Volume 01, 3 - Unresponsive Cross

Volume 01, Chapter 3 - Unresponsive Cross

By the time Hisui stepped out of the school gates, the sun had already set.

He should be elated by the arrival of Saturday, a holiday, tomorrow, but his footsteps felt incomparably burdened.

The vampire had thrown an inexplicable temper tantrum and run off on her own—clearly that was all that had happened.

"So tired……"

Hisui listlessly murmured, walking without purpose.

In his hands were his school bag and the parasol Rushella had left behind.

Although it was past sunset and Rushella did not need the parasol—this was her personal belonging after all.

Leaving it behind should have been fine, but for some reason, Hisui picked it up when leaving the classroom.

It was not as if the thought of returning it to its owner had not occurred to him. However, he did not know the owner's current location.

If one had to hazard a guess, she was most likely at Hisui's own home.

Since they had parted on such poor terms after the ridiculous dispute, Hisui did not expect her to continue insisting on living in his house. But since her coffin was still there, she would have to return at least once.

Although vampires did not have to sleep in coffins, they provided cover from sunlight and helped recover fatigue and spiritual powers, hence coffins were necessary items. Especially high "class" vampires were very particular about their coffins and liked to have them custom made. Rushella's coffin was probably the same.

If she really were to leave him, she would surely take it with her.

Besides, she might be done with her move. By the time he got home, it was possible that she might have left already.

To think the day that they would go their separate ways would arrive so simply, Hisui could not help but make a wry expression.

Besides, why did he have to waste brain cells on a noisy and arrogant girl?

Suddenly biting him, calling herself his master on her own, a willful vampire.

Chasing him to his home, chasing him to school… so troublesome beyond compare.

Even in drinking blood she was so clumsy…… most annoyingly, she made him once again aware of his unusual constitution.

He originally wanted to forget it completely.

He originally wanted to forget about his constitution and live like an ordinary human being.

"Such a pain in the ass……"

Hisui muttered to himself. At this moment, he felt cold water drops on his face.

"It's raining huh……"

Hisui looked up at the sky. The rain drops instantly blotted the sky and poured down violently.

The weather report had not predicted this rain. The surrounding pedestrians were all caught in the sudden disaster.

The rain was astounding, causing people in the streets to hold up bags or magazines as substitute umbrellas as they made their way rapidly through the rain.

Watching them, Hisui suddenly recalled the parasol in his hand.

Rushella had mentioned—this could be used as an ordinary umbrella, able to handle unexpected rain with ease, a fine treasure. In other words, it was used by vampires to defend against living, flowing water that they feared.

But currently, it was not in Rushella's hand.

The sudden rain did not care whom it was pouring down on, simply continuing nonstop.

Thinking seriously, this sort of worry was perhaps part of his overactive emotions.

Whether Rushella was outdoor—he did not know.

Whether Rushella had returned to his home—he did not know.

Whether Rushella was in trouble because she forgot her umbrella—he did not know.

Even if he delivered the umbrella to her hands, surely, definitely—she would not have pleasant words for him.

Clearly this result could be easily guessed, but Hisui did not slow down at all.

The road was wet and he almost slipped a number of times. His sight was also foggy. His stamina was also draining gradually as a result of getting drenched.

Yet Hisui still did not rest and ran straight for home.

Finally, when the front entrance entered into view, Hisui was already panting out of breath. Using the last of his strength, he opened the gate and stepped into the garden in front of the entryway.

"You……!"

Clearly he had hoped he was worrying too much, but Rushella appeared before his eyes in the worst possible state.

Flowing water: a vampire's weakness. And in one of its typical states—a girl drenched in rainwater was trembling slightly, collapsed in front of the entryway.

"Hey, are you okay!?"

Hisui held her in his arms and shook her but could not get any response.

Rushella's eyes were tightly closed, her lips blue, her entire body trembling, her body stiff, her temperature low. Even her pristine white skin was turning into sickly pallor.

