How to Live As the Vampire Lord

It was an exceptional suggestion.

What Eugene needed now the most was to enter as many dungeons as possible other than the one in the Tywin territory.

He would have to clear as many dungeons and labyrinths as possible to kill special monsters and obtain red mana stones, which in turn, would grant him their abilities. In addition, he would be able to rid himself of the tattoos covering his body.

‘What will happen when all the tattoos disappear? What if the first two incidents were mere coincidences?’

The memory that resurfaced after he consumed the red mana stone of the giant spider cave was a clue to trace his past. Perhaps more memories would resurface if he continued to consume more red mana stones.

In the end, Eugene still had to enter many dungeons to confirm his theories. However, he was not foolish enough to jump at Priscilla’s tempting suggestion right away.

“I think you are offering me such a deal because there is something you want from me in return.”

“That is correct. That is why I am making you an offer, ” Priscilla calmly continued. It seemed that she was finally making some progress.

“Until you are officially sworn in, the Palin Association will sponsor you, Sir Eugene.”

“Sponsor me?”

“Yes. Naturally, we will provide you with as much support as possible whenever you participate in subjugation and throughout your journey. In return, we will take an exclusive responsibility with the families possessing the dungeons. Of course, the terms and contents of the contracts will be discussed with Sir Eugene in advance. I promise you the best treatment.”

“Hmm. This is not a decision I can make right away.”

“Of course. We do not want to rush it either.”

Truthfully, she wanted nothing more than to close the contract right away, but Priscilla feigned a leisurely smile and continued, “For now, focus on the second subjugation of the Tywin family’s dungeon. The next time you return to Maren, you can let us know your decision about this offer.

“All right. But let me ask you something.”

“Ask away.”

“Why me? It’s not like I’m the only knight in Maren. I am certain that there are many outstanding knights out there.” Eugene asked in a calm voice. His eyes seemed to penetrate through Priscilla. It was hard to explain, but his clear red eyes and low, deep voice seemed to contain a strange power.

Was it charisma? An instinctive fear of knights? Whatever it was, Priscilla was once again convinced that Eugene was not an ordinary person.

“The first reason is Sir Eugene’s skills. I’ve already heard and confirmed Sir Eugene’s skills from the mercenaries who participated in the dungeon subjugation.. I apologize for doing this without your permission.”

“That is fine. And?”

“Yes. In addition, we also verified the results of the battle that occurred in front of Bangle Forest. From these two events, we were convinced that Sir Eugene has exceptional skills. And lastly…" Priscilla gulped before continuing, “I don’t know how to say this… but business associations tend to shy away from sponsoring knights. There are quite a few… unique figures among the knights. Should I call it an uncertainty? We want to establish a stable relationship, but knights tend to be unpredictable.”

Priscilla felt anxious while gauging Eugene’s response. She spoke such words because she was somewhat confident, but she was still worried that he would be offended that she was speaking badly of knights.

“I fully understand. There are definitely many knights who are impatient and unusual.”

Eugene’s reaction was unexpected. Priscilla quickly continued whilst she tried to calm her beating heart, “Yes. But we came to the conclusion that Sir Eugene was different from those knights. As such, until you are officially sworn in, we would like to sponsor you. During that period…”

Priscilla’s explanation was long, but the main points were simple.

‘It’s not much different from being sworn in to a noble, right?’

At least, the duties expected of Eugene by the Palin Association and their support during their sponsorship would be similar that of an appointed knight and a noble. He was quite certain, since he heard all the details about being sworn in from Galfredik. In fact, the large knight had jabbered on and on until Eugene started bleeding from his ears.

If there were any differences, it would be that the relationship would not be hierarchical. Rather, it would be an equal relationship with both parties bound by a contract. In addition, he could terminate their cooperation at any time depending on the situation.

‘It’s not bad.’

He would have to give it a closer look, but the conditions appeared fine. If he was appointed by a nobleman with a certain status, his freedom to participate in different subjugations would be limited. On the other hand, he could enter numerous dungeons and labyrinths through the many branches of the Palin Association without any restrictions.

“What do you think?” Priscilla asked with anticipation, and Eugene nodded.

“It seems fine. Let’s go ahead with it. We will fill out the contract next time we meet.”

“Ah! Thank…”

“However, I will not sign a contract based on a period of time. Let’s go with the number of subjugations. For now, perhaps two or three times. We can talk again afterwards. What do you think?”

“That’s…”

Priscilla stopped herself from saying that she needed to discuss it with her superiors and nodded as naturally as possible.

“I think that is a great idea. Let’s do that.”

She needed to finish this contract by herself, by whatever means necessary. She could not discuss it with her grandfather or father at this moment. Going by the number of subjugations – the terms had never crossed her mind, but she could make it work somehow.

Even if the terms stated that the knight would only have to participate in three subjugations before the contract ended, it still meant that she could tie down the knight to the Palin Association for at least a year.

“We can discuss the details next time. Oh, by the way.”

“Yes!” Priscilla raised her head with a pleasant sense of accomplishment. However, her emotions disappeared without a trace as soon as she met Eugene’s bright red eyes.

“I want to let you know just in case, but if you were planning to employ trickery, you better call this off right now. If anyone ever tries to attack me first or backstab me, I will not leave them be. Regardless of their age, race, or gender.”

“O-o-o-of course. That will never happen. I-I swear.”

She forgot. Even though he had a gorgeous face, the man in front of her valued pride and honor above all else, and that he would rather speak with spears and swords to protect his values than with words.

***

After receiving a rough, informal draft of the contract from Priscilla, Eugene found Partec. Since the mercenary was illiterate, Eugene read out the contents of the contract one by one.

