At the same time.
Morton Montgomery still stood at the side entrance to the Montgomery Family headquarters, staring off in the direction Sang and Shika had gone. Just then, a human girl slipped out from behind him. It was Olina Walker. She was head over heels for Morton and had hurried over the moment she spotted him alone.
“Brother…”
But to her shock, the instant the word left her lips, Morton Montgomery slapped her hard across the face, sending her sprawling unconscious to the ground. He regarded her like trash and spat in disgust, “How repulsive. Can’t you leave me alone when I’m pondering serious matters? Sigh… Every night we pick concubines, and it’s always low-grade trash like this. Only Iyefut can truly satisfy me.”
In general, vampire nobles kept just one blood servant… but that was the general rule. Morton Montgomery was a special case. He preferred to switch them out every day.
“I really do crave Iyefut, the princess of the Cape Family. Her blood must taste divine…” Lost in the thought, he recalled how Iyefut Cape hadn’t even spared him a glance earlier. Morton clenched his teeth, killing intent radiating from his entire body.
Damn that Cape Family—how much longer would they keep lording over the Montgomery Family!?
Right then, a servant dressed like a knight appeared behind Morton Montgomery. He glanced at Olina Walker lying on the ground and cautioned, “Young Marquis, you’re the host tonight. Treating a guest this way—isn’t that improper?”
“Heh… The Walker Family, a pack of paupers. They add nothing to the Montgomery Family’s business empire. Since this woman likes me so much, let her contribute—sell her off. The Walker Family won’t dare kick up a fuss…”
“Understood…”
Morton Montgomery asked, “Is everything proceeding according to plan?”
“Yes. We deliberately slackened security to let someone sneak into the dungeon… We just didn’t expect the intruder to be him. The Black Knight popping up midway gave this humble servant quite a scare, but developments have returned to track. We finally nabbed a researcher from the Hunting Organization, but the bastard wouldn’t spill the item’s location even on his deathbed. Right before dying, he seemed to whisper something to that human.”
The human experiments weren’t the Montgomery Family’s doing—that was the Hunting Organization.
The Montgomery Family had simply captured the researcher. They desperately wanted the organization’s research results, but they weren’t conducting experiments themselves. Once they got samples, they’d likely mass-produce them…
“Good. Tail him…”
“But rumors say that man’s a Hero of the North. He beat the Wolf King. Do we really want to provoke him?”
“Heh… A phony hero. I just sensed him—he’s not strong at all. Hero of the North? Pure rumor. No one who crosses the Montgomery Family gets away!”
Cape Family, wait until I master that thing’s production method and mass-produce it. I’ll crush you!
…
The next day.
A little past nine in the morning.
Sang woke in his room at the inn. He’d planned to slip off alone after lunch to check out the cave behind the waterfall in the Bron Mountains to the west… But on second thought, better to go later. Whatever was there felt too shady for broad daylight. Dusk would be ideal.
So Sang decided to spend the day sightseeing in Rita…
Who could blame a half-optimist like him? Back in his old world, he’d been the type who could lounge around like nothing was amiss the day before a huge exam.
Even if he always bombed it…
He missed those days…
The Montgomery Family ruled Rita as lords, vassals to the Cape Family, and naturally held no love for humans… But don’t forget their side gig as slave traders. They despised humans yet bowed to one god: money.
In Rita, cash made you king!
Rita lay fifty kilometers south of Central, a booming economic hub. Its city center could rival the outer ring’s First District, especially Central Street—bustling and pristine, with well-heeled pedestrians strolling past shops bursting with wares.
Of course, where there’s light, there’s shadow. The brighter the light, the deeper the dark.
In a money-worshipping den like Rita, fewer than 5 percent of humans lived large. The rest—95 percent—eked out hellish existences…
Taxes crushed the life out of you. Miss one payment, and congrats—you weren’t human anymore. You were merchandise: a slave.
That was the rundown Sang got from the innkeeper. He didn’t dig deeper.
Whatever.
He couldn’t change it anyway. Might as well savor the trip.
After all, he’d basically wrapped up the organization’s assignment. Colin was dead; mission accomplished. His only reason for trekking to Bron Mountain was fulfilling Colin’s dying wish. Just a quick look—what could it hurt?
Around noon.
Sang and Shika brought the four kids to a swanky restaurant in the city center for lunch—the finest in town. Gilded opulence everywhere, chandeliers blazing even by daylight, ice blocks keeping things cool.
Shika, a werewolf from the north, hated the southern clime. Even in November, there was no autumn bite to it.
