Two figures walked on the pavement inside Imperial Capital. One was in a butler suit, and the other was in a maid outfit. It’s still summer, and the time is two o’clock; this afternoon is surely hot and sunny.
The elder one steadily held an open umbrella to shield their sensitive skin from the scorching sun. Due to their racial traits, they cannot expose themselves to sunlight for long.
They are not humans, but vampires. On top of that, they are not just normal vampires but higher ones.
The two just came out of a top-class hotel after a contract signing. The other side, the B-ranked party Myriad Wings, agreed with the terms and conditions of the contract without any minor issues.
Right now, they are on their way to the mansion that they rented in the capital’s noble district.
“…She smelled sweet.”
The maid, who had never said anything since the start of the meeting, finally spoke. Her voice was soft and full of allurement, so persuasive that men make believe of her every words.
“You think so?” Maximilian, who is holding the umbrella, didn’t break his stony posture as he was answering the maid.
It is visually clear that a Head Butler had higher stature than a mere maid, unless the maid was of noble birth. But that doesn’t seem to be the case between them.
“You’d smelled them, right?” The maid asked.
“Just barely.” Maximilian answered honestly. “I am not as keen as you are.”
“I thought so.” The maid flashed a subtle smile. “But the aroma that girl was giving off was so alluring. Probably more fragrant than the ones that I have tasted so far.”
The maid creepily licked her lips, which were wet under the umbrella’s shade. Maximilian had seen this occasion very often and had grown accustomed to it. But he still has reminders to make.
“We are still in the public. Don’t expose yourself too much.”
The maid seemed to be peeved by his words, but eventually calmed down seeing the people and vehicles passing by.
“So, what are we going to do after this?”
“We have nothing to do this entire day, but we will be meeting the Imperial royal family tomorrow.”
“We will be free until the next day, huh?”
An evil grin flashed on the maid’s face after she said that.
“…Can you at least tell me what you are planning to do?” Maximilian noticed her change in character and asked her.
“Well, it’s been a while since I have tasted that kind of sweet-scented…”
“Don’t tell me…?!” As if knowing her intentions, the butler gaped and widened his eyes. ｎ𝚘𝚟ｌ.ｃｏ𝚖
“You have it right, Maximilian. I would never let this opportunity pass.”
“But…”
“What are you worrying about, Maximilian? They are just commoners, and above all, lowly humans. They don’t have the power to oppose us.”
“…”
A maid blurting out those phrases was just too offensive, even if she’s working for a prestigious noble family. But Maximilian didn’t react to her and just went on in silence.
“Besides, I’ll be taking a sip, a long and big sip. There will be no problem as long as they don’t remember a thing.”
“…If that is what you want. I don’t have anything to oppose.”
Maximilian is not only the Head Butler but also the head of all servants in the Trandafir household.
All butlers, maids, and other sorts of servants in the household are directly under his command. Every single thing happening in the household must be directly reported to Maximilian.
But right now, he is following the decisions the maid made. A person with stature way lower than his. The peculiarities from before are now getting stranger.
After a few minutes of walking, they reach the mansion they rented. After stepping onto the pavement within its premises, the maid suddenly slowed her pace and stopped.
“Once you get into the mansion, prepare the dungeon at once.”
“How about you?”
The woman turned her body around and started to walk in the opposite direction. They just arrived there, but she seems to be leaving already.
“Mmm. I have to collect my dessert.” She confidently declared before she enveloped herself in red mist and vanished as if blown away by the warm summer breeze.
Maximilian left behind the estate standing like a statue along the cobblestone pavement. He closed the black umbrella and gazed up at the cloudless sky.
“Sigh.” Maximilian let out a tired sigh. “At least bring an umbrella, Milady.”
◆◇◆◇◆◇
Evening.
On top of the tiled roof of one of the establishment in the city of Jeffer, a figure stood with arms fold looking down the road. Standing up, there would be much attention, but the figure has done a good job concealing herself completely from the world.
She is the woman in maid dress that accompanied Maximilian during the meeting as a proxy for his master. Unlike before, she is currently in a black dress that highlights her pale white skin even more.
She is inconspicuously observing a party of four people who are peacefully eating their dinners in the inn where they are staying. But she consistently kept locking her gaze on a certain member of the group.
