Chapter 161: Kidnapping the Saintess (1)

I had just finished a boss battle with Pluto, who was dispatched to the north with me.

It was a smooth victory, except for a few times when I almost let the bosses escape because of my poor control.

But in the end, Pluto managed to use her abilities and solve the problem.

She lived up to her name as the progenitor of vampires.

I didn’t know how she did it, but I could tell that she was on a different level than the other characters.

“Having one well-raised OP character is really important.”

After clearing the boss battle with Pluto, I was preparing to cook some ramen.

I wanted to go to bed early today, but my heart was still racing from the fight.

Since I wasn’t sleepy and hungry, I decided to make some ramen for a late-night snack.

Zzip.

I tore open the ramen package and took out the noodles and soup powder. Then I looked for a pot to boil some water.

“Pot, pot… I put it here.”

I had been eating cup noodles more than bag noodles lately, so I had stored the pot under the cabinet. I found it and placed it on the sink.

Thud.

As I put down the pot and turned my head, I saw a pile of ramen boxes in the corner. I had a lot of ramen left from the last time I bought them, so I could survive on ramen for a while.

“I feel like I’ve been eating ramen a lot these days.”

I had increased my ramen consumption recently.

Especially since I started playing a mobile game.

I often chose to spend money on the game rather than on food.

Of course, I had always been lazy and skipped meals with ramen before.

Ramen was an essential item for someone like me.

“Well, who cares about food? Our second daughter is full enough.”

Second daughter.

That was the nickname I gave to Pluto, who single-handedly defeated two boss monsters this time.

We gained a lot from this battle, thanks to her.

Of course, the first daughter was Eutenia.

Pluto brought us a lot of benefits this time, but the glorious first place was always Eutenia’s.

As I muttered nonsense to myself and tried to fill the pot with water, I suddenly encountered a serious problem that made me panic.

“I should eat ramen and watch TV… Huh?”

Click. Click.

No water came out of the sink when I turned on the faucet.

I tried moving the lever a few more times, just in case, but there was no sign of water flowing from the sink.

I frowned at the suddenly cut-off water.

It was a frustrating situation when I wanted to cook ramen but the water stopped.

“Why is there no water all of a sudden? Is the water broken?”

I was hungry but there was no water.

Annoyed, I recalled a wise saying I heard from the sages in the past.

If there is a problem with the device, hit it once.

It was a famous quote from Thomas Edison, the great inventor who invented the light bulb.

I followed Edison’s advice and slammed the faucet with my palm.

Thump.

When I hit the faucet with my hand, water finally burst out of it.

“Edison bro is awesome.”

Swoosh.

I caught the gushing water in the pot and turned on the gas stove to put the pot on it.

Now all I had to do was wait for the water to boil.

It was a boring fight with patience for a while.

“Maybe I’ll watch TV for a bit.”

As I started to boil the water, I turned my head to look at the TV screen.

The TV was on, showing the news. I must have left it on the news channel last time.

As I watched the news, a map of Africa appeared on the screen with the anchor.

It was another news about Africa, which I had seen a lot lately on TV.

-“South Africa continues to appeal for international support in its situation.”

“Another Africa problem. I guess they still haven’t solved it.”

It had been quite a while since the problem was first reported.

Usually, by this time, there should have been some progress, but there was hardly any hopeful news from Africa.

Instead, they were spewing out negative reports every day.

As if they were waiting for the African countries to collapse.

There were so many reports on the media that sometimes they mixed up the order of the stories.

-“In Congo Republic, a 15-kilometer-long column of refugees is trying to cross the border…”

-“In Somalia, ships are being attacked daily…”

-“Egypt decides to block the Suez Canal…”

They were all headache-inducing stories.

They were not easy to solve, that was for sure.

The window of opportunity for a quick resolution had passed long ago.

I sighed involuntarily as I watched the news.

“How did it get like this…”

On the other side of the world, countless people were dying every day.

Of course, I didn’t feel it as real that people were dying on the other side of the world.

But I knew that fact, and it made me feel sad in my heart.

That was all.

The only thing I could do for them was to offer them a short consolation that would never reach them.

“…”

Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss—

I was lost in thought for a moment with the sound of fire in my ears.

People die somewhere even when you don’t know.

