Nathan let out a hollow laugh. "Ehm... Can I take back my words?"
"So, you're going to reject my kindness? If I use this as an excuse, even your teacher won't be able to do anything." The Dragon King grinned. "She seems to care a lot about you, to even strengthen your body."
"Huh?" Nathan was confused about that part. He didn't think Vivian had done anything in that regard.
"What? Don't tell me. She is doing it sneakily?" The Dragon King squinted his eyes. "It appears you haven't realized that your body is changing. Looking at your current state, it should be medicine."
"!!!" Nathan's body shook. While he couldn't say for sure, he had one idea. They needed to go to the cafeteria to eat, but the water was always available in their room.
It was at this moment that he realized Vivian had been tampering with the water he drank with some herbs. The water didn't change color and taste, so he didn't realize it.
But if that was true, it meant Vivian had been doing it from the beginning.
He thought Vivian hadn't done anything other than teaching him for a week or giving him the coat. It turned out she had done a lot more without him knowing because she wanted to give him the illusion of being independent.
Now that he thought about it, his body seemed to be stronger than he originally thought. When he fought Noelle, he could repel her attack. Ena alone was probably not enough to justify that durability.
And when the mutant stabbed him, he could endure it better than he expected it.
Nathan scratched the back of his head before letting out a long sigh. "I understand. I'll just accept my fate."
"Heh..." The Dragon King grinned. Even if he was getting scammed, his dignity was safe. It was fortunate that he could come up with a quick strategy.
Still, he indeed liked Nathan's personality and character. "Well, you should rejoice because what I'm teaching you is something you will find useful, even in the future."
Nathan sighed while the Dragon King turned to Selena. "Well, I'm done with his reward. It's time for you, little lady. What do you want as a bonus? Are you planning to scam me as well? I need his dragon's blood, but I don't need anything from you.
So, are you going to do the same trick as him?"
Selena lowered her head. "I have thought about what I want, but I still can't find the specific thing. Considering I'm planning to get my third familiar soon, I'm thinking about summoning another vampire, but after what happens to Risa, I mean my familiar... I'm a bit confused about what I want to summon."
"Hmm?" The Dragon King contemplated while Nathan asked, "So what kind of familiar do you want to summon now? Maybe their roles are fine. We have the Dragon King here, so he might offer some advice."
The Dragon King flicked the back of Nathan's head as if telling him not to involve him in this problem.
On the other hand, Selena explained, "I am planning to have another vanguard, I think. Only Sasha is able to fight in close combat. If she cannot stop them from coming, we would have no choice but to fight in close combat. I can fight a bit, but I can't say I'm adept in close combat."
Nathan's eyes shifted to Fenrir. Fenrir could sense that gaze, as he couldn't help but remember what Nathan said back then.
Fenrir clicked his tongue and said, "I actually have an idea. If you just want a close combat fighter that doesn't need to fly like your vampire or lilitu, I have something in mind. And people also call it a vampire."
"Really?" Selena's eyes brightened.
Fenrir had given the information about Sasha, so his advice might actually give birth to a new species.
"Yes. Although it's a bit far from my place, there is a vampire coming from the east. People call it by a different name though."
Selena tilted her head in confusion. "An eastern vampire? What do you call them?"
"They are known as hopping vampires who drain life force or 'chi' rather than blood. Their famous name is Jiangshi."