Volume 3, Chapter 1 – The Journey Begins

Hermion County, located in the northern part of the Kingdom of Hels and bordering both the Parish of Niru and Pescia County, was a domain of extreme climate differences. The eastern part, near the Vampire territory, was exceptionally cold, while the west enjoyed spring-like weather year-round. Due to this pleasant environment, Hermion County’s economic centers were all concentrated in the western end of the domain, with the most famous being its heart, ‘Antonio City,’ and its brain, ‘Hermion City.’

Hermion City was built on a dormant volcano near the Tower of Hermion. Due to the tower’s characteristic of forcibly changing the climate, the volcano was covered in ice and snow year-round from the waist up. Although the environment was not particularly suitable for living, it was the city where the first Count Hermion had settled, and thus it was revered as a holy city by generations of subjects.

Originally, even the western part of Hermion County was desolate. Due to frequently erupting volcanoes, the people lived in dire straits. It wasn’t until the brave first Count Hermion, after enduring great hardships, climbed the Tower of Hermion standing in the center of the volcano that the people were finally able to live stable lives. For those born and raised in Hermion’s territory, Hermion City was their spiritual pillar.

As for Antonio City, the heart, it was a massive metropolis located at the foot of Hermion City’s mountain. Even though Hermion City was the people’s spiritual pillar, its year-round severe cold and location on a steep slope, coupled with inconvenient transportation and an inability to be self-sufficient in food, naturally required a larger city to support its operations. Antonio City fulfilled this role.

Located at the foot of the mountain, Antonio City was accompanied by the largest lake in Hermion County—Antonio Lake. Nearly all the waterways within the domain passed through here. Coupled with fertile soil and proximity to a primeval forest rich in resources, it was the most vibrant city in all of Hermion.

Currently, a horse-drawn carriage was traveling along a mountain path on its way to Antonio City.

“It’s getting warmer.”

Pulling up the curtain on the side of the box carriage, Yisi yawned. A week had passed since they left Celtic City, and in that short time, the scenery along the road had transformed from a wilderness covered in snow to a green, lush mountain forest.

Not only that, but they were encountering more and more people along the way—travelers, merchants, adventurers—all sorts of people, and even monsters appeared frequently.

Sitting next to Yisi, Camilla, dressed in a long linen skirt, picked up the conversation. Due to the sunlight, Camilla’s fair skin seemed dazzling to Yisi.

“It’s said to be because of the Tower of Hermion. Generations of Counts Hermion have governed diligently, managing the domain very well, so there have been almost no major rebellions. This allowed the Counts of Hermion to use the magical power of the Tower of Alexia to improve the climate conditions over the long term. After such a long period of accumulation, Hermion County became what it is today.”

“Eh, a lord whose family can rule diligently for a thousand years? Isn’t it a hereditary system?”

“In the past, there were instances of civil unrest caused by lords indulging in pleasure, so the later Counts of Hermion took it as a warning.”

“I see.”

But for a single family to rule the same territory for nearly a thousand years still felt incredible to Yisi. She could only attribute it to this being another world.

“Is something on your mind, Onee-sama? You haven’t seemed very happy these past few days.”

“Ah, I forgot to tell you, Camilla. It’s not really anything important.” Yisi lowered the carriage curtain and turned to look at Camilla. “That night we spent in Pescia County, I released four reconnaissance eye worms. But on the night you all were attacked by the Empire’s Fallen, one of the four eye worms suddenly disappeared. The place it disappeared was near Antonio City, so I want to investigate the reason why.”

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“Is that the ‘Flame Giant’ you’ve been asking passersby about?”

As she spoke, Camilla picked up the teapot and teacup placed on the carriage seat. Because the carriage wheels were made of wood and lacked a good shock absorption system, the ride was exceptionally bumpy, so Camilla didn’t pour water into the pot and cups, only summoning a stream of water with magic when it was time to use them.

Accepting the hot tea from Camilla, Yisi thanked her and then answered her question.

