Volume 3 Chapter 12 Research
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”I was also collecting debts, so a bit of arguing comes with the territory. Wouldn’t you agree?”
The merchant stated this smoothly, without a hint of change in his expression.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed an unfamiliar ring on his finger.
A dull ring woven with flaxen hair.
And a golden ring braided with shimmering blonde locks.
”I had no idea Rean was in financial trouble. I used to be part of ‘Lion’s Companion’ for a time, and I know him well enough… but he was never the type to get into debt.”
”Heh heh heh… There’s no way Rean is struggling for money, right? He’s a well-known Rank 1 Adventurer.”
”So what did Rean borrow from you?”
”That’s confidential. I can’t just blab about my clients’ information. However──just for your education, let me tell you that there are many things in this world that money can’t buy. You might not understand that yet, considering you were just wearing rags until recently.”
”────”
”You want to know my true identity, don’t you? But curiosity kills the cat. There are plenty of things in this world that are better left unknown.”
He gave a pretentious bow and passed by Kian, heading back down the alley.
As Kian stared at his back, the merchant waved without turning around.
”If you ever want a handy tool, come visit me again. Just know that from the second time onward, you’ll have to pay the regular price, so keep that in mind.”
His figure quickly disappeared around the corner.
Kian called out to ‘glasses.’
(Is he really just an ordinary merchant?)
’What else would he appear to you as?’
(No…)
The merchant’s magic power, as seen through ‘glasses,’ was minuscule.
This meant he was nothing special, just an ordinary human as he appeared.
(Am I overthinking this? Perhaps my senses are getting warped from interacting with non-humans like Oswald, Renaud, and Owl lately.)
Regardless, if he didn’t seek him out, that merchant was just a stranger with whom he had a single transaction.
He was curious about what Rean had purchased, but he had no intention of digging deeper into it.
”Shall we head back to the training grounds?”
’That sounds good. We need to discuss where to keep Sword Cain during the day. Rufna should be returning after finishing her feeding, I suppose.’
”Yeah.”
Kian nodded and retraced their steps down the path.
They didn’t encounter any merchants along the way.
Even after reaching the back streets, the figure of Vestacia was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed she had successfully reunited with Rean and left brōtḥel street.
Quickly parting ways with the western district, Kian set his sights eastward, heading towards the training ground.
* * *
Among the spoils received from Oswald were his research papers on vampires and rare materials he had gathered at great expense from various sources.
The training of the lowest-rank Bloodsucking Kind, the Cain type, had been a plan long in the making, and now with 2 Sword Cains acquired through a quest in the mountain village, serious research seemed possible.
In the eastern fields illuminated by soft pink sunlight.
Kian, Natra, and Rufna found themselves at one of the caves previously utilized by a band of armed groups that had once ensnared Natra for training.
As they approached the cave’s darkness, the Sword Cains hiding within the shadows transformed into black mist and fled deeper inside.
Following closely, Kian stepped in and witnessed 2 slender, grayish creatures resembling praying mantises materializing from the cave’s gloom.
They were over 2 meters tall.
Their arms appeared as if their wings had regressed into blade-like appendages.
The creatures clicked their toothy jaws, moving in an insect-like manner, drooling on their own blade-like hands.
”I’ll set up a barrier. I’ll add a human-repelling effect to keep beasts and bandits away.”
”Thanks.”
”You got it.”
”Sir Kian, it seems these creatures are quite hungry.”
Natra, who had placed a book on a large rock nearby, spoke while comparing the pages with the Sword Cains.
Kian removed his glasses and tucked them away in his pocket.
”Well, they’re drooling, after all. They got pretty aggressive when I had them face off against Serena, too. Might be they’re in a state of starvation. We’re feeding them bears, right?”
”Yes, deer or wolves would be fine too, but it seems bears are the most satisfying.”
Natra nodded and stepped away from the large rock, heading outside the cave.
A few moments later, she returned slowly, carrying a massive bear.
The cave filled with a strong, pungent smell of beast.
The bear’s size was so enormous that Natra was almost completely obscured from view.
”Here we go…”
With a thud, the bear’s lifeless body was tossed aside.
The Sword-Cains all clicked their fangs in unison, starting a creepy dance with rustling sounds.
They seemed terribly excited in front of their favorite meal.
”Wait, wait… Yes, yes, good boy, Milk.”
”Milk?”
”That’s his name. It’s convenient to have a name, right? By the way, this one is Walnut. I just named him.”
”Doesn’t that sound a bit lame?”
”…Oh? Do you have a problem with my sense, my lord?”
”Well… But, since it’s just a test subject, I thought a name didn’t really matter.”