The adventurers’ party she’s been eyeing is the Myriad Wings. For some reason, something made her want to have them on her watch.
During the meeting before, she sniffed, quite literally, something somewhat sweet and aromatic from one of the party’s members. Irresistible fragrance that was remarkably more pleasant than any desserts or luxuries she ever tasted.
“Ahh. Her smell alone heavily implies her scrumptious qualities~.” She uttered it with a mischievous smile. “I wonder how she became so sweet. Whatever, like hell I care about trivial matters.”
She looked like a predator, accurately spotting the position of her prey. But like all hunters, she is meticulously waiting for the right moment to pull the trigger.
Even though she certainly knew she was way more powerful than them through the Appraisal, she isn’t stupid enough to solely engage in a fight with a party of Level 200s.
The party reportedly ranked itself at B in just a matter of months. They seemed to have confidence in their own strength, and she was certainly convinced they had some cards hidden under their sleeves.
The vampire was just standing atop the roof, composedly, as the twilight slowly got devoured by the darkness. Later on, establishments began to light their lanterns and magic lights up and illuminate the streets.
Meanwhile, the vampire waited for some minutes before perceiving the party as being done with their dinner. The party didn’t have to give their tabs since they already paid for the meals for the whole week.
Given the distance between them, the vampire barely hears any interactions the party initiates. Using her Enhanced Senses, she dramatically sharpened her sense of hearing to perceive what the party was discussing.
“—for the night. How about we go shopping for a while?” The platinum-blonde woman suggested.
“Let’s do. I wanted to buy more underwear…you know.”
“Uriel’s still growing, which is understandable. Do you have any plans for tonight, Michael?”
“…I have a date with Nefa at 7.”
“I will accompany these two then. See you later.”
All of them made their way out of the inn. The three women headed to the commercial district, while the man walked in the opposite direction.
Now that the most Leveled member was out of the picture, the observing vampire made an evil grin, seeing a slight increase in the success rate of her plans.
But she reminded herself to be cautious since the fastest and most perceptive member is still with her target. Not that the rogue was near as fast as the vampire.
The vampire constantly jumped over the buildings as she followed the three. She was cloaked with Perfect Concealment and could freely move without being noticed or detected.
Each of her jumps is noiseless, and her landings were as light as a feather as well. She confidently leaped over the sensitive clay so gently that it didn’t bulge. Not even that rogue could hear a thing.
“Oh! It’s the girls from the Myriad Wings! Please take my humble offering to the angels!”
“Take mine, too!”
“Thank you!”
The vendors on the sidewalks didn’t miss the opportunity to notice the ladies’ godly beauty and offered them their goods. It’s been a daily occurrence every time the ladies walk the streets.
The Myriad Wings, especially the three ladies, have become so popular since they arrived at the Imperial Capital.
Not only are they strong and powerful for their Levels but each of them has their own kind of beauty and charisma that explodes with appeal to the locals.
(They are pretty famous, huh.)
The three were being surrounded by the crowd and couldn’t find a way to get near. She has nothing to do but wait until the fuss subsides.
◆◇◆
“Finally, we managed to break out of them.”
“They are getting more annoying lately.”
“Yeah. Seems like we need to restrain ourselves from going out more often.”
Three women with exhausted faces are walking down a dark alley. They are just creating shortcuts to escape from the congestion of their fans.
(Finally.)
The vampire followed them up to there like a tiger trailing its prey. Her holding back before became a fruitful result as the three fell off the trap on their own.
She readied herself before she executed her plan.
In her pocket, she snatched something that looked like a glass shard, but it was actually a data crystal with a magic spell sealed inside.
She was just a few meters away from her dessert. In order to distract them, she unleashed Compound Magic Level 3: Fog to obstruct their vision.
“Huh? What’s this? Fog?”
Once their visibility was remarkably obstructed, the vampire launched herself as fast and quietly as she could to close their proximity. So fast that she drew closer in an instant.
(Gotcha!)
When she finally got a grasp of her target, she immediately broke the shard she was holding to release the spell sleeping within it.
“Huh?”
After a few moments, the fog gradually lost its thickness. Upon having a clearer picture, they realized something and uttered the words…
“Uriel…?”
One of the three women disappeared without a trace, with shattered glass scattered on her last post.