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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Hans felt like his body had been turned into a beehive by a hail of bullets. That was his honest feeling, and it wasn’t an inaccurate expression either.
Naturally, the other leaders had come fully prepared, but Hans hadn’t prepared at all. Even if he had prepared, though, it wouldn’t have made much difference.
It was more likely that he would have been eaten alive.
When it came to political ability, Hans possessed less than anyone else gathered at the meeting.
So, no matter what tactic he used, it likely would have been refuted. But he threw a stone recklessly, and that stone caused ripples in the lake. It was like a cow accidentally catching a mouse with a kick.It was a coincidence, but at the same time, it wasn’t. If Hans had no background, the other leaders would have ignored or rebuked him.
But Hans had achievements.
He had saved the Dwarf Kingdom. He had executed the traitors hiding within the 12 Tribes. He had removed the contaminated World Tree despite the elves’ opposition. And he had even repelled three True Demons.
The weight of words changes depending on the speaker.
There was no way they could ignore the words of the Royal Knights’ Commander who had accumulated such achievements.
Thanks to this, the leaders busily racked their brains, calculating the potential gains they could obtain.
In this crucial moment where every second counted, our Hans was lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He just wanted to fall asleep forever.
“I shouldn’t have done that.”
Even though he was a layman in politics, he understood that he shouldn’t have acted so recklessly. But could anyone truly do everything according to plan? ṟἁΝȫ฿ĚS̩
The moment Hans took his seat at the Table of Equality, the first thing he felt was pressure. Just being there was enough pressure to make an ordinary person faint.
The only reason Hans didn’t faint there was because he had been fighting for his life until now. Unknowingly, his courage had grown stronger. However, that was it.
He was so flustered that he just blurted things out. And that was the reason why Hans’s fuse had blown.
He sighed.
He wanted to just disappear, but he wasn’t that irresponsible. Fortunately, there was still plenty of time left.
He had to prepare for tomorrow’s meeting within that time, at least enough not to be laughed at.
“…Who is it at this hour?”
Just as he got up from his seat and was about to quickly prepare, a knock caught his attention.
Was it his unit members? No, it was a presence he had never felt before.
He hadn’t realized it yet, but due to the constant battles, Hans had become a ghost at sensing presences. The reason was that he had been maintaining a state of tension.
The weak naturally become cautious, and in Hans’s case, it was extreme. As a result, he had mastered sensing presences.
Hans cautiously opened his mouth.
“Who is it?”
“You’re quite alert.”
“This voice… the Vampire Lord?”
“That’s right~ Call me Lucy.”
Hans tilted his head. It was a different name from the one he had heard during the introductions before the meeting. He wondered if he had misheard, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
There was no way he could misremember the name of such an important person in such an important setting. Judging that Lucy was lying, Hans raised his guard as much as possible.
“If you have business, state it briefly.”
“How cold. Especially when a woman came to visit you at night.”
“Personal and professional matters must be strictly separated.”
“You have quite the patience for a human.”
Lucy spoke half-jokingly, but at least half of it was sincere. The number of humans who hadn’t opened the door when she personally visited them at night could be counted on one hand.
The reason was obvious. Most vampires were exceptionally beautiful, and Lucy, their leader, boasted an unparalleled appearance.
Of course, there were those who refused, but
most of them had problems with their sexual function, or they loved men.
Thanks to this, Hans had inversely caught Lucy’s attention.
Lucy continued.
“But don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t come here to seduce a human man.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve heard about the characteristics of vampires, right?”
“I know you suck blood.”
“Yes, but there are some restrictions.”
Lucy briefly explained the vampires’ restrictions. In short, vampires loved human blood the most, and among that, they especially loved the blood of the strong.
Hans listened silently. Unfortunately, he knew nothing about vampires. The lore book only mentioned that they were defeated by the demons and became slaves.
It didn’t reveal any other settings. And that was a considerable burden for Hans. The reason he had been able to act until now was because of knowledge.
He knew the general settings, so he had been gambling by inferring the closest thing to the correct answer based on that, and luckily, he had succeeded so far.
However, it was a different story with vampires. Hans knew nothing about vampires. Whether it was their weaknesses, preferences, or anything else. So, naturally, he became wary.
“You want the blood of the strong?”
“Yes, for example… like yours.”
“What? Me?”
This was an unexpected request. She wanted his blood, saying she wanted the blood of the strong?
From Hans’s perspective, it was absurd. He saw himself as definitely weak.
Look at the other unit members. In just one year, hadn’t they become strong enough to confront and drive out the True Demons head-on? Compared to them, what was he? What did he have left besides Time Stop?
“Yes, if you share your blood, the vampires promise to fully cooperate with you.”
He was about to refuse, but Hans closed his mouth at the attractive offer that suddenly came in. The cooperation of the vampires, he didn’t know the details, but vampires must be strong.
The fact that they were still alive and well despite being enemies with the dragons didn’t make sense. If he could gain the cooperation of such vampires, things would go smoothly in the future.
However, at that moment, a thought occurred to him.
What if his blood wasn’t to her liking?
Thinking about it, vampires, she had said herself, loved the blood of the strong.
But was he really among the strong? Of course, the magnitude of strength is relative, but even judging by that standard, his position was still at the very bottom.
Of course, it was common sense that they couldn’t mistreat Hans, who held the position of Commander of the Royal Knights, but a simulation was already automatically running in Hans’s head.
[“This blood is tasteless. It’s not the taste I expected.”]
[“No. That’s…”]
[“You’re useless. Die!”]
[“Ugh!”]
As a result of the simulation, the answer was naturally no. No matter how much he thought about it, he didn’t think his blood would be to her taste. If so, she might turn on him.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline.”
“I thought it was a decent deal.”
“I suppose it is.”
“What’s the reason? I can’t understand.”
Sharing blood might be a bit much, but even considering that, it was the best opportunity for Commander Hans. But he was refusing this? What was the reason?
While Lucy’s questions were deepening, Hans was desperately racking his brains. He couldn’t just say he was too weak to give her his blood.
Then what he needed here… was to create the most plausible reason and convince her. He couldn’t convince her with just any reason.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Hans quickly fabricated one.
“I am the proud Commander of the Royal Knights. I would never accept such a petty backroom deal.”
“A backroom deal?”
“Then let me ask you. How is this different from a bribe?”
“…Oh?”
“We march forward with our own strength. We don’t need such dishonorable methods.”
This was an unexpected interpretation. But she thought it could feel that way. If blood was replaced with money, it would be a bribe.
Lucy nodded.
“That’s an interesting interpretation. But I can’t say it’s unconvincing.”
“Yes, so get lost.”
“Then I’ll see for myself how righteous your path is.”
What? Wait a minute? What did that mean? Hans immediately opened the door as soon as he heard those words, but there was nothing outside but the cold wind.
Had he poked a sleeping lion?
An ominous thought dominated Hans’s mind.
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