Ever since becoming a disciple of the vampire Judite, my life took a strange turn.
She had created several hideouts within the dungeon, and depending on her mood for the day, she would choose where to sleep. However, each hideout had only one bed, so we slept separately in different hideouts.
As for her dietary habits, being a vampire, she favored blood. But it didn't necessarily have to be human blood; apparently, she could enjoy monster blood just as much. So, after hunting monsters, she would drain their blood and drink it.
"Alright, the blood is ready."
Since becoming her disciple, my job was to provide her with monster blood. I would carefully pour the blood, squeezed from the meat, into a teacup and offer it to her.
"Well, you always go through so much trouble."
When I first saw it, her teacup contained blood, not tea. It seemed that Judite had a preference for drinking blood from a teacup.
"It truly is exquisite."
She said so and, grabbing the teacup's handle, emptied it. Her face wore an expression of satisfaction. Honestly, I had never had any desire to drink blood, but she made it look so delicious.
"Kiska, is tonight's dinner ready?"
"Well, I've just grilled some monster meat."
Vampire Judite can apparently maintain her health as long as she can drink blood. However, not having a regular meal leaves her feeling hungry.
"It's steak made from monster meat."
"It seems it's similar to what we had yesterday."
"Well, I can't help it. We're running low on seasoning. No matter what, it ends up being the same."
In the dungeon, monster meat wasn't scarce, but we lacked the seasonings to flavor it. Therefore, the cooking was straightforward. Grill the meat, season it with pepper, and it's done. We used magic stones, which could be easily obtained from monsters, as fuel for the fire.
"Also, I defeated the Crawling Tree Dryad today, so there's a salad."
"Eww, I can't say I'm fond of salads made from Crawling Tree Dryads."
"It's necessary; you need to eat vegetables to avoid malnutrition."
"But I'm a vampire, so nutrition is irrelevant to me."
"Well, in that case, I'll eat it alone."
In reality, vampires seemed to have no nutritional issues as long as they drank blood. However, for a human like me, consuming vegetables was crucial. In the closed environment of the dungeon, the diet was inevitably skewed toward monster meat. The solution to this was the Crawling Tree Dryad, a savior that could provide some variety.
Crawling Tree Dryads had plenty of leaves on their branches, which provided the essential vitamins often lacking in my diet. However, these leaves were incredibly bitter and unpleasant. Occasionally, there were Crawling Tree Dryads that bore fruit. If we happened to find one with fruits, it would lead to a rivalry with Judite. I once had a terrible experience with that.
"It really doesn't taste good, does it?"
"Well, it's because we're running low on seasonings."
If only we had some cheese or tomato sauce, we could enjoy a much more varied cuisine.
"If we could go outside the dungeon; we might be able to get the seasonings we need."
Judite had mentioned previously that she hadn't been outside the dungeon for nearly 50 years. As a result, the furniture in the hideouts had been acquired 50 years ago and had deteriorated in places.
"Still, it's quite challenging to leave the dungeon as things stand."
"Once, Judite-sama was able to freely come and go from the dungeon, right?"
"Yes, that's correct. Inside the dungeon, you never get to see the sun, and the dampness suited vampires well."
"But why can't you leave the dungeon now?"
"Someone destroyed the teleportation array."
"A teleportation array…"
Suddenly, the teleportation array that had been the reason for me entering this dungeon came to mind. The teleportation array connected from the outside to the entire dungeon, but it was a one-way passage, and you couldn't use it to leave the dungeon.
"There was a secret teleportation array that allowed me to move freely between the inside and outside of the dungeon. I used it to come and go freely."
"There was something like that?"
"Yes, it was a secret teleportation array that only I knew about, but 50 years ago, someone destroyed it. Thanks to that, I got stranded inside the dungeon like this."
"Is it really that difficult to defeat the dungeon boss and leave?"
"Yes, it is. I can't defeat it on my own."
So, even a vampire like Judite can't defeat this monster. I wonder what kind of creature it is.
"Do you have any idea who might have destroyed the teleportation array?"
"No, I have no clue."
Judite muttered in a resigned tone. The teleportation array had been destroyed by someone. What could have been their motive for destroying it?
"No, I have one possible lead," she said, as if recalling something.
"I suspect it might be the one who sealed Agetha in this dungeon. To ensure Agetha couldn't escape from this dungeon, they destroyed the teleportation array just to be safe."
As soon as the word Agetha left her lips, my heart began to race.
"Do you know Agetha, Judite-sama?"
"…Actually, I'm surprised that you know about Agetha. Her deeds date back quite a while."
She wore a curious expression.
"I've heard a little about her in rumors. There's a story about a girl sealed in this dungeon."
"Well, she's quite a remarkable figure."
"Is that so…?"
"Yes, she's the hero who defeated the Demon King."
Upon hearing those words, I was shocked. The story of the Demon King being defeated by a hero over a hundred years ago is common knowledge among humans. Wait, I've never heard of a hero named Agetha. In the history I know, the one who defeated the Demon King is said to be a hero named Eligion. And it's not just me; the name of Eligion is a famous one known by all humans in this world.
"Kiska, is something wrong?"
"No, it's just that the history I know is different. In my country, it's said that the Demon King was defeated by a hero named Eligion."
"Eligion? I've never heard that name… Well, I've heard that there were several heroes, so maybe he was one of them."
"By the way, why is Agetha sealed in this dungeon?"
It had been something I had been curious about for a while. Why was Agetha sealed in this dungeon?
"I don't know that much about it. But I suppose it might have been due to human conflicts, and she got sealed away for some reason."
Well, she's a vampire detached from the human world, so it's understandable if she doesn't know.
"However, I have one piece of advice. Please, never attempt to release her seal. I can't even begin to imagine what might happen."
I had no idea why the vampire Judite was saying this.
"Understood, I won't do anything to release her."
I nodded in agreement