The town had everything. Inns, shops, taverns. It even had schools and something like a martial arts center where kids were learning to defend themselves. I found a guild too, but the pce was dessert. I could see few jobs on the board of missions, so it made me wonder if the adventurers were helping in the war.

  Adventurers in the empire weren’t considered a real and reliable fighting force, mainly because the empire was stuck in their butts with all their nonsense about status. I haven’t paid attention to adventurers since then, but they shouldn’t be treated like that everywhere.

  In any case, it also seemed that I had come pretty far in their territory, since the pce looked really peaceful and the kids were happily pying around. They stopped when they saw me and cowered in fear.

  ‘I guess even here, people are taught to be wary of vampires. Even though I don’t glow in the sunlight.’

  In any case, I found a pce with an old man carrying some buckets of milk after Gcien got my attention while looking in that direction. Before I could say anything, she moved to the pce. It was a restaurant and the old man was talking with an old dy after he put down the buckets of milk. When he turned around, he flinched when he saw me in front of the restaurant with my rge frost sabertooth and wagon blocking the entrance of the establishment.

  “Can I buy some of those? Actually, before that, is that the type of milk kids around six months old can drink?”

  “... Do you have a kid with you?”

  The old couple was a pair of dwarves, so they couldn’t see Alisandra from their position, so I took her out of the wagon and then approached them.

  “Aww, she is so adorable!”

  The old dy said while poking Alissandra’s cheeks. It was about time for her to wake, but I still preferred that she slept as much as possible… it would be hard to keep her identity hidden while she was awake.

  The old couple looked carefully around Alissandra and searched for teeth marks on her body while trying not to alert me. I knew that vampires were hated, but did they seriously think that I could be that sick? I tried not to show that to my face, but that stung quite a bit.

  “Bu-bu…”

  Alissandra woke up, and I was forced to forget about that for a moment. In the end, those two only stopped doubting me when Alisandra grabbed my index finger with her hands.

  “We have some milk that she will like. It is the best in the town.”

  “Then sell me as much as you can.”

  “... It will get bad before she can drink all of it.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I have a magic implement that helps preserve food for a lot longer.”

  I wanted to ask them about merchants who would be willing to do business with me, but I decided not to. I didn’t want to risk letting them hurt my feelings further. I could look rough on the outside, but I was essentially as emotionally unstable as a real fourteen years old boy. Not because I was really one, but because I was a sentimental middle aged man.

  Putting that nonsense aside, I waited for a bit and soon the old man brought the milk. I had forgotten about it, but I still had some coins with me and they were accepted here too.

  Maybe giving food to Alisandra would do some PR work for me if I did that in front of others, but that was too embarrassing. I didn’t want to let people think that I was her father either, so I retreated for a bit to the interior of the wagon.

  Once that was done, I decided to check the shops in the area for items with useful enchantments. All of them had half dwarves managing them, and they all were looking at me with a mix of suspicion and fear.

  “... How can I help you?”

  “Are you willing to trade magic items with me?”

  “That will depend on what you have to trade.”

  Energized Amulet (Epic)

  Enchantment Slots: Arcane Flow (Adept) - Increases mana regeneration by 30% during combat.

  Extra Effects: Burst Pulse - Once per battle, instantly restores 20% of maximum mana when health drops below 25%.

  Durability: 25/25

  Gcial Greaves (Rare)

  Enchantment Slots: Frost Aura (Adept) - Reduces the movement speed of nearby enemies by 10%.

  Icebound Fortitude (Adept) - Boosts endurance by 15% in cold environments.

  Extra Effects: Chill Trail - Creates a slippery frost patch behind the user when sprinting, hindering pursuers.

  Durability: 35/35

  Crystal Resonance Staff (Legendary)

  Enchantment Slots: Arcane Resonance (Adept) - Increases the effectiveness of spells by 25%.

  Mana Link (Expert) - Reduces mana costs for allies within 10 meters by 10%.

