NOVEL NEXT WORLD My carefree prediction that nothing would happen tonight was hilariously off the mark.
It was midnight, a prime time for everyone to be active, and here I was, lounging in my tent, thinking it was realistic to assume that it wouldn’t be disrupted, especially since dawn was only about two hours away.
As I rolled around in the tent, feeling quite the vampire with my sense of time, I suddenly sensed someone approaching from outside.
‘It’s probably just someone passing by. Please let it be just someone passing by.’
Yet, as if to disregard my desperate hope, the footsteps paused right in front of my tent.
No way. It can’t be.
Surely, there can’t be an inconsiderate guest who would show up right when I was trying to unwind after moving in?
Yeah, that can’t be. They must know how hectic moving day is; there’s no way they’d do something so rude—
“Is anyone in there? Excuse me.”
‘Seriously, these jerks.’
Is anyone in there?? Excuse me??
If you knew it was rude, why are you coming in??? And not even asking if you can come in, just “excuse me??? Excuse me??”
I was stunned, caught in a buffer of confusion, and just as I was about to process this absurdity, Eleonora, who was on the verge of dozing off, suddenly sprang up like a coiled spring.
With her eyes still hazy from sleep, she raised her tail like a cat encountering danger and quickly shifted her gaze between the tent entrance and myself. In a flash, she leaped down to the ground in a kneeling position, landing on the bare earth.
In the blink of an eye, the innocent child who was sleeping transformed into a pitiful dragonkin slave. It was truly an astonishing move.
As soon as Eleonora landed, the tent flap was pushed aside. There were three uninvited guests.
They marched right into the tent. For beings crawling into someone else’s house at such a late hour, their confidence was astonishingly high.
In that moment, I even thought to myself, “Is it reasonable since it’s a borrowed tent?” as I witnessed their natural, almost model-like swagger, and Eleonora, playing her role well as a slave, looked utterly confused, her eyes rolling.
It can’t be helped. Before this becomes any more of a hassle, I’ll wrap things up at my own pace.
“Are you guys perverts?”
First blow wins. The words I threw out to establish dominance caused the faces of the trio of vampires, who had entered the tent with a grumpy expression, to twist in surprise, as if they had just been hit.
But they seemed to dislike being labeled so soon; the man on the left raised his voice, pretending to be wronged.
“What kind of rude words are those on a first meeting? We just came by because we heard new residents were added!”
Well, who told you to come by? I could have prepared dozens of retorts about justifiable reasons, but you don’t argue logically with lunatics. Luckily, I had a comeback ready, so why not throw it out there immediately?
“Crawling into a woman’s room without permission isn’t perverted, what is? A gentleman?”
I didn’t miss the way their eyes quickly darted around. The three pairs of eyes that had scanned the kneeling dragonkin slave quickly landed back on me.
With my blanket pulled snugly under my chin, just my head poking out, our gazes met. A breathless silence lingered for about three seconds, as if time had stopped.
I witnessed what appeared to be a Richter scale 6.0 earthquake erupt in their pupils and read my internal script in a monotone voice.
“Eek.”
In an instant, the three vampires seemed to realize the implications of my statement, as well as how they must appear from an objective perspective, and their expressions turned to sheer panic as they turned to flee the tent, shouting, “Oh no, excuse us! Come out when you’re ready!”
I am the crazy one in this area, you pups.
I only pulled up the blanket; I was fully dressed, so it wasn’t a big deal. But what could they do? They couldn’t very well challenge me to prove otherwise. If they’re upset, they can just reincarnate like I did.
Enjoying my petty victory, I lay back. Eleonora kept alternating her gaze between the tent entrance and me, as if to ask whether it was okay to just stay like this with them still outside waiting.
‘If it doesn’t, I’ll make it work.’
Just kidding; when I’ve taken the initiative, I need to keep the momentum going.
If my speculation is correct, the only ones bold enough to come at this hour would be the organization I heard about earlier. Whether they are who I think they are or not, it’s clear they are all mad.
I might not have much experience in society, but from my limited observations, the intense confrontations between crazy individuals are a chicken game where the one who establishes dominance first comes out on top.
If you can show them reckless abandon and plant the thought of, ‘Ooh, that chick will destroy us if we follow her,’ they’ll know to back off. In that sense, they need to learn to wait a bit longer.
After lying still for five minutes, a subtle cough that seemed to convey ‘We’re waiting’ came from the entrance of the tent, prompting me to slowly rise.
