Chapter 20: Immense Pressure
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The demon hunters seemed to have an immense pressure on Vivian. Although she tried to appear calm, even someone who was as slow as Hao Ren could see that she was actually deeply troubled.
Vivian’s offer to leave if demon hunters showed up in the city to protect the innocent touched Hao Ren. Although legends portrayed vampires as both cunning and cold-blooded, Vivian seemed to be different. Hao Ren did not know about other vampires but at least, the one he knew was not bad.
Of course, being touched was one thing but facing the consequences was another. He could not allow Vivian to leave just like that. He even had a three page contract with a Goddess in his pocket! How would he explain to Raven 12345 if the two unusual creatures were to really leave his house? "Don’t stress about it and just stay here. There’s no need to worry even if the demon hunters are around, I’ll find a way..."
"Where do you get this confidence from?" Vivian looked at Hao Ren, curious about the reason why this person who was scared of trouble just this morning, suddenly had a sense of accountability. "If you’re saying all this just to comfort me, I don’t need it. Just don’t think too highly of those demon hunters as they’re not fully humans. They are not very considerate when it comes to fights."
"Well… something was up this afternoon and I think both of you can’t just leave as you please." After some consideration, Hao Ren concluded that there was nothing to hide. Fishing out the contract from his pocket, he showed and explained the afternoon’s events with Raven 12345 to the two magical creatures in front of him.
Lily was confused as usual thus, useless whereas Vivian read through Hao Ren’s entire contract seriously. She was in deep thought as she listened to Hao Ren recall his experience and she was aghast. "Everything... you said is true?"
Hao Ren shrugged. "Of course it’s true. I have nothing to gain from lying to you."
"I’ve heard of this multiverse concept from you humans." Vivian said while waving the sheets of paper in her hand. "I can’t help but say that this ‘science’ things of yours is quite interesting. So, this means that you met advanced beings who claimed to be rulers of the multiverse. They have a specialized organization that manages each and every universe called ‘Space Administration’. Then, there’s a self-proclaimed Goddess called Raven 12345 and she found you to ask you to be her assistant. To sum everything up, you’re now…" Vivian looked at the contract, reading it word by word., "An agent of Bastard Barrio at EN35 in the Space Administration of the Xi Ling Empire, a part-time staff outside the administration awaiting confirmation…"
Cold sweat broke out on Hao Ren’s forehead. This coming out from someone else’s mouth sounded more impressive than reading it by himself.
"Landlord, I know that you’re under a lot pressure right now…" said Vivian in a grave and earnest tone after some deliberation.
"I’m dead serious," Hao Ren answered with a bitter smile on his face. "I’ve had to use several hours to take all of this in, imagine you. But no matter what the overall condition of the Space Administration is, Raven 12345 is not someone we can easily mess with. I’ll let you meet her if you don’t believe me. This shouldn’t be breaking the rules and regulations."
Vivian knew that Hao Ren was serious and not fooling around from his expression; she frowned and thought carefully. "I’ve never heard about this organization before and I’ve lived for... Oh, I’ve lost count. But I’ve never heard about a Space Administration since the Bronze Age. However, I’ve heard a lot about Gods but most of it was just humans using it to frighten other humans. Also, the Raven 12345 that you mentioned does not sound like a Goddess to me...… This is weird. Where did they come from?"
Hao Ren nodded his head. "I’ve asked her about this. Raven 12345 said she did not take notice of the things on earth as humans were developing at an alright pace on their own. She even had no clue about atheism and would just hire an assistant to take care of minor matters on earth. That’s why humans don’t know about the celestials. Oh, she often uses the word ‘celestials’ to represent the Gods and I find this a weird thing."
"Try not to think about this first. So in a nutshell, this Raven 12345 is the one who asked you to take care of the mutants staying here right?" Vivian asked as she handed the papers back to Hao Ren. "This shows that she’s not an ally of the demon hunters and its good news to me. It would be best if she could help when the demon hunters show up."
Hao Ren shook his head. "I think this is quite unlikely. According to her, the empire rarely interfere with the workings on earth. They will not interfere unless us humans decide to destroy all of our descendants. However, I’m sure that she’ll contact me in the future. Let’s ask her only when the time comes. I was in a rush this evening and I did not have the chance to ask a lot of questions."
Hao Ren let out a hollow laugh and mocked himself, "Well, you know me. My brain is a mess like glue."
"It’s okay," Vivian answered and pointed to a dazed Lily. "That mind of hers is confused every day and she’s still here with us. You have to try to be optimistic to live a better life…"
Upon hearing this, Lily growled and jumped onto the table. "Try repeating what you said again!!!"
Ignoring the werewolf, Vivian seemed to have her mind set on something and nodded towards Hao Ren. "We need to find a way to see Raven 12345…The way she showed up seems dodgy and it looks as if she understands the relationship between mutants and humans well. I need to ask her about this." Then, Vivian was a bit embarrassed. "Actually it’s hard for us to live in this world as the demon hunters are getting increasingly active and humans are getting harder to deal with. From the top of the food chain, we’ve now dwindled to the bottom. We don’t even pass down our history to the next generation and moreover, we’re divided amongst our own kind. This is also why, many things we know about ourselves are found in records written by humans. Take this werewolf for example, throughout her life she’s never met her kind and all she knows about werewolves were told by humans. I do not want to be as ignorant as her."
