I was extremely tense, wondering if the Vampire Princess might suddenly kill me, but fortunately, nothing of the sort happened.
“Trainer Azazel. It is about time for the metamorphosis.”
Instead, she calmly twisted the direction of the chair with magic, then extended a hand so that I would face the cocoon.
‘What?’
Was this woman really planning to end things with nothing more than a calm “Is that so?” after I had shouted those words prepared to face death?
‘Some of us were even prepared to actually die and come back to life, you know?’
The pain of death could still be felt in its entirety.
Even if regression was a weapon, the reason I did not use it often was not because death was trivial, but because the pain of death remained exactly as it was.
It would be better to have my head severed in one stroke.
I could hardly describe how badly my hands had trembled the last time I drank the poison in the wineglass.
I had spared the supply soldier Natalie because she was a virgin succubus. If she had not been a virgin, she would have been a corpse by now.
That was how prepared I had been to die this time as well.
And yet, despite my resolve to face death, the Vampire Princess showed no particular reaction.
‘Are real vampires all like this?’
Was that it?
Did she simply consider it natural for a human to feel lust toward her and harbor lewd desires to have sex with her?
‘Beautiful women know very well that they’re beautiful.’
This woman certainly knew her worth.
‘Well, if she had blushed and easily given in over a little sexual appeal, the world wouldn’t be so difficult.’
If she were the sort of woman who would spread her legs so easily just because I was good at training and had increased the number of the Fallen, she would have devoured me from the very beginning.
‘That’s why I like her even more.’
I liked that she did not recklessly try to devour me, and that even when I shouted that I wanted sex, she withdrew with such composure.
‘If she’s the leader of a legion, she ought to have this kind of gravitas.’
Even if her breasts were heavy and her entire body light, a leader needed to possess this kind of weight.
‘Besides, this makes challenging her all the more satisfying.’
A woman who wantonly spread her legs meant that she offered her cunt to males other than me as well.
It was a great relief that she was not like that.
At least I did not have to think, “There’s no way a slut could be a virgin,” and I could retain at least some possibility that she might be one.
Schrödinger’s virgin.
Before I buried my cock inside her, there was no way to know whether she was a virgin or not. But the mere fact that there were no rumors of her bringing other males into her bed made her worth holding in my heart.
“Look, Trainer.”
Had she not said it herself?
That there would be a reward commensurate with one’s achievements.
What if I achieved enough for the Vampire Princess herself to think, “For results like these, I suppose it would be all right to give him a night”?
What if I accomplished enough for her to think, “With this man’s abilities and achievements, I suppose it would be all right to give him even my virginity”?
‘It might be possible.’
If the Vampire Legion were a company, then the Vampire Princess was its CEO.
I was both the team leader and an employee running projects in the training team.
When an employee produced results and asked the boss for something he wanted—
“I’d like to spend one night with you, boss.”
Depending on the person, it might turn out differently, but a bold woman might simply think of him as a male who had become completely captivated by her charms.
But what if he said—
“I want half of the company’s shares, boss.”
Then his head would be severed on the spot.
It would not end with merely submitting a resignation. He would be punished for insolence and cast straight into the abyss.
And so—
“Master.”
“What is it?”
“Although I cannot say that much time has passed since I began serving as a trainer here, I have created two Fallen in the past three weeks.”
“Do you want a reward?”
“No. I want a goal.”
As the team leader entrusted with the mass-production project for vampires, I could now confidently demand this much from the Vampire Princess.
“By turning a priest who believed in a goddess into a vampire, I proved to Your Highness that I possess the qualities necessary to serve as a trainer. Your Highness formally recognized me, a prisoner, as a trainer and engraved your symbol here.”
“Go on.”
That was a signal to keep talking.
“Now that a second vampire has been born, I have proven that my training was not the result of a single stroke of luck. Although the methods differed, I have given you confidence that I will continue turning people into vampires in the future.”
“And?”
“How far should I go?”
“How far, you say?”
The Vampire Princess smacked her lips as though she rather liked the sound of that.
“You seem like the sort who would produce results on his own even if left alone.”
“If you give me a specific goal, I will work even harder to surpass it.”
People should not perform too well from the very beginning.
A superior might take the results one had worked oneself to the bone to achieve as the default and order the same thing every time.
That was simply the way of the world.
