I'm back in my room after all the screw-ups of the day.

(So Lucia found out, probably knew since the last meeting. Chloe is... not herself thanks to 'familiar' and if I had to guess she probably did her best to let Therese know despite her promises to play nice.)

(What makes you so sure?)

(Hello? I'm not blind! She was visibly distressed by the whole situation and wanted help. I couldn't offer any since I'm the 'enemy' in her mind, both figuratively and literally, and from my impression, Therese is a friend of hers. You don't just throw away your lifelong friendship just because a stranger, me, asks you to!)

(I'm not sure. I've seen Therese as well and I doubt she could be anyone's friend.)

(Well, out of the people I've seen here she's certainly the one that needs a friend the most. Just like Jeff she seems to just 'live' for work and not even like it.)

I spend the rest of the time reading through some legends on the search for hints about the demon lord title or class but nothing new comes up. They don't even overlap in which abilities a demon lord supposedly has. Sometimes it is just a very powerful warrior or mage, other times it is a person that can actually command our friends the mindless monsters, one story claimed that they can corrupt the minds of people and turn them into monsters as well. I just hope that the shreds of notes Elly can restore shed more light on what I'd gain if I took that title. Not that I really want to.

(How far are you with restoring the file on titles?)

(I should be done sometime today.)

(Alright, after that focus on the file with Jeff's plan for a class build. I doubt I'd even agree with half of it but it might give a nice hint of what kind of classes exist. After that - just classes in general? If they actually agree on giving me another class core I'd like to make some plans on which classes I want first.)

(Alright, I'll do that.)

It seems like Survivor has increased to level 2 without me using exp.

Name Jared Delacroix Status disguised Age 18 (frozen) Classes Wizard 4, Survivor 2 Race Silver Elf 1 Extra Vampire 1, Noble 1, Lord 1, Progenitor 1 Title God’s Lost Child, World Navigator, Noble, Vampire Progenitor

Title Level 1 EXP 812 HP 934/968 [1210] MP 1276/1294 [1618] SP 643/672 [840] STR 151+70 DEX 173+5 VIT 154+60 MAG 287+35 FTH 217 WIL 222+20 CHA 172 Equipment Wooden Staff, Book, Leather Cap, Robe, Sun Cloak, Defense Ring, Sun Guard Ring Skills Affinity Magic 4 (Rank 1), Cure Magic 1 (Rank 1), Dark Magic 4 (Rank 1), Earth Magic 4 (Rank 1), Ice Magic 4 (Rank 1), Lightning Magic 4 (Rank 1)

Spear Training 2, Unnatural Claws 1

Charm Eye 1, Embrace 1, Familiar 1, Greater Vampiric Bite 1

Disguise 1, Intimidation 2

Ageless 1, Beast Killer 1, Enhanced Regeneration 1, Sleepless 1, Stealth 1, Supernatural Toughness 1, Undead 1, Vampire Hierarchy 1 Weakness Fire, Light, Holy

(I thought I'd only get the free level up when Chloe trains me in her class?)

(Maybe it is enough if she's just registered as your trainer?)

(That makes just as much sense as all the rest so far. Wait, I never even told her I've already added the class... should finally do that today.)

(And tell her about you being a 'Lost One' while you are at it.)

(I'll think about it.)

(...with you that is as much worth as a no.)

(Yeah, yeah.)

Morning has come so it is time for training. Chloe is still absent. Training and nuking of the flood monster proceed as usual, (it is still the same monster mix as yesterday so it wasn't a one-off loss of experience per rainfall. Just great.)

(Yeah, I'd also prefer the previous back. But I've no idea why it has suddenly changed.)

(It is no new month, it is still the middle of the week. So probably not a scheduled or seasonal thing.)

(Hmm, the only thing that wasn't normal I can think of was that we went to a dungeon.)

(That can't be connected. All kinds of people go to the dungeon every day. And if it was just because specifically I went there it would also have changed between the second and third day I was in this fortress.)

(True. So I guess they just ran out of the first set of monsters and now we've advanced to stage 2.)

