Lukas didn't expected that he'd go by himself to explore the city of Nyx, but that turned out to be the case. The guards of the Carmilla House allowed him to freely leave and he had also received another map from one of the servants.
"Okay, there's a lot more establishments here compared to Lux, and actually a lot of job options as a result." Lukas muttered as he decided to walk.
Since Lukas' goal was sightseeing, he wasn't going to travel from one building to another. Especially since he caused a lot of trouble prior from the night before when he had tried to find the Aurelius House.
"Ugh." Lukas grimaced and massaged his forehead. There was a throb in his head which he really didn't expect. "This is a little…"
"Shouldn't you be a lot stronger than this." Drusilla's voice hissed in his head.
"What?"
"Charm Resistance. You were able to fight against the effects of a Dream Eater's lullaby, so why are you being compliant like the rest of them?" Drusilla asked. "Isn't it clear that she's using something to mess with everyone's head."
"Well that's…" Lukas started but then cleared his throat. He didn't want people to see him talk aloud, not because it was strange but to prevent anyone to hear the contents of his thoughts.
"Well? Speak up."
'My Charm Resistance Skill didn't activate when she was speaking, so I don't think it's her using any abilities as opposed to being naturally good at convincing other people to see her way. If it was just some skill, I'm sure that other Vampires would be able to resist it… but the way she speaks and talks with you? It makes you see her reasoning and it doesn't oppose yours.'
"So you're allowing yourself and your companions to be manipulated?"
'No! But just because someone is good with words doesn't mean that they have some evil vendetta. I'm sure it's not solely altruistic or anything like that, but it doesn't mean that I can't trust them. The reason why I'm able to have faith in you is not because you're a good person or anything.'
"I'm not." Drusilla said.
'Yeah, you've probably killed a lot more Vampires than anyone combined… and yet I have faith in you because—'
"I'm trapped in this dagger."
'Well, not only that, but because your intentions are easier to determine as a result. You're self serving and concerned with getting news about the Sanguise House or breaking free from that dagger, so whenever a situation comes up, if I take into account all of those things… then I have a reasonable estimate of what you would and wouldn't do.'
"Better a known enemy than a mysterious ally."
'Exactly. Though you're right that I don't know all the intentions of the Overlord… but she's not someone who'd also put her family at risk right? I don't know the extent of what's she willing to do, but so far, nothing bad has really happened even after we attempted to escape from her.'
"So you're waiting for this venomous snake to bite you."
'If I'm waiting, doesn't it mean that I won't be able to be bitten since I'm prepared for it?'
"I just want you to be more careful kid. Even if it's not her using her Charm ability, it might as well be good as one. You've even willingly left your girlfriend by yourself to have some time to do what in the city? Have fun like what that Overlord said?"
'Come now. I'm not some guy who spends every minute of my waking hour thinking about my relationship with Chaerin and Lily. There's also things that I like to do for myself, and I'm sure that Chaerin would at least want some time to herself.'
"So you were thinking of her."
'—But I also wanted to explore Nyx without having to worry about someone else, okay?' Lukas frowned and then glanced down at the map.
"The city of Lux has the Hunter's Association which took care of threats outside of the city and has the City Council to take care of the affairs in the city. There really weren't people policing on the streets, but the same can't be said for Nyx. They have a separate body for protecting the city, guards ensuring that laws are followed at the entrance and exits for travelers as well as an organization that takes care of outside threat as well, but they're all under the Bureau of Defense, headed primarily by the Durands."
Lukas knew that the head office was situated in the territory of the Durands itself, but there were a lot of precincts or offices that allowed them to have a greater control of the city.
If Lukas wanted to, he might be able to get himself hired there?
"A temporary gig or something. Check out the local problems as well as earn some Nyx—aha, Nyx Credits. How could I forget something so important such as this one?" Lukas stared down at the map and encircled one of the tallest buildings as indicated there.
One was able to freely check their Nyx Credits on their own device or gadget, so Lukas never really checked if there was a bank at Lux. Not to mention transactions were conducted easily enough, but the city of Nyx was of course home to the financial giant that no doubt affected all of the Vampire settlements.
"They were able to centralize everything into one currency to allow trade from all settlements despite their obvious distances from one another. No doubt because the goods probably come from elsewhere… like the thing with the Nox Chambers and Sanguis Ectstacy among others."
On the contrary to Durand House though, not everything was placed in some Bureau. Instead, the Argenti Inc. existed and was responsible for the finance of the city along with other institutions.
This was something that gave him some thoughts.
"I'm not so sure about lycans, but all of these things really does remind me of human way of doing things." Lukas whispered to himself. So were they adapted from that? Was that an acknowledgment of what his former people could do?
R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freew𝒆(b)novel.c(o)m Only