Flowing water was a weakness but not a fatal one. But due to standing out in a rainstorm for a long period of time, the damage was still severe.

Rushella's body was virtually like a corpse right now. Her heart beat was very weak, her entire metabolism slowed to a crawl.

"What are you doing here!?"

Because the sudden rain weakened her, with no umbrella at hand to shelter from the rain, drenched in this manner, she finally fainted—the process was easily imagined.

However, normally speaking, a vampire could not possibly be caught out in the rain unprotected like this.

After all, vampires themselves were the most sensitive and aware of this weakness.

Hisui clicked his tongue, picked up Rushella in his arms and entered the house.

Although he was drenched as well, he could feel from his arms that Rushella's body temperature was even colder than his, almost as though it had fallen to water's freezing point.

It really felt like—hugging a corpse.

"Don't die okay……!!"

This cry made Rushella's hand twitch slightly but Hisui missed it completely.

He was not even aware that he had used the word "die" instead of "destroyed."

"……?"

Waking up, she found her surroundings warm.

Clearly it was unbearably cold just now, almost chilly enough to cut straight to the bone from a vampire's perspective, but it was quite warm now.

"This place… is……?"

"You woke up?"

"You……"

Her consciousness still hazy, Rushella sat up from the sofa.

As soon as she got up, Hisui, sitting beside her, frantically turned his face to the other side.

Just as she found it strange, she instantly noticed her appearance.

"Ah—!!"

Looking down, she found herself completely naked. Although she was sleeping under a blanket, due to sitting up, her voluptuous bosom instantly jumped out.

"D-Don't……!"

"I'm—not—looking."

Hisui spoke while keeping his face turned away. He had predicted Rushella's reaction already.

Rushella's raised fist halted in midair, then blushing, she pulled the blanket up to cover herself.

"It's okay now… you can look this way."

Called by Rushella, Hisui faced her again.

He had already put on his usual sleep outfit of a T-shirt and shorts. He had also taken a bath, thereby warming up his body that had been drenched in the rain.

Rushella surveyed the room as though to confirm the situation.

This was Hisui's living room. The air conditioner was blowing warm air. The temperature was originally winter-like, but now the room was nice and warm. The blanket earlier had also served to help her stay warm.

"Why… was I naked?"

With the key issue raised, Hisui avoided eye contact and answered.

"…If you stay in wet clothing, you'll catch a cold, right? By the way, I kept my eyes closed while taking your clothes off. Then all I did was help wipe you dry. Because there was a towel, I didn't feel anything at all."

"…Really?"

"I'm not so depraved that I'd make a move on an unconscious girl."

"Just this once… I'll believe you."

"Thanks."

The two of them seemed to be suffering from some kind of dialogue disability.

As if trying to find each other, searching for each other's location… The two tried hard to form words.

"You helped warm me up? For me……"

"…Yeah. But not like in movies where two people hug together naked. If I really did that, you'll surely kill me. Besides, I'm not that warm either, I'd just make you colder."

"I see……"

Normally, no matter how Hisui explained himself, Rushella would still attack…… but today, she seemed unusually honest.

In any case, she looked so frail, combined with the pure whiteness of her body, one would only think of her as a frail and vulnerable young beauty.

"This thing, you forgot it."

Hisui casually handed the parasol to Rushella.

The owner received her lost item and simply stared blankly at it.

"Isn't this a vampire's necessity? Why did you leave it lying around?"

"Because……"

Rushella pouted.

Because she did not have any legitimate reason. She had simply thrown a tantrum like a child and caught in the mood, she threw the parasol away.

"Why were you standing in the rain? Even if you didn't have an umbrella, you could have found shelter, right?"

"It suddenly rained when I was at your entrance. I didn't have time to find shelter……"

"Then you could have broken the glass on the door and entered, right? Even if the rain weakened you, that's within your ability, isn't it?"

Hisui pointed out an easily imagined solution. Rushella simply answered softly:

"…I was afraid, you'd get angry……"

"……"

Apparently she fainted in the rain because she was hung up over such a matter.