(let's hope stage 3 has again some monsters with a weakness I can exploit or at least way less WIL.)

When I try to leave, I expect for Jack to greet me as usual but he is also absent today. Instead, I'm greeted by Chloe, "Hey, are you done for today?"

"Yeah, just finished. Do you feel any better already?"

"Not really but that doesn't matter now. Therese wants to... negotiate with you regarding your proposal."

"Right, I can see where that is going."

(I shouldn't have given them the truth gem, they clearly want to use it against me.)

(Too late now.)

"Lead the way. Say what's happened to Jack?"

"He's been suspended for lack of reliability."

"I have totally no idea why that would be. Did he try to make any dumb excuses?"

Chloe shakes her head, "yes, for several hours. Therese was ready to rip his head off."

"Thanks, Jack. Now I have to take the brunt for you angering an emotionally challenged person."

"Don't call Therese that. She has a lot of problems on her plate."

"Including me?"

"Including you."

"...I'll take it as a win when I leave the room with the same number of living people as I entered it."

We're back in the office building of the military facility where I first met Therese, this can only go well...

Therese is working on some documents like last time except there's no one else this time here, "I didn't think you'd come here today."

"Oh, I thought I...", Chloe stammers, "truthfully, I just wanted to get it over with."

"Understandable. Follow me, you two, we'll talk in the interrogation room", Therese goes on ahead.

"Great, this will totally not devolve into a repeating trauma."

Therese signals me to sit on the chair, she herself sits on the other side of the table, Chloe... has to stand? "What about Chloe?"

"She can stand, this won't take too long."

"Yeah, no. Given recent history, this will be a very long talk again. Chloe, if you want, you can sit on my lap."

"How about no", Therese looks about to snap, "Chloe, get a chair from the room next door!"

"I'd be fine with just standing but if you insist I'll grab one. Anything else we're missing?"

"No, I have the truth gem already with me."

"Then take it out and let's get it over with."

"Patience, Chloe needs to hear this as well."

"If you say so, Therese."

"I'll let it slide for now since there was no time for proper education but you should address your superiors as sir or ma'am."

"Alright, sir or ma'am."

"Smartass."

Chloe comes back with a chair and sits down next to Therese's side, "why do stay that far away from me? Do you think I bite? Oh, right, I do. *sigh* I need to update my vocabulary."

"Please keep the jokes to yourself. This is a serious issue."

"I know, I know. So how will this go?"

"Chloe has told me some very... concerning stories regarding you. And with all those status effects that plague her mind, I'm not sure how much I trust any of that."

I practically saw that development coming. Though Therese looks just as unhappy to be hear as I am.

"So you want to interrogate me - again - and confirm it with the truth gem I donated?"

"Exactly."

"Good, then take the gem out and let's get it over with."

Therese does as told, "where to start?"

"If you don't know, I do. Let's make a long story short. I do not know who caused the ghoul outbreak. I have a suspicion it may have been my fault because I was distracted by Erwin and didn't pay attention to a system prompt but I can't say for certain either way. All I can say is if it was indeed me it was not on purpose. Does that address one of your main concerns?"

"I...", both of them look at the green shining gem, "fine it does. I'm not certain yet how to handle that though. What I'm most concerned about is what has happened to Chloe."

Chloe seems surprised by what is going on, "Therese? Why are we interrogating him like this now? I thought we agreed on - "

"Chloe, dear, I know I said that. But have you looked at yourself? You're not in any position to make a clear-headed decision since you met Jared last time. I must make sure that nothing funny is going on with you two."

"...", Chloe is left speechless.

"So Jared, can you tell me anything about what happened to Chloe?"

"It is more or less like I told Chloe. I want to coexist with humans, I'm fairly certain we need each other if we want to overcome the current threat to this world. I regret to tell you but the gods can't help us this time, I assume you've confirmed that, Chloe?"

She nods, "yes but what has that to do with anything?"

"I approached you because I want to make this cooperation official so to speak. As of now, I'm weak, yes, but that is what the trade is for. Anyway, I wanted to talk with Chloe about that, kind of... lost control of the situation and... stuff happened."

