90 Chapter 90: First Date

Three days had already passed since I became Lilith's "lover".

Needless to say, we kept up the façade as much as possible by behaving accordingly. Obviously we didn't go so far as to flirt or do cheesy and embarrassing things in public – we were still stationed in a military base, after all, and obviously the military didn't encourage such fraternizing or flirting behavior. So we did simple things such as accompanying each other as much as possible. While dining together in the cafeteria was a given, there were times when we paired up to spar or practice combat moves. Honestly, it felt less like a couple thing and more like…

Eh, I don't know. I never did this before, so I was the last person to ask about regarding this kind of affairs.

However, as we settled into a daily routine, the intial awkwardness finally faded away and I became more comfortable with my role.

Of course, I made sure to spend time with my men as well. It made no sense for the commanding officer to run off and accompany the queen when I had my own company to manage. Marko and Benjamin looked a little relieved when they saw me.

"Hey, sir."

"Hey, guys. How's it going?"

Apparently Marko was a veteran who had several centuries of combat under his belt. It was unfortunate, but he lost his lost platoon in an intense battle against the heroes, and was posted to this fresh, newly raised company to train them. The higher-ups had thought that his experience would be indispensable to the new recruits, and they were right.

"I want to make sure I don't lose my men like that again," Marko muttered bitterly as he chewed on a cigar. I wanted to ban smoking, but given the vampires' regenerative abilities, concerns such as cancer and health problems were nonexistent.

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"That's what we're training for," I assured him. Marko chuckled.

"You do your thing, sir. We've got your back."

"I appreciate that."

After the training session was over, Lilith showed up, taking me by surprise.

"It seems that you're done with training today as well."

"Ah, yes, your highness." I saluted. She frowned and shook her head, gesturing for me to dispense with the formality.

"Today, I want you to go on a date with me."

My men, who were passing by to take their break after the session, began to whistle as they walked past.

"You go, sir!"

"Enjoy yourself!"

"Woohoo!"

I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself in it. Gritting my teeth, I glared at Lilith.

"Fine, but did you really have to say it so openly?"

Lilith calmly responded flirtatiously and slightly tilted her head to the side.

"I just felt like going on a date now, so I came looking for you. Is there a problem?"

"Rather than a problem…"

I glanced at my men, who were still grinning mischievously, and then sighed.

"I see, thank you. I'm glad."

I decided to go along with Lilith for now. I waved farewell to my vampire company, and then followed Lilith into the corridor that led out of the military base. When we finally emerged to the courtyard, which was mercifully empty, I spoke up.

"Um, so you made that request in front of everyone on purpose?"

"Of course. If we don't properly convince everyone that we are really dating, the representative of the Haecient Council who will arrive soon will suspect that our relationship is fake."

"…"

After Lilith made that smooth declaration, I found myself at a loss for words.

"Does the representative have nothing better to do?"

I wanted to roll my eyes as I grumbled bitterly.

After all, if I thought about logically, even if the representative of the vampire elders came from Haecient to this outpost in Haefield, would he go so far as to doubt Lillith's words and attempt to gather evidence against her?

"You'll understand the circumstances right away. The date itself is true, so we shall prepare a little."

Lillith offered a curt reply as she stopped in front of the officers' dormitory. I looked at her quizzically. She sighed when she saw my blank expression.

"Are you going on a date dressed like that?"

"What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?"

I was wearing my Redwood jacket over my military uniform. A pretty cool getip, if I might say so myself. It was the standard black and gold military uniform worn by the demonic soldiers all over Morten, and I even had my battalion's crest and insignia sewn above my breast pocket.

Lilith wordlessly gestured toward her clothes. She was wearing an elegant black dress with a shawl, and high heels.

"You look good. That really suits you."

"Thank you, but that's not the point."

I sighed, finally understanding it. As dense as I was, even an idiot like me wasn't that stupid. The readers might disagree, because a lot of them thought I was the most stupid character to exist in Royal Road Legends, and a few even gave 0.5 ratings because of my stupidity, which made me wonder why I bothered to continue this revenge quest.

"All right. I'll go get changed."

After returning to my room, I changed into a more appropriate outfit, and then met with Lilith in front of the military base's entrance ten minutes later.