“Yes, that’s it. The reason the Blazing Eye Worm disappeared might be related to that rumored Flame Giant. Monsters that are both energy bodies can devour each other. If the Flame Giant’s rank is higher than the Blazing Eye Worm’s, it’s possible it was devoured.”

“But you seem very worried, Onee-sama.”

“There are deep reasons for that.”

One additional Blazing Eye Worm could only be summoned for every hundred levels. In terms of rank, it should be classifiable as level 100—despite having no offensive capabilities or intelligence. Since the Flame Giant could devour the Blazing Eye Worm, it meant the Flame Giant’s rank was higher. In other words, the Flame Giant was at least over level 100.

If it were a naturally occurring monster, Yisi wouldn’t be too concerned. But if, like the Blazing Eye Worm, it had been summoned by someone, she couldn’t help but wonder: what kind of being could summon a Flame Giant?

This question lingered in Yisi’s mind, and whenever she thought of it, a sense of unease washed over her. That day, when she had moved above Antonio Lake and opened the Omniscient Map, there were no suspicious targets nearby.

“An opening.”

Taking advantage of the moment Yisi was looking down in thought, Camilla, sitting beside her, suddenly planted a kiss on Yisi’s cheek, then pulled back as if nothing had happened.

When Yisi came to her senses, she gave a helpless, wry smile.

“Camilla, you’re not still mad at Refina, are you?”

Previously, after she had dealt with the Empire’s Fallen and returned to the inn, Camilla had immediately smelled Refina’s scent on her. Under Camilla’s wife-like questioning, Yisi had no choice but to confess the truth—that Refina had kissed her while she was drinking her blood. Because of this, Camilla immediately requested to cover Refina’s scent with her own; in other words, she wanted to do the same thing Refina did.

Of course, Yisi refused Camilla. Unlike the adult Refina, Camilla was only 16 and did not yet possess a mature mind, while she herself was already an adult. If she did something indescribable with Camilla at this time, it would be no different from a crime.

She’d have to wait at least another two years.

Thus, Camilla had taken to making occasional sneak attacks like the one just now.

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Yisi could only endure her desires with a sense of helplessness. Camilla was just too cute.

She had to find someone to vent with soon.

“This is your fault, Onee-sama. Why can you accept Refina but not me? Am I that much worse than Refina?”

No, not at all.

Although she wanted to say that, saying it aloud would surely make Camilla press her advantage. Yisi responded with her usual line.

“Camilla, you’re not mature enough yet. Let’s talk about this kind of thing when you’re older.”

“I’m already past the age of majority for humans. If this were the human world, I would not only have a partner by now, but my children would have already been born.”

“Humans are humans, I am me.”

“Aren’t you also not of adult age for a Vampire, Onee-sama?”

Camilla moved a little closer to Yisi, her pouting expression under her blonde hair making Yisi feel an impulse to poke her cheek.

“That was your past Onee-sama, Camilla. Have you ever seen me do anything out of line?”

“Ignoring your little sister who is actively offering her blood right beside you.”

“That doesn’t count as something out of line at all.”

Because of Camilla’s serious expression, Yisi finally couldn’t hold back her laughter and let out a chuckle. She was beginning to understand the richness of a fulfilling social life.

But this laughter made Camilla even more dissatisfied. Just as Camilla was about to make another move, the carriage suddenly began to slow down.

“Master, this looks like a good spot for lunch. Should we stop here?”

Mary’s voice came from outside the carriage. Since she was the only one of the three who could drive a carriage, Yisi had no choice but to entrust the task to her.

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“Yes, that’s fine. Mary should take a rest too.”

“Ehehe, I’m finally able to help you, Master. I don’t feel tired at all.”

“I wonder who it was that playfully drove the carriage onto another road.”

“That was an accident!”

Facing Camilla’s exposure, Mary, sitting in the driver’s seat, loudly defended herself. Yisi pretended not to hear and smiled wryly as she stepped out of the carriage.

