What would happen when a human was deprived of food for a month and someone appeared with the most delicious meal they had ever tasted?
Desperation.
That said,
Her expression wasn't what I anticipated.
"Do you want to deceive me?"
It seemed even after tasting my blood, she retained a shred of reason.
Well, it wasn't as if it mattered either way.
Once you were addicted, it was for life.
"If you think I'm trying to deceive you, my lady…" My voice was calm, devoid of any emotion. "Then I believe we can end all future dealings here."
"What?"
I continued, shifting my gaze away from her figure seated on my lap.
"It's my blood, isn't it? Even if you are a princess, you can't compel me to bring it out."
I was the legendary programmer.
And I had also been part of a criminal organization.
I opened my mouth and pointed inside it.
"If you try to force me, I'll swallow the poison hidden in my mouth and die."
It was a bluff, but she didn't know that.
With a faint smile, I asked,
"Do you think you can live without tasting my blood again?"
The answer was obvious.
I was already in control of everything before we even began.
Valentina clenched her teeth.
It seemed even she had realized I was attempting to swindle her.
But did it matter?
If the only seller of water in a desert asked for $10 for a cup, you would still pay.
'Now tell me your answer, princess.'
"Fifteen."
"Hm…"
Valentina stared at me with moist eyes. "I will give you fifteen bags of mana stones per week, and I will grant you one favor per month."
What?
That easy?
It was certainly an unexpected development, but it seemed she wasn't finished.
"In exchange…" she continued, "you will allow me to drink your blood three times a week, and you will put your well-being and life above all else."
'Wow, she's already considering my life.'
Her words made me feel strangely reassured.
Yet at the same time, unsettled.
I was sure she would protect me, but how she would do it still mattered.
Plus, her words made me sound like some livestock.
However, I still nodded.
"I can agree to that, but I will decide when you're allowed to bite."
The cute pink-haired girl nodded. "Okay~"
Her words lingered for a moment, as if she were waiting for me to respond further.
After a pause, she asked,
"So, can I take another sip?"
I exhaled. "Go ahead, but you'd better drop the fifteen bags with it."
Valentina pursed her lips and smiled. "Deal."
Without wasting a second her lips sank into me again.
The pain was sharp, like a thousand needles piercing my skin.
Still, my expression didn't change.
And Valentina?
She seemed to be enjoying my suffering too.
'It hasn't even been three hours since I transmigrated.'
If there was something like a damned transmigration, then this would be it.
It was a familiar feeling.
Being thrown into the most absurd situations.
If I were to count how many times my former crewmates had dragged me through hell...
I shut my eyes.
'Stop thinking about the past.'
It was an unspoken rule in the underworld to let the dead rest.
Breaking this rule was like disrespecting them.
They were my loved ones, and those I cherished.
But they were also gone.
That was the undeniable truth.
Valentina's soft lips brushing against my skin snapped me out of my thoughts.
That was when I realized.
"Hey, do you want to kill me!"
It seemed I realized too late.
Valentina, however, just pulled back and stared at me with confused eyes.
I stared back at her.
Was she trying to use cuteness to manipulate me?
Did she think I was that easy?
"Tsk."
Seeing my irritation and noticing my pale skin, she rested her head on my chest as if trying to nudge me.
"I will give you vegetables so don't worry."
Huh?
Did she just say she would compensate me with vegetables because I was poor?
"That will be five extra bags…"
Those words slipped from my mouth before I knew it.
Valentina lifted her face, keeping it just inches from mine.
"Don't you want money instead?"
Money was indeed necessary, but…
"Can you move your face first?"
"Hmm…"
Her eyes narrowed. "Tell me…" she whispered softly. "Are you into guys instead of girls?"
"What?" My jaw almost dropped. "Where did you get that idea?"
She tapped a finger on her cheek.
"Well…"
After a pause, she replied,
"A girl is sitting on your lap, and your face is inches from hers, but you're still calm."
She gasped. "Is it EMP?"
My face went flat.
Was she being serious now?
If I got aroused because of her, I would have immediately jumped off another roof.
I let out an exasperated sigh. "You look like a younger sister to me, my lady."
Valentina pouted. "As my livesto… I mean my bestie… Uhmm… never mind."
The pink-haired girl climbed down from me and sat on the bed.
The moment she did, laughter burst from her lips.
Then she grinned at me.
"I am happy, peasant."
She raised one finger and pointed at me.
"Just know the saintess of the holy empire and the cutest person alive owes you a favor."
More like dumbest person.
That was what I could have said if I had the power and backing.
But it was still good.
Having the saintess owe me a favor and grant a single wish of mine each month was more than enough payment for my blood.
Though a part of me still felt like I was getting scam...
Badump.
A sharp strain lanced through my chest.
Argh…
My breath hitched, shallow and uneven, as if the air itself had turned heavy.
The world swam, my vision warping at the edges.
'Seems the blood drain is catching up to me.'
And it seemed because of it my immune system was failing...
Wait…
It hadn't crossed my mind until now.
But if runes were really just a bunch of codes, did that mean anyone with mana had something like a firewall?
If they didn't, wouldn't that make anyone with a status effect or curse ability ridiculously overpowered?
A firewall was like a computer's immune system, a shield that blocked unknown threats from entering the body.
And if hunters' bodies did change when they awakened, that meant they wouldn't have a traditional immune system.
Instead, their mana would form an automatic firewall using runes that protected them from most mental and health-related attacks.
So if anyone with mana wanted to tamper with their codes, they had to bypass that wall.
At first, I hadn't worried about this because Allen was just a normal human.
But now I could somehow sense it: Allen had both mana and a firewall in him, and the thing holding him back was a virus.
Then if I wanted to form my core or force my awakening, I'd have to break through my own wall.
Questions kept piling up.
Who put a virus in him?
What kind of status effect was it?
Why target a nobody like Allen instead of the protagonist?
Did someone find out he had the rare blood that the saintess and protagonist needed and decide to interfere?
I didn't know the answers. All I knew was the current state of my system.
This world was filled with mana.
Mana I couldn't sense.
I had tried before.
But it always ended in failure.
Even if I wanted to destroy the viruses blocking my awakening, I had to break through my firewall.
And adding foreign mana to my body didn't guarantee I would break it.
The sting in my heart only grew stronger.
It twisted and squeezed.
The pain was unbearable.
Valentina seemed to have noticed my condition and crawled to my side.
Now.
It had to be now.
"Hey Val..."
Valentina looked up at me with teary eyes. "Yeah bestie, don't die."
I clicked my tongue. "I'm not planning on dying you idiot."
I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes for a moment before snapping them open again.
"Hey Val..." I called out to her again.
It was now or never...
"Why don't you give me that favour now?"
My firewall had been breached.