“Lady Lilith, how about I take a long vacation later, and we go on a trip together?”
“Sure, where would you go, Cecilim?”
“How about Lorar? I heard you can see the sea there.”
“The sea, huh? The sea can be quite dangerous…”
“Lorar has a Saintess of the Great Elemental Lord watching over it, so the sea there isn’t as dangerous as you might think.”
“A Saintess, huh… Then there’s really nothing to worry about.”
“Mm-hmm! If you don’t like the sea, Lady Lilith, how about we go to the great mountains of Keshak? It’s like spring all year round, and you can see snow-capped peaks!”
“Hmm… There are all sorts of troublesome things in the mountains, too.”
“As long as we’re careful and follow the local guidebook’s precautions, nothing should happen, right? Or does Lady Lilith prefer staying home with me?”
“It’s fine. Wherever you want to go, I’ll go with you. Even if we run into danger, I can protect you completely.”
A young girl in love always seems to have endless things to say to the object of her affection, chattering like a melodious oriole singing by one’s ear.
It’s a bit noisy, but it brings a sense of comfort.
Lilith was more than happy to listen to the person now embracing her, eagerly talking about their future plans together.
She had always been especially patient with adorable girls.
But she felt that traveling in this chaotic world… wasn’t exactly the best idea.
She had been to too many places.
Beyond the cities, the wilderness was practically a dance of demons and monsters.
In areas outside the protective barriers, a single misstep could lead to breaking some bizarre rule, plunging someone into a deadly otherworldly realm… or being haunted by some anomaly.
Lilith vaguely recalled the scenes she witnessed when she first arrived in this world, wandering through its lands…
Humans struggled desperately to survive in all sorts of perilous situations.
A single mistake could mean not seeing tomorrow’s sun, or even the destruction of an entire settlement by some inexplicable horror.
Yet humans were remarkably resilient creatures, with an extraordinary ability to adapt to their environment.
Step by step, Lilith watched as sentient beings thrived on this treacherous, ever-changing land, developing and building their own city-states.
Over the years, humans had learned to avoid or confront most dangerous anomalies.
The roar of magical trains, like veins, connected every great city-state.
Clerics of the Church, truth-seeking mages, anomaly investigators… countless heroes, one after another, carved a path forward for sentient beings in this terrifying world.
The rules summarized through the blood of predecessors, and the methods to combat anomalous phenomena, were so well-known that even a beggar in the slums could recite them by heart.
Nowadays, outside the city-states, in areas with minimal otherworldly erosion, there were even small villages.
Merchants had mapped out relatively safe trade routes, and the world seemed to be flourishing.
Yet Lilith still thought traveling was a dangerous affair.
After all, otherworldly realms and anomalies could change over time.
Every time a previously established rule failed or shifted, it could trigger a major disaster.
Sigh… Lilith sighed inwardly.
Perhaps it was because she came from such a safe world in her previous life…
Even though this world had improved significantly, and sudden death wasn’t lurking at every corner, it was only better compared to before.
But whatever.
With her protection, even if this girl wanted to venture into an otherworldly realm to glimpse some source of calamity, Lilith could drag Cecilim along and beat that calamity to a pulp.
For short-lived humans, Lilith wanted to fulfill their wishes as much as possible.
She felt her mindset had fully transformed into that of a long-lived species.
“By the way, Lady Lilith, you’d better not come looking for me alone at night recently,” Cecilim suddenly said, as if remembering something.
“The city hasn’t been peaceful at night lately. I heard there’s a vampire on the loose, and there have already been several murders. The scenes were all dried-up corpses, drained of blood… The streets at night are crawling with Night Watch and clerics. If you’re hungry, Lady Lilith, it’s better to come with me to the hospital in the evening and hide there for a bit.”
“…”
Lilith froze for a moment, as if Cecilim’s words were akin to asking a master what their profession was.
“No, no, I’m not worried that you’d hurt anyone, Lady Lilith. I’m just afraid the Night Watch might harm you.”
Cecilim, thinking Lilith had misunderstood, hurriedly explained.
“I know you’d never hurt me, Lady Lilith, but during such a sensitive time… it’s best to keep a low profile. I’m scared you might get hurt.”
“Hehe, no misunderstanding here. Don’t worry, the Night Watch and clerics won’t bother me. I didn’t do those things. But you need to be careful. I’ll come keep you company during your night shifts these days.”
Lilith smiled and kissed Cecilim’s cheek, prompting the little nurse to playfully swat at her in mock annoyance.
But Cecilim’s words made Lilith sink into thought again.
She hadn’t paid attention to the city’s recent events and hadn’t realized such a big incident was happening.
To be honest, in all her years, she had rarely encountered others of her kind.
She didn’t know if it was because vampires were so few in number or if they were avoiding her.
Draining someone completely dry…
How crude and wasteful…
Don’t they understand sustainable practices? Drain them dry, and there’s nothing left.
Lilith’s delicate brows furrowed.
Blood-drinking was best done with mutual consent and affection.
The taste of blood, enhanced by emotions, would become far more pleasant.
For vampires, feeding wasn’t just about blood.
It was more about drawing energy from the human soul, with blood serving merely as a medium.
Otherwise, vampires could just feed on beasts—plenty of blood, and it’d fill them up.
What they truly needed was the nourishment from the powerful human soul.
The rich humanity flowing from a soul ensured vampires didn’t devolve into mere bloodthirsty monsters.
Of course, some vampires preferred the blood that flowed under the emotion of fear.
For the common folk, such vampires were nothing short of a disaster…
Local authorities surely wouldn’t stand idly by.
She might even get caught up in the mess.
Perhaps she should track down this fellow vampire to avoid their actions disrupting her life in this city…
Hmm… Find that vampire, tell them to stop and get lost.
If they don’t listen, just kill them.
Lilith felt no sense of kinship with other vampires.
If they harmed innocent people or adorable girls, they deserved nothing less than death.
Cecilim sensed the surging emotions within the person beside her and quickly leaned in to kiss her, trying to soothe Lilith’s mood.
“Lady Lilith… are you angry?”
“No… not at you.”
Lilith’s breathing suddenly quickened.
The soft, warm body pressing against her stirred some feelings.
Tch, this little nurse!
It’s like she’s begging for a night shift in the ward!
But Lilith wasn’t one to back down.
Since the mood was there, there was no need to hold back!
She had to properly discipline this naughty nurse! Give her a few good “injections”!
At that moment, Lilith’s mischievous aura was no longer concealed.
She grabbed the soft figure in front of her and playfully bit down.
Swiftly, she pulled out a large mattress and thick blanket from her cloak, dragging Cecilim off the chair and tumbling into them.
It was too cold here; they needed to stay warm.
But no matter—soon, they’d both be sweating with passion!!
This was going to be one hell of a climactic battle!
Just as Lilith was ready to “fight” this captivating nurse until dawn, multiple hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from the corridor outside the storage room.
In the instant Lilith sensed something was wrong, the hunters lurking outside gave her no time to react.
The heavy iron door was kicked open with a loud “BOOM.”
“Open the door! Heresy Tribunal!!”
Lilith froze.
Interrupted at the best part