Today, I finished my hunt without any issues.
I caught forty-seven prey. The number is small, but the quality was decent enough for a satisfactory harvest.
By the way, I’ve definitely gotten quicker in my responses as time goes by.
When I first came here, hunting was much easier. Back then, I wasn’t familiar with the area, so I couldn’t maximize my efficiency. However, aside from the incident on the first day when I got impaled and lost an arm, hunting wasn’t that difficult.
As I gradually understood the geography and the military situation of Pahera, things became even easier.
There weren’t many strong vampires in this area, and the relatively strong ones mostly belong to the Security Maintenance Force and don’t venture out to hunt.
Thus, for the humans of Pahera, the real enemies are fundamentally the Beastmen, while vampires are seen as weak annoyances that scavenge for leftovers in the ongoing battles between humans and Beastmen.
Hatred and danger are different things.
Although there’s a physiological aversion because they feed on humanoid blood, they’re generally considered low-priority targets compared to the real threats, much like mosquitoes.
This is the general impression the humans of Pahera have of vampires; they despise them but don’t particularly regard them as a threat.
Moreover, since the Beastmen are constantly smashing and repairing the castle walls, there’s no telling where they’ll strike next, leading to a rather lax response with minimal guards and just supplementing areas with larger numbers.
Thanks to that, ever since some vampires started stealthily following me, the efficiency of my hunting peaked.
They have plenty of people, so they naturally send appropriate forces to match. Even though they have numerous fighters, they regard them as a disorganized rabble, only sending just enough troops that I can easily handle alone.
I don’t even have to take the risk of delving deep into the city to mess with the locals—just waiting by the castle walls with my mouth wide open gets me snacks thrown my way. It couldn’t be easier.
However, unfortunately, humans are creatures that learn.
No matter how irregular the times and places are, even if there’s no clear witness information left, at some point, they seemed to catch on to the fact that the casualties among the forces meant to stop the vampires were significant.
Perhaps that’s why it’s not yet a major obstacle, but I can feel hunting has become more challenging lately compared to before.
The quality of soldiers and mercenaries has risen, increasing combat times, and the reinforcement rate has sped up. Some days, I’ve had to flee in tears after killing but not having time to eat.
Why did I buy seolleongtang if I can’t even eat it…? The feeling when I have to back away, looking at all the food laid out, is something I can’t quite put into words.
Still, that’s okay. It’s just a bit disappointing; as long as I don’t get greedy, I can still manage a decent harvest. Considering that quantitative losses are offset by qualitative gains, it’s really not much of a loss.
But the real problem is that the frequency of encounters with the spear-wielding guy who took my arm is steadily increasing.
I haven’t even faced him up close since I’ve been on guard as my top priority and fled the moment I sensed something, but I know his name now.
Hexion Requid. A master of spear techniques assisting the lord of Pahera, and renowned as Pahera’s best general.
Kanak told me he was originally famous as Pahera’s top knight. It seems that whenever the Beastmen have a slight advantage, he gets thrown into the mix, and they claim that about half of the factors making the conquest of Pahera difficult can be attributed to him.
Even Kanak readily admitted that apart from himself, no subordinate among the Beastmen could hold a candle to that old man, which confirmed that my choice to flee instead of seeking revenge after the brutal first day was indeed the right one.
But lately, that nightmare of the Beastmen has been wandering closer to me.
I wish that Kanak would make an effort. If they did their jobs properly, they wouldn’t come wandering towards me with energy to spare.
It’s infuriating to think about. The more I struggle, the easier it gets for their fights, and they can’t even say thanks?
This is something I should be negotiating for reduced labor hours with Eleonora.
I hurried back, resolving to hold Season 16 of labor negotiations.
When I stole a glance back, I realized quite a few vampires were still following me.
Once they come out, they never go back into the woods until one or two of them have had their fill of blood.
Even though I run multiple times a day, they always wait in a safe spot until I finish hunting, then sneakily follow me back.
Knowing the lay of the land, I understand what they’re after, but I have no intention of protecting them no matter what happens.
I’m not against the entire structure of exploitation and being exploited; I just don’t want to sacrifice my hunting rewards to those scummy beings hiding in the woods.
The stronger one has the law and principles on their side.
Personally, I find Ludrik’s antics quite distasteful, but as long as he doesn’t interfere with me and Eleonora, I don’t care what he does to the others.
Respecting each other’s territories—that’s how it should be, right?
Yet Ludrik has been quieter than expected. Initially, I thought he’d come around trying to pull some tricks… but nothing has happened.
…Wait, what’s this?
Why do I smell Eleonora’s blood here?
Although there’s distance, I can’t be mistaken.
There’s no way I could forget that sweet scent I’ve tasted multiple times before.
But why is this familiar aroma, which should be safe back in the woods, coming from outside the barrier?
And why does it smell different from the faint blood scent pulsating beneath the skin?
It’s a more violent fragrance that wraps around my nose.
She’s hurt. There’s no doubt she’s bleeding.
A chill raced through my veins, and my breath hitched.
