Finally, on the day of the promised meeting, Cain headed to the grand plaza of the inner castle wearing not his usual flamboyant uniform, but ordinary noble attire, a plain-designed cloak, and a wide-brimmed hat that could cover his face.
There was an option to use recognition-impairing magic to hide his face, but there were opinions that the mana generated by such magic could instead draw unnecessary attention, so this was the chosen outfit.
The hat, cloak, and appropriately luxurious clothing he wore created the atmosphere of a young master from a prestigious family out for a casual stroll.
“Is there a way to identify the target?”
Upon arriving at the grand plaza and settling on a sunlit bench, Cain sat down.
Beside him, Viscount Heinrich Denver stood attentively and cautiously asked.
“There’s no need for us to search. They’ll make contact first, so don’t be too tense and just act calmly.”
Cain finished speaking calmly while moving his eyes here and there.
In the capital Granada’s grand plaza, the sight of a noble youth with several attendants was common, but Cain was confident that the leader of Nightmare would find him without difficulty.
If someone who had already shown his face to the world couldn’t be recognized just because of a little disguise, then the level of ‘Nightmare’ as intelligence agents would be obvious.
“They’re coming.”
As soon as Marquis Damien Pavel’s words ended, a woman in a common navy-blue cloak crossed the wide grand plaza and reached Cain.
While the guards except for the marquis showed signs of tension, Cain opened his mouth with a relaxed expression.
“You found me quickly?”
The woman in the navy-blue cloak then flipped back the hood she had pulled low, revealing her face.
From the way she emphasized her presence by not bothering to hide her pale skin and red eyes, Cain could read the confidence of Nightmare’s leader, Isabella.
“I greet His Majesty the Emperor. I am Isabella Daywalker, leader of Nightmare.”
Isabella showed the minimum courtesy to the emperor.
“This… a bigger figure than expected has appeared.”
Marquis Pavel had an expression as if he recognized Isabella.
“I didn’t expect you to come in person, but it is an honor.”
Isabella showed a faint smile.
With that, Cain could confirm that his judgment was not wrong.
The current Isabella was displaying a friendly atmosphere, which meant that she—a being whose emotions had worn down over hundreds, thousands of years—was showing interest.
Outwardly, she appeared as an ordinary vampire, but according to the world setting, she was a sacred-blood existence of overwhelmingly higher rank than common vampires.
Sacred-blood vampires were a race that lived for an immeasurably distant time, and according to the setting, to prevent their souls from wearing out and turning them into madmen, they periodically entered a recreational lifestyle like dragons, spending time in mental rest.
However, the recreational lifestyles of sacred-blood vampires varied greatly depending on their individual personalities—some repeated only eating and sleeping, some traveled the continent searching for traces of the ancient mythic era, and others fell into long sleeps lasting decades without doing anything.
But in the case of Isabella, who was curious and enjoyed accumulating diverse experiences, acting out others’ lives like a dragon’s recreation occupied a large part of her rest period.
Judging from the fact that she had come this far, he had succeeded in piquing her interest.
“Isabella Daywalker. Pleased to meet you. I am Cain. You probably already know a lot about me, so there’s no need for a long introduction, right?”
Cain showed the unique leisure of an emperor while smiling and simultaneously activated the Wanderer privilege on Isabella.
He felt a strange power concentrating in his pupils.
The moment the strange power that had dwelt in both eyes scattered, several lines of system messages appeared before him.
[Through the Stage 1 privilege of ‘Wanderer’, partially viewing the setting book of ‘Noble Empress of the Night, Isabella Daywalker’.]
[The target’s rank is high. The privilege’s effect is halved.]
[Observed a mortal who has reached a lofty rank. ‘Wanderer Corridor’ has acquired a large amount of experience.]
Upon checking the system messages that appeared, Cain almost showed a surprised expression but barely held it back.
It was a message content he had never seen before while using the Wanderer privilege.
Fortunately, his confusion quickly faded.
Soon, a familiar form of setting book appeared.
<Noble Empress of the Night, Isabella Daywalker>
Possessed Traits: Sacred-Blood Vampire (S) Guardian of the Forgotten Dynasty (Unique S) – Additional traits unavailable for viewing.
Overview: Viewing unavailable due to high target rank.
Seeing the message that the privilege’s effect was halved, he had hoped otherwise, but as expected, most of the setting book was in a state where information could not be viewed.
This phenomenon occurred in the world of Imperial Hero Legend when the player character, aka ‘Wanderer’, tried to view information on an ‘NPC’ with a large level difference.
Thinking back to Isabella’s setting from the planning stage, it wasn’t incomprehensible.
But the unexpected variable occurred in a completely different part.
