Kavila stopped only after causing a huge ruckus. She moved all the humans who had nearly died to the back, and used her dragon tooth soldiers to gather the seafood strewn across the tidal flats. The dragon tooth soldiers wielding bone claws were less dexterous than humans, but they had enough discernment to distinguish and collect the stunned fish.
A sea monster is a crisis, but also an opportunity. Amid the great changes wrought by the giant of the sea, humans have the wisdom to reap the spoils. Sea creatures struck by the fins of the cloud stingray were swept in with the tsunami, stunned, and all humans had to do to get them was bend down and pick them up. From fish they had never seen before to hermit crabs and lobsters. Today’s harvest from the tidal flats was enormous.
Watching from higher ground, I let out a whistle without realizing it.
“Whoa. An Elder can even fight a tsunami and win.”
“She should be able to do at least that. She’s from a force that once vied with the Holy Emperor Office, you know~.”
“Hilde. Who would win if a Six Star General fought an Elder?”
It was a classic versus matchup men love so much. Hilde narrowed her eyes and asked back.
“Father, are you a child?”
“I am one of the few young people in this land, after all.”
“Who would be crazy enough to fight an Elder to win? Even if you hit one, it won’t die.”
She dismissed it as a childish question, but Hilde was part of the Military State’s Public Security Department. There was no way she wouldn’t compare the military strength of nations—especially when a neighboring country used human blood as a resource. Hilde grumbled,
“Six Star Generals are those who have reached the pinnacle of human talent. With the Military State’s unreserved support, if a Six Star General resolved to die and burned all their talent… they might surpass an Elder for a single moment.”
Because they are living humans, and because they can change in a short time. If all that power and change were focused on a single point, a strike reaching the peak of mastery would reach even an Elder. Hilde was certain of that.
“But an Elder still wouldn’t die.”
Nevertheless, that they could not win was Hilde’s—and by extension the Military State’s—weakness.
The power of vampires is close to the mystical. No matter how outstanding one’s talent or how polished one’s skills, killing them requires power comparable to the mystical.
Unfortunately, the Military State has nothing of the sort. The only such power… is the holy blade forged by the Saintess, the Heavenly Spear Eimedere. Even that is bound by the crippling restriction of requiring the Signal Corps’ power within the Military State’s territory.
“Fortunately, the Elders don’t leave the Mist Duchy~. Outside the Mist Duchy, there’s no darkness to block the sunlight or the Holy Emperor Office’s foresight. To vampires, the world outside without mist is pitch-black darkness. So if the Mist Duchy wants to project power, it needs connections to the outside.”
“And the Military State intends to do that, right? Using me as the link.”
“It’s a grand-scale operation, but don’t misunderstand? Even without a connection to Tirkancaka, you’re more than valuable enough on your own, Father!”
“Thanks. That was oddly comforting.”
Anyway, so the target of my investigation from now on is that kind of monster? Everyone knows I’m Tir’s concubine, so they won’t attack me… but if things go wrong, it could be dangerous, so I’d better be careful.
“If an Elder tries to kill me, burn away all your life force and stop them, even if just for a moment.”
“So you brought ‘me’ along as a bodyguard?!”
“Among other reasons.”
I approached Kavila.
Kavila was in the middle of distributing the seafood the dragon tooth soldiers had brought. Humans with wicker baskets kept thanking her as they received their share. Kavila answered half-heartedly, handing out fish without any particular feeling.
It was not an act to feel rewarded or to revel in superiority. Vampires cannot be moved by such trivial emotions. It was simply, purely, a habit ingrained in her body.
Though she grumbled, Kavila personally used her hands.
“Sister has returned, and here I am doing this…. Here, next.”
At the next turn, I quietly stepped forward and held out a basket. Kavila’s face brightened for a moment… then immediately went cold as she answered.
“Sister!… What. You didn’t come with her?”
“Yes, I’m alone right now.”
“I thought you came together. How useless. Why is a concubine wandering about all alone instead of staying by sister’s side? Do your proper duty of comforting her.”
To her grumbling, I lowered my voice and whispered.
“I have something urgent to say about the late Ruskinia.”
“With what right do you speak?”
“As Tir’s concubine.”
From beside me, I heard a voice say, ‘He’s now naturally calling himself that~,’ but I ignored it.
Kavila’s expression soured even more as she looked around. The fishermen were watching us with eyes full of curiosity.
“Let’s move somewhere else.”
East of the Full Moon Castle. The Blood Weaving Workshop, Kavila’s domain.
