"Princess Krul...?"
Qiuyun Yuhe walked cautiously over to Krul and waved a hand in front of her face.
A slender, pale hand suddenly grabbed Qiuyun Yuhe's hand.
Panicked by Krul's sudden awakening, Qiuyun Yuhe hastily caved and tried to appease her.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Princess Krul, I was just worried—"
"Brother, you're finally back!"
Qiuyun Yuhe: Huh?
Qiuyun Yuhe felt his whole body flush with heat at being called "brother" by Krul.
Damn it, he was actually enjoying this.
"Princess Krul, you're making me quite embarrassed."
"Where did you go after that bastard took you away? I searched for you for a thousand years, why didn't you come back?"
Krul continued.
Qiuyun Yuhe finally understood; she was talking about Asherah, which meant Asuramaru.
Qiuyun Yuhe carefully scrutinized Krul, who was clinging to his arm and refusing to let go. With her unfocused eyes, flushed face, and the nonsense she had just been spouting, the case was solved: she was drunk!
Unbelievable. Was my blood type *Erguotou* or something? If I walked into a restaurant, they'd probably make me drain my blood before letting me in since outside alcohol wasn't allowed.
"I missed you so much, Brother."
Krul was still rambling.
Qiuyun Yuhe felt a chill run down his spine. If Krul sobered up and remembered acting like this, wouldn't she hack him into a thousand pieces?!
No, I need to bail.
Qiuyun Yuhe tried to pull his arm out of Krul's embrace, but the harder he pulled, the tighter Krul squeezed. He couldn't budge.
Qiuyun Yuhe reached into the air with his other hand, and a piece of hard candy appeared in his palm.
HP Candy (Orange flavor): Quickly heals wounds regardless of Cursed Gear, restores vitality and stamina.
Though it felt a bit wasteful, Qiuyun Yuhe had no other items to restore his condition. To leave with all four limbs intact, compromises had to be made.
After eating the HP Candy, the color rushed back into Qiuyun Yuhe's pale face, and he felt a wellspring of endless energy.
"Princess Krul, please let go!"
"Are you leaving again?"
With her mind clouded, Krul didn't notice that "Asherah" was calling her "Princess." Knowing only that "Asherah" was trying to break free, she hugged him even tighter.
Qiuyun Yuhe wore a grim expression.
What now? Just wait to die?
"Brother..."
Qiuyun Yuhe suddenly felt that maybe he wasn't in such a rush to leave after all. He had never seen such an adorable Krul before; it was almost completely out of character.
Still, he had to admit—she was so damn cute!
"Miku, start recording!"
Qiuyun Yuhe decided to go all out and play along with Krul's little fantasy.
"Krul, I've been doing well all these years, so don't worry about me too much. I've been thinking about you too, you know."
Qiuyun Yuhe got into character very quickly.
"Is that so? Then why didn't you come find me for so long? Did that bastard forbid it?"
Krul looked a bit aggrieved.
"No, I had my hands tied. I've now become..."
Qiuyun Yuhe suddenly trailed off.
"Become what?"
"Uh, I became a traveler. After I was taken away, I started traveling. With the help of a white-haired guide and some companions, I only recently returned to Japan. I've been on my way to find you the whole time."
Qiuyun Yuhe began talking nonsense.
Krul felt something was amiss, but her brain wasn't functioning properly right now, so she couldn't put her finger on what was wrong.
"Well, your brother is right here. Are you sleepy? Is your head spinning? That's what you get for staying up late all the time. Get some rest now, have a piece of candy."
Qiuyun Yuhe soothed her.
He pulled out another piece of candy.
Calming Candy (Apple flavor): Restores mental energy, calms the mind, and helps the user have sweet dreams.
Qiuyun Yuhe unwrapped the candy and popped it into Krul's mouth.
Upon hearing "Asherah's" words, Krul indeed relaxed quite a bit.
Taking advantage of the moment, Qiuyun Yuhe pulled his arm free.
Yes! Score! That felt amazing!
Looking at Krul, who had quieted down once again, Qiuyun Yuhe leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Goodnight, Princess Krul. Sweet dreams."
The corners of Krul's lips curved up slightly as she drifted off to sleep.
Afterward, Qiuyun Yuhe pulled out a marker...
...
