Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

Chapter 423

The reason the night feels short is because it is empty. For humans who sink into dreamless sleep in the darkness, and for vampires who do nothing out of boredom, the night passes quickly.

But when something begins to fill the dark and silent night, it suddenly stretches, taking in more than one could imagine—like an endless vessel being poured into. The night, which always came and went, suddenly feels longer than ever before.

A long night had passed.

The Lord of the Full Moon. The Queen of Shadows. The progenitor vampire, Tyrkanzyaka, lay still, staring blankly as she recalled the previous night.

For nearly a thousand years, she had endured countless nights. Yet none had ever left an impression as vivid as last night.

‘It was for treatment. It was simply a method to restore my senses. I know that. And yet…’

No matter how much she repeated it in her mind, her heart kept pounding at its own pace, ignoring her reasoning. She found the sensation unsettling—and at the same time, strangely enjoyable.

‘…But was it truly just for treatment?’

The more she thought about it, the hotter her face burned.

In the past, the moment she wanted something to stop, it would cease immediately. But now, even as embarrassment overwhelmed her, no matter how much she pleaded for it to stop, her heart continued to race. She could suppress it with hemocraft, but doing so would likely make her heart burst.

Tyrkanzyaka gave up trying to control her emotions and buried her face in the bed.

‘That couldn’t have happened! Last night, I… I kept kissing him. We sat together like that, then ended up lying on the desk, then even holding each other. And… and… our tongues… my mouth…!’

"………!!!"

Thud! Thud!

Tyrkanzyaka pounded the bed with her fists.

Each impact sent feathers flying in every direction, bursting from the ruined mattress.

The once-historic, ornate bed—an artifact of immense scholarly value—was now being reduced to rubble.

But even as the bed fell apart, Tyrkanzyaka remained lost in her thoughts, trapped in the vivid memories of last night.

‘I was so overwhelmed, so embarrassed… I didn’t even get to ask, but… Hughes, he…’

Even though quite some time had passed, she was still rolling around in bed.

Just this one blissful memory, just the pounding of her heart—it was enough to keep her entertained for days.

But she couldn’t afford to waste days like this.

He was coming again tonight. That was their promise.

Last night, it was the mouth. But tonight, somewhere else…

"………!!!"

Thud! Thud!

By now, the bed looked like a bird pierced by a thousand arrows, its form completely unrecognizable.

Still, Tyrkanzyaka rolled around in the pile of feathers.

And then, something strange tickled her lips.

A feather.

A dry, weightless feather brushed against the inside of her mouth, leaving an odd sensation.

At first, she didn’t even register what was strange about it.

She simply lay there, motionless, trying to decipher the foreign feeling.

And after nearly thirty minutes of careful reflection—

She realized.

‘It tickles.’

The inside of her mouth tickled.

Ever since she became a vampire, she had never experienced such a sensation.

But after his tongue had thoroughly explored every part of her mouth last night…

She had regained sensation inside her mouth.

“…I can taste now.”

She could taste.

She didn’t know if she could digest anything, but at the very least, her tongue had regained its right to savor flavors.

Tyrkanzyaka ran a finger over her lips, slowly processing the meaning of this.

A new ability, once gained, must be tested.

She lifted her head and called for her attendant.

“Katalina.”

“Yes, Progenitor. You called for me?”

A voice answered from outside the door.

Tyrkanzyaka rose from the wreckage of her bed and issued an order.

“I must see Kabilla. Make preparations.”

“At once, my lady.”

Kabilla was the most skilled cook Tyrkanzyaka knew.

At the same time, she was also one of the few Elders whom Tyrkanzyaka could truly speak to freely.

Unlike the others, Kabilla had been turned into a vampire at a young age, practically raised under Tyrkanzyaka’s care.

Until now, despite her extraordinary culinary skills, Kabilla had only ever cooked for humans.

But today—

She would finally have the honor of serving Tyrkanzyaka herself.

***

The sunlight was veiled by fog, the vast plains stretched endlessly yet remained barely visible, and the damp wind from the sea carried a lingering chill.

Even on the rare days when the weather should have been clear, the fog made it feel dreary.

I yawned deeply, exhausted.

"Huuaaahhh…"

As I was walking across the plains, yawning midway, Runken stopped in his tracks and asked,

"A yawn? Are you tired?"

"Yeah. I couldn’t sleep well last night because I had to adjust to a different bed."

Well, adjust might not be the right word. After spending the night restoring Tyrkanzyaka’s senses, I had only closed my eyes for a brief moment before getting up again.

Choosing kissing as the method had been the right decision. Because she was so hyperaware of it, her sensory response had been excellent, and honestly, I had quite a bit of fun, too.

If I had gone with just holding her tongue instead, it probably would’ve taken over a week.

"Humans are so finicky! It’s strange enough that you need to sleep every few hours, but to think you get tired if you don’t do it properly! How do you even live like that?"

Runken laughed heartily, completely unaware of the situation.

I wondered how he would react if I told him I was exhausted because I had spent the entire night kissing his progenitor.

Then again, knowing Runken, he might just accept it without much fuss.

