"Looks pretty normal for a vampire town," I said.

Before me stretched a snow-covered town, lined with European-style buildings like you'd see on TV.

Alice, Reivel, Asia, Xenovia, Irina, Rossweisse, and I—seven of us—were scouting the castle town at midnight, as Rias suggested. It had been two days since the tea party with Valerie, with no major developments, leaving us restless.

The teacher was still at the vampire's sacred gear research institute, unseen for days. Reina went to check on him. Rias and Akeno were negotiating with Gaspar's father in the dungeon, with Kiba as their guard. Rias was working to officially take Gaspar under Gremory's wing.

Gaspar, Miu, and Koneko were having daily tea parties with Valerie.

Oddly, Valerie, the interim queen, had plenty of free time. Post-coup, you'd expect a leader to be swamped, but Marius, holding the reins, let her roam freely.

His talk of "releasing" her was ominous. The lack of movement these past two days was unsettling too. I wanted the teacher's input, but we couldn't ignore Valerie's danger.

Still, something else caught my attention—

"What are you doing?" I asked Alice, half-glaring.

"Warming up. It's cold," she replied, snuggling into my coat like when we arrived.

"I get it's cold, but… want my extra coat?" I pointed at the collar.

It's hard to walk like this, and it's not even that warm for her.

She shook her head. "No, you'd get cold. Plus… this warms me in other ways…" she mumbled, cheeks flushed.

Alright, I'll let it slide. Perks, I guess.

We reached the bustling district, with shops for clothes, trinkets, and food. Turned vampires could eat human food, though purebloods needed more blood. Gaspar, a half-blood, ate mostly human food but struggled with garlic.

I noticed townsfolk glancing at us—not surveillance, just curiosity.

"They can tell we're outsiders," Xenovia noted.

Irina shrugged. "It's a closed-off world. We probably stand out, like when we went on missions abroad and felt out of place."

True, but I suspected the issue was Xenovia and Irina praying in the streets, holding weird saint portraits. Anyone would think they're odd! They've probably done this elsewhere too.

Asia chimed in, "I was overwhelmed when I first came to Japan."

She'd been shocked by food and appliances, especially their convenience. Miu and Alice struggled with tech initially too, but they've adapted—even to automatic doors.

Alice tugged me toward a shop. "Issei, let's check that out. Looks fun!"

She was dragging me everywhere, buzzing with excitement.

The townsfolk used cars and bikes, and shops had registers and automatic doors. Despite their isolation, vampires adopted conveniences like demons.

"Hmm, no 'Oppai Dragon' here. As manager, I need to fix that…" Reivel mused.

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but don't push it!

Xenovia sighed. "I don't like being followed."

Castle spies were tailing us, as expected. It's natural—vampires see us as outsiders, so they monitor us even with permission to roam.

Some didn't care, though.

"Issei! This is cool! It wiggles when you press it!" Alice shouted, fully enjoying herself.

Weren't you cold? Now you're darting around, holding… what is that? Something sketchy!

"Put that down! Don't mess with stuff like that here!" I scolded.

"Oh, I know this from an eroge," Xenovia said, intrigued.

"What lewd movements… Issei-kun, you use these?" Irina asked.

"I'm okay with it!" Asia added.

Nooo! The church trio's gone rogue!

Why are they drawn to that shop? And why does a vampire town even have one? So flexible, vampires!

"Let's check inside!" Xenovia led them in.

Is that really okay? Coming to Romania for that shop?

"Come back! You'll regret it!" I yelled.

"Should I… go too?" Reivel wondered.

"Don't join them!" I snapped.

Rossweisse pointed at me. "Issei-kun, educational discipline!"

"Why me!?" I groaned, swamped with retorts.

Then I froze. A girl—Ophis's clone—was sitting at a stall, staring at accessories, specifically a red dragon-shaped one.

"Uh, miss, which one do you want?" the stall owner asked, flustered by her silence.

No suspicious figures nearby. Was she shopping alone?

"Issei-sama… that's…" Reivel and Rossweisse were stunned.

I exhaled and approached Lilith. Pointing at the accessory, I asked, "Want this?"

She stared at me, silent.

I told the stall owner, "I'll take it." Using money Rias gave me for this country, I bought the red dragon accessory and handed it to Lilith. "Here. This is what you wanted, right? I'm going."

As I turned, she grabbed my coat.

"What's up?" I asked.

Expressionless, she said, "Hungry."

Cute request, I guess.

Alice trudged back, face red. She really didn't know what that shop was.

Lilith was devouring cabbage rolls and grilled meat at a nearby diner we took her to. The table had Romanian dishes, some Japanese ones too—a multinational menu.

Some dishes were meh, like the tofu, but the good ones were great, so I focused on those.

"You could've stopped me," Alice grumbled, still blushing.

"The shop's vibe was obvious," I said.

"I got excited! Everything looked new and interesting!" she pouted.

She should've sensed it, given her experience.