"First, let's go buy clothes."

We left the military base and headed toward the city, walking down the main street of the first block. As we continued forward at a brisk pace for thirty minutes, we finally found ourselves in the commercial district, which was normally patronized by relatively affluent customers even among those living in Haemorage.

The establishments that particularly stood out were those high-class hotels that were orientated toward the upper class, classy restaurants, custom-tailor shops for the rich, shrines and free medical institutions. Further down the street were vast estates where rows of stately mansions stood atop pristine lawns and marble pavements.

Haefield might be a peripheral city in the domain of Haemorage, but it was still an important base strategically placed to protect the borders of the vampires' domain. There were many military nobles living in this city, particularly vampire nobles with a lot of power and influence, not to mention wealth. Even the people living in the capital of Haemorage, Haecient, had secondary residences in this border city, probably as villas.

It's the same in every world, isn't it?

I couldn't help but think in exasperation. The income gap between the rich and poor remained huge no matter what world I was in. it made me wonder about the existence of humans, or at least humanoid species in general.

"It's really interesting."

Lilith, who was walking beside me, suddenly muttered.

"Huh?"

I turned to stare at her, surprised. She shrugged.

"I mean you seem like a fish out of water. I suppose someone from another world such as you aren't used to such cityscapes?"

She gestured to the buildings all around me. Apparently, she had seen me glancing around curiously, and was intrigued.

"Do you often come to such places, Lilith-san?"

"I rarely come."

Lilith's reply was unexpected. I was almost caught off guard.

"I see. I think someone like Lilith-san is more suited for the atmosphere of such a refined city, especially when compared to someone like me…"

"Not really. After all…I hate it."

I was taken aback by her reply. Blinking in disbelief, I stared at her elegant, dignified profile.

"…really?"

"That's right." Lilith nodded firmly. "I don't really like aristocrats or nobles."

Even though you're a queen yourself?! Even though you're royalty?

I scratched my head, confused.

Lilith was the current queen of Haemorage. If we were talking about nobility, she was right at the peak of it all, as royalty. Initially, I thought the reason why she hated aristocrats despite also being of royal descent, was because she was forced into political marriages.

However…

I don't think the reason's that simple. I doubt she'll hate nobility over something as relatively trivial as political marriages of convenience. I mean, it's not exactly trivial, but from the way she spoke about it, I don't think that's the real reason…

After all, Lilith was the one who said it so herself. That 90% of noble marriages were political in nature. She already seemed resigned to it.

"Over here."

While I was pondering over the possible reasons, Lilith suddenly stopped. I glanced up, taken aback by her abruptness, then followed her gaze.

There was a tailor shop of immense size standing before us. A beautiful signboard hung over the heavily decorated entrance, its wooden surface covered with intricate carvings. Immediately I felt a strong dislike for the shop.

"This shop looks pretty expensive."

"Really? You're supposed to be a vampire lord, a demon noble with his own domain, you know. You should start getting used to such things."

Lilith smiled mischievously. I shook my head wryly and shrugged.

"I might have been granted a territory for show, but I don't think I have the appropriate income to go with it."

"Oh, you'll be surprised. Emperor Regis should have rewarded you with cash after your feats. And you still have a military pay, considering you're a major in the Helsfort army."

"Huh…I don't know about that. I should have checked my account."

Come to think of it, I should have a demon bank account, which was separated from my mercenary bank account. Demons and humans used different currency, after all.

"Even so, I'm…just not used to such places. I would rather spend my money on something else. That said, please go on ahead. I'll wait for you."

Lilith chuckled. "I guess this isn't your kind of activity, huh. Don't worry. Let's finish this as soon as possible."

With that, she stepped into the shop. I hastily followed after her.

"…"

The tailor listened attentively to Lilith's instructions, and then began taking measurements of my arms, legs and body size. After taking those measurements, the tailor began fixing clothes according to my size.

And just like that, an hour quickly passed by.

"…wait, the shopping was for my clothes!?"

My jaw dropped as I stared at the tailor, who was hurrying away with my measurements in hand. I had only just realized it after Lilith paid for everything.

