When the plot-skips players into the game world

"Blood supply..."

Sherlock murmured, repeating the words, and immediately understood Aiwass's meaning: "So that's it... saying it like that, it indeed makes sense."

"There are only twenty-four registered dependents in the Orleans' Count Mansion, the third least among the eight Counts. However, their demand for blood is ranked first..."

He looked at the "Blood Supply" entry on the data card, feeling puzzled: "But why... so few?"

—This is the number of blood bags they transfer from the hospital each month.

Even the Count of Orleans, who requisitions the most, only has a mere two hundred and twenty bags. Calculating at two hundred milliliters per bag, that's only forty-four liters.

And the number requisitioned by other Sons of the Moon is even more pitiful... the least being only a bit over sixty bags.

For these Sons of the Moon, it seems overly modest...

Sherlock failed to realize this at first simply because this part fell into his blind spot of knowledge—he truly didn't know how much blood Sons of the Moon typically needed to consume.

Aiwass was aware of this fact, so he explained in detail: "There's actually a counterintuitive aspect here—that is, the Son of the Moon actually doesn't need to drink blood daily. The basic blood consumption to maintain the Son of the Moon's rationality is merely two hundred milliliters every fifteen days."

"In other words, under sufficient nutrition, theoretically one Blood Slave is actually enough to supply three to four Sons of the Moon's survival. And the Sons of the Moon's craving for fresh blood is similar to humans' craving for gourmet food. It's a manifestation of 'pure desire.'"

"...They're not seeing it as food but as a snack?" Sherlock's expression darkened as he murmured softly.

"To be precise, it's a beverage. The craving for blood by the Sons of the Moon is addictive, like an alcoholic's craving for alcohol. Based on this craving, the blood supplied from the hospital couldn't possibly be for higher-ranking Sons of the Moon."

Saying this, Aiwass explained to Sherlock the operations of the Health Party among the Irisflower People.

Ever since the Son of the Moon's affiliated "Health Party" essentially controlled half the votes of the Irisflower People, the Sons of the Moon could ensure a stable supply of blood.

The so-called "Health Party," also known as the "Stability Faction," is officially named "Alliance of Patriots Pursuing Security and Stability of Irisflower." Their party symbol is a red heart, believing that all current issues of the Irisflower are merely temporary chaos, thus they wish to maintain the status quo unconditionally.

They don't want significant policy changes nor want wars or anything that might lead to drastic societal changes.

And the core competitiveness of this party lies in the magical potions provided by the Witches—and themselves. This party essentially includes seventy percent of all major merchants and almost all of the old aristocracy. This is also the reason why Counts of the Moon's Sons can dignifiedly requisition blood packs directly from the hospital... many old aristocrats are attempting to transform themselves into Sons of the Moon, which is a "somewhat risky trend" in Irisflower nowadays.

"In the internal opinion of the Health Party, they even consider the Transcendents of the Path of Love who dare not conduct the transformation ceremony as 'cowards' and 'old fossils,' with many 'successful transformers' promoting their now wonderful experiences, subtly enticing them to gradually become Sons of the Moon."

"...Absurd."

Sherlock frowned deeply: "Those successful transformers have become different people, haven't they?"

"Indeed."

Aiwass nodded his head: "And outside, they have many experts uniformly issue a statement—that 'regular blood drawing can effectively prevent disease,' but 'if not done correctly, it may lead to infection.' Based on this theory, Irisflower People can only regularly visit the hospital to draw blood—it's not even considered blood donation because it's seen as a 'health regimen,' and they even need to pay the hospital in return."

"...Utter ignorance."

Sherlock, of course, knew this had no actual purpose.

But Aiwass shook his head: "No, this actually does serve a purpose.

"—Because after a significant blood draw, to quickly heal the wounds and regenerate blood, the hospital would have them ingest diluted magic potions, or simply have the Theological Seminary's apprentice Priests use them to practice Illumination Art."

The Illumination Art cannot cure diseases; it can only heal injuries... but if these apprentices were truly allowed to treat seriously injured patients, the injuries might worsen to the point that they couldn't even produce a glimmer of light.

However, for these "blood providers," who merely lost blood, they have ample time to receive this type of free treatment, which merely wastes a bit of time but can effectively speed up the body's recovery. Meanwhile, the Irisflower People Priests, lacking orthodox theological heritage, also need plenty of "teaching material" to enhance their Illumination Art proficiency while practicing the principles of Devotion abroad without charging fees, making it a win-win situation.

—And the genuinely beneficial "health regimen" part indeed lies in this subsequent Illumination Art and magic potion.

"Thus, the hospital obtained a large amount of fresh blood in this manner."

Aiwass summarized.

Though refrigerators of this era only existed in versions based on alchemy and spells, hospitals could have large ice cellars to refrigerate this blood. These ice blocks are blessed, and their emitted light can slowly dispel diseases and pollutants within the blood, thus extending its preservation... they can be used for reverse blood transfusions during surgery or sold to Sons of the Moon.

Even the blood preservation technology was offered by the Sons of the Moon as a friendly gesture!

"This kind of blood, with preservatives added, has a peculiar taste. It greatly diminishes the sweet taste of blood in a Son of the Moon's mouth, only serving as a non-perishable kind of dry ration. Rather like a whole barrel of spring water delivered to your door—perfect for quenching thirst or cooking, but if truly serving guests or for regular drinking, at least make some tea, brew coffee, or simmer a soup."

However, for Sons of the Moon, this "staple" is equivalent to a "pre-prepared meal."

Aiwass explained: "Sons of the Moon with true status certainly wouldn't drink such blood. Even purchasing such cheap blood is a disgrace for noble Sons of the Moon. It is primarily used to quench the thirst of those wild Sons of the Moon or those without much status... considered an internal mutual aid within the race.

"Put simply, this blood—it's for the servants to drink. Its correct use is actually for decoration making. For example, a blood fountain, or bathing in blood... but even for such decorations, noble Sons of the Moon from Irisflower will prefer using living humans to create them—for the Sons of the Moon, it's a symbol of power.

"Just like human nobility, who would make counterfeit expensive jewelry to wear at less critical events to prevent loss and theft. Yet, if discovered by other aristocrats that they couldn't afford genuine jewelry, it would become a disgrace.

"Other nobility also occasionally need to purchase some blood packs due to changes in the number of Blood Slaves within their residences. Sometimes they get used up, sometimes sold or given to other nobles. At times, they die for various reasons without timely replacement. During such times, they stockpile some blood packs just in case.

"But the Count of Orleans's blood pack purchases remain exceptionally balanced. Their number of Blood Slaves fluctuates, as does the number of dependents—from a minimum of sixteen to a maximum of twenty-six, yet their purchase of blood packs always stays between one hundred to one hundred and forty, with a fluctuation significantly lower than any other Son of the Moon Count.

"—Thus, this is the most direct evidence."