At first glance, it was no different from any ordinary textile workshop. Clack, clack. The sound of spinning wheels turning regularly, and red thread being woven tightly into red cloth. Up to this point, it looked like a common sight found anywhere.
…if only it weren’t dragon tooth soldiers turning the wheels.
Bones turning the spinning wheel. Bones winding the thread. Bones weaving the cloth. The sight of things that would need skin before clothes weaving cloth was grotesque, almost laughable.
Going further in, an even more bizarre sight appeared. All kinds of bones and hides were neatly displayed on the walls. Quite a few looked human. Countless bones and hides were threaded or tied with red thread, making them look like they had been caught in a spider’s web.
The identity of that red thread was blood thread (血絲) spun from blood. It was Kavila’s power, and the reason she was called the Blood Weaver.
She controlled the dragon tooth soldiers by wrapping the blood thread around bones or embedding it in their core. The giant spinal bone Kavila had controlled earlier was also moved through Blood Manipulation Art, with the blood thread threaded through it.
After leading me inside, Kavila turned and spoke to her retainer.
“Cheisi. Wait outside. Don’t let anyone in.”
“Yes, Lady Kavila.”
Cheisi obeyed Kavila’s order without a shred of doubt or curiosity. Kavila then pointed at Hilde and said,
“You, wait outside too.”
“What? ‘I’ am Father’s bodyguard, you know?”
“Do you think I would harm the concubine my sister has taken? The most dangerous one here is you. Take care of your own body.”
She meant that she couldn’t harm me, but if things went wrong, she might attack Hilde. Hilde grumbled and walked outside. Soon, only Kavila and I remained.
Kavila placed a doll on the table, sat herself on a chair as if climbing onto it, and spoke with a sullen expression.
“Is this something sister ordered?”
“No. Tir didn’t send me.”
“Tch, so envious. You’re the only one who gets to call her by a pet name….”
Grumbling, Kavila used her blood thread to move the bear doll. The doll sprang up on the table and pointed at me accusingly.
“The death of Ruskinia is none of your business! This is a matter for the Duchy, so just take good care of the blood you give to sister. Don’t smoke mana herbs, don’t drink alcohol, and go easy on greasy food!”
“You even worry about the little things. How kind.”
“Wha—? Don’t be ridiculous. There isn’t a single drop of reason for me to care about you. I did it for sister! This is not advice; it’s a warning. It’s necessary to maintain the taste of your blood! You should work at it while your blood still tastes decent; if you get discarded later and regret it, it’ll be too late!”
That too was a pure, shameless honesty.
Kavila wasn’t worried about me; she was worried about Tir, who would feed on me. She was sincerely giving advice in case the taste of my blood changed.
I was already known to have tasteless blood, so it didn’t matter though.
“Well, let’s say that’s the case.”
“Don’t just ‘let’s say’ it! It’s important! Sister has never once taken a human concubine before. You have to do your best so that sister can enjoy you from head to toe!”
“I’ve decided to put in that effort by visiting Tir’s room later tonight.”
“Wha—? Sister’s room…?”
‘Even I’ve never set foot there… What are you going to do there? Could it be, she’s going to bite your neck…?’
Startled, Kavila clutched the doll tightly and began imagining the most shameless thing she could. In her imagination, Tir was embracing me, gently holding my neck….
…Well, for a vampire without sensation, that would probably be the most shameless thing one could do.
“Being a concubine doesn’t necessarily mean giving blood. The reason I became Tir’s concubine is because I fulfilled her wish.”
“Fulfilled her wish? A mere thing like you?”
“Have you already forgotten what I am?”
Kavila glared at me from behind the doll and said,
“The human king? But I heard you’re a has-been.”
“Cough. You hit a sore spot.”
“They said you don’t even have the power of a beast king. Looking at you now, I feel nothing at all.”
“Unfortunately, that’s true. However, Tir is also human. I dimly understood what Tir wanted, and thanks to that, I secured this concubine position. Something no other Elder could achieve.”
“Urgh… jealous, no, so unfair….”
Kavila liked Tir. No, all Elders had no choice but to revere and worship Tir. For vampires, only a higher-ranking vampire could make them feel something. Elders were the same; to feel the pull of blood, they needed the Progenitor.
But now that Tir had lost her dominance….
“And now. I have a vague realization of what’s worrying Tir.”
If things go wrong, I might be in danger. I need to emphasize my backing more clearly. I said, mixing in a bit of fabrication,
“Perhaps there’s an Elder behind Ruskinia’s death.”
Kavila’s expression turned icy.