Year 40018, Month 1, Day 4 — Three days after the new year

After training the girls in all sorts of combat for the last three days, it was finally time to return to the human city.

Lilya and I teleported to the entrance of Mortishaven and began to fly towards the city. 

『So what do you think will be their answer?』 Lilya asked.

『They’ll listen. They don’t have a choice.』 I replied.

『But you aren’t actually going to destroy the city if they refuse, are you?』She asked with unease.

『Well, I can’t, the pact I made with the warden prevents me from doing so, but the humans don’t know that. Meaning that to them, my threat of destroying the city is very much real.』I responded with a smirk, finding Lilya’s worry over my threat to destroy the city cute. It seems she still hasn’t gotten over the fact that she is now a vampire, so she is still feeling for humans. 

We talked about different things for the rest of our short fifteen-minute journey when we finally reached the Human city and landed in front of the southern gate.

There were a few guards standing there, and when we landed, three of them moved up to us, and the one in the middle began to speak. 

“You are Will von Mortis, I presume?” 

“That I am,” I replied.

“Lady Loretta has informed us to keep an eye out for you and escort you to the Governor’s Manor.” The guard explained. ‘

“Very well then, lead the way.” And with that, the guards turned around and began leading us through the city. 

About 20 minutes later, we arrived at the manor where a woman who looked to be in her early twenties in a similar outfit to Ariel was waiting.

“Greetings, Will von Mortis, Lilya von Mortis, I am Tara ray Serlius, a senior attendant of Lady Loretta. Due to my Lady being busy at the moment, I will be the one to attend to you until my Lady is available, which should be in the next 10 to 20 minutes. I am terribly sorry for having to make you wait, but we didn’t know when you would arrive, so my lady didn’t know when to set aside time.” The woman explained. 

“No worries, I should have given a general time, which I would arrive, so, understandably, Loretta couldn’t meet with me right away,” I responded.

“Thank you for your understanding.” Tara bowed. “Well then, if you’ll follow me, I will bring you to the meeting room.”

After saying so, Tara began to lead us through the manor to a different room than the last time. The room was not only bigger but also had more seating. Lilya and I then went and sat down on one of the sofas. 

“Would you like me to get you something to drink? I don’t know whether or not Vampires can have regular food and drinks.” Tara asked hesitantly.

“You have blood?” I asked with a straight face. 

Tara paled and answered. 

“I am sorry, but we don’t have any blood; however, if you wish, I can give you some of mine.” She said in a panic. 

Seeing her reaction, I sort of felt bad and then said.

“It was a joke, only Vampire kindred need blood to stabilize their mana. Even then, the Spawn Mothers produce a blood-like substance which can be used to the same effect. High-ranking Vampires only need the blood of their Blood Mates. That said, I am perfectly capable of consuming regular food and drink. It's just that I don’t need it to survive.” I explained, trying to calm Tara down.

Tara then sighed in relief.

“I will take tea, although I am not sure which flavors I like, so I will just leave it up to Lilya to recommend something for me.” 

Lilya was not expecting to be called out and took a moment to come up with an answer.

“While I know this type of tea isn’t really used for formal occasions, I always loved peppermint tea, so if you have some of that, I would like some.” 

Tara, hearing that, seemed to think about something, and then said. 

“I believe we do have some peppermint tea, but I would need to go get it.” After saying so, Tara left the room.

About 20 minutes later, there was a knock at the door, after which Tara entered and set down two steaming cups of tea. 

“Lady Loretta will be here shortly, so you can enjoy the tea while you wait,” Tara informed us. She then went to the side of the room and stood with her back to the wall. 

I then picked up the cup and took a sip of the tea. It had a peppery taste to it, yet also sweet. Due to this being the first tea I ever had, I could make a comparison. However, I did enjoy it, though, so it doesn’t matter. 

We waited for about 2 more minutes before there was a knock at the door, after which it opened up, and about a dozen or so girls filed in and began sitting down. Loretta sat down opposite me, while on her right, there was a girl with royal red hair and red eyes, although the coloring was different from vampires. On her left, there was a girl with blonde hair and green eyes, while on the sofa to my left, three girls with royal purple hair and amethyst eyes sat side by side. On my right, a girl with blonde hair and golden eyes sat between a girl with pastel blue hair and blue eyes and a girl with silver hair and grey eyes. 

Lining the walls were a small army of attendants, both male and female. I was stunned by the large gathering, taking a moment to get my bearings. Then, looking straight at Loretta, I asked.

“Well, this is a surprise. Care to introduce me to everyone?”