Vampire Reincarnation

I've achieved so many things during my life time, who would have thought that this would be what brings me down?

Vlad stood down, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the boy's statement. He leaned back on his chair and shot him a questioning look, prompting Kai to speak.

"I noticed that the stores are very… opaque. As a man of business I'm sure you understand how important getting visibilty is. Have you ever thought about replacing the wooden doors and storefronts with large windows?"

For a second, Vlad looked at Kai as if he'd seen an alien, and not a thirteen something year old kid that he was grateful to. "I… No, I haven't. Why?"

"Well," Kai continued, starting to feel a bit awkward just sitting there. "I think that if customers would be able to see the contents of the store before going in, they would be more likely to be interested and make a purchase." The boy began pacing back and forth, making gestures with his hands and trying to look Vlad straight in the eyes as he explained. "Large windows would be inviting to any guest, and the novelty would draw their curiosity. I've also noticed that certain stores don't take care of themselves enough and are very cramped. If there were to be multiple customers they would be getting stuck, unable to properly study the merchandise."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Vlad stopped Kai as he leaned forward, supporting himself on the desk. "But windows are expensive to make and install, we can barely afford a few to allow natural light in. Are you saying to fill the entire organisation with windows?"

"Precisely!" Kai said with enthusiasm, beggining to talk as if someone else took over his tongue at that moment. "You see, natural light can mess with the presentation of certain items, so having natural light in can be very wasteful and may result in lower sales. However, as I said before, large windows that customer can see through and display the entire store will encourage them to buy more, not only because they would be able to take a look at a well-organised store and neatly arranged items."

"On top of that, large windows will allow nearly no blind spots, so if anyone dared make any melevolent moves, there would be plenty of witnesses. That would discourage people from stealing and it would encourage store-owners to make their store presentable. You see what I'm getting at?"

Vlad nodded, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face as he took mental note of everything Kai said.

The boy took a moment to catch his breath, a few drops of sweat sliding down his cheeks. Damn… I didn't know Rodney was a market nerd as well… Well I assume these could only be his memories, I doubt Ivan would know such things, and none of my memories include studying malls… or do they?

No matter what the truth was, Kai's small idea of giving some rudemntary help from a random thought developped into him proposing an entire overhaul of the organisation's shopping center. "And I would also like to propose that you include more variety. Armor, weapons, shields and all those things are good for business, but let me ask you, who is your main clientele?"

"Well…" Vlad rubbed his chin, looking toward the ceiling. "I'd say most of them are men. Yeah, about 90% are men."

"Exactly! Are you not missing out on about 50% of the city's population? What about the women? I know a lot of them are adventurers, but a lot of them are wives as well, mothers."

"Hmm…" Vlad grunted, realising that what Kai said made sense. This time it wasn't Rodney or whoever else speaking for him, but his own ideas developped after briefly studying the organisaiton's stores. "Kid what you say makes sense, but what do you propose? I only sell stuff for adventurers and crafters."

"Well…" Kai hesitated slightly, but in the end grit his teeth and said, "What do women care about most? Beauty, right?"

"Uhuh." Vlad nodded.

"Hygiene and beauty are the priorities of a woman, well I asume they are. I've seen a lot of well-dressed women on my way here. I can propose a few different ideas, but I think what you are missing out on right now is perfume."

"Perfume?" Vlad asked, repeating like a parrot.

"Yes, perfume. How do I put it… it's a scented liquid that people can apply on themselves to make them smell good, or to add to their already good smell."

"I've never heard of this perfume thing. Where have you gotten this idea from?"

"Uh-" Kai froze for a moment, the gears in his brain turning at full speed. "Well, I actually stole it from the elves. They have a similar product and I was surprised to find you didn't have it here."

Vlad looked at Kai with a bit of skepticism, but he said nothing that could arouse suspicious. Elves are very secluded so I assume that most of their existence is unknown. Even though there is lots of trade going on, Vlad doesn't seem to have visited judging by his reaction at me mentioning Aina.

"Besides perfume, after smearing my face with grass and other stuff when fighting, I thought that it made for some hilarious cover. But then I had an ephiphany. What if people could use this to amplify their features? And who else who would want to do that than women?"