  Extra Effects: Pulse of Insight - Grants a slight experience boost for spellcasting-reted csses.

  Durability: 45/45

  Those were some useful items… as expected of a half dwarf. It made me wonder if csses that would grant that much knowledge could be found nearby.

  “How about a magic bag with the storage effect at the apprentice rank effect for all this?”

  “Hmm… throw some ten more Terra coins and it is yours.”

  “Deal.”

  I wanted to ask if he was willing to sell a map too, but I didn’t want to push my luck. It was better to look for someone that wasn’t that worried about me for that kind of stuff, but I wondered if it was a good idea to get involved with that kind of person.

  Also, I didn’t have any ideas about the organizations here… the Empire didn’t do its diligence about gathering intel about the people here or the nd.

  ‘I guess this is enough for a single town…’

  There were other pces to explore, and I had just started my journey in this nd, so there was no need to hurry. Well, I should hurry since the people here were at war with the harpies and I couldn’t deny the possibility that Alissandra could be the source of the problem. At this point in time, I couldn’t deny that I was a magnet for trouble.

  “Grrr…”

  “I am not lying and you know it. You are also one of my troubles. You eat too much.”

  “Wahhhh! Wahhhh!”

  “Even you, huh? I can’t believe that even a kid is getting mad for telling the truth… I guess women really prefer to be lied to.”

  I was just saying nonsense, and those two were only acting based on instinct or something. Regardless, it was time to look for another town where people wouldn’t throw stones at me or look at me like I was some sort of human sized parasite.

  I decided to head further East in hopes that people there wouldn’t be as wary of me, but I knew that I was being na?ve. It was impossible to travel anywhere in the world and expect ignorance about vampires. Their infamy preceded them, engraved in the collective memory of every culture and society.

  Wherever a vampire appeared, trouble inevitably followed. Whether it was the subtle manipution of powerful figures, the disappearance of innocents, or outright carnage, their presence interrupted the natural order. Entire vilges had been abandoned, cities thrown into panic, and alliances shattered, all because of the influence of a single vampire.

  Even those who had never encountered a vampire in their lifetime could recognize the signs: pale, unnaturally perfect features, an aura of predatory grace, and the unshakable chill that accompanied them. No one could ignore it. I couldn’t bme anyone for thinking like that, the same way I couldn’t bme people for being wary when they see a person getting close to them when they had a weapon in hand. While the saying says that people shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, it was almost instinct that everyone would do so… more often than not, appearances can be deceiving, but it was my job to make people understand that. A job that I honestly thought was too much of a pain.

  In any case, thanks to Gcien’s sense of smell, we were able to follow the roads buried in the snow despite the odds, but her nose also led us to a troublesome pce… in front of the town, I could see hundreds of people camping. I wondered how they could do that with the snow all around the area.

  “You never fail, Gcien…”

  “Awoo!”

  “You never fail in causing me trouble.”

  “Awoo?”

  From a distance, I could see some of them with weapons of all kinds with them. I could guess that they were adventurers based on the fact that there was no uniformity among them… was I wrong when I thought that most of the adventurers would be helping in the war?

  As I approached, I was able to see the eyes of those guys looking at me. Some of them even left their tents to confirm what was happening outside. Considering their annoyed faces as they gred at me, I imagined that they were trying to intimidate me, but I could only frown in response. In any case, this couldn’t keep going like this anymore.

  ‘I need a damn informant.’

  I headed to the town ignoring those guys and noticed that guards couldn’t be found patrolling the pce… it made me wonder if those guys outside were the reason for that. At least they weren’t causing trouble to the people.

  Still, soon I noticed that the inhabitants around the pce looked restless… maybe those guys were part of some troublesome faction. Given the fact that I was literally walking in the dark, I decided to head to the tavern since it was getting te and some people should be there. With some luck, some of them would be willing to share some information with me. Still, when I slowed down the wagon, I noticed that we were being followed…

  WritingMachineGun