While she was hesitating, the rain fell harder, in the end, she did not even have time to come up with a different plan—that was probably how it went.

"…Anyway, let's put that aside. Come here."

Hisui extended his neck and pointed at it.

Seeing Rushella cock her head in puzzlement, he added reluctantly:

"Hurry and drink."

"…Why? Aren't you always unwilling to let me suck your blood?"

"After all, when that girl pushed me down… you saved me."

Hisui treated this as a return favor. However, he did not look into Rushella's eyes.

"Even a vampire would recover very slowly if they were hurt due to their weak spots. Drenched by that much rain, drinking blood is the best way to recover faster. You should know that better than me, right?"

Hisui's words were very unbiased and objective, but Rushella did not take action.

Clearly she never considered his feelings before when sucking his blood in the past—pouting, she averted eye contact.

"What, you're not satisfied with my blood now?"

"…After all, I suck blood very clumsily, right!?"

Rushella covered her face with the blanket and spoke with despair.

Although Hisui could not see her face, she seemed to be weeping.

"Say……"

Hisui showed an exasperated expression

Apparently, his honest opinion had damaged this proud lady's self-esteem.

"……Now is not the time to mind that, right?"

"………"

Rushella remained silent, staring at Hisui resentfully.

It looked like the comment had struck her in a sore spot.

"…Clumsy, well… It's because of that. You're still not used to it, right? After all, you lost your memories. You should be able to retrieve the feeling, since you're a 'True Ancestor' after all."

"…You really believe it? That I'm a 'True Ancestor'?"

"………"

"Even if I call myself a 'True Ancestor'… I have no way to prove it. If I had servants or family, they could help me prove it but I'm just alone… I can't prove anything."

Rushella spoke in self-mockery.

She belonged nowhere in the world. Just a lonely vampire.

Having only awakened last night, she had not even seen any of her own kind.

Solitary—all she knew was that she was a 'True Ancestor' class vampire.

Nevertheless, even this one fact cannot be proven.

"By the way—what exactly are 'True Ancestors'? I just know the literal meaning of the words, but never truly understood the term as an existence……"

"Same for me as a human. Even among vampires, those who truly understand the term can probably be counted on one hand—no, maybe not even that. The only ones who can understand it are the 'True Ancestors' themselves."

Indeed, speaking of the greatest secret in vampire legends, nothing surpassed that of the 'True Ancestors.'

For a vampire, the one who had sucked their blood was their 'master.' And the masters in turn had their own masters.

Tracing this cycle all the way back, the entity known as the 'True Ancestor' was the final end point.

Also, there existed offspring between vampires. They were called the "Pure." And tracing back the lineage of the "Pure" to the very source, the progenitor's existence was known as the "True Ancestor."

Blood sucking and mating were the two methods by which the birth of new vampires was achieved.

Vampires did not exist in isolation, but instead belonged to complicated and massive family lineages through these two methods of procreation.

And taking the most primitive spot at the top of these lineages, ruling from the summit was the existence that was the "True Ancestor."

Given so many servants and descendants, then the existence of a first "master" or "progenitor" was only natural.

So—where did these 'True Ancestors' come from?

There was no clear answer to this most natural question.

"Who on earth… am I? Why would……"

Rushella's eyes were glimmering from a faint hint of tears. Hisui indifferently said to her:

"It's blood."

"……?"

Hearing Hisui's incomprehensible words, Rushella finally looked up to face him.

"How to identify a 'True Ancestor'—it's by blood. Vampires find blood sweet and tasty but humans do not experience the same feeling. It's just an ordinary liquid. But the blood of a 'True Ancestor' is different. Even humans or vampires belonging to different clans would be charmed by the blood of a 'True Ancestor.' That type of blood gives off a rose's fragrance, compelling people to taste it… It's said that the taste is sweet enough to melt your heart and soul. That said, I have no interest in drinking it."

"You……"

"Also, when the blood is shed, the droplet of blood will produce a stain, forming a certain pattern. Completely defying the laws of physics. It's also said that there's a difference in color, but that's about all I know."

