I stepped in front of the girl and gestured for Kuro and the others to back off. To give her something to cover herself with, I took off my jacket and moved to wrap it around her.
The girl seemed to regain some of her composure at the gesture and approached me.
"Don't worry," I said.
Just as the words left my mouth, the girl lunged forward, bit into the side of my neck, and began to drink.
Her body began to transform at an incredible speed.
One moment she looked like a young child; the next, she had grown into the size of a preteen. The wounds that had covered her body healed instantly, leaving her skin glowing and healthy.
"Wait—what? What's happening?"
I stood there, paralyzed by the shock of having my blood drained and witnessing the girl's rapid growth. Before I could react, Kuro slammed into me, knocking me back to separate us.
Immediately, the other dogs swarmed the girl.
"Wait! Stop! she wasn't attacking me!"
Fubuki charged, sending the girl flying into the air. Before she could even hit the ground, another dog leaped up and tossed her further up. When she tried to regain her footing in mid-air, a third dog jumped high and slammed her back down to the earth.
It was a total one-sided thrashing.
The brutality of the scene snapped me back to my senses.
"Whoa, hold on! Stop!"
I gave the command for the pack to wait. They obeyed instantly, though they didn't drop their aggressive stances.
The girl, having been thoroughly pummeled by Kuro and the others, was covered in wounds again. Her body had shrunk back down to the size of a small child—even smaller than when I had first seen her.
"Are you an enemy?" I asked.
"N-no! I'm not! Just make these things get back!"
"You bit me and drank my blood, and you expect me to believe you're not an enemy?"
The girl was clearly a Vampire. I couldn't think of any other human-looking creature that survived on blood.
"I apologize for the blood! I was about to vanish... I had no choice!"
"So, you recover by drinking blood?"
"Yes."
Perhaps that was why Kuro and the others hadn't attacked her initially. They must have sensed that if they got too close, they would be the ones getting drained.
"Is this going to have any side effects on me?"
I recalled stories from my old world where being bitten by a vampire turned people into lesser vampires or thralls.
"There... there should have been a Charm Effect, but it's not working on you at all."
"Will I turn into a Vampire? Or an Undead?"
"No. If I turned the people who gave me blood into monsters, I'd eventually run out of blood to drink, wouldn't I?"
"I see. So, basically... I'm perfectly fine."
"Yes. Drinking blood is just my way of healing. If... if coming onto your land was a crime, I'm sorry for that, too. Just please, let me go."
I took a moment to think it over.
"For now, why don't you have a little more?"
My suggestion seemed to stun both the girl and the dogs.
"Are you... are you sure?"
"I don't mind. You aren't an enemy, right?"
"Right. Yes..."
The girl leaned in hesitantly and bit into my neck again. I could hear the rhythmic sound of her drinking.
Her body began to grow once more, transitioning from a young child to a preteen, and then to the size of a middle schooler. Every scratch and bruise on her skin vanished without a trace. It was a bizarre, mystical sight.
"Phew..."
She looked significantly more satisfied. I checked my own condition. She had taken a fair amount of blood, yet I felt no ill effects whatsoever. Back in my previous life, I’d had blood drawn enough times to know the physical signs of when things were getting dangerous, but I didn't feel even slightly lightheaded.
In fact, it didn't feel like I had lost any blood at all.
"How about a bit more?" I offered.
"What?"
"Go ahead. It’s fine."
"I... I see. You have my thanks."
The girl drank more. She grew from the size of a middle schooler to that of a high school student. Even then, I felt perfectly fine. I could definitely handle more.
"Can you drink a little more?"
"I can, but..."
She drank again. By the time she finished, she had the body of a young woman in her early twenties.
"Phew... I think that's my limit."
She let out a small, satisfied sigh. The "girl" was gone; a stunningly beautiful woman now stood beside me.
The reason I could handle such significant blood loss without a second thought was undoubtedly the gift God had given me: the Healthy Body. It was likely the reason her Charm Effect hadn't worked on me, either.
Regardless of the mechanics, the situation was clear. I had a beautiful woman standing right in front of me.
And she was completely naked.
I told Kuro and the rest of the pack to disperse and decided to invite her back to my house.
"Wait, what? What are you... hold on!"
I wondered if my behavior was that of a barbarian. Either way, I now had a roommate.