The metal stake was the "key" Veldiana had mentioned.
Only three such "Lion King Organization" relics exist in the world—holy lances that nullify mana and cut through any barrier, weapons made to slay True Ancestors. Ordinary people can't use them; only descendants of Methuselah can.
Akatsuki Nagisa can use one. And the Lion King Agency goes without saying: they've long been collecting and cultivating Takiguchi Musha's descendants, which is precisely why they're serving as the Banquet's Bookmaker.
"Are you going to use that key to open the [Coffin]? Can you even wield it?" Veldiana asked softly.
The "Coffin" was the container sealing the twelve base bodies of the Fourth Progenitor, and this stake-like key could open it. She didn't care about the key anymore—there was no longer any need for her to join the Flamelight Banquet.
"No…" Shichen shook his head and put the key away into the Gate of Babylon. "I don't need this to open the Coffin."
"Eh?" Veldiana looked at him, puzzled.
"With my strength, do I really need the No. 12 base body?" Shichen shot back.
"Fair point…"
"Besides, I've already devoured the Fourth Progenitor."
"Eh?" Veldiana froze again, wondering if she'd misheard, staring at him in disbelief.
"Are you serious?"
"Do I have any reason to lie to you?" Shichen replied calmly.
Veldiana opened her mouth but was too stunned to speak—then it hit her that she might have just struck gold.
The Fourth Progenitor was the so-called nonexistent fourth True Ancestor, reputed to be the strongest vampire in the world. Officially, there are only three acknowledged True Ancestors. Even so, the "nonexistent" Fourth Progenitor has surfaced several times in history, leaving chaos in their wake, and even the other True Ancestors have conceded that the "Kaleid Blood" is the strongest vampire.
Veldiana knew full well the Fourth Progenitor was artificial—a being engineered by the other three True Ancestors to create the strongest vampire alive. The title "Kaleid Blood" was the project name for creating the Fourth Progenitor. "Kaleid Blood" resembles "kaleidoscope," and a kaleidoscope's patterns come from a triangular tube of three mirrors. The name symbolizes the role of the Fourth Progenitor: the ultimate vampire synthesized through the power of the three True Ancestors.
And Shichen had just said he'd devoured the Fourth Progenitor.
If he'd swallowed the strongest vampire, what else needed to be said about his strength?
But then another question occurred to Veldiana: why was he helping her? They weren't related in any way; before today they'd never even met. Why help her at all?
Unless…
She glanced at Shichen's handsome face, blinking as her thoughts ran away with her. It might actually be possible; she wasn't exactly lacking in charm, was she? Most importantly, he'd seen everything under her skirt—hard to pretend that never happened.
"What are you staring at me for?" Shichen frowned at the suddenly appraising look in Veldiana's eyes. Her gaze was… a little weird.
"Ah? N-nothing." She hurriedly looked away.
"Really? Whatever. Anyway, stay here for now. You don't need to worry about the Eternal Banquet."
"I don't have to do anything?"
"No. Do whatever you need or want—anything that makes you happy."
"Anything that makes me happy…" Veldiana blinked.
"I'll help you set up a house. Any requests?"
"Requests… I want a big pool!"
"Dream on. Where am I supposed to get water?" Shichen said, exasperated.
"Ehh—"
"This is the middle of nowhere, so don't push your luck. I'll usually drop by in the afternoons. If you need anything, just tell me—hot water and the like are fine."
"Really?"
"Mm."
"That's great!"
Building Veldiana a house was no big deal; using his "Original Church" as a base, he had it done in minutes, and per her requests he made plenty of stone-and-earth furniture.
"Anything else you want?"
"I… think that's it?"
"Then I'm heading out. Remember to look after whitey and the others for me."
"W-whitey?" Veldiana blinked.
"The little white cat over there. It really likes me. Be nice to it, okay?"
"Uh…"
"I'm off," Shichen said, and left without a second thought.
