Ch.160Aftermath (2)

The subjugation had left behind more than just a few things.

[Occupation: Warrior – Mourner 12]

Among them, the most significant was my level.

I was originally about to reach level 11 after hitting level 10, but after facing countless enemies including Azdan, my level seemed to have increased by two stages.

And with that level increase, I gained quite a few things.

[Additional Attack]

First, Additional Attack.

This was a benefit given at certain intervals to warrior-class occupations, reflecting the setting that warrior classes are more proficient in martial arts than other occupations.

I wasn’t entirely sure how it would work now that everything had become reality, but I figured I’d understand once I actually used it.

Next was a talent.

[Please select a talent]

A long list appeared. There were some that all warriors could choose in common, some derived from the basic fighting techniques I had already chosen, and some derived from parrying.

None of them were bad talents. In a game, they might be difficult to enjoy if chosen recklessly, but now that everything had become reality, there was room to utilize any of them somehow.

However, the traditional elven fighting style that my sister and Esha used was excluded.

Since my sister and Eshaterra would teach me anyway, there was no need to waste a precious talent acquisition opportunity on it.

That left the fighting techniques of the northern barbarian warriors, which among the three major fighting styles, had aspects that suited me better than Dragon Dropping, making it worth considering.

But considering that I already had Dragon Dropping, it would be better to learn something else.

After all, fighting techniques as powerful as Dragon Dropping were rare, and it was the highest level technique among the three.

So that left common warrior talents, talents common to all occupations, and parrying derivatives…

What I chose was the most ordinary among them.

[Robust Vitality]

[Your body is solid, and your vitality is unrivaled. Even if there is a battle, you will be the last one standing.]

[Your vitality increases by (Health modifier + Occupation health coefficient) per level. This modifies the existing vitality calculation formula.]

[The existing vitality calculation formula is (Health modifier + Occupation health coefficient÷2).]

A talent that brutally increases my health pool.

While fighting Azdan, I keenly felt the lack of vitality like never before, and at the same time, I realized my strength.

I am sturdy. I am robust. I don’t die easily, and I’m not easily incapacitated.

Just by raising that level, from an opponent’s perspective, it would instill a sense of helplessness like facing an enormous mountain.

I didn’t feel any kind of vitality flowing through my body the moment I chose the talent.

But considering that talents had never failed to activate properly before, there shouldn’t be a problem. I was already disgustingly sturdy to begin with.

[Proficiency Bonus: +5]

And the last thing I gained from reaching level 12 was a proficiency bonus.

Something that had been digging into my head since I woke up in the morning, making minute adjustments to my movements—something I was already familiar with.

Considering that the proficiency bonus increases from 6 to 17 at level 17, I was already stepping on the edge of mastery.

How much had actually changed couldn’t be known without practical experience.

But that wasn’t something to check right away. There was something else I needed to confirm now.

“Did you wait long?”

“I did wait a bit.”

“At times like this, you’re supposed to say you didn’t wait long, even if it’s just a white lie.”

Melody poked my side. I laughed, finding it absurd.

If she knew I was waiting because she said she needed to change clothes, how could she say something like that?

Usually, such words are only appropriate when neither party knows how long the other has been waiting.

But Melody didn’t seem to care about such trivial matters. I led her as she linked arms with me and we walked.

Due to the unintentionally prolonged preparations, the sun was already high in the sky.

Warm spring sunlight poured down on the central corridor of the nest, and everyone seemed to have already left for their own tasks, leaving a sense of quietness.

Amidst that, there was a tapping sound, like a cane.

It was the sound of Melody’s estoc hitting the floor in its sheath.

“So, how was it?”

“You mean Lie Hezedia?”

Melody quietly nodded, and I rolled my eyes, trying to recall.

When the battle ended and Valterok delivered Lie Hezedia.

Lie Hezedia looked at the scattered corpses and smiled.

‘Do you perhaps need a capable finance minister, my lord?’

To be honest, I didn’t really need one.

I mean, this is the New World.

Wouldn’t a finance minister only be useful if there was an economy to begin with? So I had said:

‘No, I don’t think I need one.’

The expression on Lie Hezedia’s face when she heard that.

It was far from an expression of despair or disappointment.

Rather, it was closer to a look that said, “What’s wrong with this idiot?”

But I still didn’t know if there was a place for a finance minister to be active here, nor did I understand her intentions.

Even after hearing Valterok’s explanation, I still felt the same way.

That was why I was now leading Melody toward the space where Ortemilia’s laboratory and the mixed-blood vampires’ quarters were located.

To interrogate her with Melody’s help, and if there were any ulterior motives, to create an opportunity to kill her on the spot.

And if there were no ulterior motives… to hear exactly how a finance minister could be useful here.

“It’s new not having eyes.”

“…It hurts my heart when you say it like that.”

“Ah, I didn’t mean to.”

I led Melody through the transfer room, and then using another transfer from there to the underground space, we reached a familiar area.

A vast cave with a huge lake in the center and an amazingly solid foundation.

A leisurely landscape with blue light rippling.

Recalling that there was a hot spring somewhere here, the whole place felt like a kind of resort.

