My life as Vampire Eudite’s apprentice had officially begun, and it was a strange one.
She had established numerous hideouts throughout the dungeon, choosing where to sleep based on her daily whims. However, since each hideout contained only one bed, we retired to separate locations every night when it was time to sleep.
As for her diet, she was a vampire and naturally preferred blood. It didn't have to be human, though; monster blood seemed to satisfy her just fine. Consequently, my primary duty as her apprentice was to provide it. I would drain the blood from the monsters I hunted, carefully collect it, and serve it to her.
"Here you are, Lady Eudite. The blood is ready."
I went through the trouble of squeezing the blood from the meat and pouring it into a tea cup before presenting it to her.
"Oh, thank you for your hard work, as always."
Yes—the very first time I had seen her, the tea cup she held had been filled with blood rather than tea. Lady Eudite apparently had a certain standard to maintain; she insisted on drinking her blood from a tea cup.
"As expected, it is truly exquisite."
She gripped the handle of the cup and drained it, a satisfied expression washing over her face. To be honest, I didn't have the slightest desire to drink the stuff myself, and I often wondered how she could make it look so delicious.
"Kiska, is dinner ready yet?"
"Yes. Well, it’s just more grilled monster meat."
It seemed that while Vampire Eudite could survive on blood alone, she still suffered from hunger if she didn't consume regular food occasionally.
"Monster steak tonight."
"Much the same as yesterday, then?"
"I'm doing my best, but we're out of seasonings. No matter what I do, it’s going to taste the same."
In a dungeon, there was no shortage of monster meat, but flavor was a rare luxury. My preparation was as simple as it got: grill the meat over a fire fueled by harvested magic stones and season it with whatever pepper remained.
"I also killed a Dryad today, so we have salad."
"Ugh. I really cannot bring myself to enjoy Dryad salad."
"You have to eat your vegetables, or you'll get sick."
"I am a vampire. I have no use for such things as 'nutrition.'"
"Well, if that's the case, I'll eat it all myself, but..."
In truth, she was probably right—as long as she had blood, she was fine. For me, however, getting enough greens was a matter of life and death. Living in a sealed dungeon made for a diet heavily skewed toward monster meat, and the Dryads were my only salvation.
The Dryads grew thick leaves on their branches that provided the vitamins I lacked. They were incredibly bitter and tasted foul, but I had no choice. Occasionally, a Dryad would bear fruit; whenever that happened, it turned into an all-out brawl between Lady Eudite and me. I’d learned that lesson the hard way once before.
"As I thought, it does not taste good," she remarked.
"There's just no seasoning."
If only we had cheese or tomato sauce, I could have made something much better.
"If we could actually get out of the dungeon, I could stock up on supplies."
Eudite had mentioned before that she hadn't been able to leave for nearly fifty years. The furniture in her hideouts was all half a century old and starting to show its age.
"Be that as it may, leaving the dungeon is quite difficult under the current circumstances."
"You used to come and go as you pleased, right?"
"Yes. The dungeon is never exposed to the sun and the dampness is quite comfortable for a vampire. It was a lovely place to live."
"Then why did you stop?"
"Someone destroyed the teleportation circle."
"The teleportation circle..."
I thought back to the one I had used to enter this place. That circle connected the outside world to the dungeon, but it was a one-way trip.
"There was a circle that allowed for travel in both directions. That was how I came and gone. It was a secret known only to me, but fifty years ago, someone broke it. I’ve been stranded here ever since."
"I take it defeating the dungeon boss is out of the question?"
"Yes. I cannot defeat that thing by myself."
I wondered what kind of monster could be powerful enough to keep even Vampire Eudite trapped.
"Do you have any idea who broke the circle?"
"None whatsoever," she muttered, her face clouded with resignation.
Someone had destroyed her only exit. I couldn't help but wonder what their goal had been.
"Actually, there is one possibility," she added, as if suddenly remembering. "I suspect the culprit was the same person who sealed Ageha in this dungeon. I wager they destroyed the teleportation circle as a precaution to ensure she could never escape."
The moment I heard the name 'Ageha,' my heart skipped a beat.
"Lady Eudite, you know Ageha?"
"I am more surprised that you know her. She was active so very long ago." She looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"I’ve only heard rumors. Stories about a girl sealed deep inside this dungeon."
"Well, she is a legendary figure, after all."
"She is...?"
"Of course. She is the Hero who defeated the Demon King."
A shock ran through me. Every human knew the legend that the Demon King had been slain by a Hero over a hundred years ago. But I had never heard of a Hero named Ageha.
In the history I knew, the man who defeated the Demon King was Hero Eligion. His name was known by every soul in the world as the ultimate savior.
"Kiska? Is something wrong?"
"No... it's just that the history I know is different. In my country, everyone is taught that Hero Eligion was the one who killed the Demon King."
"Eligion? I’ve never heard of him. There were several heroes, I suppose; perhaps he was one of them."
"Then... why is Ageha sealed here?" This was the question that had been gnawing at me.
"Who knows? I am not privy to the details. I expect it was some sordid human conflict that led to her being discarded here."
She was a vampire far removed from the politics of men, so it made sense she wouldn't know the specifics.
"However, I have one piece of advice for you," she said, her tone turning serious. "Whatever you do, never break her seal. I cannot even imagine what would happen if she were released."
I didn't understand why she sounded so wary, but I gave her a firm nod.
"I understand. I won't."