Therese tries to process what I just told her but then gives up, "that doesn't tell me anything."

"She's now what is called a familiar and bound to me."

"I swear, if you tell me this is some strange 'power of friendship' nonsense..."

"According to the description it just keeps us on friendly terms so... close enough I guess."

Therese demands, "release her! Please."

"I'm not sure I can. Give me a moment I'll check my menu. Have you checked on your end, Chloe?"

"Tried but had no luck of course."

I check my menu and there's a new tab under skills fittingly labeled 'familiar'.

(Elly, was that there before?)

(If it was I didn't notice it either.)

(Ok, so each time I get or use a new funny skill I need to check here. Got it.)

limit 0/1 active familiars Chloe

(I would've thought that it says I have 1/1 active familiars but I guess it means how many more I can make.)

(It is just as backwards as everything else.)

(And there's no option to release her so I guess we're 'safe', or well, the opposite of that.)

"Seems like I can't."

"Re. Lease. HER!"

"I told you. That is not something I can do. Ask the gem if you don't believe me."

"Goddamn vampires", she's about to cry, "always steal from me what is dearest to me."

"I've not stolen anything, she's still here. Nothing I've done prevents you from staying friends."

"FINE. Then tell me what do you intend to do to her."

"Nothing that wouldn't have happened anyway. Currently, I need to become stronger and she was supposed to train me anyway."

Chloe finally speaks out, "I think you're taking this too far, Jared. First, you do... this to me and then you have no use for me? Am I... not good enough?"

"Ok, timeout. Why do you sound disappointed? Did you want to be mind-controlled or turned into some monster or something?"

"Don't mind her", Therese explains, "she's always had trouble making friends and your 'friendship bonds' gave her some hope and now she's down again."

"I don't mind being friends in the normal way, just give me some time to get used to her true form. But, well, the familiar thing doesn't have anything to do with it."

"I find it hard to believe that it does nothing of consequence. We're talking about some creepy skill of a monster here."

"Chloe", I demand, "please tell her that we already did that sketch. I don't want to repeat myself."

Chloe just nods.

"Thank you."

Therese slams her fist on the table or rather tries to and stops before it hits the table.

"...fine. Can you at least tell me why you want to cooperate with us? All other vampires I've met don't care. They just... see us as food."

"Do I really have to spell it out again? The others are stupid. For one I need a sustainable food source. Sorry to put it so bluntly but if all humans die out I'll starve as well. Two, the monsters are hostile to me as well. It doesn't matter how strong I am or become there's a limit to how many enemies I can fight off. Even if the limit is just MP or SP."

"And where do you suppose we get that many willing sacrifices? I for one am not willing to throw my life away just so a random vampire can have a snack."

"Umm...", Chloe tries to speak up. It seems like the bond won't let her.

After Chloe's futile struggle to speak out I take it upon myself to defuse the situation.

"It's alright, Chloe. You don't have to force yourself. So, Therese, you may have noticed the bite marks on Chloe's neck. To me, she looks very much alive."

"That's probably just because of your forced bond. Everyone else would just die or become another monster."

"No. Thanks to a certain someone's negligence I had enough opportunities to feed a few times in the slums. No one ever died from that thanks to one of my skills."

"That's...", she looks at the truth gem again, " Is this thing broken? I refuse to believe any of that. It is just too out there."

"I wish... it would explain some uncomfortable results I got from a short self-interrogation."

Therese has a hard time swallowing all of that, "now what..."

"I think I've sufficiently established that I'm not a threat and Chloe should be fine after some proper rest as long as you don't ask her to harm me."

"I'll... keep that in mind. But you'll have to understand me, us. Accepting that God has abandoned us is too much to ask right now."

"Totally understandable. I didn't want to believe it either at first."

The two women have to think about what was just said and confirmed by the gem.

Finally, Therese asks the obvious question, "say, where did you learn any of that?"

"I could claim that it is something I heard from Lucia, she's a nun working at the local church but... truthfully it is something I remember from before becoming a vampire, happy now?"

