Glenn held his chin, carefully rubbing the new bruise that had just appeared on it. Sahro sat opposite him, glaring in frustration.

"Bastard, I've waited for you long enough to eat seven chickens whole!"

"What? You pig, you ate seven entire chickens? Are you mad?" Glenn exclaimed in awe.

They were in the bustling Cleaner's Workshop Dining Hall, their plates filled to the brim as they exchanged words, each punctuated by bites and sips.

Glenn shook his head as his eyes widened, "Do you have a black hole as a stomach? How can you eat seven chickens and order yet another damn steak?!"

"I'm a warrior; I need a lot of food! And what the hell is a black hole anyway?" Sahro blurted out as he pointed his knife at his friend.

"It's something that even your idiocy can't fill! Crazy, right!?"

"Who's the idiot? I'm sure not even the Thorn's Church bastards aren't as stupid as you, Glenn!"

They kept on bickering while wolfing down their food. Glenn had skipped a few meals to do his things, and Sahro seemed to perpetually have enough appetite to eat at least three cows. Now that the Black Heir had access to unlimited food, he was making up for all the days he couldn't eat his fill.

Both of them slapped down their chicken wings, locking eyes defiantly. Glenn finally sighed, surrendering. They had more pressing matters, like identifying and rescuing Callum. Glenn cleaned his fingers with Mundare, a soft light appearing on his hand consuming the dirt on his fingers away. Now that he had access to utility magic like Cleaning Touch, he planned to make full use of it, to the point of abusing it.

"So, what have you learned?" Glenn asked, his fingers crossed before him.

Sahro cleaned his hands on a disposable napkin like a normal person, before coughing a little.

"Everyone."

Glenn looked at him quizzically. "Everyone what?"

Sahro leaned forward, supporting his chin with both hands.

"Every villagers I spoke to hate Baron Howard. Every single one of them despises him."

Glenn frowned. "...Why? Why is he so hated?"

Sahro shrugged, "It's more about what he represents than what he's done. He's the only noble who visits the Northern Town, and every time he takes his toll, with his Harvest."

Glenn shrugged, raising an eyebrow.

"So, people hate him just because he's a noble who reaps taxes?"

Sahro shook his head, his expression turning grim.

"That's only part of it. People hate nobles because they're often arrogant, but they hate Baron Howard even more than that. He's like the common enemy around here."

The Black Heir leaned back in his chair, his eyes reflecting his thoughts.

"Be it because he took by force their children, wives, money, even cows, everyone has a beef with him, but no one says or does anything back."

Glenn threw a skeptical glance his way.

"Surely, there would be someone mad enough to challenge the Baron, even if it cost them their life. People tend to lose their minds when they get everything taken from them."

Sahro made an acknowledgment gesture with his hand.

"You're right, there have been attempts, but he has a family guard, a certain Stormblade. He's strong enough to intimidate any peasant and fiercely loyal to the Baron. He's likely the biggest obstacle. What did you uncover?"

Glenn sighed, massaging his forehead.

"If I connect the dots, there's a chance Baron Howard is involved in something sinister and that he's a black mage. There are rumors of dark magic practices in his residence, including human sacrifices."

Sahro spat on the ground, a look of disgust on his face.

"Damned eubayd!"

Glenn raised a puzzled eyebrow at Sahro's outburst and raised his hand in question. Sahro leaned back, feet on the table. He had grown accustomed to acting more freely among humans but was still wearing his desert attire and shemagh, even though it was more for fashion than to conceal his identity.

"Those," he sneered at the word, "black mages of yours, there were some in the Ink Dunes. Giselle told me about them. Monsters weren't the biggest threat; they were!"

Glenn prompted him to continue.

"They would kidnap our people for some kind of bloody rituals," Sahro continued, his voice full of anger, "They weren't Black Heirs, nor humans, but they shared the same physiology as both our races."

Glenn took a sip of homemade cider from Mrs. Laurence, listening intently.

"They had pale white skin like humans but even paler as if they never saw the sun. Their eyes were red like rubies, glowing in the dark, or so Giselle said."

Glenn froze as he choked on the cider. Those black mages, they wouldn't be...

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"Sahro, do they only appear at night?"

The Black Heir nodded mindlessly. Glenn pressed on, curious to verify his thoughts.

"And are there legends that they suck the blood out of people and transform into bats?"

Sahro fell from his chair and then stood up, shock etched on his face.

"You know about them?"

Glenn chuckled with a hint of despair, hiding his face in his hands.

"Damned be this world..." he muttered softly to himself.

He raised his head, sighed, and continued, "From what I know, these 'eubayd' of yours are vampires."

Sahro raised his hands in question.

"Vampires?"

Glenn explained, "Immortal beings with human appearances who avoid the sun to prevent incineration. They feed on the blood of most living beings, but more often on humanoids. I'm not sure if that's what they're called in this region, but that's what we named them in my country."

The Black Heir pushed his chair back into place and sat down, crossing his arms.

"Are they just sun-averse leeches?"

Glenn shook his head seriously.

"If my knowledge is accurate, vampires are immortal, using blood for power and longevity. They can control blood with strange magic, transform others into vampires, and often practice dark magic. They're weak to silver, and, well, garlic, though we can probably forget that last one."

"Garlic?" Sahro raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, never mind that. If Baron Howard is a vampire, we're in deep trouble. Let's hope he's 'only' a dark mage."

Sahro nodded, his expression serious.

"When is he returning to the Northern Town?"

Glenn raised his hands uncertainly.

