Sunday night in Elfier City.
The festival day.
The stone streets, usually quiet, were now dense with people. Large blue and gold banners hung across the street, fluttering gently in the night breeze.
In the main square, a large wooden stage had been erected, illuminated by hundreds of magical lanterns casting a golden glow.
The night air was filled with Laughter, cheerful music from street performers, and the shouts of people mingled together.
This was the first night of the King’s Birthday Festival.
Far from the chaos of the square, on a quieter street, the door to an inn swung open.
A small bell above it jingled softly.
Two figures stepped inside.
The first figure was a man with long pink hair tied back. He wore a dark cloak and several leather belts over his black uniform.
The second figure was a woman. Her long blonde hair cascaded over a luxurious dark blue cloak with a high red collar. Her red eyes scanned the inn with a bored expression.
The inn was quite busy. Several adventurers and locals sat around tables, laughing and drinking.
A girl with short black hair and glasses, wearing a maid outfit, was busy carrying a tray of empty glasses. She hurried over to the two new guests.
That girl was Laura.
"Welcome! Please sit anywhere, sir and madam!" Laura greeted them warmly.
The man smiled at Laura, then chose a slightly secluded table in the corner.
The blonde woman sat across from him, resting her chin on her palm.
"Can I help you?" Laura asked, pulling out a small notepad.
"One black coffee," said the man.
"And one hot chocolate."
"Under what name?" Laura asked again.
The blonde woman smiled and replied,
"Under 0—"
Before she could finish, the man in front of her quickly clamped his hand over her mouth.
The man laughed awkwardly at Laura.
"Under the name Kili and Kala," he said.
Laura narrowed her eyebrows. "Kili and Kala?"
The man nodded. "Yes!"
"Alright!" Laura noted the order and hurried away.
The man pulled his hand away from the blonde woman’s mouth. He leaned back in his chair, observing the inn.
"Are you stupid or something."
The blonde woman put on an annoyed expression.
"What? It’s just a name. She asked for our names. What’s wrong."
The man sighed.
"Yes, it’s wrong!" he said in a hushed tone.
The man looked around, making sure no one was listening. He leaned forward and whispered,
"What kind of clunatic orders from a bar using their criminal name!"
The woman didn’t seem to be listening. She leaned in slightly, sniffing the scent from the man’s neck, and said,
"You smell quite nice, 01."
01 instantly pulled his body away. He looked around again. After confirming no one had heard, he let out another sigh of relief.
"You’re scaring me, seriously."
The woman smiled slyly and leaned forward.
"Don’t lie to yourself. I know you like being bitten by a beautiful vampire like me, don’t you?"
"Hellnah, i don’t, nu nuh" 01 answered without hesitation, shaking his head.
"Hihihi. Such a good liar," the woman said with a faint smile.
The man covered his eyes with his hand, muttering softly,
"Why did I have to be partnered with 02."
02 tilted her head slightly. "Ah, did you say something?"
01 shook his head, forcing a light laugh.
"Oh no, no. I was just feeling grateful."
"Oh, grateful? Good, good," 02 said, nodding.
"Listen...The boss told us not to cause any trouble for the next two hours. So, I’m begging you, please be a good girl for the next two hours, okay?" 01 said with a strained smile.
"I don’t like being told what to do!" 02 said, pouting her lips slightly.
"Two hours. Please, just two hours," 01 pressed.
02 went quiet for a moment. She stared at 01 for a long time. Then she held up one finger.
"One condition!" she said.
"Name it."
"If I’m a good girl for the next two hours," 02 smiled widely,
"let me suck you!" she said, her voice rising slightly.
Pffttt!
An adventurer whose seat was a bit close to them sprayed out his drink. He looked over with a strange expression.
"Huh?"
"Hey, did you hear what that woman said?"
"Suck?"
"Seriously, people these days have no shame, talking about that stuff in public."
Several patrons who overheard began to whisper.
01 looked around and immediately corrected the situation.
"Ah, you mean suck into the drink I’m making?! Of course, of course, you can! Hahaha, don’t just say half of it, people will misunderstand! Hahaha!"
