I groaned internally. “Drakul” wasn’t a creature I was familiar with, but looking her over, I could see glittering fangs set against crimson lips, pale skin, and eyes that had a strange hunger in them. I say “strange”, but I had a suspicion that a “Drakul” was just a fancy way of saying “Vampire”, and that the hunger I saw all over her face would only be sated via blood. Most likely mine, but I had met vampires that were happy drinking pig’s blood, or had a synthetic blood-substitute of some kind that would prevent them from turning into ravenous beasts.

Unfortunately, with no information one way or the other, all I could do was scramble backwards quickly and try to get to my feet. I had no combat abilities, but my Dexterity was pretty high. Maybe I could escape? Or maybe I was fast enough to land a few quick hits and stun her before I ran for help? I didn’t know any magic that would help either, and all my abilities were focused on conversational skills. Goddamit, I was useless in a fight. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to have supernatural abilities or reflexes, so maybe I wouldn’t be completely outmatched, I just needed to find a way to-

“A gentleman would offer to help me up.” Her voice had a lilt to it, and while the effect would normally have been charming, the look of scorn on her face balanced it out with a touch of reproach. Equally effective, I imagined. What kind of person doesn’t want to help a damsel in distress?

Me, actually. Falling in love in an Isekai world is a mistake. There are exactly three eventual outcomes to falling in love. The least painful and most common one? Being betrayed, since you fell for the first pretty face you saw and turned into an unwitting pawn for the evil Lich that seeks world domination. *Cough*Not that that’s ever happened to me or anything.*Cough*

“A vampire would try to trick me into getting close.”

“Drakul.” She sniffed as she sat up on her own. “I prefer Drakul. Actually, I prefer Fay, but I suspect we aren’t on a first name basis yet.”

“I prefer to maintain my distance.”

I didn’t let my guard slip that easily. Charming conversation wasn’t a hallmark of goodness. In fact, the more charming the conversation, the more likely that the conversationalist was planning something nefarious.

“What, afraid I’m going to drain you dry? Suck all your blood out? Maybe feast on your flesh while you sleep?”

“….Yes?”

She laughed behind her hand, and then flashed her teeth. For some reason, no matter what they preferred to be called, all vampires seemed to have unilaterally decided that imitating old, aristocratic traditions and mannerisms was in fashion. Maybe it was part of the curse. I once saw a peasant get bitten, and within a week, he’d acquired a three piece suit and insisted on being called Lord Hamish. Within two weeks, he’d been staked through the heart, on account of his obnoxiousness.

“Sounds like a stereotype. Is that what you are? A stereotyper? You judge people based on appearance?”

Ah. I see. She was trying to be tricky. Well, two could play at that game. And rather more importantly, I was pretty sure it was game I could win.

“Yes. I do. Why?” Sometimes, when you’re being accused of something stupid, the easiest way to deflect is to just lean into it.

“Don’t try to deny-Wait, what?”

“Mhmm. I’m an awful, species-stereotyping kind of guy.” I actually leaned in closer, as if sharing a secret. “In fact, I’d wager that I’ve killed more of your kind than you have of mine.”

“I…what?”

“Actually, I’m probably the real monster here.” My voice was even lower, almost a whisper. So low that she had to lean in to listen. Which was obviously a foolhardy decision, but at the same time, I’d been guilt tripped by memories for the last sixteen hours, and I wasn’t exactly in the best mood. “And you really should be so very scared of me.”

And as she leaned in, trying to follow the sound of my voice-

“BOO!”

“AHHHH!”

The Drakul shrieked and fell back, and I doubled over laughing. It was nice not to be the butt of the joke for once. As she blushed and looked at me, annoyance writ large on her face, I stepped forward and reached out a hand, my fear having evaporated by now. Anyone this easy to fluster wasn’t a threat, even if I had no actual combat skills to my name. Unsurprisingly, she swatted it aside and helped herself up.

“No more pleasantries then?”

