Saito threaded through the bustling crowd in the shopping mall. His expression was calm and unruffled, but his oppressive aura betrayed a foul mood.
There was no mistaking it. That scent belonged to Krul.
Saito had not expected Krul to track him down barely a day after his arrival in Kyoto. Having effectively defected from the vampires, and with his personal experiments still incomplete, he was in no position to clash with Krul right now.
Damn it, his entire plan was in ruins!
Saito had anticipated that Krul's subordinates might catch his trail—or even that his own vampire "child," Ferid, might hunt him down—but not this soon. (Vampires referred to those turned by their own blood as "children"; for instance, Mika was considered Krul's child.)
According to his plan, once Saito located Qiuyun Yuhe, he would find a way to get her alone, knock her out, and abduct her, dealing with her family later.
Yet, shortly after finding Qiuyun Yuhe, he had caught a whiff of Krul's scent.
A vampire's physical abilities were generally seven times that of a human. As the former Second Progenitor, Saito could fight Guren's squad to a standstill without using hands or feet.
He was certain he had just smelled Krul's scent. It was very faint, meaning it probably wasn't Krul herself, but whoever it was had spent a long time in close contact with her.
Although it had been countless years since they last met, they were both children of the First Progenitor; Saito would never forget Krul's scent.
Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and left.
Emerging from the mall into a deserted alley, Saito vanished with a few agile leaps.
Three minutes later, he reappeared.
"Did she follow me? The scent is gone, too."
Pulling out a bottle of perfume to mask his own odor and putting on a face mask, Saito blended back into the crowd.
"I can't stay long. Whoever that was, they'll definitely report this to Krul. I have to get out of here before tomorrow morning no matter what!"
Asking for directions along the way, Saito arrived at the small town's only inn.
Since this was the only inn around, Qiuyun Yuhe would definitely come here tonight.
What he did not know, however, was that Arukanu had been watching his one-man show from the sky the entire time.
If that human child hadn't looked so tempting, making it unable to resist taking a single bite, Saito would never have caught its scent in the mall.
It had originally wanted to bite her neck, but Qiuyun Yuhe was wearing a down jacket, making her neck impossible to reach, and it could not afford to expose its existence.
Still, it had to admit—even if it had only bitten the back of her hand, that human child's blood was intoxicatingly delicious. Though it had felt a bit dizzy afterward.
It had only come out looking for easy pickings, never expecting to stumble upon a major VIP and a top-tier delicacy.
Hmph! Let's see Krul call it a useless mascot now!
Watching Saito check into the inn, Arukanu flew unsteadily toward the mountain, weaving through the air like a drunkard.
...
"Oh? Interesting. You're saying Rigr actually came to Kyoto?"
In Sanguinem, within Krul's palace.
Krul sat upon a throne, one leg crossed over the other, her right hand propping up her head while her left hand held a goblet of crimson liquid, swirling it lazily.
Nearby, Arukanu wobbled drunkenly, reporting what it had seen outside.
Don't ask how Krul understood it; telepathy was the answer!
Saito's appearance now was vastly different from when he was the Second Progenitor, but Arukanu had ties to the First Progenitor—seeing through his disguise was child's play.
"To abandon the vampire path and now come to a vampire city... What is he up to? I'm genuinely curious."
Krul took an elegant sip from her goblet and frowned.
"The quality of human blood really is getting worse and worse. We're reaching the limit."
As the vampire queen, the blood Krul consumed was provided exclusively by specially selected humans, whose blood was reserved entirely for her.
Other humans survived on nutrient fluid, but these individuals received proper meals.
Yet, with little opportunity to capture new humans nowadays, Krul's VIP roster had not been updated in ages, and the quality of the blood declined year by year.
Krul glanced sideways at the unsteadily hovering Arukanu.
Without warning, she rose and lashed out with a kick.
Arukanu: ?
Barely dodging the blow, Arukanu scrambled frantically into the air.
It let out a string of shrill, gurgling cries.
Judging by the tone, it was cursing quite vividly.
"Tch."
When the attack missed, Krul curled her lips.
Expectedly so.
"Besides tracking Rigr, what else did you do? Why do you look like a total drunk?"
Hearing Krul's question, Arukanu immediately perked up, enthusiastically telling her about the supreme delicacy it had found outside, acting as if it had discovered a rare treasure.
It described with exaggerated fervor just how delicious Qiuyun Yuhe's blood was.
"Oh? What kind of blood tastes good enough for you to praise it like this, and with such a strong aftereffect?"
Interest flickered across Krul's face.
Arukanu had been by her side for over two thousand years—what kind of blood hadn't it tasted? This was the first time she had ever seen it praise something so highly, and she couldn't help but become curious about this human child.
As Arukanu reminisced about the taste of Qiuyun Yuhe's blood, a glass goblet suddenly flew out of nowhere, trapping it underneath.
The sudden turn of events caught it entirely off guard.
Watching Arukanu get trapped under the glass cup, fly toward the corner of the wall, and crash so hard it saw stars, Krul felt a wave of satisfaction wash over her.
Ah, refreshing. After more than two thousand years, I finally got you back. Hahaha.
I really have to thank that human child.
Krul felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of goodwill toward the human child.
Krul did not press her advantage while Arukanu was dizzy and disoriented. Her palace was massive, and the corner was twenty or thirty meters away; that distance gave Arukanu plenty of time to take flight again.
While Krul was in high spirits, Arukanu felt utterly aggrieved.
If I hadn't been drunk on blood, would you have managed to sneak attack me, you jerk? Despicable!
"A human child with delicious blood, and a former vampire progenitor with unknown motives... This is really getting hard to sit still for~"
Krul's interest heightened.
"You said he's at the inn at the foot of the mountain?"
Reluctantly, Arukanu bobbed its body up and down, confirming the fact.
"I'm sick of staying in this oppressive underground palace anyway. Let's go out and take a look tonight."
"What on earth are you planning, Rigr Stafford? I hope you bring me some unexpected surprises..."
...
Qiuyun Yuhe searched the surrounding area thoroughly, but there was still no sign of Arukanu.
With no other choice, she gave up the search and took her selected items to find Qiuyun Nayuki.
Although Qiuyun Nayuki had only mentioned buying a handbag, a woman's gaze would always be drawn to other things.
Sure enough, upon reaching the second floor, Qiuyun Yuhe spotted Qiuyun Nayuki standing transfixed in front of a display of jewelry, unable to tear her eyes away.
Wearing a "knew it" expression, Qiuyun Yuhe spoke up:
"Mother, if you like it, just buy it. There's nothing to hesitate about."
Without turning her head, Qiuyun Nayuki looked conflicted, glancing down at the handbag in her hand.
"But... this month's expenses are almost over budget..."
"It's fine. If Mother likes it, just buy it."
Touched, Qiuyun Nayuki turned around.
Just as she was about to praise Qiuyun Yuhe for growing up, she saw her arms laden with two bulky shopping bags. The words of affection instantly choked in her throat...
Buying a piece of jewelry probably wouldn't be too excessive after all.
By the time the two returned to the inn, twilight had fallen. After shopping in the morning, they had left their bags in a mall locker and toured the rest of the small town.
Since they were here on the pretext of a vacation, just buying a single thing would have been hard to justify.
"Ah, this is no different from my usual life during company holidays."
Qiuyun Nayuki stretched her waist and sat on the tatami mat, massaging her feet to chase away the exhaustion of the day.
Qiuyun Yuhe, on the other hand, was already at her limit.
Too lazy to even change her clothes, she collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep.
"Miku, wake me up at midnight."
With that, she drifted off into dreamland.