The speaker had no ill intent, but the listener took it to heart.
Siloque also straightened his back, his gaze firm, waiting for Inafa’s next words. “Alright, come on.”
The girl with skin as white and smooth as a pearl tucked her smooth golden hair behind her shoulder. She licked her lips, coating them with a faint, glossy sheen, her eyes and lips curving into a smile.
“First condition! Give me this magic artifact called a ‘tablet computer’.” Inafa held up the tablet on the table that originally belonged to Hill.
“Fine, I’ll give it to you. Hill bought that as a spare anyway.” Siloque thought he could just transfer the money to Hill later.
“Second condition, you stupid human, give me your recipe books! Not just one or two, but all of them.”
“No problem.” Siloque frowned slightly. “And then?”
“Keh heh, you must think these conditions are simple, right?”
“Indeed.”
“But, the difficult part is next!” Inafa looked at Siloque with great force, but turned her head away in a fluster after meeting his gaze. “Keh, keh heh heh, the bath care products from last time’s bath, I demand an unlimited supply from now on. I want to see them every time I go to the grand bathhouse, and the production date has to be from this year. Well, can you do it?”
“…I can. Even if I die, I’ll have my descendants supply them to you for generations.”
“Good answer. To pass the time, I’ll reluctantly play this bad guy role-playing game with you.”
He thought she had been thinking for almost a week about some kind of impossible task, but it was just this? Siloque was mentally prepared to accept Inafa demanding to blow up the sun or plunge the world into eternal winter. Only then did Siloque notice Inafa wearing a mischievous, triumphant smirk. This dishonest vampire. Hah… she was planning to help all along. Siloque suddenly understood; Inafa just wanted to see him anxious and on edge.
“Inafa, is that really all you want? Other requests are fine too.”
“Forget it, you stupid human couldn’t fulfill other requests.”
Inafa’s tone as she said these things was natural and plain, as if she had accepted things as they were. But Siloque could still catch a trace of sorrow flickering in her golden eyes.
“If I really had to say what I wish for…” After a long while, she spoke as if murmuring to herself, or stating something ordinary. “I want to see Mom again. She was already badly injured protecting me when we escaped here. The silver weapon’s poison had seeped into her blood, it was hopeless. I don’t remember the exact year or month, but when I brought her breakfast one morning, I couldn’t wake her no matter how much I called. She looked very peaceful, calmly turned to dust. Oh right, I think Tiana was only five, or maybe seven then? Anyway, not over ten, still shorter than me.”
Seeing she was willing to talk, Siloque didn’t interrupt, quietly listening.
“Don’t worry, vampires don’t feel much regret when they die. For us with infinite lifespans, we only die when we want to die, and we only want to die when we’re too bored.”
“Inafa… so that’s why you sleep all day?”
“Keh heh, that’s because I like sleeping. I’m not bored enough to want to die right now, I love life very much, I want to live longer than Mom.” She laughed arrogantly, picking up a strawberry puff and stuffing it into her mouth.
While Inafa’s attention was on the outer crispy, inner soft and fluffy puff, a blissful blush appearing on her face, Siloque, beside her, swiped open his Ring Chart and noted down Inafa’s wish in his notebook.
—
June 9th, Wednesday. During the break after the second class, Cass looked toward the back row seat by the window. Even the most oblivious person would have noticed something was wrong by now.
Just then, a small group of four boys came over. The leading male classmate said, “Cass, want to go to karaoke together after school at noon? If you go, there’ll definitely be lots of girls.”
Cass stopped filling out the Dungeon Task Leave Form. Bried’s and Kersey’s were already filled out; the three planned to go find their homeroom teacher, Priss, together after school. If possible, I wish he wouldn’t call me by name so familiarly… Cass thought. That’s my brother’s name.
Boys become familiar with each other just as quickly as girls, perhaps even more solidly. As long as you show strength superior to the other, naturally someone will want to get on good terms with you. This was something Cass had discovered during this over month of disguising herself as a boy.
“Sorry, midterm exams are coming up, I want to go grind levels in the dungeon.”
“Damn, that’s the honor student for you. Handsome and so hardworking, you’re hogging all the good resources.” The male classmate joked with his friends, waving his hand. “Whenever you’re in the mood, you’re always welcome.” With that, he and the other three walked out of the classroom, laughing and talking.
Cass scratched her cheek, looking again at Siloque’s desk. “Girls or something… really don’t need too many.” No one dared to go near that seat. When girls passed by that spot, they would carefully make sure not even the hem of their skirts brushed against it. That guy Siloque must have done something, right? Judging by everyone’s attitude, it was like they regarded him as the plague.
Just as Cass was wondering whether Siloque had intentionally created this situation or not, and how she should help Siloque have a more colorful school life—
“Cass.” Bried walked over, her tone neither warm nor cold. “There’s a girl outside calling herself Agota Bal looking for you.”
Following Bried’s right shoulder, Cass looked toward the back door. Agota was shyly hiding half her body behind the door, placing a hand on her chest, waving a small greeting to Cass. She wasn’t wearing her winter coat today. That was Cass’s first thought.
“If you don’t want to, I can help convey your refusal for you.”
“Thank you, Bried. But I’ll go myself, no need for you to play the bad guy.”
“Then you decide for yourself, completely. I’m going to eat first.” Though not running, Bried still pulled along a yawning Kersey and practically carried her out of the classroom at an extremely fast walking speed.
“Hmm… I definitely will.” At this point, Cass somewhat regretted instantly killing Cliff. Not that she regretted killing Cliff, but she regretted the way she killed him. Back then, she should have followed Siloque’s plan and the three of them worked together to take down Cliff. I did instantly kill the opponent, and many people mistakenly think I’m very strong, but that move actually has a cost…
The result was that Cass became somewhat famous among the first years, known for her extraordinary strength. Combined with her handsome looks and modest attitude, it was hard not to be popular. The person she liked wasn’t interested in her, but the number of people who were interested in her had increased. Thinking of this, Cass couldn’t help but sigh again.
Fortunately, after several times in a row, the number of people coming to confess had decreased a lot. Once, it was even a boy who came to confess, leaving Cass flustered. Upon careful questioning, it wasn’t even a joke among friends. In any case, she rejected them all, male and female. With mixed feelings, Cass walked to the door to meet Agota. She had her hands behind her back, her flaxen hair neatly arranged, and a faint scent of citrus perfume wafted from her.
“H-hello, Benor. I’m Agota Bal, do you remember me?” Her voice was soft and sweet, her face also flushed.
“Of course I remember. The incident in the alley… are you okay?”
Agota showed a gentle, shy smile. “I don’t mind it anymore. It’s all thanks to you, Benor. Um… there’s something I wanted to ask today.” Her voice grew smaller and smaller as she spoke, her body shrinking, seeming somewhat restless. Cass noticed classmates occasionally glancing their way; talking at the door wasn’t great either.
“Let’s change locations.”
“Mmm… okay! You’re so considerate, Benor.”
Thus, under Cass’s lead, they left the back door of Class F. Less than a minute after Cass left, another cheerful girl knocked on the front door of Class F, Year One:
“Good morning, everyone! Excuse me, is Cass Benor here?”
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