Taming My Vampire Servant

The academy students saluted the town guards, and handed over the thief to them. 

"Just a few words before you go, young lad," Andrew sighed, then told him in a calmer expression, "Listen. Do you think your mother would be pleased if she knew you stole the bags of flour? Apologize to the merchant and promise that you will never steal again."

The thief did what Andrew told him, and he was brought by the town guards to prison afterwards. He would stay there for three weeks after some disciplinary actions.

These kinds of chases happen almost everyday in Rubia Town. As long as the wide gap between the rich and the poor exists, there's no end to people committing theft just to feed themselves!

Josie and Andrew returned to their rental house, which is part of the small community. The domain of the town's marketplace is wider than the residential area, that's why almost every local knew each other. During winter, the two academy students got familiarized with them so that it would be convenient for their guarding tasks.

Hours passed, and it was nighttime.

"Finally, it's the end of our shift," Andrew yawned. In his arms, he held Nightmarune in its inactive and smaller state, then stroked its back as if it was a puppy. When in its inactive state, the shadow horse Beast Servant does not have blue flames on its body.

"You know…Whenever we catch thieves, I wonder... What if I didn't change? Would I still be in prison?" Josie opened up.

Belonging to a poor family, Josie was pickpocketing when she was a child. It was one way to help her parents who couldn't be fortunate enough to have long term jobs. But their unfortunate life came to an end when she asked for help from the town guard chief of Megalia City. The old man was pleased with her guts at a young age to sneak into the training grounds where the clashing of swords could be heard. If it wasn't for her nagging, her parents wouldn't have a chance to be the town guards' weapon polishers. 

The two of them started walking on the marketplace. It was not as crowded as it was in the morning, but there were still some people strolling around that time. 

Just when they thought they'd get to rest…

"Help!!! Thief!!!" a jewelry merchant yelled. Josie and Andrew looked at each other and shrugged, then they ran towards the tall man in a brown linen cloak.

The tall man ran too fast for the two academy students to do the usual tactic of trapping him. They saw that he used accelerated Air magic to move very quickly.

Nightmarune turned into its active state, and Andrew rode it. He also took Josie to ride with him, while Jokerion flew beside them.

"He's heading to the forest!" Josie said, "Jokerion, you know what to do!"

"Yes, Master!" 

The clown Spirit Servant then summoned several daggers underneath his black cloak and released it to the man's direction.

The mysterious thief felt his body weakening as his mana lessened. He did not actually expect to be chased, so his plan on conserving his mana failed. When he reached the forest, he held onto the vine and attempted to climb it. Unfortunately, the daggers cut it off!

Andrew and Josie got off from Nightmarune and surrounded the man.

"Take off your hood!" Josie yelled.

And when he did, they were surprised to see who it was.

"Aren't you Miss Sprucemint's Servant?" Andrew asked. "Why the hell did you steal? And where's your Master?"

Sigmund sighed as he sat on the damp soil. He leaned onto the tree feeling tired, then looked at them, "I have to give this to my Master," he showed them the strange ring having a gemstone with a red glow. "This is very important."

Because the Vampire Servant couldn't tell them what it actually was, he replied as vaguely as he could. Among all the jewelries displayed in the stalls, it was the only one he noticed that had a reddish glow. Who knows which other jewelry shops have it? 

If Ivory's normal mana, which he consumed, did not have the Dark Mana, it wouldn't react to him when he passed by. He knew he needed to tell this to Ivory and Lucius; the special black gemstones, which were embedded in jewelry, were being sold in the marketplace!

"Miss Sprucemint might be worried, you should go now," Andrew uttered, so Sigmund stood up.

Josie raised her brow, "After all the chase, you're letting him go? He stole something, so he should be interrogated."

"Look, the ring is glowing. It must be something like a lost family heirloom or artifact," her partner Master said. "C'mon. We've been in the same class as this Servant's Master, so why should we not believe him?"

She looked suspiciously at Andrew, "Or maybe you like his Master secretly, that's why you're going easy on him!"

Guilty with this, Andrew blushed, "Well, Ivory's pretty, and she's hardworking- No, what are you talking about! Anyway, Servant, send my regards to your Master-"

But when he turned around, Sigmund was already gone.

"Where is he?" Josie asked her Servant.

"He left as soon as Mister Talonpierce said that he should go," Jokerion uttered. "Apologies, Master. Do you want me to come after him?"

She facepalmed, "Nevermind… Let's just say it's our first failed task," she jokingly hit Andrew's arm, "And you… you should pay the jeweler since you let the Servant go!"

"Uhh… Alright. Then when we get back to the academy for graduation, I will tell Ivory that she owes me!"

"You're just using it as an excuse! The truth is, you just want to have a chance to talk to her!" Josie teased him even more as they started walking out of the forest with their Servants.

They wanted to get home quickly, so they could eat supper and rest. For sure, they'd run around the marketplace the next day to chase some thieves again.