“I have been defeated.”
These were the last words of the Vampire Queen.
Following the Succubus Queen, the vampires had also fallen to the Hero’s blade.
‘One after another, they leave these grand final words every day like they’re some big deal. In the end, they’re just elite mobs getting poked to death by the Hero.’
I complained silently to myself.
The Hero was way too overpowered.
Throw a few buff spells on him, and he would just start slaughtering everyone like he was playing a musou game.
‘Sigh, and here I am, a transmigrator. I’ve spent so much effort and used every trick in the book just to climb to this position, but seeing the Hero gives me an unprecedented sense of defeat.’
Wasn’t being a researcher and a Magic Caster supposed to be good?
But look at that Hero—he just closes his eyes for a second, realizes some profound truth, and levels up.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
So, before I completely gave up and accepted my fate, I decided I had to do something…
That night, I was back to doing the cleanup work yet again.
The Hero’s party was really something; they had left the Vampire Queen’s body lying there in a sprawled-out mess, lacking any sense of elegance.
Please, she was the Vampire Queen!
You should know that vampires are world-renowned for their cunning.
Behind that pale and beautiful face were countless plots and schemes.
She was one of the biggest headaches in the Demon King’s army.
At the very least, she was a respectable opponent.
Even if there was no respect for an enemy, there should be some respect for a beauty.
*Tsk, tsk, tsk.*
With looks like these, fine, I’ll begrudgingly give you a proper burial.
So, I went to the garden behind the Vampire Palace, found a shovel, and started digging.
Don’t ask me why vampires who fear the sun have a back garden.
Perhaps they, too, yearned for the light.
They had planted a vast field of roses in the back; that sea of blood-red flowers was both beautiful and eerie.
I kept digging.
Okay, that should be deep enough.
I carefully lifted the Vampire Queen’s body.
‘Whoa!’
After settling the body and covering it with a thick layer of soil, I took off my Magic Caster hat and gave a polite bow.
Then, a sudden urge hit me to follow the custom of pouring liquor for the deceased, just like I did when visiting ancestors before I transmigrated.
Since vampires drink blood, I will pour blood.
But where would I get blood?
I took the tip of my wand, lightly pricked my finger, and let the beads of blood drip onto the soil one by one.
‘After death, you’ll be immersed in the soil where the sea of roses grows. You will gradually become nourishment for the blood roses, letting them take over your fate of fearing the sun. They will face the sunlight and grow brilliantly.’
What a romantic way to go.
Vampire Queen, I’ve shown you enough respect as a worthy opponent to humanity.
Once the bleeding stopped, I slowly walked away, preparing to follow my usual routine and check on the Succubus baby I had hidden.
A few moments after I left…
In the back garden of the Vampire Palace, countless roses withered overnight.
In the ground where the Vampire Queen had just been buried, a hole suddenly appeared.
The body inside was gone.
The soil that had just absorbed the blood had dried into sand.
It seemed that a root, desperately thirsty for blood, had frantically sucked up the sparse nutrients in the soil.
***
After the celebration banquet for the Hero’s successful subjugation of the vampires, I used the excuse of needing rest to return early to my tent.
I looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then quietly lifted the edge of the bedding in the corner.
*Whew…*
*Whew… whew…*
“Mew? Ba, Baba~”
Hearing the soft, sweet cry of the baby who had been fast asleep but called out “Papa” the moment she opened her eyes and saw me, all the stress and fatigue of the day vanished into thin air.
After spiriting away the baby from the Succubus castle, I felt it was my duty to take on the responsibility of raising her.
To avoid suspicion and keep the Hero’s party from finding out, I could only come up with a makeshift plan.
Under the pretext of researching magic, I pitched my tent separately from the rest of the Hero’s party.
This made my relationship with them even more superficial.
But who cared?
The cute baby was more important.
Every time we moved to a new location, I would cast a magic circle to protect her before I left.
Oh, right, I gave her a name: Ziya.
“Zi” because her hair was purple, and “Ya” because she was a girl.
…What should I do?
Even I feel like that was too lazy.
*Ahem!*
Purple is the color of demonic mist, the base color of illusions, and the innate mark of a Succubus.
It represents mystery, power, and…
The loneliness of not being accepted by the world.
“Ya” is a gentle word.
It represents closeness, bonds, and the softest connection between people.
It’s a name that’s hard to associate with a Succubus who survives by feeding on dreams or essence.
Lonely, yet possessing the softest connection between people?
It sounds like a contradiction.
But I wanted to bring those two things together.
That was my goal—to use education and fatherly love to influence this baby from another race.
“Hehe~”
I continued to tease Ziya with my finger, and she responded with a smile, pulling my clean finger into her mouth to suck on it like a pacifier.
This was my method of feeding.
The Succubus race feeds on essence, so every night before bed, I would feed her this way.
She sucked on it with great relish.
After all, I was a Magic Caster.
My essence was rich in mana, which for a Succubus was basically Michelin-star quality.
Looking at the happy expression in the baby’s eyes, I had long since fallen for her.
My determination to be a stay-at-home dad was incredibly firm and unshakable.
“How interesting~”
“Who! Who’s talking!”
Hearing a dangerous voice, I quickly yet gently pulled my hand back and covered Ziya with the blanket.
Unfortunately, the only sound near the camp was the chirping of fireflies.
Looking around, there wasn’t a soul in sight.
‘That’s not right. I clearly heard a strange voice. Was it an hallucination?’
I tried hard to remember, and finally, a faint outline of a voice appeared in my mind.
It sounded like the childhood voice of the Vampire Queen.
‘What? I’m definitely hearing things. The Vampire Queen and a child’s voice? How could I possibly link those two completely unrelated things together?’
I dismissed the thought.
It must have been an illusion caused by the subjugation of the Vampire Queen today, combined with Ziya sucking out too much of my essence.
‘I’ll just play with Ziya a little longer before going to sleep.’
I went back into the tent and lifted the cloth again, only to be startled.
Little Ziya was looking at me with teary eyes, as if she were crying and asking why I had just left her in the middle of feeding.
Seeing that aggrieved, tearful look made my heart melt.
I couldn’t help myself.
I gently picked her up and brought her into my bedding, deciding to hold her all night.
Ziya seemed to understand my feelings; she turned over and snuggled into my arms.
“Papa, I love you.”
*Tsk*, another hallucination.
Tonight, even Ziya, who could only make babbling sounds, was speaking.
But…
I still replied.
“I love you, too~”
Even though I knew it was an hallucination, my sense of happiness at this moment was even stronger than when the King appointed me as a Magic Caster.
At that moment, I didn’t know that on top of the tent, a bat hanging upside down was silently observing everything, its eyes glowing with a faint red light…
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.