43. Are You Afraid? (3000 words)

Earlier, to persuade Ke Fei Er and Ni Lu to agree to my second “candlelight dinner” with Lin Ke, I said—“You two not coming along is actually the greatest protection for me.” This statement wasn’t made without reason. It turned out that Ke Fei Er and Ni Lu were more intimidating by staying outside than by following me in and knocking Rose out with a punch, leading to a chaotic brawl with her servants.

Moreover, some hindsight remarks would be: in fact, I wasn’t afraid of this fairy before me—the Blood Fairy Yase Rose. She wasn’t a self-disciplined fairy; instead, she had freed herself from her master’s constraints through her own abilities, comfortably reigning as the “Queen of Night” in the “Newbie Village” until now.

I didn’t know if I could defeat her once I summoned my own fairy, but one thing was certain: I wasn’t the slightest bit afraid of this little demon; at least, if she couldn’t beat me, running away wouldn’t be a problem.

After that.

Perhaps my “tycoon” behavior of summoning two or three fairies at once had frightened her, or maybe it was because my earlier threats using Ni Lu and Ke Fei Er had worked, but the Blood Fairy hidden in the United Kingdom, the bear-like midget Rose before me, ultimately chose to “give in.”

At this moment, at a dining table in a certain hall within the castle.

Fine wine and delicacies were laid out before me, and there were even a few beautiful girls playing music beside me. After using the fairy’s power, I was indeed a bit hungry, so Rose had no choice but to prepare a genuine “candlelight dinner” for me as I wished. I, of course, felt justified in eating, but… Rose, sitting across from me, and Lin Ke, standing beside her, didn’t seem to feel the same way at all.

“At first, I thought they were using human blood as some kind of drink, but it turns out this candlelit dinner is quite ordinary.”

I looked up at the two of them.

“Rose, you don’t seem to have much of an appetite? Little ones need to eat more, don’t be picky, so you can grow up healthy~”

“I am much older than you!”

Unable to hold back any longer, Rose slammed her hand on the table and stood up! Lin Ke, standing next to her, flinched in surprise!

If Lin Ke was feeling bewildered by the sudden shift in the dynamic between Rose and me, still in a daze, then Rose was clearly annoyed that she had to bow her head to me, even going so far as to owe me a meal.

It’s understandable, after all. Having been the queen of the “beginner village” nights for so many years, it’s no wonder she wouldn’t take kindly to being bullied by a few despicable outsiders.

“Don’t think that just because you have the power of a few fairies, you can really act high and mighty over me, you pretty boy! My time as a fairy is definitely much longer than the few useless ones you brought along!”

Even at this point, Rose still insisted on calling me “pretty boy.” But since the matter was settled, I couldn’t be bothered to engage in this verbal sparring with her.

“Yes, yes, yes, the blood fairy of the United Kingdom, Yaser Rose.”

As I glanced at the script, I thought of some comforting words; after all, one must coax a bear midget a little.

“Your power comes from absorbing the fresh blood of others, which is why you can remain safe and sound, without needing a master, being your own master until now.”

I lowered my voice, “You can say this to me, but I advise you not to say it in front of Kephiel and Nilu.”

Rose looked taken aback: “What? Will they get angry?”

“It’s their self-disciplined fairies that will kill you!”

Self-disciplined fairies are fundamentally different from ordinary fairies; they can break free from their masters and act on their own, each possessing dangerous abilities. Yet here was the ordinary fairy Rose, with a fierce mouth, calling them “useless fish”…

Who exactly is the useless fish here?

Not every fairy is as easy to talk to as the ones on my side.

“Self-disciplined… fairies?”

Rose tilted her head, “I’ve never heard of that! Anyway, ordinary fairies can’t escape their masters, but I’m different! As long as I absorb the blood of useful beings, I can gain power to sustain myself! Hmph! That’s the unique power for fairies!”

This power is actually quite outdated, isn’t it…

I thought for a moment, but I still didn’t voice this irritating remark to Rose. This little fairy had been cooped up in the isolated novice village of the Meri United Kingdom for too long, and it was better not to give her too much “stimulation” at once.

“Since you’re using blood to gain power, why not just go for the animals by the roadside? When you see those chickens, ducks, and cows, just pounce on them and take a bite out of their behinds, and that should do the trick.”

The little girl immediately shot me the middle finger; it seemed to be the standard gesture in the Meri United Kingdom.

“Are you going to eat the dried-up poop by the roadside too!? Animal blood stinks! Pretty boy! If I’m going to bite, of course, it’ll be a person~ Anyway, someone like you wouldn’t understand, right? Even blood is divided into different grades.”

As Rose spoke, she stood up, and naturally, I lost any desire to continue enjoying this “candlelit dinner.” After all, I wasn’t here to eat; I was using this opportunity to figure out the details of this fairy in front of me.

