Chapter 178: My Answer Is
Gorgota Falu stopped moving the fountain pen and glanced at Ramin Solost.
Then Gorgota cheerfully checked off the question.
“Very well. The regular check is complete with this. It seems you haven’t purchased any other significant items, so I won’t take a separate look around because I trust you, Ramin.”
Ramin shrugged as if saying ‘of course.’
Gorgota looked through the messenger bag and pulled out a box that took up most of the space.
“This is for the next month.”
“…Thank you.”
Ramin pretended not to be interested and placed the box on the desk. However, she couldn’t help but picture what was inside.
The box contained vials of people’s blood.
Vampires were divided into several ranks, depending on how close they were to the first vampire, the Demon Queen Shaiven. The lowest-ranking Vampires could survive to some extent without people’s blood, but they couldn’t be healthy, and Vampires higher in rank required people’s blood without exception.
This dietary habit was one of the biggest issues in the process of the empire accepting Vampires. Vampires’ very existence literally demanded blood from other species. Therefore, while Werewolves from the first continent were accepted as part of society simply by regularly consuming medicinal water to control their violent urges, it took longer for Vampires to be accepted.
Fortunately, with time, this matter was somewhat resolved. As medicine advanced, the jobs of doctors and institutions called hospitals emerged naturally. The ongoing wars led to frequent surgeries, and these hospitals required blood. And as places for the circulation and storage of blood emerged, the empire was ready to accept Vampires. Since there wasn’t a great number of Vampires, they didn’t burden the blood supply in hospitals.
With their newfound confidence in keeping Vampires under control, the empire conducted an investigation to track down the Vampired.
‘Not sure if I should say I’m lucky or unlucky.’
The conditions the empire presented were shocking. They tore apart the laws that had deemed the mere existence of Vampires illegal and, above all, decided to grant amnesty for unproven criminal allegations. At a glance it seemed like the obvious thing to do, but this decision clashed with the public’s perception.
‘Because the existence of Vampires means that they survived while harming other people.’
Initially, there were backlashes arguing that punishment should just be adjusted in proportion to the lifespan of the Vampire. However, opinions favoring placing Vampires and managing them in well-seen regions instead of shaded places gained strength. Despite the possibility of becoming cruel due to the prolonged war, the priests of the Pantheon raised their voices and protested for Vampires’ rights.
However, Ramin didn’t feel particularly grateful towards them.
Ramin instinctively looked at the box. The blood vials were sealed with a stopper spell until opened, and as Gorgota had mentioned, there was only about a month’s supply.
‘They’re a kind of shackle.’
And these supervision processes were followed by embarrassing procedures.
Gorgota Falu, the employee of the Parallel Nation, then said, “I’ll just do the last check and leave.”
“Okay.”
“Please say eeee.”
Ramin did so.
Gorgota then took out a ruler smaller than their palm and brought it to Ramin’s fangs.
“Not much has grown yet. But you might need to extract them next month.”
Vampires could use venom from their two fangs to turn individuals of other species into their own kind. Obviously, the empire didn’t view the increase in the Vampire population as a good thing, but unfortunately, even if Vampires extracted their fangs, they continued to grow back, and it didn’t even take that long.
When these fangs were extracted, an anesthetic was administered, but extracting them caused excruciating pain, both physically and psychologically. A Kobold doctor who studied the strange field called psychology concluded that this was because Vampire fangs could correspond to the reproductive organs of other species.
Gorgota put the ruler away and wrote down the length of Ramin’s fangs.
“I’ll make sure not to forget and go to the hospital.”
“Alright. Well then, see you in a month.”
As Gorgota closed the door and left, Ramin sat at her desk with both hands grabbing her head and let out a frustrated growl. It was due to her worry.
‘Why didn’t I say anything?’
Ramin blamed herself, but at the same time, she knew why she hadn’t told Gorgota about the countless bottles of the Zombie epidemic she had seen in the storage.
‘There’s no other way. This is the right thing.’
Ramin then opened the box that she received from Gorgota and opened one of the vials filled with red blood. Due to the stopper spell, the warmth of the blood’s donor still remained. Ramin then emptied the vial.
***
A few days later, after returning home, Ramin found a paper note wedged in the windowsill.
Come to the empty factory with the blue roof in the southeast industrial area tonight at 12:00.
It was the contact from the Fang agent she had been waiting for.
For self-defense, Ramin then grabbed the wooden cane that she used to prop herself up when her anemia was particularly bad.
The empty factory that was described in the note was easy to find. As she entered the factory, she heard a voice coming from beneath the dim gas lighting.
“You’ve come on time.”
The voice came from the mask Ramin had seen before. But besides the red mask, there were five other agents dressed similarly.
The one in the red mask said, “Have you checked the gift we gave you?”
“Yes.”
“Are you willing to join us for a great cause? If so, we’ll tell you the detailed plan and tasks you need to perform. Of course, we’ll also let you know what rewards you’ll receive after completing the tasks. No…”
The red-masked figure chuckled and continued to say, “Maybe an answer isn’t necessary. One of our agents saw a supervisor at your home. It seems you didn’t mention anything about the items in the storage since there was no movement from Black Scale’s intelligence agency.”
“That’s right. I didn’t tell them about it.”
“Still, we need a definite answer. Will you join us?”
Without answering, Ramin walked towards the person in the red mask.
The person wearing the red mask slightly tilted their head, as if puzzled.