“Calm down. Stay calm.”
I barely maintained my composure.
The amount of blood she’s lost likely isn’t too much. Based on the lack of movement, she’s not on the move either.
However, Eleonora wouldn’t just leave the woods alone, so it would be correct to assume someone lured her out.
I silenced my footsteps and quickened my pace. Moving cautiously, I carefully sensed my surroundings.
The closer I got to the scent of Eleonora’s blood, the more other presences seemed to emerge.
They’re beings, too, but the smell of blood doesn’t stimulate my appetite; it’s the scent of vampires.
Ah, so it’s you guys.
Of course, you wouldn’t just sit still.
But you made a mistake; you should’ve targeted me instead of making a show of capturing a mere slave.
They didn’t block my path; instead, like a group hunt, they closed in slowly from behind as I ran in a straight line.
Finally, Eleonora came into my sight. Despite coming prepared, my heart dropped painfully the moment I saw her.
She had numerous claw-like wounds on her once pristine skin.
The serious injuries were on her limbs, and there were even bruises around her eyes.
There were signs of fierce resistance everywhere. But had she fainted? With her cheek pressed against the cold ground, Eleonora lay subdued, not moving at all.
Except for that single moment of dread, I remained strangely calm.
I was able to maintain my composure surprisingly easily.
I glared at the vampire standing boldly and blocking my way between Eleonora and me.
“Ludrik.”
So it was you. It was you all along.
Ludrik stood there with a confident smile, as if he had already won.
With a crack, I heard something within me fracture.
“Submit and give me your neck. I’ll spare the slave you cherish if you do.”
That’s a lie. There’s no way he would spare a caught prey.
“Are you attempting to negotiate with a mere slave? Have you lost your mind?”
I, too, was boastful. But the voice spilling from my mouth was eerily calm.
It felt almost as if it wasn’t my voice. Even though looking at Eleonora lying unconscious was burning me inside, the crushed emotions felt as if they were observing the whole thing from a third-party perspective, refusing to move.
“…If she were just a mere slave, that may have been so. But it seems she holds quite a special place in your heart.”
Ludrik briefly hesitated but didn’t lose his momentum.
It was infuriating, but that was the truth. Unlike before, I couldn’t let Eleonora go now that she had completely entered my domain.
Not for Eleonora, but for myself.
It wasn’t until my life was on the line that I realized this.
“…Ah, M-Master.”
“…Eleonora.”
The unconscious Eleonora woke up, struggling to open her eyes and muttering.
She flinched as she attempted to rise, but the vampire holding her down roughly stepped on her head, stopping her movement in less than three seconds.
“I’m sorry. I made a mistake…”
Eleonora mumbled.
With a crack, something that had cracked within me broke loose.
“Just leave me. Run away. I’m okay—”
“That’s enough. How touching, a master-servant bond. Don’t you think?”
As if flaunting his superiority, Ludrik sneered at Eleonora’s repentant words, tightening the grip of the vampire’s foot pressing down on her.
Eleonora, pressed against the ground, could only choke out a sound and couldn’t speak anymore.
After several brutal stomps on her head, Eleonora seemed to run out of strength and fell limp again.
Tears rolled down her trembling cheeks, through her barely opened eye.
Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe properly. Although holding my breath wouldn’t kill me, something unpleasant twisted in my insides, threatening to spill over.
Why are you crying? Why do you confess as though guilty?
Everyone makes mistakes.
Being deceived isn’t a crime.
The real mistake is with those scumbags.
They’re the ones who are wrong.
So why are you the one confessing?
Why are you saying you want to die?
Why are you telling me to abandon you?
Why are you trying to take yourself away from me?
Clang! Something that was precariously held together inside me shattered.
The shattered pieces were walls. Once the barriers blocking reality and me vanished, I could finally see the truth of the matter.
“Phew.”
Looking at reality made me laugh.
It wasn’t a situation to be laughing about, but it was so absurd I couldn’t hold it in.
“Ahah, ahahahaha!!”
Ah, so that’s how it was.
The mistake wasn’t with Eleonora, nor even the Ludrik gang.
The real mistake was me.
I thought I had tossed away all the useless things long ago, yet there were still things I couldn’t let go of.
You see, I interpreted the saying “the strong survive” too humanly, didn’t I?
Unconsciously, I began to think of both the strong and the weak as entities with their own will.
I had been too soft.
I shouldn’t have thought that way. It was wrong to treat them as personalities.
The weak are just resources. They’re merely the materials I need to grow stronger.
Just because they don’t bother me doesn’t mean I should let them be.
Anything that bothers me should’ve been dealt with beforehand without a reason.
From the first time I saw Ludrik, I didn’t like him. If I had just killed him back then instead of hesitating, none of this would have happened.
My classification was wrong; distinguishing between humans and others was flawed.
The distinction between kind and other was wrong.
In this world, the only beings that hold significance are me and those who live within my boundary, supporting me.
Everyone else is merely resources. Resources that exist for me to become stronger.
I’m sorry, Eleonora.
To realize this obvious truth only now, it’s all my fault.
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