”It does matter. With all due respect, Sir Kian, I was only pursuing cuteness, not coolness. It’s your sense that’s off.”
”Yeah, you’re right. I was wrong. Sorry, sorry.”
Not wanting to get tangled up with Natra, he tried to brush it off.
However, she glared at Kian with narrowed eyes before slowly approaching him.
BAM!
”What!?”
”Take back what you said! You’re the one who’s wrong!”
”Hey, come on! Don’t get so seriously angry. I really am sorry… I admit my sense is off. I just thought ‘Milk’ and ‘Walnut’ sounded cute, but I felt they didn’t quite fit this bug-like Sword-Cain.”
Cornered against the wall, he hurriedly explained himself.
Lies wouldn’t work on Natra, so these were his genuine feelings.
The brown-skinned girl pouted in dissatisfaction upon hearing this, but eventually, she reluctantly stepped back.
”Sir Kian, did you think I was childish?”
”Yeah… Huh?”
”────”
”Ah, …sorry.”
”It’s fine, really. I’m just a childish woman, anyway. …You’re being so mean. I don’t understand what’s wrong with milk and walnuts. …Right, milk?”
Natra whispered to Sword-Cain in a voice that was unusually soft and non-threatening, a stark contrast to her usual demeanor.
The two ‘pets’ were now devouring the bear’s innards with unabashed enthusiasm.
*BLAT!* A loud, hearty explosion of sound burst forth, sending blood splattering in all directions.
A splash of bright red blood landed messily right at Natra’s feet.
Kian felt his mouth twitch in discomfort.
It was quite macabre.
”According to the research papers collected by Oswald, Sword-Cain needs to be fed a whole bear each day. They say they slice open the neck and belly, lapping up the spilled blood as it flows…”
”These guys are digging into the guts and slurping up the blood.”
”Ah, it seems so. Oh, but it’s apparently bad to only give them blood. For them, tearing into the flesh of their prey helps relieve stress, and if you only feed them blood, they end up becoming more aggressive and rampaging. In fact, one of the assistants was torn apart by Sword-Cain after misting away and escaping.”
”Hmm, very interesting indeed.”
”Oh? What exactly is interesting about it?”
”Well, everything about these little ones.”
Natra said this as she returned to the large rock, her expression now serious again.
She moistened the tip of her quill with saliva and turned back to Kian.
”It seems the author of the paper was killed while capturing Wing-Cain, so there’s of course no mention of Shield-Cain either. If we plan to capture and raise them someday, I’d like to familiarize myself with the findings of these two studies.”
”I was going to check on the repair of ‘Windsong Blade’ and see how Maribel and the others are doing at the fortress today. If I get a chance, I’ll also meet Owl and ask a few questions.”
”By the way, that vampire was also using a large number of Cain species, wasn’t he?”
Natra set down a leather pouch beside Sword-Cain, ready to collect samples.
Once she was done, she took the record sheet and knelt beside Milk and Walnut, who were lapping at the cave floor, and began to quickly record information about their meals.
As she scribbled with her pen, she muttered, “I feel like the speed at which they’re lapping up the blood is too fast. Eating so quickly seems like poison for any creature… I must do something.”
Kian stared down at Sword-Cain (he couldn’t tell if it was Milk or Walnut) as it crunched bones and slurped down the brain matter.
”Are bears a complete nutritional meal for this thing?”
”I wonder. Perhaps we should observe and try feeding them only deer, or only wolves. Ah, and since they seem to be cannibals, the corpses of other Cain species might be good as well. ──If you’re heading to the fortress, what about your escort? If you plan to meet that vampire, I humbly suggest you take either myself or Rufna along.”
”No, Rufna needs time to construct the barrier, and you have the important task of raising the Sword-Cain. I’ll head to the fortress alone. Owl is a monster, but he hasn’t been hostile so far, and as long as I don’t provoke him, it’s not something to be feared.”
”Still, I will send Rufna to the fortress as soon as the barrier is complete. You may be staying there for several days, yes?”
”Yeah. Since I can’t use teleportation, it’ll take time to travel. I want to cross the hilly area during the day.”
Everything would be solved if Rufna’s registration for teleportation gates was completed, but there was a high possibility that her true identity would be revealed to Maribel’s side during the registration.
Oswald might have already told them, but it didn’t seem like a good idea for Maribel to know that the Nakash family’s head magician was in his hands, especially with the new witches and bureaucrats she had hired.
Kian handed the gold coins from his pocket to Natra.
”Well then, I’m going.”
”Yes, be safe, Sir Kian.”
Kian nodded to the familiar, who was holding the feather pen and politely lowered her head, and then left the cave.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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