Vampire and Chocolatier 〜The genius alchemist’s sweet quest〜

“Sorry to rush you, but I need to close the workshop for the day,” said Maessen, the owner, with a sigh. He was a red-haired giant of a man. If not for him wearing a tuxedo, he would look very much like a pirate.

Alfred, whose nickname at boarding school was “the prince with glasses,” was his exact opposite. Despite that, they got along with each other better than others at school and continued to be friends even after they met again in the town of Ruviria. 

Now that man was looking at him as if he was throwing out an unwanted piece of furniture.

“That’s insane. Are you really going to send away such an outstanding talent like me?”

“I know you are a great alchemist. You blew out the windows of my workshop with your lightning experiments and you made the old man next door drink a hair-growing potion that made him look like a moss ball. I wanted to strangle you like a chicken so many times.”

“Don’t forget the telephone. It was truly revolutionary if I do say so myself.”

“Then get on with it and pay the bill for the window repair, reparation for the old man, and the rent for the next six months. Don’t tell me you didn’t apply for a patent and showed it off so much that the Goldoc merchants stole it from you?”

Alfred brushed back his prided blond hair and sniffed. Why couldn’t that man understand the simple reasoning that it would be better for the world if superior technology was shared with the rest of the world?

Or was it the urban air of Ruviria that turned his amiable friends into such cold adults? When they were students, they used to talk about their dreams of becoming adventurers every day.

“I thought your job was to turn rocks into gold. If you do the opposite, you’ll be in deep shit.” 

“The purpose of alchemy is the elucidation of truth. The transformation of base metals is only one process, and at the end of that quest is the realm of the gods – that is, immortality.”

“Can you do it?”

“Sure. So, give me more money.”

Instead of a reply, he was sent flying. 

It was the first time Maessen had beaten him since that time Alfred had carelessly slept with a daughter of his date at the boarding school.

Alfred was thrown into an alley in winter wearing only a white linen shirt and brown pants. All he had on his person were the three coins he had left in his hip pocket, his favorite pocket watch, and his noble aspirations as an alchemist.

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The city of Ruviria was a port town with a history spanning over two thousand years. It has attracted all kinds of talented people not only from the Kingdom of Sablé but from all over the world, resulting in the establishment of the Royal Academy, the most esteemed academic institution in the world.

Alfred was an exchange student, participating in lectures while running his own workshop, specializing in alchemy. 

“Not good. If I don’t do something, I won’t be able to pay for the tuition…”

Well, to be honest, it was more so that the situation was so dire that he wouldn’t be able to even make ends meet tomorrow.

His priority should be to secure a place to stay. The land here met the sea, so it wouldn’t get too cold even during a winter night, but it was still not exactly safe. There were not only thieves and wild dogs on the streets of Ruviria, but also all kinds of troublesome creatures not found anywhere else. 

Ghosts, fairies, water sprites, werewolves.

With such a long history came many legends and anecdotes. There were too many folklorists, spiritual mediums, and mystical alchemists that came to this land to count. There were even rumors that the city lord himself was a vampire. There was even a saying among the merchants that the only thing you could not find in the city of Ruviria was God.

Maessen laughed at that. But Alfred has never once doubted the existence of the supernatural – in part because he was an alchemist, but also because he has actually witnessed it.

On the first day, he moved to Ruviria Alfred saw a swarm of night demons fly across the full moon sky.

He shuddered when he recalled their silhouettes like pale flames. If he didn’t find a place to stay soon, come morning he might even end up laying in an alley with his soul stolen.

The sun began to set as he wandered aimlessly through the town, the walls of the taverns and workshops lining the streets, the cracked tile alleys tinted with the glow of the setting sun. 

He has wandered near the district of the wealthy. If he went to a tavern, there would without a doubt be many gentlemen and noble ladies there. Food, drink, maybe even the standing of a house guest… They could even not be human for all he cared. It was the alchemist’s duty to make the mystery his own, after all.

Alfred rallied his timid heart and entered through the nearest door. But it was just a new shop called a coffee house that has caught on as of late, with no cocktails or wine. The brown and blue-colored interior was teeming with elegantly dressed customers, but there was no air of frivolity like in a tavern – people were even discussing politics and academics.

He wanted to get drunk if possible, but this seemed to be more of a social meeting place. He was offered a famous chocolate drink, but he declined and opted for the cheapest coffee he could find instead, the only one he could afford with what little coin he had. After he received his cup, he looked around, searching the guests for anyone who looked easy to fool.

A young man looking like a son of a noble house came into his sight. 

As soon as their eyes met, the young man smiled sweetly.  

“It would be a waste not to order this shop’s chocolate, you know.”

“I don’t have any money on me right now. I just got evicted from the place where I used to live.”

“That’s unfortunate. If you want, I could buy you a drink.”

His goal was achieved with surprising ease. He knew that chocolate was supposed to be nourishing, but it would be his first time tasting it. A good start. Alfred decided to get all he could out of that kind of customer. 