"Wait, kid, you're losing me. You want women to put grass and dirt on their faces?"

"No, no. What I mean is, create certain powders and creams that are safe to apply on skin, that would then accentuate their features. Like, something to darken the top of the eye, or lighten it, something to put on your lips. You know, stuff like that."

"I-" Vlad began, his ears turning slightly red. "I'm not sure I follow here."

Kai sighed and decided that he would need someone to help him demonstrate. "Well… I'll try to explain better in detail later. While I was mentioning that, I remembered something someone once told me. 'Music makes people forget, lose themselves. Music is the only language that speaks to everyone.'"

Vlad leaned back on his chair and raised an eyebrow. "Alright, and what does that mean?"

"Well… I was thinking. What if you had people play music inside the organisation? Depending on the section, the music could differ, and even better if it has no lyrics. Just background music. Wouldn't that make people's use their brain less, because of the effect the music has on them?"

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For the first time since the conversation started, Vlad's eyes widened in surprise and his heart raced slightly. A small amount of greed shone within his pupils, and he said after licking his lips. "Kid this is… that's actually a good idea. No, I think all of what you just said is a good idea! Before we continue talking further I want to ask… why even tell me all this? I won't ask where you got such information from, I know better than that, but I'm still curious."

Kai let out an awkward laughter as he scratched the back of his head. "Hehe… the truth is, it felt like I was taking advantage of you. You've given me so much expensive stuff for free, plus the mask, and also helping my companions. Not to mention I don't even have a business, and you are Orphelia's father. If this organisation does well she will inherit even more wealth in the future!"

Vlad's expression darkened suddenly, and he looked at Kai with a serious expression, unlike any other he had shown before.

"Kid… do you actually intend on marrying my daughter?"

…

After clearing up that huge misunderstanding, Kai gave Vlad a few different ideas on how to improve his business, as well as means to attract a large variety of customers, including children and other races. When the two finished talking, Vlad's eyes shone with respect, looking at Kai as an equal instead of a kid. The discussion took two hours, with Kai doing his best to explain some basic marketing concepts he studied from TV commercials and internet ads. He also wrote up some simple methods of producing perfume, but didn't give any pattent on the actual bottle or spray mechanism, mostly because he didn't know them.

Kai knew the casual gist of it, long tube, spring, thin exit with microscopic holesl; However he feared that giving Vlad such information would put him on a 'this guy is way too suspicious' list that not even Aina could help him out of. Aside from that, Kai handed over some rudementary techniques to creating make up.

The door to the office swung open, with Vlad leaving first, followed by Kai and then Onyx. The Obborik wagged its tail upon finally being let outside, and did a large stretch before looking at Kai with a pleading expression. The boy rolled his eyes and let out a chuckle, then threw him a few pieces of meat.

"Kid," Vlad began as they walked toward the crafting workshop. "I have to say, I didn't expect you to impress me so much. I thought you were a lucky kid who happened to be stronger than some two bit bandits, but you're actually quite smart. Haha."

Kai wasn't sure if that was an insult, compliment, or both, however a chuckle escaped his lips. "Then why did you give me so many benefits?" He asked after a few seconds.

"Well, you see, even if I may not be as religious as my daughter, she always preached that one must reward their benefactors. And even if that wasn't the case, there is no question that you saved her, when those useless Emerald Guards couldn't. I questioned wether or not two bit bandits could actually take down an entire squad of Emerald Guards, but after I heard that an eleven or twelve year old defeated them… I lost most of my faith." Vlad explained with a regretful look in his eyes.

"I formed a new one with fresh blood and older recruits that showed promise. They're now called the Metal Orchis Guards. Why metal? Well because I hired someone to train them until their bones would need to be replaced by metal."

Isn't there a large franchise as to why that's a bad idea? Kai chuckled to himself, continuing to listen to Vlad.

"When you showed at my doorstep, again, I didn't expect much of you. But truth be told… you surprised me again and again. Not only you have such important connections, you've also shown great intellect, unlike most children your age. The fact that you wear a mask also shows that there's people who want to harm you. Though truth be told, your appearance, mask and dog don't really do much in terms of hiding your identity."

