「Straf, if you need rest, I would suggest becoming a vampire… But you would turn my offer down again. Why a beach? If you need water, is the city's park not fitting?」

Lily asks with her arms crossed, as Straf slowly manages to get his grin under control.

「No, Lily, it has to be a beach. Secluded enough to not involve any annoying side characters, but close enough to the city so that going there isn't a drag. Also, I don't want Lia to run into a blond, shady, tanned guy with piercings in his ear as soon as I turn my head around.」

「Huh?」

Lily raises her brow at Straf's bizarre, yet well-founded worry.

「…To be frank, I don't want you to run into one either. Run away as fast as you can if you see one.」

Straf warns, pointing his finger down at Lily.

「I do not see how a mere human could pose a threat to me, Straf. I am certain I could lop his head off before he can even blink.」

Lily scoffs, lowering her head in self-assurance.

「Ah, well, if you're going to kill him before he can even open his mouth, that's alright-」

「Straf! No it isn't! Don't tell Lily it's okay to just kill my subjects!」

Cycelia chimes in slapping her armrest, pouting at Straf. He lets out a deep sigh in response.

「…Lia will get upset if you kill him, Lily. Just run if you see any man with blond hair, and take her with you, okay?」

Straf puts his hand back in his pocket with a tight-lipped, disappointed grimace on his face.

「Very well…」 「But why?」

Lily says, and looks at Cycelia who is further perplexed while listening in on the conversation.

「…But I still do not understand how going to the beach is fun. What fun is there to be had?」

Lily turns her scarlet eyes back up at Straf's face for answers, with her brows curiously raised.

「What are you talking about, Lily? Don't you find swimming fun?」

Straf's head involuntarily tilts and his brows rise out of surprise at Lily's question.

「Isn't it just a large pool of salty water?」

「What, you mean you've never seen the ocean?」

Straf furrows his brows and looks at Cycelia to see how surprised she is herself, only to find her looking back at him with a neutral expression, anxiously playing with her fingers.

「…Me neither, Straf. I didn't get to travel much during my father's reign.」

Cycelia admits, tapping her fingers together, pouting a little.

「I followed my master wherever he went, and we simply never had any reason to go to the coast. After my master's betrayers were punished, I made myself at home in that castle, and only left occasionally to feed…」

Lily explains, looking aside out through the windows with her arms still crossed.

「…Well that just won't do. I'm now properly justified in taking you two to the beach.」

Straf snaps his fingers and points at Lily with a smirk. They lock their gazes, and Lily looks away to sigh.

「Very well, but I really do not see what's so fun about swimming…」

Lily shrugs her shoulders with a slight tilt of her head. Her golden twin tails jiggle gently with the motion.

「…If you don't want to go, we're not forcing you, Lily! Right, Straf?」

Cycelia tells Lily with her fingertips joined together. She tilts her head with a broad smile on her face as she asks for some form of acknowledgment.

「…Rrriight. But I still think you should at least give it a go, Lily. You might like it.」

Straf looks at Cycelia with raised brows, before turning his gaze to Lily to convince her further.

「I will go if you are going, Straf…」 「Hrk!」

Lily replies. At the same time, the queen winces, audibly cringing before letting out a defeated sigh.

《…There goes my alone-time with Straf.》

Cycelia thinks, with her elbow on the armrest, and her hand propping up her face bearing a disappointed frown.

「…I suppose I can try swimming, but I will have to be naked-」

「Under no circumstances!」

Straf screams, abruptly cutting Lily's sentence off the moment he parses the word. Both Lily and Cycelia look at him in shock and surprise.

「…Huh? What else am I supposed to do, Straf? I'll sink in my dress.」

Lily asks with her brows raised and arms still crossed, with confusion clear in her slit eyes.

「I will get you something to swim in, don't you worry. Through my hard work and an effort of will, I have managed to mend my unjustly shattered reputation among the maids, I don't want it to spontaneously explode again.」

Straf says as he rubs his brow in frustration, before turning his eyes to Cycelia.

「Lia, what about you? Do you have something to swim in?」

He asks as he lowers his hand.

「Huh? Ah, yes… I think I have my old swimming suit from the time I was taught how to swim… I hope it still fits, it was a few years already.」

Cycelia nods, then rubs her lip with her thumb as she thinks about the swimsuit she wore.

「You had swimming lessons?」

Straf asks, somewhat amused.

「Of course! My father made sure I'm a well-educated heir to the throne!… Even if I didn't want to be one.」

Full of pride, she places her palm on her sizable chest and replies. Cycelia then mumbles another sentence under her breath as her gaze escapes sideways with an awkward smirk.

「Well then, that's all I suppose. I'll be gone for a day or two as I need to hit up one place real quick…」

Straf shrugs his arms and shoulders, and his hand drifts to his chin for a quick rub as he furrows his brows.

「…Could you ask those candidates to gather in one place so I can interview them? Privately, one on one?」

His hand stops, and his brows rise.

