For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Iona Francheska.

A 372-year-old Lord-class vampire.

She was an academy professor.

She liked killing cultists.

She disliked cultists.

Her specialty was blood magic.

Her appearance was characterized by deep red hair, eyes like blood, and a seductive figure.

However, she couldn’t seduce students, so she hid her charm by acting clumsy and consciously suppressing her allure.

Sometimes, it was natural enough to make one wonder if that was her real personality.

Surprisingly, the original Iona was much more dangerous and violent.

That was because Iona was a powerful vampire known before the War of the Gods and an heir to a fairly large clan.

However, as the war intensified, vampires, like other races, were faced with a choice.

As a result, some converted to cultism, while others allied with different races to fight against the army of Evil Gods.

Iona’s clan, which chose to ally, was active on many battlefields but was eventually ambushed by cultists and annihilated.

The only survivor was Iona.

Driven by revenge, Iona recklessly plunged into various battlefields, risking her life.

In an era where even powerful beings like Sword Masters and Great Magicians could die unluckily, it was a perfect storm for a tragic end.

However, Iona survived, thanks to her innate combat sense and her vampire’s tenacious vitality.

And she became stronger.

It was a time when survival inevitably led to strength.

She reached the realm of Great Magicians and accumulated enough deeds with blood, the essence of vampires.

Thanks to this, she succeeded in earning the qualifications to establish her own clan as a Lord…

However, Iona, stating that her clan had all died, chose not to create new kin and continued to fight alone.

Until the hero sealed the Evil God and ended the war. Without rest. Continuously.

That was why Iona was called a Lord-class vampire, not a vampire Lord.

Just as a king without subjects was not a king, a Lord without kin couldn’t be called a Lord.

But to call her just a vampire would underestimate her strength, hence the term Lord-class.

Afterward, well… realizing the limits of what one person could do, she became a professor at the academy, leading to her current state.

Despite her bloody past, as a professor, Iona became a rather frivolous person.

Yet, her goal had not wavered for 300 years.

To kill all remaining cultists.

If it was impossible alone, then she would train her students to be strong enough to kill cultists.

Even if it would take several hundred more years, she was willing to endure it.

After all, Iona still couldn’t forget the sight of her clan, who were like family to her, dying.

…That was all I knew about Iona.

Oh, and one more thing—she played a significant role in the latter half of H&A.

But this was merely a brief scene of battle in a cutscene, so it was unclear how exactly she fights.

It seemed like I knew quite a lot… but these were just her actions.

What I needed to know were more detailed elements.

According to stories from the library, it had been a long time since she directly fed, which changed her constitution.

So, I wondered if her suppressed instincts would react and if her mind would be disturbed at the sight of blood.

If so, could I use this to my advantage?

Also, her personality, hidden behind her bubbly behavior, and how her personality affected her combat style, etc.

I needed to understand Iona herself, not just her footsteps.

That way, I might be able to land a hit on her.

“For that reason, I’ve decided to observe Professor Iona for a few days. I’ll be moving alone after class for a while, so you guys wait at the dormitory. It gets noisy with everyone around.”

“Master… that’s called stalking.”

“Ha! Stalking? It’s strategic information gathering!”

“……”

There was a lot I wanted to say, but Carla seemed to be holding back her words.

It was like pondering how to explain to a child who proudly brought an answer of 1+1=11 from where and how to start explaining.

Perhaps Elisha, who actually started the conversation, felt no different.

Until yesterday, she was buoyed by my lavish praises, her blue bun hair bobbing joyfully.

Now, she presented a calm demeanor as if she had swallowed ice water.

“Yandel. My dear. Even if you grasp a weakness, always remember to think about what follows.”

“What follows?”

“Professor Iona is not your enemy. She’s someone trying to help you, no matter what. So, you must avoid doing things that could make her too hateful.”

“Yeah… That’s right.”

The methods might be rough, but Iona was sincerely teaching me.

