“I am absolutely delighted today! Not only do I have a guest, but my long-lost Boochie has finally come home! Let us all cheer for this glorious day!”

  Sissili lifted both arms high, as though celebrating a grand festival.

  But Glenn heard only her voice—no others answered—so he failed to react.

  Sissili lowered her head and saw Glenn staring blankly at her. “What is wrong, Glenn? Why aren’t you cheering with me?”

  The corner of Glenn’s mouth twitched. “I am a bit slow to react. You spoke too quickly.”

  “Oh, so that is why. Then let us do it again. Remember, you have to cheer with me!”

  Seeing how earnestly she instructed him, Glenn could only force a dry smile and nod.

  They repeated the little celebration, and Glenn merely mimicked the movement casually.

  Afterward, Sissili handed a ceramic cup to each “person” around the table and poured the water-like liquid from the teapot.

  “Let me introduce you all—this is Glenn, a new resident of Bayek. He will be our dear friend from now on!”

  Then she proudly introduced her companions to Glenn: “All right, Glenn, these are my friends—Kalady, Jantelong, Kanor, and lastly Boochie, whom you already know.”

  Glenn politely waved to the toys one by one, playing along.

  Seeing the harmonious scene, Sissili grew even more delighted, eager to move to the next activity.

  Following his principle of building rapport before asking questions, Glenn planned to go along with her for now and wait for the right moment.

  This girl seems a little mad… not sure if she will even understand my questions, let alone answer them… He lifted the cup, sniffed it, then took a cautious sip. Surprisingly, it tasted sweet.

  “Well? Is not the sweet water I made absolutely delicious?” Sissili asked, eyes sparkling with expectation.

  Glenn nodded honestly. “It is quite good. How did you make it?”

  At that, she raised her chin proudly. “I used part of my own body, of course it is good!”

  Glenn’s eyes widened. “Which part?”

  “My finger.” She held up her left hand, missing a pinky.

  Glenn’s expression eased—only for her to add, “And one of my toes.”

  She lifted her bare foot, showing a missing toe on her right foot.

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  Glenn nearly toppled over. As expected, one must treat such a lunatic with extreme caution.

  “Is not that a bit too wasteful of your own body?” he asked helplessly. “And eating it will not cause me any problems?”

  “Do not worry! My fingers and toes grow back quickly. And eating them is good for you. A long time ago, some of my friends begged me for a taste and I still refused!”

  “Your friends… they are also Old Residents?”

  “Of course,” she nodded matter-of-factly.

  “Then why do not they come to play with you anymore?”

  “Because none of us are allowed to leave our houses.”

  “Why not?”

  “It was something the Mayor decreed long, long ago… I think?”

  “And why did he decree that?”

  Sissili thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I forgot.”

  So this house is sealed. Likely to prevent the Old Residents from leaving… right? Wait—does that mean I cannot get out?! The thought struck him like lightning. Glenn bolted downstairs without a word.

  Sissili blinked, assuming he was rushing to the bathroom, and followed to tell him where it was.

  But Glenn soon came back up.

  He had jumped back and forth through the doorway several times, confirming no restriction applied to him before immediately returning.

  “Did you find the bathroom?” Sissili asked, baffled.

  Glenn froze, then waved a hand. “Just stepped out for some fresh air.”

  “Fresh air?” She still looked puzzled.

  Dragging the topic back on track by force, Glenn asked, “I wanted to ask—what did you all used to do? Why is the town like… this?”

  “Like what?” Sissili looked around her room. “Is it not perfectly fine?”

  “You truly think so?” Glenn stared into her eyes.

  But Sissili’s gaze held only pure innocence as she nodded firmly. “Yes!”

  Glenn reorganized his words, pointing at the table. “Look—your table is falling apart, full of bugs. Does it not bother you to replace it?”

  Sissili followed his finger. The wood was indeed rotting, cockroaches and spiders crawling across it.

  “I have used furniture like this all my life. My parents told me that only the Bloodborn have furniture that doesn’t rot, and they live in beautiful castles.” She spoke as if reciting common knowledge.

  Even commoners’ furniture shouldn’t rot to this extent. But why mention Bloodborn? Shouldn’t she call them nobles? Glenn paused, then quietly asked:

  “Did not you have a kingdom back then?”

  “Oh, of course we did!” Sissili nodded vigorously. “We belonged to the great Ainova Kingdom. We were all slaves of the exalted Bloodborn—subjects of the mighty Bloodborn Queen, Sharoa.”

  Ainova Kingdom… That name sounded familiar.

  Yes—he recalled it from the fragments of history the original Dylan knew. Thousands of years ago, the vampire race was at its strongest, ruling the mighty Ainova Kingdom. It was the first to establish the rank system of duke, marquis, count, viscount, and baron—later adopted by the human kingdoms.

  But now the vampire race was as diminished as the werewolves. Ordinary vampires were called First-Tier vampires, vampire barons Second-Tier, all the way to vampire princes—Seventh-Tier. But Seventh-Tier vampires supposedly no longer existed… otherwise they would have founded another vampire kingdom already.

  Glenn dredged up a heap of information. He would need to check the founding era of this town later.

  “What is wrong? Why are not you saying anything?” Sissili asked, seeing him silently brooding. She was naturally talkative and couldn’t bear silence.

  “Nothing.” Glenn returned to himself. “But the Ainova Kingdom has long vanished. And commoners today live far better lives. You could replace all your furniture—it would be much nicer.”

  Sissili’s eyes widened. “Ainova… disappeared? Oh, right, I forgot. The Mayor led us in overthrowing the kingdom. That was the first time I picked up a weapon, the first time I went to war, the first time I slew a noble Bloodborn, the first time I fought the mighty Half-Draconians, the first time I marched across distant lands, the first time I met the powerful God-Born, the first time…”

  Her voice drifted off. Her eyes grew emptier and emptier. Her words grew quieter and quieter.