Even when you sit at home and watch TV.

Even when you lie in bed and play games.

Unaware, countless people were dying.

Maybe even when you know——.

“——They are fleeting lives.”

Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

I came to my senses with the sound of boiling water.

I looked at the pot I had filled with water, and saw bubbles rising.

“Ah…”

The water had boiled enough to put in the noodles.

I must have been too engrossed in the TV.

I had been thinking about something I wouldn’t normally think about.

“The water is boiling. I should put in the soup first.”

Eating was more important than worrying.

Splash.

I tore open the soup packet and poured it into the pot.

***

The holy land of the Order.

On top of Uto, floating in the air, Pluto looked ahead with a troubled face.

Next to Pluto, there was a girl who didn’t belong here.

The Saintess of Order, Eileen Asnoff.

She was at odds with the Order, and she blinked her red eyes as she stood by Pluto’s side.

Eileen’s eyes were full of complex emotions as she looked at Pluto.

“Pluto.”

Eileen stood up with a humble posture and opened her mouth to Pluto, who was sitting down.

She was polite as if she was hosting a guest, which was unimaginable a few days ago.

But Pluto’s expression was sour as he listened to her.

Pluto’s gaze didn’t leave the wine glass that Eileen had brought.

The glass filled with red blood was Eileen’s own blood that she had prepared.

“It’s not to your liking.”

“…Is that so. I’m sorry.”

“Of course, it’s not your fault. It’s the vessel that the goddess prepared herself, so it’s natural that it has a hard-to-bear smell.”

Pluto said that, but he still looked at the wine glass with regret.

Right after the battle ended, Pluto had to face a new kin that he had unknowingly created.

She had fed her blood to Eileen, who was a saintess, and turned her into a vampire.

She was the first vampire she had made by feeding her blood since she woke up from the call of the great being.

And it was something that happened while she was unconscious, so it was a shocking event for Pluto.

After that, Pluto learned the details of what had happened from Eileen, who had become a vampire.

“…”

Pluto, who had lost consciousness and gone berserk, sank her fangs into Eileen.

And then she tempted her to drink her blood.

That was the whole story that Eileen told him.

She had bitten the saintess, the crystallization of divine power.

It was almost laughable to hear.

“I’m really sorry.”

Pluto felt nauseous whenever she got close to divine power.

But she had pierced her fangs and sucked blood from that overwhelming divine power in front of him.

It was not something she could do in her right mind.

She tried to drink Eileen’s blood out of curiosity, but it was as bad as she had expected.

Even after she became a vampire, the bitter smell that flowed through her blood did not disappear completely.

The more she thought about it, the more ashamed she felt of herself for enjoying such a grotesque feast.

“…I told you it’s not something you need to apologize for.”

Pluto raised her hand to stop Eileen from apologizing again, and threw the wine glass to the ground, spilling the blood.

Rumble.

For some reason, she felt the ground shake a little where the blood was sprinkled.

She ignored it and moved on, when Eileen, who was standing next to her, squeezed her shoulder and spoke.

“Pluto is merciful.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I wouldn’t have known in the past, but I think I can understand now.”

Glance.

Pluto glanced at Eileen, who was squeezing his shoulder.

Many of those who received thick blood from their kin could not bear the power and went mad, but Eileen showed no signs of that yet.

Rather, she seemed to have adapted too well, and was showing an overly familiar attitude towards Pluto.

The instinct that flowed with the blood affected Eileen’s reason as well.

The kin always loved their progenitor, devoted themselves to her, and swore loyalty to her.

Eileen, who had become a vampire, could not escape from that rule either.

“Hey, Eileen.”

“Yes.”

“You said you were a saintess of the temple, right?”

“I was serving as a saintess in the Temple of Order.”

But becoming a vampire did not erase all the memories and experiences they had accumulated in their lives.

Only their nature had changed.

And that was something that Pluto could use to her advantage.

Eileen’s memories that did not disappear.

There must be countless treasures hidden in them.

“Then will you tell me?”

“What do you want to know?”

“The important stories that the temple hid. Can you tell me all of them?”

The countless secrets of the temple that only the saintess knew.

It was time to dig them up.

“If it’s Pluto’s request, I have no choice but to comply.”