48 A Lovely Dinner

Having left the room with Sylvia and Albert, I make my way to the living room and sit. I glance over, finding the soldier now turned vampire sitting in the corner, gripping his missing index finger. I then move my head around the room, finding everyone has made their way here, excluding Sylvia, Albert, the two children, and Aponi, who is in charge of keeping an eye on them.

Bryan looks at the soldier, "Listen, I am so sorry."

"Screw off Bryan. Don't talk to me; you almost killed me." the soldier roars back.

I ignore them, and the two eventually quit on there own, 'System, what was that just a few moments ago? Where did my mana go?'

[Host, it was detected that someone was interacting with the strands the Host made to fight the Tar Demon. This system took it upon itself to stop any further investigation of the Host's blood magic.]

**Grrrrrr**

'What do you mean someone was messing with the strands? ...Actually, now that I think about it, I wasn't able to break the spell because I fell unconscious. I only had time to break the strands and sickles apart.'

[Yes, the Host should be more responsible in the future.]

**Grrrrrr**

'Stop lecturing me. I'm not a child. I just forgot, okay? Anyways why did you use my mana? Why didn't you do it yourself?'

[This system only stores essence and does not have mana of its own.]

'Well...'

**Grrrrrr**

I hear the same noise a third time, interrupt me, "What is that noise!" I yell.

I look around the room to see multiple red eyes staring at the ground.

"I'm so hungry." The solider says, curled up.

Sam nods, "Yeah, me too. I've never felt this hungry."

"I've eaten whatever I could find, but I'm still starving, dammit!" Terry shouts in frustration.

I look at the group and sigh, "It's because you need blood. You're blood race now."

"..."

All three of them gaze at me like I have two heads, I continue, "Don't look at me like I'm stupid. You're all vampires now. Although a lot of what humans think constitutes a vampire is completely false, the most fundamental part of vampires, drinking blood, is true."

"Blood? Where are we supposed to get blood?" Sam asks.

"Well, fledgling vampires should drink directly from a body. That's the healthiest thing for them to do."

Terry looks at me, "You want us to drink someone's blood?"

I glance at him like he's stupid, "Well, yeah? That's part of being a member of the blood race like I said."

Suddenly I hear Eden, "You aren't going to let them drink your blood, are you? Like you did for me?"

I look at Eden, who has a look of alarm in her eyes. I then look at the three burly vampires who are staring at me with a look of expectation.

"No. I'm not," I state firmly.

I hear Sam sigh in disappointment, "Awh, but she said you let her do it!"

Hearing him, I pick up a coaster and hurl it at him. The coaster hits him in the forehead, "Eden is a sixteen-year-old girl; you're a grown man." I shout.

"Damn, that really hurt! I'm sorry I'm just so hungry. I'm not going to go crazy or anything from hunger, am I? I was pretty excited when the Goddess told me I could be a vampire, but what about the negative side effects." Sam asks with concern.

I blink at Sam, "...Excited, and you're only asking that now?"

"Yeah, I mean, I was obviously about to die, so I didn't ask very many questions. Besides, I used to read a lot of books when I was younger, and I always really liked vampires, so I was excited."

"Oh, okay. Well, anyways, a vampire entering a frenzied state when they've starved themselves for a long time is possible, but you aren't anywhere near those levels."

"Oh, well, what..."

I interrupt him, "There will be plenty of time for questions later, but all of you go into the dining room. I'm going to make a few preparations, and I'll meet you there."

I turn to Eden, "Eden, get Aponi and tell her to meet us in the dining room she's probably hungry as well."

Seeing everyone comply, I leave and enter the kitchen; I grab a funnel and a 1.5-liter wine bottle. I dump the wine down the drain and wash the bottle out.

Meanwhile, I continue my conversation with the system, 'System, should I be worried about whoever found the blood strands?'

[Unknown. Unusual mana activity was detected, and that's when this system intervened.]

I tilt my head, 'Mana? So they probably aren't human. What was the unusual activity?'

[The Host's blood began to react oddly. Whoever it was seemed to have a small affinity toward blood magic.]

'...'

I finish washing the bottle and place the funnel into the top of the wine bottle and make my way to Audrey and the Staff Captain.

I look at them both, "You two."

"Us! Why us! We haven't done anything! We've just been playing hangman!" Audrey shouts and points toward a piece of paper.

I glance at the paper and think for a moment, "It's jelly bean."

Audrey's eyes grow wide, and the Staff Captain nods, "No! I was so close to getting it." Audrey yells.

I smile and continue, "Forget it, just listen. All I want is for you two to slice your wrists over this funnel and fill this bottle."

The Staff Captain's jaw drops as tears fill his eyes, "Fill this bottle! But it's huge!"