Not that I was planning on testing that theory.

"From a human perspective, it’s far stranger that vampires don’t sleep regularly but instead hibernate for months at a time."

"Every day? Waking up and sleeping again with each sunrise and sunset? That sounds so tedious! Sleep is just a habit! Cut it down!"

"It’s not a habit, it’s a biological necessity. How are we supposed to reduce it? Do you even remember what it was like to be human?"

"That was ages ago! I forgot!"

"You say that so proudly."

Grumbling, I steered the conversation back to the main topic.

"So, Runken, you're in charge of the shepherds and ranches on the plains, right?"

"Of course! Though my underlings handle all the minor details! I only step in when I need to chase away wolves or tigers!"

"Tigers?"

"Snort. They don’t come down often, but young ones who haven't learned their place sometimes stick their paws where they don’t belong. I don’t trust my subordinates to handle them properly, and if I sent humans up the mountains in a group, a few would inevitably get mauled. So, it’s easier if I just go up there and beat them down myself!"

A beastman like him could probably go toe-to-toe with a tiger.

But even for an ain, hunting tigers in the mountains was reckless.

That’s why an Elder had to handle it personally.

What, you think it’s still reckless even for an Elder?

Well, when the Elder in question is Runken, recklessness just becomes the default behavior.

He was aggressive, powerful, and while he wasn’t particularly skilled in hemocraft, his sense of smell was sharper than any other Elder’s.

More than that, his ability to detect beastly blood was unparalleled.

It was likely that his own blood had traces of animal lineage, making him the perfect fit to oversee the vast plains and livestock.

In other words, each Elder had their own domain and responsibilities suited to their strengths.

"Lady Kabilla and her ain protect the humans by the coast. From what I understand, each Elder looks after different groups of humans. Is that right?"

"There’s definitely a distinction!"

"Then what about the late Elder Ruskinia? What kind of humans was he in charge of?"

Runken answered without hesitation.

"The sick!"

"The sick? You mean people who were already ill?"

"That’s right! That damned bat was always meddling with bodies! It didn’t matter for vampires, but humans died left and right under his care. Whenever we searched for new humans, most of them were already under another Elder's protection! Only those on the brink of death ever willingly gave themselves to him! They knew they might die, but if it worked, they had a chance to survive!"

So, the healthy avoided him, while the injured and desperate sought him out as a last resort.

An ironic twist—one of the harshest Elders had become the final hope for the dying.

That explained why the Doctor of the Future, Lir, had been under Ruskinia's tutelage.

"Did that help, consort?"

"Yeah. That’s useful. If Ruskinia oversaw desperate, dying humans, most of them would have undergone modifications. That gives them a strong motive to resent the Elders. No wonder Lir, now turned into a Twawit, is under suspicion."

"I don’t know who killed him, but I’d love to fight them! They must be strong!"

Runken boomed confidently but then suddenly smacked his lips and turned to me with a curious look.

"Speaking of which, how about a match?"

"I can’t fight. I’m weak."

"When are you going to be strong?"

"Strength doesn’t just come when you want it to. But if you wait a bit longer, when I finally awaken, I’ll be powerful enough to bring about the end of the world."

Even though I was telling the truth, Runken wasn’t impressed.

"That’s some grandiose bluffing. Usually, people who say stuff like that are pretty unimpressive."

"Exactly. I talk big because I’m unimpressive."

"Hah! So you're just an empty shell?"

Seemingly satisfied with his own conclusion, Runken nodded to himself.

I left him to his thoughts and reflected on my own findings.

I hadn’t expected much, but as expected, Runken didn’t know anything.

His information wasn’t anything I couldn’t have figured out just by grabbing a random person and reading their thoughts.

Even after scanning his memories, it was clear that Runken had never cared about Ruskinia—not in life, not in death.

So, who was it?

No matter how many thoughts I read, the culprit wasn’t showing up.

An Elder wouldn’t just die by accident.

Even if it happened ten years ago, a vampire wouldn’t have just aged to death.

Then… maybe the answer was simple.

If they were around ten years ago but are missing now, then maybe the culprit was an Elder who is no longer here.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, Runken straightened up.

"Are you heading back? I’ll take you! Follow me!"

"Huh? What’s with the sudden generosity?"

"As the Progenitor’s consort, it’s the least I can do! If something happened to you, how could I face the Progenitor?"

…Just what kind of position was this "Progenitor’s consort" that even a boar beastman was suddenly showing concern?

I was about to accept the offer when Runken suddenly lifted his nose and sniffed the air.

His tusks twitched, as if he sensed something unpleasant.

"Besides, something smells off. Not that anything will happen to you, but it’s better to be cautious. Humans do die far too easily."

"You can’t smell anything, though."

"Hah! I can smell blood better than anyone! And this feeling—the thrill of knowing bloodshed is coming—it’s unmistakable! Something’s approaching! I know it!"

I read his mind, but there were no concrete memories.

His reaction was purely instinctual.

He let out a deep snort, then lifted his gaze toward the sky, muttering,

"Bats are circling. Be careful, King of Humans. Thralls without a master tend to go mad."