"Could be a few days, maybe three weeks, perhaps next month, or even never. It depends on our luck, I suppose. But the more I'm learning about him, the more I feel like we need to be prepared if we have to deal with this man."

Sahro stood up, hands on the table separating them.

"I'll try to get more contracts and gather information. If we need silver weapons, we'll need a lot more money."

Glenn also stood, cracking his neck.

"I'll search the Library for information on vampires. Let's meet at my place tonight."

They nodded to each other and went their separate ways. Glenn headed directly to the Library, knowing he had left the harder work to Sahro, while he could comfortably immerse himself in books. He entered the maze of bookshelves, seeking out a tome by Exan. He had taken a liking to his fellow Earthling, and would rather read his books. He found one titled "The Bestiary." If vampires existed, they'd likely be in this book.

Glenn quickly flipped through the pages to find a section on humanoid monsters. He skimmed through the various entries, each accompanied by vivid illustrations. His eyes froze when he recognized a creature.

"Ghouls are creatures of death. They often hand around battlefields, where corpses are numerous. They otherwise stay nestled underground most of the time, hanging in hundreds around their Ghoul Mother. They're scavengers, but will still attack living beings without any hesitation. They're thought to be carrion-eaters by some, but I don't agree. You kill one of these little bastards, and literally a hundred of them come to get your ass, pulled by the smell of their dead colleague. You can quickly get swarmed by them, even though they are pretty weak atrocities. Careful with their mouth though, I didn't count exactly but I'm sure there are at least a few hundred sharp teeth ready to rip your flesh out in these nasty things."

A drawing of a humanoid creature with stretched-out limbs and a face replaced by a gigantic mouth full of teeth was waiting for his gaze on the next page.

"So that was a ghoul. I suppose I should be happy that I quickly fled the scene back then..." Glenn muttered, holding his stomach. The memory of him getting eaten alive was still very fresh in his mind. He turned the page, wishing not to reminisce these souvenirs.

Finally, he found the information he sought. Glenn winced, while he read through the page.

"Vampires. They are immortal, humanoid creatures, often smarter and older than men. They use blood as the source of their powers and longevity, controlling it with the help of some strange, disgusting blood magic. They're able to transform the one they give their blood to into lesser vampires. It is said that they're the product of a curse, which is why they burn under the touch of the sun and react adversely to silver. Uneducated people might think they're also weak to garlic, but the only thing eating this plant would do to a vampire is give him a bad breath. And if you eat it, that would only season your blood, so don't. At least, not to protect yourself from vampires.

They also like to practice dark rituals, but so do some humans. They're not all bad, some are on a bit extremist side, wishing to dominate over humans and treat them as their food stocks, while others only wish to cohabitate with us. Not to say, they are excellent fighters but are unable to use Aura, Mana, or Divinity, not that they need those to be hella strong. After all, they had centuries to train."

Glenn leaned back in his chair, sighing in tiredness. Indeed, vampires were vampires, which meant probable trouble for him and Sahro. Perhaps the Baron was a bloodsucker and was keeping Callum around to use as an occasional snack. Glenn then blemished, thinking of another possibility. What if the Baron had made Callum into a lesser vampire?

This thought sent a shiver down his spine. This...This would spell trouble.

Glenn shook his head, not wanting to dwell on the idea. After all, there were numerous accounts of the Baron moving about in daylight, often accompanied by his Black Heir. He likely wasn't a vampire but a black mage. What did black mages do anyway?

He checked out the book to see if there was an entry on them, and to his surprise, there was. Seems like Exan considered black mages as monsters.

"Black mages. They can be part of any humanoid race. The only thing that differentiates them from other folks is that they sold their soul to gain powers. I'm writing 'sold their souls', but perhaps it would be more precise to say that they sold their humanity away. There are two types of black mages: the first are called contractees, and are people who made a deal with an evil existence to gain powers. It can be a deal of flesh or souls, but never does a contractee sell his soul. The second type is actual black mages, who use the life force of other people to fuel powerful dark spells. They can reanimate the dead, summon terrible curses, or worse. The only difference with contractees is that they use their 'own' power instead of relying on an evil entity. But make no mistakes! Both of them, black mages and contractees, are worse than trash. Kill them, burn them, I don't care, but get rid of them."

Glenn whistled, impressed. Seems like this Exan guy hated black mages.

'Just to reassure you, I'm not an evil entity, even though I call you contractee from time to time, alright?' chimed in Diamanes from inside Glenn's mind. The latter only shrugged. Even if Diamanes was an evil being, what could he do anyway?

He returned the book to its shelf and left the Library. At the doorway, he encountered a familiar woman playing with a knife.

"Ms. Mary? Can I help you?"

The attractive Cleaner wore a broad grin as she sheathed her knife.

"No, but I can help you."

Glenn regarded her with a hint of suspicion as she handed him a letter. He accepted it and read its contents silently.

'Hey kid, I couldn't help but notice you had a stupidly strong body and a stupid brain to use it. So my friend here is going to help teach you. Better listen to her carefully!

Redan.

P.S.: Don't try to reply, it's a one-way message. I'm out of town by now anyway."

Glenn looked back at Mary. Was she the one tasked with training him?

"Uhm, are you the one who's going to train me, Ms. Mary?"

Mary's grin grew wider, taking on an almost predatory quality. She nodded slowly, her gaze scanning him up and down.

'Oh, lucky you, yet another teacher that's here to try and salvage the mess that you are,' mocked Diamanes from inside Glenn's mind.

Glenn could only sigh in response. At least he'd be training with a beautiful woman. That had to count for something, right?

Right?