"Rest assured, you look quite good in formal clothes. As expected of a demon noble…you're not a vampire lord for nothing."

Lilith responded with a smile, as if she was paying with someone else's money. Kind of like how an ojou-sama was paying with her father's money, or a housewife paying for her fashionable clothing with her husband's credit card.

I suddenly had a bad feeling about this, especially when the last thought popped into my head.

"Um, thanks, but I'm afraid I can't accept such expensive stuff!"

As I mentioned earlier, Lilith was the one who paid for my formal clothes and shoes. There was no way I could just accept them. We had arranged with the tailor for the clothes to be completed after three days, but Lilith had paid for them in advance. In full, no less.

"Relax. It's within my budget, and to be frank, it's not even a big amount."

"…"

Was she serious?

The amount of money Lilith spent on my clothes was probably three times the amount of money I earned in one month doing the miscellaneous missions for the mercenary's guild (I was talking normal missions, not high-ranked, special missions such as slaying demon nobles). Guess that was expected of a queen.

I bet even my pay as a major wouldn't be able to cover all those fees…damn, it must be pretty hard living as a noble and maintaining such a luxurious lifestyle. I would happily surrender this demon noble title and live a "normal" life.

"Since we've come all the way to town, shall we have a meal before we return? I will pay."

We departed from the commercial district and emerged into a large street. I glanced up, realizing that the skies had darkened. Time must have flown by while we were in the shop, for it was already evening, and the streets were noticeably emptier.

"Er…as expected, I should at least pay for dinner…"

I might be tagging along with Lilith's plans and following her pace, but even I had my pride.

"Oh…how manly of you. I'm impressed. I thought you were a stingy miser."

"I am a miser, but even I know proper etiquette. You just bought me clothes. There's no way I can let you pay for my dinner as well."

Rolling my eyes, I sighed and relaxed a little. To be honest, it wasn't bad, strolling in the night beside an extremely beautiful girl…

"…! Watch out!"

Suddenly sensing danger, I dove toward Lilith and knocked her over, just as something flew above us and sliced through the air where her head had been a millisecond ago. As we skidded across the ground, I was already raising my head and using Absolute Appraisal to estimate the enemy's location. Data flowed across my lenses, indicating origin, trajectory, and estimation of the next attack. It was a whip.

Not just any whip, but a holy whip.

Following the information my glasses fed me, I turned toward an alleyway that was a slight distance away from the upper class area.

"That weapon…"

I narrowed my eyes when I realized I recognized it.

"A divine weapon…so the opponent's a holy knight from one of the human kingdoms, huh?"

I promptly drew my Blood Dragon Sword from my waist.

"Don't move! If you move, I'll shoot!"

Before I could do anything, five holy knights in silver armor appeared in our surroundings, aiming guns at us. Holy runes gleamed on their armor, and their barrels shone with mana as they fed them with energy ammunition.

It seemed it wasn't only the demons who had undergone an industrial revolution and developed guns. Kobayashi must have realized the potential of kickstarting the industrial production of modern ranged weapons when he saw the demons using them.

"How did human knights infiltrate Haemorage?" I wondered out loud, studying the enemies. Their features were concealed by their helms, but even if I could see their faces, I doubted I would know who they were.

"There are five holy knights, huh? We were careless…"

Upon seeing them, Lilith raised her hands to surrender. I shrugged.

"Well, I did hear that the Legnica Corps have sent some special forces soldiers ahead of time to infiltrate Haemorage…"

…to investigate the ruins and secure the ancient weapons from there. But I left that part unsaid. Instead, I casually raised my sword.

"I told you not to move! I'm not kidding! We'll shoot!'

"Then shoot."

Despite changing, I had my Redwood jacket on. Anything they fired at me would be negated by the twelve layered barrier that my Redwood Robe produced.

"Don't underestimate us!"

The five of them opened fire at the same time. As I expected, the bullets all bounced off the barriers that my Redwood jacket generated, unable to penetrate even the first layer. As the little projectiles bounced harmlessly to the ground, the five gunsmen gaped at me in shock. The first guy quickly snapped out of it and sent his whip hurtling forward.

"You…!"

"…need to whip you guys into shape."

