"Oh, don't worry about it; I had nothing to offer you in exchange. So it's best if I don't accept this gift as well," I said while maintaining my composure.
"...No! However, I already received my present," Silvia remarked abruptly.
!?
I replied confused, "I don't recall giving you any present though."
Silvia replied with a smile, "Ah, you simply allowing me to consume your blood is the greatest gift that I could get."
"...."
"Whack! That's cringeworthy," Iretheil said abruptly.
"I have to concur with you on that," I muttered.
!?
"You demon, what do you mean by a cringeworthy? I'm just grateful to him for not being bothered by the fact that I'm a vampire, and he even agreed to letting me consume his blood.
I-I can't thank you enough; staying by your side feels like a dream to me," Silvia continued in a sentimental tone.
"...."
***
After hearing Silvia's emotional statement, I ultimately decided to keep the pendant she had purchased for me as a gift.
"Hey, Ares, who was that woman? that you even asked me to put on an act of rejecting her? Is she a famous crafter in disguise or something?" Silvia enquired while we were traveling to the nearby hotel in her limousine.
Since it was getting late we decided to stay the night in the nearby hotel and I still had some work to do in the Kingdom of Aloctona for tomorrow.
"No, she is not a well-known weapon maker--at least not right now--but I think she will unquestionably rank among the best in the near future," I responded.
"What makes you so sure of her abilities? Wasn't this your first meeting with her?" Silvia inquired, perplexed.
"...You just have to know that I am good at judging people," I replied, as Irethiel imitated me by repeating the same words as me, anticipating my response.
"You should know that I am good at judging people!" Irethiel mimicked.
"...."
"...Ares, I believe you should forbid her from watching any more anime. Her age appears to be regressing as she watches them," Silvia remarked, staring blankly at Irethiel.
"W-What exactly do you mean? I've just heard the same sentence from him so many times that I've become so accustomed to it that I can predict when he'll use it.
"For instance, if he doesn't want to tell us about how he knew someone, he'll just say he's good at judging people and ignore us," Irethiel explained.
"...."
I overlooked Irethiel's remarks as what she said was indeed accurate.
And as for Lia's identity, she was a member of Lucas's party and will one day be regarded as one of the legendary craftspeople.
However, she is not well known at this time because she is still tending with some difficulties and has not given her full attention to crafting weapons yet.
Because, her mother is a human and a current S-Rank hero, while her father was a dwarf.
And after her father died in an accident while crafting a weapon with some hazardous material, her mother pushed her to abandon crafting and focus on becoming a magician, believing that there was no future in it due to technological advancements, whereby weapons are now made by automated systems.
Likewise, she would have struggled for a very long time before meeting Lucas, who was the only person to ever believe in her abilities.
The clichéd narrative keeps going, but in the end, Lia triumphs against all odds to establish herself as one of history's most illustrious legendary weapon creators.
And after that, she'll eventually come along with Lucas's crew as well.
At least, that's how things should have been, but... will my involvement affect her fate favorably or unfavorably? I am not yet certain.
She would still have to go through a great deal of hardship before the world accepts her work because no one was supposed to believe in her yet.
"Will my meddling hinder her development?" I muttered to myself before shrugging it off.
"Miss Silvia, we've arrived," the Driver informed.
While I was still pondering, we soon arrived at the hotel
Yawn!--
Silvia stepped out of the car and yawned as if she was tired.
"...What makes a vampire yawn? Did vampires become weak over time?" When Irethiel saw Silvia, she made a remark.
!?
"...Did demons become so weak that they now have to live as humans' slaves?" Silvia reacted strongly.
"...."
When I saw Silvia and Irethiel arguing again, I was speechless.
"...Alright, you two better be on time tomorrow since we need to pay a visit to the monster exhibition," I stated.
"Why are we going to an exhibition of monsters? Can't we go on a date somewhere more interesting?" Silvia grumbled.
"We're not going there for a date, but I have some work there," I said as I walked inside the hotel, Silvia followed behind.
"What? Was I mistaken to believe that you intended to take me out on a date?" Silvia remarked, but I disregarded her outbursts.
***
The Next day ~
I was waiting outside the hotel for Silvia and Irethiel while sporting a casual white T-shirt, black jeans, and black sneakers.
"Tsk, I thought I'd already told them to be on time. Why do women spend so much time getting ready?" I grumbled to myself.
"Good morning, Ares. Did you have to wait long," Silvia soon approached and greeted me, She was decked out in a white top, a black skirt with black women's boots, and black socks over them.
"... It's Good evening, and yes, I have been waiting for thirty minutes now," I corrected her and stared at her incomprehensibly.
"...."
"O-Oh, I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting, Ares; I was actually late because of Irethiel," Silvia explained.
"...Y-You, don't drag me into this; it was you who spent so much time picking out a dress, saying you wanted to look good on your first date with him in a while or something," Irethiel clarified.
"...."
I have chosen to maintain my composure despite being genuinely annoyed by how they are acting.
Huuuu--
"...Okay, let's go already," I said and when they heard me, they stopped arguing.
Silvia then called her car, and we quickly departed in it toward the monster exhibition.
The first reason I visited the Kingdom of Aloctona was undoubtedly the grand auction, and the second was to be present for an incident that was about to occur in the monster museum today.
And the incident I'm referring to is the appearance of a monster gate in the museum.
Though I am not particularly interested in the gate itself, I am interested in the item I would receive for clearing that gate, which will be useful to me in the future.
***
After a few moments of travel, we arrived at the monster exhibition.
"Whoa! It's crowded; why do people come to this boring place in the first place? "Silvia said as we walked side by side through the museum.
"...Perhaps they like watching the imprisoned Monsters," Irethiel speculated.
"...."
We were stunned when we heard Irethiel's remark, but what she said does seem plausible.
As we explored the exhibition, we became aware of the experiments and research being done on the various monsters here now.
To display the findings of their experiments, the site was accessible to both locals and visitors.
In addition to hybrid monsters made up of parts from various monsters, we saw goblins with various colorations.
"Wow, they must be experimenting on them by crossing various monster species," Irethiel expressed in shock.
Silvia remarked, seeing the spectacle before her, "Sometimes, humans are more twisted than any other race."
"...."
Despite the fact that this seems twisted, I have witnessed much worse, and some humans are even more twisted than one can imagine, so I wasn't overly surprised by the spectacle in front of me.
"Hey, Ares. What work do you have in this pit of hell?" After seeing the more hybrid monsters, Silvia questioned in a disgusted manner as we continued to move forward.
Ding!
!?
The system made a notification sound before I could respond to Silvia.
So I summoned it to investigate its contents.
[System Alert!]
[Sudden Quest] Clear The Gate! (Optional)
[Explanation] The monster gate is about to appear in Alactona Kingdom's Monster exhibition. Clear the gate immediately before it affects the citizens.
[Success Condition] Be the first person to clear the gate.
[Reward] ★ [New], Increase In Fame.
[Gate Emergence: 47 seconds]
Located in: �
[Time Limit To Clear The Gate: 3 Hours]
***
"...."
'What exactly is that star in the reward section?' I paused before clicking to learn more.
[★: Improve your mastery of any skill by one level]
!?
"Huh! Is it possible to quickly improve one's mastery of any skill?" Unknowingly, I muttered.
"Hmm? Ares, did you say anything?" Silvia inquired after overhearing me.
"...."
I didn't respond to her and carried her in a princess-like manner as I rushed in the direction of the gate that the system had indicated, as there were only 15 seconds left after I finished checking the information.
"EH?" Silvia made a cute, startling noise, taken aback by my unusual behavior.
***