‘Helping out, huh.’ Shalltear did not like these two words.

The vampire was wearing a soft black evening dress with a big heavy skirt. Her upper body was dressed in a lace embellished ribbon and a short, tailored jacket. Her hands were also donned with long lace gloves, not exposing any bit of skin exterior. That was a sacred attire bestowed upon her by Lord Peroroncino. The one she usually wore while patrolling her floors in Nazarick.

She cackled evilly. Tomorrow, she’ll use the commotion to end this god’s miserable life. She had two main reasons for planning this evil scheme. The first being that this would be a fun activity and the second being that she absolutely did not want to keep doing quests like Bell suggested.

Her years serving as guardian of Nazarick taught her that the easiest way to glory is to suppress the opposition. Therefore, getting rid of this puny god is a more efficient way for the Miach Familia to rise in ranks.

However, despite how much the vampire looked forward to it, she couldn’t help but feel like her cover would be blown… She couldn’t let that happen as it would mean living the life of a fugitive as long as she didn’t have a strong party backing her up. By strong party, she meant Nazarick, of course.

That is why she was walking around aimlessly, or to be more exact, looking for trouble. Her encounter with zombies in the dungeon reinforced the idea that she should be contributing to the mayhem of tomorrow’s Monster Festival.

The sky was pitch dark and Orario was sleeping. The somber streets were sometimes illuminated by a few magic stone streetlamps here and there, but not much else. Everyone must be sleeping to be in good shape tomorrow.

As she walked, her lips curled upwards as she felt something peering her back. A small group followed her for quite some time already. There were exactly four people trailing her.

Shalltear was overfilled with joy. All those measly lower-life forms willingly giving up their lives to her is simply wonderful. Satisfied with the number of men trailing her, she came to a halt in an obscure alley, away from the night lamps.

"You may come out now~." She called out cheerfully, yet no one answered. Still, she could hear a few snickers as well as rustle behind the corner, and above her. Their steps were soft when moving on the rooftops, but they couldn't hide from her heightened vampiric senses. Without the use of powerful camouflage spells or items, playing hide and seek with Shalltear was pointless.

"Must I force you to come out~?"

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"Ku-ku-ku…" At that moment, a tall figure stepped out from the shadows. There were tattoos covering his whole body.

"It is frightful to see such a young lady walking on her own at night." The man had an open smile, revealing a few broken teeth.

“Uhm~? How so~?” Shalltear replied playfully. She was enjoying this exchange as this man clearly didn’t know what his fate held.

“Well, you know, there could be a lot of bad men walking around. Judging from your clothes, I assume your noble parents don’t often bring you here, so I won’t blame you for not knowing.” The man explained as three snickering shadows appeared around him.

“That’s right, we must educate you.” Another shadow added.

“There is no way-out little girl. You see, I’m a level three and these guys are close to level two.” The man from earlier declared as he took a step forward, his hand stretching out to touch Shalltear’s little body. “Oh, you seem to understand there’s no running away. Good girl – guah!”

The man gushed out blood. The other shadows were taking glances to see what happened when the little girl slowly pulled out a heart, the man’s heart.

“Boss is gone!” “She’s crazy!” “We’re outta here!” The shadows cried out as they dispersed quickly, running for their lives.

“[Animate Dead]” They could hear the girl chant something, then an imposing figure moved in their trajectory.

“What?!” *Splash* “Is that?!” *Splash* “Boss?! No!!!” *Splash*

Their bodies went limp and smacked the ground as blood rained out all over the alleyway.

“Well done, my dear servant~. I shall call you Mortimer~.” She praised the same man from earlier. The only thing was that his face had been distorted as if all the moisture in his body had evaporated. He looked sickly pale and at the tip of his hands sprouted sharp claws. A crimson red light, much like those belonging to a vampire, glowed in his empty eye sockets.

He bowed. “I aM HoNOreD tO rEceIVe yOuR bLESsiNg, MiStrEss ShALlteAr.” Within his half-opened mouth, razor-sharp canines gleamed.

Shalltear was delighted to see her spell had worked as intended. It seemed that the body of a level three along with her magic powers was enough to create a Lesser Vampire. In terms of abilities, she considered it very weak, but it would be good enough for the humans of this world.

Although she hasn’t seen any top adventurers in action yet, at the very least, it would stall for time while she paid a visit to this puny deity.

She smiled gently. “I am overjoyed by your enthusiasm~. You know what to do tomorrow, right~?”

“oF coURsE, MiLaDY! HiDe, tHen BEgiN tHE plAGue whEn PLant mOnsTeRS apPEaR.”

“You got it all~? How wonderful!” She smiled and winked at the Lesser Vampire, making him bow even more. “So, if you understand, I will be on my way, okay~?”

Mortimer nodded. “ThAT gOEs WIthOuT sAYiNg, MiSTrESs ShALlteAr. No nEeD To MInD tHIs oNe’S FeELinGs. I aM foREveR aT YouR cOMmaNd.”

“Thanks~!” Shalltear said before teleporting away on a rooftop, satisfied. She only acted friendly in front of this Lesser Vampire to gain his complete support. Although she doubted it judging from his character earlier, there was still the chance that some humanity left in him would jeopardize everything.

She giggled wickedly as she looked at the peaceful night scenery in Orario. She assumed most people were asleep, getting ready for the busy day tomorrow. Shalltear could understand how they felt. After all, she was looking forward to it as well…