Evening, after dinner. Back at the old schoolhouse inside Keystone Gate.
This should have been the hour when the girls gathered in the bathhouse for their nightly festivities. Instead, a shriek tore through the first-floor living room with all the grace of a pig being led to slaughter.
"VAMPIRES?? I DON'T WANNA—!!!"
The girls had assembled on the sofas in full. Bokue sat among them.
The difference was that his lap contained a cardboard box. A trembling cardboard box. Two round holes had been gouged into the front panel, and through them peered a pair of enormous wine-red eyes, glistening with barely-suppressed tears.
"Gasper's so weird, isn't she?"
Irina tilted her head, studying the box with open fascination.
"She's literally a vampire-turned-devil. How can she be scared of other vampires?"
"I AM!"
The golden-haired vampire girl huddled inside the box declared her cowardice without hesitation.
"I'm calling in sick tomorrow, President! Please lock me in the storage room for the entire day! And put the sealing wards back on the door while you're at it!"
"Wow~"
Irina's mouth fell open.
This wasn't an act. The girl was genuinely terrified.
Bokue patted the top of the box gently.
"So what's the full situation? If it's just a diplomatic delegation coming to sign a treaty, there's no reason Gasper needs to be present. The key people sit down, hash it out, and that's that."
"That's what I was thinking too..."
Rias nodded with a small sigh.
"But since the delegation is from the Carmilla Faction specifically, I can't say for certain how things will play out. It's... complicated."
The Carmilla Faction?
Three question marks floated above Bokue's head.
The name rang a bell, but... wasn't that from Ultraman Tiga? Tiga's ex-girlfriend, if he remembered right. A very provocative female Ultra.
So the vampires coming tomorrow worked for... a female Ultraman?
"It's not the Carmilla you're thinking of."
Akeno read his expression instantly and stepped in with the explanation.
"Carmilla is one of the two major vampire factions. Think of it like the Underworld's political split between supporters of Lord Lucifer and supporters of Lord Beelzebub."
"The other faction is Tepes."
Now that was a classic vampire surname. Bokue nodded. Tepes showed up in practically every piece of vampire fiction ever written.
Rias picked up the thread.
"Originally, the Carmilla and Tepes factions were a single unified force. But several centuries ago, the vampire race split over ideological differences."
"The Carmilla Faction follows a matriarchal system. The Tepes Faction follows a patriarchal one. That fundamental disagreement led to the permanent schism."
Ah...
Bokue's mouth twitched, but he wasn't sure what to say.
The whole thing felt vaguely absurd. Matriarchy versus patriarchy? In a species with superhuman strength and immortality? Why not just fight it out and let whoever's strongest run things? What did gender have to do with it?
He genuinely could not relate.
"For the record, as the Fourth True Ancestor, I firmly follow Big-Brother-ism!"
Nagisa raised her hand from the neighboring sofa with a cheerful grin.
That triggered a thought.
"Speaking of which, if the Carmilla Faction is sending people to the human world for negotiations, won't the other three True Ancestors have something to say? Or are they Carmilla-aligned?"
"No, the First, Second, and Third True Ancestors won't get involved."
Rias shook her head.
"They're vampires, yes, but they've been independent for so long that the internal faction politics don't interest them anymore."
"Hm."
Bokue considered this, then looked down at the cardboard box on his lap.
"Which faction was Gasper originally from?"
"Gasper would have been... Tepes."
Rias hesitated, clearly reluctant to dig into this particular history. But after a two-second pause, she continued.
"You already know the Tepes Faction wasn't kind to her. That's why she fled and came to me. Why she became part of my peerage."
"Right..."
Old wounds. Unpleasant ones. Bokue dropped the line of questioning.
"If they want to come, let them come. Where's the meeting?"
"Here at the school."
"Got it. I'll be here early."
He looked down again and gave the box another gentle pat.
"Okay, Gasper. Bath time. You're coming too tonight."
"—!!"
The vampire girl inside the box jolted violently.
At the same time, the bottom corner of the cardboard box quietly darkened with a spreading patch of moisture.
❁❁❁❁
The following afternoon. Saikai Academy. The old schoolhouse.
Bokue had sent the other girls home after school and teleported to the first-floor living room right on schedule. As he materialized, Rias was just returning from the hallway.
"...Oh? You've already dropped off Asagi and the others."
Their eyes met. Rias smiled and gestured toward the hallway leading to the storage room.
"Perfect timing. I just checked on Gasper. She's still nervous, but since she doesn't have to show her face today, and after the way you... comforted her last night, she's in reasonably stable shape. I reapplied the sealing wards on the storage room door, too."
"Good."
Bokue leaned out of the living room doorway and glanced down the corridor.
The wards were plastered on thick. Even more thoroughly than the original set that had sealed Gasper away before her release.
It looked a little pathetic, sure. But nobody should be forced to face something they weren't ready for.
"Sigh~"
From inside the living room, Xenovia let out a quiet exhale from her spot on the sofa, drawing Irina's attention.
"Hey, Xenovia, are you okay? You've seemed really on edge since this morning. You didn't even sleep during class."
"How do I put this... I'm just a little... honestly, I wanted to call in sick today too. Ugh..."
The holy sword wielder trailed off, burying her face in both hands.
Knock knock knock.
A light rapping came from the entrance hall.
"Come in," Rias called toward the doorway.
The sliding door drew open, and a young woman stepped inside.
She radiated an aura of gentle warmth. Her loose nun's habit couldn't fully disguise the generous curves beneath it, a figure that spoke of softness and abundance in equal measure. Her face was beautiful, youthful, with not a trace of age, yet something in the way she carried herself—the set of her shoulders, the calm depth of her gaze—belonged to a woman well past girlhood.
She spotted Rias and Bokue at the living room entrance and smiled.
"A pleasure to meet you, Keikain-san, Rias-san. My name is Griselda Quarta. I'm the nun representing Heaven in today's negotiations."
"Also, if I may ask—is Xenovia here?"
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