I cross my arms and look at them, "You'll live. I only need 750 mL from each of you. That's only a little over three cups, or if you'd prefer, I can just take it from you myself."

"No!" they shout in tandem.

"Good. You know donating blood is supposed to be good for you, right? Perhaps it'll be a popular practice in the future."

"..."

I toss them a knife and make my way to the couch to watch them.

'So, system, you said they had a small affinity for blood magic, but blood magic is typically unique to the blood race with few exceptions.'

[Yes, this is generally true, Host.]

'I guess I should eventually expect something to come of this. If this is one of the few exceptions, it would be dangerous, but I also can't ignore that there is a small chance this could be a long removed member of the blood race...'

I sigh and begin to think out loud, "Anyway, the odds of that are tiny. For now, I just need to worry about my current situation. I have plenty on my plate as it is. You two done yet?"

I look at the Staff Captain and Audrey, who are slumped over. The wine bottle is overflowing with blood, and they both barely hold onto consciousness.

"Oops." I seal the wounds on their wrist and take the bottle. I nonchalantly check their pulse and then give them my utmost appreciation.

"Thanks," I say while half-heartedly waving my hand.

Walking to the dining room, I wipe the blood from the sides of the bottle and lick it from my fingers, "Wow! Their blood is really good and tastes a bit different than I was expecting. Is it because its two types mixed together? Or is it another reason? I'll have to experiment a bit in the future."

I enter the dining room, and everyone's eyes immediately turn toward me. They sniff the air and begin to salivate like wild animals.

I smirk and hold the bottle up, "Smells good, doesn't it?"

I take out three wine glasses and place them for Aponi, Eden, and myself.

I look at them and grin, "You two hungry?"

I take the bottle and begin slowly pouring glass after glass as the three men watch with hungry eyes.

Eden swallows her saliva, "E-Eira, where did you..."

I look toward Eden and put my finger to my lips, "Shhh, Eden, no need to worry about the details right now." I point to the group that is now hyper-focused on the bottle and glasses.

Sam gulps, "Hey, can I, uh, maybe have a glass. In fact, I'd really like a glass."

The other two nod there heads instinctually along with Sam's words.

I shake my head, "I'm sorry, but only people who have drank blood naturally using their fangs can have a glass. You three still need to drink blood from someone else the first time. It's for your own good."

I take my glass and put it to my lips while savoring the sweet smell I tip the glass back. I feel my body screaming out in joy as the red liquid runs across my tongue. I glance toward Aponi and Eden; they look at each other and move the glasses toward their face. Smelling the aroma, they only hesitate for a moment before putting the glass toward their lips. Their faces turn flush as they take a small sip of the red liquid only to begin drinking it enthusiastically a moment later.

For a while, this goes on, they down their glass of blood, and I refill it while staring at the three men. There expressions and faces become increasingly ravenous in nature.

"Is it delicious?" I ask.

"So good. Please more!" Aponi holds her glass out enthusiastically.

I tilt the bottle over, "Oh my. We seem to be out."

The three men's faces drop, and I swear I hear Sam whimper a little.

"Is there no more? Maybe, just a drop. I just want to try it." Sam says.

Terry keeps his serious nature, but I can see cracks forming in his mannerisms as he fidgets around uncomfortably. As for the soldier, his thoughts are much like Sams's.

I tilt my head cutely and act as if I'm thinking, "Well, there's no more in the bottle, but...Oh, I have an idea."

I activate my storage ring, and on the floor, two bodies appear. I toss sheets over their faces to cover their horrified expressions. I lift them so the three men can see them, "You could drink the blood from these two...they were, Uhm, criminals I managed to nab in Japan."

For the third time today, everyone stares at me except this time with looks of disbelief, excluding Eden, who knows exactly where these bodies came from.

I lay the bodies onto the table, "They're still warm. I guarantee you'll love it."

I make a small slice on the arms of the two bodies releasing the enticing smell of blood.

I turn to Eden and Aponi, "Come on. We'll close the door and leave these three to their own devices. We need to prepare; we'll be leaving this house very soon."

"Where are we going to go?" Eden asks.

I poke out my chest, "I'm a hero, Eden! I go where the weak and helpless need me the most."

Aponi gives me a nervous expression, "Uh, where's that?"

I take a skip in front of the two and open my arms wide, "Why, a hospital, of course. Where could there possibly be more people that could use my help?"

"..." Again they just stare me.

A while later, I walk down the hall, eyeing things I may want, and from the dining room, I hear the three vampire men yelling.

"I can't take it! If you aren't, I am!"

"No! I'll do it if you are!"

Hearing the room go quiet, I think to myself, 'Today has been a lovely day.'