The steak, seared on the outside and tender within, was set on the table. Its mouthwatering aroma drifted through the living room. Uncle Hank, the town butcher, had taught me how to make it. I’d taken the bear I hunted that day to his house and helped butcher it. After paying him a silver coin, I came away with a large amount of meat and an almost-intact bear hide. I’d taken the hide to the town tannery to be processed, and brought the meat home.

“That’s a huge steak!” Maeve said, practically drooling. “But how are we supposed to eat a piece that big?”

“We cut it up, of course.”

As I spoke, I took out the dagger I’d bought at the blacksmith’s and used it as a steak knife. In a flash, I cut the meat into small pieces. The steak was thick; though the outside was a little charred, the meat within was red and oozing delicious juices.

“Whoa,” Luka said, her eyes shining. “That meat… it looks so good.”

“Heh heh.” I grinned smugly. “Let’s all dig in.”

I divided the steak among three plates, sprinkled each serving with a blend of salt, black pepper, and cloves, and set them in front of the two guests at my home. Luka immediately drew the little knife at her waist and began stabbing the chunks of meat and wolfing them down. She really was a girl raised on the frontier—wild through and through. Maeve, meanwhile, took a set of silver cutlery from her “item box,” carefully cut her meat into small pieces, and brought them to her mouth one bite at a time. The way she savored every bite made it obvious she’d been taught proper table manners. She seemed more like a noble young lady than a mage. My own style was a mix of theirs: I cut the meat into small pieces with my knife, then speared them to eat.

The piping-hot chunks melted on my tongue as the juices flowed through my mouth. A faintly bloody taste teased my palate. As a vampire, I loved that rich flavor, and it left both my mouth and my heart thoroughly satisfied. I really did have a knack for cooking. Uncle Hank only had to show me once, and I’d learned the whole dish. And all it cost me was a chunk of bear meat to cook with. What a bargain.

Since eating meat can throw your nutrition out of balance, I’d prepared some side dishes for my friends today, too: mashed potatoes and pickles. I made the mashed potatoes with potatoes from the market. After mashing them once they were boiled, I mixed in milk and butter, sprinkled goat cheese on top, then took them to Mrs. Rand’s oven next door to bake slowly. The smell made her two kids cry with longing. In the end, I only got half the mashed potatoes back. The pickles, on the other hand, were Aunt Kate’s specialty. Besides running the inn, she made full use of its cellar to prepare all kinds of pickles.

As for the staple, the brown bread, I’d bought it straight from the town bakery. Outside of winter, you could get whole-wheat bread or even white bread, but once winter set in, brown bread was all that was left. It was sour and had a terrible texture, but it kept well. Under the right conditions, it could last for years. Still, spread some butter on it and toast it over a fire, and it became downright delicious.

After treating Luka and Maeve to a big meal, I hurried out back to chop firewood. The wood I’d cut last year had dried thoroughly over the past twelve months. It was stacked in neat layers inside the woodshed behind the house, piled up like a wall. I picked up a log, set it on the chopping block, and split it in two with a crack of my axe. I glanced at the axe I’d bought from the blacksmith for three silver coins. It weighed a full three kilograms, yet my slender arms could swing it with ease. A vampire’s physical abilities really were astonishing.

I lit the firewood behind the bathroom and started heating water for Luka and Maeve. As the flames caught, a sudden unease stirred in my heart. I tiptoed over to the back window and peeked inside. The two of them were sitting at the dining table, chatting quite amicably. It looked like I didn’t have to worry about a catfight just yet.

After enjoying a lovely hot bath, Luka said goodbye to me, smelling sweet and fresh as she walked down the darkening street toward the other end of town. Maeve, meanwhile, took over the bathroom. She seemed unable to go a single day without bathing. No wonder she was such a proper young lady—she was incredibly clean. She was also the one who’d taught me to add herbs to bathwater. And where did I get the herbs? From my Alchemy lab, of course.

I sank into the hot water as the plants’ fresh scent filled the steam. I washed myself with homemade soap. Adding herbs had made it gentler, so it no longer irritated my skin. In this strange otherworld, I never would’ve guessed that soap was an Alchemy product. The Alchemists in the royal capital seemed to enjoy making perfumed soaps and fragrances to sell to the nobility. Apparently, it was quite profitable. With Maeve’s guidance, I made some perfumed soap of my own—and then she took it for herself.

When it came to ordering people around, Maeve seemed to have an unmatched sense of “initiative.” Was it just a habit of hers?

“Elsa, your hair is so beautiful.”

Maeve suddenly appeared while I was fixing my hair. She ran her slender fingers over my silver locks and playfully twined a strand with a platinum sheen around one finger. When she tugged at the hair beside my ear, my pointed ear slipped out from beneath it. The gesture was so casual, almost careless, yet it still put me on my guard.

“Whoa, your ears are so cute, but…” Maeve trailed off. She’d been unusually forward today. “Wouldn’t they look even cuter with earrings?”

You had to get your ears pierced to wear earrings. I was afraid it would hurt.

“But,” Maeve said, starting to help me with my hair, “what race is Elsa?”

My race was vampire (True Ancestor). I couldn’t exactly tell her that, could I?

“I don’t know.” I gently shook my head and brought out the “script” I’d prepared in advance. “I’m an orphan. I’ve never even met my parents, so I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.” Maeve apologized almost at once. “But judging by your appearance, you’re probably an albino half-elf, half-human.”

I couldn’t help giving a wry smile. So this world had beastfolk with animal ears and tails, as well as elves with pointed ears. It really was a fantasy world. Every kind of race existed here.

“Let’s say that’s true. I don’t care anymore.” I gave her a sad little smile. “So many years have passed. My parents might already be dead, for all I know. They left me nothing but my first and last names, and the status of a fallen noble. Wherever they are, they have nothing to do with me. I’m me, and I can survive on my own.”

“Elsa, you’re so strong.” Maeve hugged me from behind. “I couldn’t do it. At least, I couldn’t be as strong as you.”

She meant it. Maeve… who was she, really? And why was she probing me? I kept my questions to myself. It was time to turn in early tonight.