The kids bubbled with excitement, especially that smug little show-off Kevin. “See? Told you! Hitching a ride on Teacher An’s carriage was genius!”
The others inwardly griped at Kevin’s gloating but didn’t argue the point. Facts were facts: good fortune had come their way. All around ten years old, it was their first time leaving Dilelo Town, their first big city, their first taste of such finery.
Sang rolled his eyes, his thoughts drifting to the orphanage kids.
It was peak lunch hour, the place crammed with nobles and fat-cat commoners.
Yes, commoners—but groups like Sang’s, ordering a massive spread and devouring it like wolves, were a rarity.
Their rowdy feast drew glares.
Sure, they were loud and messy—like a street-side food stall. Hardly disruptive. These nobles were just too hoity-toity for the sight.
“Hmph! Filthy commoners, no manners whatsoever! Can’t even watch without ruining my appetite!”
The speaker was Wells Von, a human baron with a handful of villages on Rita’s outskirts. He’d amassed a tidy fortune through slavery and exploitation—a petty tyrant who groveled before vampires while tormenting his fellow humans.
His lands lay in the boonies, but he lived in Rita and treated the restaurant like his personal canteen, showing up almost daily.
Today, a bunch of hillbillies had plunked down at the next table. He hadn’t planned to bother, but their chow-down irked him. With his attendant in tow, he stormed over and slammed Sang’s table, leering viciously. “Get out! This ain’t for scum like you!”
The restaurant held plenty of onlookers, mostly humans: nobles and well-off paupers.
Vampires? Almost none. They didn’t need human food—just blood.
Everyone clocked the commotion. Nobles settled in for the show; commoners and staff kept their heads down. Crossing Baron Wells Von—even a bottom-rung human noble—could ruin a pleb’s life.
The kids shrank, too scared to speak.
As everyone watched with bated breath, Sang and Shika showed zero reaction. Heads down, they kept scarfing.
Wells Von seethed at first, humiliated by the snub. Then enlightenment dawned, and he sneered, “Hah~ Scared stiff, eh? Too terrified to speak!?”
Sang finally registered the man was addressing him. Still chewing, he mumbled thickly, “Mister, you need something?”
“You bastard! I’ve been talking to you this whole time, and now you ask if I’m talking to you!?”
“Mister, what do you want?” Sang asked again.
“M-M-Mister!?”
“What else am I supposed to call you? Heaven forbid I call you bro. Doesn’t suit you at all…”
Everyone nearby caught the exchange between Sang and Wells. Commoners bit their tongues, but some nobles stifled chuckles behind their hands.
The kids, jittery moments before, now burst into giggles at Sang’s sassy comeback.
Though the Lord was weak, his talent for dirty talk was second to none.
For a moment, Wells Von felt as though he had suffered a profound humiliation. Anger flushed his face bright red.
“Shameless brat! How dare you toy with me!” In his fury, Wells Von swung his palm straight at Sang.
However…
Before the slap could land on the young man’s face, the youth sitting in the other chair shot to his feet and seized the assailant’s wrist with one hand.
It was Shika.
His grip was far from gentle, nearly crushing the bones beneath his fingers.
Wells Von was a typical ignorant noble—a freeloader who only ate without working. His physique was even feebler than that of an ordinary person. He couldn’t possibly withstand such force and immediately howled in agony.
Without a command from Sang, Shika had no intention of letting go.
Seeing this, Wells’s servant sprang into action to protect his master. But in a casual motion, Shika locked his throat as well.
The sight of two grown men restrained by a single youth… carried quite the impact.
“Hurry… hurry and let me go! I am Baron Wells Von… You two lowly commoners—if you release me now, I might still spare your lives!”
A group of local knights strode in. They belonged to the Montgomery Family’s Knight Order and had likely received a report of a disturbance here. They arrived under the guise of upholding the law.
“Hahaha, you’re done for now! The knights are here…” The moment he spotted them, Wells gritted his teeth against the pain and flashed a smug grin. “Knights, save me quickly! I am Baron Wells Von. Ruffians here are threatening my personal safety—take them down at once!”
But things didn’t go his way.
In the next instant, Wells Von’s wishful thinking came crashing down. The lead knight had worked security at the Montgomery Family’s banquet the night before and immediately recognized Sang.
Though he didn’t know Sang’s true identity, he knew enough: this was a noble.
Oh… nobles squabbling among themselves. Nothing to see here.
Wells stared after the departing Knight Order. “…”
And you’re just going to let it slide like that?
