บท 144: Chapter 141: Lady and the Brawler

"Okay, Noire, let's do it. I'll help you out," I said after thinking it over.

"You really mean it?!" Noire exclaimed with excitement.

I held a finger up, stopping her from getting too excited, "One last thing I need to ask, though. I know you'll want to keep that Demon King thing between us, but how willing are you to let me bring up this situation to the rest of my party?"

"As long as it's kept between you and them, I won't mind. I want to trust in them as much as I trust you," Noire answered before giving a beaming smile.

"Alright, cool. Now, moving forward, it might still be wise that we gain some reinforcements, or at least have someone trustworthy on the inside looking into what's going on between Rowling and your dad. Do you know anyone that could probably help us?" I asked.

Noire looked up in thought, "Hmm … not to sound rude, but I'm not confident in putting my trust in Beelzebub right now, despite our history. My little sister could help us, though. She's always looked up to me. I'd rather not risk putting her in a lot of danger if I can help it, but I'm certain she'll be happy to help me if I ask her. Also, I'd like to inform the Demon King of what's going on between me and Rowling, too, but it will be difficult sending a messenger over if they're going to get killed off again. Unless you've been to Korangar before and can use [Portal] to help send a message in secret, despite the MP it will take to travel such a long way from here, we can actually get somewhere."

<Hey, about that, [Portal] only works when the user has a good memory of the place they've been to before, right?> Nyra asked me.

<That's right.>

<Alright, I'll trust you on this one,> I answered to Nyra before relaying her message to Noire.

"Hmm … well, you've proven to be full of surprises, so if you know a way around it, then I'll go ahead and come up with something for the letter. Do you still have Tyvera's Messaging Crystal?" Noire asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, I have it in my [Storage] right now." The Messaging Crystal, by the way, is what Tyvera and Gabriella used to communicate long-distances before their ruse got caught. I confiscated Tyvera's so I could send that warning to Gabriella just yesterday. I didn't know what else to do with it, but I figured it might come in handy later, so I kept it for safekeeping.

"And I still have the one I confiscated from Gabriella," Noire informed, "Why don't you keep yours on you and I'll contact you when I have another moment of privacy? We'll initiate the secret message sendoff then."

"Sounds good. Now, there's another thing I'd like settled that's a little more personal between us," I said.

Noire fixed her sitting position on my lap, getting comfortable, "I'm listening."

"Personally, while I do have an interest in getting to know you as well, and I'm for us taking it slow, I still feel a little guilty of not giving you that chance to taste my blood. Is there a way I can give it to you that doesn't involve biting me, since the act is so significant to your race as Vampires?"

Noire blinked in surprise, "You're willing to let me taste your blood?"

"If you're okay with not biting me, that is. If the two of us work well together, I want to put a raincheck on that bite until a special moment calls for it, you know? And …" I trailed off, putting my hands on the Vampire's waist as she sat on my lap, keeping my eyes focused on hers, "Speaking as a human, though I never thought of doing it to someone else before, if it means a lot to you, Noire, I'm … willing to bite you and suck your blood as well. I don't have [Magic Fangs], unfortunately, so I don't know how much effort I'll need to do it on your neck, nor do I know if it will hurt worse than a Vampire's bite, but—hah?!"

Noire interrupted me by putting both thumbs in my mouth and spread my lips open, baring my teeth. She was unusually focused on inspecting my mouth, like a well-trained dentist doing an oral checkup.

"Hmmmm …" the Vampire hummed as she gently pressed her thumbs on each of my canines, "I've not seen a human's mouth before, but all of your canines, both on top and bottom, are surprisingly bigger and sharper than I imagined."

"Ish dah goo?" I asked with her fingers still in my mouth.

"Oh, yes, a Vampire's teeth is their very livelihood, the cleaner and sharper they look makes the owner all the more attractive and compatible as a mate. You wouldn't want jagged, filthy teeth sinking in your own skin, would you?" Noire asked, "With these teeth of yours, though you don't have the [Magic Fangs] skill, you should still be able to bite into me if you have a high enough ATK stat."

