Chapter 3 True Vampire Ancestor

　　"Don't you worry, although the guild can't get this money now, it will always be returned to you."

　　Hector, the head of the vampire hunter's guild "Stigmata Skin", wiped away his sweat and tried to calm down the well-dressed and dignified nobleman in front of him.

　　It was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

　　Those gutsy little bastard hunters had actually captured humans and almost burned people as vampires!

　　And I can't believe I didn't figure it out myself before I filled up military funds with such a large sum of money from people and spent it!

　　In jurisprudence, the Guild can dispose of vampire property as it pleases, but it cannot encroach on human property, charging at most a portion of the salvage fee.

　　But a male like this who could put thirty large gold coins on his body as pocket money was either a wealthy merchant or a powerful aristocrat, and the guild would rather not collect the salvage fee than have a good relationship!

　　He wiped his sweat as he peeked at the nobleman.

　　If people must get this money back, even if they return the purchased supplies now, the liquidated damages paid in between will kill them.

　　It's a good thing Edward isn't in a big hurry to recover the money.

　　He's all alone now, and it's a dangerous thing to have such a large sum of money on him.

　　As long as we make sure we can recover it, it's not a bad idea to send it to this vampire hunter's guild for the time being.

　　He looked at the mountain of supplies, thought for a moment, and said:

　　"Tell you what, can this money be used as a loan from me to your guild?"

　　The chief steward was very happy to hear that, "Of course, that's great!"

　　"Then let's discuss the repayment and make a contract."

　　"Okay."

　　The finalized repayment period is three years, with an interest rate of 10 gold coins per month, not compounded.

　　This rate is slightly lower than the interest rate on borrowing at the Bank of Constantine, the

　　"However, I'm broke now and need to spend some of it up front for renting a house in the neighborhood and for keeping up with daily expenses." Edward said.

　　It was actually a considerable expense, and the Master Chief nodded, but was considering how many days a nobleman would be able to spend out of the funds left in the guild right now.

　　Evelie had been listening to the duo's bargaining in a docile manner from the side, when she suddenly interjected, "If you have nowhere else to go right now, you can actually stay in the guild first, the rooms here are more comfortable than the usual inns outside, and they can also provide cleaner food than outside."

　　Edward's eyes lit up; that was indeed a good piece of advice.

　　Comfortable rooms and clean food were secondary to the benefits of living in this large fortress: safety.

　　He was wearing a gorgeous dress, if he went alone to rent a cheap house, he would definitely be targeted by people with good intentions. Being robbed was not a problem, and one might fear for one's life.

　　It would be fine to live in a safe, wealthy neighborhood or hire bodyguards, but while six thousand gold coins was a lot of startup money, he hadn't mastered the art of making money in this world yet, so he had to be frugal with his spending.

　　So Edward decided to take Evely's advice.

　　He looked to Chief Hector and asked, "Can I stay here?"

　　Hector nodded repeatedly, "Of course."

　　"Then the costs incurred for my food and lodging ...."

　　The chief steward listened and immediately estimated.

　　The guild originally fed a large group of vampire hunters, and the cost of purchasing food in large quantities was low enough that an extra mouth required little expenditure.

　　And there are many vacant rooms in the fort that are not used and just sit there gathering dust, so the expense in this regard is negligible.

　　Thinking of this, he said, "The cost is low if you eat and live with us, five Constantine gold coins per month is enough."

　　Edward was quite pleasantly surprised to hear that the interest alone would be enough to cover what he thought might need to be deducted from the principal.

　　"Then let's add this clause to the contract, 'My board and lodging shall be provided by your guild during the execution of the contract, and the required expenses shall be deducted from the interest.'"

　　With that, Chief Steward Haight quickly drew up a deed and placed it in Edward's hands.

　　The more expensive parchment used for the contract was filled with this world's writing, Edward had thought he couldn't read it, but with a sweep of his eyes, the meaning of those words floated autonomously into his mind.

　　Come to think of it, he could speak and communicate with people in this world without any obstacles, and it wasn't surprising that he could read the words of this world.

　　It's mostly a perk of crossing over as well.

　　After confirming that the terms were correct, the head steward presented a quill dipped in ink for Edward to sign his name.

　　"I'm using a temporary name now that I've lost my memory, is that okay?"

