[Salvos] Side Story 2: Saffron I (Patreon)

Side Story 2 - Saffron I

***

SAFFRON Merryster was sitting on a luxurious, velvet couch, sipping on some tea when her butler strutted in through the double doors to her room. She set down the porcelain cup onto its saucer, turning to him with a frown.

“What are you doing here, Matthew?”

He stopped the doorway, one arm wrapped across his chest and the other at parade rest. Donning a black suit and gray tie, he stood in stark contrast to the green and gold wallpaper that decorated the room’s background.

Normally, his presence would not be unwelcome; he was her personal servant. More than that, he oversaw her affairs beyond just providing her with nourishments and snacks; he assisted her in managing her schedule, informed her of anything noteworthy, as well as simply kept her from neglecting her duties as a daughter of the Merryster Dukedom.

That should not have been the case here, however, considering that Saffron was abroad in Mavos Academy right now.

“Why did you return? I do not believe I have made a request to the family for your arrival.”

“Apologies, Lady Saffron.”

The man bowed his head and she sighed.

“Enough with that. Just answer my question. Did father send you? Or was it mother? I don’t recall ever giving either of them reason to believe that my independence had waned me in my responsibilities towards them.”

“No, you have not. If I may, Lady Saffron, I have come here out of my own volition after requesting permission from your father.”

That elicited a reaction from the noble. It was subtle, but a brow was raised just fractionally.

“And what could have possibly driven you to such an action?”

“This, Lady Saffron.”

Matthew presented her with a vial. Narrowing her eyes, Saffron took a step forward and nodded at him.

“Ah, this is a very good reason indeed.”

She quickly slipped the vial into her personal Bag of Holding, designed to look like an ordinary purse, and spun on her heels.

“Does father and mother know about this?”

“They are aware of my trip, as I’ve said, Lady Saffron.”

“I meant this delivery.”

Saffron snapped her purse shut and slung it over her shoulder. The bag flattened the seams of her frilly dress, lightly resting on her waist.

“I made it certain that they were only aware of the message I am delivering.”

“Message?”

Blinking, she regarded her butler. He produced a piece of paper with neat scribbles imprinted on it. Saffron accepted the message and read it aloud.

“Dear Miss— wait, Miss is crossed out. Dear Lady Saffron, how are you… it’s crossed out again.”

Saffron took a deep breath and faced her butler.

“Did you really have to include all of this in the letter?”

“It was what I received.”

“You’re honestly so childish, sometimes.”

She snorted as her eyes ran over the message, only reading everything that was necessary to know.

Dear Lady Saffron,

I hope you have been well. I am writing this letter to you to take on the offer you’ve so kindly given me months back, when we last met. My acquaintances have recently run into troubles and are in dire need of support, whether it be something more official or more discreet.

I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but recently the Valiant Dreamers Company located in the Sunmere Republic declared war with the Iron Champions Company located in Nixa. I know the latter’s affiliation with your country will sway you towards their cause, especially since the former appears to be the aggressor, but I assure you if you look into the events you will find out that the war was instigated entirely by the Iron Champions Company.

The company war thus far has been incredibly costly to the Valiant Dreamers Company, depleting them of their most prized resources as well as disrupting their regular business. Relief and support would very much be appreciated, but if the Merryster Dukedom could simply withhold their support for the Iron Champions Company, it would be enough.

I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Kind regards,

Salvos

“...and for whatever reason, Princess— the Title— was crossed out just before Salvos.”

“It’s what was written in the letter.”

Sighing, Saffron studied the message sent once more. While she had only met this Salvos for a brief period of time during an escort mission, there was a lot she gleaned from that short encounter.

For one thing, such a message could not have been transcribed by Salvos. Either the man accompanying her, Daniel, helped her write this. Or someone else did.

Either or, one thing was clear; Salvos wanted Saffron to somehow help the Valiant Dreamers in the recently announced company war. It was something the lady was made aware of purely because it involved her own country. Especially considering the size of the two companies— it was something she had to at least keep up with.

