#166
At That Time, in the West (2)
The work of injecting "Refined Blood Essence" into the vampires of Yupeureuswi was proceeding smoothly.
The blood of Heinz II, who had achieved ultimate evolution by extracting only the dominant factors from vampires of all worlds.
The blood essence, from which even the toxic thoughts had been perfectly removed, was truly the greatest panacea for the vampires.
The moment it was injected into their bodies, it dramatically transformed the vampiric factors affected by it, instantly leading forth evolution that had stagnated for long years.
Of course, even the direction of specialization during that process could be guided to some extent by Heinz, the master of the blood essence.
The spacious underground space of the mansion.
"Guh...!"
"Haa— haa—."
Immediately after a single round of "Refined Blood Essence" transfusion was finished, Heinz swept his gaze over the vampires groaning under the aftereffects of evolution and nodded.
'As expected, to operate properly, I should first raise their immunity to the sun.'
It was something he had been concerned about since he first began using "Refined Blood Essence."
In fact, the Lesser Bloods, who comprised the majority of vampires, were so vulnerable to sunlight that unless they used special blood magic, they were subject to many restrictions when operating during the day.
If they were still living hidden in the shadows, perhaps such a weakness could be avoided somehow, but it was impossible to do so in a situation where they had decided to step onto the front stage.
Now that he had declared his territory, wasn't it only right to protect what must be protected?
'Even if I do this, it will be difficult to overcome it completely, but simply being able to mitigate the penalty should be enough for now. Every other stat will increase overall anyway.'
Moreover, even though vampires were a minority race living scattered about, once the members of two great clans gathered in one place, their numbers reached a level that could not be ignored.
Excluding servants and slaves, there were hundreds of Lesser Bloods alone who could be called knight-class, and all of them were now far stronger than before, so...
'There are dozens of Pure Bloods too. If it weren't for the war between the two clans that happened not long ago, there would have been a hundred.'
Heinz himself was the one who had killed the most vampires during that great mess, but he deliberately turned a blind eye to that truth and exited the basement door.
Creak—
"You have worked hard, Lord."
"Theodore, are the ones inside right now the ones who came from the south?"
"Yes, that's right. The south has also been chaotic these days, so their joining was a bit delayed. The only groups remaining now are the southeastern and far-eastern groups, who will arrive in a few days."
"Hmm, there truly isn't much left now."
He conversed with Theodore, who had been waiting beside the door, and walked down the corridor.
'Come to think of it, the Tribal Alliance has been a bit noisy lately. I should move Halli and pay them a visit soon.'
The south, bordered by deserts in terms of geography, was highly closed off and difficult to obtain information from in many ways, so there had been parts he had neglected, knowingly or unknowingly, until now.
Since they basically lived in tribal units, it was difficult for even vampires to infiltrate them, and as ill luck would have it, the shamans commonly spread throughout the south were the natural enemies of the ghosts Olivia handled.
'Hadn't I heard that they were a cut above priests when it came to handling souls? Ghosts whose thoughts were suppressed and whose intelligence had dropped would have limits in responding to their exorcism arts.'
Yet pouring more effort there was not worthwhile, for due to the barren environment, the population was not large, and being closed off, it was a backwater of negligible consequence that was difficult to abandon.
'To be honest, I was also putting it off, thinking that solving any problems there would be Halli's part to deal with.'
He had been postponing it for various reasons, but now that Halli had splendidly laid a foundation, it seemed he should gradually make plans to visit the south.
For it would make for a splendid tale of its own.
'Halli, who had become the hero's companion after a grand adventure, finally arrives at his hometown at heart, Kalkos. But what awaits him there...!'
Even while thinking such idle thoughts inwardly, Heinz, for whom multitasking had already become an everyday affair, conversed naturally with Theodore without revealing anything outwardly.
"How is the situation of the foreign branches?"
"We are organizing the children stationed outside to remain only in key points as much as possible. Of course, it goes without saying that we have replaced them all with those who have received the Lord's blessing. They have all grown so much that they have greatly helped in reducing the number of personnel needed at each branch."
