Note from the translator:

I'm making a slight adjustment to how I'm translating this series.

Sometimes characters' internal monologue appears in the narrative text intermittently without any punctuation as indication. I didn't really understand what the author's trying to do with it or why it's separate from the internal monologue in these『』brackets, and they were very rare, short and often written somewhat-third-person-like without pronouns. I thought having the occasional short first-person sentence in the narrative would be awkward, so I just ended up rewriting them to third person. It didn't change the meaning or affect the story or reading experience significantly up until now.

But there is a LOT of internal monologue in the next couple of chapters. In these chapters, the method I've been using up until now would definitely drastically alter the reading experience. As such, I'm not using this method from now on. I will now italicize internal monologue that appears in the narrative, while removing the『』brackets for the internal monologue that is contained in these brackets. Keep in mind that these『』brackets are actually used for dialogue some characters such as Zran, Borkus, the Living Armor sisters and Darcia.

I decided on this after having finished this chapter and most of the next chapter so I needed to do a lot of rewriting. I hope you guys appreciate the change! Let me know what you think.

Yoshi

Tarea was walking back home from the bathhouse, wearing a fur coat to keep out the cold of the winter's night.

「Fuuh... It has become cold as of late, hasn't it.」(Tarea)

Despite being known as the capital of the sun, Talosheim's winter was colder than the Devil's Nest forest that she had lived in previously. It wasn't that Tarea had become weaker against cold temperatures over the past few years.

Nevertheless, as Tarea watched the Ghouls and Undead entertaining themselves and eating food, it occurred to her just how affluent Talosheim had become.

Many would object to Tarea's opinion. In fact, the Ghouls' lives might not seem affluent at a glance.

Very few of the clothes they wore were made of cloth; the majority of them were made from tanned leather and fur that had been stripped from monsters, making them look like a tribe of savages. Because the economic environment consisted of primitive bartering, there were no stores of any kind.

There were no resplendent theaters, bookstores selling tomes containing knowledge, restaurants offering delicious foods or anything of the sort.

But the various things that Vandalieu had created surpassed these.

Though board games were considered as entertainment for the wealthy in human cities, Vandalieu had created the simple yet interesting Reversi and distributed it freely.

He had created numerous seasonings that were even more valuable than the Reversi boards.

The walnut sauce and acorn cookies that he had been making since when he had lived in the Devil's Nest forest weren't anything unusual other than the fact that he was making them in a Devil's Nest.

However, the fish sauce and miso that he had created... no, invented after arriving in Talosheim, were astonishing. In addition, he had turned ginger that had only been used as medicine and an unknown plant called wasabi into additional seasonings.

He had created these and then distributed it in significant amounts. Those who wanted more could trade for them at the remains of the Adventurers' Guild.

Vandalieu himself wasn't aware of how astounding these feats were. Even Tarea wasn't confident that she understood just how incredible it was.

However, in human cities, adding seasoning to food had been a luxury that only the wealthy could afford.

Poor commoners would use salt sparingly at most; they almost never tasted sugar. It seemed that things had improved in recent times, but two hundred years ago, when Tarea had been a human, that was how things were in the city she lived in.

But these seasonings were being offered at exchange rates that anyone could afford.

There was no doubt that miso and fish sauce would sell for soaring prices if sold in human cities. Recently, Vandalieu had even started to make kombu dashi and katsuobushi, though the latter was still incomplete.

Of course, the fact that he had solved the fertility problem that affected the entire Ghoul race couldn't be forgotten.

Personally, Tarea was most happy about the fact that he had repaired every public bathhouse in Talosheim. For commoners, being able to submerge their bodies in hot water up to their shoulders while bathing was as much of a luxury as seasoning their food.

「As long as Van-sama is here, the Ghouls will prosper for a thousand years!」(Tarea)

Vandalieu had performed deeds that made her believe this with confidence.

But that was also why she was feeling anxious.

「How should I close the distance between myself and the great Van-sama?」(Tarea)

Tarea was not a combatant, but an arms smith who created equipment using monster materials. When Vandalieu spent time clearing Dungeons and training himself in unarmed fighting, the amount of time that she could spend with him inevitably decreased.