"Ooh, a drink."
"Just a drink."
The patrons turned back to their own business.
---
"What is wrong with you?" 02 asked with a baffled expression.
01 massaged his temples. He then pointed at 02.
"Stop. Don’t talk. Just don’t talk."
He looked at 02 again.
"Please just be normal and hold back your vampire urges for the next two hours. Just two hours, okay? Okay?"
02 let out a long sigh, her voice low and husky.
"I’ll obey, as long as I get to drink your blood later."
She glanced toward the door, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"If not, I’ll drink everyone in here right now. Uhm, they smell so delicious. I want to suck them dry."
At the next table, a merchant who had been laughing immediately fell silent. He turned toward 02 with an odd look.
01 immediately laughed, waving his hand at the merchant.
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry! My partner here is under a lot of stress!" he said cheerfully.
"What she meant by ’suck’ was... suck the energy out of the crowd, you know? She hates parties. She’d rather, uh... food! Yes, she’s hungry!"
The merchant stared at them both for a moment, then shrugged and returned to his drink.
01 stared at 02 coldly.
"I just want to enjoy my coffee please."
"Just say okay," 02 said.
"And you can enjoy your two hours in peace."
Laura returned with their orders, placing the mug of coffee and hot chocolate on the table.
"Please enjoy."
01 smiled at Laura and gave her a silver coin.
After Laura left, 01 took a sip of his coffee.
"This is really good."
02 stirred her hot chocolate with a small spoon.
"That time, our mission was postponed because of that person named Fathir, wasn’t it."
02 turned to 01, her expression serious.
"How strong do you think he is, that even the Boss is afraid?"
After sipping his coffee, 01 replied,
"I don’t know. I’ve never met him."
He paused before continuing in a voice only they could hear.
"But rumors say his power is unmeasurable. Fighting him directly is the same as suicide. There’s a rumor that there’s an unwritten rule in this world that forbids us from bothering him."
02 sipped her hot chocolate.
"That strong."
A faint smile returned to her face.
"Will I become strong if I drink his blood?"
"Go ahead, if you want to die instantly," 01 said in a low tone.
He looked down at his hot coffee.
"Even we, with help from Whitening and the dragon, wouldn’t be able to do anything to him."
"Oh yeah, how do they know if Fathir is here or if he leaves?" 02 asked, pretending to stir her hot chocolate with the spoon.
01 chuckled.
"They say Fathir always emits his magical energy brutally wherever he is. It’s like a message: ’I’m here, you bother me, you die.’ That’s why you can’t feel any powerful energy in the city right now, right?"
02 nodded in understanding.
"Ah, I see. Pretty arrogant. Is he a threat to us?"
01 shook his head.
"I don’t know. But the Boss said as long as we don’t bother him, we’ll be fine."
02 nodded again.
" I seee i seee..Sorry for all the questions. I’m still learning about your world."
"By the way, after we finish this, where are we going?" 02 asked.
"What do you mean, ’where’? Of course, we’re staying right here for the next two hours."
02 put on an expression of disbelief and shock.
"Haaah?!"
She shook her head.
"No way! No, no way!"
She then slammed her hands on the table.
"I want to go for a walk outside! Find people, suck people, kill people, and have fun before the ritual!" she declared at a fairly high volume.
"Oi?!"
"Her?!"
"Ritual?"
"Kill?"
Several tables turned to look at them again.
At another nearby table, a couple that had been flirting stopped talking. The man turned his head toward them.
01 saw the man and immediately smiled broadly.
"She means in the competition! She wants to beat them in the competition! ’Kill’ means defeating them in the competition! And ’suck’ means sucking up the crowd’s energy!"
He looked around, trying to explain,
"And the ritual is like... a ritual before the competition! Right, a ritual before the competition!"
Several patrons stared at 01, confused, then slowly returned their focus to their own business.
01 gripped 02’s shoulder and whispered,
"Alright, you can drink my blood. Just please be normal and stay quiet here for the next two hours and enjoy your hot chocolate, okay?"