Vampire's Slice of Life

Semohr, Giant Kingdom.

"Barley, how many protestors do you think will be there?"

A Giant wearing heavy armor and standing guard at the gates of the Giant Court said to his comrade standing beside him.

The Giant called Barley squinted his eyes and replied, "If I am not wrong, there should be at least ten thousand or so."

"It's that bad, huh."

"Yes. So stand on guard, we should expect company anytime now."

The Giant in heavy armor straightened his posture and stood in wait for the protestors.

Time passed.

Half a day later, the ground began rumbling. In the distance, many silhouettes could be seen nearing the Giant Court.

"Morax, get ready. They're here." Barley said to his friend as he took a defensive stance with his spear.

Morax, the Giant in heavy armor, unsheathed his sword and took a defensive position.

Many guards around the court's gate awaited the protestors' arrival and were ready to block any attack they might send.

One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes.

After a solid ten minutes, the guards could see an astonishing number of…

"Huh? That's… are they really the protestors?"

A total of thirty protesters could be seen coming with slogans in their hands, wearing armors and wielding weapons, as if ready to duke it out anytime if the situation arised.

"Stop the madness! Stop the madness! Stop the madness!"

"The Giants shall never bow to anyone but Mother Seia!"

"Glory to Mother Helvia!"

Loud comments pierced the guards' ears, making them frown.

"Oh yeah, those are definitely the protesters, alright." Morax said while swinging his sword.

"Tch. To think that we were worried for nothing." Barely clicked his tongue and expressed his dissatisfaction.

"Hey, at least we don't need to work hard. And doesn't the lack of protestors hint that everyone agrees with the decisions of the new Chief? And doesn't that make you wonder that the new Chief might really be someone good?"

Barely nodded his head lightly. "Yeah, I do think the decision was good. Who would've thought that we would be put under the protection of the almighty Star Dragon Empress. Do you know, she's rumored to be in control of all the dragons in the world."

Morax sheathed his sword as he noticed a few guards charging towards the small group of protestors and keeping them busy. His input wasn't needed.

He shook his head and said, "I think that's an exaggeration. She can't really be in control of all the dragons as there's another Dragon Emperor and Dragon Empress that the dragons have."

"Who knows?" Barley shrugged. "I heard that the empress had defeated the emperor in the past. And the new empress is someone… well, new. She shouldn't have strength on par with the Star Dragon Empress, so that should be solid proof that she's the strongest dragon in the world currently. Going under her protection might not be a bad idea."

"Yeah. I think so too. Not only do we get protection, but we might also be in touch with the dragons. They would make good allies."

"Indeed. I've always wanted to learn how the War Dragon Tribe operates. They sound like a bunch of lunatics who only have muscles for brains. Would be really cool if I could spar or train with them." Barely swung his spear and said with visible enthusiasm.

Morax shook his head. "You might get killed. Think before what you wish before."

Barley got back in position and stopped swinging his spear. "All of that aside, what do you think might be happening in the court right now?"

Morax put on a thoughtful expression and answered, "Perhaps, they're discussing something important? Like what they should give to the empress in return for getting her protection?"

"Hm… could be. Do you want to see it?"

"Huh? See it?" Morax asked in confusion.

Barley walked closer to him and said in a whisper, "I know a secret place from where you can look inside the court and eavesdrop."

"What!? Really?"

"Yes. Do you want to go?"

"Let's go!"

The two Giants slowly sneaked away from the guards' formation and made their way to an unknown place away from the courthouse.

They entered a nearby Inn and Barley rented a room there, confusing Morax.

Having faith in his friend, Morax went along.

The two soon reached the rented room in the Inn, and walking towards the window, Barley said, "My friend, here's the view!"

It wasn't an underground passage, a secret door, or something extraordinary place to eavesdrop like those shown in movies. It was a simple nearby building from where one could see inside the court.

"What? Is this real?" Morax couldn't believe it and went towards the window.

Looking outside, he could really see a group of Giants standing in a scattered manner in a hall, looking at a Giant sitting on a throne at the end of the hall.

