10

A long, heavy sigh left Kai's lips, his shoulders slumped. His head was bowed, and he rubbed his face with his palms, looking distraught. "Huh, how can I avenge myself if mana doesn't exist?" he whispered, his voice almost inaudible.

Claire noticed Kai's deathly pale face. Quickly, she grabbed Kai's hand, her fingers tightly gripping Kai's hand for support. "Don't worry, Kai," she whispered, her voice soft yet full of confidence, "The artifact is definitely broken!" For a moment, Claire turned to Seraphina, her eyes narrowing slightly as she noticed Seraphina's sharp gaze fixed on Kai. She looked back at Kai, trying to keep her voice calm, "By the way, Kai, I noticed Seraphina occasionally glancing at you during class earlier. Do you know her?"

Kai also turned his head towards Seraphina, realizing that she had glanced at him several times during the Mana measurement. In a flat tone, he answered briefly, "No."

Seraphina stood up from her seat, a faint smile gracing her face as she glanced at Kai. Her hand gestured as if inviting Kai to meet her outside the classroom. Kai, who noticed the gesture, sighed for a moment before nodding slightly in reply. Seraphina replied with a small smile before exiting the classroom.

Kai stood up from his seat and looked at Claire. "Class is over," he said, his voice calm though there was still a hint of worry. "Don't you want to go home?"

"Ah yes, I'll be home in a bit," Claire replied, spontaneously.

"Alright then, I'll go first," Kai said as he stepped towards the door, giving a small smile in farewell before finally stepping out of the classroom. Claire raised her hand to wave softly, her gaze full of hope that Kai would feel better.

"Heh, it's only the first day of school, you've already made friends," Seraphina lightly elbowed Kai's arm while smiling faintly, but her eyes remained sharp. They walked side by side, Seraphina's pace slightly faster than Kai's.

"Noisy. By the way, why were you always glancing at me earlier?!" Kai asked, raising his tone slightly. Seraphina just smiled mysteriously, "I was assigned to keep an eye on you." Kai frowned, "I understand, but then, things can go wrong, you know!"

"What do you mean?" she asked teasingly. Kai avoided Seraphina's gaze, sighing. "Ah, never mind," he said, then quickened his pace, his shoulders visibly tense.

Seraphina followed Kai's lead, "Eh? But you've already made me curious, Wait for me Kai!" She quickened her pace slightly, almost running a little to catch up with Kai who was already walking a few steps ahead of her.

Until they arrived outside the academy at this time, outside, the afternoon sun hit their faces, the scent of soil and grass filled the air. Shady trees lined the sides of the road, creating shady shadows.

"By the way Kai, you're not bothered by the results of that mana measurement?" asked Seraphina, her eyes scanning Kai's expression. Kai replied, shaking his head. "If I really don't have Mana, I will train my body, and will take revenge by using my muscles."

Seraphina smiled slightly, her gaze sharp and meaningful. "You really are an interesting person," she said, her voice whispering like a secret.

Currently at Hunter's main headquarters, in Glaen's room. Lilia came to report about the events of the class she was currently mentoring. Glaen, with a sardonically smiling expression on her face, simply tapped the table with her index finger, the rhythmic tapping indicating that she was impatiently waiting for Lilia's report.

"Aaah~ Finally the effect is gone. Lilia, you should have reduced the duration of the potion, I was confined to this room because of that disguise, you know?" Glaen's facial expression turned into annoyance, evident from the wrinkles on his forehead.

Lilia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "It was the perfect time for the duration of the Vampire disguise potion, Glaen. By the way, I have something important to tell you."

"Is it about Kai?" Glaen nodded slowly, his faint smile still on his face. He leaned back in his chair, his hands folded neatly on the table, waiting patiently.

"Right, when measuring mana. The artifact cannot detect and measure the mana. I checked the artifact and there is no problem at all. If we can't know the potential, we won't know if the child will be a friend or a threat to humans, of course, especially the Hunter." Glaen rubbed his face with the palm of his hand, looking tired and a little frustrated. He dropped the pen he was holding onto the table with a loud clack, hearing this made Lilia startle for a moment.

"You mean?" Lilia frowned, slightly confused.

"Lilia, you made that artifact to measure and detect human mana right?" Glaen looked at Lilia with a look that was hard to interpret-a mixture of disappointment and slight amusement. She smiled slightly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

Lilia gasped in silence, her face turning pale. She forgot the fact for a moment that Kai was a Hybrid Vampire. "You... you were right," she murmured, voice almost inaudible. "But there are no artifacts in the academy that can measure vampire magic mana." Lilia closed her eyes for a moment, looking deeply regretful.

Glaen smiled faintly, propping up his chin with his hand, his fingers playing with a bunch of small keys that he twirled slowly. She closed her eyes for a moment, as if lost in memories. "Lilia," he said finally, his voice low and heavy, "have you forgotten my nickname back at the academy? Thief." A sardonic smile spread across his lips.

Lilia frowned, confused. "I know that nickname, but what does it have to do with the current situation?"