Although they were gathering all their strength in the Kingdom of Tallia, it was a waste to throw away the foundations they had built up until now.
To maximize mobility through the Blood Gates, it was necessary to leave a certain number of blood kin in each region to some extent.
"We have also finished distributing them evenly throughout the Kingdom of Tallia. Since we have laid out the Blood Gates densely as well, we can now move anywhere within the kingdom immediately. Efficiency has also greatly improved—to the extent that we can move to nearby Lapella City without expending very large resources."
Theodore opened his mouth with a proud expression.
Since the Blood Gate was one of the unique blood magics possessed by the Yupeureuswi Clan, that attitude was only natural.
But Heinz, who roughly nodded in praise, was again lost in other thoughts...
'Lapella City... Come to think of it, wasn't that where Diana and her siblings were? It was about time I went to meet them.'
It was the place where the young siblings he had formed a connection with in the early days of his arrival in Auterica lived.
When they parted, he had said he would show his face about once a year, but quite a bit of time had passed since his last visit before he knew it.
'And it's not even that far away. Is this what people who have left home feel?'
He had never thought he would experience such a thing.
Feeling a subtle, nagging pang, he nodded.
It was a bit bothersome, but honestly, it wasn't a bad feeling.
'Strike while the iron is hot. Since I've thought of it, shall I go right now?'
The important matters at hand were roughly finished, and since the Blood Gate happened to be ready, it should be fine to try using it directly this time.
***
"Eh? Lord? W-welcome!"
"Welcome to Lapella City! Please head out this way!"
Magic circles made entirely of blood, and decorations including human skulls.
Heinz revealed himself from the blood-colored flow of air in the center of a room that looked like it could summon a demon at any moment, bowed his head briefly, waved once to the nervous people, and immediately strode outside.
'It certainly has a gloomy atmosphere befitting blood magic, but the method of use itself isn't that different from the Church's Gate.'
Exiting the hideout disguised as an ordinary house, the scenery of Lapella City, which was indeed familiar to him as well, unfolded before his eyes.
It was still an ordinary human city no different from before, but this place too would soon face a great change.
"...No matter how you look at it, isn't this too expensive? Please lower the price just a bit."
"You don't know anything, sir. It's the same everywhere because of the monsters right now!"
"Didn't I hear that our kingdom avoided the turmoil because the higher-ups handled it well?"
"Still, merchants transporting goods are being cautious, so it's inevitable for market prices to rise. The surrounding trade routes have been blocked as well."
The sounds of people bargaining over goods flowed into Heinz's ears.
Thanks to his efforts so far, the damage to the Kingdom of Tallia was less, but it was impossible to remain unaffected in these chaotic times.
Shadows of worry were cast on each person's face as they faced the reality that life had no choice but to become increasingly tough in many ways.
Naturally, they vented their dissatisfaction with the current situation, and as a result, resentment inevitably coalesced toward one being.
"It's all because of that so-called Hans, the Undead King."
"Come to think of it, there was a guy named Hans in my hometown too. He had an unusual look in his eyes from the start. And you'll never guess what happened..."
"Good heavens! Actually, the Hans I know too..."
Absolute evil that had descended upon this very world—the Undead King, Hans.
Heinz ignored the curses directed at 'Hans' coming from all around and strolled down the street with a hollow laugh.
He felt sorry for all the Hanses in the world, but he had given up on attempts to change his name long ago.
'I wonder what the point would be now. I really should have chosen a better name from the start.'
The name born when that desire reached its peak was the youngest child's name, "Hesperon."
It was a name that only came out after repeated research for a grand naming, eventually reaching even Greek mythology, but...
'Thinking about it now, that might have been trying too hard.'
Thinking back on it with a calm mind now, it seemed rather ostentatious, leaving him with mixed feelings.
While lost in such idle thoughts, leisurely taking in the city's scenery as he neared the grocery store run by Diana's uncle...
Crash— crumble!
"Oh my, stop! If you wreak havoc like this, what are we supposed to do!"
"Waaah—!"
"Come here, Lapiya. It's okay, it's okay. Hush!"