"……"

Hisui spoke coolly while Rushella listened with a calm expression.

Then listening to this point, as if guided by his voice, she reached for her short sword on the table.

Hisui immediately called to stop her with a sharp tone of voice.

"Don't do anything reckless."

"But……"

"Whether you're a 'True Ancestor' or not, it doesn't matter to me. You are you, that's all. If you want to obsess over that, I don't care but save it for when your body has recovered."

"……"

"Okay, hurry and drink. If you delay too long, I might change my mind."

Urged, Rushella approached Hisui timidly.

Originally called a "kiss," the act of blood drinking was actually carried out like a kiss right now.

In order to stabilize her body that was still unsteady, Rushella slowly wrapped her supple arms around Hisui's neck. Her bountiful bosom pressed against Hisui's chest and their heartbeats were superimposed as one.

Then unlike previously violent and forced attempts, Rushella's lips touched Hisui's neck with utmost gentleness.

Nibble.

Rather than sinking her fangs by instinct, she bit lightly the way a pet might engage in play biting with the master.

As blood seeped from the wound, Rushella did not suck hard, instead she lapped lightly. Even the drops of fresh blood spilling out of the corners of her mouth, she would lick the clean with the tip of her tongue. Preventing the blood from staining the area surrounding the neck, she used her red tongue to carefully lick Hisui's skin thoroughly.

"Mmm……"

The ticklish feeling caused Hisui to stir.

This time, it did not hurt at all.

He could even go so far as to say it was comfortable. If an analogy was needed, it would be similar to the feeling of sucking your wounded finger.

The duration of blood sucking was quite brief. Rushella stopped soon after and left Hisui's body.

A silver thread of saliva connected the two of them.

"…Is that enough, you're only drinking this little?"

"Yeah……"

Rushella nodded and shyly pulled up the blanket, returning to the sofa.

Seeing her recovered to some extent, Hisui stood up.

"Since you can move, go take a bath, it'll feel warmer."

"Eh……"

"Your drenched clothes are not dry yet. If you're willing, just settle with using mine for now. In the second floor, the room on the right, the clothes are in the closet."

Saying that, Hisui walked to the kitchen next to the living room.

Rushella stared in a daze at his back. After watching for a while, she stood up in a stumbling manner.

Roughly an hour later, Hisui laid out the diningware on the low table in the living room.

Since he had not even had a proper meal since the night before, Hisui decided to have sumptuous feast tonight.

Placed on the table were a plate of carbonara pasta, a large bowl of salad and vegetable soup.

There were also plates for eating—the table was set for two people.

Right after he finished preparing, Hisui heard someone enter the living room.

Rushella had just exited the bath.

"Oh, you're done with your bath… Hey, why did you pick that one to wear!?"

The beauty straight out of the bath—Rushella—was wearing nothing but a white shirt.

There was nothing underneath and the shirt's top was wide open. Her breasts were at risk of spilling out any moment. Even the protruding tips' shapes, poking at the shirt, were fully visible despite the fabric.

One could accidentally catch glimpses of the the base of her slender thighs if one were not careful… Hisui tried his best to shift his gaze away from the danger zone.

"Isn't that my uniform……? I intended to wear it on Monday, that's why I hung it on the clothes rack……"

"You asked me to find clothing to wear. This one is able to cover up the bottom as well. It also feels nice."

Rushella spoke with satisfaction, completely unabashed.

"Fine, whatever you want…… sit down first. I made more than enough. Although I'm very hungry, I don't think I'll finish it all."

Only after Hisui indicated towards the low table which was laden with food did Rushella notice the situation.

With a wary expression, she looked towards Hisui for confirmation.

"May I……?"

"Didn't I already say I made extra? Relax, I didn't put garlic. In fact, I've hardly ever eaten garlic my whole life. Even chili peppers, I haven't eaten them recently."

"…In that case, how did you get that stuff all over me yesterday?"