“Finished eating? Then get out of here! Hmph, you’re asking for trouble. I wasn’t planning to do anything to you; at most, I just wanted you to contribute a bit of blood to help me gain some power to deal with a troublesome and disgusting bounty hunter.”

Lacking strength, but I had to maintain my momentum. Even if she was scared into submission, Rose, now back to her senses, still had the audacity to wave her hand as if to shoo me away. Normally, I would have complied respectfully, but… the mention of “bounty hunter” in her words was something I couldn’t ignore!

After all, the script was appearing!

【The blood fairy Rose plans to deal with the ‘bounty hunter’.】

The script wouldn’t just repeat a line for no reason at such a moment, so the identity of this “bounty hunter” seemed quite significant, and I couldn’t help but have some dangerous associations in my mind.

“Who?”

“Weren’t you the one who drove her away once? That ‘bounty hunter’ who keeps causing trouble on my family’s territory. In fact, her true form is a necromancer among fairies. If I leave her be, not only is she annoying, but she could also easily bring trouble down on me! Clearly, she’s a creature of my kin, yet fundamentally different from the monsters she creates!”

As she stepped forward, Rose didn’t continue to flaunt herself in front of me this time. This significantly increased the credibility of her earlier words.

“Is that all?”

“…”

She glanced at me, then used her gaze to intimidate Rinka a few steps back, leading the way as she intended to leave the depths of the castle, casually tossing her hair.

She looked steady as a rock, but… that slightly unnatural concealment of hers likely indicated that she was feeling quite flustered inside.

“And I know that bounty hunter; I was planning to eliminate her myself!”

With Rose’s words, the script appeared once more.

[Rose wants to deal with the white-haired elven sorceress.]

Upon learning of the white-haired elven sorceress’s appearance, for some personal reasons, she wanted to take our blood to gain power and then eliminate that sorceress. This fairy’s intentions should be as such; as for the death script aimed at me, it was likely a result of her earlier frustration in wanting to kill me, evidenced by the fact that when Rose admitted defeat, her death script against me also vanished.

It seems that rather than constantly being at odds with this fairy, making her both displeased and fearful of us, it would be better to find a different way to coexist, especially since this is at least her territory.

“Do you want us to help you?”

“Ah!?”

“Don’t look at me with that ‘can you do it’ expression; I’m definitely more capable than you.” I pressed down on Rose’s head, “twisting” it back into place. “Didn’t Rinka tell you? In fact, we’re also looking for that white-haired elven sorceress. No, to put it bluntly, we want to capture her.”

“You want our ‘blood’ to give you power, which is out of the question. However, in exchange, as long as you agree to some of my conditions, I can ‘conveniently’ take care of that white-haired elven sorceress for you. It would be a win-win, wouldn’t it?”

“Just…”

Rose puffed out her cheeks, probably recalling my previous “danger level,” and ultimately swallowed back the words “just you?”

“Speak, what are your demands? If it’s something like ‘I want you to acknowledge me as your master,’ don’t even think about it, get lost!”

I’ve already said I’m not interested in you, fairy. I don’t even want Kfeir or Nilu to take this troublesome creature away; can you stop being so narcissistic!?

“The request is simple: just follow our lead from now on, and don’t go off on your own to alert the enemy.”

After a pause, I noticed Rinka looking over with a surprised expression, unable to speak, so I added, “Also, be a bit nicer to your servant Rinka.”

To be honest, I couldn’t stand how Rose treated Rinka earlier. Even if I had to play the nice guy or the saint, putting aside Rinka’s “plot” against me this time, I might as well fight for some benefits for her.

However, the next moment, it was Rinka’s reaction to my words that was even more surprising!

“Mr. Oujilide!? You don’t have to be so…”

“Rinka! Who allowed you to speak!?”

Rinka’s words were immediately interrupted by Rose. “Don’t just stand there! Go open the door! I want to go back!”

With that command, Rose waved her hand, sending Rinka away.

Then, after Rinka disappeared from our sight, she finally addressed the request I had just made.

“Do you like her? Not likely, she’s clearly just a henpecked husband.”

Setting aside such hurtful words, Rose didn’t seem to care at all about my first request; what she cared about more was…

Instead, my request for Lin Ke?

“What’s so good about helping a woman like that? She’s clearly just a piece of mud that can’t stick to the wall; the more you help, the more useless she becomes…”

This muttering, rather than being a sarcastic reprimand, felt more like… a complaint.

Could it be that Rose actually cares about Lin Ke’s growth?

As this somewhat unrealistic thought invaded my mind, Rose interrupted my contemplation.

“I’ve agreed to your request. As for how to deal with Lin Ke…”

“Hmph, it depends on my mood.”