As Mary had said, it was a suitable place for lunch. Perhaps because other travelers had used this spot before, there was a patch of flattened grass by the roadside, along with a fallen tree trunk. The early spring sunlight cast itself perfectly on the open space.

“Same as always. I’ll be in charge of gathering ingredients, Camilla will gather things that burn easily, and Mary will prepare the food after feeding the horses.”

“Yes~”

“I want to cook too…”

“We’ll talk about it when your cooking skills surpass Mary’s.”

Because Mary had previously worked as a servant in a noble’s house, her cooking skills were far better than Camilla’s. According to Mary, if the food didn’t taste good, she would be punished by her master, so the dishes she made naturally became palatable.

Of course, if Mary’s cooking could be described as ‘palatable,’ then Camilla’s cooking was definitely ‘hard to swallow.’

After assigning the tasks, Yisi, dressed in a gray traveler’s outfit, walked into the thicket. This was a forest that hadn’t been heavily explored. Although it was just early spring, she could glimpse small animals like squirrels in the branches, and occasionally fox-like creatures.

Yisi’s targets were fish or wild boar. If she could avoid hunting monsters, she wanted to. It wasn’t out of compassion, but because Yisi always felt that monster meat wasn’t clean and wasn’t something edible.

The reality, however, was that people were more accustomed to the chewy texture of monster meat than ordinary animal meat.

Sighing softly, Yisi took the Count’s eldest daughter’s weapon, Gungnir, from her inventory. Although the weapon wasn’t very powerful, its auto-tracking feature was particularly convenient for hunting.

However, Yisi had only taken a few steps when, with the sound of rustling bushes, several slimy, bright green blobs suddenly appeared before her.

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They were slimes.

“Slimes? This is the first time I’ve seen one…”

Unlike ordinary travelers who would turn and run upon seeing them, Yisi felt no sense of crisis. Instead, she carefully observed the slimes less than three meters away from her.

Their bodies were just like in most anime and games, about the size of a watermelon, with a translucent, jelly-like form. Their bright green appearance blended in with the surrounding bushes. If they hadn’t suddenly appeared in front of her, Yisi wouldn’t have noticed them at all.

“I can’t see any eyes or mouth… wait, is that thing inside its body a magic core?”

Yisi’s attention was drawn to an irregular, hard object smaller than a fingernail inside the slime. Unlike in games where monsters drop weapons and equipment when killed, in the real world, killing a monster only yields its body and a magic core. With the exception of a few special monsters, the magic core was almost the most valuable part of a monster. Often, all the body materials combined were less precious than a single magic core.

As for what a magic core was, according to Yisi’s understanding, it was what distinguished monsters from ordinary animals. The reason monsters had magical power was due to the existence of the magic core. Once the magic core was removed, the monster would die on the spot. It was as vital as the heart and brain.

The uses of magic cores were divided into two main categories: one was for medicine, and the other was for creating various magic tools and weapons, such as becoming the energy core for a magic item or enhancing a weapon’s specific attribute. In short, the uses for magic cores were diverse, and the demand far outstripped the supply, which was why they were so expensive.

She could clearly see the magic core inside the slime’s body slowly moving. At the same time, the three slimes began to move slowly toward Yisi.

“Don’t tell me they’re targeting me.”

The combined level of these three slimes wasn’t even 10. For her, a wave of her hand could crush them.

“Leaving them here would be a threat to passing travelers. It’s better to deal with them while I’m at it. Ah, right, I should leave one.”

Would a slime’s blood taste good?

Despite the precedent set by the frost wolves, Yisi still hadn’t given up on monster blood. If blood was the liquid that regulated body temperature and transported nutrients for humans, could the viscous liquid that made up a slime’s body also be considered blood?

Thinking of the possibility, Yisi felt saliva uncontrollably start to well up in her mouth.

“I’ll catch one and take it back to taste first.”

After casually dispatching two of the slimes, Yisi looked at the largest one, first covering it with a wooden bucket, then collecting it inside.