"Wash your hands before eating." Muccia patiently led the children to the sink and washed their hands. Perhaps these kids played too carelessly; their hands were filled with mud and dirt.
The building's courtyard was the place they always had lunch together.
Sitting on a small wooden bench in the courtyard, Lucius observed the scene.
Naiya sat far away from him.
As he shifted his gaze towards her, Naiya instantly lowered her head. He was avoiding eye contact with Lucius.
Is she afraid of him? Of course not. She was just afraid of the power resting inside her.
Looking up at the azure sky and the dazzling sun, Lucius could bask in the sunlight, and so could she.
The incompatible existence that regulates the bloodline of vampires and humans in Naiya's body must be the bloodline shared by everyone in this world, the blood of the Dragon God.
'I'm getting a little curious about the humans in this world.' Lucius's continued to gaze at Naiya. She also raised her head slightly as if to see if Lucius's gaze shifted.
But at the moment of eye contact, she instantly avoided Lucius' gaze.
"Don't be afraid of your power. When you face it head-on, you will be able to control it."
Bloodlust was vampires' natural instinct. It was strange for vampires not to drink blood! It's just as ridiculous as humans refusing to eat.
There's a reason why Naiya had been experiencing such a berserk symptom. It's been too long since she last tasted blood, so Lucius' scent as the True Vampire became a trigger that ignited the long-dormant bloodthirst inside.
If this continued day and night, one day, she would have to face the fact that she was a bloodthirsty monster.
But a 'monster' was only from a human's point of view. Whereas in Lucius's view, she was just a little girl who hadn't comprehended the vampire's way of life.
"Sorry, I've kept you waiting."
Muccia always appeared at the most crucial time, and those kids fearlessly crowded Lucius's side.
"Who is this big brother?"
"He's beautiful!"
"Beautiful is supposed to describe a girl, right?!"
"But he's really pretty, even prettier than Naiya-san!" This was coming from a girl.
Shit! If you're not pretty, of course, you think I'm better than that little girl!
An angry red mark appeared on Lucius's forehead, teased by the kids' words.
"Pfft ... "Naiya, who was originally a little scared, couldn't help but laugh lightly even after hearing those words.
"..."
There was no point in arguing with the kids. Lucius was just waiting for that nun to take care of them. Although he liked killing enemies in the dark the most.
But… a bloody battle scene is also very exciting,
Although he can crush their heads with one hand, killing these children won't give him the same excitement.
The best hunter should only hunt the best prey.
Who said that...exactly?
Anyway, killing these heartless kids won't give him Despair Points.
Just as Lucius was lost in thought, Muccia finally came out of the kitchen with steaming Chinese food.
"Yay! It's Muccia's special mushroom noodles!"
It seemed that this nun was skilled at cooking. Lucius looked at the tasty food on his table, and the few kids beside him had swallowed it up.
Ah, she was better at cooking than the idiot nun Lucius knew; she had cooked all her childhood meals for her sister and occasionally cooked herself. After all, older people weren't very physically handy, either.
But as a vampire, Lucius didn't know what human food tasted like...
Lucius picked up a nearby chopstick-like tool and looked at the bowl of food that smelled so good.
"Please enjoy it." Muccia looked at Lucius with pride and was about to say something like 'Come and compliment me'.
Lucius just began to use the tool that looked like a chopstick to pick up the noodle, when Naiya spitted out the noodle from her mouth.
Naiya, who sat far away from the wooden table, had approached when Muccia previously bought the noodles. "Why does it taste so sweet?!!!" Naiya glared at Muccia like a cat.
"Is sugar the only thing that spices up in your eyes?"
"Ooh ..." Although she was a grown woman, Muccia lowered her head like a child who had made a mistake.
"Doesn't sweetness taste delicious? Do you hate sweets that much, Naiya?"
"With your existence, the woman who can turn all the world's cuisine into sweets. Even those who don't hate sweet things will still feel disgusted!"
"The sugars will cry....."
"But a normal person would feel strange, right? Only the kids like it!" Naiya angrily looked at Muccia's expression.
"But Mr. Lucius is eating well." Muccia weakly pointed to Lucius, who was sitting on the other side of the table.
"...?" Naiya turned her head to look at Lucius and found that Lucius was eating noodles in his mouth.
As if to demonstrate, Lucius noisily ate the noodles with a sucking sound.
"He's not normal, alright? Muccia, I disagree with letting him stay here. Anyway…"
Lucius' scarlet eyes faintly stared at Naiya.
"Damn it! I'm not eating!" Naiya placed the bowl heavily on the table and ran into the building.
Lucius chewed the noodles in his mouth as if he was chewing wax.
It was impossible to taste these noodles at all...
After Naiya left, Lucius put down the bowl he was holding.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lucius. Naiya is usually quite a child who doesn't like to make a scene." Muccia ran after Naiya as if she was relieved to have Lucius take care of the kids.
Just then, Lucius's pupils shrank a little.
It's the smell of...blood! The smell of death!
"Things... have become interesting."
Because just a moment ago, Lucius felt a dense murderous aura spread over the area!
Vampires had always been sensitive to the scent of such death. And just now, Lucius had dispatched blood, like an enchanter, to mark the general map of this village into Lucius' brain.
Now there was a group of visitors at the village entrance who didn't look very friendly. They were armed as if they had come here for something.
Lucius's figure turned into a black shadow and disappeared into the courtyard... The azure sky was also gradually gathering dark clouds.