Chapter 20 : Vampire Land of dreams and hopes

After the introductory video of the former Demon Monarch’s Castle and the staff member’s tour, the Demon Monarch smiled with satisfaction.

“The newly built Demon Monarch’s Castle is several times larger and grander than that old one. If you wish, I shall personally guide you through it.”
“Ah, yeah. I’ll visit sometime. What did our client, Kinnikos, think?”

“A good impression. It reminds me of the old castle before it became a ruin. It’s even taller and grander than the original, so if we install it in the fortress, it would be a good choice for the progenitor’s castle.”
“Hee hee, of course. Although it’s not as good as the newly built Demon Monarch’s Castle, it’s the castle that served me for hundreds of years.”

The Demon Monarch nodded as if it were obvious, smiling confidently as if no better property could possibly follow.

It was a Demon Monarch’s Castle, after all.

The castle where the master of all demons, ruler of half the world, the Demon Realm, resided. Naturally, it wasn’t comparable to some mere castle in the Human Realm.

And so, the first property introduction ended.

“Now! Let’s see the next property. Connect the video!”

[“Greetings! Oh, Great One! I am currently in the Tutankhamun Desert, in the red sand region.”]

The location of the second property was a desert filled with red sand.

A hot, dry desert with nothing but sand stretching to the horizon.

It was hard to imagine there would be a building suitable for a luxurious vampire fortress in such a place.

“The Tutankhamun Desert? Isn’t that where the desert nomads live? Are there any buildings there that would suit the Fortress of Shadows?”
[“The Hero, a follower of the Great One, provided information about a structure buried here. So, with the help of the magic tool you provided, we’ve been excavating. And we have just unearthed a massive city befitting the Great One’s majesty.”]

“Hmm?”

And…

The camera panned away from the devil worshipper…

…And showed the other side of the endless sand desert.

What stood there…

“…Huh?”
[“An ancient civilization said to have perished tens of thousands of years ago! The City of the Pharaoh!”]

An ancient city adorned with gold and limestone.

A great ancient civilization buried for ages under the desert sand.

[“We have moved all the red sand to the wasteland using the power of the magic tool. We will restore the desert later if you command it.”]
“No, there’s no need for that…?”

The City of the Pharaoh.

I had only read about it in books; I never thought I would actually see it. With my inventory, excavating it would have been possible, but… I hadn’t even imagined the insane act of putting all the desert sand into my inventory.

‘I thought I had enjoyed all the content this world had to offer, but it seems I lacked madness.’

Indeed, extracting an entire city was more efficient than extracting a few castles.

The scale seemed similar to the Fortress of Shadows, and if the fortress grounds were too small, I could just expand them. The northern arctic was overflowing with wasteland anyway.

Having finished my assessment, I nodded.

“Impressive. Kinnikos, what do you think?”
“The city’s style doesn’t quite match the atmosphere of the Fortress of Shadows, but… considering the growing vampire population, the scale is good. Vampires are essentially immortal, so their population rarely decreases. It’s a very long-term perspective. And seeing all that gold, it looks like there are plenty of treasures inside as well.”

“Oh. Then, shall we hear from our panelists?”
“Hmm, it’s not bad, but doesn’t a city like that have archaeological value? Humans would also covet that city and the treasures within. Wouldn’t there be complaints from the Human Realm? In that sense, my castle will be abandoned anyway, so there will be no complaints. Also, I am currently reforming the Demon Realm with Mana Stone capital, so more unused buildings will become available. I can supply them continuously.”

The Demon Monarch raised her voice, sounding slightly displeased.

Her argument was actually quite reasonable.

But…

The Saint’s rebuttal immediately following weakened the Demon Monarch’s claims.

“There won’t be any complaints from the Human Realm.”
“Hmm?”

“The City of the Pharaoh… isn’t that the city of heretics that was destroyed by God’s wrath? Anyone who covets the cursed gold wouldn’t be looked upon favorably by the Church, and it would be more reassuring for the Church if it went to the vampires who live in the shadows. The archaeological value of the ruins can be addressed by sending archaeologists to the vampire city to conduct research.”
“Well, the Church’s influence in the Human Realm is significant.”

“…Tsk, I don’t like that god.”
“Hee hee, why don’t you join the Church, Demon Monarch?”

“I refuse. I have no interest in being tortured by holy power.”

The Demon Monarch grumbled and leaned back in her chair.

While the Demon Monarch’s Castle was more grand and splendid as a single building, the ‘City of the Pharaoh’ was overwhelmingly larger in overall scale.

“Then let’s move on to the next property introduction!”

And…

[“Greetings! Oh, Great One! As commanded, I have discovered an ancient temple dedicated to the Great One!”]

Several more absurd properties were introduced.

Finally, Marcohoff, the merchant of the Empire, appeared in person, offering to provide all necessary amenities.

And so…

“Okay. That’s all! Everyone, good work on the broadcast.”

The first home renovation variety show ended successfully.

[“Hello, friends! The first part of Mage Broadcast’s first video variety show has ended. The second part will be audio-only, as usual.”]

[“And we’ll be selecting a few viewers who send in stories today and giving away residency rights to the newly built ‘Vampire Fortress’ as a gift. Anyone interested in eternal youth, all-night parties, and secret rendezvous in the shadows, send in your stories!”]