"Not really. I still had some hope that this is just some elaborate joke you and Chloe play on me, that there would still come a day a 'Lost Child' arrives to get us out of this mess."

"If you want miraculous help out of nowhere I'm probably the only thing you can get for now."

Therese struggles with herself, "I don't want to but I'll just accept that for now. Don't expect any special treatment from me."

"Of course not. That's why I've proposed a deal, an exchange of help."

"Yeah, yeah, Chloe told me about it. I'm not sure yet what either side really gets out of this."

"It is honestly more of a long-term kind of partnership. You turn a blind eye to whatever I do in the slums - though I wouldn't be opposed to an alternate source of human blood - and I organize a lot of extra food from the dungeon each week, though I have no guarantee how far I can get each time. The last trip was ended rather harshly by some slimes with way too much HP regeneration. Eventually, I should be able to reach a high enough level that I can train some people in the wizard class, maybe a different caster class as well if 'Class Cores' allow. After that... at a minimum, I should be able to become powerful enough to wipe out huge chunks of the next floods."

"And for that part, you just want said core and information on the mansion?"

"Pretty much."

Speaking of cores, I finally remember that I never told them, "oh, by the way, Chloe, I've already achieved Survivor level 2. Well, two more weeks and I'll get to the point where I need to spend exp on it to make any more progress."

"Huh?", Chloe is surprised, "I didn't even know you have already taken that class."

"Ah, sorry. I took it while in the dungeon and then I kind of forgot about it."

Therese is eager to get the discussion back on track, "okay then this is my last question before I decide: what do you intend to do with the information on the 'Lord's Mansion'?"

"Mostly I want to sate my curiosity. It came up in conversations all the time when I started here and it's driving me crazy that such an important topic is just a gigantic gap in my knowledge. I already know enough that the conditions for a takeover are not known."

"I'm still skeptical to cooperate with you but..."

"No, no, don't worry about it. That's understandable."

"...I can make these concessions", she hands me another 'Class Core', "you get our last core. If it helps you make a bigger dent into the monster flood that's already a price I'm willing to pay. Our experts guess that the current flood could last from half a year up to almost when the next one would start, so close to a year total. Worst case we're stuck in these walls for a couple of years even."

"I was expecting maybe 2-3 months but years..."

"Regarding the slums... ", Therese takes a deep breath then continues, "we're understaffed anyway. Most I can or have to do is tell the night patrols to just let you go. What happens after that is up to you. Don't overdo it. The little stunt with the ghouls had already injured several soldiers that will be out for a week or so. Everyone's on edge because there is, was, no lead on the cause and we're just short on people anyway."

"Good enough, for now, I can work with that."

"Wait that reminds me. You reported to Chloe that Erwin said something about working for a 'boss' on some kind of conspiracy?"

"Yes, but he didn't go into more detail just that he wanted me on board and... I declined by ending his unlife. He also said that Niles would be in on it as well."

"Great. If you should happen to meet Niles in the slums feel free to dispose of him as well. Getting the identity of the 'boss' out of him is a secondary concern. As it is now your survival is more important than that. Also, I doubt that boss would be in this fortress anyway."

"I won't hunt for him but if by chance he crosses my path he'll be dust."

"That is acceptable. And as for the information you wanted on the mansion... it feels like this is the part I'll regret most of this proposal."

"Fine, we can postpone that a bit. Take some time to work out what you can tell me without endangering your peace of mind. And we'll get to the rest once you're ready to accept me, at least as a business partner."

Therese pauses to think for a moment, "...no, let's get this over with. Just don't make me regret this, okay?"

"Sure, I'll be careful. Can you start with what the mansion does exactly?"

"If you compare it to a human body it is the 'heart' of the fortress. Without it, no new buildings can be made. We tried a lot of things but without an active mansion everything we've created anew fell apart within days."

"So it needs to be 'alive' for new buildings to be built... is that related to why you can't make use of more nurses and doctors?"

"Yes. We can only employ a given number of people in production jobs. When we try to employ more their skills just don't work. It is vexing."

