Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

After enjoying the ignoring game for a while, I spoke to her.

“Uh…what did I call you again? Flat-Chop… Flattie and Chopped?”
“You’re the last person I want to be called Flat!!”

It’s true that I don’t have much of a chest either—I mean, if I really try to push them together, they might look a little more prominent, but I don’t really care. She seems to feel differently, though.

“If you don’t like that nickname, please tell me your real name. …Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
“So it’s my fault now?! M-my name is Chrome! Chrome Crime!! ‘Chrome of the Cursed Wind’!”
“Chrome of the Terrible Cold?”
“Cursed! F̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g! Wind! You’re doing this on purpose!”

Chrome is screaming and thrashing about desperately, but all that happens is the rope sways, and she dangles like a keychain.
She seems to be trying to cut the rope with wind magic from time to time, but no matter how many times she casts the spell, the Blood Arms rope remains unharmed.
The rope is made to be quite stiff, so cutting it is probably impossible. It must be as sturdy as a steel wire.

“Damn it, what the hell is this?! Why can’t I cut it?!”
“It’s specially made. You can’t cut it so easily..”

I did say it’s specially made, the fact that it uses Minotaur blood has nothing to do with it. Its strength depends on the level of the Blood Arms.
Chrome-san kept struggling for a while after that, but perhaps realizing it was hopeless no matter what she did, she eventually calmed down.

“Guh, ugh…”
“I could let you down, but can you promise me two things?”
“Wh-what do you want…”

She hadn’t been in the mood to talk at all at first, but now she’s listening quite obediently. I guess the ignoring game does work.
If she still hadn’t seemed willing to listen after all this, I was planning to leave it to Oswald-kun.
I have a pretty good idea of what would happen to her in that case, so I’m glad she’s willing to listen. To be honest, I’m a bit reluctant to watch a human get killed right in front of me.
As for the poachers, I don’t care. It’s their own fault anyway, and going out of my way to save them is a hassle. If it happens out of my sight, I won’t feel bad if they die, so I’ll just leave him be.
Having reached that conclusion, I formulate my words for Chrome-san.

“First, you must never harm this forest again. Second… may I have a drink of your blood?”
“Blood… blood…?”
“Yes. I’m a vampire, so I need it.”

My thirst hasn’t kicked in yet, but if I drink now, I’ll be safe for a few more days. I want to make sure I replenish myself properly when I get the chance.
The scent of old blood emanating from her is so strong I can’t detect the scent of her own blood, but from the looks of it, she’s human. If it’s human blood, it’s sure to be delicious.
I even find myself harboring a slight hope that I might be able to drink the blood of a human other than Felnoute-san. Even I could tell I was starting to act just like a vampire.

“By the way, my name is Argento Vampyr. You can just call me Arje.”
“A vampire… Argento Vampyr…”

Chrome-san slowly rolled my species and name around in her mouth like a candy, then immediately looked down.
Even though she’s looking down, I can still see his face since he’s hanging there. He’s furrowing his brow and looks a little grumpy. I want to rub her brows straight with my thumb.

“…I get it, so put me down.”
“Right away.”

I manipulated the blood rope and lowered Chrome-san to the ground.
Since she’s a woman, I did it slowly and carefully so as not to hurt her. I lowered her so she sat down, rather than letting her roll.
Then, once I released the Blood Arms, the ropes that had bound her vanished without a trace.
I had considered the possibility that she might run away the moment she was freed, but she showed no such signs. Chrome-san simply watched until the rope had completely vanished, then glared at me briefly before turning her face away.

…Did she hate me now?

“…Hmm.”
“Nya?”
“Hmm!”
“Yes?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking?! If you’re going to bite, just do it already!”

Ah, I see.
It looked to me like she was turning her face away, but it seems she was actually offering her neck.

……I don’t have to bite and to drink, though.

Every time, I’d have Felnoute-san pour the blood into a teacup first. Basically, as long as I can drink it, anything goes. That’s why I say “Let me drink it” instead of “Let me suck your blood.”
However, she seems to be expecting to be bitten. After throwing out a protesting remark, she turns her neck toward me again and stays silent.

I really just need her to scratch her fingertip a little. I was about to say that, but as I looked at Chrome’s neck, a certain emotion began to well up from deep within me.
Her neck is slender and looks very soft.
In contrast to her dark, somewhat dogged way of speaking, her skin is beautiful and bright-colored, and her blood circulation looks good.
The emotion welling up as I gazed at her neck. It was a sense of hunger.
It was different from the hunger I felt when my urge to feed arose. It was the same kind of hunger I felt when my favorite food was right in front of me. A simple desire to taste it.

…She looks delicious.

By the time I thought that, I had already moved toward her with the most natural of motions.
She said nothing. She didn’t even glance my way.
So, I decided not to hold back.