Considering how much they put significance into biting their spouse, I guess it would make sense for a Vampire to put teeth in the highest priority of their hygiene. {Wonder if they have dentistry in this world? And if they do, would Vampires make excellent dentists?}

"It's not surprising for a Vampire wife to either have two or four holes in her neck. It would actually show just how compelling her husband is if there are more than two on the same side. The thought of yours managing to pull that off has gotten me more excited to be bitten," Noire said before baring her own brilliantly white teeth, her fangs standing out with long, sharp, pointed tips while the lower canines were barely little bumps, "You would normally see us females with only two fangs to leave holes with, and as you can see, mine are in the perfect condition for a clean, smooth bite."

Knowing I might get bitten with such teeth sooner or later, I had an anticipating shiver run down my spine.

"More traditional Vampires would say a couple should wait until marriage to give each other the first bite," Noire then said before shrugging her shoulders, "Those in my generation, however, despite denying it when questioned, would still do it earlier then, and I honestly don't mind that. Saving our first bites for that special moment sounds like a wonderful idea, Jinma, so let's do that for the time being.

"Going back to your question …" Noire trailed off as she looked down and thought, "I've heard some couples in my generation have blatantly cut small wounds on themselves and taste each other that way, using the excuse of 'disinfecting the wound' to justify the action. I guess so long as the wound's not made with our teeth, anything goes, really."

{Why do I feel like I'm hearing a sex ed lecture for Vampires? Is this like a form of 'protection' for them, but half a step backwards? Well, if Noire says it's fine, then …}

I then unsheathed my tanto, but Noire gripped my wrist that had the blade, stopping me, "W-Wait! We're doing this now?! Are you really sure about this?! Doesn't this weapon leave a permanent scar?!"

"Yeah, but I'm just going to nick my finger," I answered calmly, "It will hardly be noticeable and you've seen my other scars already, it's not a big deal to me."

"... I'm sorry, I'm just oddly nervous for some reason," Noire said while looking down with uncertainty, "I've heard and read stuff about this countless times, but being in the moment now is overwhelming me, somehow."

"Hmm … will my blood be the first you've tasted?" I asked, "And out of curiosity, have you not had sex yet?"

Noire blushed a bit and only nodded in response.

{If tasting a person's blood and sex are on a similar scale of significance for Vampires, then Noire must be having the first time jitters. Can't really blame her for feeling this way, I was nervous in my first time with Ume, too, despite how much I've read into it beforehand.}

Deciding to take the lead, I rested a hand on Noire's shoulder and smiled a little, "We can put this off for another time, if you want, there's no rush. I don't have a taste for blood, myself, but I'm willing to give you mine at any time."

"... No, I want to do it now," Noire said after thinking about it, looking determined, "There may not be many chances after we leave this room, so I want to take what I can get. I apologize that you'll have to injure yourself, but I'd like to taste your blood now, please." She then released her death grip on my wrist that had the tanto, giving me permission.

"Alright, one moment," I said before setting the black blade against my left index finger, and with as much ease as a scalpel on skin, a clean, deep cut was made. I flinched a little at the tinge of pain that came, but got over it quickly. Soon, a large red bead was forming over the cut.

"Ready when you are," I said while showing my blood to her.

Noire swallowed her nervousness and took both her shaky hands to hold mine, "Well … thank you for the meal." Then, like ripping a bandage, she quickly shoved my finger in her mouth with her eyes clenched shut.

Moments later, the Vampire's eyes opened wide and stared into space.

"... Noire? You okay?" I asked.

"Hmmm …" Noire hummed, her amethyst eyes relaxing before turning cloudy with dilated pupils. Then, to my surprise, I felt her tongue swirling around my finger still in her mouth.

<Holy shit, Noire's really getting into it! She's turned on like a stove set on high!> Nyra exclaimed.

"Uh … how does it taste?" I asked Noire, feeling weird with how she's licking my finger. I wasn't even sure if she registered my question.