"I can imagine. But with that, it makes sense why can't make much use of the slum people. What else does the mansion do?"

"It lets the acting lord change the taxes and laws - not all of them but several."

Even in another world, it is always about money...

"Speaking of - what happens to the taxes without an acting lord?"

"They still get automatically collected and put towards basic maintenance of existing structures. When we can't pay even that buildings start to degrade until we can pay the upkeep."

"And the rest? I imagine there are at least some leftovers from the tax money with that many people around."

"It just sits around and gathers dust. Not that there's really much leftover. Without a lord, the upkeep is almost 50% higher."

Wait, if that is 50% higher if the lord goes to pay the piper what happens if the mansion rejects his children?

"That sounds like it is just a problem waiting to happen. How can a fortress survive the change of generations? No matter what race you are, old age will eventually catch up to you."

"It isn't that dramatic. Usually, a mansion accepts it when a lord passes their rule on to one of their children. Usually. There are records of exceptions where the successor was rejected."

"So it chooses 'death' over an unfit lord?"

"Don't make it sound like it is alive. In the end, it is just a house."

"...I didn't get that impression. If it was just a pile of masonry how would it be able to choose a lord in the first place?"

"Don't ask me. That is just like it is."

I think I've heard about the money side, "fine. Are there any other effects while the fortress is 'asleep'?"

"In addition to being unable to create more working space for production jobs all existing jobs also lose about 20% of their efficiency. Like farmers getting a lot less produce from their farms. Some theorize that it also affects what we can get out of dungeons but since that is entirely up to chance there's no hard data on it."

"So there hangs way too much on a single building. Is that all?"

"That's about all I know on that end."

She thinks for a moment, probably wants to avoid me knowing about the next thing but then gives up.

"The final topic should be how someone can claim a 'Lord's Mansion'...", Therese is visibly anxious to tell me that and Chloe tries to signal her to stop.

"Don't bother, I know already all I want to know about that point."

"What?"

"You need to be a noble and then fulfill a couple of specific requirements that vary from mansion to mansion. Or did I miss anything?"

"Please don't do this. You almost gave me a heart attack there. For a moment I thought you already know how to take it over."

"Would it be that bad?"

Concern crosses her face, "...I've no idea how to answer that. Yes, we need the fortress active again but... I refuse to live under the rule of a monster, most would agree with me. Please tell me you were just joking."

"I wasn't joking, just asking about a hypothetical scenario."

"Good, keep it that way. And to answer your question: as long as I've to say anything I will not allow that to happen!"

"Got you loud and clear."

"I think that is all you wanted?"

"Yes, that is enough for now. Do you have anything else you want to discuss?"

"No, I'm, I'm already plenty overwhelmed."

"Ok, then I'm off - see you two around. And Chloe? You really need more rest."

I leave the room. That went honestly better than expected.

POV: Darius

A familiar ceiling... wasn't I just fighting a crystal bear? ...so it landed its god-forsaken claw attack... where's my sword... I need to get back...

"Hey, he's moving again! Quick, get the doctor!"

Stop shouting! My head already hurts enough.

After a few minutes, an entourage of medical personnel arrives. The head physician tries to explain to me my medical condition, "listen up, doc. This isn't the first time I've been wounded like this and it certainly won't be the last. Just finish my release papers and let me out by tomorrow, I know what I'm doing."

"I can't comply with that. From my point of view, you are in no position to be released."

"Don't you know who I am!?"

"Chief commander of this fortress, I am aware. And you should be aware that I outrank you in concerns about your health. I swore an oath that I'll cure my patients to the best of my ability and I damn well mean it."

"...fine. How long are we talking? Three days? Four?"

"A minimum of a week. ...I know you well enough commander. Please refrain from having your subordinates bring your work here. I can allow at most two, three hours of reading documents or reports. But anything beyond would be strictly detrimental to your health. We're talking long-term complications that would prevent you from performing your job at all. Please keep that in mind if you should consider ignoring my orders like last time."

"I'll keep it in mind."