My body rolled stiffly, so I took a few minutes to stretch. After I stretched, I suddenly got annoyed with the configuration of the shelves and spent five minutes contemplating the layout before I finally got ready to exit.
I didn’t actually have anything to prepare, but I slowly consumed another five minutes moving deliberately until I was fully ready, finally glancing at Eleonora.
She had that same vacant look as always. Good, no issues there.
As I draped a wide, flowing cloak over my shoulders and stepped outside the tent, I was suddenly met with a barrage of discontented glances as if to ask why I took so long. But their mouths were shut tight.
Ah, so they finally got the hint. If they dared to flap those wicked mouths of theirs, they would find themselves back for round two, so they best behave. Got it?
“So what’s going on?”
I couldn’t help but want to tell them to turn back since I wasn’t in the mood today, but I held back.
The fact that they had waited for ten minutes, regardless of my antics, hinted that they were determined to discuss something today, so it might be best to get it over with quickly.
“Ahem, we are part of the Security Maintenance Force. The Chief is looking for you. Please follow us.”
“Why would I go see you all’s chief? Who is that?”
I thought I had asked a very primitive question, yet the vampire trio found themselves at a loss for words again.
But didn’t they just put me in that situation? Just telling me, “We’re who we are,” doesn’t explain what they do, especially for someone like me who has just arrived here.
Still, it was certain that this Security Maintenance Force was indeed part of that ‘organization’ I heard earlier.
My distaste for them was already solid, but seeing the trio of vampires, who should logically possess some intelligence, walking around with their brains wiped clean only intensified my aversion.
And their organization name? It’s so ridiculous it leaves me speechless. They call themselves a Security Maintenance Force, what a joke…
“Did you not hear earlier? This place is managed by our Security Maintenance Force. The tent you were given was provided by our organization, so isn’t it only natural for our leader to want to meet a new resident?”
This time, the front vampire, who had rapidly rebooted in just a few seconds, countered.
That was true. In reality, the tent was just one recycled from before, and it was clear it wasn’t the first supply prepared by the Security Maintenance Force. But I decided to let that slide.
In any case, I had to meet whoever it was. I nodded along as if I understood and gestured for them to lead the way.
As soon as the vampire trio started moving in that direction, Eleonora surveyed our surroundings. Noticing there was no one watching, she leaned in and quietly whispered to me.
‘Aren’t we supposed to watch quietly for a while to see how things run here?’
“….”
These guys are really something. Initially, I intended to remain calm until I could gauge their strength, but honestly, I already had a pretty good idea of how this would go down.
Just like clean upper waters lead to clean lower waters, knowing the state of the ‘lower waters’ reflects well on the upper ones.
Even at the Duchy, Martini’s subordinates were clearly well-disciplined.
When I first started staying at the Duchy, many vampires looked at me with disdain, but not a single one of them acted out against me. Even the audacious maid who openly disliked me still managed to serve me perfectly well.
Their behavior only demonstrated Martini’s charisma. A true strong one has complete command of the organization, meaning the decisions of the upper echelon have a significant influence on the lower ranks.
On the other hand, the Chief of the Security Maintenance Force already exuded an aura of mediocrity.
After all, aren’t vampires supposed to be the type to rank positions by strength and status? If the Chief was genuinely strong, he wouldn’t flaunt such a ridiculous title as Security Maintenance Force, extorting like tax collectors; he would overpower them with real strength instead.
He’s not strong enough to forcibly subdue.
But he has enough clout to siphon off weak vampires who’ve nowhere to go.
In my view, that’s exactly his level. With a mediocrity at the top, it’s no wonder the lack of quality seeps down to the lowest levels.
‘Or maybe not.’
If I happen to meet him and find he’s strong enough to beat me on the spot, I can always flip the script and go along with the previous plan, letting him think he’s got the upper hand. No worries, just do a minimum of what’s expected at first and act breezy when I see my chance.
So what about the vampire trio? I’ll show them what it means when a woman’s tears become undeniable evidence if they dare question what I said before the Chief. Judge, look over here! Tears incoming!
With a perfect survival plan from A to Z, I nodded in satisfaction. And amidst my triumph, Eleonora kept giving me those peculiar looks.
For someone who rarely shows expression, she’s got a knack for revealing her thoughts. I had no idea why she was looking at me that way.
Now that I think of it, they didn’t say a word about Eleonora being a dragonkin. Had they already heard the stories about me having dragonkin with me? Or had they just missed the chance to point it out in their shock?
If they let it slide, that’s great for me. Clearly, establishing dominance turned out to be an excellent strategic choice.