Volume 6, Chapter 23 – Shy?

The city of Mitters Bayer, located in the central part of the Ymir Territory, was a city with a large population and a thriving commercial sector. Its magnificent city walls were built around the mountains, and a river flowed from north to south. It was worth noting that this river was not a natural formation but had been artificially created after the establishment of Mitters Bayer. It was precisely because of this waterway that Mitters Bayer was able to completely escape the confines of the mountains and become the most prosperous place in the Ymir Territory.

However, this city was only open to humans. Due to the Ymir Church’s doctrine of human supremacy, anyone of any other race, once discovered, would be immediately executed as a heretic, with almost no exceptions.

Unlike usual, Yisi woke up today just as the sun was peeking over the mountains. It wasn’t that something had woken her up, but that she had things to do.

I need to think about how to use the rubber.

Facing the still-dim sky and the snow-covered mountains, Yisi yawned and stretched lazily.

“There seem to be a lot of those black slimes nearby. The key is how to use them… No, I’ll think about these things after breakfast. First, I’ll do the most important thing of the day.”

The most important thing of the day was naturally to replenish her blood supply. There were very few delicious things in this world, and good food, besides play and sex, was the third thing that could easily bring people pleasure—to be a bit more professional, it could be said to stimulate the brain to secrete more dopamine. Yisi had experienced many times that in this world, being a vampire was a rather fortunate thing.

Compared to humans, vampires could taste a wide variety of blood, while humans could only constantly study food. However, the prerequisite for being a vampire was that one had to be born into the upper class. If one were a lower-class vampire, the daily intake of blood would become a burden, and they would have to spend a great deal of effort to get a little supply.

Getting up from the bed, Yisi snapped her fingers. Several fireballs immediately surrounded her, then slowly flew towards the already extinguished brazier in the room. After the room had warmed up a bit, Yisi, in her pajamas, walked barefoot to the table.

“As expected of one of the few big cities in the human world. The inn even comes with a table.”

The inns she had stayed in before had nothing but a bed. A sense of poverty would hit you the moment you opened the door. One had to be thankful for their good luck if the room didn’t have a strange smell.

While complaining, Yisi took out a glass wine bottle of blood from her inventory. First, she placed a Bordeaux glass—a type of stemmed glass—on the table, then uncorked the bottle and poured herself half a glass. After lightly swirling the thin, transparent glass, she took a small sip.

“Phew. Paired with the snowy scenery outside the window, the purplish dawn, and the fire beside me, it would be even more charming if there were a reclining chair.”

The sound of her sigh had not yet dissipated in the room when the door was suddenly pushed open with a bang.

It was Edith.

Although the thought crossed her mind that Pepe had ruined her morning elegance, since it was Pepe, it was better not to mention it. It wasn’t that she was afraid of Pepe. Imagine if the always-impolite Pepe suddenly knocked on the door properly; the strange sight would make her tremble with fear instead.

Seeing Yisi standing in the room, Edith, already dressed in her formal attire, raised an eyebrow. If the group were to be divided into early risers and late risers, Mary, Edith, and Camilla belonged to the former, while Yisi and Tiffany would usually wake up when the sun was high in the sky.

“You’re actually up.”

Her voice was full of surprise. Edith, with her white hair, blue eyes, and black formal dress, walked up to Yisi, her long boots making a clacking sound on the wooden floor.

Yisi raised her wine glass to Edith.

“Would you like a glass?”

“No need, I’ve already had some at Refina’s. Speaking of which, with such a big incident last night, you still have the leisure to be tasting blood here.”

“Last night? What happened?”

Reαԁ oո KatRеαdіոgСаfе

“At first it was the firelight that lit up the sky, then it turned into a huge bang and a strong wind. If it had been any more powerful, I would have thought the roof of the inn was going to be blown off.” With a slightly nervous yet seemingly thoughtful expression, Edith leaned against the table and turned her head to look at Yisi. “Do you have any clues?”

Yisi shrugged.

“No, but since it happened at the Tower of Alexia, it must have something to do with the church. Maybe they did something to incur divine wrath.”

“If it really were divine wrath, the church would probably be overthrown by its own believers. To be the servants who support the gods, yet end up incurring their wrath… Do you really know nothing? My intuition tells me that this matter is related to you, and besides you, I can’t think of a second person who could have caused that explosion last night. To be honest, was it you?”

Forcibly pressing down on the wine glass Yisi was about to bring to her lips, Edith had a dissatisfied expression, staring intently at Yisi’s face.

“How could it be me? I was with Camilla all of yesterday.”

“Camilla is on your side.”

“Isn’t Pepe on my side too?”

“Hmph.” Quite dissatisfied, Edith turned her back to Yisi. “Don’t think I don’t know. You’ve been secretly using my name to bluff and deceive. Back at Margaret, Shinku and Fran told me about Viel. Because that person named [Viel] had the same appearance and build as me, Fran and Shinku initially mistook me for their master.”

