The Founder's return heated up the Castle of the Full Moon for days. The elders who had lamented that they would not be able to see the Founder in this lifetime were moved to tears, repeatedly dabbing their eyes with handkerchiefs, and curious children loitered around the castle, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Founder's face even from afar. There was neither the fear they ought to feel toward vampires, nor the powerlessness of humans being dominated. There was only peace among the humans. I wonder if this is how a flock of sheep feels looking beyond the fence.
The vampires rejoiced with deep emotion, but the underlying feelings were slightly different. Some who knew of the Elder's death feared that something might happen. And the vampires who had not received news of the Elder's death...
"The Founder's..."
"...concubine!"
They looked at me with curiosity, and whenever I passed by, they would close their mouths and whisper.
I mean, stop calling me a concubine. It makes the human listening feel bad. I am not a concubine, I am here strictly as a guest who bestowed favor upon Tir...
"Hugh!"
Tir recognized me from the other end of the corridor and approached me joyfully. His gentle expression was full of goodwill, and his slightly quickened pace revealed his elated mood. The vampires managing the Founder's castle covered their mouths in shock at the Founder's unfamiliar reaction.
'For the Founder to smile at a mere human!'
'For a thousand years, let alone a concubine, he hasn't even put his lips to a human's body...! Just how delicious must the blood be!'
No, this makes it impossible to deny that I'm a concubine. Have some dignity befitting the Founder. Stop showing that you like me.
My inner voice did not reach him. Wearing comfortable everyday clothes instead of the dress I usually saw him in, Tir approached me as familiarly as his light attire.
"You woke up early. Did you sleep well? Were there any discomforts?"
"It was so dark all around that I didn't even know morning had come. Sorry for sleeping in... Huh? Early?"
"If you opened your eyes after just a day, that's early. For vampires, it's common to lie down for a month before opening their eyes."
"That's by vampire standards. If we humans sleep for more than 12 hours, we start suspecting we might be dead. If it exceeds 24 hours? We just hold a funeral."
"By your standards, we are already dead."
"That's right. Vampires are the perfect example showing that this standard is correct."
"Heh. Indeed."
'Is this pleasant feeling from just conversing because my heart has been revived, or is it because of Hugh...? Maybe there's no need to distinguish. All these emotional stirrings are gifts from Hugh.'
If you listen to his inner thoughts, he really is a concubine. But it sounds a bit weird. It's like being a gigolo.
"We agreed to look at the materials together today. I was feeling sorry that it seemed delayed because of me, so you should have woken me up."
"How could I wake you when you were sleeping so soundly? Looking at the materials can be done slowly. It is not a matter of urgency."
"Huh? But it's a murder case. Isn't it urgent?"
"It is the top priority to handle. However, Ruskinia has been dead for over 10 years. Rushing won't change anything."
Is this really something the Founder should say?
Even in the Abyss, Tir's words and actions exuded a sense of leisure. He never rushed, and he spoke as if a week or a month passed in an instant. I didn't realize it well because we were inside the Abyss back then, but coming to the Fog Duchy, I understand.
The entire nation is leisurely.
There is nothing urgent. Vampires lie around without being pressed by time, occasionally strolling the streets to toss out Red Gold Coins and drink blood. Humans engage in economic activities with the Red Gold Coins, the price of their blood. They go to ranches or fisheries to exchange them for food, or look at goods brought by wandering merchant guilds and purchase them. The Red Gold Coins spent return to the vampires in all sorts of forms.
When I hadn't seen it, I thought it was a hell on earth. But the Fog Duchy I saw directly was a pastoral land of livestock. Like drifting clouds, like growing vegetation.
With a large fence between humans and vampires.
"All the evidence must have already disappeared. This is troublesome. How are we supposed to investigate like this?"
"If you're talking about evidence, isn't it still there? There are plenty of vampires who remember what happened back then."
"Testimony always needs supporting physical evidence, doesn't it?"
"Physical evidence... too?"
I felt an unusual premonition from Tir tilting his head. Physical evidence. Something naturally needed when passing a judgment, an object that explains the truth of the case. It's natural to demand it.
But for Tir, the judge, to tilt his head?
"I'm really curious, but how were you planning to conduct the trial?"
"I listen to both of their stories. After that, I pick the suspicious one and punish them. That's all."
"That's all? Is that enough?"
