The Accidental Vampire

“You can come with us. It won’t be a hassle. This town is so far from the main cities that there is rarely any trade in this town. I believe it would be a good chance if some trade starts because then we also wouldn’t have to go too far to get something,” the young man said with a confident smile.

“I don’t think you have any luggage. After we’re done, you can come back to your room.”

“Alright.” Saying no at this point was suspicious, so Lilith just said yes. Even if it was troublesome to some extent, it was the need of the hour.

The only problem was what they were going to discuss with the town head. She really wasn’t a merchant. In her life, she did meet with a few, but she didn’t interact with them enough to know how they worked. All she had was the outside knowledge.

“You three go back to the rooms and freshen up. I’ll go with him and meet the Town Head. Hopefully, the talks will go great.”

“Didn’t you all come so far to meet him?” The young man found it somewhat odd that there were four people here who came to meet the Town Head, yet now that they had an opportunity, only one was going to meet him.

“We all did come here to meet him, but still, at this late, it’s not good to take so many people. I am enough to convey our message. As for them, they can meet him the next time we come.”

“I told you, it’s nothing to be concerned about. You’re just four people. It’s not as if you are hundreds. If you all came here to discuss with him, you should all meet him. Come. I’ll wait for you outside.”

It was as if the man didn’t even register their concerns because he didn’t find them valid. After telling all of them to come with him, he left the hotel.

Lilith rubbed her lower lip, frowning. “It doesn’t look like he’ll let us go that easily. We’ll have to keep the show, at least for now.”

“Atlas, you go back to our room. It’s better if you don’t come with us. I can just say that you’re a bit sick from the long journey. The three of us will go and put on an act. We should be back in a few hours if everything goes well.”

“Yeah. Since it’s the place of the Town Head who is close to witches, we can’t ignore the chance of him having a Vampire Warding Formation,” Yovana agreed. “I am a half vampire, so I don’t need to worry about it, but you’ll have to be invited in if there’s something like that. It can get quite messy.”

“And it’s just three people from the Clan. Zhang isn’t with them, so there’s nothing to worry about. If anything goes wrong, I can just take them all out.”

Lilith knew that the biggest concern Atlas had at times like this was their safety. If she could convince him that there was no risk to their safety, she didn’t need to worry about anything.

“Fine. I’ll wait for you all in the room.” Atlas took the keys from Lilith, agreeing. It was safer for them to go without him in this situation.

He wished them luck as they left the hotel as well, leaving Atlas behind.

Atlas went upstairs to locate his room. The room he was assigned appeared to be on the second floor, giving a clear view of the entire town.

From the balcony of his room, Atlas could even see the Town Head’s house in the distance, which was lit up brightly even at this late hour.

****

“Only three of you? What about that other person?” Seeing only three of the four people arrive, the young man couldn’t help but ask.

The streets were mostly empty as it was late at night, leaving only these two groups on the streets, discussing.

“He isn’t coming. He is really tired from the long journey and a bit sick as well. He needs some rest. That’s why we wanted to meet the Town Head today,” Lilith provided a viable explanation that didn’t leave too much room for questioning.

“If that’s the case, I won’t force him. You three can follow us. We will lead you to the Town Head.”

The young man climbed on the horse as well but didn’t leave. He wanted for Lilith and others to get inside their carriage.

‘This kid… Why is he being so humble to strangers? It doesn’t look like he knows who we are, yet his behavior isn’t befitting of a member of the Franc Clan. I thought their members would be arrogant. Or is it because he really wants trade to start with this town?’

Lost in thoughts, Lilith entered the carriage with Lancaster and Yovana.

It was only after she entered the carriage that she cast a spell to make sure no one could hear them.

After casting her spell, she asked the question that was troubling her, about the behavior of the young man, seeing if Lancaster or Yovana had some insight on it.

“It’s not that strange, I think,” Yovana answered. “This Town is the closest town to the Franc Clan, so this is their first point of contact with the outside world. Unfortunately, this town is in the middle of nowhere, so there aren’t many shops here. No merchant comes here to sell items since there isn’t that much profit in this town, according to them.”

“Moreover, since those three were sent to invite the Town Head to the Franc Clan, that means they must not have a high standing in the clan. I guess you can call them errand boys and girls.”

“That also makes me believe that this isn’t their first time running an errand. The Franc Clan would definitely need many items from the outside world to keep running, from food to spices to other essentials. And guess who will they send to get it if they need?”

“These people.” Lancaster nodded. “I guess I understand what you’re trying to say. These three are tired of having to travel so far on errands. If there were a merchant establishment in this town itself, it would make things easier for them in the future. That should be why they want to make sure our trip is a success.”

Yovana smiled. “That’s right. They don’t know we are fake merchants. For them, we are real. In fact, they want this deal more than any merchant union would ask. No wonder they are so respectful and trying to help us.”