The Vampire Duke

“You seem flustered. In that case, let me explain it in an easy-to-understand way.”

Caria explained the situation.

Amel has the Sealed Artifact that seals the Progenitor’s body, is absorbing two Sealed Bodies, and wants to break the Seal.

Amel’s Strength was so fast and powerful that she could kill Darling in an instant,

Amel showed the Bloodstained Dagger for explanation.

“Amel, where did you get that Sealed Artifact?”

“…Do I have to say that?”

“No. You don’t have to tell me. If it’s a Sealed Artifact you might have, I can guess. Based on the information I know, if I were to guess your identity…”

“…Anonymous, I presume.”

Glaize guessed correctly.

There were many reasons to speculate.

He knows very well that Velosa failed her mission and couldn’t recover it, that it fell into someone’s hands, and that something happened at the Sealing Place that she couldn’t be held responsible for.

Glaize, the Guild Master and merchant, quickly picks up rumors.

It’s not as good as the Heroes’ community, but enough information gathers just from the merchants’ rumors.

Amel is Anonymous.

‘I heard she participated in the competition, but I didn’t expect her to want to cooperate.’

Glaize maintained a poker face, trying to discern Amel’s intentions.

“To summarize.”

“Just as you pinpointed Caria’s location by some means, you can gather other Sealed Bodies without cooperation, so you’d rather we cooperate.”

“Your goal is also the Progenitor’s resurrection, so you’re saying it’s better to lead the resurrection through mutual cooperation than to kill and steal from us all.”

Amel crossed her arms and chimed in, “That’s right.”

“You can refuse if you don’t like it. But you’ll die, and I have no intention of trading or negotiating. Or will you make an offer that might sway my heart? Can you even do that?”

“May I suggest just one thing?”

Glaize was polite.

He feels with his skin that Amel knows his identity and came here to kill him.

The Intent to Kill flickering redly in her eyes calmly conveys her true feelings.

“Try it. You’re a merchant, so I’m curious if you have any tempting offers.”

Glaize swallowed hard.

He presented things that quickly flashed through his mind.

He suggested the money he could raise, the honor through full support, and the possibility of seating her on the Lord’s Seat by using cooperation with nobles, saying it would be a loss in terms of profit, but,

“I don’t need it.”

Amel was firm.

She rejected things that anyone in the world would want.

It would be good if there was specific information like wanting a specific item or needing help from a specific person,

Unfortunately, Glaize had presented everything he could offer and was rejected.

“Hmm…”

Amel listened to Glaize’s offer and thought about what she wanted right now.

One thing came to mind.

The orphanage.

But she didn’t necessarily need Glaize’s help for that.

Head tilt.

“Nothing?”

“…Nothing.”

“Then guide me.”

“Follow me.”

Glaize maintained a poker face.

He left the Guild building.

The place he led her to had the same aura as the Witch’s Workshop in the basement.

She knew where he was leading her, and Glaize entered the building with the Witch’s Workshop and took the Magic Elevator down to the basement.

The Witch’s underground Workshop.

It was dark,

But when Glaize snapped his fingers, the Room Light brightened.

A space as large as the underground Workshop where she met Caria appeared, and the ceiling was low.

There was only one pillar in the underground Workshop, and it glowed orange in the center of the room.

It was a glass case, and a beautiful woman was immersed in orange liquid.

“….”

It’s like looking at infused liquor.

She leisurely looked at [Blood]’s face, and the word “pretty” came out on its own.

The strongest image that [Dream] came up with.

Was [Blood] such a strong Great Devil?

Considering that, she was a slender woman, but she looked like a glass-crafted work of art, as if she would break even if touched.

‘(That’s not for you to say.)’

Win retorted.

Well, she was also in the body of a woman who hadn’t been trained through the Avatar.

Others take off their Avatars when they die, but she was still in the female Avatar due to a bug.

Anyway.

“There’s no one guarding it?”

“There’s no need. Rather, there’s no need for management, and the more people come and go, the more likely it is to be discovered, so I excluded it.”

“Well, I couldn’t find it until I knew about the Workshop.”

It’s true that she didn’t have the knowledge of the underground Workshop, so she overlooked the subtle differences that the Workshop had.

“Hmm…”

Pretty.

As Amel watched intently.

Glaize whispered to Caria.

“But Caria, I understand why you came to me first, but how are you going to persuade the others?”

“Conflict will be unavoidable.”

“Have you heard anything about the intention to resurrect her?”

“No.”

“And yet they follow you so well.”

“Gathering the Sealed Bodies together. I judged that alone was worth cooperating with. Don’t you think so too?”

Glaize didn’t answer.

Not answering is also an answer.

Caria and Glaize discussed how to persuade the others.

“….”

Amel broke the glass case with the Bloodstained Dagger, regardless of what they said,

And absorbed the left leg into the Bloodstained Dagger.