"I happened to buy it because of a sale. After all…… that annoying person's no longer in this house."

"……?"

Rushella could sense some kind of underlying message in Hisui's words but she simply sat opposite him instead of asking about it.

Watching him clap his hands together and go "itadakimasu", she could not help but imitate him.

"Itadaki, masu……"

Next, the meal started.

Rushella used her fork to curl up the pasta and observed for a while, then finally shoved it in her mouth with determination.

"…Delicious."

"Thank you."

Hisui said emotionlessly.

Rushella smiled and began to eat harmoniously.

When the food on the table was almost finished by the two of them, Rushella spoke up as though she remembered something.

"…Hey."

"Hmm?"

"About yourself, tell me stuff too……"

"Huh?"

Hisui was drinking his soup and cocked his head, unable to understand what Rushella was referring to.

"After seeing the world during the daytime today… I understand now. Very likely, my race has dwindled to few survivors in the current world. Even if there are survivors, they hide away and spend their days in the shadows. Hence, humans do not know of our existence. But you're different. You understand too much, particularly about 'True Ancestors'… ordinary humans won't know that much, right?"

"……"

"You said you used to know someone who's a vampire, right? You heard from that… person?"

Rushella gazed intently at him.

Hisui wanted to just dismiss her casually, but in the end could not win against her serious gaze. Shrugging, he returned his cup to the table.

"Rather than someone I knew…… I guess family would be more accurate?"

"Why did you lie to me!?"

"I didn't lie. That still counts as someone I know, right? If I told you that, you'd press the issue so I just worded it ambiguously."

"What a sly way you have with words…… but what's with this talk of family? Are you actually……"

"We're not blood related. Probably, you can think of that person as the foster parent who raised me? As much as I hate to admit that."

Instantly, Hisui's expression was filled with an air of reminiscence.

That appeared to be—a very sorrowful air.

"A person your age should usually live with your mother and father, right? Your parents—"

"Were dead. I don't even remember their faces. Then from what I've heard, I was adopted by a vampire before I was old enough to know things."

"That person… a woman?"

"…Why is gender the most important thing you care about?"

Hisui remarked with surprise.

Rushella looked a bit miffed and continued to press the matter.

"Cut the crap!! She's a woman, right!?"

"Fine, yes……"

"What kind of woman!? Prettier than me!?"

"This sort of subjective question varies from person to person, right? She looked older than you. Who knows how old she was actually."

"Advanced in years!? Then it's my victory!"

"…Who the heck knows. Besides, do vampires even have the concept of getting old? Although I don't know what you're deluding yourself about, a vampire adopting a human probably happened on a whim. Once fattened and matured, she planned to suck my blood?"

Ultimately, just a vampire and her food—that was Hisui's conclusion.

Rushella remained skeptical and stared intently at Hisui as she asked:

"That woman… what happened to her?"

"She's dead."

Without any sorrow, a completely monotone answer.

Rushella looked apologetic and did not know what to say. Hisui continued with his meal, unfazed.

Although Hisui was not depressed nor was he struck with sad nostalgia, Rushella still noticed something strange about his words.

Dead—this was a term that could only be applied to the living, to those with finite lives.

Hence, 'death' was not a concept used for vampires.

Their fates ended not in 'death' but 'destruction.'

As for why, that was because they were already dead.

At least, based on the concept of human 'life', they were already outside existences.

However—he had just used 'dead' to describe the vampire who had raised him.

Basically treating her as human.

"What was she like… as a vampire?"

"A strange woman. Although Japan counts as her base, she still ran around all over the world. Because I accompanied her, I never went to school properly until middle school. This house was also hers. Right, one more thing……"

"What?"

"She was a 'True Ancestor.'"

"WHAAAAAT!?"

Rushella's face was filled with shock.

On their first encounter, she discovered that Hisui was unfazed by the sight of vampires, calm to a suspicious degree—combined with his constitution, she wondered if she had sucked blood from someone of extraordinary stature!?

