Chapter 65: Prohibition (4)

Vampires are the inhabitants of the Abyss, the world of night where the sun does not shine.

'Lilith Valentia' was a 'Trueborn,' the most noble lineage even in that Abyss.

The noble progenitor Lilith, with the grand ambition of establishing a kingdom of night on the continent, settled in the empire.

However, unlike her ambitions, the walls of human society were high and formidable.

"Lilith! Just bring two bottles of wine to table 15!"

"Yes-!"

At the call of the arrogant woman, who was the innkeeper's daughter, Lilith quickly ran and fetched the wine.

"Ugh, how did I end up like this...!"

While serving the wine, Lilith sighed at her own miserable state.

Until the time she first emerged into human society, Lilith had grand ambitions of increasing the number of vampires by sharing her blood with her followers and establishing a kingdom of the night.

However, in human society, a great evil known as the 'Church' was lurking.

Even when she legally bought blood with money she was scorned and when she received blood donations out of pity they chased her away claiming she stole it.

When a dying human wanting to live agreed to become a vampire though consensually sharing blood, the Church still pursued after her like a relentless beast.

"There! That wicked vampire is escaping!"

"Catch her!"

The people of the Church cruelly tormented Lilith.

'Hah, hah.'

It was Bianca, the daughter of the tavern where Lilith now works, who took in Lilith when she was being mistreated by the priests and crying alone in the alley.

'Ugh sniff.'

"Why are you crying here?"

" Sniff, sniff. I, I have nowhere to go… "

"Are you lost?"

-Shakes her head.

"Do you have nowhere to return to?"

'Nod, nod.'

"Hmm, then how about working at the tavern, sis? My father is unwell, and were short on hands."

For the first time, Lilith took the warm hand that was extended to her.

It's been half a year since she became a tavern employee. Lilith still hasn't forgotten her dream.

'We're taking over this tavern first!''

Lilith's plan was to take over Bianca's tavern first and then gradually expand her influence based on that.

Then, starting with that presumptuous woman who keeps petting her without knowing her age...

"Our Lilith, you worked hard today too. It must have been tough, right?"

"Hmph, this is nothing."

"Hehe, that's right. Sister made a mistake. This isn't a big deal for our Lilith."

At Bianca's gentle touch as she patted her head, Lilith's shoulders shrugged up.

Lilith was 238 years old.

While Bianca is 19 years old.

At least until this point, Lilith had the thought in the back of her mind that continuing to live like this with Bianca wasn't such a bad idea.

Until the 'Prohibition Act' was emacted and the taverns went bankrupt.

*

"Ugh, those damn dwarf bastards!"

Due to the prohibition law declared by the lord, the tavern ran by Bianca's father could no longer sell alcohol.

"Lilith, I'm sorry. You don't have to come in starting tomorrow."

Overnight, Lilith became unemployed and, with the vampires she had recruited from the bar district, jumped into the bootlegging business.

This brought tremendous success to Lilith.

Vampires, the inhabitants of the night, were a species specialized in hiding, possessing optimized abilities for evading the guards' watch and distributing contraband.

Taking advantage of Prohibition, Lilith continued to thrive day by day, expanding her distribution network.

At this rate, it seemed like Lilith's dream of a night kingdom wouldn't be a problem.

However, such ambitions were short-lived, as the absurdly fraudulent race known as "Dwarves" jumped into the bootlegging business, caused massive disruptions to Lilith's operations.

At first, they were just making alcohol, but with the Vikings' support, they even started smuggling through ships.

Thanks to that, Lilith and her subordinates, who were on high alert, were currently having an emergency meeting at the 'hideout.'

"Are they your friends?"

"They are my subordinates."

"Hehe, okay. You guys have a drink and talk."

Bianca distributed glasses filled with grape juice on Lilith's table.

The glass had the name "Welch's" written on it.

Bianca's tavern, which was going bankrupt because it couldn't sell alcohol, changed its business model to selling grape juice by signing a contract with Welch's.

Welch's, headquartered at the White Tower, opened up new avenues for the taverns that were on the verge of going under.

Lilith's "hideout" was none other than Bianca's tavern.

"Why aren't you giving me grape juice?"

"No. Even if it's non-alcoholic, it's still alcohol, right? It's still too early for Lilith to drink."

Since grape juice, which had just come out, was strongly perceived as a "non-alcoholic wine," it was not recommended for young children.