[“Of course, if you don’t want to become a vampire, you can resell the residency rights. I lived as a vampire for a few years, and not being able to go out in the sunlight was surprisingly tiring. Is that why vampires always sleep in coffins?”]

[“Then, I’ll play a song and we’ll start the second part.”]

The Empire.

Marcohoff Trading Company.

“Hmm… eternal youth.”

A boom for ‘Vampire Fortress residency rights’ was occurring among the wealthy of the world, causing another Mana Stone shortage, but Marcohoff wasn’t interested in the competition.

Or rather, he didn’t need to be interested.

He had already received enough residency rights in exchange for sponsoring the amenities needed by the Archmage.

Moreover, he had accumulated a large stockpile of Mana Stones by providing all sorts of materials and luxury goods to the Demon Realm, so his wealth was increasing exponentially.

“I’m not very keen on this.”

What Marcohoff was currently pondering was how to use the ‘residency rights’ he held.

He had no intention of becoming a vampire himself.

Marcohoff was a merchant, and a merchant’s role was to sell luxury goods to the wealthy, not to indulge in luxury himself. Marcohoff loved money. An abyss-like greed, beyond the imagination of ordinary people, controlled him.

“The best option would be to sell them to nobles who desire youth, but… I’m not keen on that either.”

The source of the vampires’ endless wealth was selling ‘youth’ to the wealthy.

Before the fortress was destroyed, countless wealthy individuals who ruled the world flocked to the fortress, bringing gold and wine, it was said.

So Marcohoff could have employed a similar method, but…

It wasn’t enough. After all, the moment he sold the residency rights, that person would become a ‘vampire.’ They would give up their power and authority in the Human Realm and enter the fortress, making it difficult to extract continuous profit.

“Vampires live forever. So the price I receive must also be eternal wealth and power for it to be worthwhile.”

Marcohoff was truly a greedy merchant.

His remaining lifespan was only a few decades unless he became a vampire, yet he still yearned for eternal gold.

And…

“As expected, it’s best to send our songstresses.”

Marcohoff knew that, ultimately, people were the eternal source of wealth.

“If eternal beauty and youth, and the passion of the night… are given to talented songstresses, it will surely lead to a golden blessing.”

Marcohoff, drawing blueprints in his mind, was certain.

“Idols for a thousand years, culture for a thousand years, beauty for a thousand years…”

This… was money.

“Bring me passionate songstresses who wish to sing every day, forever, endlessly.”

“Yes!”

The moment the world’s first vampire idol group…

…Millennium Idols Lunar Night…

…appeared on the continent.

[“We’ll be selecting a few viewers who send in stories today and giving away ‘Vampire Fortress’ residency rights as a gift. Anyone interested in eternal youth, all-night parties, or secret rendezvous in the shadows, send in your stories!”]

While some, like Marcohoff, saw eternal life as a means to make money…

…Many truly desired eternal life.

In fact, most people did.

And…

“I’d like to withdraw some low-grade Mana Stones.”
“Yes, Archbishop. Low-grade Mana Stones… Pardon?”

…Among them was the Archbishop of the Holy Nation, who should have been the most devout.

The Archbishop, who should have been an eternal servant of God, was privately seeking eternal life.

If this were to become known, the Church’s authority would plummet. The warehouse manager of the Holy Nation was stunned and stared at the Archbishop.

“Archbishop…?”
“…I understand what you’re thinking, but it’s a misunderstanding. I’m just trying to buy some high-quality fabric from the internet auction, suitable for making vestments.”

“Ah, I understand. I’ll process it immediately.”
“Yes, please.”

The warehouse manager went inside to fetch the Mana Stones.

The Archbishop, waiting anxiously, suddenly sensed a presence and turned around.

“Cardinal Bethlehem…?”
“Archbishop…?”

Cardinal Bethlehem, renowned for being a model clergyman…

…Had also come to the Church’s warehouse.

An awkward silence hung between the two.

Soon, the Cardinal spoke first,

“W-Why is the Archbishop here in person…? Why not send an assistant…”
“Ahem, well. I saw some high-quality fabric on the internet auction, suitable for vestments. So I came to withdraw some Mana Stones. But Cardinal Bethlehem, why are you here…?”

“Yes? W-Well… I also saw that fabric on the auction and thought it would be wonderful to make vestments with it, so I came here.”
“Ho ho.”

“Ha ha ha.”
“Ho ho ho.”

Neither of them actually knew if such fabric was being auctioned online, but…

…At this moment, a strange sense of camaraderie formed between them.

[“Thank you for the story, Blue Wolf-nim from the Southwestern Jungle. Then, the next story is…”]

“This warehouse manager is taking a while. The ‘fabric’ will be sold out at this rate.”
“Indeed. We must hurry. It would be a problem if the ‘fabric’ sells out.”

“Ho ho.”
“Ha ha!”

“—My apologies for the wait, Archbishop. There have been many Mana Stone withdrawals recently, so it took a little longer to process. Hmm? Cardinal-nim, you’re here too?”
“I also came to withdraw some low-grade Mana Stones. I need ‘fabric’.”

“Ah, I understand.”

And…

Neither of them won the giveaway.

“…Ho ho.”
“…Ha ha.”

For months after that…

…The Archbishop and Cardinal Bethlehem felt extreme awkwardness whenever their eyes met.