He truly had no designs on Veldiana—helping her was a whim, mostly to needle Shizuka Koyomi. And conveniently, she could look after whitey and the rest.
…
Shichen returned to the office and got through the day without incident. After school, he went straight home with Natsuki. They didn't need to meet up with Kanon to look after whitey and the others today; it was Friday, so they could take proper care of them tomorrow.
They walked home, picking up some groceries on the way. Aside from discussing dinner and weekend menus, they had little to talk about. Back home, as Shichen poured Natsuki a cup of black tea, she couldn't help speaking up.
"Did you hear the explosion today?"
"Explosion? What explosion?" Shichen sat on the sofa, savoring the tea he'd brewed. As expected of him—smooth on the tongue, a clean finish.
"Drop the act. How could you not have heard it?" Natsuki shot him a look.
"Fine, I heard it. What happened?" he admitted.
"You really don't know?"
"Am I supposed to?"
"Did you forget something?" Natsuki asked suddenly.
"Hm? What?"
"You told me before you wouldn't lie to me."
"…Alright. I went to the scene."
"Hmph. So, what happened?" Natsuki huffed, satisfied with his honesty.
"This." Shichen produced the key and handed it to her.
"What's this?"
"The key that unlocks the seal on the No. 12 base body."
"A relic of the Lion King Agency? It even nullifies mana." Natsuki examined the key with a serious little face.
"As expected of you, Natsuki—you spotted what it does in an instant," Shichen praised.
"Can it. Where did you get it?"
"From a vampire named Veldiana Caruana."
"Caruana? From the Warlord's Domain?"
"Yeah."
"What's she planning? Wake No. 12 and enter the Eternal Banquet?"
"As expected of you, Natsuki—so smart." Shichen gave her a thumbs-up.
"Quit it. Where is she?" Natsuki asked, annoyed.
"I put her in the back hills behind the academy to help me take care of whitey and the others. Free labor."
"I see… Is that vampire—Veldiana—pretty?" Natsuki suddenly asked.
"Hm?"
Shichen looked at her and laughed. "Why are you asking that?"
"No reason. Just curious."
"Really?"
"Less nonsense. Answer me."
"Hmm… I didn't pay attention. In any case, she's not as cute as you."
"…," Natsuki sighed, then shook her head and lowered her gaze to sip her tea.
Behind the cup, the corner of her mouth lifted.
Nothing else happened that night. The next morning, Shichen slept in a bit, and the doorbell dragged him out of bed. Work really is tiring—even for a P.E. teacher whose job isn't exactly grueling.
He got dressed, left his room, and opened the door.
"Shichen-sensei, we came to hang out!"
"Nagisa, you came too?—Asagi, come in."
"Sorry to intrude~"
Akatsuki Nagisa walked in without ceremony, Aiba Asagi right behind her, then Akatsuki Kojou and Motoki Yaze.
"What are you two doing here?" Shichen looked at the latter pair with undisguised dislike.
"Shichen-sensei, could you be any more blunt?"
"Nagisa's here, so of course I…I had to come…"
"You sis-con. What exactly are you worried about?"
"Uh…"
"Whatever. Sit wherever you like. There's fruit on the coffee table—help yourselves. I'm going to wash up."
"Shichen-sensei, you just woke up?" Nagisa asked, surprised.
"Mm. It's the weekend."
"True—weekends are for resting," Asagi said.
"Give me a minute."
Shichen headed for the bathroom, not fussed about leaving them alone. Natsuki wasn't home today; after what happened at MAR's entrance yesterday, she was definitely called in to deal with it.
He freshened up quickly, then headed out with Asagi and the others. The little get-together was Asagi's idea since Shichen had been away so long. Strictly speaking, a teacher hanging out with a bunch of underage kids was a bit unusual—but he rarely thought of himself as a "teacher" anyway. In his head, he was still young.
~~~
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