Vandalieu's body was small so the only armor he could wear was clothes made of leather or fur, and he was using his own claws as weapons, so Tarea didn't even have any opportunities to create equipment for him.

He had said that he would refrain from venturing far from Talosheim until Pauvina had developed to a certain extent and Basdia had safely reached the three-month-mark in her pregnancy, but he would be going into another Dungeon before spring.

「I feel the distance, the distance between myself and Van-sama.」(Tarea)

Even while Tarea remained in the city, Basdia and the others were spending significant periods of time with him, fighting for their lives together. Kachia, a Ghoul who had formerly been an adventurer, had recently shown strange movements as well. And it seemed that Zadiris would be accompanying Vandalieu on his next journey into a Dungeon.

How unfortunate. What an unfortunate turn of events this was.

「If I had daughters, everything would be fine, but I have only had sons up until now... Would it be better for me to start having a daughter now? I am only just over two hundred and sixty years old, so it might be... Ah, it is impossible; I cannot give birth to another man's child in front of Van-sama!」(Tarea)

Vandalieu was currently acting as something like a maternity doctor. Because of that, if Tarea were to attempt to get closer to him by having a daughter, she would surely be found out.

That would be an unbearable shame. She had no idea how Basdia had been able to do such a thing.

When she had asked Basdia herself, Basdia had replied with a straight face,「It's not like I'm letting him see me during the act, so it isn't something to be concerned about, is it?」

Perhaps this was one of the differences between a natural-born Ghoul and a Ghoul who had once been a human.

「So should I do it personally after all? But it would be meaningless if it causes Van-sama to withdraw from me... Ah?」(Tarea)

Just as Tarea passed by an alleyway between two buildings, a pebble rolled in front of her feet with a small noise. And as she turned her face towards the alleyway, there was a woman there.

Ghouls could see even in this darkness where the only light was coming from the moon, so she could clearly make out that woman's crimson pupils.

「Could you tell me more about this Van-sama?」(Eleanora)

A woman with crimson eyes, red hair and white skin. This appearance was enough to tell Tarea with a single glance that this person didn't belong in Talosheim, but the emotions that Tarea felt right now were not caution or fear, but affection.

「Of course...」(Tarea)

「Thank you. Let's talk over here, shall we?」(Eleanora)

With a drowsy look on her face, Tarea was led into the alleyway by this woman... by Eleanora.

Among the Ghouls walking along the streets, Eleanora had chosen the Ghoul woman who had been speaking the name「Van-sama.」She hadn't appeared to be particularly strong and the fact that she was adding「sama」to the end of his name indicated that she was referring to the Dhampir. Both of these guesses turned out to be correct.

She had been successfully lured and captured by the effects of Eleanora's charming gaze without showing any signs of resistance.

And Eleanora was able to learn information about the Dhampir from her.

「Van-sama is inside the castle. He is in a room that was originally used by a cabinet minister or general or someone of that sort. He should be sleeping in there.」(Tarea)

Now we've learned the Dhampir's whereabouts. He lives in the royal castle, but he isn't using the king's room. Is this because there is indeed some superior being that commands the Undead?

「I see. So is there someone with the divine protection of the goddess Vida in this city?」(Eleanora)

「Divine protection...?」(Tarea)

Tarea gave a puzzled look in response to Eleanora's question. Under the effects of the charming gaze, she treated Eleanora as if the two of them were close family members, but she was unable to answer what she didn't know.

But this was a question from someone「close」to her. Her mind worked in order to answer the question as much as she could.

「I am sure that would be Van-sama.」(Tarea)

That was why it was only natural for her to give this response. As Tarea had ceased to be a human over two hundred years ago during her teenage years, she was unaware that Undead could not be tamed. For her, it was only natural that Vandalieu was able to tame the Undead. He had Undead among his companions ever since she met him, so she had no reason to inquire further about it.

