Chapter 111 - Preparation

We arrive in Romania, but we cannot stay inside a hotel because we don't have a legal document. Because of this, we decide to make a simple house in the middle of the forest not too far away from Bucharest, the capital city of Romania.

After I finished building our temporary home, I went to the city and started selling some gold to the local pawnshop. While we don't really need it, I do it just in case.

Anyway, when I arrive in front of our temporary home, I see Lucina already begin to try to brew some potions. It has been a few days since Lucina wanted to try brewing some potions, but she did not have time to do it with all the new metal we got from visiting the other world.

"Lucina. How is your progress?"

"I successfully brewed a muscle growth potion from the book you got from the goblin."

I sometimes envy Lucina for being born into a Dwarven race. As long as it was a craft, they can learn it at an insane speed.

"Really? At this speed, I am afraid I cannot teach you anymore."

"Don't be like that. While I know the process of making a simple potion, I cannot make a complex potion like Polyjuice and Draught of Living Death."

"Well, you will learn how to brew it in a few months."

"Before then, you are still my teacher!"

"Fair enough."

"Anyway, how is the investigation?"

"Not yet, dear. I have already sent Yuka to do some scouting."

"What do you want her to find?"

"I tell her to find a vampire. A Tepes clan vampire. After she finds a vampire, we will kidnap them and interrogate them. Forcefully if they did not corporate."

"Tortures?"

"Nahhh, I think an overpowered Veritaserum is good enough."

"I thought it only needed three drops of a normal Veritaserum is good enough?"

"I don't know if it worked with the vampire. I also fear they have a mental barrier that can negate the serum."

"Fair enough."

"Good, while waiting for Yuka to come back, let's make some potions."

~2 hours~

I look to the left when I feel a spike of mana coming from my left. A second later, a portal appears, and coming from the portal is Yuka in her true form. Behind her back is an unconscious man that looks so pale a mundane human will think he is dead.

However, I know he is not dead. Well, not really because a vampire is some sort of undead after all.

"Master! I'm back."

"Ah! Yuka, thank you for your hard work. Is there any difficulty taking this person?"

"Nope~ I follow your order and attack him when he is alone."

"Good. Can you call Lucina here? She is in the kitchen cooking something."

"Okay~"

I then summon the Veritaserum from the shelf nearby. This Veritaserum is a unique truth serum. It was not like your usual truth serum. The effect of this potion has been boosted ten times than the original. If used by the wizard in the Harry Potter world, it can break the most powerful Occumelency master in a matter of seconds.

However, there is a side effect. If used by a wizard, they will become a vegetable after the questioner is done with the victim, even with only one drop.

I snap from my thoughts when I hear someone walk inside the room. I look at the door and see Lucina sitting on top of Yuka walking inside the room.

"Is this the one?"

"Yes. Let us get started. Yuka, please dispel your spell."

After Yuka dispelled her spell, I can see the man open up his eyes.

"W-What? Where am I?"

"Where you are did not matter. What matters is that you need to answer our question."

"What?"

"First thing first, are you a member of the Tepes faction?"

"You will not get anything from me, Human!"

"That is what I'm afraid of."

With a flick of my finger, the vampire opened up his mouth. He tried to close it, but my magic did not let him do that. I can feel he is trying to change into a flock of bats. Sadly for him, the sealing magic that I learned denied him from doing that.

Anyway, I pour three drops of Veritaserum, and a few seconds later, the effect of the potions starts kicking. The lifeless eyes of the vampire are even more lifeless than before.

"What is your name?"

"Veaceslav Stefan"

"Tell me your birthday."

"13 October 1912"

Holy shit, he is old. Today is 22 October 2008, meaning that he is 96 this year.

"Are you a member of Tepes Faction?"

"I have a rank of Baron in Tepes Faction."

Oh! It looks like we hit the jackpot.

"Do you know Valerie Tepes?"

"Yes. She is the bastard daughter of the previous king of tepes."

The previous king of Tepes faction, huh? Meaning that Valerie's father is already dead.

"Have been upgraded by Marius Tepes?"

"Yes."

"How does he do it?."

"He uses the Holy Grail to make us immune against the sunlight."

"Where is the location of Valerie Tepes?"

"Inside the castle near Moldoveanu Peak. The castle is hidden from the other, and there is a barrier around the castle protecting it from the invader."

"How tight is this castle defense?"

"This is the most secure castle in all Romania."

Dammit, that means we cannot just sneak inside the castle unnoticed. I snap from my thoughts when I see the man begin to have convulsions on the chair. A few seconds later, blood began oozing out from his eyes, ears, and mouth.

"Cold Peace"

As an act of mercy, I activate my Darkness Rune. A second after I activated the Darkness Rune, I can see a white magic circle appear underneath the vampire, and it shoots out a white pillar. A few seconds later, the pillar of light disappears, leaving only ash and the clothes the vampire wears.

"So, what should we do, dear? If what the vampire said is correct, then we cannot breach the barrier without getting noticed. The only way we can do it is to make a frontal attack. Brute force our way inside. We can sneak inside, but we need to study the barrier and carefully create a hole in the barrier. However, there is a chance that the vampire inside will notice us."

What Lucina said is true. If we want to sneak our way in, it will take a few weeks to a month to study the barrier. It takes another few weeks to create the barrier unnoticed. However, there is also a chance of being spotted by the vampire inside. This castle is their most protected castle, after all.

Before I could say anything, I saw a portal appear in the middle of the room. It was a familiar portal. A second later, Ophis comes out from the portal with a smile on her face.

"Cup"

After coming out from the portal, Ophis shows me the Sephiroth Graal with a proud expression as if she finished a quest given by the king.

"Good job Ophis."

"En!"

I walk toward her and pat her. While patting her head, I suddenly got a bright idea.

"Ophis, can you help us rescue someone?"

"Mu?"