"That's what she said. I don't know the specifics. Because I lived with her, I could not help but learn plenty of knowledge about vampires. But personally, I'm still just an ordinary high school student."

"You're fine despite getting your blood sucked by me. That doesn't sound very ordinary to me."

"Yeah, but only when my blood is sucked. When I'm not losing blood, I'm no different from ordinary people. My constitution only acts up when a vampire bites me. I don't want to talk about it. Having seen human society today, have you remembered anything?"

"No……"

Rushella shook her head sadly. Her core memories about herself were still very uncertain.

"However, I did have some results. First of all, I've decided I need to understand more about the human world. This will surely have intimate relations to my origins."

"I see… okay."

"So… I will be going to school too!"

Rushella acted majestically as usual and declared loudly.

"EHHHHHHHH!?"

Perhaps things would be better if she had not recovered.

Seeing Rushella's conceited look, Hisui's face began to twitch.

"Eh, what the heck, you're going to go to my high school on Monday too?"

"Of course! Besides, you're my servant, it's your job to serve by my side!!"

"I refuse!! How important do you think you are!?"

"I am the great 'True Ancestor' of the vampires!!"

Rushella proudly puffed out her massive chest.

Hisui secretly regretted saving her and watched from the corner of his eye as Rushella stood up and left the living room.

Then she quickly returned with a sack in her hand, large enough to hold a human head.

"What's that?"

"I kept it in the coffin."

Rushella did not answer the question but poured the contents onto the floor.

Out from the sack came a lustrous golden brilliance.

Accompanied by crisp metallic sounds, they scattered all over the floorboards.

"This…"

Hisui picked one up for a closer look. Unbelievably, it was a gold coin, roughly the size of a 500yen coin, with a pattern like someone's face on top, but who knew what time period and what country the coin was from. Clearly it was not merely gilded but forged out of highly pure gold.

There were roughly five hundred of these gold coins rolling on the floor, instantly filling the house with a swathe of golden magnificence.

The scene in the room was like opening a treasure chest in a fairy tale.

"What's this, your accumulated wealth for hibernating?"

"Although I don't know its exact value, it should be worth quite a lot, right?"

"Of course, this is real gold after all… but it needs to be converted into cash first."

"I see. So, umm… basically, yeah, umm that……"

Rushella spoke in an arrogant tone of voice as she sneaked glances at Hisui's reaction.

"This can count as 'rent', right?"

"Huh?"

Hisui was increasingly befuddled by her words.

Rushella awkwardly fiddled with her fingers and looked up at Hisui.

"Umm…… If I go to school, I need an address. It's too troublesome to find a new one…… besides, you're my servant, so staying by my side is your obligation without question!! Indeed, you should be the one kneeling down and begging me!! Hurry up and prostrate yourself to beg me to allow you by my side!!"

"Huh——!?"

Hisui's face twisted.

He really should not have saved her. He should have simply cast her aside.

He began to deeply regret everything he had done for her. Rushella then began to pick up the scattered gold coins. Then holding a full pile in her hands, she presented them to Hisui.

"You don't want… them? This, isn't enough……?"

"You……"

"Staying here…… I can't……?"

Just like the time when she confessed her memory loss, Rushella's voice was helpless and dream-like.

Like the color of her skin, her existence was so fragile that it seemed as though the surrounding scenery would be dyed white.

Hisui scratched his head and took one gold coin from Rushella's hands.

"I'll use it as a lucky charm."

Saying that, Hisui stood up, cleared the table and took the utensils back to the kitchen.

"Wait, you……"

"After all, this isn't my home originally. It's the house of your kin."

"……"

"So basically… even if some vampire of unknown origins lived here, I won't have any objections."

Hisui spoke with his back towards her. Rushella instantly burst into smiles.

Her unease dispelled, she instantly recovered an expression that befitted her teenaged face.

This change could be sensed even with his back turned towards her. Hisui then said indifferently:

"The inner room on the second floor…… should be the most convenient for you to use. There's thick curtains to block light so you don't need to worry in the mornings. Also, it's the most spacious bedroom."