And when she remembered that Nuaza and the other Undead Titans showed respect towards him by referring to him as the Prophesized Holy Son, it seemed even more obvious to her that Eleanora was asking about him.

「Wha – ?! That Dhampir is...?!」(Eleanora)

This statement made a huge impact among Eleanora and the other Vampires.

The Dhampir that they were trying to dispose of already possessed the divine protection of the goddess Vida. In that case, not only the Ghouls, but every single Undead Titan in Talosheim were the Dhampir's pawns.

「Not good... This is not good. We must dispose of him at all costs...」(Sercrent)

One of the only things that the Vampires who worshipped the evil gods feared, a Dhampir building up an organization, had already come to pass.

With the countless Undead added to the Ghouls, their numbers would easily exceed a thousand.

Such great numbers were located in a sturdy fortress city. Their defense was still full of holes, but a defensive net that even Vampires could not easily sneak through would be complete once the number of undead under the Dhampir's control increased.

If Birkyne learned of this, Sercrent would not be able to avoid harsh punishment even if he completed his mission as he was the one who had given the Dhampir enough time to build such an organization in this location.

This was a huge failure that even Gubamon, who was normally indifferent to the activities of his subordinates, might simply purge Sercrent immediately.

So Eleanora could understand why Sercrent was making noise, but she silenced him with her hand.

「Dispose? What are you disposing of?」(Tarea)

Tarea had heard Sercrent's voice and reacted to it. Eleanora's「Charming Demon Eyes」weren't powerful enough to instantly brainwash their target permanently.

We've learned everything we wanted to, but it would be unfortunate if this woman were to become restless now.

「You don't have to worry; he's just talking to himself. Thank you for telling me all these things; you have been of great help.」(Eleanora)

「Ufufu, I am glad to have been of use to you.」(Tarea)

Fortunately, Eleanora was able to successfully divert Tarea's wandering attention back to herself.

「You're tired now, aren't you? Stay in my room for tonight. Here, lie down.」(Eleanora)

「Now that you mention it... My eyelids have grown rather heavy. Well then, excuse me...」(Tarea)

Tarea gave a yawn as she lay down and quickly fell asleep in this vacant stone house.

And then a Subordinate Vampire drew his sword and swung it down at the defenseless Tarea.

「Gugyah?! E-Eleanora-sama, what are you –?!」(Subordinate)

But before his blade reached Tarea's body, Eleanora broke his arm with her slender hand.

「What is the meaning of this, you bastard?! This Ghoul has already served her purpose; what is wrong with disposing of her?!」(Sercrent)

「Of course it's wrong to do so, Sercrent. What have you been listening to all this time?」(Eleanora)

「If this is about her spirit, we simply need to pour holy water on her after we kill her!」(Sercrent)

As Sercrent expressed his rage, Eleanora put a hand to her forehead and let out a sigh. She could no longer become ill or feel physically weak now that she was a Vampire, but talking to him gave her endless headaches.

「You know, this is different from when your subordinates were the ones dying. The Ghoul adores the Dhampir. If she dies, she will happily rush off to the Dhampir. If we pour holy water on her and purify her spirit before that happens, we can prevent her from telling the Dhampir about us. But that Dhampir can tame the Undead. How can you be so sure that another spirit will not inhabit her body to turn it into an Undead? There are hundreds of Undead here... Possibly even more than a thousand.」(Eleanora)

Even if they poured holy water on the Ghoul's corpse to purify her spirit, there was no guarantee that the corpse wouldn't become an Undead. Unless they held a memorial service or destroyed the body thoroughly, the body could be taken over by other spirits and become an Undead.

It is easy for dead bodies to become Undead when there are other Undead nearby.

「That is true, but there would be no problem even if it were to become an Undead. It would be a Living Dead at most; what is a puppet that cannot even speak capable of doing?」(Sercrent)

If the spirit inhabiting Tarea's body is not Tarea's, it would not be able to warn anyone about Eleanora and Sercrent's presence. However, Eleanora already knew this.