"What more must be done? Would a vampire of the duchy dare to speak falsehoods before me?"
"What if they do? Do you have mind-reading skills or something?"
When I immediately asked back, Tir asked back, perhaps with a slight drop in confidence.
"...Don't they pass judgments in that way these days?"
'Has the way of passing judgments changed while I was unaware? I don't know what hasn't changed at all.'
"It's somewhat similar these days too. But for an important case, it seems like you're investigating it too roughly."
Even if the military state's judges hand down excessive punishments compared to the crimes, they also require evidence. Even if they storm in unexpectedly after hearing a neighbor's report, if they can't find what they want, they just let it go. If they were to arbitrarily arrest people even when they followed the military state's orders, they would ignore strict punishment principles or whatever and simply go around committing crimes themselves.
Because a judgment is the state's right to exact revenge, not something that prevents incidents from happening. Whether it's justice or the rule of law, the trust that it will be realized is important. In that sense, the Elder's death case must also be approached carefully, in a trustworthy manner.
"It's not like children fighting; it's the death of an important figure, so we should uncover the truth as much as possible. We should listen to testimonies but not blindly believe them, investigate for contradictions, and then pass down the judgment, shouldn't we?"
"...Umm."
'I was going to spend some peaceful time with Hugh and then handle the work. We could have spent about a year of harmonious daily life.'
A year isn't just "some time." By then, shouldn't we be worrying about the statute of limitations?
I decided to stay, but I have no intention of just killing time. I said to Tir.
"I agreed to help, so let's put our heads together and think."
"Together... If that's the case. Let's put our heads together and think... Together, I mean. Hehe."
"Yes. Before we look at the materials... I'd like to hear a story from you, Tir. Who Ruskinia was, and who could have killed him."
"The materials should be in my audience chamber, so let's talk as we go there."
Tir led the way ahead. Two vampire maids were bowing their heads in the corridor with their mouths covered, but Tir passed by them as if they were folding screens.
The Castle of the Full Moon is a massive ancient castle over 10 stories high. For a human, it had hard floors and high ceilings enough to worry about joint health, but for vampires who could swim through darkness, it wasn't much of a problem.
Above all, the bricks of this castle were hardened by pouring human blood when they were built. The darkness filling the corridor was not the absence of light, but the Founder's power. In this ancient castle created by the balance of all kinds of authorities, vampires could find their way around even with their eyes closed, like bats in a cave.
Tir guided me to the Founder's audience chamber at the highest point of the ancient castle. I wondered if we were going to walk all the way up, but fortunately, a red carpet supported me and floated up lightly.
It's comfortable and nice, but. This red color is probably also... Hmm.
While the carpet was moving, Tir began to explain.
"Ruskinia is a Blood Qi Master. It might be hard to grasp if I say it like this, so to put it more clearly... He was one who combined Blood Shaping Art and Qi Gong to repair and improve human flesh."
"Repair and improve? The flesh?"
"Yes. Crushing muscles and regenerating them, breaking bones and reattaching them. By doing so, he gradually made the flesh stronger, piece by piece. On top of that, he reproduced Qi Gong with Blood Shaping Art, pioneering the field of Blood Qi, and is the grandmaster of the Blood Qi lineage. He had outstanding knowledge in many fields, and I used to learn a lot from him as well."
"If he crushed muscles and broke bones... Can I consider it similar to Lord Kabila?"
"No. At a glance they may seem similar, but the two were exact opposites. From abilities to tendencies."
Tir pondered for a moment how to explain this, then spoke.
"Kabila combined black magic and delved into puppetry that utilized dominion. To Kabila, puppets are her works and objects of affection and care. And the humans under Kabila's protection are no different from Kabila's puppets."
"That's kind of scary. Thinking of humans like puppets."
"Hugh, it might be hard for you to accept, but Kabila is one of the kindest Elders to humans. She doesn't kill humans privately, and she fulfills what they desire with all her heart and sincerity. Also, Kabila's Dragon Fang Soldiers were created to do dangerous tasks on behalf of humans. In the most dangerous workplaces in the Fog Duchy, they deploy Dragon Fang Soldiers."
Is that so? Come to think of it, when coming here, they used Dragon Fang Soldiers to cook in the carriage. Cooking is for the living. It means Kabila at least had the consideration to care for human palates.