"Mmph …" Noire moaned before bobbing her head back and forth, then swirling her tongue all over my digit. She held my hand with a surprisingly strong grip for someone with such a feminine frame as she tried to get every drop of my blood possible. Her finger licks quickly became more erotic and looking more like a blowjob. I felt the sensations of the Vampire's hot and moist tongue running over my finger coursing through my body. My dick quickly hardened underneath her butt that she started grinding on my lap. The insides of her mouth closed in and provided a vacuumed pressure around me, adding into the experience. To top it all off, her normally porcelain white face was tinted red.

{Crap, this is the hottest I've seen of her yet,} I concluded in my mind, {As much as I want to spoil Noire like this more, I should probably stop here so we can get back to the others. They're probably wondering where we are, especially Yukino if she's still trying to listen in from outside.}

"Okay, Noire, let's finish off here for now, we need to get back to the others," I said before prying my finger away from her mouth with more force than necessary.

Noire was in a daze momentarily before finally coming to her senses, her tinted face becoming redder out of embarrassment, "Oh, goodness, how ridiculous did I look?"

"You looked hotter than ridiculous, like you were really enjoying yourself. Did my blood really taste that good?" I asked while closing the wound on my finger with the [Heal] spell.

"It was … the tastiest thing I ever had, my mind was even up and over the moon without a care in the world," she answered, "Maybe this was what being high on a drug feels like. If that's the case, I'm going to get addicted to this very quickly."

"Guess that means you can't really live without me now, huh?" I asked jokingly before chuckling, "Well, we should get back to the others before they wonder where we've been."

"W-Wait!" Noire exclaimed, grabbing my shoulders to stop me, "You gave me such an experience with your blood, and I feel so happy and relieved to know you're willing to help me. I don't know if all my savings will be enough to pay back all these things you've given me. I'd also feel terrible of us leaving without you having even a fraction of what I had after drinking your blood. Is there something you want that I could—hmm?!"

As a playful sneak attack, I pressed my lips against her own mid sentence. I also ran my hands down her back and under her skirt to get a feel of her ass. I've been entranced in her derriere since I first saw it exposed by Ume's wind earlier. Feeling its cushiony softness while molding it in my hands gave me more reason to appreciate its exotic splendor.

"Hmm …" Noire hummed in delight, despite her initial shock, before relaxing and pulled herself to me in a passionate embrace. Her pillow-soft tits pressed themselves between us as our kiss became more intense.

After what felt like ten to fifteen seconds, both of us pulled our lips back, parting them with a smack and riding the subtle high that came with it.

"... No fair. You took my first kiss without warning, you jerk," Noire rebutted before sulking with a reddened face. She didn't seem all that mad, though.

"You like my surprises, don't you? I'm just following through my quota. As for your means to pay me back … why don't we make that kiss the premium payment of taking all your other firsts as my girl, moving forward?" I asked before giving a mischievous smirk.

After hearing my offer with surprise, Noire got over her sulk rather quickly as she giggled. She then gave a bright, blushing smile that made her feminine beauty shine radiantly. This was probably the best smile I've seen from her yet, and one I'd like to always see on her pretty face.

"You better be ready then, darling, because I'll be wanting to suck you dry when I have the chance," Noire said boldly.

"I hope it's not just my blood that you'll be sucking," I answered coyly.

"I think we can work something out."

We then came in for another passionate kiss. In my mind, Nyra's yelling and screaming for my success in snagging the Vampire Lady, Noire Scarletine Krauss.

As I thought of the crazy future that lies ahead of us, a few notice boxes appeared in my mind.

[[Noire Scarletine Krauss' Affinity is now unlocked. Current level of Affinity: LV 1; Total Affinity Level: 12]]

[[Your Charm for Demons has increased.]]