Hao Ren knew that Vivian wanted to know more about her own kind by asking Raven 12345; he sensed that the chances of Vivian succeeding were low knowing Raven 12345’s ability of beating around the bush and keeping her lips sealed. However, Hao Ren did not say a word.
In that moment, Lily finally began to snap out of her daydream. The first thing that came through her mind was, "Oh Landlord, what’re we having for dinner?"
Hao Ren could only remain speechless.
He was suddenly jealous of the crude, simple as well as ridiculously innocent thoughts of this canine.
After throwing a scornful look at Lily, Vivian stood up with a smile of her face. "Let me prepare dinner since I do not have to pay for it. I’ll be responsible for the cooking and cleaning until I get a job to pay my debts off. Is this arrangement okay?"
Hao Ren waved his hands in order to show his generosity. "There’s no need for this. You’re being too kind…"
"I should uphold my pride as a member of the Blood Clan. I can’t stay and eat here for free without doing anything in return!" Vivian answered seriously.
Being straightforward, Lily joined the conversation. "You’re already broke, please stop being so proud of yourself. So by pride of the Blood Clan, you mean become someone’s maid in exchange for food?"
Hao Ren immediately grabbed a piece of biscuit and stuffed it into Lily’s hand to distract her, stopping her from continuing. "What a silly and stubborn werewolf! She says whatever that comes up at the top of her head! She shouldn’t have said that even if she wanted to pour salt on someone’s wounds!"
Hao Ren couldn’t help but be proud of himself as he saw a vampire preparing dinner for him in the kitchen and a werewolf guarding his house in the living room. Ever since Rollie came into his life, Hao Ren was the one doing the chores and it’s been a while that he felt so relaxed. Brushing off his worries, Hao Ren made himself a pot of tea and read the newspaper while he enjoyed the air conditioning; he imagined himself as someone who was all powerful, eating. On the other hand, Lily was hitting the TV (canines really knew how to make themselves at home) as she happily shouted, "Landlord! There’s TV signal now!"
Hao Ren’s heart sank as he recalled the brick half that went through the TV station. He realized that he was actually just a high-class nanny, a nanny with very low fighting abilities.
Hao Ren’s life would take another turn once Vivian served dinner.
Chapter 21: Nobody's Normal!
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Vivian preparing dinner in the kitchen was a shock to Hao Ren as she was 100% vampire. Look at the life of a vampire shown in TV shows: dressed in a black gown and red cape, living in a 20,000 square meter castle by the sea with plenty of slaves and treasure, a vampire sleeps from 6.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. A vampire drinks a bottle of 1982 vintage blood once awake and invites other creatures to party in the castle till midnight (this was called a ball); standing on the porch with a glass of red wine, the vampire will enjoy the sight of the moon until its time for bed. This is supposed to be the life of a vampire―exciting and grand but low profile. Apparently, broke Vivian was not part of that list: not only did she not need to drink fresh blood to survive, she could eat the noodles crudely made by Hao Ren. Plus, she was cooking using a stove…
Just thinking about all this was enough to make a person’s jaw drop.
As Vivian served the dishes that she prepared, Hao Ren realized that there were more surprises ahead!
Vivian’s cooking was not bad in general. However, the menu was peculiar: it consisted of stir-fried eggplant with garlic, green beans with minced garlic and noodles tossed with garlic paste―all prepared with the perfect combination of color, aroma and taste. The entire living room was filled with the pungent smell of garlic that Hao Ren felt like he was swimming in a sea of garlic. The so-called vampire was at a corner of the dining table, eating cloves of raw garlic… Even normal humans could not have coped with so much garlic!
Seeing this, Hao Ren and Lily were stunned. Both looked at Vivian from head to toe and simultaneously asked, "Are you really a vampire?"
Vivian’s expression immediately turned serious. "Please refer to me as a member of the Blood Clan. This is a very serious issue…"
"Stop being contentious!" Hao Ren shouted, unable to take in what he just saw. "So vamp….. the Blood Clan is not afraid of garlic? You’re eating garlic like rice!"
Looking at the dishes, Vivian came to understand the situation. "Oh, you meant this? Normal Blood Clan members are not fond of this and lowly vampires can get ill just by the scent of garlic. I’ve no idea why I’m like this… I just know that I’m unafraid of garlic. When life was hard, even getting a meal was an issue. Who would still be picky about the taste of their food?"
Hao Ren was tongue tied; touching his nose he asked, "I’ve been wanting to ask you this. Since you’re a vamp…. Blood Clan member, why are you so broke?"