Even in Claudia, only Kabila paid attention to the Thunder Guardians one by one and killed them. One might ask how that is kind, but compared to Rungken, who searched for strong opponents regardless of who was under his feet, or Valdamir, who only treated them as 'military force'... Kabila was somewhat more human. That's why she had the least presence.
Recalling my memories, I asked back at a sudden thought.
"Wait a moment. You said the late Lord Ruskinia was the exact opposite of Lord Kabila? If Lord Kabila is the kindest Elder, then the late Lord Ruskinia...?"
"Your guess is correct. Ruskinia was the harshest Elder towards humans. To refine Blood Qi, he didn't hesitate to tear humans apart alive, and would break bones and muscles under the pretext of 'improvement'."
"Wow. It's a bit wrong to say this, but should I say I'm glad the dead Elder was him? I might have been dissected too."
"As long as you don't want to die, why would I do such a thing to my honored guest. Anyway, Ruskinia was notorious even among vampires for causing resentment. It was because he killed too many humans, causing a shortage of blood."
"No matter how much I dig, there's only horror..."
It's ironic that the one who inherited his True Blood is the Divine Physician. No, perhaps because he served as a negative example, she became even more focused on saving people.
"Therefore, his bloodline possesses the ability to uniquely manipulate their bodies with Blood Qi. Like Ayn Jazzra you saw last time, they can flutter their cloaks like wings to fly, or twist their leg bones and muscles to jump high into the sky. If you see someone using their body bizarrely, keep in mind they are Ruskinia's bloodline."
"I'm not sure about the standard for bizarre. I even know a vampire who split his own chest and showed me his heart."
"Were there not circumstances then? Thanks to that, you also formed a connection with me."
Tir, who gave a cold rebuke, continued speaking.
"However, no matter how much resentment he drew, an Elder is an Elder. Ruskinia's power was earth-shattering, and his regenerative ability was unrivaled. Neither vampire nor human would dare even think of harming him."
"But they did harm him, right?"
"...That is so."
"Since it has already happened, such assumptions are meaningless. Now, someone killed the Elder. Then the culprit must possess the means to kill an Elder. Tir. What is the way to kill an immortal Elder?"
Even Tir needed a long time to ponder this. While the blood-red carpet brought us to the front of Tir's audience chamber, Tir, who had been thinking deeply, opened his mouth with difficulty.
"Even an immortal Elder can reach soul annihilation if their very existence becomes faint. For example, this probably isn't it, but if he were subdued and thrown deep into the Sea of Monstrous Beasts, his body would scatter into the sea and disappear forever."
"That would be so. If it touches the salt water of the sea, blood will seep out, and the sea monsters smelling the scent of blood will swarm from all directions. The sea itself is like a giant beast. If swallowed by it... it will be completely digested and unable to be found."
"Or, after tearing the entire body to shreds, if left under terrifyingly powerful sunlight for about a week, it would suffer irreversible damage."
"Because sunlight changes all things. If dried in the sun with a vampire's body exposed, even an Elder would be in danger."
Vampires are immortal but not invincible. Sunlight, garlic, running water. There are reasons why vampires hate those things. If severe enough, they can threaten a vampire's very existence.
However...
"But that wouldn't be the cause of death, right?"
Tir made an admiring interjection and looked at me with eyes full of expectation.
"Amazing. Why do you think so?"
"Because a vampire who inherited the True Blood has appeared."
Ruskinia died, but a new Elder who inherited his True Blood appeared. Lir Nightingale. Not yet, but in the regressor's future, she is an Elder who will be called the Divine Physician. Lir certainly handled Blood Shaping Art enough to proudly call herself an Elder.
It is an undeniable fact that she inherited the True Blood. If so.
"The fact that the True Blood was passed down means that it wasn't falling into the sea or being burned by sunlight... It's right to assume that someone attacked and brought down the Elder, and then took the True Blood with Blood Shaping Art superior to the Elder's."
Dun dun. The culprit is a vampire. This is the bloody truth I have reached.
Hughes, the King of Humans, could demonstrate this level of deduction with only this much of a clue. Tir sincerely admired my deduction.
'As expected of Hugh. I thought it would be difficult to grasp vampire affairs even for the King of Humans, but the expectation was pleasantly missed... Perhaps, Hugh might uncover the truth about Ruskinia's death.'
...Uh, since you read my mind, please don't blindly believe me.