The First Feast 1

Six days fine

Everything is ready to stop, and I am about to leave the hometown where I was raised, and embark on a journey to a faraway land!

I am here today to record my feelings, so that they will not be forgotten as the years wash away.

It must be said that leaving my hometown was not a spur of the moment, but the result of careful consideration. Or rather, it was the result of me having no choice. It's not so much that the shipyard I run now is not doing well, it's that I'm bankrupt. I haven't been able to sell a boat for four months. I had laid off all my employees a month ago, because even I had no work to do for a long time.

Since I became an adult, I have inherited my father's shipyard and his craftsmanship and skills. Not only that, but I can proudly claim that my craftsmanship is better than that of my father. That's because I grew up in his workshop, and the first toy I remember was a deformed wooden board removed from a ship. By the time I was able to work, I had been studying with my father for years.

When I was younger, I thought I could take the craft to the next level...... Who's to say it couldn't be in the circumstances? Boats were needed everywhere, weren't they?

But unfortunately, I'm in a worse situation now than the worst years my father has ever had. Now I can be sure that I can't sustain it. Holding on any longer has no point in increasing my pain.

If there was a beginning to the tragedy I am facing now, it would have been the tax hike a few years ago. The King of the Ryan people (though I was born here, I must be called it, because even if I admit it, no one else recognizes it) ordered a new tax on foreign residents throughout the country in order to meet the growing need for military spending. Unfortunately, my workshop fell victim to this tax increase. For every ship built, or for every sale, I had to pay an additional tax increase of nearly one gold coin. In this way, the tax I bear is equal to half of the tax.

I don't want to reminisce about the injustices I have suffered over the past few years. If I had to describe it in one sentence, it would be excesses in taxes. It seems that I own such a shipyard and make me look like a rich man, but if I am really a rich man, why should I work so hard in the shipyard myself?

Here, I have to thank my dear cousin Donnie (hey, I really hope I'm not thanking the wrong person). When I was at the end of my rope, he suddenly asked someone to bring me a letter. In this letter, he strongly recommended to me to go to West Vania.

In my mind, Sivania is a different world. Not to mention anything else, it's a remote and closed place on a map alone. And, legend has it that the place is now ruled by vampires, where humans live in the dark. The people of Sivania are ignorant and miserable, and can be used by vampires as food or an ingredient in some complex potion at any time.

But Donnie highly recommends it to me. In the letter, he said that all the rumors about Sivania were not credible, because Sivania was prosperous and prosperous. The new port there is in desperate need of a shipyard to support it, and if I can get there in time and get permission from the Scarlet Duke (the name of the vampire who rules Sivania), I don't think I'll be able to get rich. In his letter, he stressed that time is now an opportunity. If I'm one step late, then maybe this opportunity will be lost, and the mountain of gold coins will fall into someone else's pocket.

I showed the letter to a few friends. They were more unanimous in agreeing that I couldn't go to that vampire-ruled place. Because vampires are – undoubtedly – evil and vile, and full of hatred for humans. They believe that Downey may have written the letter under threat or abduction. If I go there, I'm afraid that's the end of my life.

But in fact, I'm at my point. As I said earlier, my shipyard is finished, and if I don't find an income soon, then my family and I will soon starve. A drowning person would desperately try to hold onto a floating straw, and I am the drowning person now. I know almost nothing but shipbuilding, and even if I could switch to a blacksmith, carpenter, or something like that, I'd be too old. There's an old saying that "an old dog can't learn new tricks". It's cruel, but I have to admit it. It was difficult for me to learn a craft other than shipbuilding, even though it was similar to shipbuilding in some way. Even if I change careers, I'm afraid I'll only be the kind of craftsman with the worst craftsmanship and the least reward. Besides, I do love shipbuilding.

With that in mind, I decided to take a risk. Of course, I can't bring my family with me, because in case it's a trap, then at least it's hurt me......

(Here are some of the marks after being soaked in water, where the ink was diluted with water and the handwriting was unreadable.) The entire lower end of the journal was soaked with water. It is clear that the person who got this diary did not know how to cherish it)

Seventeenth day rain

The journey was boring, lonely, and full of longing and anxiety about the future. Like a young man, I boarded the carriage of a caravan with speculation and unease. Although it was my first time traveling, it was a lackluster trip.