A noisy commotion was felt from the direction he was headed.
Not just that, but among the hubbub of many people speaking, the voices of those Heinz knew could be heard as well.
'What is this?'
The next moment.
Before anyone could notice, he had already naturally blended in among the crowd gathered in front of the grocery store.
"Tsk, what? You don't have any more hidden money?"
"Shall we take these first? We could still get a decent price if we sell the whole lot."
"Yeah, we might be able to pocket some later, so let's grab the expensive stuff first. Bring the cart!"
Six rugged men were wreaking havoc, ransacking the store.
Yet despite the commotion, the guards patrolling the commercial district could only scratch their heads with troubled expressions.
Heinz opened his ears wide to gather information from his surroundings in order to accurately grasp the situation.
And right then.
"You bastards! What kind of thuggery is this, coming all the way here!"
The shop owner, Bolt, with a haggard complexion, and Diana, who appeared to have called for him, rushed over, breathing roughly as they pushed through the crowd.
"Huh? You're here now, old man. What do you think, we came to collect the money."
"Didn't I say I would pay the rest back soon! What kind of behavior is this, coming to the store and preventing us from doing business!"
"Huh? We calculated it, and the money you paid last time barely covers the interest. Even if we wait longer, it'll be the same in the future, so we decided to just help ourselves."
"What nonsense is that!"
As the heated Bolt rushed at the men after the verbal exchange, one of them roughly shoved him to the ground.
"Urk!"
"Uncle!"
Diana supported the fallen man, and the rest of the family, who had been huddled together nearby, rushed to his side with tear-filled eyes.
"Sigh, look at us. We're treating you quite gentlemanly here, you know? Back in the day, we'd have grabbed the whole lot and...!"
"Hey, hey. There are guards."
"Tsk— ptui!"
The men glanced at the guards and resumed their work.
Listening to their conversation, it seemed they were thinking of selling the entire store off to someone else.
For the whole family making their living there, it was a bolt from the blue.
Bolt glared at the men with eyes full of resentment, biting his lip; his wife held the three children in her arms, swallowing her tears; Lapiya continued to burst into tears at the frightening atmosphere; and Aaron was preoccupied with comforting her.
And in that gap, Diana, who had grown a lot without him noticing, hung her head deeply, clenching her fists tightly and trembling all over.
'Hmm—the youngest daughter, Lapiya, fell ill with an unknown disease and they needed money urgently...'
Heinz combined the information gathered from the bystanders' conversations and calmly organized the situation.
Because of that, he had busily borrowed money from those around him and eventually even resorted to private lenders.
The reason the guards standing over there weren't intervening was also clear.
Absurdly, the men's actions weren't illegal thuggery but a "legitimate" debt collection action that had even been reported to the authorities in advance.
It seemed there was a government official over there covering for them.
'Goodness, there is no shortage of things that need fixing.'
This country was practically his, wasn't it?
Having just been filled with grand visions about how to best manage it, witnessing this situation left him in quite a foul mood.
Having sufficiently grasped the situation, Heinz dispelled the "Denial of Existence" that had been concealing his presence and slowly stepped forward.
"...Kng?"
Immediately after, Diana, who had been hanging her head deeply, flinched and sniffed.
And slowly raised her head, turning her tear-filled gaze this way.
"...Mister?"
A tearful voice filled with sorrow, yet unable to hide her joy.
It was a face that naturally evoked pity, but at that moment, Heinz was thinking something else.
'...An abnormal sense of smell, as always. No matter how I look at it, it's not an ability one can be simply born with.'
Before, he had accepted it because he didn't know much about this world, but now that he had experienced enough, he knew.
The ability Diana possessed was extremely alien even in this world.
Even now, while leading quite a large force, he had never heard of anyone with an ability similar to Diana's.
...Yes, excluding the "Unique Skills" of the Awakeners from Earth.
'But Diana isn't from Earth. Hmm, as expected, I should keep her by my side and watch her a bit more.'
Harboring such inner thoughts.
Heinz II stepped forward with a cold smile.