“Your Majesty the Emperor. As rumored, you are indeed extraordinary.”
As if she had noticed that Cain used the Wanderer privilege, Isabella let out a meaningful line and showed a cold smile.
Though not certain, befitting a being who had reached a lofty rank even among mortals, she seemed to have vaguely sensed the activation of the Wanderer privilege.
Fortunately, her reaction was not very negative.
If anything, her interest had increased.
“I don’t know what rumors you’ve heard, but if it’s about my past as a wastrel, I hope you’ll forget it.”
With a gentle smile, he tried to naturally change the subject, but Isabella’s gaze showed no sign of leaving Cain.
“A wastrel…. Indeed, I see.”
The smile on Isabella’s lips grew deeper.
Just moments ago, she had clearly sensed a strange flow of energy from Cain—one so subtle that even she, who had lived for nearly eternal years, would have to pay close attention to detect it.
This only heightened her interest in the person called Cain.
“It seems rumors really can’t be trusted. I thought I’d experienced everything after living so long, but things like this happen.”
Her pupils were still fixed on Cain.
Though the gaze was fixed to the point of being burdensome, Cain did not show it.
“I’m glad I came out in person.”
Isabella spoke in a refreshed tone.
Cain did not know, but in truth, she was wavering.
Not because she was weighing the Five Dukes faction against the imperial loyalists as Cain worried, but over whether to continue her recreational life itself.
Some sacred-bloods prolonged their recreation, but many ended it shortly.
Isabella was particularly capricious, with great variability in the length of her recreational periods, and she had been feeling bored since the previous emperor’s time.
Ironically, the slight interest she felt from the shadow assassins during the founding festival catastrophe and the grand plaza attack had kept her from ending her recreation.
After Cain’s appearance, a new source of amusement had emerged for her.
It was because of the lingering trace of the strange power that had dwelt in Cain’s eyes for a fleeting moment.
Even for a sacred-blood vampire who had lived so long, the power of sacred traces was a subject curious enough to stimulate her.
The corners of Isabella’s mouth rose.
According to her recently revised plan, she intended to side with the imperial family, collect information on the shadow assassins, and then bid farewell to her recreational life.
“We of Nightmare will follow His Majesty the Emperor from now on.”
Her deliberation was not long.
From the moment she sensed the unusual energy emission from Cain just now, her answer was as good as decided.
Isabella gave the answer Cain had been waiting for.
“The price for loyalty? Is there something you want?”
When assassins under the Hassassin pledged allegiance, they sometimes demanded conditions other than gold.
To confirm this, Cain asked Isabella directly.
Normally, an emperor buying loyalty with money would shock the entire imperial faction, but Cain, a former modern person, knew how fleeting blind loyalty could be.
‘Even if it’s the Hassassin, forcing loyalty to the imperial family on the assassins under them would be futile.’
In the world of Imperial Hero Legend, assassins were mostly untrustworthy beings.
Their roots moved for money rather than loyalty, after all.
To borrow their power, one needed to accurately grasp and provide what they wanted.
“You already know even if I don’t say it, Your Majesty.”
Isabella subtly avoided answering.
But it wasn’t teasing; it was genuinely considerate of Cain.
For Isabella, it was naturally implying without mentioning the power Cain had just used on her—the ‘Wanderer privilege’.
What she likely wanted was ‘fun’ that could satisfy her boring recreational life.
“That seems a sufficient answer.”
If her interest lay in the sacred traces, then the recruitment of the assassination cell Nightmare was concluded positively.
All that remained was to inform Isabella that the Beheading Priest of Ellington, Podric Kendal, was coming to the capital Granada.
The Ellington Holy Alliance did not classify vampires as ‘clear heretics,’ but they took a considerably hostile stance.
It was inevitable given their very existence.
“And Your Majesty? You don’t need to worry unnecessarily. There are probably only about five people on the continent, including me, capable of sensing ‘that’ just now. Anyway, not many.”
Isabella approached quite close to Cain and whispered in a secretly small voice.
Looking at her, Cain changed the subject to avoid the awkward topic.
“Since we’ll maintain a friendly relationship going forward, I’ll give you one gift.”
“A gift? Wow, I’m looking forward to it.”
An eye smile contrasting with her soulless tone.
In Isabella’s dry reaction, Cain conveyed the news of the Beheading Priest.
“So… it might be good to leave Granada for a while.”
Given her personality of disliking annoyance and interference, the answer was obvious.
At least, Cain believed so.
But…
“The Beheading Priest… it seems interesting things will happen. I’m already looking forward to it.”
Isabella’s reaction was beyond Cain’s expectations.
It could be due to the unpublished DLC, but in any case, it was the occurrence of a major variable.