{Oh yeah, this is a thing, isn't it?}

As part of my benefits as a Champion, any newly-formed, intimate relationships I make with girls, I gain an 'Level of Affinity' with them. It shows that the two of us have opened up to each other and grown close enough to make this possible, and the higher levels allow me new skills, abilities, or other benefits. The combined total of the current levels I'm at with all my bonded girls is my 'Total Affinity Level', and reaching benchmarks will also land me new abilities and other benefits that are exclusive to me as a Champion. So far, I've made such a connection with all the girls in my party, except Mametama, but maybe Familiars don't count?

Still, seeing this box that involves Noire gave me hope that things may work out between us in the future, but then it made me realize something I didn't think about until now: the fact that I haven't seen this notice box involving Sue yet.

Things are complicated right now to make me suspicious of her, but if I put that aside, I thought we had grown pretty close before she revealed some of herself, especially with how willing she was to make me feel good last night. Since I didn't see a notice box at any point during that time, she was careful of not giving too much of herself away from the beginning. Moreover, she was fully aware of my identity as a Champion, despite limiting myself from releasing that information to everyone in my party.

The only exception was Winny, the Arch Imp Priestess who helped summon my Familiars in Dondegarm, as well as vouching for me to become an adventurer as a black rank. Keeping my Champion identity a secret is part of her duty as a Holy Bishop and she seemed to have a lot of integrity, so I'm confident I could trust her in following through with her word.

For Sue to have known me for being a Champion from the start, she must have some kind of appraisal type of skill or ability to see through the tricks I've pulled to hide my status' true values. She's also being very careful of keeping her real identity secret, especially since I can't see her status with my [Size Up] skill. {Thinking back, I did see Noire's and Kalline's full names after making an affinity with them. Is it possible that Sue knows what will happen if she gets close enough to me as a Champion? If that is the case, then how much does she know about Champions, and what is it about her identity that she's trying so hard to keep me from knowing?}

It seems that even though she's not in the room, more questions about the fake Arch Imp, Sue, continue to sprout sporadically. I have to see what other stuff she's willing to share so I can get a better idea of who, or what, I'm dealing with.

Author's Post-Chapter Note: Way earlier in the story, I had more 'Affinity' benefits for Jinma to gain when forming new relationships with girls, 'Affinity Skills' with the use of their 'Affinity Points (AP)' being one of them. Since the story's progressed to where I have no need for them and haven't even mentioned the mechanic for a while, I'm going to stop applying the benefit here and make note of it as a retcon when I go back to fix and polish earlier chapters. I still think some aspects of the 'Affinity' system can play a good role in the story as it has shown in this chapter, so I'll try to keep making use of it when I can while moving forward, but I figure I should let you guys know ahead of time.

I also realized I haven't updated a few of the girls' Affinity Levels after their progression with Jinma, Kalline and Tyvera, along with maybe a few other benefits gained from them. At this point in time, both of them are at LV 2 in Affinity with Jinma, and so here's where all the girls are at right now:

Umeiyon: LV 3

Ren: LV 2

Erizora: LV 2

Kalline: LV 2

Tyvera: LV 2

Noire: LV 1

After putting all the girls' levels together to make the Total Affinity Level, we come to 12 as stated in this chapter. I would have given Jinma the next Champion-exclusive ability after reaching 10, but again, I had forgotten to keep track of it, hence why I'm pointing out that notice here. I'll probably make use of this blunder and apply it to something later, though. I apologize for the confusion and I'll go back to make the proper fixes to the story plot later. I'll also try to look over more unused mechanics/Chekhov's Guns I've mentioned in earlier chapters and make note to take them out in the retcon as well.

This is the first original story I've ever released on the web and I pretty much jumped right in without much of a plan or outline to start with, which is why you see the earlier chapters as messy as they are now. Unlike Great Sage that I'm currently rewriting for a reboot, I don't have an editor to help fix some grammar mistakes and keep track of some of the lore and plot I may have forgotten in OP Brawler. I'm not looking to hire another one for this story as I'm trying to scrounge up what money I can to pay the editor looking over Great Sage with me. I just can't afford the extra help right now and I'd hate to have them help me without proper compensation in exchange, so please don't approach me offering your services.

Thank you very much for understanding and I hope you have a fantastic day.