She is not an investigator.

“I will tell Shangcheng about your situation, which should put their minds at ease. Besides that… I have another question, which is actually the main reason I came here in person.”

"The main reason? You can tell me."

Mirall put on an interested look, after all, it was strange enough that a human would go to a vampire's lair on his own initiative.

“I’m looking for something that may not have a specific shape and is difficult to describe in words… but it’s like a kind of pollution that can affect the mind and personality of humans or vampires.”

Igris scratched her cheek a little embarrassedly, after all, her description was too abstract, to the point that even she herself thought it was outrageous.

As expected, Mirall was also stunned and stood there in silence for a long time.

"It's nothing... just pretend I didn't say anything, I can find it myself."

No, I think I understand what you're saying.

Surprisingly, Mirall seemed to understand Igris's description, and judging from his expression, he didn't seem to have thought of anything strange.

He gave an example, though he was somewhat unsure.

"You mean the kind of person whose personality suddenly changes drastically, becoming a completely different person from usual, even affecting their life, or even losing their life because of it?"

"...That's roughly it."

It's hard for Igris to say for sure, since she has only witnessed the effects of one of the secret treasures so far.

If the other hidden treasures are not like this, then she really has no clues left.

"You may not know the answer to this question."

Mirall seemed quite willing to explain this to Igris, perhaps because he was indeed friendly enough to humans, or perhaps Igris's title was once again having the desired effect.

"Before I built the city, vampires often engaged in cannibalism. Vampire flesh and blood do indeed contain potent toxins, but those toxins do not seem to be fatal to other vampires. Instead, they severely impair the vampires' intelligence, turning them into monsters... Therefore, after the Great Liberation, we enacted a law that completely prohibits cannibalism."

As he spoke, his expression suddenly turned serious.

"When you came here, you should have seen those abandoned streets in the upper city. To be honest, all the vampires living there are exiled for breaking the law. If the people of the upper city are willing to provide the space, we will dump those vampires who have broken the law there."

"But to be honest... most vampires have completely abandoned that bad habit, and cannibalism shouldn't exist anymore. But recently, yes... only recently, many similar incidents have occurred in the city. The specific reasons are unknown, and the number of people being exiled has increased dramatically. If it's because of hunger, then it shouldn't be... Here, even the poorest and lowest-ranking vampires still won't go hungry."

As he spoke, he looked at Igris, his expression hesitant but reluctant to ask.

"Perhaps this is what you're looking for. Whatever it is, it has indeed affected my city. If you have a way, I hope you can resolve all the disasters it has caused. Please."

“I understand, I will, of course… I have one last question.”

Igris slowly uttered a name.

"Hugh, do you know this vampire?"

"...?"

Mirall paused for a moment, then frowned, pondered, and shook her head.

"Sorry, I don't recognize the name."

"She was a humanoid vampire who roamed the exile zone. She possessed her own intelligence and was full of reason. Most importantly... she deceived me."

Hugh had described the situation here before Igris arrived.

This place is dangerous; perhaps that's not an exaggeration when it comes to humans.

But here, even the most ordinary, common, and weakest vampire will still have a place to live, and it's not like she said, where vampires who can't hunt will be exiled or banished from the city.

Perhaps Igris should have realized something was wrong when she first saw those alien vampires, but considering the issue of cannibalism, she also wondered if the weaker vampires had already been eaten.

But now, she is faced with a completely new answer.

"She is an exiled vampire."

The bizarre stage play – The City of Bloodthirsty Gluttons: Chapter Twenty-Four, On the Direction of Gluttony

"Possessing intelligence, yet living in exile... How is that possible?"

In Mirall's mind, such a situation should be impossible to occur simultaneously.

First, what is the exile zone? It is a completely desolate place where no human can approach, and most of the vampires living there are vampires who have committed sins.

These vampires all share the same characteristic: they are devoid of reason and resemble monsters.

They lack the capacity for thought, and hunger constantly drives them to hunt weaker vampires for food.

Perhaps their instincts as wild animals give them a certain sense of territory and the ability to subjugate, but the so-called subjugation is nothing more than stockpiling reserve food when there is enough food.

It can be said that the vampires living in the exile zone will eventually all go through a cycle.

The weak are preyed upon and hunted, while the powerful vampires become the hunters, constantly reducing the number of other vampires.

However, their numbers are not endless. After all the vampires have been hunted and devoured, even the most powerful vampires will starve and eventually die of hunger due to the lack of food.