「I believe so. How about your office? I could invite them over to the palace. Most of them are commoners, so I doubt they would refuse. I'd like to ask them a few things as well.」

Cycelia nods and says. Straf snaps his fingers and points at her.

「Great! Get all those manhunters on board, and I'll see the candidates the first thing I'm back.」

Straf says over his shoulder as he turns to the door.

「I will return to the bell tower, then.」

Lily bluntly announces, and goes after Straf almost arm to arm.

「Lily, work with Lia to get some vampires in there too, alright? They might get a little rowdy if we tax them without representation.」

Straf says to Lily, placing his hand back in his pocket.

「Very well… 」

Lily sighs out, glancing over her shoulder at the throne with a slanted mouth. When she turns her head forward again, she sees the captain of the guard return with a few men. They all jump back in panic, almost collapsing backwards when they catch a glimpse of Straf.

「Ahhh!」 「It's that guy!」 「Demon!」

They scream haphazardly, perplexing Straf as he stops for a second to get a better look.

「Ah! You're that irrelevant bad guy from way back!」

With a look of pleased surprise on his face, Straf quickdraws his hand from the pocket, snapping his fingers and pointing his index finger at the mustached manhunter. If it were the wild west, the undertaker would have work to do.

「Irrelevant bad-!? Well excuse me! We all thought we were hunting a cold-blooded murderer!」

Though in a somewhat fearful, shrunken posture, the mustached manhunter leader shouts back at Straf. With a troubled expression, he shoots a quick, apologetic glance at Cycelia on her throne.

「Silence, dog! Cower before Straf!」

Lily commands, causing the manhunters to whimper, and the mustached man to take a step back in fear of her killing glare.

「Lily, your mask is slipping.」

Straf says with a smile, placing his hand on her shoulder.

「Hm?- Well… I shall not interfere in human matters…」

Lily says and crosses her arms again, quickly glancing up at Straf.

「…Be respectful to Straf, human. He can hear you just fine.」

She glares at the manhunter leader, speaking with an ominous tone. The manhunter sighs in relief when she takes her eyes off of him.

「…Right. As I was saying, I thought you were the bad guy. You just walked in, pulled out a legendary cursed sword that the vampire barons were supposedly using from some magic swirl, and nearly killed us all with it. All to protect, for what we knew, was a murderous maniac.」

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The manhunter leader gestures with his hand as he recalls the events from their meeting. Straf nods a little, listening for inconsistencies.

「Well actually, if I meant to kill you with it, I would have.」

Straf says with an amused smirk, holding his index finger up. The manhunters all glance at each other with concerned eyes.

「In any case, I suppose we owe you gratitude for sparing us. Especially considering how it turned out.」

The leader shrugs his shoulders, nodding a little.

「Yeah, people really like being told they can kill anyone or whatever because someone told them they're on the right side, huh? Nothing better than killing and destroying in good faith!」

Straf chuckles with a grin, spreading his arms.

「Tsk. We get it. We were lied to… What happened to the sword? Isn't it cursed? Do you still have it?」

The manhunter clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes, shrugging his hands as he admits their collective fault.

「Nope. It eats your soul and hops into your body, but it kind of didn't work on me, I guess.」

「Wha-!?」

The manhunter leader's eyes widen in terrified shock full of disbelief. The reaction of his men are similar, if not mirrored.

「Yeah, and it broke too quick.」

Straf adds, shrugging his shoulders with his mouth slanted in disappointment.

「It broke!? How!?」

「Oh, outside of town a demon stopped us. I hit him really hard with it, and it just kind of broke.」

「You what!?」 「A demon!?」

The mustached man shouts in disbelief, and the men behind him also can't believe their ears. He shakes his head, and a nervous grin appears on his face.

「Hahahah… Bullshit! You're telling me a demon just randomly appeared!? And you killed it!? Bullshit!」

「Yeah, those things really like asserting dominance-」

The manhunter leader continues shaking his head while laughing, and Cycelia cuts Straf's explanation short.

「He is saying the truth.」

She declares with a serious face. The laughter stops, and the palace guards return visibly fatigued. They take their usual posts while the manhunters look at each other, then at Straf.

「The count summoned it. It beset us just outside Murusburg. This is the true reason why his insane laws caused so much death. The demon required sacrifice.」

Hearing Cycelia's explanation, the manhunters' faces become serious and troubled. They continue looking at Straf in awe. Cycelia herself is visibly uncomfortable sharing the details of her dynasty's secrets even in slivers.

「…Yup. Anyway, I have places to be and things to do. Join the Ministry, you'll love it!」

Straf snaps his fingers at the mustached man, and takes a step towards the exit.

「Wait! What are you? What are you, really?」

The manhunter leader asks, and Straf stops after a single step. Lily continues walking, only to turn around after crossing the threshold of the throne room.

