"...Please forgive my rudeness. It seems you don't care for that sort of exchange, Ciel-sensei. I let myself get carried away."
Koyomi Shizuka lowered her eyes and apologized softly to Ciel without a moment's hesitation.
The more exceptional a human was, the better they understood when to bend and when to stand firm. They understood what true strength was, and how unreasonable an existence known as a Primogenitor could be.
Only brainless beast men would believe they could stand above vampire Primogenitors, who sat at the summit of every race.
"I sincerely apologize for intruding without permission. However, as the arbiter of the 'banquet,' I have a duty to confirm the condition of each Kaleid Blood vessel. I ask for your understanding."
Koyomi spoke neither servilely nor arrogantly.
There was something Ciel had wanted to comment on for a while now. Why was the Fourth Primogenitor, the so-called "world's strongest vampire," codenamed Kaleid Blood?
In plenty of settings, vampire ranks went from duke, marquis, count, viscount, and baron, highest to lowest. If the title was "Blood Count," shouldn't that make it count-rank? By that logic, it would be no better than middle of the pack, only above barons and viscounts.
"So, please allow me to confirm this with you in my capacity as arbiter of this Blazing Banquet, Ciel-sensei... Do you intend to participate in this 'banquet' and become an Elector? And is the one beside you the twelfth vessel excavated on Gozo Island?"
The girl's gaze flashed behind her lenses, fixed straight on Ciel's eyes.
Now that she had been caught, continuing to investigate in secret would be far too inefficient, and it would only invite wariness and precautions. It was better to ask here and obtain an answer directly.
Whatever answer Ciel gave, it would become a clue. If it was the truth, then there was nothing more to say. If she chose to lie, Koyomi could still gather information from her attitude.
"This 'banquet' you're talking about... I don't really understand. And what exactly is an Elector?"
Ciel spoke unhurriedly, and neither her tone nor her expression revealed the slightest flaw.
Was she playing dumb? Or did she truly not know?
Koyomi narrowed her eyes, her nerves drawn taut, as if she were negotiating with someone while her neck was already on the chopping block.
But that had always been her position. Once she grew accustomed to it, the more dangerous the situation was, the calmer she became.
"Ciel-sensei, do you know of the Fourth Primogenitor?"
"Even passersby on the street have heard the rumors. The strongest vampire in the world, recognized by the three Primogenitors. And Avrora is one part of the Fourth Primogenitor... Was there something you wanted to add?"
"The Fourth Primogenitor is the world's strongest vampire, created jointly by the three Primogenitors and the Devas. The so-called Blazing Banquet is a ritual meant to guide the Fourth Primogenitor toward a proper awakening. Electors who possess both territory and Fourth Primogenitor vessels fight one another, and the final victor who gathers all twelve vessels may enthrone the Fourth Primogenitor as king... That is why I wished to ask whether you, Ciel-sensei, also intend to become an Elector."
"How laughable. Why would I help a vampire become king?"
The corners of Ciel's mouth lifted into a mocking smile.
Seeing that, Koyomi's brows drew together, and the worry in her expression did not fade.
She could not read Ciel's thoughts.
"..."
"I'm not handing Avrora over to you. I may have no interest in this 'banquet' you speak of, but I also have no reason to hand her over. If anyone sincerely wants her, they're free to come take her by force. Of course, they should prepare themselves to die by my hand first."
Ciel did not trust the Lion King Agency, and she did not trust the Electors participating in this Blazing Banquet either.
Koyomi's expression darkened at once.
"Ciel-sensei, that will make things very difficult for me..."
"If it's difficult, then don't do it. I've already made the rules clear. If you want her, come take her yourself. Naturally, that includes you people from the Lion King Agency... Or do you think that because you're a student of this school, I'll make an exception for what you did?"
Koyomi opened her mouth, but she could not force out a single word.
She had been marked.
That gaze, cold with killing intent, crawled over her skin.
It was as if her entire spine had been pulled out and replaced with one made of ice. The chill ran through every limb and bone, nearly freezing her blood solid.