This caravan was planned to go to Sivania. However, this is not because of the original intention of the team members, but the request of the top management of the chamber of commerce. That's right, although this caravan is not large, it belongs to a large and influential chamber of commerce. So the team was as uneasy and fearful as I was. It is now known throughout the world that Sivania is ruled by vampires (everyone calls it the Scarlet Duke, but this name is probably not its real name). This alone can make people involuntarily afraid. Who wants to die on the territory of a vampire?

But the top brass of the Chamber of Commerce don't see it that way. Based on the small amount of information I had gossiped from gossip with the employees in the team, I was determined that there were many unique specialties in Sivania. This makes it a lucrative area for merchants. Besides, vampires are evil monsters, but they are not completely irrational beasts. Even according to the records of the Church, there was a great deal of human life in Callean. It can be seen that although vampires are aliens, their rule should be similar to that of humans.

These words of mine comfort those who are unlucky. They are different from me, not because they are desperate to try to take risks, but because they are forced by their superiors. A coachman with whom I had a good deal with secretly told me that the Chamber of Commerce was doing this because of a rumor that several of them were said to have received business privileges in Sivania from vampires. However, considering the vampire's notoriety and evil, the chamber of commerce's top brass decided to send a small team to test the waters first. And this caravan was the one who was unfortunately chosen. For them, whether or not they can do business is secondary, the key is to know the whole situation in Sivania - if possible - and it is best to talk to the vampires.

I was somewhat surprised to find that the caravan's main cargo was furs from the north and some metal utensils.

......

Rain on the 26th

Maybe I accidentally slipped it out before. It could also be a dream talk or a drunken remorse. Anyway, now everyone in the caravan knows where I came from. Some of the words passed through the gods, and at the end of the day, for some reason, they became one of my relatives working under the hands of vampires. A lot of people, including the leader of the caravan, came to me on purpose. Although I don't want to deceive anyone. But since this misunderstanding can make me get better treatment, then there is no need for me to correct this mistake.

But then again, I still don't know what the hell Donnie is doing over there. In that letter, he vaguely mentioned that he was doing well in Sivania and that he had decided to stay there for a long time. From this point of view, it is indeed possible that he became a vampire's henchman.

By the way, I have to remind myself that I must pay attention to the term "vampire" in the future. I'm sure the one in Sivania wouldn't like that either. However, I was a little curious to find that no one knew his real name. The vampire must have a real name, but the people of the caravan know nothing. They know the secrets of many churches, one of which is that the vampire who rules over Sivania is already the last vampire in the world. It is precisely because of this that the Church has not taken any decisive measures. Because occupying Sivania was already the limit of this vampire, he couldn't possibly pose any more threats.

Of course, the vampire's defeat of the kingdom's army in previous wars was also an important factor. In short, vampires are the kind of opponents who are difficult, dangerous and troublesome, but the threat is limited. Therefore, no matter who it is, they do not want to destroy an enemy who is not too threatening but difficult to deal with with huge casualties.

It is precisely because of this that when we mention "that vampire", we are referring to the only one, the Scarlet Duke. His real name is not known.

......

The 23rd was fine

Today, my long journey is finally coming to the last part. We had a two-day break in Mill City before we left for our children. The caravans were all very popular, for the news from the city was favorable. We (because of the rumor, so the caravan leader invited me to join us) visited the branch of another local chamber of commerce (the two chambers of commerce have a very good relationship), and got a lot of "trusted" information from there.

Now we can be sure that vampires aren't unreasonable monsters. In fact, vampires are very rational rulers. The thing about vampires feeding on the inhabitants of West Vania is a rumor, as vampires are not interested in the blood of ordinary humans at all. So, even a face-to-face conversation with a vampire like me is not in danger of being treated as lunch.

Vampires only love the blood of beautiful virgins between the ages of twelve and seventeen. Except for those who meet this condition, everyone else can treat a vampire as a normal lord.

In fact, according to those from the Chamber of Commerce, Sivania is building well now. The roads are wide, life is stable, and the city is prosperous. Vampires have fulfilled their duties as rulers. But they also made a warning. Unless necessary, we'd better go not to the vampire's own territory, but to his subordinates, the territories of a group of lords he canonized. Because all of these subordinates who work for vampires are humans.

We also heard a lot of rumors from the streets and taverns. Although there are many rumors about Sivania, at least some commonalities can be drawn from them. At least when it comes to vampires' food, there's a lot of uniformity. All legends state that vampires do not drink the blood of ordinary people. But it imprisoned thousands of maidens in its dark castle...... Strictly speaking, he had too much to eat, so every once in a while, a group of girls who were too old or not so good-looking were released from the castle.