With a single swing of my Blood Dragon Sword, I sliced the whip into two.

"Gu…!"

"Oi, oi…with these meager skills, you dare to try and assassinate her highness? Don't make me laugh."

I laughed anyway, before swinging my sword and unleashing a huge Shadow Lunar Fang that almost obliterated one of the knights. His armor protected him, the runes glowing fiercely as they tried to defend him from the dark crescent-shaped blast.

They lasted two seconds.

"AAAAAH!"

The armor buckled and disintegrated, and the holy knight howled in pain before he was sent hurtling onto the ground, bleeding profusely from dozens of wounds.

"W…what is he?!"

"Aaaaah!"

Even as our would-be assailants backed away from me, Lilith had not been idle either. She had conjured her blood spear and thrown it, impaling another of the holy knights. He let out a grunt as the spear easily pierced through his breastplate and pinned him to the ground. His comrades watched, horrified, as he hung lifelessly on the crimson rod that was now the only thing holding him up.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Retreat! These guys…these guys are monsters!"

"I heard the vampire queen is strong, but who is that guy accompanying her?!"

"You think I'll let you guys go so easily?"

Lilith already had a second spear prepared. Hurling it, she took down one of the fleeing knights. I knocked out a fourth with Doombolt, smashing his armor and rendering him unconscious. The last guy didn't even bother to spare his downed comrades a second glance, and was sprinting back into the alleyway, hoping to disappear into the shadows.

He suddenly sighed in relief when he spotted a slender woman standing in the alleyway. He desperately lunged at her.

"D…don't move! The woman there!"

Pulling a sword from his waist, the assassin charged at her. Whatever happened to his gun? Oh, he discarded it to lighten his load when he was fleeing from me, especially when he realized that bullets were useless against my Redwood jacket.

It didn't matter – he still had his sword. And upon seeing the woman, he saw the chance to hold her hostage and bargain for his escape route.

"As expected of Kobayashi's follower," I muttered darkly, and was about to proceed to help the woman, but…

"There is no need to go help her."

Lilith restrained me quietly with a serious expression.

"Huh?"

Even as I was surprised, I immediately guessed the reason. Shrugging, I relaxed and turned to watch the show.

The holy knight had already reached the woman, and was reaching out for her, his blade aimed at her neck. No doubt he was going to hold her hostage by restraining her movements and threatening her with a blade to her throat. The standard operating procedure.

However…

"It's really bad, huh. I can't believe the border town of Haefield has fallen into such a pathetic state. What are the police doing?"

Kin!

Right after those calm words left the woman's mouth, the assassin's knife flew into the air.

"What…?!"

"Please do not move. Otherwise, don't blame me if my hand accidentally slips."

The holy knight had fallen onto his rump and was staring dumbly at the woman, who was pointing her sword at his throat.

He had sought to make her his hostage, and was now stunned to find the reality the complete reversal of his intention.

Countless crimson lines glowed across the surface of the long blade of the sword the woman held. I recognized the mana signatures that flowed throughout the elegantly crafted weapon.

"Blood magic."

In other words, the woman – the wielder of that weapon – was a vampire. A citizen of Haemorage, but not just any vampire. Her sword skills were on par…no, surpassed even the Blood Knights of the 3rd Haemorage Company.

Maybe she's a general in the Haemorage military…

Just when I thought that, the woman raised her head calmly, her cool expression not changing one bit.

"Long time no see, Miss."

"…Miss?"

So she wasn't a general or a knight, or even a soldier?

While I frowned and contemplated the other alternatives, Lilith sighed.

"She's an acquaintance of mine. The butler of the Scarlet royal family, Claire McAlterize."

"Oh, I see. Then she must be…"

I had already guessed her identity, and Lilith nodded to confirm it.

"Yes, she is the representative sent by the vampire elders of the Haecient Council…and she's here to see how I am doing."

"Perhaps we should find a more appropriate location to continue this conversation," the woman named Claire calmly suggested, and emphasized by flicking her head toward the subjugated holy knights.

"…"

After handing the holy knights to the military police who finally arrived long after the altercation was over, Lilith and I followed Claire to whatever place she deemed "more appropriate".