Chapter 42: I Know a Shortcut

After drinking her fill of blood, Chloe felt a surge of energy coursing through her body.

In her past life as a human, sunlight was uncomfortable but tolerable—a far cry from ordinary vampires who shunned it their entire lives. Her adaptability to the sun was much stronger.

So, even with the sun blazing overhead, her travel speed after feeding wasn’t much slower than her outbound journey.

She made it back to the relief station in time for breakfast.

Sitting at the cafeteria table, Chloe stacked five or six meat pies into a small mountain on her plate.

The receptionist who’d helped her raised an eyebrow.

‘Poor kid must be starving.’

‘So pretty, yet she’s fallen so far…’

She looked at Chloe with pity.

‘It’s fine, eat as much as you want. These meals are covered, specially ordered by Her Majesty. Eat up while it lasts… huh?’

‘Why’s she getting up again?’

Under her gaze, Chloe grabbed a large bottle of fizzy blood, a coffee, a bowl of hot soup, two fried eggs, five strips of bacon, two chocolate cookies, and a small bowl of grapes and blueberries before returning to the table.

The receptionist was stunned.

Chloe, noticing her expression, gave an embarrassed smile.

Snapping out of it, the receptionist asked, “Little miss, can you really eat all that?”

She covered her mouth in surprise.

“Don’t worry, sister, I won’t waste a bit!”

Chloe assured her, washed her hands, and dug in, shoving a steaming meat pie into her mouth.

In two or three bites, a palm-sized beef pie was gone.

“Wow… slow down, little miss. As long as you don’t waste too much, it’s fine.”

Chloe didn’t respond—not out of rudeness, but because her mouth was too full to speak.

In no time, she demolished her breakfast like a whirlwind.

“Burp~”

Leaning back, Chloe rubbed her slightly bulging belly, letting out a satisfied belch.

A few seconds later, realizing her manners, she flashed an awkward but sweet smile, eyes curving into crescent moons, looking utterly content.

Her smug gaze seemed to say, “See? I ate it all, not a crumb left!”

The receptionist shrugged helplessly.

She hadn’t expected this tiny teenage girl to pack away so much.

“Thanks for the meal~”

After waving goodbye, Chloe returned to her room.

She picked up the staff and cloak from the corner, inspecting them.

The staff was made of darkwood, topped with a blue second-tier mana core. The cloak, crafted from pricey cyan silk, was embroidered with gold-threaded runes to aid mana gathering.

These weren’t cheap. Anything magical was expensive, especially in lesser-race nations. Even a basic first-tier magical item cost two months’ wages for an average person.

Chloe mulled over her options.

‘What do I do with these?’

‘Use them myself?’

‘Hm… aren’t they a bit weak?’

She rubbed her chin, eyes gleaming.

She was a Sword Saint and a third-tier mage.

Second-tier gear?

‘Hardly fits my status.’

‘Lena’s already a third-tier mage but still using second-tier gear?’

As her brother, Chloe felt a pang of sympathy.

Even with third-tier gear, Lena couldn’t beat her, but at least she’d have some prestige.

Chloe, a church-knighted Sword Saint, was technically a noble, albeit low-ranking.

She didn’t want her sister looked down on at the academy.

‘I worked so hard to climb the ranks and earn a noble title just so you could hold your head high.’

‘Now that her gear’s gone, she’ll get new ones, right?’

The Sword Saint’s death should’ve earned Lena a hefty compensation, enough for third-tier gear.

After a few minutes, Chloe decided.

Sell the gear she’d taken from Lena and use the money for a train ticket back to Montpelier!

Back there, she’d cry, beg, and cling to Larvia.

‘She got me into the palace before without a proper identity. It shouldn’t be hard now.’

But what if Larvia, like last time, didn’t give in?

Chloe recalled the study incident.

Pacing the room in frustration, she climbed onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.

‘Can’t figure it out… ugh…’

‘Whatever!’

‘Worst case, I’ll hang onto Larvia every day, begging!’

‘If that fails, Montpelier’s relief stations are better than Tarrilberg’s. I’d earn more working there.’

‘Plus, I might see Larvia and pester her.’

‘Alright, back to the capital. Since I haven’t been gone long, Larvia can find an excuse to take me back.’

Though the trip didn’t go as planned, she saw her sister. Tarrilberg wasn’t a waste.

‘She’s 18 now, right? Probably graduating from the Imperial Magic Academy soon.’

Chloe got up.

Lena’s cloak was dirty from the fight.

To fetch a better price, she decided to wash it.

The next day, Chloe retrieved the cloak from the balcony.

It was spotless, shimmering silver under moonlight. The fresh-laundry scent hit her as she held it.

She folded it carefully, packed it, grabbed the darkwood staff, and headed to Tarrilberg’s magical item workshop.

The workshop was in the south, far from the west-side relief station.

But she knew a shortcut.

While wandering, she’d found an alley connecting to the southern district.

To save time, she took the alley.

Ten minutes later.

Staring at the maze of branching paths around her, Chloe was dumbfounded.

‘Where the heck am I?’