It would be nice if people could evacuate here in case of emergency.

The cave was so clean that such thoughts crossed my mind.

The Temple of All Gods, on the other hand, had become a mess in many ways.

Thinking that this was something to discuss later, I walked and saw people. Mixed-blood vampire children and women who were busy farming mushrooms or something similar.

And among them, people who seemed to be patrolling or resting by the lake.

Most were mixed-blood vampires, but apart from subtle changes in appearance, they looked perfectly ordinary.

Not being able to bask in the sun didn’t seem to be much of a problem for them either.

“Ah, Lord Luwellin!”

And among them, the most familiar person approached.

It was the old man who had been representing the mixed-blood vampires since we first met them.

By now, having eaten and rested well, he had gained weight and, except for his beard, had a body no different from a young man’s.

He approached with his upper garment thrown over his shoulder, as he had been in the middle of farming.

Wow, that body is intimidating. Is it okay for an old man to look like that?

“What brings you here today? Perhaps—”

“You’re probably right about what you’re thinking.”

“Ah, that’s fortunate. The reserves were starting to—”

“Huh? No, I came for prisoner interrogation…”

The old man opened his eyes wide in surprise at my words, and I scratched my head awkwardly.

“I’ll, uh, extract some for you before I leave. Sorry I didn’t take care of it. I’ve been so busy.”

“No, no, it’s fine. These things happen. Lady Ortemilia has been researching extraction from crops, but… it’s still slow, so our reserves were running low.”

Come to think of it, to share blood with them without getting infected, one would need to be a homunculus like me or extract blood through safe methods.

But in a world where even blood donation doesn’t exist, how could that be possible?

In the end, the answer was simply to prepare a cup or something and fill it with my or my sister’s blood, but the latter didn’t appeal to me.

I’d rather bleed myself.

“If it’s prisoner interrogation… I’ll guide you. This way.”

Anyway, that wasn’t an urgent matter. I crossed a path that seemed newly made with Melody and the old man, and soon faced a well-constructed prison.

“When was this built?”

“Lady Ortemilia built it after the last incident. There’s a passage leading to the laboratory, so it’s convenient for management…”

It seemed that Ortemilia herself was lamenting the loss of a valuable source of information, having failed to predict Selma’s transformation.

“Which prisoner are you interrogating?”

“Lie Hezedia, a person with brown hair and brown eyes, with a noble impression and a monocle. Well, the monocle was probably confiscated… so someone with their hair tied up.”

At Melody’s words, who had been quiet until then, the old man guided us to the innermost prison.

The cell where Selma had once stayed no longer existed. It was clearly out of consideration for Isla, who might experience mental pain if she happened to see it.

How kind. I smiled briefly, and at the deepest part of the prison, we faced a heavy iron door.

“Then, I’ll wait here.”

“No, you can give us the key and go about your business. We’ll manage.”

“Hmm, but… will it be alright?”

“Although I might look like a fragile young lady, I can protect myself. And Luwellin is here too.”

“Very well. I’ll take my leave then.”

The old man bowed his head and withdrew, and we opened the heavy iron door and entered.

“Oh my.”

Inside was Lie Hezedia.

As far as I knew, she was considered the best in defensive swordsmanship across the continent, and a genius who had successfully revitalized a merchant guild and received the Emperor’s selection.

However, having backed the wrong side, she was now my prisoner.

I looked at Lie Hezedia, who sat down with a clatter of her handcuffs.

“Welcome.”

A woman smiling brightly and waving her hand. I sat at a table that seemed prepared in advance, in front of her.

“My lord, what brings you here today?”

The woman, chuckling, seemed relaxed.

Despite being a powerful figure who could bind Valterok and a finance minister favored by the Emperor.

She was giving me, who was once her enemy, a flirtatious smile.

Even though she had lost everything and was a prisoner, she seemed quite in a good mood. I couldn’t understand it.

But I didn’t need to try to understand.

I had many questions for her, and she had every reason to answer me.

So I thought of various questions. So many that I was wondering what to ask first.

Perhaps because of that, Lie Hezedia struck preemptively without hesitation.

“Shall I guess?”

Guess? Does she think this interrogation is a joke?

Before I could even frown with a grim expression.

“You want to ask about the Emperor’s identity, right?”

The Emperor. That was also one of the things I had considered asking about.

But I didn’t think it was something I needed to ask importantly.

After all, it was obvious, wasn’t it?

A limb of Mother, at best one of those monsters that had been corrupted by Mother’s influence.

That’s what I thought, but the words that came out of her mouth were unexpected.

“The Emperor is the first homunculus.”

“…What?”

Such unexpected words. I was caught off guard. I was too busy digesting what I had heard to respond, and Lie Hezedia, looking at me, added in a whisper.

“Unlike you, the masterpiece, he is the first vessel created by Mother who had lost her vessel—a failure.”

“What, wait, what does that mean…?”

“But when creating you, the three clans referenced the Emperor, who was the closest to perfection among the failures.”

Amidst the series of stories I had never expected.

Lie Hezedia leaned forward and stared at me.

“You could say that the Emperor and you are siblings.”

Only then did I realize one thing.

The initiative was no longer in my hands.