"I’ve no idea. Ever since I can remember, I haven’t been lucky with money. When currency did not exist I lost things, when shells were used as currency I would lose the shells, when coins were used I’ll would lose the coins. Now, I always lose cash... It’s difficult looking for a job now or run a business. I was determined to rob someone last year but in the end, I took pity on her and gave her six British pounds of my own money instead…" Vivian threw her arms up as if accepting her bad luck which followed her from the past millennium. Whilst talking, a sense of delight flashed across Vivian’s face. Upon searching herself, she found a silver armlet. "I still have some valuable things with me. Look at this armlet. I didn’t have the heart to exchange it for money even when I was at my poorest. I found this armlet, which was made from pure silver in a village in Egypt a few hundred years ago. It even protects one from evil spirits."
Upon hearing this, Hao Ren was speechless.
Vivian then continued, taking out a necklace from her collar; a cross was dangling from the chain. "I got this near the Vatican when I was living in Europe for some time. I had my purse stolen, I lost my job and the place that I was living in caught fire. I could only work odd jobs in a church as I was penniless. The church priest gave me this as a gift since I was hardworking. He even said he blessed this necklace himself. It can also ward off evil spirits!"
"Then there’s this piece of wood I found near Mount Wutai. It was a gift from an old Taoist priest. It can also ward off evil spirits!"
"Also, I got this amulet from the Vikings a few hundred years ago after I did them a favor. It really works! It wards off evil spirits!"
"I’ve concluded that there’s a pattern: I’ll lose the money that’s with me. However, ever since humans used paper and coins as currency, I’ve never lost any of my other possessions…"
Hao Ren quietly put down his cutlery and pinched himself as hard as possible. Once he confirmed that he was not in a dream, he stared at Vivian and asked, "Please tell me again, are you really a vampire?!"
"How many times do I need to say this, call me a member of the Blood Clan instead of a vamp… Fine, forget it. You humans always get confused with this. Why are you concerned about this?"
Looking at the ‘vampire’ in front of him who was wearing a large number of amulets and protective accessories (she was just wearing a plain black dress so, how did she manage to carry a vast amount of accessories under her clothes?), Hao Ren felt like he would have a heart attack soon. "You need protection from evil spirits?!You’re considered one yourself! Those things you’re wearing alone could kill hundreds of vampires!"
"I have no clue," Vivian answered indignantly. "Well, I’m not afraid of these things! And maybe they can help ward off my bad luck. Even if they don’t do that, they make me braver."
Lily only raised her head once she finished the food in her bowl. "As a vampire, you should feel embarrassed if you need to wear a cross to feel brave."
The silly werewolf was not stunned from Vivian’s abnormal ways at all. Her focal point was indeed peculiar…
They finished dinner in a weird mood and Hao Ren felt that he got to know a new Vivian. Not only was this vampire a broke one, she was not afraid of garlic, silver and the cross itself. She was not even afraid of those objects that warded off evil spirits. She had at least a few pounds worth of these items on her to help ward off her bad luck―a few pounds!
This peculiar group welcomed its first peaceful and normal day as everyone went about their own business after dinner. There was a human landlord (also a worker of the Space Administration), a silly werewolf, a broke vampire and last but not least a black and white cat named Rollie. Hao Ren could not help but feel that it was a miracle for the lot of them to be able to live under the same roof.
Lily was squatting in the living room watching TV. Yes, squatting. She was squatting like a dog and Rollie was beside her. Both looked like siblings. Lily was finally getting used to Rollie. Although still fidgety and would jump aside if she was in Rollie’s way, at least she was not hiding at the back of the sofa anymore.
Feeling energetic, Vivian went out for a stroll. As a nocturnal creature, Vivian’s biological clock was most active after sunset. She decided that she would fly back to the city, hoping to find a job... Hao Ren had a rough idea why the vampire was broke and had difficulty in her job hunt. Was it that hard to adjust her biological clock? Who’s that crazy to look for a job at three in the morning?
As Vivian transformed into a bat and disappeared into the dark night, Hao Ren took out a deck chair. He then proceeded to sit at an empty area outside his house. It was a secluded area and along with it was an exceptionally quiet environment. In front of the apartment was a large vacant lot that no one used. Thus, it had become Hao Ren’s property over the years. It was a habit of Hao Ren’s to sit there and feel the cool breeze while in deep thought. This natural environment was healthier than sitting in the house with air conditioning.
Of course, his main intention was actually to avoid spending time with Lily alone for fear that his intelligence may be affected… The silly werewolf was watching dog feed commercials on TV! Hao Ren felt that even if he hid himself in his bedroom and was segregated by a wall, he would still lose a third of his intelligence!
Summer nights in the north were cooler than the south. Reclining on the deck chair in his usual spot and listening to the indistinctive sounds of insects at night, Hao Ren started to feel sleepy.
In his semiconscious, state, Hao Ren felt an unfamiliar blow of wind on his cheek.
The gust of wind was refreshing yet slightly cold. It was not the type of wind that came from the hustle and bustle of humans in a modern city. This gust of wind woke Hao Ren up completely. He jumped to his feet and folded the deck chair.
However, he already had a look of his strange surroundings.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
10 Power
stone 
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