Chapter 66: Prohibition (5)

The Empire's Dairy Farming Association had no intention whatsoever of improving the freshness of their milk.

Rather than spending money to improve the quality of milk that spoils quickly, it was much cheaper to line the pockets of the bureaucrats with that money.

The Empire's Dairy Farming Association was notorious for its numerous lobbying efforts with the Ministry of Magic.

"Do you know who I'm close with?! I, huh? With the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Magic, w-we drank, w-we had meals, w-we had parties together...!"

The chairman of the Whiston's Dairy Farming Association, trembling in fear, yelled at Lilith, who had ambushed him late at night.

He was trying to flaunt his connection with the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Magic to pressure Lilith by saying she had messed with the wrong person, but this only further fueled Lilith's anger.

"So you're saying you're in cahoots with that rotten person who claims to sell the fermented milk?"

"Did you come because of the fermented milk? It seems there was a misunderstanding. Moderately fermented things are good for the body―"

"Ugh, shut up!"

Lilith stuffed milk into the mouth of the Dairy Farming Association chairman who was about to spout nonsense.

It was the spoiled milk that was delivered to Bianca's store earlier that day.

"It's the fermented milk you love so much!"

The effect was amazing.

"Uuuuuugh!"

The Dairy Farming Association chairman, realizing that the milk he had drank by had gone bad, struggled not to swallow the milk, but Lilith force-fed him the milk.

"Huff, huff. Did you see? Fermented milk is good for the body."

Even after drinking all the spoiled milk, the Dairy Farming Association chairman did not back down from his claim about fermented milk.

"Hmph, I knew you'd act like this, so I brought five more bottles."

"...!"

The face of the Dairy Farming Association chairman turned pale.

"I'll let you drink as much as you want until the claims about fermented milk disappear from your mouth."

"Hey, wait a moment! I was wrong! There is no such thing as fermented milk in this world!"

"Since I've brought it specifically just for you, just drink it!"

"No, why... Ugh!"

Lily shoved spoiled milk into the mouth of the Dairy Farming Association chairman, who was confessing to his lies.

"Ba, there's no such thing as fermented milk―"

"Three bottles left!"

"Ugh!"

That night, Lilith went to all the Dairy Farming Association members and personally fed them fermented milk.

"Ugh!"

"Fermented milk? Ugh! Fermented milk doesn't exist—cough!"

"Sa, save me...! Help, someone save me...!"

The screams of the Dairy Farming Association members echoed through the night in Whiston.

*

Most of the Dairy Farming Association members confessed to the lies without resistance, but Lilith fed spoiled milk to everyone without exception.

At first glance, it might seem like an act of venting frustration—though it was indeed a form of venting—but Lilith's decision could actually be considered lenient.

If you accidentally drank spoiled milk, there was a risk of food poisoning and even death.

The Dairy Farming Association deceived people by selling 'poison' as a drink for their own benefit.

In Abyss, selling spoiled blood like this was a crime that could be punished by death if caught.

Because it was Lilith, it ended here; if it had been another vampire, the dairy farming association would have been annihilated overnight.

But this place was not the Abyss; it was the Empire.

Lilith was aware that she shouldn't cause a commotion in human society.

If they acted like they did in the Abyss, and the Church guys would've made Lilith's life miserable.

When she recalled that time, Lilith had to wake up in the middle of the night and gulp down milk.

Just as Abyss has its own rules, those who settle in the Empire must follow the Empire's rules.

However, the rules Lilith learned when she came to the empire were the rules of the 'backstreets.'

Since Lilith had only wandered through the bacstreets of the empire, she wasn't even aware that it was wrong.

The people she had encountered so far had done it that way, so she had naturally misunderstood it as the common sense of the empire.

"When the milk ferments, you will too."

"Eek! Ah, I understand!"

Lilith took control of the Dairy Farming Association by threatening them in the way she learned from humans.

Having thus taken control of the Whiston's dairy industry, Lilith embarked on reforming the distribution system.

First, they threatened the farmers to only supply high-quality milk.

"From today, I will only accept fresh milk!"

If even a little bit of milk mixed with flour was found, they would track down the farmer who supplied that milk and make them drink the flour-mixed milk they had supplied.

Farmers were afraid of people drinking spoiled milk, so they had to supply only fresh milk.

Lilith insisted on the freshness of the milk with relentless determination.