“You-” She was still spluttering, which only added to my humor. “You foul, odious, awful, foul, ungentlemanly-”

“Blanc.”

“-What?”

“My name, Ma’am, is Blanc. And unless I’ve been misled, I’m the new Butler.” I gave her a little bow. Not something I’d done very often before, but looking up at her as I hit the nadir of the bow and hitting her with a charming smile seemed to do the trick and freeze her anger in place. Charisma wasn’t something I’d ever underrated, since being a Legendary Hero came with a rather hefty boost to the Stat. But lately, I’d begun to wonder if it was even possible to overrate Charisma, given how easy it made conversations.

“Hmmph. Well, Blanc the Butler, as I said earlier, I’m Fay.” She crossed her arms, and looked at me. I’d have said she was being haughty, but I think she was really just a little embarrassed. “And I’m a Researcher.”

“Well, Lady Fay, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I wish I could say the same.”

By this time, Kel had noticed that I wasn’t following her, and had decided to come running back. Or maybe she’d just failed to find the pantry, and had backtracked that I’d had better luck. Either way, she looked dejected as she ran back and leaped at my calves.

“OW! Okay, yes, we’ll go find some food.”

Fay was looking on in amusement. Kel seemed to have that reaction on people, which was nice to know. It was always useful to have an adorable distraction handy, just in case things were getting heated.

“You won’t. The manor is large.”

“Large?”

“Large. And it shifts.”

“It…shifts? Why would someone have a manor that can shift?”

Fay just shrugged. I didn’t blame her. Trying to discern the motives of an old Magus like Aastor was a little bit like trying to read the tea leaves at the bottom of a cup of coffee. Instead, I asked a different question, hoping I hadn’t burnt through all her goodwill.

“Is there…any chance you know where the pantry is?”

“Oh now, does someone need my help? Is someone asking a Drakul for help? Really? Aren’t you afraid I’ll…extract a hefty price for it?”

“Is that a no?” Again, I admit that it was an unwise decision. But at the same time, I didn’t think that Aastor had hired a Drakul as a researcher without at least ensuring that she didn’t attack everyone else in the house without any real provocation. She could have been lying about being a Reseacher, but she was wearing a lab coat over a long, black jumpsuit, and if that didn’t scream “Refined and elegant vampire researcher”, then I don’t know what did.

“Sigh. Fine, follow me.” So I did. She didn’t seem to intend any harm, after all.

We went down a large staircase, onto the first floor of the manor. I would have expected a living room, or some kind of entryway, but instead, the staircase led directly into a musty old library. Here, Fay began to browse a bookshelf. Once upon a time, I’d have interrupted her, but it was fairly obvious that she was either picking something up and this happened to be on the way, or she was looking for the lever to a hidden bookcase.

Ah, hidden bookcase it was. The shelf parted into two halves and slid into the wall. A good design choice, since swinging bookcases were more trouble than they were worth. Imagine a bookcase that can randomly swing outwards and hit you in the face? Or one that rotates down the center? You might end up letting someone into your oh-so-secret lair completely by accident, and not even know it. No, having the bookcase just slide into the wall, like a glass pane, was a rather stylish and effective decision. (The best Secret bookcase I'd ever seen, however, was one that exploded when someone tampered with it. Meanwhile, the hidden lair was inside a room marked “4C”.)

“And here’s the pantry.”

“The pantry is behind a secret bookcase?”

“Today it is. There should be some bread and meat around, and cold water if you’re thirsty.”

Fay didn’t seem like she was about to leave, so instead I grabbed a plate from a nearby rack and started to fill it with bread. Delicious, wonderful, bread. Golden brown and soft. Perfect, in every single way. Food of the gods. Oh, and some chicken for protein. A balanced diet was critical! Kel, meanwhile, dove into a small bag of grain. I’d have to pull her out later, but she deserved a little slice of heaven.

As I stuffed my face, Fay sat down and just…looked at me. Somehow, even my CHA, WIL and WIS combined weren’t good enough to stop me from asking her questions. And yes, I swallowed first. I wasn’t a barbarian.

