptitude.
To put it accurately, it’s not that their aptitude is low, but rather a matter of usability. While their affinity for fire spirits is relatively high, the magic they use is limited to a special form known as breath.
From the perspective of causing change through spirits, breath was undoubtedly magic, but due to its lack of variety and peculiarity, it was a bit different from the general magic people imagine.
However, contrasting with the somewhat ambiguous magical aptitude, Dragonkin’s magical resistance is remarkable enough to be considered outstanding compared to all of humanity.
It’s not as if Dragonkin took pride in being the descendants of dragons for no reason.
With the physical resistance to block most sharp objects and magical resistance combined, Lavina figured they could very well boast about having dragon scales in terms of defense.
So even if she was still a girl showing signs of childhood, as a Dragonkin, there was no doubt that she wouldn’t have to worry about side effects from regular potions.
With Aria glaring at her like a hawk, Lavina mentioned blood tests as an objective way to prove it, but honestly, she was sure that side effects wouldn’t occur without even needing to confirm.
“Then, can I ask for the test, please?”
“Eleonora.”
As soon as Eleonora requested the blood draw without hesitation, Aria spoke a bit sternly to dissuade her.
Yet beneath that strictness lay an unmistakable concern, revealing that she genuinely cared for the Dragonkin girl.
“Master, I’ve thought about it.”
Eleonora’s earnest eyes turned to her beloved master.
She had always thought about it.
How can I not be a burden?
How can I be of help?
The fact that she was a Dragonkin promised strength in the future didn’t matter much to Eleonora at this moment.
She had been undernourished during her time as a slave, resulting in stunted growth, but lately, she had been properly nourished, and perhaps in a few years, she might become a significant asset.
Yet at least for now, Eleonora knew better than anyone that she was merely holding Aria back.
It saddened Eleonora to think that because of her, Aria had to take on greater risks.
Just like during the Ludrik incident. She was taken hostage due to being deceived by a Beastman acting on the orders of the Security Maintenance Force, which put Aria at risk of death.
Moreover, when Aria teamed up with Beastmen to go hunt the dangerous Hexion Requid, there was nothing Eleonora could do to help.
And that night, when Aria urgently woke Eleonora from her sleep, saying they needed to leave, what she discovered outside the barrier was a collection of dead humans and a vampire she had never seen before.
Eleonora felt guilty.
Ah, I couldn’t do anything to help my master in a crisis again.
I couldn’t be of assistance during such an important moment again.
Aria always told her there was no need to rush, but that only frustrated Eleonora more, making her feel helpless.
As they left the forest and joined the new party, Eleonora’s anxiety heightened.
The maid-vampire with pink hair tied up on each side was overwhelmingly strong.
She was a high-ranking vampire from the Sahelrn Duchy, and while Eleonora was unsure why she was dressed as a maid, it was undeniable that she was currently the most helpful ally.
The sky-blue-haired vampire, who had just recently awoken as a vampire, appeared flustered in many ways, yet her sword skills were impressive.
With more helpful allies joining, finding herself still a burden amplified Eleonora’s sense of crisis.
The fact that the two vampires knew Aria even before she took them in played a part too.
Especially the sky-blue-haired vampire was the first to be directly recruited by Aria, and the way she called Aria “big sister” made them seem like real sisters.
Honestly, it made her a little jealous.
Her first subordinate, a unique and unbreakable bond.
Of course, if Eleonora asked Aria to take her in as a subordinate, she wouldn’t refuse, but she was still growing. Rushing ahead at the cost of giving up her potential as a Dragonkin would be excessively foolish, and the fact that she could provide blood if needed couldn’t be overlooked either.
Even if she had reunited with her old connections, Eleonora knew well that Aria wouldn’t neglect her.
However, witnessing Aria share the burden she carried in ways Eleonora couldn’t grasp was simultaneously a source of envy and a reminder of her own limitations.
While lost in thought, the party found a new hideout.
An underground city made by dwarves.
In a place hidden from human eyes, Eleonora found a way to solve her worries.
Blood supplement. A potion that allows rapid production of blood within the body.
The more she listened to the loquacious elf, the more convinced Eleonora became.
-If you want, you can use me like a lunch box. Just take me with you.
Eleonora recalled the words she had uttered to Aria on the day she was taken in.
“This is it. What I can do. Right now, it’s something only I can do.”
Her first contract with her master.
It precisely indicated what was within Eleonora’s capacity in this situation.
“Only I can provide blood.”
Among Aria’s party, everyone except Eleonora was a vampire. Therefore, while they could hunt humans, they couldn’t offer their own blood to Aria.
But even if it was just to satisfy their hunger, providing the amount of blood sufficient to enhance Aria’s strength while continuously hunting without drawing attention was nearly impossible.
Iron Grave was a perfect hiding spot to evade human eyes, yet it wasn’t a suitable environment to settle down and gather a large amount of blood.
Thus, it was understandable why everyone would take an interest in the blood supplement, a potion that might allow them to catch both a safe hiding place and a large amount of blood.
And at the point where the blood supplement had no issues with performance and safety but was difficult to find suitable targets due to side effects, Eleonora solidified her resolution.
“I am a Dragonkin.”
Eleonora was well aware that her magical resistance was exceptional. After all, it was about her own race.
Moreover, she recalled how Aria mentioned that her blood contained powers many times that of ordinary humans, perhaps due to her potential.
Thinking this way, Eleonora felt as if the blood supplement was created just for her.
Until now, Aria had never drained a large quantity of blood from Eleonora at once. Whenever she did take blood, she would leave Eleonora alone until her blood naturally regenerated.
It was only natural since Aria had no intention of killing Eleonora. In the end, Aria could only draw blood bit by bit while having such strong blood beside her.
But what if she used the blood supplement?
The strength of the blood supplement lies not only in the sheer volume of blood that can be drawn at once but also in the fact that such a quantity can be drawn daily, Eleonora thought.
With the strength of her blood, said to amount to several tens of times that of an ordinary human, being drawn daily in quantities sufficient to feed dozens?
How much life force could Aria accumulate with that?
The most needed yet realistically the hardest task for Aria.
And that was something only Eleonora among those present could achieve.
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