Xenovia mentioned the shop had stuff like in Japan. Irina and Asia, also red-faced, explored it fully. How Irina hasn't fallen from heaven, I'll never know.

Just eat and forget it.

I turned to Lilith. "Good?"

"Don't know," she replied curtly, her mouth messy with food and sauce.

Asia wiped her face with a napkin. "There, all clean."

Lilith resumed eating, getting messy again.

Like Ophis, she's childlike in her own way.

Xenovia, eating pasta, said, "Ophis's clone, huh? An opportunity?"

She meant gathering intel on the new Khaos Brigade or separating Lilith from Rizevim.

Not a bad idea, but…

Irina sighed. "Better not. We're being watched, and acting rashly could cause trouble."

Exactly. Rizevim's a VIP here. Targeting his ally would complicate things. Plus, Valerie's situation makes it a bad move.

And Lilith's likely insanely strong—Ophis's clone and Rizevim's bodyguard. Even Alice or I might not handle her.

Lilith, done eating, started sniffing me. "What's that about?" I checked myself for smells.

"You smell like Lilith," she said, tilting her head cutely, still expressionless.

Like Ophis, probably. I'm supposedly "marked" by her.

"The president mentioned that," Rossweisse noted.

I'd prefer a blessing over a mark…

Clearing my throat, I introduced us. "I'm Hyoudou Issei. This is Alice, Asia, Xenovia, Irina, Reivel, and Rossweisse."

They smiled and said, "Nice to meet you."

"Hyoudou… Issei…" Lilith repeated.

"Hard to say? Just call me Issei."

She went silent again. Less expressive than Ophis, who at least smiles.

What did Rizevim do with Ophis's stolen power to make her?

Satisfied, Lilith stood. "Leaving?" I asked.

Without turning, she said, "Protect Rizevim. Lilith's duty."

"What now?" I asked after paying and leaving the diner.

Reivel checked her watch. "It's time to head back. We shouldn't stray too far from Rias-sama."

True. No moves yet, but Marius could act anytime. Rias and the others are likely back from the dungeon talks.

"Let's head back," I said.

We nodded and started for the castle, passing vampires and eyeing interesting shops. Rossweisse complained about no 100-yen stores.

Then, a hooded boy caught my eye. Amid the crowd, I couldn't look away.

His aura was human, not vampire—an oddity here.

Yet no one, not even Alice and the others, noticed him.

A gnawing unease grew, like facing an unknown entity. Cold sweat dripped as I approached.

As we passed—

"Finally found you, Hero-kun," he said.

I froze, glaring at his back as he walked on, a creepy smile flashing briefly.

Dangerous. I don't know why, but he's bad news. My instincts screamed red alerts.

Everyone looked at me, puzzled.

"Issei-san, what's wrong? You're sweating…" Asia wiped my cheek with a handkerchief.

"I'm fine, Asia. Guys, go ahead. I'll catch up."

"What's up?" Xenovia asked, tilting her head.

"Just remembered something. I'll be quick," I said, turning to chase the boy.

I ended up at a small plaza at the town's edge. A brick-paved area with a frozen fountain, dimly lit by streetlights, felt eerie.

In the center, by the fountain, stood the white-hooded boy. Slightly taller than Ophis, with a childish face, like an elementary schooler. White hair like Koneko's, but otherwise an ordinary human kid.

Yet he unnerved me, like my heart was gripped.

A human child alone in a vampire nation was already strange.

But more than that—he knew me.

"Who are you? Rizevim's ally?" I asked.

He was likely the "kid" Rizevim mentioned.

The boy, Asem, smiled brightly. "Haha, nice to meet you, Hero-kun. I'm Asem. Call me Asem or Mu-kun, whatever you like."

His tone was light, no hostility or malice like Rizevim's.

As I watched cautiously, he dropped a bombshell. "I'm originally a god of Ast Aarde, the creator of Rossweisse, the one you defeated."

"What!?" I gasped, eyes wide.

He created Rossweisse!? A god we thought was killed by him!?

Even if he survived, why is he here?

My heart pounded, chest burning like when I saw the small dragon from Grendel. Rage, hatred, and resentment surged within.

"Damn… you…" I collapsed to my knees, overwhelmed.

Asem tilted his head. "Oh? What's wrong? Ah, the one inside you is stirring. Makes sense—he'd hate me. I almost died last time, right, Rossweisse?"

Rossweisse… inside me!?

It hit me. Before vanishing, he did something to me.

That killing intent from within—it's him.

"I knew right away. That murderous aura from you. Nostalgic," Asem said, unfazed, reminiscing.

I recalled Ignis's words: "It should've ended long ago… but it didn't. That's probably it."

So that's it. The gods Rossweisse supposedly killed survived, and whatever he put in me reacted to Asem's power.

He hated his creators, which explains a lot.

Asem smiled. "I've been watching you, Hero-kun. Since you appeared in that world."

"What's that mean?" I asked.

"Exactly what I said. Let's start from the beginning—"

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