　　"Of course there's no problem, you can revise the contract at any time after your memory is restored." The Chief Steward had already treated Edward as an honored guest.

　　Edward then wrote "Kayne" in fancy script on the deed with a quill pen.

　　The Chief Steward took the deed, then carefully tore it in half, and after returning the half belonging to Edward, he solemnly put away the half belonging to the Guild.

　　"Although I'll be able to make the call on this matter, I still need to report it to the Guildmaster, so please wait."

　　After saying that, the Chief Steward walked quickly into the fortress. He quickly came out in a short while.

　　"The Guildmaster agreed and thanked you."

　　"You're welcome."

　　"Please follow me, I have arranged a most comfortable room for you."

　　The Chief Steward led Edward, to a spacious room on the second floor of the fortress.

　　The room was very plainly furnished for a modern man from the Blue Planet, and the buckskin-covered bed didn't look very comfortable, but it was better than very clean.

　　More abrupt is the large ornate screen placed in the corner of the room, isolating the toilet and tub, which is out of place in the plain decor of the entire room, and is clearly a trophy acquired from a vampire.

　　"My room is right next door to the next one, so if you have any problems you can go to me." Evely, who had been trailing over, was ready to go back when she saw that Edward had settled in.

　　"Yes, thank you."

　　"It will be dinner time in a few moments, and your dinner will be brought over by a squire. You can find me if you have any problems all the same." Chief Steward Hite finished this and left with Ivory.

　　After being left alone, Edward walked over to the bed and lay down on all fours.

　　The first day full of twists and turns after the crossing should be behind us.

　　Although he was almost killed as a vampire, he was blessed with a place to stay.

　　The next step is to make a plan to utilize the resources of the Vampire Hunter's Guild to gather intelligence, learn new things, and learn more about the world.

　　Most importantly: get stronger.

　　In such a barbaric world, only the strong, could survive.

　　Just as he was rattling off plans in his head, one of the attendants knocked on the door, brought dinner, and thoughtfully helped Edward light the oil lamp in his room.

　　If it weren't for this move by the squire, Edward wouldn't have even realized how late it was getting.

　　He then realized that his eyesight was unusually strong, and he could still clearly discern things in the dark.

　　But the world seemed to take on an extra layer of color when the oil lamps were lit.

　　The food delivered was these: bread baked on rye, a piece of roasted meat with only coarse salt as an accompaniment, and a few slices of raw cabbage.

　　Plus a small glass of cider.

　　It was actually pretty good food in Constantine, but for Edward, it was only barely palatable.

　　And, even though he hadn't eaten all day, he didn't feel any hunger.

　　He only finished the coleslaw, took one bite of the bread, and ate half of the roast.

　　The sweet cider was tempting to ask for another glass, but it was more than likely not going to be rationed extra.

　　When the valet came over to collect the dishes and the rest of the food, Edward realized that the most torturous part of the day had just begun.

　　He hadn't noticed this when he was laboring and running around, and only when he was idle did he realize the seriousness of the problem.

　　No power, no internet, no cell phone.

　　The worst part is that you're obviously tired after a long day and you're still not sleepy at all!

　　It's also good that it's not just a time to numb yourself with entertainment.

　　Edward gritted his teeth and went to find Chief Hector.

　　"Excuse me, do you have any books here that I can borrow?"

　　It's a long night with no desire to sleep, so study hard and get better every day!

　　Half an hour later, Edward emerged from the Skin of the Stigmata library satisfied.

　　An attendant followed him, holding a thick stack of books.

　　After delivering the book to Edward's room, the squire shook off his sore arm and left.

　　Edward picked up one of the books at the top of the stack.

　　The Origins of Vampirism.

　　He casually put the book aside. Picked up the following book.

　　Despite being in the vampire hunter's guild, he was in no hurry to learn about vampires.

　　Vampires were very powerful magical creatures, and he himself, as a small rookie entering the new world, was far from qualified to challenge them.

　　Picked up this book just to read at my leisure to find something in common with vampire hunters.

　　However, having put the book aside, he didn't realize for the moment the little prank Evely had pulled in naming him.

　　The first line within Vampire Origins reads, "The bloodline of the bloodthirsty originates from Lilith, the antichrist. The Blood Ancestor Trinity has three faces and three names, Lilith, Kayne, and Abel."