“Uh…”

This was definitely a miscalculation on her part. At that time, no one would have thought that Pepe, the original owner of the body, was actually still alive.

Seeing Yisi’s embarrassment, Edith waved her hand as if she had lost interest.

“Forget it. I’m not here to condemn you. I just wanted to say—” Edith turned around, a look of gloating grace on her doll-like, exquisite face, “—well done. Last night, Refina and I went to inquire about the news. The priests sent by the church kept emphasizing that the explosion at the Tower of Ymir was just an accident, because the Pope was preparing to use the Tower of Ymir to request a divine oracle from the gods, but encountered an unexpected accident, which caused the explosion. But that can only deceive the ignorant masses. Father took me to use the Tower of Alexia before. The fact that the tower’s body is not glowing clearly means that the magic circuit has been damaged and is temporarily unusable. The Tower of Alexia would only look like that if it were subjected to external interference.”

As if very pleased, Edith patted Yisi’s shoulder like a superior praising a subordinate, standing on her tiptoes.

“If you destroy a tower every time you encounter one in the future, I will give you a reward when we return to the Pescia Territory.”

Although she didn’t want a reward, Yisi still subconsciously asked.

“What reward?”

Edith propped her chin with her index finger, making a thinking gesture. Against the backdrop of her black formal dress, her azure eyes were exceptionally clear. Anyone seeing her for the first time would definitely mistake Edith for a goddess.

“Hmm… Ah!”

Just as Edith was pacing around the room in thought, her foot suddenly twisted. If Yisi hadn’t caught her in time, Edith would have fallen to the floor by now.

Feeling the slenderness of Edith’s arm, Yisi tilted her head.

“As a warrior, you wouldn’t almost fall even if you tripped on uneven ground, let alone indoors.”

Even Mary had never fallen before.

“It’s nothing. I just walked a bit more last night to gather information, so my feet are uncomfortable.”

Reaԁ οn ΚαtRеаdіոɡСаfе

“Do you need healing magic?”

“I can’t stand holy magic.”

“Don’t worry, it’s a water-element-based healing magic.”

“…Alright. I’ll trouble you then.”

Shrugging, Edith turned and sat on Yisi’s bed. For some reason, Edith did something that seemed quite girlish to Yisi, to the point of surprising her—she picked up the pillow and held it in front of her. This was Yisi’s pillow.

Suddenly, Yisi remembered the time back in the Blood Clan’s territory when Edith had held her pillow and rolled around on her bed like a caterpillar. The current Edith was very similar to back then.

On closer inspection… Pepe’s breathing had also become more rapid? It felt as if she were sniffing something.

It couldn’t be like Camilla last night, saying there was a nice scent, could it? How could Pepe be so cute.

Noticing that Yisi was standing there in a daze, Edith frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“…It’s the first time I’ve seen Pepe sitting on the bed like this, holding a pillow. It’s a bit surprising.”

If I put cat ears on Pepe, she’d be even cuter. Pepe in a maid outfit would surely be alluring, provided I was mentally prepared to be killed.

“Ah…”

Imperceptibly, Edith was stunned for a moment. Her neck lowered with difficulty, like a machine that hadn’t been oiled in a long time. When she saw the pillow she was holding, her whole body froze.

…Could it be that Pepe herself hadn’t realized she had taken my pillow the moment she came in? Was it an unconscious act?

As if to verify Yisi’s guess, a blush gradually spread from Edith’s neck to her cheeks. Of course, with Yisi’s level of tact, she would definitely not point it out—that would make Pepe forcibly suppress her shyness and become less cute.

Bringing over a stool, Yisi sat opposite Edith at a slightly lower position and patted her own thighs.

“Stick your feet out.”

Without hesitation or resistance, Edith stuck out her left foot, which was wearing a long boot. Any other girl would probably be shy at a time like this, but for Edith, this was a very natural thing. She was already used to a life of being served by others.

However, the moment Yisi’s hand touched Edith, Edith’s body couldn’t help but tremble for a moment.

“Does it hurt?”

“N-No.”

Edith shook her head.

Reаԁ οn КаtRеаdiոɡСаfе

¹ edith monolog I don’t know what happened either. When Yisi’s hand touched me, my body naturally reacted. Including just now when I subconsciously picked up Yisi’s pillow, preparing to enjoy that reassuring scent, I had a feeling of being controlled—although I know that it’s probably the sentiment called ‘like’.

There was no feeling at all with those pets, but it became strange with Yisi. Edith secretly clicked her tongue at her own lack of self-control. Her gaze involuntarily fell on Yisi. After seeing Yisi preparing to take off her long boots, her mind began to worry about whether there would be an odor, and whether the shape of her feet would not be so good-looking. This was something she had never thought about before.