Therefore, it is very difficult for truly exiled vampires to find a way to survive, let alone human vampires.

Compared to alien vampires, the strength of humanoid vampires has never been their combat ability. Once they lose their minds, they will completely fall to the bottom of the vampire hierarchy and be slaughtered at will.

Unless vampires living in exile zones do not prey on their own kind, they are in no way able to maintain their sanity.

But if they don't prey on their own kind, why were they exiled there?

"...I'll keep an eye on this. It won't be long before I find out the vampire's identity and past."

"Hopefully she won't become an obstacle to your continued peaceful life."

Having said that, Igris stood up and rubbed her tired back.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now. I'll go back and report on everything I've discovered here today, and... I'm very happy to have seen such a city with my own eyes."

"……My pleasure."

Mirall, now acknowledging the approval, smiled sincerely and quickly waved to the burly man at the door to come over.

"Don't just stand there. Make sure our distinguished guest gets out of here safely. Don't delay, or your bonus will be deducted."

"Roger that!"

Upon hearing about the deduction of his bonus, the burly vampire immediately perked up and approached Igris, indicating that he wanted to go with him.

Seeing this, Igris waved her hand and shook her head indifferently.

"It's alright. Everything here is indeed novel to me. I might come back again. I hope that next time I come, this place will be more prosperous and advanced than it is now."

"Lend your auspicious words."

…………

The journey out was smooth. Because the big guy was with her, the guards at the gate didn't even ask a question and made way for Igris without asking any questions.

Without any hesitation, Igris bid farewell to the vampires behind her and headed up the stairs.

When she came out of the lower town, the sky was already tinged with red. Although it would be dark for a while, she really shouldn't stay there too long.

"I thought you would forget what you really should ask because of the small talk."

Just then, the administrator's voice rang out again. Her words always had a strangely harsh quality, but Igris didn't mind, or rather, she was getting used to this way of speaking.

Sometimes when I don't hear it, I feel a little nostalgic.

"I never forget what I really want to do, nor do I forget what I'm going to do next."

"hope so."

"Speaking of which... what do you think of Hugh?"

The mystery surrounding that particular vampire seemed to be more extensive than Igris had imagined.

Whether it's sharing a name with the sheriff's sister, her apparent strength and friendliness, or her maintaining rationality while living in exile, she remains a figure of great concern.

She was an anomaly, even among vampires.

"I won't comment on her, I'll only comment on you. My advice is that you should have killed her the moment you saw her."

As always, the administrator's opinions were always so bloody and violent.

"For some reason, I have a feeling that we will meet again."

“Your premonitions are always accurate, but you can’t be sure whether the next encounter will be a good thing or a bad thing, so you might as well kill her in the first place.”

She was still thinking about this matter; killing all the time wasn't Igris's style.

"Alright, it's getting late. Go back and get some sleep. Tomorrow, go to the church and explain things to the old priest, then you can focus on investigating the secret treasure."

Igris breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly feeling that she had accomplished something incredible, even though she hadn't actually done anything special, just gone to the vampire city to get a certificate.

"And, Miss Administrator..."

"explain."

Her words became much shorter; perhaps she was throwing a tantrum? Or maybe she was simply tired.

"I can indeed sense that there is a hidden treasure within this city, but I cannot determine the nature of that treasure. Perhaps... you can?"

Igris didn't know either, but she did know that as the administrator, he would certainly know more about the secret treasures than she did.

The administrator did not disappoint Igris.

“I thought you had already guessed that this treasure is Gluttony, and the specific details are similar to its name. Also, I have to say, you have indeed come to the right place. At least in this city, if you mention the existence of Gluttony, those vampires will definitely not be able to escape.”

"I see."

Igris also felt that the problem was in the lower city, but this matter probably wouldn't be so easy to resolve.

If the secret treasure really did come knocking on her door, then Igris probably wouldn't be so troubled.

They were clearly talking about how the secret treasures and the Book of Secrets would attract each other, but Igris didn't feel any attraction at all.

Of course, it could also be due to the wrong timing.

"Never mind, I'll just go home and get some sleep."

"You really need to work on yourself; your physical fitness is absolutely terrible."

“I’ve been exercising all along, but you’re right, we can exercise together next time.”

Igris was a very kind person; she deeply understood what it meant to share happiness and hardship.

"Stop gossiping, something's getting close."

"Oh... not again."

Igris stopped in her tracks. Even though the caretaker didn't say anything, she heard the footsteps rushing towards her from behind.