The guards around the tower’s entrance barely gave them a glance. Orion recognized several of them and had no doubt they knew who he was this time.

  If they hadn’t received the chewing out of a lifetime after threatening him, he’d eat his cloak.

  There were a few curious glances at the two girls he was with, but no one did anything except nod stiffly.

  “Huh, this was easier than I expected,” Esmeralda muttered.

  Orion snorted. “If you weren’t with us, they would have already skewered you. Or tried to.”

  Though she didn’t look particularly impressive, he couldn’t forget that she was a very dangerous tier three vampire. Just because they had struck a deal didn't mean she should be underestimated.

  She flashed him a smile, her teeth once again concealed by her illusion. She seemed to enjoy doing that, knowing that the defining feature of all vampires was just beneath a thin layer of mana and that, despite that, no one could see it.

  The entrance to the tower was very busy today. Clerks hurried around, carrying stacks of papers, scrolls, and even small chests that jingled with each step.

  Orion didn’t give them more than a look and headed straight for the elevator.

  “Young master, what a surprise,” a familiar voice called.

  Orion inclined his head in greeting, “We’re just here to meet someone, Ezebediel. Could you take us up to the seventh floor?”

  The gravity mage’s eyes curiously fixed on the girls, but he didn’t say a word, simply nodding and opening the elevator doors.

  “Thank you,” Orion said, walking in.

  Once all four were inside the cubicle, it smoothly lifted off the ground, and after a few seconds, they stopped, with the doors opening to the seventh floor.

  “Should I inform the Mayor about your visit, young master?” Ezebediel asked.

  Orion shook his head. “No need to disturb her, we’ll be done quickly enough.”

  Ezebediel observed with curiosity yet wisely remained silent. Despite holding a modest position, he was a surprisingly skilled mage, although that didn’t carry much weight socially.

  Orion dismissed the man from his mind quickly enough. Esmeralda seemed confident that it wouldn’t come to a fight, but they were still here to face a vampire.

  A thrall, sure, so he wasn’t particularly worried about being overwhelmed, but it was supposedly older and more in control than the old woman, which meant it was fast and strong enough to do some damage if it decided to attack.

  “Over there,” Selene said, pointing to the far end of the corridor, where a large room could be seen.

  Esmeralda raised an eyebrow, clearly curious about her abilities, but remained silent, following behind her.

  The room’s door was already open, so Orion didn’t feel the need to ask for permission to enter. Inside, he saw several young women working with abacus-like tools, calculating sums and recording them in thick ledgers.

  At the very back, on top of a sturdy desk, sat their target. A young man, who was currently talking to one of the women and leaning in so much that it should have caused a stir for its inappropriateness.

  Orion supposed he was handsome enough. His skin had the glow of youth, and his clothes were arranged so that his muscled chest could peek through.

  But just looking into his eyes was enough to tell that he didn’t really feel anything for the woman he was flirting with. It looked more like he was going through the motions of something he’d once enjoyed, rather than showing any real passion.

  As soon as the trio entered the room, the man’s eyes locked onto them with intensity, and Orion was pretty sure he saw them flash red.

  The thrall’s features quickly returned to normal human range, but he had seen enough.

  The girl it had been chatting with seemed to somehow not notice this change, because she simply walked back to her desk, resuming her calculations without a hint of surprise.

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  Orion would have suspected her of being a thrall too, if it weren’t for [Verification Principle], which quickly uncovered the truth. Every girl in the room was under some kind of spell.

  I can see hints similar to attention-deficit magic, but this is different. It looks almost chemical in nature.

  Indeed, the magic permeating the room seemed to have a calming effect, causing a constant acceptance of any weirdness in those exposed to it.

  For a moment, Orion seriously considered attacking right here and now. If the field was as strong as it appeared, he could probably get away with it, too.

  But a hand closed around his wrist before he could move, and it felt like an iron band.

  Esmeralda shook her head when he looked back. “He’s our key. You can do whatever you want with him later.”

  Breathing in to calm himself, Orion nodded. “Get it over with.”

  I need to control my reactions. Puberty might be at fault here, but I am the master of my mind. I will not let irrational emotions dictate my actions.

  Admittedly, he had just walked in on a vampire subjugating a whole room of young women, so it could be excused somewhat, but it didn’t seem likely to harm them. For now, at least.

  “Who are you, then? I can tell all of you are magicals, but that doesn’t give you the right to come here without an appointment. We are very busy,” the thrall said in a haughty tone.

  So it’s still sticking to its cover story?

  Esmeralda cackled, her laugh loud enough that it should have stopped the room’s activity, but the women continued calculating. “Oh, you poor little thrall. I see that my cousin really doesn’t care about you, does he? He hasn’t even taught you to recognize your superiors!”

  At that, a dull thump echoed as the thrall fell to his knees. Esmeralda’s expression never lost its childish mockery, but her eyes were cold as she stared it down.

  The thrall tried to stand up. It growled, the sounds growing more animalistic as it realized it was trapped, until it lost its human facade.

