Once the atmosphere had finally calmed, we opened the bottle of whiskey and began to drink.
「Incredible… This is the best liquor I’ve ever tasted.」
「Indeed. So wonderfully smooth and mellow on the tongue.」
「This one is noticeably better than what we had before…」
「Yeah, I picked a higher quality one this time.」
「Isn’t that a little unfair? So the stuff you gave us back then was cheap booze?」
Liliana shot me a sulky glare, her cheeks puffed out in adorable indignation.
「No, it’s not like that… I just didn’t have anything nice enough to bring back as proper souvenirs for people.」
「Muu… Then you have to let me taste even better ones from now on.」
With that, Liliana climbed right onto my lap without hesitation. She tilted my head gently aside, her soft lips brushing my skin first in a teasing little kiss before her fangs sank delicately into the side of my neck. She drew just a small amount of blood, then swirled it into the whiskey still in her mouth, savoring the mixture with slow, delighted little chews.
「Haa… So delicious… The Demon King’s blood is…」
Her eyes fluttered half-closed in pure, dreamy ecstasy. Ulberick and Natalia exchanged awkward glances, their polite smiles barely hiding the faint, embarrassed amusement.
「Hey, Liliana… they’re both kind of weirded out over there…」
「N-no, we’re not repulsed! We were just… surprised. It’s our first time seeing someone actually drink blood like that.」
「Yes. And watching Princess Liliana right now… it’s so clear how happy she truly is.」
Natalia smiled warmly, genuinely touched by the sight. Liliana immediately flushed bright pink and buried her face against my chest with a tiny, flustered squeak.
「But… don’t vampires only drink from one person for their entire life?」
「Yes. Except in cases like the death of a partner, the rule is one donor for life. There’s also compatibility to consider, not just anyone will do. In my case, it’s even stricter. I can only accept the Demon King’s blood. No one else’s will sustain me.」
「I see…」
「But if that’s true… then once a vampire loses that one person…」
「There is no ‘once’. When that person is gone, our existence ends there. We either slowly waste away drinking the last few preserved drops… or we follow our beloved into the underworld together. And drinking from anyone else is the gravest sin, our own kind would hunt us down and erase us without mercy.」
Both of them swallowed hard. Even Natalia-san, who always knew everything, clearly hadn’t heard this before.
「Honestly… that explains why their numbers never grow. I always wondered how such a rare species managed to stay in power for so long, but now it all makes sense.」
「Yes… A terrifying price for such extraordinary power. I understand completely.」
Then, as if the same thought struck them both at once, Ulberick and Natalia turned to look at me.
「But… Demon King-sama, you’re human, right?」
「Exactly. So if I were ever lost, I would simply… stop existing. Well, that’s impossible anyway. But just so you know, if anyone ever succeeded in killing the Demon King-sama, I would wipe every last one of them from this world before following right after him. Please keep that in mind.」
Liliana let a thin thread of dark magic power coil playfully around her fingers as she gave a sweet, almost wicked little smile. The temperature in the room seemed to drop. Ulberick and Natalia’s expressions froze solid.
Okay, Liliana, you’re definitely way too drunk.
「Hey now, Liliana. You’re pretty far gone, aren’t you?」
「Ehehe～ Busted～? Yuuki-sama’s blood～ and alcohol～ mix waaay too perfectly～」
All the menace vanished in an instant. Her face went completely soft and silly, magic power fizzling out like a spent sparkler. She slumped against me with a dreamy, goofy grin.
…Wait. She’s actually cuter like this than usual. Dangerously cute.
「Alright, that’s enough drinking for you. Sorry about this, you two, I’ll move the chairs real quick.」
I scooped Liliana up in a princess carry. She immediately nuzzled into my chest with a happy little sigh, arms looping loosely around my neck. I opened my item box, stored away both our chairs in one smooth motion, then pulled out a plush sofa and a thick, warm blanket.
「Here. You can nap right here, okay?」
「Yaaay～ Zzz…」
She was out cold before I even finished tucking the blanket around her shoulders, cheek pressed softly against the cushion.
…Hold on. Liliana’s supposed to be able to drink anyone under the table. Is it because she mixed my blood in? That must be throwing her tolerance completely off.
「Sorry about her. I’ll put the chairs back later.」
「Y-yeah… I have no idea what just happened, but… I can tell you pulled off something insane.」
「Wait… was that ancient magic just now?」
「「Ancient magic?」」
「Yes. According to legend, thousands of years ago, a certain Holy Knight appeared and saved the Grillnimus Theocracy, the very foundation of this nation. He is said to have wielded the exact same magic.」
The Grilnimus Theocracy? Could it be……?
「Grilnimus? Not Grimms?」
「I’m not sure. That’s how it was written in the history book I read during my organizational studies」
「Can you still get that history book?」
「Yes, but it’s a copy」
「Natalia, what’s the title of that book?」
「It’s called 『Founding Records of Philrecia, Side Chronicle. History of the Age of the Gods, Volume One』. However, it was written down by an old-era translator, so if the country name is as the Demon King says, then a mistranslation or transcription error likely occurred there」
「Hmm…… we don’t have the side chronicle in my family collection. Then it’d be a bookstore in the city, or if not there, one in the royal capital」
「Understood. We’ll be infiltrating the royal capital eventually, so I’ll look for it then」
「Sorry I couldn’t be of more help」
「No, actually, it was very close to the information I was searching for, so this is a stroke of luck」
「I see, then I’m glad. Now, about the main topic……」
「Yes, about our movements from here on……」
That night, we discussed our plans until just before the sun rose.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
「Alright, come on everyone. Wake up, wake up」
Leaving Liliana fast asleep, I woke the others.
「Good morning…… Yuuki……」
「Good morninggg…… I want a lavish breakfast in the morninggg……」
「Nfuaaaaa Yuuki-san good morninggg～Zzz……」
「Morning, Amilia. Hey, Selene, don’t go back to sleep, get up. We’re meeting Regil and the others today. And Lopple-san, breakfast will be normal」
「That’s right…… come on, Selene, time to wake up」
「Uu…… that’s true…… but I’m still sleepy……」
「Uu…… premium meat…… come back……」
They all managed to wake up, though still clearly half-asleep.
「Alright then, get changed and come downstairs. Liliana stayed up until morning, so don’t wake her」
「「「Okaaay」」」
After hearing their replies, I headed down the stairs ahead of them.
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