“So, what’s your research?”

“I’m sorry?” She looked surprised that I’d said anything at all. I guess I must have looked ravenous.

“You said you’re a Researcher? What’s your field of research? What do you study?”

“Ah. Well, History mainly. History and Religion.”

“Makes sense. You’re what? Immortal? Eternally youthful? Ageless?” I’d seen a lot of variants on immortality, and most had a drawback of some kind. For other vampires I'd met, it was normally that they had to draw on the lifeforce of some living creature to live. Lifeforce was most easily obtained through fresh blood, hence, blood-sucking. The stronger the creature, the stronger the lifeforce. Hence, human blood-sucking. Drakul likely weren't that different, but I really had no way of knowing.

“I’m not going to tell you that! I just met you!” She looked shocked that I’d even ask. In fairness, I’d been hoping she’d slip up, but I guess it was too much to hope for. “Suffice it to say, you can’t kill me. Well, not easily.”

“I’ll take your word for it. How long have you been a Researcher?”

“A few hundred years.”

“It feels a little like cheating, to be an immortal Historian. Why not pick up something more challenging?”

“Ha! Quite the charmer, aren’t you?”

Oof.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like-“

“No, it’s fine. It’s fine.” Fay didn’t seem genuinely upset at least, so maybe my foot and my mouth could part ways on good terms. “I’m not just a Historian. I’m a multiversal Historian.”

“Multiversal Historian?”

“I interview Summons, and I ask them about their stories and their histories. Try to find patterns. See what the common threads might be, and why.”

Oh. Oh, now this I could get behind. This was new, and exciting, and interesting. Suddenly, the food seemed less important. I’d been referring to it as the basic Isekai Template, but it hadn’t escaped my notice that there were clearly commonalities between worlds. Even worlds that had entirely different Histories, or had different environmental impacts, or different biologies…they all had common threads. I hadn’t identified major common threads between all twelve worlds, but I also hadn’t come across a single world that was completely unique.

“…Tell me more?”

“Really?” Fay looked taken aback, and a little bit scared.

“Yes? Why?”

“It’s not exactly what you would call…glamorous research.”

“It’s not?”

“It’s closer to fanciful thinking. But when you’re undying, you take what you can get to fill up the time.” Somehow, I knew that she didn’t really believe what she was saying.

Was I…feeling sorry for Fay? For a Drakul?

“Well, Lady Fay, perhaps a spot of fanciful thinking would be a good way to pass the time.” I paused. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to say it, but I’d already bragged about it to Aastor, so I couldn’t see the harm. “Moreover, I’m not just from one other world.”

“Oh? A double summon, are you?” I had clearly piqued her interest.

“Not quite. A little bit higher than that.”

“A triple? Triples are…exceedingly rare. I would hazard a guess at…one in a thousand? Probably a little less.”

“Closer, but still off by a little bit.”

Fay looked hurt, which isn't what I'd expected. I had no idea why though. After all, if I was a researcher into something that required Summons, and twelve of them rolled into one came walking by, I'd start to believe in the existence of a higher power.

“I know it’s not the most exciting field, but that’s just because-"

“Twelve.” I had a gleeful smile on my face, and waited for the look fo shock and awe and wonderment that I was surely going to get.

Instead of saying anything, Fay gave me a look of pure, seething hatred and just got up and left. Was it really that unbelievable? I guess if a double summon raises an eyebrow, it’s probably something like a one in a hundred chance? A triple would be one in a thousand? If every jump increased the odds by a factor of ten, then having been summoned twelve times would make me…. One in a trillion?

Oh. Wow.

I could see why Fay left. She thought I was making fun of her.

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System Notification: Class Specific Stat Unlocked!

Intuition is your ability to perceive emotions and motives. A Butler must always know when a guest needs a new beverage, or when someone seeks to harm their Employer. Intuition is your look behind the facade someone might put up, into their true intentions.

Intuition: 0 -> 1 (Growth Rate: S)

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