Alfred looked at the young man again and was surprised to see just how long his eyelashes were and how his lips were so bright as if painted with rouge. His hair hung down to his shoulders and his eyes were black like the night, but in contrast, his skin was so white it was almost translucent. His slender face with a delicate jawline looked like it could belong to a finely crafted doll. He was a beautiful young man who looked as if he had been blessed by the gods themselves.

His androgynous appearance might have made him look harmless, but even when sitting across Alfred’s taller self on the other side of the round table their eyes were at the same level and he looked truly regal in his kaftan with frilled sleeves. The fabric was satin, and the color was not as much maroon as it was… blood red. The suit he wore underneath was glossy black, but its gold embroidery matched the kaftan. The nerve to walk around town in such a flashy, old-fashioned outfit was almost frightening. Maybe this man was some rich boy who came here incognito to enjoy the nightlife. That’s how much he looked out of place.

“Is there something on my face?”

“No, I just thought that even though I am confident in my looks, I might be losing to you in that department.” 

“You can’t have too much beauty. If you do, no one will look at what’s inside.”

Alfred laughed. Not bad. But maybe the man was not as naive as he seemed. He wiped his glasses, fogged by the steam from his coffee, and probed further.

“I’m an alchemist at the Academy. It’s my job to see things for what they really are.”

“Then, how do you see me?”

“A generous nobleman who blessed a man he did not know with chocolate… that much is obvious for anyone. But you are not doing it out of the kindness of your heart. You are hoping for something new to happen, so you’re sowing seeds at random, waiting out of boredom for some unknown flower to bloom.”

“I see. You’re very good at spotting that much at just the first meeting, aren’t you?”

“Because the first time our eyes met, I remembered the look on my friend’s face right before we experimented.”

Just then, the chocolate drink the man had ordered was placed on the counter. Alfred switched the cup of coffee he was about to drink from with the new one.

“My name is Alfred. I am an alchemist who plans to change the world. Maybe this encounter of ours that you got with a cup of chocolate will bloom into a flower that no one has ever seen before.”

He sipped from his cup with gusto, trying to off-handedly convey the meaning of “the truth”. He wanted to make as good of an impression as possible – but as soon as he took a sip of the chocolate drink, he felt his throat burn and an unbearable urge to spit it out. 

…he has heard of chocolate being bitter or sweet, but what was with this spiciness?

“Haha! The specialty of this shop is full of spices, you know. It seems that meeting me also gave you an experience you never thought you would have.” 

The politeness disappeared from the young man’s mouth. Alfred stared at him through his glasses, and the other extended his hand to him, tears of amusement in his eyes.

“I am Sin. A libertine who adores playing with students like you.”

In other words, he had wanted to play a prank on him from the beginning. The man was beyond naive and childish.

Even though Alfred was caught off guard and made to drink that thing, strangely enough, he didn’t feel angry. Was it because it reminded him of his boarding school days and fooling around with Maessen?

Besides, the drink was not so bad once he knew it was spicy.

“The taste seems jarring at first, but it grows on you, no? Since you are an alchemist who sees things for what they really are, you should have no problem recognizing the complex flavors hiding behind the spice and bitterness.” 

“You took that right out of my mouth. I was just about to mention the taste.”

Watching Alfred sipping from his cup, the young man who introduced himself as Sin smiled with satisfaction. Then, as if he could no longer stand just watching, he ordered the same thing himself and began to drink the chocolate drink with a face like a child chewing a cookie. It seemed clear that he simply wanted to share the pleasure of the drink for the moment.

The taste really was growing on him.

The surface was light as meringue and had a smooth texture. After a strong bitterness that squeezed the tongue, the savory flavor came through with a hint of sweetness. Leaving behind an aftertaste, the characteristic tingling numbness of chili peppers closed in and spread throughout his mouth like a spark starting a bonfire. 

By the time he came to, he had already gulped down the whole cup. 

“…I can’t say much with just one cup. Maybe after a few more, I will be able to have a deeper insight into this chocolate drink.”

“How encouraging. Next, let’s try something less spicy.”

In tune with Alfred’s good mood, Sin placed orders one after another.

From the standard chocolate drink sweetened with vanilla, sugar, and milk, to the finest delicacies with jasmine and small amounts of ambergris. There were even solidified chocolate boards that became available only recently.

By the time they ordered the nuts and candied fruits, they were toasting to each other shoulder to shoulder as if they had been friends for ten years. Alfred even received an endorsement from Singh, who said, “You can stay at my mansion until you are satisfied, not just for tonight.” 

Despite his claim to be an alchemist who could see the truth of all things, Alfred was completely oblivious to the discomfort of those around him. Why did the regular customers and staff of the coffee shop turn their heads away in a hurry when they almost made eye contact with Sin? Or why was there no shadow at the feet of this beautiful young man, as there should have been?

The other name for the city of Ruviria was “the city of mystery.”

If you didn’t want to find yourself on that side, it was best to stay away completely.