  Muscles bulged, nails lengthened into claws, and the groan it let out as it pushed up was far removed from anything a man could produce.

  And yet, the moment it finally managed to stand up, Esmeralda sneered, “Bow!”

  Again, the thrall smashed down. Its forehead cracked against the stone floor, its arms splayed out around it as it lost any purchase on the ground.

  “You dare defy my orders? I am a Baroness of the Night, so far above you that you cannot even comprehend it. You aren’t even worthy of kissing my boots, animal!” She never shouted, but her words echoed strangely, making them feel more like spells than speech.

  Orion didn’t waste any time observing what was really happening. As expected, he could see a thin mana haze surrounding her, flowing toward the thrall.

  Again, that strangely chemical magic. Is that what blood magic really looks like? Its basis seems to be a mixture of pheromones and intent.

  It was a very unique style of magic, one that required biological components beyond just the usual requirements for spellcasting.

  “Mistress!” The thrall growled hoarsely. “I did not know!”

  “And that is the only reason I haven’t relieved you of your head,” Esmeralda replied, sounding more composed.

  Slowly, she withdrew her blood magic field into herself, lending more support to Orion’s theory that it was a biological mechanism, and let the thrall carefully lift its head off the floor.

  “What might I do for you, mistress?” it asked, all defiance long gone. Its eyes never strayed from Esmeralda, gazing at her as if she were both the moon and the sun.

  It was somewhat disturbing how devoted it had become, but then again, she’d told them that convincing it wouldn’t take long.

  The only reason she needed their help was to get into the tower first and leave without drawing attention.

  “I need to meet my cousin, your sire. He’s been hiding, and I suspect he’s found out I’m here, which would have caused him to go underground. Take me to him.”

  For a moment, the thrall’s expression spasmed, as if it was torn between two different instincts and didn’t know how to act, but it took only the darkening of Esmeralda’s eyes for the decision to be made. “Of course, mistress, I will take you to him.”

  For the first time, its eyes drifted to Orion and Selene, “Are they with you, mistress?”

  Esmeralda hummed in agreement, already back to her usual cheerful self. “Yes, they are my friends.”

  The thrall didn’t seem to know what to do with that information, but it eventually took it in stride and, after quickly reapplying the glamour that concealed its vampiric features, led them out of the room.

  Orion gave one last glance at the women still working on their sums, but he could see the blood magic in the air was starting to break down now that the thrall wasn’t maintaining it, so he wasn’t too concerned about their fate.

  It must not be particularly powerful. Or rather, the thrall might have a good deal of Attunement, but its control is very lacking if it can’t anchor the effect to the ambient Field.

  A quick check with Inspect revealed that to be the truth.

  [Theodore - Lv. 47] [Vampiric Thrall - E-Rank]

  Hm, so it's comparable to someone born outside the Sanctum. I imagine the bonus he receives to Body might compensate for his low rank, but there's a clear difference between him and Esmeralda.

  This Theodore definitely didn’t seem like the type to focus on personal growth, considering all he’d been using his powers for was building himself a harem of young women.

  Well, that, and probably gathering valuable information about Silverpeak’s finances. Actually, now that I think about it, that was really dangerous. I will have to come back and tell Lucina once we are done.

  Ezebediel greeted the four of them with a smile, although his gaze had shifted from curious to openly inquisitive. No one responded to his unspoken question, however, and so he led them back down to the entrance.

  “I’ll be back in a few hours,” Orion said before leaving, earning a confused nod.

  Briefly, he wondered if it was really a good idea to walk into a vampire den, a hidden one at that, with only a little girl for support, but when he looked at Selene, he saw her smiling calmly in his direction.

  Sighing, Orion decided that whatever would be, would be, and walked into the sunlight.

  Oh, now that I think about it. Isn’t sunlight supposed to hurt them?

  Sure, the trope had no scientific basis. It was just as rational as believing an entire species could be driven off by garlic. But considering that vampires were technically undead, he wasn’t too worried about that.

  Or rather, he was very curious about the rules they actually followed, but for now, he would have to be satisfied with what he could observe.

  Already, watching Esmeralda’s magic affect the thrall had given him a lot of data. He suspected he’d get even more before the day was over.

  Apparently unbothered by the sunlight shining on them, the two vampires led the way, with the thrall guiding them through the maze of narrow side streets that littered central Silverpeak, until they eventually emerged in a quieter district.

  “Ugh, I should have expected it,” Esmeralda muttered, looking at the manses around them.

  This area was clearly designed for wealthier residents, and Orion imagined that many of the regional nobles might own property here, since it was the unofficial capital, what with the Lunar Sanctum just a short trip away.

  They walked down the main road for a few more minutes until the thrall led them to a slightly smaller manor, which made up for its size with the numerous decorations hanging everywhere.

  Orion could see an even more intense field of blood magic hanging over it, but it might not have even been necessary, because looking at it, he wouldn’t have been able to tell it apart from a frat house the day after a wild party.

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