Fwaaaaash!

A massive surge of indigo mana came pouring toward my body.

The density of that mana was so extreme that even though I was viewing it through the [Combat Power Meter], I could barely see straight in front of me.

'...Impressive.'

As that enormous mana came crashing down on me, for a moment, I wondered if, like Karhin, maybe this one had changed from before because its power as a vampire had grown stronger.

But—

[Trait]

[Taste Bud Enhancement]

through the sensation at the tip of my tongue, I was able to understand the meaning behind this action.

'Protection.'

The Grand Duke’s retainers around us were all strong and versatile.

No matter how good my [Environmental Assimilation] was, there was no telling when I might be discovered.

So by wrapping me inside its own mana, it was shielding me from their surveillance.

-What in the world are you thinking...?!

And then.

Inside that, a flustered voice stabbed into my mind.

-After everything I went through to help you escape, are you saying you still haven’t returned to the Legion?

Maybe it thought speaking out loud would cause problems.

The voice reached me only inside my head, through [Mental Speech].

-And instead of simply hiding somewhere quietly... you actually had the nerve to come back here!

Listening to that, I thought to myself.

The presence I could feel beyond this mana was overwhelmingly powerful and savage.

This was probably... something closer to the true essence of that vampire species.

It felt a little unfamiliar, because its presence was so completely different from back when it used to do nothing but mooch meals off me.

-I went through all that trouble just to send you away...!

Still.

'The same as ever.'

The "taste" I sensed from that voice was the same as before.

Whatever level it had risen to aside—

-At least it’s a relief. It seems the others still haven’t noticed yet. Even now, you should withdraw.

its essence was still exactly the one I knew.

-I’ll speak to them and draw their attention...

-Thanks, but—

But.

I was grateful its essence hadn’t changed, sure.

-There’s something I came to tell you.

-...!

Still, some things had to be said.

-You need to run from here.

-What are you...?

-I found out what the Grand Duke wants. That bastard’s goal is to raise you up enough, then eat you.

There wasn’t enough time to explain in detail.

-Its goal is to devour all the heads of the bloodlines except itself. What it’s doing now—raising you—is just stuffing feed into a goose before slaughter so it can fatten you up as much as possible.

That was why I tried to explain it as quickly as I could, but—

-...I see.

Ariella’s response to that was—

-So that is why you forced your way back here. To take me with you.

-...?

—not quite what I had expected.

***

-I understand. It could not have been easy for you to give up a fighting force like me... Even so, this is not something worth risking your life over.

At that, I frowned and said,

-You don’t believe me.

-I already know that you do not wish to give up a fighting force like me. In that state, even if you suddenly say something like that... it is not something I can easily believe.

At that, I forced down my frustration and said,

-...You knew the rumors about the Grand Duke were bad too. Do you really think a bastard like that would help you grow stronger for absolutely no reason?

-Well. It may have some other purpose it has not revealed to me.

-Then—!

-Even so, it is still too much. To say that purpose is to devour me... is that not rather extreme?

I had thought about that part too.

But there was something I could infer.

-I met a vampire named Karhin. He said the blood of other monsters couldn’t properly restore his strength, but strangely enough, noble blood alone could replenish it fully. I don’t know the exact reason either, but it means cannibalizing your own kind is effective for increasing your power. The reason that bastard tried to eat the other Grand Dukes ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) must definitely be related to that—

-Karhin, you say.

But.

At those words, Ariella tilted her head and said,

-Who is that?

-A marquis of the Neferat Bloodline...!

-I have... never heard that name before.

And then.

Only after hearing that did I finally realize it.

-Grand Duke Kirchhoff was suspicious by nature. That suspicion extended even to bloodlines that had received its blood. That is why it was famous for keeping very few around it.

Karhin was definitely an old noble.

But Ariella was a vampire who had been sealed away in an era that would qualify as "ancient" to vampires of the present age.

-A marquis is no minor noble. If it was someone acknowledged by that suspicious Grand Duke, there is no way I would not have heard the name even once.

