After Taken as a Prisoner of War, the Vampire Queen Turned Me Into a Vampire and Made Me Her Daughter

her own.

He was merely one of the many temporary stops in her life.

Thus, Ji Bai had been intentionally limiting his interaction with Ke’er, in hopes that she would increase her contact with her friends.

As Lil’ Sha watched his figure retreating in the distance, she gritted her teeth.
Fiddling with the precious stone necklace nestled against her chest, the gaze radiating out of her eyes carried a complex mix of emotion.

“…I must go there, no matter what!”

一一一一一一一

“Boss, give me your recommendation.” Ji Bai swaggered his way into the blacksmith shop, after tossing the letter Lan Yi gave him onto the table.

Lin Tuo, who sat at the counter, felt the corners of his mouth twitch.
After receiving the token from Ji Bai, he brought it to his nose and took a sniff, an intoxicated expression reflecting on his face.

“There’s still some of her aroma left…”

Ji Bai shot a slightly contemptful gaze at Lin Tuo.

“Cough, cough! …It’s Lan Yi who sent you here, right?” Realizing that his action heavily resembled that of a pervert, Lin Tuo feigned some dry coughs.

“Goodbye.” After a long silence, Ji Bai chose to leave.

Instead of using weapons crafted by this guy, he would be better off wielding that piece of black iron to cut down his opponents.
At least its hardness was guaranteed and it would not break down so easily.

“Ehh? Don’t leave.
You may not trust my character, but you must have faith in the weapons I’ve crafted!”

“I don’t believe you’re capable of crafting anything impressive.” Ji Bai narrowed his eyes.

“Hmph, one look at your amateur appearance tells me you know nothing.
Come, let me show you some fine work.” As he spoke, a spark of delight ignited in Lin Tuo’s cold smile, and he ventured deeper into the store.

“Hmm?” Ji Bai furrowed his brows.

‘Forget it, I’ve nothing to lose anyway.’

Ji Bai shrugged and trailed behind him.

“Hehehe! What do you think? Are you shocked? All of these are actually the culmination of my life’s work.”

The inner room was not particularly large, yet a dazzling array of glimmering weapons filled the display cabinets lining both sides of the room.

From daggers and longswords to pikes and shields, every imaginable weapon could be found here.

However, this display failed to spark Ji Bai’s curiosity, nor did he hold much hope for it.

After all, Lin Tuo was merely a human; The weapons he crafted could never surpass that limitation.
No matter how impressive they appeared, it was futile.
Any random weapon would suffice.

Ji Bai surveyed his surroundings, feeling that the weapons were too flashy and lacked substance.
They appeared more suited for theatrical performances and rehearsals rather than actual combat.

While scanning the room with his eyes, Ji Bai’s gaze was drawn to a somewhat dusty silver longsword, which had been casually discarded in a corner.

It was considerably less noticeable than that ostentatious array of weapons.

“This one.”

“Eeeh? Y-You really want this sword??” Lin Tuo’s initial reaction was one of surprise, as he saw Ji Bai pick up the sword that he had nearly forgotten.

“Yes, that’s right.
Is there a problem?”

“…Alright.
Just make sure to take care of it properly.” Lin Tuo sighed, as he wore a somewhat complicated gaze and looked at Ji Bai, who was currently using a cloth to wipe dust off the sword.

一一一一一一一

In a certain maid cafe along a street.

“Pink-chan.”

“…”

“Pink-chan??”

“…Ah, Miss Green.
Is something the matter?” Sensing that someone was calling her, Ke’er was startled out of her daze.

“The coffee is overflowing.” Green pointed at the tilted pot in Ke’er’s hands and the coffee spilling over the edge of the cup.

“…Ah! Sorry, I’ll clean it up.” Realizing her mistake, Ke’er’s furry ears drooped downwards.

Her hands moved unceasingly, quickly returning the coffee back into the receptacle and cleaning up the coffee spilled from the cup.

“It seems that Ke’er hasn’t been at her best lately… How about you return home for today and take a break?”

Ke’er recent unusual behavior was apparent to everyone.

She first served the wrong dish to a table, accidentally spilled coffee and milk onto a customer’s clothes, and overall, made various other small mistakes she wouldn’t typically make.

Even the fox-eared store manager, who rarely showed her face and spent most of her day in her room watching serial dramas, had caught wind of the situation.
As a result, she arranged a series of psychological counseling sessions and ideological education for Ke’er.

As for the result— Well it was clear for everyone to see: It seemed to have no effect at all.

The fox, immersed in daydreams and serial dramas all day, harbored high hopes of rescuing the lost girl.
However, the outcome had already been determined before she even conceived such an idea.

The manager’s efforts proved futile in stopping Ke’er from entering a daze whenever possible.
At times, the light in her eyes was barely visible during conversations.

This caused everyone in the store great anxiety.

“…I’m fine.” Ke’er insisted, shaking her head like a rattle drum as she rejected Green’s suggestion.

“But…”

“There seems to be dust on the cabinet, I’ll go and wipe it off.”

Hints of concern flickered in Green’s eyes as she watched Ke’er walk away with a cloth in her hands.

‘He doesn’t seem as worried about me as he used to be.
Did I do something wrong, or have I been inadequate in some areas that caused him to slowly distance himself from me…’

‘That’s right.
Even the number of times he’s been away from home has suddenly increased lately.
He must be getting tired of me to the point that he doesn’t want to see me anymore, right?’

‘Why did that happen? Where exactly is the problem here, and what went wrong? Have I failed to embody his ideal image of a woman?’

‘I’ve been putting in effort behind the scenes, learning how to cook, how to provide assurance, and how to make myself more likable… But even with all that, is it still not enough for me to be with you?’

Ke’er absentmindedly wiped the cabinet.
The light reflecting off the glass and onto her large eyes seemed to be consumed by an emptiness that appeared to expand rapidly.

One could even see a trace of indiscernible black air radiating out of her.

The seeds of confusion and the longing to be accepted by a certain someone had taken root in Ke’er’s heart, gradually germinating and growing.
No one, including her, knew what fruit it would bear in the end.