Subconsciously, Edith bit a small part of her lip. Once a strange thought entered her mind, it was difficult to remove. Now Edith even had the idea of wanting to pull her leg back. It was at this moment that Yisi suddenly squeezed Edith’s calf. Like a cat whose tail had been squeezed, Edith’s whole body trembled.

“You’re very stiff. Is Pepe nervous?”

“How could I be nervous?”

Of course I’m nervous, I just can’t let you know.

Her good upbringing allowed Edith to remain expressionless on most occasions.

“Is that so? I don’t think a normal person’s muscles would usually be this hard. Well, maybe it’s because Pepe exercises often.”

For an elegant noble lady, exercising often probably doesn’t count as a compliment, does it?

An anger mark appeared on Edith’s head, but it quickly disappeared due to Yisi’s next action—Yisi took off her long boots. Feeling the warm fingers sliding across her palm, Edith’s already tense body became even more tense.

Even her voice changed a tone.

“W-Will there be a strange smell?”

“Nope.”

“Really?”

“If there really was, I would definitely cover my nose.”

“Do you want to get beaten!?”

“Just kidding. Pepe is very well-maintained. I originally thought that someone who fights often would at least have some calluses, but I don’t see anything like that at all.”

“Hey, don’t do strange things. I didn’t ask you to look so closely.”

Edith’s voice couldn’t help but rise a few notches. She began to regret why she had agreed to let Yisi use healing magic on her.

“If I don’t look closely, it’s hard to see where the injury is.”

Yisi answered with a very serious expression. Sometimes, Edith would feel that the seriousness on Yisi’s face was just an act, and that she was actually secretly observing her shy side. Although Edith knew this was her own speculation, and that ordinary people couldn’t see the abnormality in her subtle movements, Yisi just gave her that feeling.

“Isn’t your technique a bit too subtle? It’s just looking for where the injury is. Why are you touching all over?”

“Eh, am I? I just started looking. Is Pepe being too sensitive?”

Rеaԁ оn KatRеαdіոɡCafе

Is it my problem?

Edith paused for a moment. It seemed she was indeed being too neurotic. The diagnosis had only just begun less than a minute ago. But to be honest, it was really hard to be calm when someone was touching your toes. Every time Yisi touched, Edith’s small toes would curl up uncontrollably.

“Mmm, it’s a bit red between your toes. It could be because the long boots are too small and are squeezing them… I remember Pepe rarely wears long boots. Next time you have to walk a long way, it’s better to choose larger long boots.”

As she spoke, a blue ball of light appeared in Yisi’s palm. A cool sensation immediately spread from Edith’s toes to her entire left leg. Although it wasn’t that comfortable, she surprisingly wanted this moment to last longer.

Not so happily, Edith glanced to the side.

“It’s not that I deliberately chose a smaller size of shoes. I haven’t reached adulthood yet. It’s normal for my body to develop, right?”

“Didn’t you say that according to human calculations, Pepe is already an adult?”

“I’m of the Blood Clan. The age of adulthood for the Blood Clan is twenty.”

“So the twenty-year-old adulthood here refers to growth and development… I thought it was deliberately set high—alright, it should be fine now. Do you want me to look at the other one too?”

“No need.”

Although there was still a trace of reluctance in her heart, Edith quickly pulled back her left foot. It would be fine to let Refina do the treatment. She was really worried about whether there would be a strange smell on her feet. If there was, and Yisi pretended not to smell it, it would be too unladylike. As the eldest daughter of the Pescia family, a person with the name Loiswell, to have an unpleasant odor emanating from her body, this would definitely be a failure that she would remember for the rest of her life.

Yisi’s raised eyes were full of confusion.

“I feel like today’s Pepe is very strange. Well, I must be overthinking it. Speaking of which, I just noticed that Pepe’s long boots are very hard. Don’t they hurt your feet?”

“Very hard? This is already the highest quality of shoes. The leather part is made from the skin under a wyvern’s chest, the bottom is sewn with multiple layers of wing membrane, and the inside is lined with fleece.”

“But the part that touches the ground at the very bottom is still a layer of wood.”

Picking up Edith’s long boots, Yisi tried to press on them—they were indeed very hard.

However, this also reminded Yisi of something. The shoes she wore had always been props from [Ragnarøk], so she had never noticed that in this world, only wear-resistant wood could be used for the soles of shoes. Thinking about it carefully, wearing such shoes was actually quite torturous.

Everyone has been wearing shoes like this all along…

Feeling guilty for not having noticed in time, Yisi lowered her head slightly.

“What are you thinking about?”

Edith waved her hand in front of Yisi’s face. Yisi stood up from the chair.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

Anyway, first, it’s best to catch all the black slimes one can.