But actively trying to make a difference was less than ideal. Her father had dealings with the Iron Champions which would make such an action almost impossible. Brushing a hand to the side, Saffron handed the letter back to Matthew and spoke dismissively.

“I have a meeting to arrange, so write a letter for me back to Salvos telling her that my hands are tied. I have no sway over the matter, and the offer I had given her did not extend to such matters. It was for personal favors, not anything of this significance. Do make it sound apologetic— I’d rather not hurt her feelings. I quite liked the girl.”

Starting forward, Saffron made her way to the doorway made out of the rather expensive symphon trees. The orange red wood had a unique scent to it, which made it vied for by most ladies. All it did was give off the smell of a lavender perfume— something which Saffron could have easily afforded hundreds of bottles of.

Yet, she still paid for the installment of such an expensive material when she had chosen out her dorm room. The reason was simple.

Saffron clutched the vial inside of her bag and craned back to face her butler.

“She’s so young, innocent, and sweet. Even if she’s a Gold Rank adventurer, you can’t help but just want to ensure nothing bad happens to her.”

Matthew raised a dubious brow.

“Even if you are the one who wants to hurt her?”

“Hurt her? Please. It’s nothing that sinister.”

Licking her lips, the lady pushed the door open and entered the gilded hallway. The flickering candlelight lining up the walls glinted in her deep, red eyes.

“All I want is just a little taste of her blood, that’s all.”

Saffron Merryster

Species: [Vampire - Human]

Class: [Evocation Elementalist] - Lvl. 41

General Skills:

[Basic Mana Manipulation] - Lvl. 5

[Identification] - Lvl. 7

[Racial Skill: Bloodlust] - Lvl. 3

[Racial Skill: Vampiric Essence] - Lvl. 5

[Rest] - Lvl. 3

—--

“This better be important, Saffron.”

A deep, growling voice called out as the door burst open. Saffron glanced up from her seat at the table in the dimly lit room, a smile spreading across her face.

“Ah, Adney, you finally made it.”

The broad shouldered man groused over to the last empty chair and took a heavy seat. He wore nothing but a vest around his shoulder, revealing his muscled body covered in scars.

“The commoner runs late, of course he does.”

Beatrice grinned a toothy smile, not even bothering to hide the two fangs poking out for all to see. Adney glared back.

“Unlike you nobles who used nothing but your parents' platinum to pay your way into the academy, I have to fund my education myself.”

“As a barbaric adventurer.”

Sneering, Beatrice leaned back on her chair and crossed her legs. Adney stood up, but the fourth and final person in the room spoke.

“Come on now. Adney, don’t fall for Beatrice’s provocations and prove her right. And Beatrice, for someone who brags about your noble heritage, I would have expected you to be less uncouth.”

The two turned to Valda. She was the youngest of them all— a child prodigy who entered Mavos Academy at only fourteen years old. Even though her words were reasonable, she had a playful look on her face that only fanned the flames even more.

Before anything else could happen, however, Saffron raised a hand. She did not speak. There were no words that could settle down the three of them. So, all Saffron did was lift up the vial from her bag.

The three paused their squabbling and stared at the black liquid in the bottle. Then finally, the silence burst into a babble of questions.

“Is that really what I think it is?”

“Are you going to share it with us?”

“Where and how did you get that?!”

Setting it down on the table, Saffron began answering their questions one by one.

“Yes. Yes. And I got it from Nixa. There have been recent events in the country that allowed its procurement. Ones that I have personally had my people investigate, which led to this.”

She shook the bottle, swishing the liquid inside. Adney frowned and crossed his arms, settling back into his chair.

“Demon’s blood. You’re saying there has been a recent surge in Demon summonings in your country?”

“There have been plenty. Two in the past year. One of them made quite the news— I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it.”

Grunting, he averted his gaze from her.

“I do not pay attention to the news.”

“But I do!”