She was a vampire who wouldn't even touch anything that wasn't fresh blood, so she had the same belief about milk.

This not only improved the milk quality system but also changed the farmers' awareness of hygiene.

"I never thought spoiled milk could be this terrible."

"I can't drink anymore."

Lilith, while solidifying the milk quality system, completely replaced all the old carts used for distribution with wagons.

"The distribution of fresh milk is a matter of life and death!"

The old horses was sent back to the stables, and only the lively young horses pulled the cart.

Then, using the distribution network secured through the bootlegging business, they began delivering milk to the territories where Prohibition was enforced.

Because the refrigeration and preservation magic used for the distribution of Abyss's blood was applied, the milk did not spoil easily.

Moonshine distribution network, refrigerated carts, even milk enhanced with preservation magic.

It was easy to say, but it required a huge amount of money.

Lilith spent all those costs by draining the funds that the Dairy Farming Association had embezzled.

Even so, the investment was too large, that she couldn't avoid a deficit.

It was a milk business she started to make money, but in reality, Lilith, who was working hard, was only seeing losses.

Even the vampires who cast 'preservation magic' on milk had a hard time every day.

It was only natural to be exhausted since they have been manually casting preservation spells on each bottle of milk.

"W-we'll still have to deliver the milk."

Lilith was anxious, yet she couldn't easily give up on the dairy business.

There were too many things already in motion to do that.

By blindly introducing the distribution system from the Abyss, she had created problems that she hadn't considered.

It was on one of those days when Lilith was deep in thought over the problems she faced.

"Lilith, someone is looking for you."

"Me?"

As usual, Lilith, who was serving at Bianca's tavern, tilted her head at the sound of a customer arriving.

In the empire, Bianca was the only human with whom Lilith had formed a bond.

The dairy farmers had no reason to come looking for Lilith because of the vampires who were managing them.

From the beginning, they didn't even know the true identity of Lilith.

They seemed to start calling her strange names like 'Milk Thug' and 'Little Milk Devil.'

The only other humans involved was the Church, which followed her like a leech...

"C-could it be someone from the Church?!"

Just as Lilith was startled and shrank back, a young man with ash-colored hair approached the table where Lilith was sitting.

Judging by the white coat he was wearing, Lilith thought he might be a Church member and watched the young man with a tense expression.

"Say hello to the President of Welch."

"Welch's...?"

"The owner of the chain stores."

At Bianca's introduction, Lilith looked at the young man with a surprised expression.

After hearing the story, she noticed that he was a wizard.

Although she knew he wasn't a Church person, Lilith's surprise didn't subside.

That makes sense, considering that according to Bianca, the opponent was a huge figure.

"...If it's Welch, then a wizard from the White Tower?"

"Yeah, you came to see Lilith, right?"

"Nice to meet you, I am Yuri Grail, a wizard of the White Tower."

"Bianca, get to work."

"Yeah, take your time and talk. Don't worry about the hall."

"What business does a wizard from the White Tower have with me?"

"I came to see if I could help with your business Lilith Valentine."

"...What business are you talking about?"

Lilith pretended not to know.

On the surface, Lilith was just an ordinary employee working at the tavern.

The fact that Lilith had taken over everything from the moonshining business to the Dairy Farming Association was a secret known only to her close vampire associates or her rivals, the dwarves.

Even Bianca, my closest human friend, thought Lilith was just playing house.

But.

"You don't need to hide it. I've heard that you're transporting moonshine through milk deliveries."

"!"

Lilith was so surprised that the milk she was drinking got stuck in her throat.

Barely swallowing what could have been a choking incident Lilith quickly grasped the situation.

"...The dwarves told you, huh?"

"Yes, I heard it through a dwarf I know."

"That's right, I'm Lilith who sells milk."

Realizing that her true identity had been exposed, Lilith readily admitted the truth.

"As you can see, I'm busy with work, so just get to the point."

Lilith, glancing at Bianca who was busily moving around the hall, urged him to hurry.

"Yes, then I'll just get to the point and wrap it up."

With a slight smile, Yuri took a milk bottle from his coat and placed it on the table.

"Wouldn't you like to try making this milk?"

"?"

Lilith, curious, took the milk bottle and sipped it like a vampire.

And.

"This, this milk...!"

Lilith's eyes widened like a rabbit's.