Then another Fang agent approached Ramin and tried to stop her.
“Hey, stop.”
But Ramin quickened her pace instead. The agent, seemingly bewildered, drew their sword and pressed it against Ramin’s throat.
“How dare you…!”
Then Ramin swung her cane downward. At least, that was what it looked like. However, when Ramin’s cane and the sword crossed, she struck the agent’s sword upward, and the agent lost their grip of the sword.
The sword spun through the air and fell towards Ramin. Ramin easily caught it with her left hand and simultaneously took a step with her left foot, thrusting the sword forward. The disarmed agent didn’t even notice the sword coming at them from outside their field of view. It plunged into the agent’s throat and then came out, and Ramin took a step back.
Everything had happened in a single breath.
The agent who got pierced in their throat belatedly dropped to their knees and collapsed, all the while spilling bubbly blood on the ground. Then a puddle of blood began to spread.
“What the…?”
Taken aback, the agents only began to draw their swords now.
The one in the red mask said, “…What are you doing?”
Ramin replied, “My answer is no.”
“What?”
The person in the red mask tilted their chin slightly at Ramin as if there was nothing else to hear from her.
“…Catch her. If she doesn’t want to comply, we’ll just make her want to.”
Then the other agents ran toward Ramin. However, without even having to block the swords, Ramin moved her body and avoided three attacks with footwork alone. Then she swung the sword again and severed the neck of another agent. The agents who were about to attack again hesitated and stepped back.
Ramin cast her cane backward, kicked the hilt of the sword the agent had dropped with her foot, and caught it with her right hand.
“You know nothing about me.”
Ramin took off her hood.
“I’ll be 120 years old next year.”
“…?”
“I learned to wield a sword before the empire was unified, and after the age of adventure began, I slayed and killed monsters on this land. You all probably weren’t even born yet. I’ve been wielding a sword for over a hundred years.”
“…What?”
Ramin continued to say, “You picked the wrong person to mess with.”
Except for the one in the red mask, the three agents approached Ramin.
‘Are they trying to go for my blind spots?’
The standard approach would be to strike before the opponent could make a move. However, Ramin waited until they surrounded her.
‘That way, I can kill all three of them at once.’
The first incoming strike was a sword that went for her back. Ramin twisted her body sideways and avoided it. Then as her right hand moved, she slashed the first opponent’s throat. The artery was cut and blood spurted out, covering Ramin in red.
Then the second sword aimed for Ramin’s thigh, and the third sword came toward her chest. Using the sword in her left hand, Ramin sliced the hand that was holding the second sword attacking her. Her body easily turned, and the sword that the first attacker used with their right hand went toward the third opponent. The opponent attacked faster, and Ramin, who had already slashed two opponents, was late, but that didn’t matter.
Ramin turned her body and transferred that rotational force to the sword in her right hand, and then she let go of the sword in the direction it wanted to go. The sword released like a thrown spear and pierced through the third opponent’s chest without rotating.
“…”
The person in the red mask wasn’t as foolish as Ramin expected. They took out a pistol and aimed it at Ramin.
‘A rubber pistol!’
Shaped like several cylindrical tubes, the pistol consisted of rubber that was meant to be stretched and a small wedge that was held by the rubber. When the trigger was pulled, the rubber released, and the wedge shot out.
Ping!
Ramin instantly covered the gun’s muzzle with a sword. The wedge hit the blade, and Ramin lost her grip of it.
‘Darn.’
Ramin then instinctively rolled sideways to dodge the next wedge bullet. But it never came.
As Ramin looked up, she saw the person in the red mask escaping through the factory’s exit.
“What a fool.”
Ramin picked up the sword she had dropped and was going to go after the masked agent. Well, she would if she hadn’t heard a familiar voice then.𝘳.𝑐ℴ
“Ramin Solost.”
Ramin turned around. A Frogman entered the factory from a different entrance.
“You don’t need to chase after them. Other agents from the intelligence agency are chasing them.”
“What, why are you here…?”
Gorgota Falu was surprised and said, “Well, I don’t even know how to explain this. Honestly speaking, I suspected you, Ramin Solost. There were rumors that Fang was active in Vaseniol. I already knew about the Zombie plague in the storage in the west. And I also knew that you lost me on purpose and went out of Vaseniol and returned. So I thought that was suspicious.”
Gorgota looked at the dead bodies around them and continued to say, “But it seems I got it wrong.”
“…I’m not crazy enough to turn Vaseniol into a Zombie pit like the western pit. No, before that…you’re from the intelligence agency?”
Gorgota raised their index finger and replied, “Ramin, let’s take it step by step. Allow me to ask you a question first. Why didn’t you tell me anything? Why did you try to handle this on your own?”
Ramin furrowed her eyebrows and got lost in thought. But as if she couldn’t find a suitable way to explain, she just blurted out what came to mind. That actually seemed more like the truth.
“…I was following the will of Night Sky.”
“What?”
Ramin avoided Gorgota’s gaze and looked up.
“Night Sky said not to be satisfied with following their will but to achieve greater value.”
“Well, that’s…”
“So I thought of a good way to protect the empire, as well as my financial conditions.”
The corners of Gorgota’s mouth drooped.
Even Ramin, who was a different species, was able to tell that the Frogman was basically asking with the expression, ‘What the hell do you mean?’
𝑖𝘦.𝑐𝘰𝘮