No. She could not even be certain whether Ciel truly bore any killing intent toward her.
The crushing difference in life level and strength alone made death feel close enough to touch.
The sun, 150 million kilometers from Earth, could not possibly feel killing intent toward the humans so far away on that planet. Yet throughout history, countless humans had been killed or burned by the sunlight it released.
A human child could pour boiling water into an ant nest, killing hundreds or thousands of ants, without the slightest killing intent—simply because it seemed fun.
In a certain world, a certain indescribable Outer God merely passed by from the edge of the observable universe, roughly 460 light-years from Earth, and humanity on Earth was affected, leading to the extinction of the species. The story ended with the protagonist becoming the only human on Earth who had not gone mad and making contact with that indescribable Outer God. Only then did the Outer God learn that it had brought disaster to that distant planet.
It was not only her own life under threat, but the Lion King Agency, the entire island nation of Japan... The deaths of countless people, the fates of countless people—the weight of it nearly crushed Koyomi Shizuka.
The class bell suddenly rang, and the heart in Koyomi's chest, which had seemed to stop, began beating again.
"Ah... Looks like class is over. You skipped class to come here, didn't you, Hiina-san? I have another class after this. If there's nothing else, you should return to your classroom. If you feel unwell, you can go straight to the infirmary instead. I'll ask your teacher to excuse you."
"...Thank you for your concern, Sensei. Then I'll head back now."
"Need me to walk you there? You don't look very good. It wouldn't do for you to faint from anemia on the way."
Ciel was feigning ignorance. She, more than anyone, should have known why Koyomi looked so awful... But Koyomi could only swallow that resentment and do her best to respond as if nothing had happened.
"There's no need to trouble yourself, Sensei. I can return to the classroom on my own."
This time, Koyomi did not suddenly appear inside the room without opening the door by some inexplicable method, as she had before. Instead, she opened the door normally and walked out.
With one foot already outside the office, Koyomi suddenly stopped.
"Ciel-sensei, are you aware of the great battle that took place eight years ago in the capital of the Warlord's Empire?"
For no apparent reason, Koyomi had suddenly raised that question.
The two of them had their backs to each other, so neither could see the other's expression.
"Hmm... In this world, probably only newborns wouldn't remember that battle, right? After all, it caused quite a commotion. The three Primogenitors, who had already achieved peace and declared to the whole world that they would not infringe upon one another, gathered without warning in the territory of the First Primogenitor, the Lost Warlord, and unleashed a great battle that shocked the world... Speaking of which, with the three Primogenitors trampling the Holy Ground Treaty like that, did the countries responsible for oversight not react at all?"
"The Holy Ground Treaty gained recognition from the nations of the world mainly because it was promoted by the three vampire Primogenitors. The only role other countries can play is oversight. What truly maintains the Holy Ground Treaty is the authority and power of the three Primogenitors."
In other words, if the three Primogenitors took the initiative to break the Holy Ground Treaty and start a war, then the so-called Holy Ground Treaty would be nothing more than wastepaper, worth even less than a blank sheet.
That was what Koyomi meant.
"Dignity exists only at the edge of a sword, and truth only within the range of a cannon." That saying applied just as well in another world.
"So, Hiina-san, what are you trying to ask? If you're curious about the details of that great battle, you can ask your history teacher. I only teach science, and I'm pretty good at physical education. History isn't exactly my specialty."
"I heard a rumor..."
Her words seemed to gain weight, and Koyomi's voice sank slightly.
"There's a rumor that the battle, which lasted seven days and seven nights and killed several Old Guard vampire nobles, was not started by the three Primogenitors... That there was a fourth person in that battle."
"That person entered the First Primogenitor's territory alone and launched an attack on him. Neither the First Primogenitor nor the attacker could kill the other, and the battle fell into a stalemate. One day later, the Second and Third Primogenitors arrived in the Warlord's Empire to reinforce the First Primogenitor. The two sides fought for seven days and seven nights before the attacker withdrew of their own accord."
"Aside from the three Primogenitors and the scant few people lucky enough to survive the aftermath of that battle, no one saw the attacker's true appearance. They only remembered a little information from when the attacker identified themself..."
