Luke finally managed to escape before the main force of the Imperial Demon Army arrived. Only then did he take off his hood and ask,
"Mika, did you find Yuichiro?"
Mika also took off his hat and nodded with a smile, but his expression quickly slumped.
"I found him! Sigh, it's just that there were other humans around at the time, so I couldn't properly reunite with Yuu. I told him to wait for me in the alley next to the Kawakami Sushi Shop tonight."
Luke felt that the place sounded familiar. After thinking for a moment, he asked,
"Is it the sushi shop opposite the Hyakuya Orphanage?"
Mika nodded.
Luke's brow furrowed slightly, and he said with some concern,
"The location of the Hyakuya Orphanage is currently guarded by the Imperial Demon Army. That place isn't very safe. Why did you choose it?"
Mika gave a confident smile.
"Don't worry, no one can catch me in the alleys of that area. I never lost when we used to play hide-and-seek there."
Luke was still uneasy.
"Even so, there was no need to set it there."
Mika patted Luke's shoulder to reassure him.
"It'll be fine."
Luke thought it over, and after a moment, he made a decision.
"When you meet, I'll go take out the Imperial Demon Army guards at the Hyakuya Orphanage to see what they're actually doing and draw their fire for you."
Mika felt some internal conflict, but he quickly let it go. He had already become a Vampire; killing was only a matter of time, so there was no need to agonize over strangers.
It had to be said that the Vampire lineage would subtly and significantly alter a person's personality.
Luke looked at the sunset glow on the horizon and felt he should go scout the location in advance.
"Let's go. We'll head over first to check things out."
Mika nodded and followed behind Luke. For some reason, he felt a bit weak now.
Luke sensed that Mika was struggling to keep up and looked back at him in confusion.
"What's wrong, Mika?"
Mika waved his hand and said,
"I don't know. I just feel a bit weak. Is this a side effect of becoming a Vampire?"
Only then did Luke understand.
Mika had been a Vampire for two days, but he hadn't drunk any blood yet! Naturally, his whole body would feel weak.
Luke explained,
"This is an anemia symptom exclusive to Vampires. You'll be fine once you drink some blood."
"Ah? I..."
Luke saw the hesitation in Mika's heart. Having just become a Vampire, Mika hadn't adapted to his new identity and couldn't quite accept drinking human blood.
In that case, he could only drink Luke's blood.
But there was a fight coming up, and the amount needed for a first feeding wasn't small. Lady Krul hadn't given him any blood before they left, and he didn't have many HP Candies left—he needed to save those for the tough battles.
For some reason, ever since he arrived in Sanguinem, the number of tasks assigned to him had plummeted. Before, it felt like someone was watching his situation and tailoring plans for him; now, it felt like they were randomly generated by a machine. He hadn't received these kinds of rewards in years.
At that moment, Kyle's voice rang out in Luke's mind.
"Let him drink yours. As your thrall, his blood requirements from you are very low. Otherwise, how did you think Lady Krul supported you with just one small test tube of blood a day?"
Luke was somewhat speechless at Kyle's sudden appearance.
"Others think he's my thrall, but don't you know better? Don't cause trouble."
But Kyle's next sentence left Luke stunned.
"Others might not know, but I do. You pulled that item from the Demon Sword Space. You grabbed the wrong test tube back then—that tube of blood was the snack you gave me before!"
Since non-quest items couldn't exist in the Pure White Space, Luke had placed some things in the Demon Sword Space.
Luke retorted,
"I remember it was in a bottle when I gave it to you!"
"Yeah, I did it on purpose."
Kyle spoke very naturally, as if saying: Isn't it obvious?
"How could Lady Krul's blood be given to others to drink so casually?"
Luke was completely dazed. He had woken up to find himself dropped to second place on the Krul fan rankings.
After all this time, his words had become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Mika really was his thrall; he had become an elder!
Luke rubbed his temples, digesting the information.
Mika, seeing Luke's troubled look, felt a bit bad.
"Yu..."
"Mika, I have some bad news for you."
Mika was interrupted and asked in confusion,
"What?"
"I seem to... have become your 'father'!"
Mika:?
A moment later, Mika breathed a sigh of relief. He thought something serious had happened, but it turned out the blood he drank just wasn't Krul's.
Mika didn't care whose blood had turned him into a Vampire. He said with a smile,
"It's fine. I'd rather it be your blood."
Seeing that Mika was emotionally stable, Luke didn't pursue the topic further. He held his hand out to Mika.
"Bite. Drink until you're full."
Kyle hadn't touched Krul's blood. Even if Mika drained him to the point of collapse, he could recover at any time.
Mika looked at Luke's slender fingers, looked up, and said seriously,
"Luke."
"What is it?"
"How long has it been since you cut your nails? They're so long!"
Luke:... "Yuichiro, what's wrong? Your mood has been off since we got back, and you've been dazing out."
Yoichi asked with concern.
Yuichiro shook his head to clear his mind. Ever since that Vampire left, Mika's image had been floating in his mind, impossible to shake off.
Yuichiro suddenly placed both hands on Yoichi's shoulders and said solemnly,
"Yoichi, I have to go out for something tonight. Help me cover for it with the dorm supervisor."
Yoichi was a bit surprised.
"Yuu, where are you going? Why not just ask the homeroom teacher for leave?"
Yuichiro curled his lip and said through gritted teeth,
"That idiot Guren lost a fight and took his anger out on me. As soon as I opened my mouth, he said no and even punched me!"
Yuichiro rubbed the top of his head, feeling a lingering pain where he'd been hit.
"So, can I count on you? Yoichi!"
Yoichi hesitated for a moment before agreeing.
"O... Okay, I'll try my best to help you, but the supervisor will definitely do a roll call. I'm not sure if I can fool them."
Having received an answer, Yuichiro said happily,
"It's fine, it's fine. I'll be quick."
In truth, he didn't know how long it would take. He was just afraid that if Guren found out, he'd be disciplined and sent back to the General Education track to 'make friends' again.
Those nerds who only knew how to study could never go to the battlefield! Much less eliminate Vampires.
What he found most unacceptable was the content taught in General Education. It didn't mention how to deal with Vampires at all, nor did it teach practical combat techniques; it was completely useless.
That knowledge couldn't kill Vampires!
That was why he had scored zero on all his last mock exams. It wasn't that he didn't know the answers; he was just expressing his dissatisfaction.
It was absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not because he didn't know how to do them!
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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