048 - This Group Is Getting More and More Off-Track

Souta had successfully completed his body's evolution.

To confirm whether his defects were truly gone, he conducted a few experiments.

The main focus was to see if he still needed to consume humans to survive.

Before evolving, he had already tested something—by staring intensely at the hotel receptionist's neck.

The result?

The poor receptionist looked at him as if he were a pervert, her expression filled with caution, probably debating whether to call the police.

Souta, feeling a bit embarrassed, quickly reined himself in.

But he did get a clear answer—when he fixated his attention on someone's neck, his body automatically responded with an intense surge of hunger.

That was likely his vampire instinct kicking in.

After completing his evolution, Souta went back to the receptionist and did the same thing—staring intently at her neck.

This time, he was much thicker-skinned and ignored the pervert alert look she gave him. He stared for nearly a full minute.

Just when she looked like she was about to snap and call security, Souta withdrew his gaze and walked away.

The hunger... was still there!

But—compared to before, it was much weaker and far less overwhelming.

To put it in human terms—it was like smelling food and thinking, Oh, that smells good, rather than I must eat this right now.

"System, what's going on? Why do I still feel the urge to suck blood? Wasn't this defect supposed to be removed?"

Souta frowned.

Did this mean vampires having to consume humans wasn't actually a defect?

[The defect has already been removed. The host's dietary range has simply expanded. You are no longer limited to humans. Now, even if you ate literal crap, you'd still be able to absorb nutrients.]

Souta: "..."

This system had a bad habit of dropping savage one-liners.

Last time, it even asked him if he wanted to wear women's clothing.

"So, if I suck someone's blood, will they still turn into a vampire?" Souta asked.

[No. The host no longer carries the vampire's anomalous properties. Bloodsucking is now merely a means of nourishment—it will not cause mutations in your targets.]

"Then… can I still create familiars?"

Every vampire could create familiars—that was a basic ability.

[No. The host's vampire-related anomalies have been entirely removed through evolution.]

"Huh… that's kind of a shame."

Souta showed a slightly regretful expression.

If he still had that ability, he could have granted others immortality.

But he didn't regret evolving.

The benefits far outweighed the drawbacks—at least now he was free from vampire weaknesses.

Besides, in this world, anomalies relied on human faith to sustain their existence. That alone was already a huge risk. It was better to be rid of it altogether.

Once Souta figured all this out, his initial hesitation faded.

If there was only one lingering imperfection, it was that his diet technically still included humans.

That being said, it was completely optional—more like how humans could eat durian but most wouldn't.

Souta would never eat people.

At most, he might try drinking blood out of curiosity.

With his self-experimentation complete, Souta finally took out his phone and opened the group chat.

The new member had already settled into conversation with Kurumi.

Souta quickly skimmed through the chat logs.

Seeing that the newbie had fully accepted the system's existence, he was pleased.

It seemed Kurumi's announcement had been very effective—now, whenever a new person joined, they wouldn't have to waste time repeatedly explaining everything.

They could just read the pinned message!

"If they believe it, great. If not, that's their problem!"

But still…

"Shirotsumekusa … who the hell is that?"

Souta furrowed his brows slightly. No matter how hard he tried to recall, he just couldn't remember who Shirotsumekusa was.

Could it be a fake name?

Or was it from a series he had never watched?

Or, more simply, had he watched it but forgotten?

Souta briefly considered Kiss-Shot's earlier demonstration—sticking his hand into his brain and stirring things up for a "physical memory recovery" method…

After some thought, he decided against it.

He had a feeling that if he actually did it, he'd be high in more ways than one.

Instead, Souta changed his approach. He decided to extract some information from Shirotsumekusa and deduce their identity that way.

So, he sent a message in the group chat.

Souta: "Solid reasoning, very convincing."

Tokisaki Kurumi: "Oh? You're finally here, Souta. What were you up to?"

Souta: "I was just in the middle of evolving my body. I didn't see your messages—sorry about that."

Tokisaki Kurumi: "Oh my, Souta, it's not like I'd hold something like that against you. Saying that makes you sound so distant~"

Tokisaki Kurumi: "By the way, did your evolution succeed? Have you completely shed your vampire identity?"

Souta: "Yeah, it worked. All my bodily defects have been eliminated—I'm just a regular human now."

Shirotsumekusa : "Huh? The leader of this group is just… an ordinary human?"

The newbie finally spoke up, sounding a bit surprised.

Souta: "That's right. I really am just a regular human."

At least, that's what he believed.

After all, what did things like immortality, regeneration, cellular reconstruction, time manipulation, Half-Cold Half-hot, and matter creation have to do with being a regular human?

Kiss-Shot: "..."

Tokisaki Kurumi: "..."

Souta: "Huh? What's with the ellipses? Also, Kiss-Shot, have you completed your evolution?"

Kiss-Shot: "We're in the same room, aren't we? If you have a question, just ask me directly."

She didn't seem pleased with Souta's choice to message her instead of speaking face-to-face.

Was there some reason he couldn't just talk?

Tokisaki Kurumi: "Wait a second! Souta, you're in the same room as that vampire? What are you two doing behind my back?"

Souta: "..."

Behind your back…?

Why did that sound so wrong?

It was like she was implying he was cheating on her or something.

Souta: "We're not doing anything. I don't have any identification in Kiss-Shot's world, so I can't check into a hotel alone. The place we're staying at was actually offered by a kind soul named Episode. He only provided one room, so Kiss-Shot and I are temporarily living together."

Tokisaki Kurumi: "Fine, I'll believe you… for now. But remember, Souta—don't be a sneaky little cheating cat."

Souta: "..."

Souta felt frustrated to the point of coughing up blood.

What was up with this group?

Why did the whole vibe feel like it was getting more and more off-track?

Wasn't this supposed to be a friendship group?!

Shirotsumekusa : "@Souta. I'm a little curious—group leader, what was your purpose in inviting me here?"

Suddenly, the newcomer @ or mentioned Souta.