No matter how long Karhin had survived and how high a rank it had risen to,

it could still belong to a later generation than Ariella.

The reason I had been able to infer the Grand Duke’s purpose was because of what Karhin had told me.

Which meant, conversely—

'There’s no proof.'

Saying, Karhin told me—

would sound completely unconvincing to someone who didn’t even know Karhin existed.

And besides.

I had inferred the Grand Duke’s purpose from what I heard from Karhin, yes, but in truth—

'It’s not a one-hundred-percent certainty.'

At most, based on what Karhin said, it was highly likely.

Even if Grand Duke Valarak’s objective really was to devour all the other Grand Dukes,

by the time it actually began putting that plan into action, the Isabella and Karshtein Bloodlines had already been annihilated.

Meaning the plan was impossible from the start.

Unless it was a complete idiot,

the odds were low that it had blindly carried out a plan that was doomed to fail from the outset.

So maybe there had been some other reason it had gone around devouring the other Grand Dukes, and maybe there was some other reason it was raising Ariella too.

-I cannot... believe such words so easily.

-...

Talking about the Grand Duke’s objective or whatever—

wasn’t going to persuade this one.

{My lady Marquis?}

Right then.

{Your aura has grown a little rough. Has something happened...}

A noble, apparently having sensed that something was off, spoke to Ariella.

“Nothing. Just continue what you were doing.”

{...Yes.}

It nodded after hearing Ariella speak.

But even then, as if something still bothered it, it kept glancing this way with its head tilted.

-...They are not ordinary guards.

Ariella spoke as though conscious of that noble’s gaze.

-Helping another grow is considered a lowly task, so it cannot be entrusted to high-ranking nobles. That is why those with relatively low titles were selected... but title is not everything. They are merely young, and thus have had fewer chances to grow. Even so, they are talented young nobles personally acknowledged by the Grand Duke, among the most capable in the bloodline.

-...

-And the weakness lower-ranked nobles normally have—the quality of their troops—does not matter here, because the ones under their command are direct retainers bestowed by the Grand Duke. I have seen it myself. Their abilities are genuine. No matter how capable you are, you will not be able to hide from their eyes for long.

And then.

Looking at me with worried eyes, it said,

-It is not too late, even now. Withdraw at once...

-More importantly, there are a few things I want to ask.

I—

spoke evenly.

-Why do you want the Grand Duke’s help?

-What...? Why ask that now?

-It’s fine. Just answer.

When I said it like the noble in front of us didn’t even matter, Ariella hesitated, looking like it couldn’t understand me, then finally answered.

-...You already know. It is because I am certain this is the way for me to become stronger. In truth, even now, I have obtained power beyond comparison to what I had when I was with you.

-Stronger... Is that all?

-You. What in the world have you been talking about this whole time?

-If you get stronger like that, what do you want to do with it?

At those words,

Ariella seemed to sense that something was off.

Frowning, it said,

-Have I not told you more than once? I will amass power like this... and one day create a kingdom of my own.

A kingdom, huh.

-It sounds impressive when you put it that way. But why the hell do you want to make something like that?

-...You. Are you trying to interrogate me? I have been overlooking this until now out of personal feeling... but I would like you to understand that any further than this is becoming rather unpleasant.

-Even so. I’m curious.

At that moment.

{...Forgive the interruption, my lady Marquis.}

A noble pushed through the curtain of mana Ariella had created around me.

Its eyes were flashing, as if some kind of power was working through them.

-Do you not understand this is no time to indulge your curiosity? Why are you not fleeing already...!

-I’m asking—

Even if it had become certain something was there, its footsteps came in without hesitation.

-Why?

-...Why, you ask?!

Ignoring those approaching footsteps, I asked it.

{...Just as I thought.}

As if it had found something, the noble raised its fist, its eyes sharp.

That grotesque, monstrous strength gathered in its arm, and—

-Because I don’t want to be abandoned ever again!

Kwaaaaaaang!!!

That fist

slammed into the spot where I had just been standing.

Kwaaaang!!!

{An intruder!}

The noble’s punch left a massive crater in the ground.

