After Irina was once again halved by Sarenthia Mike once again helped put her back together and placed Sarenthia back in her sheath. After that, since Irina had plenty of blood from Mike, she was able to regenerate her body a lot faster than last time due to that fact. The blood on the floor she also drank up which Mike felt a little weird about but after she told him that the blood was not technically hers Mike was confused prompting Irina to talk about how Vampire's worked.
Apparently, when they drink the blood of their victims the blood goes into their body and is used by them instead of the person since they are undead they cannot create their own blood as a result of their body not being able to through certain reasons. Mike was actually very intrigued as most times that he encountered the vampire race they tended to not explain why vampires needed to drink blood.
It was the smaller details that Mike found intriguing most of the time, unlike the obviously big ones that were important.
"Ah right I think my body is better now," Irina says as she attempts to stand up for the first time since she was cut in half she wobbles a bit before she eventually falls towards the floor
Mike, being the gentlemen he was, attempts to catch her from falling. He catches her but uses all of his strength to stay standing to prevent himself from falling to the floor with her since he is still a bit weak from his blood being drained from his body. Mike still had his mana circulating throughout his body since it was helping him recuperate from the lack of blood.
Mana was very good for Mike to circulate through his body because it was able to help his body regenerate and improve itself slightly. Now, why was Mike not doing this all the time? There are two reasons as to why. First was that it was mentally draining to actively circulate mana throughout his body since he had to push and move it through his will or else it would just stay still. The second was that he did not have enough mana to go around his body all at once. He was only able to use his limited mana to only affect small amounts of his body right now, at best he could imbue his mana into one finger by going through his bloodstream.
Still enough about mana and back to Mike holding onto Irina like they are in a pose while dancing at a ball. Their eyes met and both were frozen still as they held this position for a good while.
"Um..." Irina making known her discomforts as she blushes which breaks Mike from his mental freeze at the moment
He pulls her up and puts her back on her chair before taking a seat in his own and grabbing his tea and drinking the contents of the cup swiftly.
"So um... what exactly did you want to talk to me about besides my sword?" Mike asks trying to get the conversation going once more
"Ah, right I was wondering if you are an adventurer?" Irina asks
"Yes I am but I am the lowest rank right now since I just started," Mike answers
"Perfect! Then I would like to offer you to be a contracted adventurer for the Castleburn household," Irina says
"Contracted adventurer?" Mike asks evidently confused as he had never heard of such a thing from Wendel or anyone else for that matter
"Yes a contracted adventurer," Irina says once more
"Sorry, but could you tell me what a contracted adventurer is?" Mike asks
"Ah, right you won't have heard about them that often due to the rarity of them. Well, a contracted adventurer is an adventurer that will undertake quests from time to time for the noble family that hires their services. As a result, there are benefits for both parties as the adventure gets the protection and resources from the nobles that contracted them while the nobles can gain almost anything they need from the adventurer taking quests for them," Irina explains
"I see but why have I not heard about them?"
"Most contracted adventurers are usually contracted by the nobles in the capital since they have more influence and resources to use," Irina explains
"Then why are you asking me to be your family's contracted adventurer?" Mike asks
"Well you left quite an impression on my family when they heard about your achievements and how you are a young wizard apprentice is a testament to how much you have to improve further in the future"
"So you want to make a bet on me to get stronger when I get older to the point that I will be of use for your family to use?" Mike asks to see if that is indeed their agenda
"Yes and considering how you have acted up till now my family has been very pleased with you," Irina says
"Wait your family?" Mike says as he realizes the implications of what she just said
"Yes, her family," A manly voice rings out throughout the room from nowhere
Mike looks around but cannot sees where the voice is coming from before he feels a hand grab his shoulder from behind of him. Mike jolts around and sees that there was now someone grabbing his shoulder.
It was a man wearing a victorian era looking tuxedo without a tie or bow around his neck. The man had the same jet black hair, red eyes, high cheekbones, and pale skin as Irina but the feeling that he gave off towards Mike as he stared down at him sent chills down Mike's spine as he felt the stench of bloodlust and sense of inferiority from him.
"Allow me to introduce myself I am Derick Von Castleburn, Irina's father," He says with a slight accent like Dracula
"N-nice to meet you Mr. Castleburn," Mike says as the feeling that this guy is giving off a very dangerous feeling towards Mike right now
Plus with his hand on Mike's shoulder, he was pretty sure that he could take his life at any moment very easily with his inhuman strength before he could realize that he was dead.
"I have been watching in on this conversation as you are the only human that has caught her interest... for now," Mr. Castleburn says as he moves his hand away from Mike's shoulder and he moves to Irina
"My dear, are you hurt? Father is here now if you feel anything is wrong I will take his life for you to make up for it," Mr. Castleburn says as he starts checking Irina for any injuries from when she was cut in half before
'Ah great he is one of those people' Mike thinks as he sees Mr. Castleburn doting over his daughter so lovingly
'Hey Abbey you think this guy has a daughter complex' Mike asks
"I am willing to bet yes on that," She says
"Eh hem!" Mike says clearing his throat and drawing the attention of the two to him
"Mr. Castleburn it is nice to meet you like I said but is it alright if you let me and your daughter finish this up as I have a curfew of sorts with my master due to the recent events of me being kidnapped," Mike asks while trying to appear as calm and collected as possible
"You really have some backbone harming my daughter in front of my face I think that I might as well return the favor now don't you think?" Mr. Castleburn says as he moves from Irina and slowly goes towards Mike
Mike blinks and in front of his face is a hand with razor-sharp nails pointed towards him and moving closer at inhuman speeds.
"Father stop!" Irina shouts
Mr. Castleburn's hand stops just a few centimeters from Mike's face.
"He is our guest and the apprentice of a royal wizard do you really want to bring trouble to our family due to some accident that was my fault?" Irina says
"..."
There is no reply from Mr. Castleburn as he moves his hand away from Mike before grasping both of Mike's shoulders quite hard and moving his face towards him.
"Harm a single hair on my daughter one more time and I swear you will be hunted down and killed before the sun has risen that day," Mr. Castleburn threatens
After that lovely response, he moves away from Mike and once again stands near Irina once again from behind her chair.
"So... um, what exactly are the terms for me working with you?" Mike says trying his best to ignore the bloodthirsty gaze from Mr. Castleburn
"Ah right, father you have the contract that I made right?" Irina asks as she looks at her father
Mr. Castleburn looks down at Irina with a bright smile on his face as he takes out a rolled-up parchment from an inner pocket and hands it to her with the bright smile of a loving father completely devoid of the bloodlust and hate that was being shown to Mike.
Irina takes the parchment and hands it to Mike.
"As you can see the contract is very specific on your requirements for working with my family," Irina says as Mike takes a look at the contract