“Yes, I borrowed it. It’s much more pleasant to the touch than clothes were back in my day,” Veira said unapologetically, sipping on her can of beer.
…So these two were the intruders! Leonis realized, bringing a hand to his temples wearily.
Even the Three Champions of Rognas would be powerless against a pair of Dark Lords. He swiftly drew on Veira, who was lying on the sofa, and whispered, “What are you doing? I thought you were going to sightsee around the human city!”
“Remember the place you took me to last time? Well, I went there, and the buildings were all buried.”
Indeed, even with the Stampede concluded, the Seventh Assault Garden was still in first combat alert form, meaning all the shopping malls and leisure facilities were closed.
“Still, why here?!”
“I mean, this is where your minion lives, right?”
“Right.”
“And what’s yours is mine. So your minion belongs to me, too, and I can do as I please with her.”
“What kind of logic is that?!”
“Dragon logic,” Veira replied with an invincible smile and stacked her empty beer can on another one set on the table.
“Hm, excuse me, my lord…” Shary’s apologetic voice reached Leonis’s mind. “I couldn’t stop the Dragon Lord…”
“Yes, I couldn’t expect you to…” Leonis sighed.
I suppose it’s better than them running amok in the city center, he thought.
“H-hmm…” Regina, standing at the entrance, spoke out diffidently. “You’re a friend of the kid, correct?”
She spoke to Veira, whom she was already acquainted with from the one time she teamed up with Riselia to have a water shooting match on a rooftop pool with Veira.
“A friend? Hmm, I suppose…,” Veira said with a chuckle and a shrug.
“And this person over here…” Regina turned her eyes to Rivaiz, who was hugging her knees on a couch.
“…Are you referring to me, human? I am…yes—Leonis’s long-lost sister.”
“Huuuh?! You’re the kid’s big sister?!” Regina exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock.
“H-hey, what are you thinking?!” Leonis glared at Rivaiz.
“…I see. I didn’t know he had such a pretty sister.”
“Yes. When I heard my younger brother was living all alone, I had to come check on him,” Rivaiz said, nonchalantly hugging Leonis’s head to her body.
…Damn you, Lord of the Seas! You put her under a mental interference spell.
No ordinary human could resist a Dark Lord’s mental interference.
“Oh, then we should give you a proper welcome! If you’ll just give me time to get take a shower, I’ll make us a modest feast.”
“My apologies for the trouble,” Rivaiz said as Regina headed back to her room.
But then, Rivaiz turned to look at Riselia, and…
“…?”
…cocked her head, baffled.
“It’s strange. My spell is not working on this girl.”
“E-erm…” Riselia looked at Rivaiz’s eyes, as blue as the water’s surface, with confusion.
“This girl is Leo’s minion,” Veira explained, holding up an index finger. “One of the highest class: a Vampire Queen. She has resistance to mental spells.”
“An undead minion, then. I see.” Rivaiz nodded, satisfied with the explanation. “I am an old acquaintance of Leonis’s. For reasons I cannot elaborate on, I am staying on this island for now.”
“…I—I understand,” Riselia said, swallowing nervously.
She must have sensed on an instinctual level that Rivaiz was a being on an equal level with Veira. But of course, she couldn’t imagine these two girls lounging in her living room were, in fact, the Dark Lords her father Edward was researching.
But then—
“U-um, Veira…!” Riselia turned to look at Veira, her voice high-strung, and then straightened out her back and bowed. “Thank you very much for the Dragon Blood. It saved me.”
“Hmm. So you used my Dragon Blood.” Veira eyed Riselia with interest.
“What?” Rivaiz’s eyes widened ever so slightly. “You granted her Dragon Blood?”
“Yes, just a little bit.”
“I hear the only one known to have successfully used a Dragon Lord’s blood was the Ancestor Vampire Count Dracul. To think she could use your blood, of all people…,” the Lord of the Seas mused, her amethyst eyes alight with interest.
At that point, Riselia drew on Veira. “Um, Veira, I have a request!”
Whatever she was thinking, she was kneeling on the floor in front of the sofa, her fists against the floor.
“Miss Selia, what are you…?” Leonis was taken aback by his minion’s sudden behavior.
“Leo’s minion is asking me for a favor? Interesting.” Veira smiled slightly. “Fine, I’ll hear you out, if nothing else. Go on, ask.”
“Y-yes. Hm, could you teach me how to use the Dragon Blood better?!”
Riselia looked right into Veira’s eyes, her breath held. There was a brief moment of silence…
“Hmm.” Veira’s smile widened. “I see you haven’t lost yourself to the power.”
“…I have someone I need to save. A friend. But the way I am now, I won’t be able to bring her back. So…”
“Heh. Fine.” Veira got to her feet, throwing back her long, crimson hair. “I have time on my hands anyway. I’ll give you some special training.”
“Th-thank you!”
“Fair warning, though. My training can be harsh.”
“…Harsh suits me just fine,” Riselia said, swallowing nervously.
“Miss Selia, are you sure you want this?”
“…Yes. I want to get stronger so I can save Miss Finé.”
Seeing the resolve in Riselia’s eyes, Leonis went quiet.
I’d have told Veira not to lay hands on my minion, but…
If this is what Riselia wanted for herself, it wasn’t his place to tell her otherwise.
“You’ve got some training grounds, right? Show me the way.” Veira got off the sofa and gestured for Riselia to follow.
“Y-yes, Teacher!”
Seeing the two of them make for the front door, Rivaiz whispered, “Hmm. This girl must be something special if the Dragon Lord took a liking to her.”
“I—I thought I was her teacher…?” Shary whispered in the shadows, sulking.