211 Vampire Rearing Project

Time rewinds slightly.

After entry 210.

Mel places the sleeping Vampire Child gently inside the tent.

They had been through much. They were exhausted.

"Melazofis, you should rest too. You've been a vampire only recently. You're drained. How we proceed from here, discuss with the young lady."

"Yes, I shall take your advice."

Mel vanishes into the tent.

"Well then. Regardless of what those children decide, our course remains unchanged. We continue toward the Demon Realm. Shiro, do you wish to proceed leisurely, or with haste?"

"How long would leisurely take?"

"About three years. Hasty, roughly half a year. Ah, that's from our perspective."

Wasn't a year here four hundred and eleven days?

Three years in this world equates to slightly less than three and a half years by Earth standards.

Half a year—approximately two hundred days—if moving hastily.

No vehicles or transportation methods exist, so hurrying means running. But that kind of critique is not allowed.

Perhaps the three-year route is preferable.

The Vampire Child will inevitably follow, regardless.

There is no alternative option.

Choosing any other path under these conditions is equivalent to volunteering for suicide—acceptable?

Given that, the urgent return route is impossible.

I can manage with the Demon King, but the Vampire Child and Melra cannot keep up.

Even if not for that, I’d like to sightsee. A relaxed route suits me.

The world won’t end within the next two days.

"Let’s go slowly."

"I expected you’d say that, Shiro."

Ah, yes.

"By the way, did you perform the assessment?"

"Yes."

On the Vampire Child and Melra.

As expected, a being once half the same existence.

Mind to mind, he immediately grasped what I intended to say. Then, from somewhere, he produced a thread-like material and inscribed the assessment results of the two individuals upon it.

Not a sheet of paper handed over—no, this is thread fashioned like paper.

Threads can be made like this?

Useful to know.

Now, examining the content written on the thread-paper.

Weak.

Ah, no.

Not weak when viewed under the category of commoners.

From my perspective, all humans are weak. The Vampire Child is still an infant.

Yet this—this is a status that would result in immediate death if thrown into the Elro Great Labyrinth.

Can the Vampire Child survive with such a frail status?

Perhaps it will improve with growth. But considering human frailty, even if it matures as-is...

Even a Dragon-class entity is more than sufficient threat from a human standpoint. Let alone a Dragon-class.

The Vampire Child now is barely able to survive even a frog in the Elro Great Labyrinth.

Melar has some stats, but even so, would lose against a snake without fail.

Hmm.

Perhaps train a little?

Not enough motivation to do it thoroughly, but even light training during movement might make a significant difference.

Yes.

That’s what I’ll do.

If the Vampire Child and Melar increase in stats, travel time might shorten.

Most importantly, if they can defend themselves, there will be no need to protect them.

Decision made, a makeshift shelter is constructed for the night.

Before that, relocate and collect the eggs scattered across various regions.

All have hatched, but are contained within an alternate space using the same method as subjugation—designated as part of myself.

They remained docile after hatching, which was fortunate.

If such beings were released into the world, chaos would ensue.

Elro’s babies?

They have grown properly.

They will surely survive on their own.

More precisely, they’ve likely already established their own identities—retrieval is no longer feasible.

They will undoubtedly be recognized as new monsters within Elro’s Great Labyrinth.

I don’t care.

Call it abandonment. Call it whatever you like.

Having mostly completed collection, I returned to the makeshift home. This time, I will sleep.

No need to sleep, really. But if I remove sleep and appetite from myself entirely, nothing will remain.

Sleep. Wake. Eat. Sleep.

Yes, balanced.

Then, good night.

The next day, movement began.

The Vampire Children were made to walk.

Infants though they are, their status indicates no issue with walking.

So, proceed. Walk stiffly.

No monsters approach, thanks to the dread of the Demon King. Just walking through the woods—a simple task.

Mel had objected somehow, but why react so strongly to simply walking?

Ignore it.

I had already given Mel a vial containing elven blood.

Vampire Child, thanks to the True Ancestor effect of their title, does not require blood consumption. But Mel’s stats deteriorate without it.

Face twisted, but they must drink. Accept it.

What? Compared to me, who only have poison as sustenance, this is better.

Ah, poison.

Poison.

Hmm.

While boosting Poison Resistance, consider acquiring the Glutton title?

Could work.

Also gains Corrosion Resistance.

Thus, consult the Demon King.

The Demon King possesses the Poison Synthesis skill and can produce poison easily.

Synthesize a weak poison, diluted to non-lethal levels. Use it to prepare a meal. The poisoned dish is complete.

We shall feed him poisoned dishes until the vile meal is obtained.

The Vampire Child and Melia reluctantly finished the poisoned meal.

The following day.

I taught the Vampire Child and Mel a magical combat technique.

The method is simple.

Activate the magic combat technique by force, and maintain it using my power alone.

It was only that Melia had been slightly more troublesome.

The Vampire Child succeeded on the first attempt, but Melia had failed multiple times.

Could it be due to my low skill level in mana manipulation?

It was ultimately possible, so it was fortunate.

I had to摸索 my way from scratch back then—now I can't afford to have it maintained so easily.

Started lightly, thinking a bit of training would suffice, but the path ahead appears fraught with difficulty.