As we got closer to the Capital City, we gained more responses from Lucy's <Tracing Blood>. In total, we found 8 more jars but with less blood than the one scattered around Academy City.
It took her a lot of MP, so I gave her a magic item to decrease the MP needed to use a skill. I also prepared 3 bottles of MP potion, each could recover 50 MP at once.
"Another miss," Lucy muttered as she threw a little jar at me.
We were currently just a bit away from the Capital City. The massive structure loomed before me, stretching high into the starlit sky. Its sturdy stone walls stood as a formidable barrier, protecting the city and its inhabitants from the unknown beyond.
"There is only one more smell from within the city. This one is stronger than the others, so it might be the culprit, Arthur. As you've expected, they probably hide in a crowded city to hide their own scent. Unfortunately for them, my sense of smell is more sensitive than the others, especially in a full moon."
"I see. Let's check the last one. I hope it's really them, though." I jumped off the magic carpet and put it in the inventory.
"Let's walk inside. You might need to pull up your hood to hide your ears and eyes. The Capital City isn't like the Academy City, and I am not sure if I can even get you a pass if they know you're a vampire."
The full moon hung majestically above. Lucy also looked up and narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Very well." She muttered. "Today is also a full moon, so holding myself back is a bit hard. It's hard for a Vampire or even Half-Vampire to stay calm and think rationally at this moment."
Saying so, she pulled the hood connected to her gothic clothes up. It was black in color and had a frill decorating it, making it look cute and adorable.
It was big enough to hide Lucy's face under its shadow, making her look like a normal, shy girl.
Also, her words about the full moon caught my attention. If that culprit was a Half-Vampire, according to Lucy, then wasn't she also affected by the full moon's effect? What was it? I had never known about that.
Still, if that was the case, then wasn't it bad? If the one that got kidnapped was Garcia, I could rest a bit easier. But Milea was bad news.
"We need to hurry inside."
After I said so, I began to walk toward the nearest gate facing west. The Capital City was located way east of the Academy City, far from the border between the two Kingdoms but still at the center of the Virtue Kingdom to get access everywhere easier.
Lucy followed behind me like a follower. That was good enough. I could then explain to the guard that she was my subordinate following me.
By the way, I had calmed down considerably after I guessed the culprit's identity and heard about this full moon effect from Lucy earlier. The bad one wasn't that girl, but the person instigating her to do this.
So I changed my ways of thinking about this accident. Of course, I was still angry toward the culprit and was worried about Milea, but I shouldn't let it cloud my judgment. I didn't want to regret what I would do later.
The gate was busy even at night. Many carriages tried to enter, but somehow there was no one trying to get through the small gate on the side often used by people walking. So I went to that side.
"Stop. You can't enter the Capital at night without a carriage."
However, once we got closer, the guard near the gate stopped me from entering and pointed his spears at me. Figures. I didn't wear anything gaudy and looked like a normal person with blond hair and blue eyes.
Usually, I would just follow their instructions and show my ID. But my feelings told me that they would complicate things such as stolen ID or something, so I showed my Paladin Crest instead.
"Move," I ordered with a commanding tone as the symbol of Castitas Church shone brightly above me. "She's my companion. Don't stop her."
The guard was speechless, and we gained more attention from the long queue of carriage from the side.
Eventually, the guard gulped, and sweat dripped from his forehead.
"Please… enter."
He moved away and gestured for us to enter. This was why I loved to have status in this country. It made things easier, and no one would complicate every single thing.
Once we entered the Capital City, I didn't immediately ask Lucy to use <Tracing Blood> to find Milea and the culprit. That would just repeat what we had done earlier without getting a result if there was only a jar of blood in this city.
Instead, I went in a certain direction where many inns and lodgings were located in this city. As someone who focused on swordsmanship and became a vanguard, I wasn't skilled enough with tracing people or magic. Tristan was also more focused on Archery instead of magic, so she only had a few tracking skills.
"Arthur, are we not going to find the culprit now?" Lucy asked curiously as she caught up to me, walking by my left side. "As we walked, the similar scent from the blood we traced moved at a ridiculous speed. I am certain they are in the Capital City."
"That's even more reason to stop right now. It will take too much time to check them one by one. We will give them time to spread out and will pinpoint their real location after we meet someone."
While Lucy had <Tracing Blood>, which was useful for tracking the culprit, I needed another person to make sure this search was successful and fast.
Coincidentally, there was someone in this place that probably could help me find Milea and the culprit. Someone who mastered <Mana Sense> and probably had a lot of tracking magic.
My magic item was useless in this situation, and I didn't want to gamble by using a cursed magic item because it was too dangerous, even in my opinion.
That person's location was marked in my <Presence Detection> radar with a blue dot. And according to my radar, it seemed like the first Princess was also in the castle, at one of the towers visible from the main street we walked down.
The blue dot, belonging to the person I was about to find, moved toward us.
I guessed that was as expected from her. It seemed like she had noticed my presence and decided to meet me in the middle instead of waiting in her inn. It could also be that she had found Milea way before me and just waited for me to make a move.
'I don't know what's inside her mind.'
And when I turned right at the intersection, there she was. A long lustrous platinum blonde hair extending to her waist. A black leotard with a mini skirt. Long ears that became the characteristic of an Elf and a witch hat rested on her head.
Standing in front of me expressionlessly was the Virtue Royal Academy's headmistress and Milea's aunt, Alesia Daxidor.
"I am waiting for you." She spoke to me in a soft voice, but I noticed a worry behind it. "My niece needs help. Let's save her together."
And she did know that Milea was in danger and in need of help.