“What do you think?”

“Well, I think the conditions are quite good. But I have never heard about this kind of contract before. So I was thinking, why don’t you ask for advice from people who are well-versed in these kinds of things?”

“Are there people like that?”

“Yes. I know some trustworthy people.”

Afterwards, Partec introduced Eugene to three figures. One was formerly a clerk of a large mercenary group, one was a retired merchant, and the last was a legal advisor to a mercenary group. The last person was Trevik, and he also served as the mercenary guild’s leader.

“…As such, there are no legal problems with the contract proposed to Sir Eugene by the Palin Association. If there’s a good reason, Sir Eugene can terminate the contract at any time, and the conditions look quite good in many ways.”

Eugene nodded after hearing Trevik’s explanation.

‘He has the same thoughts as the other two.’

“Then if it’s beneficial for me, wouldn’t the Palin Association be losing money?”

“Not at all. Regardless of how many subjugations you put forth as the term, the Palin Association will receive the rights to dispose of all the materials gained from the subjugation. If we assume a similar amount to the last subjugation, the Palin Association will benefit quite a lot.”

“Hmm.”

“More than anything else, the Palin Association will benefit from the act of signing a contract with a knight like Sir Eugene, someone who has guaranteed skills. The Palin Association can brag to other associations based in other cities.”

“What does that mean?”

“Knights with excellent skills aim to become sworn in. As such, they rarely associate themselves with business associations. That is why associations mainly sign contracts with mercenaries. To be able to sign a contract with Sir Eugene is the Palin Association's fortune, and they can then show off their capabilities to their competitors..”

“That seems a little complicated.”

“Haha! It’s nothing to mull over. I think the contract is mutually beneficial.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Before they are sworn in, the average knight often struggles financially. To maintain their honor and abilities at the same time, they sign contracts with business associations. It's relatively common since keeping appearances as a knight uses quite a bit of money, right?”

“That’s true.” Eugene nodded in agreement.

Although he received armor and a warhorse for free, knights were truly money devouring monsters. There was a good reason why knights wanted to be sworn in to serve nobles with status. Although knights valued honor and glory, Eugene was convinced that stable income was also an important driving force behind their desire to be sworn in.

“Anyways, thank you for the advice. I’ve learned a lot.”

Eugene spoke, and Trevik shook his head with a smile.

“Not at all. It is the least that I could do for the hero of Maren. Then will you be returning to the Tywin territory?”

“I should.” Eugene stood up while nodding.

As if remembering something, Trevik spoke up once more, “Ah, right. Perhaps because of the roamers and the orcs from the Brandish Mountains, I heard that several lords of nearby territories have been gathering mercenaries. You may come across some problems on your way, so please be careful, Sir Eugene.”

“I see. Thank you for letting me know.”

“Of course. Then please take care.”

Eugene and Partec left the guild’s office door, and Trevik muttered to himself as soon as the door closed.

“He’s truly a fine knight. If I were ten years younger, I might have picked up my sword and followed him like Partec.”

It wasn’t just because of Eugene’s skills. It had been a truly long time since he met a knight that was in his right mind, someone that he could properly communicate with.

***

Eugene started heading back to the Tywin territory along with the three mercenaries. The appearance of the group today vastly differed from when they first entered Maren. Back then, they only had a single horse and a carriage.

Today, however, Eugene was adorned in plate armor while riding on Silion. He truly looked like the definition of a dignified, courageous knight. The mercenaries had also invested in new equipment. They were generous with the money they earned from the dungeon subjugation.

Partec wore a leather coat laden with an iron plate on the inside, chausses, which were pants armor for the legs made from mail, and a shield and mace on his back.

All of his equipment were new purchases. Most of his old equipment, including his old hauberk (chainmail top) had been sold off.

Glade and Lavan also purchased chainmail to strengthen their defenses and switched out their main weapons to new ones.

“Wow! To think that even these three would look dapper with new equipment. Jan Eugene and his dregs, no, his loyal subordinates! The legend of the count of blood begins!” Mirian, the spirit of desire, continued circling the party while shouting excitedly.

Eugene and the mercenaries continued on their journey.

***

Five days later…

Eugene and his party arrived at Mount Marcus without running into any problems. When passing through Mount Marcus, which marked the end of the Brandish Mountains, one had to use the road that connected the foot of the mountain to its ridge.

However, even though it was located at the end of the Brandish Mountains, notorious orcs often appeared. Moreover, rumor had it that a group of goblins and orc warriors had recently made an appearance near Maren City.

As such, the village at the foot of the mountain was crowded with people trying to find others to cross the mountain together.

“A k-knight.”

“It’s a real knight. The ones with him must be mercenaries.”

When Eugene’s group appeared, everyone’s gaze converged on them and people began whispering.

“Wow… look at that armor.”

“It’s plate armor. That’s got to be incredibly expensive.”

“And what about the horse? Look! It’s even equipped with armor.”

Naturally, Eugene received the most attention.

Unless they were a knight serving a great noble, it was very rare for knights to own plate armor like Eugene. Moreover, his armor, horse, and robe were all black, which played a part in attracting everyone’s attention.

However, people only stole glances. No one dared to approach him nor the mercenaries around him. Eugene’s group exuded a powerful and intimidating aura.

“Excuse me, Sir Knight. Can you give me a moment?” A middle-aged man wearing a long-brimmed hat politely bowed after approaching Silion.

“What is it?”

“Yes, Sir Knight. I am a general goods merchant named Delduan. Please excuse me, but I was wondering if you would like to cross Mount Marcus along with my party? I will compensate you appropriately.”

When Merchant Delduan’s words fell, everyone’s gaze focused on him and Eugene.