Glaen opened his eyes, his gaze sharp. He placed the key on the table, his movements slow and measured. "Fufufu, you're smart in Alchemy, Lilia, but seem to lack the ability to understand this. When on missions, I used to steal suspicious items from vampires." She looked at Lilia with a meaningful smile.

With very careful hand movements, Glaen took out a small box from his desk drawer. The wooden box looked worn, with intricate carvings that were almost invisible. He opened the box slowly, revealing a small orb similar to a mana-measuring artifact, but more ancient and mysterious.

"Glaen," Lilia whispered, her eyes widening in disbelief, "don't tell me this..."

Glaen smiled faintly, a glint in her eye. She closed the box again with the same careful gesture, then placed it on the table. "Right," he said, "I stole this from those vampires. My hunch was that it would come in handy someday. I originally wanted to give it to them during class, but there's no way I'm going out incognito, right?"

Lilia sighed, trying to compose herself. "But Glaen," she said in a slightly louder voice, "we don't know how this artifact could function. If it really belongs to a vampire, there could be consequences we don't know about." He stepped closer, staring at the small orb hesitantly. "We must be very careful."

Glaen gave a small grin, lifted the orb with one hand, then set it back down nonchalantly. "Relax," he said, his tone slightly dismissive. "I tried it and there was no reaction."

"Thanks for your report Lilia, I knew you'd be a good mentor." Glaen smiled slightly, his eyes flashing.

"You're on purpose, I prefer to shut myself away in my laboratory." Lilia frowned, slightly annoyed.

"Too much solitude is not good Lilia," Glaen said, patting Lilia lightly on the shoulder, "but you are talented, and this is getting interesting too. Let me meet the boy tomorrow, well I've been neglecting my duties on this one for a long time."

Meanwhile, Kai and Seraphina had arrived at the inn located at the edge of the corner of Narnia. The sun began to set, the effects of the potion used by Kai disappeared. His eyes and fangs had returned to their original state.

"Just in time, Kai," Seraphina whispered, her eyes scanning the surroundings warily. "Your eyes and fangs are back. Lilie is inside, I hope you can behave like yesterday and this morning."

Kai nodded, quickly putting on his hood. They opened the inn's door, and a little girl, Lilie, could be seen clearing the table with deft movements. She paused for a moment, her eyes sparkling when she saw them.

"Oh! Seraphina and the wisdom teeth!" Lilie exclaimed, her voice cheerful. She put down the rag she was holding, and smiled kindly.

"Wisdom teeth?" Kai gasped, surprised by the nickname. He clutched his chest, looking a little shaken. Seraphina chuckled, patting Kai's shoulder to calm him down, "Well, wisdom teeth isn't so bad, is it?" She said with a mischievous smile.

"Hello Lilie, as usual you've worked hard today." Seraphina smiled kindly, ruffling Lilie's hair lightly.

"Hehe thank you! By the way, are you staying here tonight?" Lilie asked, wiping her sweat with the back of her hand.

"Of course! Then I'll prepare the room you usually use." Seraphina nodded, patting Lilie's head gently. Lilie nodded cheerfully, then ran towards the stairs, her footsteps light and agile.

Kai watched Lilie running away, then turned to Seraphina, his hands clasped at his waist. "You look close to her, huh?" his voice sounded a little quizzical.

Seraphina smiled slightly, looking at Lilie who had disappeared behind the stairs. "Yes, that's because back then after being recruited by the Commander, Miss Lilia suggested I stay here for a while. Since she often goes on missions, I sometimes play with Lilie." He paused for a moment, seemingly thinking. "What does Lilia have to do with that child?" Kai asked, his eyebrows slightly raised.

Seraphina sighed softly. "Ah, they're... brother and sister." She looked at Kai with a gaze that was hard to interpret.

"Ah, they're... brother and sister. " Seraphina explained, trying to reassure Kai.

Kai raised his eyebrows, instantly comparing the little girl to Lilia, he placed a hand on his chin as he thought, "They don't look alike at all."

"Well, sometimes siblings don't have to look alike, right?" Seraphina smiled slightly, letting out a small yawn. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, then walked towards her room. "You can rest now, Kai. I'll go to my room." She paused for a moment in the doorway, then turned around, her gaze a little sharp. "But you must not even think of running away. Understood?"

Kai looked at Seraphina with a flat expression, "I won't run away. So, come on in." He growled slightly, showing his dislike for Seraphina's slightly arrogant attitude.

Kai let out a long breath, then walked upstairs to his room. After entering, he took off his robe with slow and careful movements, folding it neatly before placing it on the corner of the bed. He lay down on the bed, closing his eyes with his hands.

Her mind drifted. "So far, the Hunters have been nice to me, I guess because of that Oracle. I don't care about that. My main goal in joining the Hunter is revenge." She opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling. For a moment, she smiled bitterly. "Well, at least I'm not drinking rat blood anymore." Suddenly, she gasped, getting up to sit on the bed, clutching her neck. "By the way, I don't feel thirsty today. Is it because of the chicken blood Glaen gave me earlier?" She looked at the mirror in her current room, examining her teeth carefully.

( to be countiuned )