"Ah-" Kai exclaimed, at a loss for words.

"Haha, don't worry. I'm sure whatever that old man made would help you in that regard." He gave Kai a small slap on the back. "But yeah, you've impressed me. Honestly, if both of you wanted I'd be holding a marriage for you and Orphelia."

Kai's face flushed red, and if it weren't for the mask, Vlad would have been given even more reason to tease him. He didn't reply, of course, which amused Vlad. He's probably thinking that regardless of my intelligence, I'm still a kid… to think that I got embarassed from that… He lamented quietly, his companion running circles around them, none the wiser about his brother's turmoil.

…

The way to the craftsman was spent in relative quiet, with Kai trying to keep pace with Vlad's large strides, and Onyx running past both of them back and forth, using his abundant energy.

Soon, the sound of bellows and iron clashing against iron echoed in their ears, accompanied by the familliar spell of craftmanship. The two hurried toward the back, where the old man was mumbling to himself. So focused was he on his work that he didn't notice the two stop besides him, and he jumped in place upon hearing Vlad's voice. "Yo, old man, you done yet?"

"Ah! Vlad! By Lumiera you scared me!" He collected himself and straightened his dirty clothes. "Almost my boy. I just need to put the finishing touches on the paint and it will be ready."

Vlad nodded, and Kai took a peek at will soon be his new mask. It lay on the old man's desk, a gentle orange light illuminating it, white, red and black paint scatterd along side it and a few brusehs of different sizes placed neatly in a cup filled with dirty water. Wood chips and bits littered the desk and the floor, and the tools that carved them laying not that far away.

Kai's eyes widened upon landing on the mask, whose design was similar to the one he had, but with certain differences. There was one more whisker added to each side, and the red painting along the eye holes - which were also alongated - was much sharper. The three leaf pattern on the forehead was replaced with a beautiful red orchid. From an angle, Kai saw the black dye covering the interior of the mask, unlike the one he wore, whose white paint had long since faded.

Aside from those visual details, Kai saw something he had gotten used to that day - Runes. Magical letter-like scripts floated about in every inch, revolving in a pattern on the surface of the mask. Kai couldn't read them, let alone decipher them, but they gave the mask a mysterious aura he couldn't quite put his finger on.

The old man took a brush and performed two more, meticulous strokes. Kai's heart skipped a beat upon seeing the man's technique, unable to believe his eyes. How could such simple strokes be filled with so much aura… this feeling… it's like this man is changing reality before my very eyes!

A proud smirk morphed on Vlad's face upon noticing Kai's reaction.

The old man raised his brush and threw it in the dirty water cup, then raised the mask to the natural light. A smile appeared on his face, one filled with pride. Nodding to himself he stood up, picking up a collar from his right and slowly made his way over to Kai.

"Here you go my boy. If you would like, you can put it on behind me. We can draw the curtain if you'd like. I put a few enchantements on it as well, I can explain them later."

Kai picked them up with a hint of anxiety, his hands shaking slightly as he accepted the gifts. Looking at the collar, he really hoped it wasn't for him, and it couldn't be anyway, since it was far too large for his neck.

"Haha, that one is for the dog." The old man said with a light chuckle.

Nodding, Kai walked toward the back and drew the curtains, double checking that nobody could see him from any angle. Deciding that it was the right time to put on the armor and the new clothes, he pulled them out as well. Onyx waited outside, guarding the entrance with the performance of a soldier.

The two men chuckled and shook their heads, finding the image of a small pup trying to stop them funny.

Eventually, the curtains parted, revealing Kai's silhouette. Soft, orange, red and white light blasted him from all sides, illuminating his new outfit. The dark cloak, lined with silver thread, fit him perfectly, as did the armor hiding underneath the new, clean clothes. As for the mask, needless to say it fit him like a glove. The old man took his measurements perfectly, on top of all the enchantements he slapped on it.

Kai looked more like a mysterious aventurer with that getup, as opposed to the beggar who wore rags from before.