— — — — — —
Keystone Gate, Underground Level Eight.
Astarte lay unconscious on the lab table, eyes closed. She was still fully dressed, but her small body was covered in monitoring devices and diagnostic instruments.
Across from the table, Asagi stared at Ryo with the kind of look usually reserved for scums.
"This is way too reckless," she said coldly. "Implanting a Familiar into a Manmade Life-form? Why?"
"It wasn't my work," Ryo replied, sounding more tired than defensive.
"She's attached to you now," Asagi shot back, glaring again before muttering under her breath, "I'm already being generous by not poking around the little vixen in your room."
…Why does everyone know when a woman sneaks into my room?
Ryo glanced sideways at Natsuki, his eyelid twitching.
Weren't we supposed to keep that quiet?
Natsuki snapped her folding fan open, hiding half her face as she spoke lazily. "I didn't expect that little brat to fight dirty and keep the entire island's surveillance under her control twenty-four seven."
Asagi, fingers dancing over the console as she fine-tuned Astarte's body, let out a mocking laugh. "Hah. I just wrote an AI to give me regular reports."
Ryo's mouth twitched.
"Hm... The Familiar and her body can't be separated anymore," Asagi said after a long scan. She sighed and looked at Ryo. "The best option is to turn her into a vampire."
Vampires made perfect vessels for Familiars—or, more accurately, Beast Vassals. After all, Cain had practically engineered the entire race to serve as Jinchurikis.
Ryo nodded.
He wasn't the stubborn type. When there was a clean, efficient solution, he wasn't about to take the long way around just to look principled.
However…
"What are you doing?" Ryo asked, watching Asagi undo the top buttons of her collar, his expression complicated.
Asagi flushed and tugged the fabric back into place. "Well, aren't you supposed to turn her? If you don't get at least a little stimulated, how are you going to drink blood?"
"I mean, sure, but…" Ryo's tone shifted in a way that made the air awkward.
Natsuki snapped her fan open again, eyes full of disdain. "Asagi, what he means is that he doesn't need your help."
"…Doesn't need my help?"
Asagi froze, then glanced at the petite girl on the table before whipping back around, staring daggers at Ryo. "You're telling me you can get excited over a kid like that?! You… you monster!"
Ryo turned silently to Natsuki, then explained. "Asagi, I'm a Primogenitor because of my special bond with Cyrora. Fundamentally, I'm still human, okay? So I don't get the usual side effects of vampires."
Then Ryo leaned down and sank his teeth into Astarte's neck, beginning the vampiric transformation.
The instant it completed—
Boom.
Nearly solidified, boiling magical energy erupted from Astarte's body.
"What's going on with her?" Natsuki asked, staring at Ryo as he pulled back.
He wiped his mouth casually. "I forget that.. My blood's a bit special."
"These readings…" Asagi stared at the data in shock. "Blood Servant? No… Elder? That's not right either. Primogenitor direct lineage? Or an actual Primogenitor?!"
Primogenitors had several ways of creating descendants.
Drink someone's blood and grant them part of your body, and they became a Blood Servant.
Children born between Blood Servants were pure-blood vampires. The same went for children born between a Primogenitor and a Blood Servant.
The last method was the most dangerous: splitting off the essence of one's Familiar and implanting it into a Blood Servant capable of bearing it.
That approach was extremely risky and almost never used in modern times.
Astarte's situation closely resembled that last case.
She already carried a Familiar and had endured most of the backlash. After becoming a vampire, she then received Ryo's blood, blood infused with cosmos-level power.
She skipped the entire climb and went straight to the top.
"Not quite," Ryo said, shaking his head. "Physically close to a Primogenitor, but not one. When she goes to Little Garden, she'll become a five-digit."
"…Five-digit," Asagi murmured, eyes on Astarte, full of envy.
One bite and straight to five digits. She almost wanted Ryo to bite her too.
Catching her expression, Ryo spoke up. "When we get back, I'll prepare Divinities for you two. They'll boost your spirit ranks significantly."
Natsuki raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Asagi's eyes went wide. "Huh? Are you planning to waste money?"
"Waste…" Ryo's mouth twitched. "Isn't this for your own good?"
"Isn't Arcadia tight on funds?" Asagi asked, surprised.
She was happy, of course. Being offered a Divinity wasn't nothing.
But it felt like reckless spending. She didn't want Ryo going into debt for flashy, impractical things.
Ryo's expression stiffened. Sometimes being honest really did come back to bite him.
He'd explained Arcadia's situation before. Now he was being treated like he was broke.
Utterly exhausting.
"After the Gift Game ends, we'll earn a decent amount of gold," he said with a sigh. "After Aizen takes his share, I can buy Divinities from other Communities. We get a discount, and it builds goodwill."
"And Divinities raise a person's potential. They're great for strengthening your foundations."
Divinities boosted talent with no side effects and instantly produced a five-digit being. That was exactly why they were such prized rewards in four-digit-level Gift Games.
"In that case, I'm fine with it," Asagi said, asked casually, "The Holy Relic will take about three more days to fully analyze. What are you planning to do with that priest until then?"
The Holy Relic was the remains of a saint, imbued with exceptionally strong spiritual energy.
When Itogami Island was designed, Senra Itogami chose a forbidden method of using sacrificial material to compensate for the cornerstone's insufficient strength. As a result, the island was constructed atop the saint's arm, serving as its foundation.
"The priest?"
"Keep him locked up. I'll also test the island core's data while I'm at it, so I can prep a replacement."
Ryo answered calmly. He had no reason to lie to Rudolf about that.
Someone who surrendered voluntarily, without fuss, and offered themselves as a test subject deserved a bit of courtesy at the end.
No need for cheap tricks.
"Do what you want," Asagi said, brushing her hair aside. After a pause, she added, "What about the Aldegian princess? She's already arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
"Let her wait."
"…Isn't that a bad idea?" Asagi hesitated. They weren't enemies. Snubbing her didn't seem smart.
Natsuki sighed and explained, "The Third Primogenitor also sent a request to visit."
Asagi's mouth twitched as she stared at Ryo. "Looks like your fishing worked."
"With the Third Primogenitor's personality," Ryo grumbled, "there's no way she wouldn't come running once she knew I was here."
Then he turned to Natsuki. "Natsuki, make arrangements. Have the Silver-haired Princess take a few strolls near that church."
…The church Kanon Kanase often visited.
Natsuki's eyes widened slightly. She looked at him, speechless. "You really are devious."
A lost branch of Aldegian royal bloodline, located inside the Fourth Primogenitor's Dawn Empire?
The Kingdom of Aldegyr would be insane not to react.
But no matter what they did next, Ryo would be holding all the cards.
If that wasn't devious, what was?
Ryo snorted. "You can say I'm good at strategy, but don't call me devious, okay?"
"Good at strategy? Can you even believe that about yourself? Ryo, being that shameless won't get you far in the long run," Natsuki shot back, clearly having learned a thing or two from him.
Ryo raised an eyebrow. "I'm not arguing with you."
.
.
.