「Hmmm… If I had to really boil it down…」

Straf says, intently rubbing his chin as he looks aside in deep thought. Cycelia's eyes jump off the manhunter group to Straf, and Lily tilts her head waiting for the answer. The anticipation filling the room grows almost tangible enough to cut with a knife due to the pause.

「…Really fucking unlucky, I guess?」

「…Huh?」

The atmosphere deflates like a balloon as Straf shrugs his shoulders and parts with a disappointing answer. Cycelia sighs, and it takes a moment for the manhunters to recover and approach the throne…

…

Just a few minutes later, at one of the crossroads in the city…

「I will be taking my leave now, Straf.」

Lily says, and does an elegant curtsy.

「Yeah, see you in a couple days, Lily.」

Straf nods, and heads down the street while Lily takes the side road. She looks at him over her shoulder, before a building breaks her line of sight.

「Riiiight. One more thing here…」

Straf says to himself, and heads towards the bank. It doesn't take long before he's there, and he nonchalantly enters.

「Niklaus! You're being promoted!」

Straf announces right on entry.

「What? I am?」

Niklaus jumps out of his lazy slouch in the chair.

「Yeah. You're no longer the head of security for the bank. You're now the head of security for the kingdom. Effective tomorrow, notify the queen you're joining the Ministry of Security.」

Straf says, pointing his finger at Niklaus.

「…The Ministry of Security?」

He asks with furrowed brows.

「Yup. It's like being a regular guard, except you cover the entire kingdom. Your job will be to make sure we don't have any terrorists, criminals, criminal vampires, spies or political dissidents that aren't in fear for their lives.」

Straf nods and shrugs his shoulders as he lists the undesirables.

「Right… Wait, wait wait wait! Will this job involve killing people!?」

Niklaus nods, but then his eyes snap open as he seeks answers in panic.

「Yeah- Well, maybe? I don't know, I guess? Why?」

Straf shrugs his shoulders, still nonchalant.

「…I don't want to kill innocent people for money. Not again.」

Niklaus says, clenching his fist on the desk.

「Hey, you'll be killing vampires as well. And it's kind of your job to make sure they're not innocent first.」

Straf shrugs his shoulders, unfazed. Niklaus stares into Straf's eyes with long-buried terror in his gaze.

「…I don't know if I want to take this job.」

He lowers his head, his eyes blankly locked onto the desk.

「That's a lot of money you'd be turning down.」

Straf entices.

「…I know. I know. I just don't know if any amount of money is worth driving a dagger into someone begging for his family's life. I don't know if I'm in the right to value gold over someone's life. I don't even know how much gold is a life worth-」

Niklaus says, almost growling with anguish in his voice.

「Well what if there's an economic downturn? You could put your kids through a good school…」

Straf interrupts Niklaus, further tempting him. He remains silent with his head hanging low.

「Hey, I'm not forcing you into anything, but this world is dead-set on making orphans. It's like a stork kills their parents in a tragic backstory and then leaves them for dead in a cabbage field. Tragic. Can you really feed all those kids? Lia banned child labor, y'know.」

Straf asks, and Niklaus remains silent, only clenching his fist a little harder.

「I mean, if the worst comes to worst, that girl from the orphanage could probably sell herself-」

Slam!

Straf says, but Niklaus interrupts him by slamming his fist onto the desk, still keeping his head hanging low. A momentary silence begins.

「…To a vampire… Are you angry at me, or the thought of some sleazy vampire licking her all over her neck?」

Straf asks, pointing at himself.

「…I'll do it.」

Niklaus says in a low tone, almost entirely silent with his head hanging down.

「Huh? So are you up for it, or not?」

Straf leans in, turning his ear towards Niklaus.

「I'll do it. I can't afford to be selfish. But I want enough money to feed all the kids at the orphanage no matter what and Mary… Do that, and I'll kill for you. Just point me at them and I'll kill them… This is the only way, I can't be selfish…」

Niklaus lowers his forehead onto his fists on the desk, as his agreement trails off into mumbling through clenched teeth. Straf snaps his fingers.

「Cool. Good to hear. Hey! How's the gold? Are they exchanging the drakes?」

Straf asks one of the clerks.

「No sir. It's really quiet right now. We've had some people asking about Strafdrakes certificates, though…」

The woman shakes her head. Straf snaps his fingers again.

「Great! Finally something goes my way! Niklaus, I'll be gone a few days so don't let anyone milk us dry, alright? Keep pushing those drakes…」

「…It's just what I've gotta do, it is what it is. People do worse. At least I don't torture them…」

「…Onto people. Alright, you do you, buddy. Do your best.」

Straf shrugs as he sees Niklaus is mumbling something to himself with his head on the desk. He turns around and exits the bank with his hand in his pocket, whistling an upbeat tune.

「…Chief? Are you okay?」

One of the clerks asks Niklaus, as he's laying slumped onto his desk.

「…I'm stained to begin with, what's a few more? Just have to grit my teeth…」

Niklaus mumbles as he grits his teeth…