Valda excitedly perked up. Her eyes were glued to the vial of Demon’s blood sitting at the table.

“The two were slain by the same adventurers, right? One of them destroyed a bunch of cities and towns. The other was killed after it was summoned.”

“Indeed. The [Djinn] called the Destroyer, and the other who died upon summoning. They were killed by an adventurer named Salvos. I met her briefly. She was quite the peculiar girl.”

Saffron smiled as she remembered the sweet scent of Salvos. It was so alluring— almost attractive. She almost couldn’t believe that the adventurer had been Human. But Saffron had checked for illusions and there were none.

Beatrice’s voice broke Saffron out of her thoughts.

“Why are you sharing this with us? Wouldn’t it be better kept within the hands of your family?”

“You and I both know the reason why I’m doing this. The old guard does not care like we do. They revel in the rewards they have been given, forgetting their duties.”

“And that is?”

The question was almost stupid; the four of them had met before attending the academy. In fact, none of them were in the same year. Beatrice was about to graduate, Adney was in his second year, and both Saffron and Valda were freshmen.

It was their shared interests that brought them together once before. Not just them, but others of their age. The ones who saw the change in the recent years.

“Mother and father are complacent. They are ignoring all the signs. They do not believe that it’s coming. That he is trying to make a return.”

Saffron replied, steadfast.

“Cults all around the Human lands are moving. They are all acting, as if issued some sort of command. They’re infiltrating high places. And now, there’s even rumors of that Archdemon in the Motharis… this is a sign. Beatrice. Regnorex is at the gates. And he shall bring with him the same devastation as before.”

A chill creeped up her shoulder. Her own words did not strike fear into her— it was the truth she knew ingrained within it that did. Uncorking the vial before her, Saffron began pouring an equal share of the Demon’s blood into four different glasses.

She passed out the glasses to each of the Vampires in the room. They all stared down at the black liquid, almost owning it immediately. But her words stopped them.

“We need to get stronger. Each of us young Vampires. While the old wanes away, satisfied with filling their bellies and relishing in their riches. Their memory fades due to age, but we are young and we remember. This is our job. The duty our Species had been given by Alexander during his reign. We are Demon hunters. We helped drive Regnorex once before, but can we really do it again?”

The three others sat in a dour silence. The burly man opened his mouth to speak.

“When I get to Level 100 and unlock a Subspecies—”

“How long will that take, Adney?”

Saffron’s gaze pierced into him, cutting off his words.

“And will that really be enough? You know what level Alexander was said to be. And the Demon King slayed him.”

“Then what are we here for?”

Beatrice asked snappishly.

“What are we even doing?”

“We’re getting stronger. But not to face him— no.”

Shaking her head, Saffron raised her glass and looked into the black liquid reflecting her face. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, a serious look that did not instill any confidence in herself.

Valda piped up in an uncertain voice.

“Then what are you saying, Saffron? If we can’t do anything, what are we here for?”

“I’m not saying we do nothing. We do what’s best. Investigate these rumors about the Inoria Empire. Find out more about that Archdemon in the Motharis. And we do whatever we can to prevent the return of Regnorex.”

Saffron raised her glass and the three others followed after her. They clinked their drinks together and downed it all in one gulp. All at once, they recited the oath they were taught as children, but the adults never adhered to.

“Regnorex is at the gates, but we still guard its halls. The Demons will come and we will hold them off. We are Vampires. [Demon Slayers]. And they shall all fall from the walls.”

General Skill [Racial Skill: Vampiric Essence] Level Up!

[Racial Skill: Vampiric Essence - Lvl. 5] -> [Racial Skill: Vampiric Essence - Lvl. 6]

Experience is awarded for the leveling of a General Skill!

Author's Note:

Side story which gives lore, yay! 

I tried to keep it as concise and as dense with information as possible. This will be the more typical side stories you guys will see, although there might be the unusual ones like the first side story in the future. 

Let me know if you have any ideas of other side stories you'd like to see! All these side stories will be available in the eBook versions too!