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“Pardon me.”

I gently brought my face close to her neck. Chrome-san flinched slightly, but she didn’t pull away.
I could smell the scent of old blood. But now that I was this close, I could also detect the sweet fragrance unique to young girls, along with the smell of sweat and blood.

“……Ah, mm…”

I gently pressed my fangs against her skin and slowly sank them in. Her breath and a soft “mm” echoed in my ears.
Just as I’d expected, once I broke through the shallow resistance of her soft skin, the sweet scent of blood flooded my senses.
Even if I weren’t feeling the urge, once I smell this scent, I simply cannot help but drink. Because that’s the kind of creature I am now.
I wrapped my arms around her neck and waist, pressing her firmly against me.
So that there was absolutely no chance she could escape.
So that she could never escape.

“Mmm, mmm…”

Feeling the flow of blood, the core of my fangs tingled with warmth.
The sensation that resonates through my nerves is like a cavity, but there’s no pain. If anything, it just feels good. A sensation of sweet pleasure.

“Chu, ngh, mm… ngh…”

I suck up the spilling blood as if clinging to her skin, swallowing it down.
I use the tip of my tongue to tease the wound, urging it on, “More, more.”
And so I suck up the life that flows out. Meticulously, making sure not to leave a single drop behind.
My Blood Reading activated automatically, but the information flooding into my head is annoying. Right now, I want to feel the taste of this blood, its warmth, even more. I read only the status information and immediately shut it off.

“Hya, ah, aah…”

A voice like a cat’s purr—a sticky, cloying tone unlike anything I’d heard from Chrome-san before. I could feel the strength draining from her body in my arms.
I repositioned my arms around her waist to support her weight and continued feeding.

“Nho, wha, is… this…hyaa, hii…”
“Ngh, phew… slurp… mmm!”
“Eek!”
“Aha… so delicious… ♪ Nom, mmm, chuuuu… ♪”
“Hye, ah… hyaaaaaaa.”

I pressed my fangs against her again and again, gradually widening the hole I’d made. As I did, the taste of fresh blood filled my mouth, making it unbearable.
I continued to drink greedily, making rude noises, but before long, the strength began to drain from Chrome-san’s body. She twitched slightly, her lips uttering only meaningless sounds.

……Oops, did I drink too much?

I’d lost myself for a moment.
If I kept this up, I might end up sucking her to death, so as soon as I realized it, I pulled my fangs out.

“Mmm, slurp… fayn fayn, fwo awaah”

While licking up the spilled blood, I cast a healing spell. I carefully healed the wound my fangs had left.

……I’d feel bad if I left a mark, after all.

She’s a woman, and it’s such a noticeable spot too. I have to make sure it’s properly taken care of.
Since the spell also increases her blood production rate, she should recover quickly.
If I kept doing this, I could drink her blood endlessly. The thought crossed my mind briefly, but I stopped myself—it would be cruel to keep her restrained like this forever.

“Are you okay? I might have gone a little too far. I’m sorry.”
“Hweh, ah, phew…”

Since I’d been biting her neck until just a moment ago, Chrome-san’s face isn’t in my view. Now that I’ve stopped feeding, I can see her face.
Her cheeks were flushed, and her mouth was half-open. Her eyes were glistening, and she was staring off into the distance.
She seems terribly dazed… Maybe I really did drink too much.

“…Chrome-san? Are you okay?”
“Hweh, more… hwee…Ah!? G-get away from me!”
“Hnya.”

She suddenly shoved me away.
Since I wasn’t on high alert like I was during our fight, I couldn’t react in time and fell over. I landed on my butt and let out a cute little scream.

“Owie… Why would you do that?”
“Sh-sh-shu-shu-shut up! Y-you, you…!”
“My name is Argento Vampyr, you know?”
“I didn’t forget it! W-what was that just now… u-uuuuuuuugh!!”

Chrome-san stomped her feet. That’s a rare sight—not many people actually do that in real life.
Chrome’s cheeks are bright red, like a boiled octopus. It seems her blood production is going well.

“Vampyr…!”
“Arje is fine, you know?”
“VAMPYR!!”

It seems she deliberately wanted to use that roundabout way of addressing me, so she said it twice.
I didn’t have any particular attachment to the name; I just thought the shorter one was easier to say. But if she insists on using the longer version, there’s no reason for me to stop her. I decided not to say anything further.
Chrome’s amber eyes held a strength I’d never seen in them since we met. She glared at me with eyes that radiated a strong will, pointed her finger at me, and then unleashed her words.

“I’ll kill you… How dare you do that to me… to me…!!”
“Um… what do you mean ‘that’?”

I’m not quite sure what she means, but she seems really angry.
Maybe she’s mad because I drank too much of her blood earlier. Even though I stopped, if I’d kept going, I might have killed her.
Losing blood means getting closer to death. It’s only natural to feel fear and rage.

“Um, I’m sorry. I guess I went a little too far.”
“A little!? After treating me like that…?!”
“Like that?”
“Y-you damn… I won’t forgive you… I’ll never forgive you for humiliating me like that, or for being faster than me!!”

Chrome-san’s amber eyes flashed with fury.
I braced myself, thinking she was going to fight again, but that wasn’t the case. She took a huge leap and landed on a nearby tree branch. Amazing. I can’t believe she jumped that high.

“Just you remember! Don’t think you’ve won yet!”

With those words—ones that probably half the people in the world have heard somewhere before—Chrome vanished into the depths of the forest.
I don’t know why she got angry… but since she seems to be leaving the forest, I guess that’s fine.
Watching the scent of old blood fade into the distance, I checked her stats just in case. We might meet again, so it wouldn’t hurt to remember her.

.

Name: Chrome Crime
Race: Human
Physical Abilities: Agility Main

Skills

Enhanced Vision 1
Enhanced Hearing 1
Stealth 2
Magic Sword 8
Wind Magic 4
Dark Magic 3
Wind Resistance 6
Dark Resistance 8
Curse Resistance 8
Poison Resistance 6

Contracted Artifact

Oozing Sound of the Stillborn

.

What surprised me was the skill level of 8. Even accounting for resistances, having three of them at that level is quite impressive. Even Felnoute-san, a former Royal Knight, had a maximum skill level of 6.
She introduced herself with the name “Cursed Wind,” as if I’d immediately know who she’s supposed to be. Perhaps she’s well-known in her clique.

…What’s an Artifact?

The word conjures an image of a magical item.
I have an idea. The bracelets she was wearing on both wrists—the only thing she had on her.
Perhaps the wind blades and the curse she used were caused by separate factors.
It said ‘sound of the dead,’ I suppose you could interpret that as the loss of hearing. Maybe the curse was triggered by that so-called artifact.

“……Well, I don’t really care.”

Even if I wanted to ask, the person is already gone now.
Since she left with a parting remark, I suppose she’ll see me again, so if I remember, I’ll just ask her then. Though I have no idea how she’ll find a wanderer like me.

I’ve done what I needed to do, so I decided to just relax.
Oswald and Behaki will be coming this way eventually, right? Walking is a pain, so I think I’ll just take a nap and wait.