Lilith was dissatisfied with Bianca treating her like a child, but that thought vanished the moment she saw the glass filled with white milk.

Lilith gulped down the milk without hesitation.

The glass was emptied in an instant.

Lilith's face relaxed with satisfaction.

"Today's milk is at least better."

"Hehe, I'm glad to see you're satisfied."

Bianca, who had been smiling brightly, got up from her seat at the call from another table.

"…So about the business? Make sure to have a good discussion. Don't get too carried away."

As Bianca left the room, Lilith and her subordinates began their serious business discussions.

"The port was taken by the Vikings."

"Same goes for Riden. Half of our customers have been taken by the dwarves."

Though there were guests around, the vampires spoke without hesitation.

Bianca didn't know why her tavern was doing well, but most of the customers who came to this place were there to buy Lilith's moonshine.

"Mm."

Lilith sipped the milk that Bianca had refilled for her, lost in thought.

The guards in the city where Lilith lives were famous for their incompetence, so they couldn't control the dwarves.

Thanks to that, Lilith was also able to easily smuggle in liquor, but the truth was that they were still outmatched by the dwarves.

The dwarves with connections to the White Tower brought in fairy coke and cognac cheaply.

Besides, they also brewed their own alcohol, so they couldn't compete with the dwarves in terms of price.

Lilith felt that there were limits to distributing moonshine alone.

Because they had to prepare for the era after Prohibition ended.

It was at that time that the vampires were seeking new business expansions.

"The answer is milk."

"...What?"

A question arose on the faces of her subordinates at her answer. But Lilith's expression was serious.

We need to handle products that everyone looks for every day. It's not alcohol. Unless they are alcoholics, most nobles only buy a bottle or two of brandy for parties. Commoners, on the other hand, are satisfied with just one brick of wine for the week.

Lilith was running an illegal liquor business and had a keen insight into the patterns of human alcohol consumption.

"But milk is different. When the whole family gathers at the table, milk is always there. In a household with children, milk is a must."

No matter how high the alcohol consumption was, it couldn't surpass the daily consumption of milk.

Above all, milk was the most important thing for a vampire to survive.

Milk was the essence extracted from the good parts of 'blood.'

"Those Church folks are really strange. Milk is also a type of blood, but they criticize drinking blood while being lenient about drinking milk."

In order for vampires to eventually take root in human society, milk was an essential item that had to be secured first.

Bootlegging was the wrong choice.

"Honestly, we were involved in a ridiculous business."

Lilith licked the milk off her lips with her tongue and came to a conclusion.

She decided to switch to dairy farming.

*

Contrary to Lilith's expectations, her foray into dairy farming was not easy from the start.

"Why don't you throw away the spoiled milk?"

"Haha, slightly spoiled milk is better. Alcohol also tastes better when fermented, doesn't it? Milk is the same. It's a fermented product."

It was the response of the employee who delivered milk to Bianca's store.

It was a mystery why the milk frequently went bad, but when Lilith finally learned the truth, she was furious.

"Hey, how can you deliver milk like this!"

"L-Lilith, calm down!"

"Eek!"

If Bianca hadn't intervened, the delivery person's neck would have been cut off right there.

If they delivered blood like this in the Abyss, they wouldn't have any excuse even if they died.

However, unlike Lilith, who valued freshness, the hygiene of the empire's milk was in a terrible state.

The milk, which is already prone to spoiling, was being delivered slowly by carts, it was no wonder the milk arrived spoiled.

They didn't even refrigerate it so the milk was often spoiled and distributors would mix spoiled milk with flour to sell it alongside fresh milk.

"...So, are all humans like this?"

The cultural shock Lilith experienced from the empire's distribution system, where spoiled milk was delivered like a random box, was immense.

Of course, there was talk among the citizens of the empire, but the bureaucrat from the Ministry of Magic, who had been bribed by the dairy farmers' association, lobbied an absurd argument.

"Haha, slightly fermented milk is actually healthier than fresh milk."

"Eek! Die! Die!"

"Lilith! Calm down! That's a curveball!"

In Lilith's heart, the Dairy Farming Association had become an even greater evil than the Church.

What would happen if people died from drinking spoiled milk?

"Immediately produce fresh milk!"

"Eek!"

It was the reason Lilith went to threaten the head chairman of the Dairy Farming Association.