But the Vampire Princess was different.
“If I told you to create a specific number of Fallen by a specific date, that might instead shackle the imagination of someone like you.”
The Vampire Princess was not the sort to count each individual tree. She was an existence who looked upon the entire forest—or rather, something even greater.
“Until every woman in this land becomes a vampire. Would that be too far-fetched a goal?”
“Shall I turn the entire human species into vampires?”
“That would not be bad either. Do not stop training until the whole world becomes vampires.”
Cover the world in vampires.
Her goals and ideals truly had no intention of ending with her being merely one legion of the Demon King’s army.
“But if I simply tell you to ‘work hard,’ you might grow lax. I suppose I should give you a goal to run toward immediately.”
The Vampire Princess spread one hand wide.
“Five.”
“.......”
“Create five vampires. Virgins or non-virgins, it makes no difference. Make them vampires like that one…”
Crrrraack.
The blood-red cocoon split open from side to side, and a naked woman with white hair, red eyes, and a short bob emerged slowly from within.
“Just make them loyal to me.”
“......I greet my mistress.”
The vampire, Gentia.
As she knelt on one knee before the Vampire Princess and lowered her head, the Vampire Princess extended a hand toward her.
Fwoosh.
Red magic streamed from the Vampire Princess’s hand, and a black dress soon unfolded over Gentia’s body.
She looked like a noblewoman widowed by the death of her husband.
“There is only one thing I ask of you.”
“Give your command.”
“Kill what you wish to kill. Under the Trainer’s command.”
“I shall obey your instructions.”
Gentia had been reborn in the form of a widow spider.
It was as though she had completely cast off her former self as a human and accepted herself as a vampire.
“Ah, and one more thing.”
The Vampire Princess grinned and placed a hand on Gentia’s shoulder.
“I have entrusted the Trainer with authority over your cunt, so discuss that matter with him yourselves.”
“........”
Even though they were speaking about her own cunt, Gentia said nothing.
“I look forward to meeting you here again. Trainer.”
Swish.
The Vampire Princess spread her wings and left.
In the blink of an eye, only Gentia and I remained in the chamber, and I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly for no particular reason.
“Hey, Gentia.”
“.......”
“The Vampire Princess put it that way, but I should explain properly before you misunderstand. When she spoke of authority over your cunt, she meant…”
“Are you going to fuck me?”
Gentia asked calmly.
“If you intend to rape me, then please be gentle and make sure it does not hurt.”
“.......”
“What is with that expression?”
“No, it’s just…”
Was it my imagination?
“I was wondering if all vampires started speaking so elegantly.”
“.......”
“To put what the Vampire Princess said more clearly, the main purpose was to prevent other units from picking a fight by trying to use your cunt or something like that.”
“Your cunt?”
“Yeah. It is essentially the Vampire Princess protecting you with her authority so that other men cannot recklessly try to fuck your body.”
“Who would try to fuck me?”
Gentia smiled bitterly.
Apparently, since the thing that caused her to abandon her humanity was the fact that she had been discarded by her husband, Gentia’s self-esteem had fallen quite low.
“…Seeing you like this, I almost wish I had kept Kite alive.”
“What?”
At my words, Gentia immediately glared at me and ground her teeth.
“What are you talking about…!”
“I should have kept that bastard alive, tied him up, and fucked you in front of him.”
“......What?”
“Exactly what I said.”
I carefully approached and stood facing Gentia.
“I should have shown him that the woman he had rejected had been reborn as such a beautiful vampire, let him experience firsthand that he would never be able to have sex with her again, and then killed him.”
“......Ha.”
Gentia’s gaze slipped down toward my lower half. She gave a snort of laughter and pushed me away.
“If you want to pounce on me, then rape me.”
“No.”
“You’re talking as though you would have sex with me the moment I said I wanted it…”
“I would.”
“.......”
“At least I’m confident I could play the role of a husband better than your former one.”
“…Pfft.”
Gentia laughed at me.
“Aren’t you planning to treat me as a fucktoy rather than a wife?”
“.......”
“If you need to later, you may put your cock inside me. The one who gave me this new life commanded it as well. I could do it if it were you, at least—not another man. However…”
“However?”
“I suppose I’ll have to draw some blood first.”
Gentia bared her fangs and grinned.
“Where is that bitch Maria?”