「What do you think will happen if this Living Dead were to be discovered by the other Ghouls and Undead? As far as I can tell, even the Goblins seem to be able to speak and seem quite intelligent.」(Eleanora)

They had learned through the questions they had asked that Tarea was a Ghoul with a prominent position in this community. It would cause a large commotion if such an individual was seen wandering around as an Undead.

They might be able to use the confusion caused by this to find an opportunity to kill the Dhampir. However, it was questionable as to whether they would be to escape the city alive afterwards.

Of course, there was also the option of burning the body so that it could not become an Undead and then pouring holy water, on it, but there was another reason that this was out of the question.

Neither Sercrent nor Eleanora knew of a technique that could silently burn a body without producing any smoke. Being discovered through the smoke produced by burning the body would defeat the purpose of burning the body in the first place.

As for the holy water, they simply didn't have much left. Either way, by the time this Ghoul woman woke up, they would already have escaped. With that being the case, they needed to save it in case they needed it after killing the Vampire and escaping.

「... Tch, hurry and fix your arm.」(Sercrent)

As if he had finally realized this, Sercrent clicked his tongue and spat these words towards the Vampire who was groaning and clutching his broken arm.

I was considerate enough to break your arm instead of your sword which would have been irreparable, so you could at least thank me. But I'll stay silent for now. I can't expect anything from you anyway.

「We're leaving.」(Eleanora)

Leaving behind the peacefully-sleeping Tarea, Eleanora and her party headed towards the royal castle in which their target resided. They were certain that by the time Tarea woke up, everything would be over and they would have already made their escape.

Getting into the royal castle was a simple task. There had been nobody acting as guards.

Was the Dhampir that confident in his own ability, or did he simply have no sense of caution?

「How are we going to dispose of him?」(Sercrent)

「If we make any noise, we will be noticed by the Undead outside. And now that we have come this far, we need to confirm whether the【Sword King】Borkus's remains are here. I will use my Demon Eyes to charm him, and lead him here, and you will decapitate him.」(Eleanora)

Eleanora needed to maintain eye contact with her target while using her Charming Demon Eyes. If eye contact was broken for a moment, their effects would be undone. To guarantee success, it was best to have someone else deal the finishing blow.

And Sercrent's parent, Gubamon, had a habit of gathering the corpses of those known as heroes, raising them as Undead and adding them to his collection.

Even during the war in which Talosheim was destroyed two hundred years ago, numerous corpses of heroes had been gathered. However, the Vampire assigned with the task of retrieving the【Sword King】Borkus's corpse had unfortunately encountered the【Divine Spear of Ice】Mikhail, so he had failed.

Eleanora didn't really have any reason to help Gubamon with his hobby, but he was not someone that she wanted to put in an ill mood. She at least needed to put some thought into the task.

「I think there is a high possibility that he has already turned into an Undead, though.」(Eleanora)

「I agree. But we still must confirm that. Even though he was defeated by Mikhail, he is still an Undead hero. He should still be of a considerably high Rank even after becoming an Undead. With that being the case, he shouldn't be serving as the subordinate of a mere Dhampir, but the Dhampir may know where he is.」(Sercrent)

「I know; I will ask the Dhampir while I'm luring him out.」(Eleanora)

If Sercrent was able to obtain even a fragment of one of Borkus's bones, he may be able to avoid being purged by Gubamon. Perhaps as if holding onto that hope, Sercrent's eyes had the dangerous glint of someone who had been driven into a corner.

If I grow desperate, I might be joining him. It's best to cooperate with him.

Eleanora slipped through the completely unguarded door silently and entered the room.

「?!」(Eleanora)

And in the next moment, her eyes met the Dhampir's.

She opened her eyes wide in surprise, but now that she thought about it, this was convenient. She had activated her「Charming Demon Eyes」before entering the room just in case, so the Dhampir had been put under its effects immediately.

As proof, his own will had faded away from his eyes and become like those of a dead fish.

「You are Vandalieu, aren't you?」(Eleanora)

「Yes, I am Vandalieu.」(Vandalieu)

He answered honestly to her question. He had white hair and odd-colored eyes that were a manifestation of his mixed