Besides, she even showed goodwill, promising conveniences if I just dealt with the cultists properly.

There was no need to reduce our allies with my own hands.

“Maybe we should put off strategic information gathering for now…”

“So, let’s wear this robe today, shall we?”

“???”

Confused by the completely unexpected suggestion, Elisha gently dressed me in a transparent robe.

After neatly adjusting my clothes, she tapped my chest twice and pulled up the corners of her mouth in a grin.

A smile like that of a noble scheming some mischief.

I gazed blankly between the robe and Elisha for a moment, then nodded.

“Right. It’s fine as long as we’re not caught.”

“Yes, it’s fine as long as you’re not caught.”

“Kuhuhuhuhu!”

“Ohohohoho!”

Carla’s sigh leaked out amidst the room filled with our nefarious laughter.

It was time to go to school.

---

“Hello, hello again today! Is everyone preparing well for the exams? Even though you just need to duel for the magic combat subject, there are many things to prepare for in other subjects!”

Of course, I was properly prepared. Thanks to my exceptional memory trait, I’d memorized the entire theory course, so I didn’t have to worry about it.

And with Carla, who had been up to the fourth year, guiding me with precise predictions on what to expect, I was covered in other areas as well.

Even in the top class, Class A, grades were important.

That was because achieving certain grades translated into points, sort of like a store credit system.

This was referred to as the achievement store among players, where outstanding students could exchange for various items.

Most students exchange for elixirs, rare scrolls, or high-level magic tools…

But those items could ultimately be bought with gold.

Items that required a lot of points but couldn’t be bought with gold were the true purpose of the achievement store.

Especially the dragon heart fragment at its pinnacle was essential for my plan…

Thanks to much more significant achievements in the game, I might be able to gather all the points I needed by the third year… no, maybe even by the second year.

Even as I calculated the points I could earn from this exam, my gaze never left Iona.

Despite carrying a substantial “blood bag,” her exaggerated actions, like somersaulting, hopping, and waving her hands, didn’t show any sign of disturbance.

It was an inexplicable phenomenon, even considering she was wearing loose clothing.

Focusing my mind just in case, I didn’t feel any magic either.

So, there was only one conclusion left.

She perfectly controlled her body’s center of gravity.

What kind of magician was so physically adept…?

But upon further thought, it made sense.

Unlike other magicians, Iona fought cultists ‘alone.’

Naturally, she would have prepared for a magician’s chronic weaknesses in physical abilities and close combat.

Somehow, during sparring, whenever I tried close combat, I always ended up being countered.

I guess it was time to abandon the thought that close combat would somehow work out.

It was true that I moved better than other magicians, but it seemed I wasn’t quite at Iona’s level.

I’d already learned something new. Why didn’t I realize this before?

Just as I was mentally crossing out the close combat section from my strategy against Iona…

Suddenly, Iona, turning her gaze with playful eyes, asked.

“What’s this? I feel a burning gaze… Student Yandel, do you know where it’s coming from?”

“My respect for the professor is anything but ordinary.”

“Eek…”

Iona blinked, her expression suggesting she was a bit taken aback.

“Uh, uh… maybe you ate something bad this morning?”

“No. Since I end up throwing up everything during morning sparring with the professor, I’ve been skipping breakfast lately.”

“Ah…”

Iona seemed a bit sorry, perhaps aware that her lessons had been somewhat rough lately.

“Hey, hey. Should we lower the intensity of the sparring a bit? You even collapsed yesterday. And got scolded by Priest Cohen…”

So the stern, middle-aged priest I saw last time was named Cohen?

But then, asking to lower the difficulty would be something I would actually refuse.

I shook my head firmly.

“No, please continue as is. I’m fine.”

As I said this, staring directly into her blood-red eyes, Iona, for some reason, looked away, seemingly annoyed.

“Strange… I’m sure it was his heart that got pierced, not his head that got injured…”

That’s a bit rude.

I’m perfectly normal.

Probably.

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