On friendly Terms?

“How was I supposed to know? He looks like a vampire, smells like a vampire, and he even had blood manipulation.”

“Well, he clearly isn’t. What if he was sent by a major demon? Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

The voices trickled into Gray’s ears as he regained consciousness. Although he could hear the people in the room, it seemed as if he was blindfolded as everything around him was dark, and when he tried to move he discovered that he had been bound as well.

“What about the other one? Isn’t she his thrall? I mean look at her.”

“Again, you’re wrong. That one isn’t even a demon, she’s just a human.”

“And the Silentwalker cub? There’s no way humans could’ve made their way so deep into the … forest without being slaughtered by an Orc.”

“Perhaps it’s his, I mean he’s wearing an Orc ranger suit. Sigh, for all the strength you have Regina, I feel like some of your brain cells were sacrificed.” After the second voice said that, the blindfold was ripped off Gray’s face, and a pale man in a black a victorian suit looked down on him from a kneeling position.

“I am Alucard, and no, not the prince of vampires. People always assume I am when I  introduce myself. Anyway, forgive my subordinate, it seems she may have mistaken you for something else,” said the vampire as he began to untie Gray.

“However you have to understand, if you continued going on your blood spree, people would’ve mistaken it for the work of a vampire. So as much as I hate to interrupt the work of a demon, I can’t just let you do as you please in my turf you see,” continued the vampire as he finished untying him.

“So if you could just explain to your leader that it was all a misunderstanding, I will let you be on your way,” smiled the vampire.

{Sigh, seems like there's been a misunderstanding. Well, luckily. I don't suppose this eccentric vampire would've kept me alive otherwise.} Gray took a quick glance around the room, they seemed to be in a lavish palace of some sort. The color scheme was primarily red and black, as expected from a den of vampires. However, instead of dark undertones, it had quite a light ambiance, making it feel like the palace of some eccentric king instead of that of a blood-thirsty vampire.

“Excuse, but where am I?” Since it seemed like the vampires were somewhat frightened of his non-existent master, he figured that he could at least ask that much.

“You’re at the embassy of the Vampire nation of Kalin to the Elven state of Elden. And I’m the ambassador, welcome.”

“I-I see.”

{There are a lot of powerful enemies nearby, this place is not safe.} Layla’s voice whispered in his ears, it felt as if she were right beside him.

“If you don’t mind, can you please refrain from all telepathic means of communication without permission. I understand that your boss must be worried about you, but there are rules to be followed in diplomatic areas,” said Alucard as he stared at Gray, a sort of confused look on his face.

“S-Sorry,”

{I will talk to you later.}

“Anyway, you must be hungry. Regina, tell the maids to prepare him something to eat,” ordered Alucard, sending Regina away with the clap of his hands.

“And where is the girl?” asked Gray, as he stood up. His suit was still on his body, but all his weapons were gone.

“And my weapons.”

“The girl is fine, her and the cub are being kept in another room. As for your weapons, enchanted weapons are not allowed on the premises sadly, so you will get them on your way out.”

“Understandable,” replied Gray before trying to create a small dagger in his left hand.

“The blood stone at the center of the building prevents you from using your blood powers, so sadly you can’t create your own weapons either. Speaking of which, there is much we have to discuss about your… ability,” said Alucard as he began walking towards the large black door at the end of the room.

“Are you coming?”

As the two of them walked down the lavishly decorated hallways, they passed by multiple women dressed in maid uniforms, each and every one of them bowing as they passed by Alucard.

{He has quite the taste in women,} thought Gray as he noticed that every maid they passed had quite the bust.

The funny thing was that Gray could feel a smothering presence radiating from each and every one of them, more so than even Alucard himself who seemed to have little to no presence at all. Which in itself made Gray all the more wary of him.

“You don’t have to be so tense, I’m not going to harm you. If I wanted to you’d already be dead,” said Alucard as he took a sharp turn before coming face to face with a massive black door. The door seemed to react in response to his appearance as it opened right in front of him.

{Can he read minds?} wondered Gray as he followed Alucard through the door.

The room they entered was quite spacious, with a king-sized bed at the center, and satin crimson sheets covering the exterior. On top of it lay an unconscious Tesse, and lying on top of her was the black cub sleeping soundly. Unlike Gray, none of them had been bound.

“Sleep magic, we couldn’t use it on you since you are a demon.” With a snap of his fingers the two of them woke up, and Tesse went into full combat mode in that instant. She reached for the handgun that was usually strapped at her waist and aimed the non-existent gun at Alucard.

After pulling the trigger a few times, she realized that there was no gun in her hands.

“Master?”

“It’s okay, they are… friendly,” explained Gray, saying the last part as if he couldn’t believe it himself. The cub began growling at Alucard, taking a few steps back as it snarled at him, showing its toothless mouth.

“Calm it down, we don’t want it upsetting our hosts,” ordered Gray. The last thing he needed was his investment getting put down because it couldn’t control itself.

“Sir, the food is ready,” announced Regina as she appeared out of thin air in front of Alucard.

Tesse immediately ran for her, aiming to punch her in the head. But just as fast as she appeared, Regina disappeared, causing Tesse to swing at the air.

“Like I said, they are friendly,” Gray’s tone made Tesse know that she had messed up. Her head hung as she picked the cub up and walked behind Gray, whispering a soft ‘I’m sorry’ as she passed by him.

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[System Information]

The Nation of  Kalin

A vampire nation to the East of Elden, one of the four major nations of Old Merrum. Not much information about the internal workings of the nation is known to outsiders as all living beings who have seen it have never lived to tell the tale, though recently they have allowed select individuals from "friendly" nations to visit as ambassadors.

All that is known for certain is that they are ruled by Zhdan Alangard, the first daughter of the late Vladimir, a powerhouse on par with the elven queen.

For more information read 『A brief history on Kalin』

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