At the same time—

{An intruder?}

{Viscount— no, the Marquis is under attack!}

{Brothers, all of you, fall back to the rear!}

The forces of the nobles and the Grand Duke’s retainers, who had been fully absorbed in exterminating Ariella’s prey, swiftly wheeled around.

'They should’ve stayed focused on the hunt.'

They were impressively competent in the most unnecessary way.

Elite nobles of the bloodline acknowledged by the Grand Duke, and even the Grand Duke’s direct retainers.

Every last one of them was strong enough that even a full-effort fight against a single one would be rough.

'...No helping it.'

The doctor had told me to avoid doing this, but—

...Well!

It’s not like patients are famous for listening to doctors.

[Hero-Class Chef’s Sincere—]

[Trait: Berserk]

The blood inside my body began to whirl rapidly, and my physical abilities, already beyond the reach of other awakened, were pushed even further. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

[Hero-Class Chef’s Sincere—]

[Trait: Combat Sense]

To support a body strengthened to the point that even I could barely handle it, keen senses were carved throughout my entire being.

[Hero-Class Chef’s Sincere—]

[Trait: Divine Enhancement]

From that body, a faint light began to spill.

[Absolute Taste]

[Applied Cooking Effects: 3]

After receiving treatment from the doctor, I had almost never stacked cooking effects through Absolute Taste.

Maybe once or twice at most.

And for good reason.

Stacking cooking effects wrecked my health.

I had always known it was better not to do it, but back then I had been forced to, to make up for what my abilities lacked.

But after mowing down countless bosses in an instant at the royal castle of Belsnickel, while everyone else was stuck at level 29, I had broken past level 40.

And with levels, the higher the number got, the wider the gap in growth became.

So ordinarily, there was no reason for me to lack combat power.

{Die, intruder!!!}

...This was not one of those times.

I looked at the countless fists pouring in before me.

Sharp things like beast scales had sprouted across them, hardening them, and the absurdly swollen muscles held enough raw power to shatter mountains.

But—

[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]

[Chef’s Eye]

even so.

To a chef’s eyes, they were nothing more than ingredients.

Following the "recipe" that rose before my eyes—

[Dokkogu Style (Consecrated)]

[Blessed by priests of exceptional skill, it temporarily gains the attributes of “Sun” and “Holy”!]

I raised the kitchen knife blazing hot in my hand,

[Martial Art - Cut]

and, moving in a motion that had now become completely natural to my body, I swung it smoothly.

Slice—

The time it took to swing the blade was short.

But—

Shkshkshkshkshk...!

{...!}

{Our brothers...!?}

even that brief moment was enough to reduce those powerful vampires into neatly butchered meat.

{All units, fall back one step!!!}

Then,

the monsters that had rushed in to kill me in an instant all retreated from me by a single step at the same time.

And then—

{Species, unknown!}

{Affiliation, unknown!}

{Identity, unknown!}

The noble whose flashing eyes had first discovered me studied me closely, then shouted in a loud voice.

{Strength... at minimum, count level!}

At the same time, the red-eyed host began moving in perfect unison.

{Viscount Liuros, I will command the left flank.}

{Viscount Larok, I’ll take the right.}

{Viscount Valin, I’ll handle the rear.}

As if their minds were linked, that mass of troops intermingled organically and shifted into place in an instant.

And then, a moment later—

{Then I, Vice Count Valeri, will take the front!}

Vice Count.

According to Ariella, a title held by someone who could become a count the moment those above gave permission.

Around that bastard, a massive encirclement took shape around me.

'...Impressive.'

Each one of them was on the same level as Ariella had been back in the days when I treated her like my trump card.

And that Vice Count bastard, I figured, was about on par with Ariella after she had succeeded in taking the monsters of Gyeonggi Province as her retainers.

{Absolutely do not let that intruder bastard so much as leave a scratch on the body of my lady Marquis!!!}

And the one standing behind bastards like that was—

the one who used to do nothing but listen to my orders.

Hell.

There was really only one thing to call it.

Quite the promotion.