She paused for a moment, and Koyomi slowly turned her head to glance at Ciel's back, as if observing her reaction.
"According to that person, they came from the Holy Church's Burial Agency, held the Seventh Seat, and bore the codename '...'"
An indescribable silence descended over the office.
Even guileless Avrora sensed the shift in the air. Her body moved on instinct; she held her breath, and her hand quietly let go of Ciel's hem.
Ciel suddenly laughed, breaking the heavy silence in the room.
"Hiina-san, don't you think that rumor sounds absurd?"
She did not turn around. She only shrugged.
"Those are the three Primogenitors who rule the three Dominions, you know. You said it yourself. The Holy Ground Treaty is maintained entirely by those three. They stand at the peak of power and authority in this world. And yet you're saying there is someone in this world who could fight all three of them to a standstill?"
"The Seventh Seat of the Holy Church's Burial Agency... If even the Seventh Seat possessed terrifying strength surpassing a Primogenitor, enough that the three Primogenitors had no choice but to join forces, then what kind of monsters would the people ranked above them be? Have you considered that question? Could an organization like that truly have remained unknown until now? In any case, I've never heard of any Burial Agency of the Holy Church. I only know of the Western European Church."
Ciel spoke faintly, no emotion audible in her voice.
Any normal person who heard that rumor from Koyomi's mouth would have had basically the same impression as Ciel—that it was absurd.
That was Koyomi's final question. After asking it, she did not dare linger another moment and fled Natsuki Minamiya's office as if escaping.
She still needed to investigate the whereabouts of the Old Guard vampire Veldiana Caruana, who had attacked MAR yesterday, and the Kaleid Blood vessel she had stolen, then determine which one was truly the twelfth vessel.
In addition, in a few days, she would need to meet, in her capacity as arbiter, the various Electors who had already arrived on Itogami Island.
Just thinking about it gave her a headache. At present, four Electors were known. Three of them were vampires, hailing respectively from the Warlord's Empire, the Fallen Dynasty, and the Chaos Zone. After all, the Fourth Primogenitor had been created jointly by the three Primogenitors and the Devas, so if those three Primogenitors wanted to find the places where the Kaleid Blood vessels were sealed, it would naturally be easier for them than for anyone else.
As for the fourth Elector, although his race was human, his character and background were even worse, and even more ungovernable, than a vampire's.
The lowest-class vampires, unable to summon Beast Vassals, were collectively known as Nosferata. For many years, they had suffered the loathing and contempt of pure-blooded vampires. Fourteen years ago, with help from the arms dealer Balthazar Zaharias, they defeated Duke Caruana, a vampire noble of the Warlord's Empire, seized his territory, and established the Nelapsi Provisional Autonomous Government, a territory belonging to the Nosferata. The several Kaleid Blood vessels kept on Duke Caruana's lands also fell into their hands.
That human arms dealer, Zaharias, had become the fourth Elector of this Banquet through the territory and Kaleid Blood vessels he had seized from Duke Caruana.
Later, when Natsuki learned that Koyomi of the Lion King Agency had broken into her office, she squeezed the folding fan in her hand until it creaked.
"The Lion King Agency... Those meddlesome people again!"
She muttered through gritted teeth.
Natsuki was an Attack Mage, bearing the infamous title of "Demonslayer." She and the Lion King Agency could be considered both colleagues and competitors, with a great deal of overlap and conflict in their work.
There had been many unpleasant incidents in the past.
Neither side could stand the sight of the other.
"You didn't kill her?"
"Natsuki-oneechan, with that displeased tone of yours, I can't even tell whether you wanted me to kill her or didn't want me to kill her."
Ciel responded helplessly. At the moment, she was holding a box of ice cream high above her head, while beside her, a blond vampire girl was putting all her strength into reaching up, trying to get the box of ice cream in Ciel's hand.
When Avrora realized that standing on tiptoe was useless and tried to jump, Ciel raised her hand even higher, leaving Avrora grabbing at empty air.
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