"Shit. How's this possible!?" Morax couldn't believe his eyes. Everything was so clearly visible.

"Did the architects and city planners mess up the layout or something? Shouldn't the court session be something not visible to the general public?" Morax questioned.

"Heh." Barley let out a soft laugh. "It is indeed not visible to the general public, but this Inn, or rather, this room in this Inn, is a bit special."

Barley walked towards the window and looked at the court officials. There was the old Chief and new Chief with their respective factions, discussing important affairs.

"The Inn only has five floors, which is the max height any building is allowed near the courthouse. However, a high ranking court official in the past once was ordered to go undercover and check whether the court meetings were happening properly or not. Corruption at that time was really high."

Barley then smiled.

"Even after being undercover, infiltrating the court wasn't possible due to the high security. Thus, that man came to this Inn, and built a secret sixth floor, which totally overlaps with the fifth one. The outsiders can't figure out anything wrong, and neither can the ones inside. The sixth floor can only be accessed via certain codes, and only then could you spy on the court from the window."

Morax knitted his brows. "Sounds too good to be true. Didn't the person not get caught? And… how come if it's a secret, you know of it? Not only that, you are also able to make me see the court's inside, meaning you possess the method to access the code here, don't you?"

"Bingo!" Barley let out a hearty chuckle. "It is exactly that. I know of the code, because well… that person was my grandfather."

"What!?" Morax was shocked. "Your grandfather? Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. Now stop with all these questions and look at the court. Something interesting is happening there."

The two looked at the court session and found the entire Giants within it kneeling down and bowing their heads.

They were confused and stared at the session with interest.

Inside the court.

"…now, you may not believe me. So let me have the main person speak to you about it."

Gunther, the new Chief, said to the court officials.

Khimav was standing right beside him, acting as a pillar of support, and keeping useless resistance from the officials under wraps.

Gunther had so far not had any problems after becoming the Chief due to him.

"The main person?" One of the officials asked.

"Yes." Gunther nodded. "Please pay your respects to the one and only… the Star Dragon Empress."

"…"

The court fell silent as everyone was taken aback after hearing Gunther's words.

They didn't believe anything at first, but then, space fluctuated in the hall and a tremendous pressure forced everyone to kneel down.

It was like they had no choice but to obey. The pressure was making their stomach churn.

A purple-haired beauty with horns in her head appeared in the room. Her size was currently the same as the Giants.

She sat down on the throne present, and beside her stood a handsome silver-haired man with purple eyes. He too was as big as the Giants currently.

Feeling Mayzin's pressure, and knowing it was the real deal, the court officials trembled. They didn't lift their heads up for they were too afraid, and chose to be silent and see what would happen next.

"Have you made your decision?" Mayzin asked in a low tone, but her voice contained such absolute authority that it could make the weak-willed wet their pants.

Lith watched the spectacle with interest and thought, 'Should I also unleash my aura and establish dominance whenever I am meeting some groups like this? Is it the right strategy or is it based on situations?'

This was a learning experience for Lith. How his aunt handled things was different than how he did. She was a ruler, he wasn't. He still had a long way to go to reach her level.

Half a million years of experience was nothing to be trifled with.

"Madam Empress—"

"Address me as Your Majesty." Mayzin cut off Gunther and said.

Gunther trembled. This was the first time he was interacting with someone of such a level of strength.

"Then… Y, Your Majesty… there are a few with grievances here. It would be much appreciated if you could listen to them before making your informed decision."

Lith raised an eyebrow at this interaction.

'Grievances? Do you fellows want to die?'

Mayzin clearly asked them to refer to as Your Majesty, meaning she had accepted them under her, and had made her decision.

There was nothing the Giants could do now to back out. The arrow was shot.

This was how a prominent figure in the world worked.

Lith looked at the Giants with interest and wondered how everything would play out. Would these guys piss his aunt off and suffer the repercussions? Or would these guys have her change her mind and get themselves some extra benefits?

It was to be seen. Things should get interesting from here onwards.