“Lord William, this girl’s selling fake medicine!”

The shifty-eyed middle-aged man immediately started slandering me, and the sheriff looked just as unreliable. He’d somehow managed to turn his armor into a joke. His enormous belly was nearly bursting out of his chain mail, leaving the breastplate far too small to protect him properly. Just looking at his badly misshapen figure, I could tell he was the sort who lined his pockets by squeezing the common folk dry.

“Guards,” the sheriff said, sweeping out a hand. “Take her away.”

Huh? I was stunned. What kind of beginner quest was this?

The commotion drew a crowd, and people began whispering among themselves. My pointed ears, hidden beneath my silver hair, twitched. I could hear every word around me clearly. “That swindler Wolf is framing another competitor.” “I heard that girl’s potions are better than his watered-down junk.” “That bastard William definitely took a bribe. What a rotten world.”

By now, I had a pretty good grasp of what was going on. The shifty-eyed middle-aged man was named Wolf. He looked like the man the mercenary had mentioned, and he sold potions just like I did. Then he’d teamed up with the town sheriff to frame me.

After thinking for 0.01 seconds, three options came to mind: appeal, fight, or run.

I’d try the first one.

“Sir,” I said, standing up, “there’s nothing wrong with the potions I made. Did you investigate the matter carefully before reaching this conclusion? I don’t think this is right.”

“How dare you, you insolent commoner! Are you questioning my authority, granted to me by the lord?” William raised his voice. “Seize her! Take her away!”

The soldiers behind him immediately grabbed me. Just then, Pandora’s phantom appeared before me.

“My lord, ‘Astaroth’ is ready for battle at any time.”

Denied. Don’t make things harder for me!

In the end, they confiscated all my potions and money, then locked me up in the sheriff’s prison. My cell was made of stone, but it was pretty flimsy. I could easily escape with the “Mist Form” skill. Once I’d confirmed that, I obediently waited in my cell until nightfall, ready to make my move.

The moon slowly rose, and my throat began to feel dry. I glanced at my status bar and saw that the “Blood Thirst” debuff had returned. For now, though, it was only “mild,” so it shouldn’t be a problem. Just then, I heard footsteps. An oil lamp appeared outside my cell, its flickering flame illuminating William’s lecherous face. His greedy gaze crawled all over me, sending a chill through my body.

“Little girl, you’re quite pretty, so I’m giving you a chance to get off scot-free,” he said, starting to take off his pants. “Just be a good girl and do as you’re told. Count the stains on the ceiling, and it’ll be over before you know it.”

Huh? Wait… Was this VR game an 18+ version?

As he spoke, he opened the cell door and leaned his plump body toward me with a nasty grin. Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t some frail girl he could push around. As he wrapped his arms around me and tried to kiss me, I sank my fangs into his neck without hesitation. His blood was like sweet dew, soothing my parched throat. That was how I completed my first proper “hunt” as a vampire. Sure, this creepy middle-aged man’s blood was full of greasy fat, but it tasted much better than using a skill! So blood really did taste better when you drank it. Before I lost myself in the pleasure of Blood Sucking, I forced myself to stop.

It wouldn’t be good if I accidentally killed him.

“You…” William clutched his neck, his face pale from blood loss. “What are you…? Guards… someone, come quick…”

Unfortunately for him, there wasn’t a single guard in the dungeon. I guessed he’d sent them all away beforehand so he could have his fun.

“Help… Don’t kill me…”

William scrambled backward on his hands and feet, his face full of terror. My red eyes, glowing faintly from drinking his blood, were reflected in his terrified gaze. I’d read all the “good deeds” he’d done over the past few years from his blood. What a haul.

(System notification: Conditions met for activating the Dominator’s Evil Eye.)

Hmm? A new innate skill? Just what I wanted.

Beneath the moonlight, I gently touched my eyes with my fingers. Red light drifted through the night. When I opened my eyes again, a complex crest appeared at the center of my pupils, then imprinted itself in William’s eyes.

“Stand up,” I ordered. “You foolish, lowly servant.”

“At your command, my queen.” William swayed as he stood, completely obeying me. “I’ll do anything for you, Your Majesty. I wouldn’t hesitate to give my life for you.”

Uh… I think I might’ve overdone it.

“First, release me. Then go confess to the lord.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

William opened the cell door for me with a vacant stare. He put his pants back on and headed for the dungeon exit. Then I heard him tell the guard outside that I’d been acquitted.

Just like that, I left the sheriff’s station without a hitch and returned to the Kate Sisters’ Inn.

“Elsa?” Aunt Kate wrapped her arms around me. “Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine.” I shook my head. “They let me go. I was acquitted.”

“That’s good.”

Aunt Kate seemed to want to ask something else, but in the end, she held back. It seemed everyone already knew about William’s filthy deeds. But I’d come back without a scratch because I was strong. If it had been an ordinary girl, things would’ve gone very differently, wouldn’t they?

After returning to my room, I made a whole lot of healing potions. The next morning, I set up my stall right on time. I’d just placed the potions on a wooden crate when the mercenary from yesterday showed up.

“Hey, little miss. I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Heh heh. They acquitted me.”

“Oh, is that so?” The man grinned. “Uh… I’ll take ten healing potions.”

“Thanks for your business.”

Five silver coins in the bag. Not bad!

As usual, I had plenty of customers today. But starting on the fifth day, my potions suddenly stopped selling! After carefully analyzing the situation, I discovered the truth: the market was saturated! That’s right. This little town had a limited population, so the demand for healing potions was limited too. I’d made several hundred bottles in one go, and now I couldn’t sell them.

There was nothing else for it. I went back to the town hall and asked the Commercial Association for help.

“Miss!” The bespectacled girl stared at my potions in shock. “Did you make all of these healing potions yourself?”

“Yes. I learned Alchemy.”

I answered modestly, then flashed her a cute smile. A direct hit to the bespectacled girl’s heart! Hahaha. Being a beautiful girl really was useful in all sorts of ways. The beast-eared big sister from the Mercenary Guild shot me a hostile look from beside us, as if I were a traitor.

Heh. Ignore it, ignore it~~

“Let me tell you,” the bespectacled girl said, gesturing wildly. “These are only beginner healing potions, but their quality is platinum rank! That means they’re as effective as intermediate healing potions of black iron quality! Potions this good could sell for at least three silver coins in the capital. They might even fetch five!”

Holy crap. Was I basically a walking cheat code? Whatever. It was a single-player game, so who cares?

In the end, the Commercial Association bought my potions for five silver coins per bottle. I couldn’t help feeling like I’d been taken for a ride by those swindlers, and my mood suddenly soured.