"Yes!"

As if wanting to see her bedroom immediately, Rushella raced up to the second floor.

Hisui smiled wryly and began to wash the dishes.

In a blink of an eye, it was late night already—Hisui went down to the basement at home.

The basement's layout was very spacious, basically an open area the size of the entire floor.

The room was built with solid rock with a library, wine cellar, food storage and used antique candlesticks for lighting, giving a decrepit medieval atmosphere—in other words, very much filled with a vampire's style.

Rushella had already gone to bed in the room he assigned to her. Originally, he had thought about providing the basement to her who did not like sunlight.

But Hisui did not do that.

Because the object before his eyes did not permit the existence of vampires in the basement.

Stabbed into the ground, this object was a vampire's weakness rivaling sunlight.

Namely, a cross.

Standing at a tilt, entrenched in the ground, its size was large enough to crucify a human on it.

The luster of its surface resembled that of pure silver. A pristine and flawless exterior.

The cross' edges were polished to be as sharp as knives, with the four ends shaped like "hooks" that resembled arrowheads or harpoons.

Criss-crossing the center were decorations of crimson gemstones. Wrapped over it were chains symbolizing dogma.

Although the style of the design was different from the ones usually found in churches, this did not affect the sacred impression the cross exuded.

Ordinary crosses used as signs or decorations did not pose any threat to vampires.

But this cross right here was the real thing.

It was a crucifix for exterminating evil and purifying the world.

Furthermore, it was the tombstone of the former master of this home and this place.

Hisui gazed at the cross, his eyes wavering with indescribable sorrow.

Facing the cross for a long while, Hisui said softly in a grumbling manner:

"Hey…… Is this house cursed by any chance? A weird vampire has moved in, you know? Are you scheming something? She's sleeping in your room now."

The silver cross remained unresponsive.

It could not answer in the first place.

"You were dead already but another one came. Clearly I don't want to be involved with your kind anymore, but here I go running into one again."

The cross remained silent.

Unresponsive.

Hisui bent down and stared at the crimson gemstone inlaid in the silver cross.

"Come on, say something…… Miraluka."

The cross did not respond.

The tombstone simply chose to reject the living through silence.

The dead could not resurrect.

No matter how he interrogated, his questions simply resounded through empty space.

Although Hisui knew it was futile even before coming here, in the end, nothing changed.

Listlessly, he left the basement.

"Ow ow ow!!"

The next morning, even without an annoying alarm clock, Hisui still could not enjoy waking up in a natural and comfortable manner.

After a tempestuous first day at school, it was Saturday immediately.

Just as he planned to prepare for the official start of high school life next week by getting proper rest, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his neck.

Opening his eyes…… there was a vampire slurping away at his blood in the same posture as yesterday.

"What are you doing… Rushella-san!?"

"What am I doing? First blood in the morning. After a bath, this is the perfect taste."

Rushella declared openly. Her body felt warm and still had some humidity.

Her pale white body was wrapped in nothing but a bath towel.

Enjoy a drink of blood after a bath like yesterday.

"Who asked you to take a bath so casually!? Didn't you take baths last night already!? Are you Shizuka!?"

"Shut up, I took a bath first so that the blood will taste better!"

"Why do you have to take a bath to make someone else's blood tastier when you suck it!? Isn't that completely reversing means and goals!? Also, get away, it hurts!"

"What are you saying to your master!? I paid already!"

"Japan has no system of blood selling! Besides, you're wrong if you think you can buy my blood with a single gold coin, it's not that cheap!!"

"You're really noisy, anyway, who cares!?"

Rushella pressed down from above while Hisui struggled below.

While struggling, Hisui unmistakably touched Rushella's massive bosom—the bath towel slid and fell.

"D-Don't look——!!"

"Say, this is your own fault……!!"

This scene, familiar to both of them, was reenacted once more as the house echoed with screams and groans.

Vampire and human, master and servant.

Thus the curtain rose for the drama of Hisui and Rushella's life together.