Even as the hostility that surrounded the room seemed to subside, there was still an uneasiness about them. 

The vampire, who introduced herself as Vivian Vicaro, kept close to Gael, the latter always in arm's reach. To be able to reach his body faster or feel safer, he wasn't sure. 

The party had set up a small campfire in the middle–said fire actually being Gael's light spell–and gathered around it. 

In this scenario, Gael was the mediator. While he did need the reward money to be able to further his studies in artificing, he wasn't one to mindlessly kill anything in his way. 

His mind instantly recalled the various times he had, in other games, mindlessly killed in order to achieve some currency of superficial value. 

In other words, grinding.

We all make mistakes, after all. Mine just happens to be hypocrisy.

Gael could see his teammates' fingers tingling. They had kept their weapons stored but remained close enough to be able to draw them at a moment's notice. 

"Let's all calm down now. Vivian, why don't you start by making your case? Tell us about yourself."

Vivian's gaze flickered between Gael and the party members. Her hesitation was as plain as day, her fear crystal clear. She took a moment to gather her words. 

"I'm… a vampire, as you all know. But it wasn't by choice. I'm a spawn, meaning I was turned against my will."

Vivian continued. "One day, I was strolling the streets of Ssogdasyl with my friends. We meant only to have fun–but we didn't expect to run into a Greater Vampire when we took a detour into an alleyway."

"The vampire, who I now know as my master Erich, decided to transform me into his servant through a sadistic ritual. He made me kill… my friends…" 

Oh dear, that turned dark really quickly. 

"And when was this, exactly?" Gael asked. 

"...three hundred years ago." 

Did I just hear that right? Three hundred years? What in the hell has she been doing? More importantly, why did we only get notified of her recently? 

Gael couldn't imagine how many innocent lives she had taken over the past three centuries. He knew vampires thrived on the chaos they created, and Vivian was most likely no different. Even if she was turned against her will, there wasn't a good enough excuse to justify the amount of deaths she had caused. 

"But I was recently in a coma. I woke up only two weeks ago, in Goldenleaf."

Okay, maybe there is. That's lessened the amount by a lot, but it's still wrong. 

"Why didn't you seek a cure?" Phremene asked. 

"Greater Vampires often create their spawns differently than the majority. They hold rituals that forcibly shift the anatomy of their captive to that of a vampire spawn. There is no biting, unlike how it is often believed."

"And once the ritual has finished, there is no cure. We can only eagerly await our deaths. Even then, that is not a luxury. Only our master can permanently destroy us."

So the vampire spawn is essentially bound to its master upon the completion of the ritual. It's basically an unfair contract that's forced upon the spawn.

"That still doesn't excuse the lives you killed, missy. In accordance with the Dwarven Decree, I hafta' kill you." Solov interjected. 

"And I would like that if you can. But I'm afraid you won't get anywhere unless you have a holy artifact or spell that can banish evil."

Phremene turned to Gael. "I don't suppose you have something like that."

"Hey, that's a bit too much to ask for. I just started learning Benefaction magic two days ago. I'm just a newbie trying to get a feel for it." He wittily replied. 

Right, I did want to ask her about something. 

"I have a question. Why do you use Inveridium instead of magic?" Gael questioned.

"My Mana Core has been tainted, corrupted beyond repair. The moment I became a spawn, my Core refused to respond to me."

So that's why she opted for the weaker Inveridium. I see, I see.

"One more thing. Pierre told me you worship an evil god. While you don't seem like the type, it's just the nature of the rumors that surround you. How'd that come to be?"

"It was a scheme devised by Pierre to keep anyone away from me."

Huh…? What'd she say?

"Pierre was the only person who knew of my secret that I was sure I could trust. The rumors about me being a heretic are meant to hide me."

"I see, I see. Man, didn't think Pierre was that smart."

"Drugo think vampire lady is innocent."

I somewhat do too, now that I've heard her sob story, but it doesn't look like Solov and Phremene are of the same mind.

"You, Drugo? You think the vampire-witch is innocent?" Solov laughed heartily. "I've seen clearer lies at the Kriesva."

Don't know what that is, but you better keep that hand away from that hammer, Solov! You too, Phremene!

"Whoa, alright, everybody calm down," Gael spoke up before the atmosphere could get even more heated. "Is there nothing we can do about this? Any way we can resolve our differences and leave without causing harm?"

"Hah! Then you shouldn't have taken this job, Gael! If you're going to continue blabbering about being a pacifist, then maybe you shouldn't have become an adventurer!"

Now that's just hurtful. We didn't need to hear that. 

Gael turned to the vampire beside him. "Hey, Vivian. Even in this form, you're still strong, right?"

"I could defeat anyone here with a single punch, including the burly half-orc."

"That's cool. Would you mind, you know, knocking them out? I don't want them to get hurt. This way you won't, either. Think of it as compensation for blowing my head off a few days ago."

Vivian didn't even respond before she was already on Drugo. With a swift blow from her fist to his face, the sturdy half-orc instantly fell unconscious. 

Whoa, that strength. Talk about putting points into the stat.

"You damn vampire-witch!"

Solov slammed his hammer onto the hard cave floor, causing tremors to erupt. The ground around him shook violently for a split second. 

Vivian had decided to put her wings to good use. They flapped with a surprising amount of strength, allowing her to surge forward and away from the ground. 

She retaliated with a simple jab to Solov's cheek, knocking the seemingly impenetrable dwarf out. His bulwark defenses fell to Vivian's superior strength.

There was no need to mention Phremene. Vivian had cast the same water spell she used earlier and aimed it directly at her head. Unlike before, the strength of the spell seemed to have increased. 

The elf fell with a loud thud, almost loud enough that Gael was worried whether she had hurt herself.

I sure hope they forget about what happened here. Drugo seemed to be the only one with sense. He didn't fight back, either. 

"I don't suppose you know Intellection magic well enough to be able to manipulate thoughts, do you?" He asked the vampire. 

"I know enough." Vivian drew a breath and began chanting. "Weer la va, host ta fren."

A thick, pinkish energy materialized in the air in front of them. It shifted position, clouding the heads of the unconscious adventurers. 

"They will forget that they ever found me or anything related to this cave. As for you…" She stared at Gael. "Can I trust you to not let my secret out?"

"I don't have a reason to do that." He replied, shrugging. "But I do need money, and this quest was supposed to be my way of getting it. I don't suppose you also have something valuable lying around?"

Man, this feels like robbery. 

Vivian dug into her pockets, only to find nothing. "I don't have a single material possession with me. Not since I left my master's house."

"Aw, that sucks." Gael's head dropped low. "Well, guess I'll be going now. I'll drag the bodies home. Wonder how long it'll take though."

As Gael hurriedly brought himself over to his unconscious teammates, he tied their hands together with a rope from Phremene's backpack. Then, he began pulling them like a cart.

In response, Vivian gritted her teeth in shame. She wasn't exactly sure whether or not the human would keep her promise, but on the other hand, it felt a bit wrong to send him back without anything. 

He didn't even have a weapon, she thought. Throughout their battle, he had stayed at the back and cast spells to support his teammates. 

"Wait, come back."

Oh, didn't think she'd fall for that. 

Nael made sure to dramatize the way he turned. He exaggerated his movements, aiming to look as frail as possible.

"Yeah?"