A familiar sight welcomed Sona as she stepped out of the storage room, the magic circle fading away in her wake.
Simple yet efficient.
She would've never bothered answering these old school summons if there wasn't the chance of striking gold once in a while. Her sister would help at the drop of a hat, but she'd rather not rely on her for networking across the wider world.
Tsubaki looked up from the papers spread atop her desk, a curious glint in her eyes. "That was rather quick. How did the contract go?"
Sona pressed her lips tightly to hide a grimace, a flash of heat creeping up her neck at the reminder. She'd let annoyance and assumptions get the better of her, and nearly made a fool of herself.
"Better than expected."
She could've done better. She should've done better.
At least neither of them seemed to take offense.
Tsubaki hummed in acknowledgement, her gaze lingering on the sack of coins. "Not the usual 'succubus enthusiasts', I take it?"
Sona glared at her Queen, not a single muscle twitching on her face, even though she felt her ears begin to burn.
A tiny, knowing smile curled Tsubaki's lips as she weathered the glare with practiced ease, and Sona held back a sigh. Tsubaki might be her Queen, but did she really have to keep teasing her about that?
"It was a young couple looking for transportation of the magical variety." Sona calmly made her way across the room, stashing the gold inside a small cabinet next to her desk.
Two millennia later, and the reputation of her Clan had still not recovered… Her parents didn't seem to mind, her sister even less, but they could at least try to make a firm attempt to set things straight instead of just laughing at the jokes.
"A young couple?" Tsubaki set aside her paperwork, leaning forward ever so slightly in her seat.
Sona felt the corners of her mouth upturn at the unmistakable note of interest in her Queen's tone. This was a tale that she would definitely enjoy.
"A man and a vampire woman."
Taking a seat at her own desk, Sona made a conscious effort to stop her leg from idly bouncing. Just thinking about it brought another brief smile to her face.
She'd never helped someone elope before.
"Oh?" Tsubaki's brows climbed up a fraction. "That's not something you hear about too often."
An amused sound nearly escaped Sona.
Throughout history, the male vampires had built a reputation for kidnapping women that it ended up as part of the mainstream media nowadays. The opposite happened less frequently, but that wasn't the case here either.
"It's not what you're thinking about." Sona felt her lips pull in amusement at the way her Queen's eyebrows climbed even higher.
"You mean the guy did the kidnapping?"
"Yes, though I'm quite sure they were eloping. Why else would they carry bags of gold and summon a devil for transportation to the other side of the world?"
He might've brought up the dowry as a joke, but it honestly made a lot of sense. To say that most vampires, especially the older ones, disliked those outside their kin was putting it nicely.
"A normal human and a vampire girl?" A hint of disbelief tinged Tsubaki's voice.
Sona nodded. "Magicians have their own means of teleportation. And he didn't strike me as someone well versed in the supernatural world."
She didn't notice anything unusual about him, though whether he had a Sacred Gear, awakened or not, was anyone's guess.
Shaking her head, Tsubaki leaned back in her seat, a tiny smile on her lips. "It sounds like the plot for a vampire movie."
"I know, right?" Sona found herself smiling once again. This story could make a great romance movie.
The girl's family did not approve, so he had no choice but to run away with her.
It was almost as romantic as the love story between Lord Lucifer and Lady Grayfia.
"That's a daring man, to say the least." Tsubaki's expression had returned to its usual aloofness, but Sona did not miss the hint of respect in her Queen's tone.
"Or foolish." Though most likely both. Those two often went hand in hand, after all.
Tsubaki adjusted her glasses, a small, wry quirk at the corner of her lips. "Love often makes people do crazy things."
Sona didn't argue against that. She'd seen plenty of examples back home.
"I suppo—
She began to say, but the unmistakable sound of the school bell suddenly drowned out her words. As the noise died down, Sona glanced at the door before sharing a look with her Queen as she rose to her feet.
"Let's head to the cafeteria. I'll tell you the rest over lunch."
Tsubaki's gaze briefly roamed across the paperwork spread in front of her. "I was just about to suggest that."
Sona waited for her Queen as she quickly gathered the papers in a neat stack atop her desk, the chair scraping against the floor as she stood up with a lot more enthusiasm than usual.
Sona's lips twitched in amusement as she headed for the door, Tsubaki following suit right behind.
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