　　And at this moment, in the far north of the continent, in the capital city of the New Vermilion Nights Empire, Fort Transylvania, the third True Vampire Ancestor whose name was recorded in The Origin of Vampires, the empress of the New Vermilion Nights Empire, Abel Bartolis Tsepesh, was seated on the Throne of Blood in the Visiting Hall of the Imperial Palace.

　　The Third True Vampire Ancestor, who had actually lived for thousands of years, looked like a sixteen or seventeen year old girl, with long blonde hair coiled up in a gorgeous bun, glistening against a dark red silk dress. The skin is a healthy pink color. The flawless features were characterized by a holy beauty.

　　Although she had a girlish and delicate face, the Third True Vampire Ancestor sitting high on the throne carried a cold and thorough majesty of her own. There was not a trace of expression in her blood-red eyes as she listened attentively to the report of her dependents who were half-kneeling below the throne.

　　The ducal vampire lowered his head, his tone a little nervous, "I have confirmed that the seal in the old capital has been lifted."

　　"Oh? After sleeping for a hundred years, elder brother is finally impatient?"

　　"Your Majesty, should we send troops forward to exterminate them? After all, that one is a rebel, and Lilith-sama was also killed by him..."

　　"Is it your turn to intervene in this matter?" The True Vampire Ancestor, who looked like a young girl, laughed coldly and continued, "Eradicate? Even if I send all of you out, plus I also personally take action, can I beat my elder brother?"

　　That duke was covered in a cold sweat as he listened, and trembling, he said, "Please forgive me for my trespassing."

　　He knew that there were many unknown secrets in the mutation a hundred years ago. Nowadays, looking at the Queen's attitude towards that person, I'm afraid that the truth is not at all what the outside world has been told.

　　"Okay, I'll spare you, go on, what's the whereabouts of the elder brother now?"

　　"There are...there are reports that the one..."

　　"Just call it by its old name."

　　"Yes, it has been reported that His Majesty Kayne, along with a group of lower-level Nightwalkers, was captured by humans into the city of Constan...er, into Valenvinia."

　　The Duke had made another big mistake in his panic; although the city of Valenvania, now renamed Constantine, was no longer a territory of the Jubilee Empire, Her Majesty still held the title of Queen of Valenvania among her long list of titles.

　　It is high treason to misuse the name of the Queen's domain as a term of contempt taken by humans!

　　But Her Majesty was apparently unconcerned that the Duke had mistaken the old name of the city; she was more concerned with the first half of the sentence.

　　So much so that even her originally expressionless eyes now showed fluctuations of emotion, that of shock and disbelief, "What are you talking about? A brother who is invincible in the world would be captured by a weak human?!"

　　"I...I agree that this matter is unthinkable. Eyes in the city report that His Majesty Kayne appears to have disguised himself as a human and then entered the local 'Skin of the Stigmata' guild."

　　Hearing these reports, the fluctuations of emotion in the Queen's eyes disappeared and calmness was restored.

　　"I know, say something else."

　　The Duke reported a few other things and excused himself.

　　After the Queen herself was left in the Visitation Hall, Abel dropped the dignified image of the Queen and her whole body sagged.

　　She propped one hand on the arm of her throne and propped her head up, frowning to herself, "That stupid brother."

　　She had received the report about the "Stigmata Skin" before, and knew that the guild was hiding the "remains".

　　This elder brother, who sealed himself for a hundred years and now suddenly came out of the world, most likely went after the "remains".

　　"And bother disguising yourself as a human, if you want to get that thing, just blow the whole town away with a nuclear strike magic!"

　　Edward, who was far away in Constantine at the moment, naturally did not know what the third True Vampire Ancestor was thinking.

　　He was bitterly clutching a copy of Teaching Elementary Holy Magic, struggling to attempt the simplest of exorcisms.

　　The book was placed just below the Origins of the Vampire, and according to the instructions inside, the magic written in the book seemed to be very simple to learn, as long as one knew the words.

　　But Edward couldn't get it to work anyhow.

　　"Damn, why is magic so hard in this world? Is it because I don't have magic power? Obviously the incantations and gestures are correct, but I can't always release the 'Golden Light Bullet' as stated in the book? Even if I fail, what's with this burning sensation on my hands!"