Right arm, right leg, left leg.

She collected three.

There were a total of six Sealed Bodies.

Head, heart, and limbs.

Opelhauser, who was the [Vampire Baron]… no, Hauner? The Baron said that the Vampire Duke had the left arm.

‘If the Duke has the left arm, then do they only have one left that they prepared?’

Come to think of it, she received a [Quest].

A [Quest] that tells the location of the Sealing Places.

She received it when she offered a [Prayer].

When she opened the [Quest] and compared it to the [Map], all of [Blood]’s Sealed Bodies were concentrated in Gospel.

‘Did they collect them all while I was asleep?’

‘(It’s probably due to the fact that Dream and the King of Death’s Strength have weakened a lot.)’

There’s no other way to explain it.

She wondered if she could also know the detailed location of all the Sealed Bodies with the [Map], but things didn’t go that smoothly.

Amel was guided by Caria and Glaize.

They moved through the streets in a carriage called by Glaize, and it was very slow due to the crowds, but they ended up talking as if it was an intended result.

“…You have no greed.”

“Well, yeah.”

Because this is a game.

Glaize persuaded Amel while traveling by carriage.

He tried to trade or negotiate, and Amel listened out of boredom. None of the offers attracted Amel’s greed.

“If there’s anything you want, could you tell me?”

“Something I want…”

Could there be such a thing?

“World peace?”

“….”

Half joking.

Half serious.

Perhaps judging that she had no intention of negotiating at all, Glaize said no more.

Amel looked out of the carriage with a bored face.

Then,

“Now there are only three left.”

She asked a question that suddenly came to mind.

“Who has them? I heard the Duke also came.”

“Yes.”

Caria replied.

“The Dukes have also come in case the Progenitor is resurrected. The people you’ll meet from now on are all Dukes.”

“Really?”

It wasn’t just one?

Come to think of it, that was true.

An important event.

It would be an important day for the Vampires, so it would be detrimental to their position if Dukes didn’t come.

That meant there were at least three Vampire Dukes.

The crowds gradually thinned out.

It was a residential area.

It was a residential area where nobles lived, and the Lords and nobles of the satellite villages around the city of Gospel lived.

The houses were almost mansions, all large and with gardens.

It was on the opposite side of the Lord’s Castle from the area where the Heroes mainly operated, so she had never been there before.

While they were driving, Amel heard about the Dukes.

The Dukes have strong pride and form groups, so they won’t easily agree.

But Amel immediately tries to use force if they refuse.

“If they refuse, then I’ll have to deal with them.”

“So you’re going to do that. Do you have any intention of letting them live?”

“No.”

Amel intends to kill them if they refuse, whether the opponent is a Duke or anyone else.

That was the simplest,

And that was the fastest.

“First of all, the Duke who is in the place we are heading to now and another one are people who worship Strength and rose to their position through Strength. Of course, it’s nothing to you.”

“Are they as strong as the Death Knight?”

“We can’t prosper as much as the Undead.”

“That means they’re weak.”

Caria couldn’t find a word to refute.

Still, if only the Progenitor awakens, the situation can change drastically.

“The problem is the other one.”

“Because he didn’t become a Duke through Strength, it probably won’t be easy for you either.”

“And because he’s a cautious person, even if we know where he’s active, neither Glaize nor I know exactly who he is.”

“He’s also skilled at gathering information, so he probably knows that we’re together.”

Amel heard those words and turned her gaze around.

She would have noticed if someone was watching, but there was no sign of it. How would he gather information without a watcher?

Isn’t he just exaggerating the abilities of his boss?

And,

The carriage stops.

“Get lost!”

The gatekeeper shouted.

“Count Prometal has forbidden the entry of outsiders! He said not to let anyone in. If you still have to meet him, wait until we deliver the message!”

A knight in Mithril Armor stood guarding the gate with his huge physique.

“Count?”

Caria whispered softly.

“It’s an external identity. We’ve lived for a long time, so we’ve been changing our identities through marriage.”

So the Vampire Duke’s identity in human society is Count Prometal.

“Hmm.”

“….”

She had a staring contest with the knight. Soon, the knight blushed and turned his head away.

She recalls being imprisoned, not imprisoned, for killing the [Vampire Baron Opelhauser]. It was fortunate that the opponent was a Vampire then, but if the opponent was an ordinary human noble…

‘Would it be the same?’

But killing an opponent who wasn’t an enemy for no reason was a bit much.

“Chocolat.”

“…Yes?”

Caria asked back, not understanding the meaning of the words.

Regardless,

A human figure quickly escapes from the surface of the shadow and hides in the mansion.

Amel waited for Chocolat to subdue the Vampire Duke and come out.

“Knight.”

“What.”

“Your Count is coming out.”

Bang.

The mansion exploded.