Arthur moved through the mansion wearing his new clothes. They were far shabbier than his original clothes, but he couldn't walk around wearing the clothes of Jerano. As he went from a hallway to a hallway, he listened to the whispers of the servants who passed by him.
"... her toy..."
"She did it with a human?"
"... He must have used dark magic..."
These were some of the things that he picked up of late. The daily study sessions with Larza made him the center of the rumors of being her lover. Arthur didn't care as long as no one stabbed him based on these baseless rumors, but he couldn't be sure given how much the demi-humans looked down on him.
"Come in." She said after he knocked on her door. Arthur entered while being aware of the servants eavesdropping outside. Larza was on her desk like always, signing paperwork and finishing out deals.
"What is it that you sell?" Arthur asked as he pulled a chair and sat down. Larza smiled and glanced at him with amusement. She treated him with respect, something this world did not.
"The plants that you tend to." Larza answered. "Ever since the first calamity, plants have been rare for all demis." She made sure to use words he knew.
Demis was the word used for demi-humans. Another one was Halflings. Larza said both were equally used, but they didn't always mean the same thing. Demis included both Halflings and the Evolved, while Halflings only referred to those who inherited the evolved traits from their family.
They took pride in being a Demi, proof that they have evolved from their inferior race of humanity. They saw humanity as a weakness.
"What do you mean by the first calamity?" Arthur asked. This made Larza frown.
"You might not know our language, but how can you not know this? Even as a Verniz..."
"I meant the word. I don't know what the word means." Arthur hurried to explain, diffusing her doubts. She took up the role of the teacher and began their lesson for the day.
After they were done learning new words, Larza stood up and pushed him to lean on his chair. The two looked each other in the eyes as her long and thin tongue crawled out of her mouth with a playful smile.
"The blood on your wrist isn't enough anymore." She approached his neck with her fangs. "This must be more delicious."
"Wait." Arthur covered his neck and saw Larza's face turn into a terrifying frown. "I have a question first."
"What?" She scowled, clearly displeased at having her meal interrupted. "You're getting too arrogant."
"I'm being cooperative." Arthur said. "We both knew that my blood isn't infinite." He saw Larza nod. "Can you get off me first?"
She had both of her knees on the chair with her feet dangling in the air. With her hands around his neck, this was the definition of an inappropriate position.
"Do the rumors bother you?" Larza smiled as her hand caressed his chest. "Or do they make you desire me?"
It seems she was aware of the rumors that were going on but didn't do anything to diffuse them. Maybe being her lover meant he would get less harassed by the others, but he wasn't sure that was her motive.
"I wouldn't dare," Arthur said with a blank expression. Larza didn't answer right away but looked at him with a smile.
"That's better. You're still a human, even if you're a Seika La Vega." She said while getting away from him. She leaned on her desk as her hands rested on it. "What's your question?"
"The knight I arrived with died today," Arthur told her. "He said something about a king."
As he finished his words, he saw Larza's smile vanish to be replaced with a displeased expression. She moved away and went toward a shelf and pulled a book.
"It's your race's foolish dreams," Larza said while throwing the book on the desk in front of Arthur. "A kingdom where everyone can live equally."
"Is it alright to tell me this?" Arthur asked as he touched the book's cover. It was golden.
"Are you thinking of leaving?" She glanced at him while asking nonchalantly. Even with her relaxed tone, Arthur knew she would lock him away as soon as he expressed such intent.
"It's too dangerous outside." Arthur shook his head and she nodded with approval.
"It's better that you stay here." She said before resuming her talk. "Their king is a foolish person. He's the son of a half-giant, that should tell you what kind of person he is."
Arthur remembered the memory fragment that was resting in his subspace. It was about a giant man who was despised by the other races. This fits with what Larza was telling him.
"He said his name was Solomon..." Arthur said with a frown.
"That's the name of their king." Larza shook her head. "A foolish man. Truly."
"Is it because he believes that everyone should live equally?"
"That and his current aspirations." Larza smiled in mockery while looking out of her window. "They say he's creating an artifact that would defy the world. I wonder what nonsense is that."
Her words rang a bell in Arthur's mind. Before he died, Solomon told him that he tried to create an artifact that defied the world. He failed and was thus trapped in the trial of the holy crown.
It all made sense now. His dreams, his reasons, and why he begged Arthur to break the trial and release the monsters. His ideology was the reason he asked Arthur to break the trial.
"Wait, where is..." Arthur wanted to ask but Larza was already sitting on top of him again. Her mouth went straight to his neck as she spoke.
"No more questions. It's time to have my meal." Her fangs pierced through his neck as she started drinking his blood. Arthur felt faint as a message appeared from his legacy.
[Recovery percentage: 14%.]
It has gone down by one due to Larza drinking his blood. Arthur tried to push her away, but she was several times stronger than he was. When she was done, she kissed Arthur lightly on his cheek.
"This is your reward." She said with a smile before moving away from him. Arthur sat there clutching his neck as dizziness overtook him.
***
The next day, Larza didn't take away his blood. She was either being considerate or simply full from the meal. Either way, Arthur got to recover the 1% he lost.
The fact that she reversed his recovery was the last confirmation that she was the reason he wasn't recovering. This demanded an escape plan.
However, the gem embedded in his flesh couldn't be taken out. Unless he cut away his arm, which he had no plans of doing at the moment, he needed to find another way to remove this.
'Who would help a human escape their master in a place full of Demis?' Arthur was stuck. The only option he had was to steal the book from Larza's study and find out more information about Solomon's kingdom. Then, he would have to look through the city for a person from there.
He desperately needed Lilo and Ruki, but they weren't here. Lilo was still unconscious in Arthur's consciousness and Ruki was somewhere with Rae.
The only thing he could currently use was his Legacy, which didn't require any mana. He was back to being a normal human excluding the absurd stats and subspace.
After he was done with the garden, Arthur went to his Legacy Inheritance and bought a potion. He was about to use a tactic that he didn't wish to employ to get his hands on that book without Larza noticing.
The white veil appeared in his hand and Arthur drank it before going to Larza's study. On the way, more than one head snapped his way and looked at him with scary glares.
As he knocked on the door, Larza allowed him inside. He opened the door and held his breath before sitting down. It was easy to hold his breath given his stamina.
"Heran," Larza stood up like always and was about to head his way. Arthur stood up suddenly and breathed out. The potion's aroma left his mouth and spread in the room.
Before Larza could say anything, Arthur kissed her. The aphrodisiac worked its magic and Larza's skin turned flushed. Arthur felt her tongue wrap itself around him as they slammed into the bookshelves.
His hands traced the golden book and it disappeared in his subspace. There was no mana usage and the book disappeared. However, Larza's lust didn't and she pushed him back as their eyes met.
Her eyes were murky and clouded as she looked into his. Arthur felt sorry until she met his lip and started to drink his blood as they kissed.
'Wait, this is supposed to be a weak aphrodisiac. Why isn't she stopping?' Arthur panicked.