63. The Lord Behind Everything

??? POV

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"My lord, there is news… regarding Affnaria,

A subordinate interrupts my concentration as he speaks about that accursed duchy.

"What is it this time? I have already been told that the tomb of the dark witch was robbed, that the duke and two aristocrats that were our biggest buyers were assassinated, and that the whole library was robbed… Oh right, and how the dungeon that awakened there ended being a complete disappointment, with barely any monsters spawning and had an F-Rank in Mana Production… What else could have happened now?"

I was very pissed, honestly. I have been living for hundreds of years, and even then, I am considered a young Vampire by the standards of my ancestors, but I've never had as many headaches as of now.

Affnaria… By merely hearing that name, I want to break this desk into pieces.

All of a sudden… this servant is looking like a very good punching bag…

But I contained my anger. It is not good to treat those that serve me badly, or at least not without a good reason.

He is not at fault for this after all, right? Indeed. I am a benevolent man.

"Greegggh…! Aagghhh…! P-Please… M-My lord… Aghhh…"

Oh. I guess I began strangling him without realizing it.

I quickly let him go.

"Hahh… Hahhh… Ungh…"

"Now tell me what it is if you don't want to become my hand's best friend once more," I said as I was still somewhat angered.

"Y-Yes… This… there is very bad news! The Necromancer that was performing his duties as a Miasma Potion creator was… killed…."

"What?"

This Necromancer, whose name I already don't remember, was a crucial pawn. He generated black potions for us to sell to the aristocrats of the duchies.

"Uaaggh… Gggeeggh…"

Ah, I guess I began to strangle him again.

"My bad,"

I let him go.

"Who killed him? And why? What is going on now? I want answers," I demanded.

"Y-Yes…! H-He was killed by a group of mysterious individuals... A woman, a man, and… another woman. They looked utterly pale and dead-like, and one of them, a woman who led them, had the power to control shadows and death incredibly well… also, the man was a dragon, apparently. And the other woman might have been a dhampir of sorts."

"What?! A shadow necromancer, a dragon, and… dhampir?! What a horrid combination. Of course they could have blown off his head easily… That is a terrible match. Wait, how did they find him?! I am already very frustrated, you know? I am trying my hardest to contain this anger boiling inside of me, so be good and quickly tell me,"

"Greaaggh…! Let me go… Please… Aaggh…"

I guess I am beginning to become uncontrollable.

Once more, I began to strangle the subordinate.

I should really try to calm my anger; I have problems with it.lightsnovel

I quickly let him go, and thankfully, he is a Subordinate Vampire, so he can take as many strangles as I want.

"Please, my lord, stop strangling me for everything I say…." He muttered.

"Speak already if you don't want me to kick your head in the opposite direction,"

"Y-Yes! W-We were able to find out about them due to the video runes within the cave where this necromancer lived… but they were destroyed recently, so we can't see anymore. We don't know why they did it… but perhaps they wanted to free the slaves… We don't know where they are now either," He sighed.

Ah, it had to be like this… It had to be the worst situation, huh?

Thankfully, I always have a plan B.

lightsΝοvεl ƈοm

"One is down, but there are more alchemists capable of making miasma potions. They're our greatest strength-boosting drug, so keep making them and send a team to investigate this group's footsteps. I want their heads served on a platter,"

"Yes, my lord, thank you very much for not strangling me again,"

"Now go if you don't want me to do it again."

"S-Sorry!"

The little man ran away.

CLAAASH!

Suddenly, my desk is torn apart. What has happened?

Oh right, I guess my hands did this as I tried to rest them… so annoying.

I guess I do not realize what I am capable of sometimes. It is good that the subordinate ran away, or I would have crushed his head by accident.

But… what an interesting discovery, to think that these three clowns would try to take down my factory of potions just because they're playing the heroes. Foolish mortals.

I seriously can't understand them, they're so strong, yet they're bothering themselves with rescuing a band of miserable and unfortunate souls? Who would do this in this day and age? Not even their own humans, not even the knights, not even the Kingdom cares about them.

If a normal citizen is taken as a slave, who would care? Nobody, so why do they care? What kind of deal are they doing? What do they get back from this?

Perhaps they wanted the slaves for themselves? It is a possibility. After all, they're high-quality slaves. Many would kill for one of them, so I suppose it is completely understandable that they might want one for themselves.

Slaves that are former citizens specialized in alchemy or other jobs are always more valuable.

Or… they're simply doing a good deed for self-satisfaction?

I am already filled with too many things to do to bother with these foolish idiots, so I will leave the work to that team that will be formed. Hopefully, they can take care of them for me.

And if not… well, I will have to do something else…

Hmm, the interesting thing is that this is happening right outside of Affnaria.

As if everything was somewhat connected together.

Do these individuals have anything to do with the recent events?

I do wonder…

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