After surviving trials and tribulations, Qiuyun Yuhe finally managed to dodge the patrols and escape Sanguinem.
The layout of this underground city was a real maze. Fortunately, Miku had a navigation system—even though it showed nothing but paths without a single label.
It was also fortunate that the path to the exit was easy to recognize. Right before the exit was a massive hall, which showed up as a huge open space on the map.
Once outside, Qiuyun Yuhe let out a chuunibyou shout toward the entrance: "Hahaha, little old Krul, totally played like a fiddle!"
Then he bolted down the mountain without looking back, as if Krul were chasing right behind him.
Ferid, who happened to be passing by the hall before the exit: ?
...
"R-Reporting to Lord Tepes, we couldn't find the silver-haired human boy you mentioned anywhere in the city."
The patrol captain knelt on one knee inside the hall, keeping his head down and not daring to look at Krul's face. His shoulders trembled slightly as he reported the patrol's findings.
Listening to the vampire's report, Krul's expression darkened. It was obvious she was in an atrocious mood.
That human brat's blood had acted like alcohol, getting even her drunk, and when she woke up, the brat had already vanished without a trace.
At first, she hadn't paid it much mind. After all, Sanguinem was huge; how could a human who had just arrived find the exit so quickly? Besides, Sanguinem had dozens of patrol squads—he would be caught sooner or later.
She had simply given instructions to the patrols and then reminisced about the taste of Qiuyun Yuhe's blood.
Worth mentioning was that she had dreamt last night of her brother, Asherah Tepes, returning to tell her he had become a traveler.
It was a good omen; Krul felt she would find her brother soon.
Hours passed, yet none of the squads had spotted Qiuyun Yuhe, nor had they found anything unusual.
It was as if everything last night had been a figment of her imagination.
"Understood, dismissed."
Krul waved a hand, signaling the patrol captain to withdraw.
The captain stood, gave a bow, and hurried out of Krul's palace.
Krul found it a bit strange. Every vampire who came to report acted weirdly, not daring to make eye contact with her. They hadn't been like that before.
Arukanu was still sleeping, likely because he had also drunk a lot of Qiuyun Yuhe's blood.
Irritated, Krul grabbed Arukanu's tail and started spinning him around in circles.
"Aha~ Princess Krul, I just heard someone calling your name outside the city exit! Judging by the voice, it must have been a little boy~"
A man's voice drifted in from the hall entrance.
Krul stopped toying with Arukanu, who remained fast asleep, completely undisturbed.
Now Krul was certain: Qiuyun Yuhe had indeed escaped Sanguinem. A deep sense of regret welled up inside her.
Then she glared with utter disgust toward the source of the voice.
"Ferid, you bastard, if you have nothing to do, get out of my sight and stop trying to disgust me. I am in a very bad mood right now."
A handsome man with long white hair approached with graceful steps, one hand on his hip.
"Don't be so cold, Queen dear. I was just—pfft, hahaha! When did our Queen develop such a hobby? It's simply adorable!"
As Ferid walked closer and caught sight of Krul, he burst out laughing.
Krul frowned in confusion, asking with evident disgust, "I have no idea what you're rambling about."
"Oh? Didn't Lord Krul write that herself? That makes it even more interesting! My lord should really take a look in the mirror. This subordinate won't disturb you any longer. Hahaha, it really is quite adorable~"
With that, Ferid turned and walked away. He had originally wanted to ask about the voice he'd heard near the exit, but if he didn't leave right now and Krul saw her own face, he was definitely going to suffer.
Krul was left baffled.
Driven by curiosity, Krul walked toward a mirror.
Just as Ferid stepped out of the hall, he heard an angry roar echo from behind him.
"Ah! Human brat, I will definitely kill you!"
Qiuyun Yuhe, currently making up for lost sleep at the inn, bolted upright in bed.
Why is it so cold? Did I leave the window open?
Last night had been truly wild: being kidnapped, getting bitten, being called "brother" by a drunk Krul, and then making a daring escape.
Before leaving, Qiuyun Yuhe had even left a little gift for Krul.
I wonder if Princess Krul has noticed the words on her face yet.
Back in Sanguinem, Krul was standing in front of a mirror, furiously trying to scrub off the writing on her face—*I'm super fierce!*