HER natural mindset is to avoid overly complicated matters which clashes with her stubborn personality. It goes without saying her personality and looks do not match—she is frequently said to have a docile appearance. Whether that is a good thing or not is undetermined. Her favorite motto is, “It is easier to do something than worry about it.”
You would come to her grade point average faster if you started from the bottom, but she did keep the top rank in PE since the day she started school. Once she entered the kendo club in high school she excelled until she was skilled enough to take part in nationals. Her exemplary physical prowess kept her in high demand as a supporting player for all of the sports clubs on campus.
Cooking and sewing became a normal part of her life since the day she lost her mother. As such, her grades in home economics are far from lacking. Furthermore, her greatest skill of all is money management. She is terrible at math, but calculating taxes is her forte. Keeping her shopping bill at exactly 2,000 yen without using a calculator is a cinch for her.
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A strong-willed, athletic, family-oriented miser—that is what Ichi learned from the report about the girl known as Azusa Saito. She massaged the bridge of her nose before tossing the report aside.
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ICHI was feeling perplexed lately. The situation unfolding before her had her wondering what the job she was given three days ago was for. If she wasn’t mistaken, her orders should have been to, “Observe and guard a girl called Azusa Saito. Watching over her includes supporting her in daily life and general assistance when necessary. You are free to use force if she attempts to escape. You can go as far as removing her legs and arms if necessary, as long as it doesn’t kill her.”
Those less than peaceful and rather savage orders had Ichi imagining herself tying a sobbing girl up like a pig for the slaughter, but reality showed the complete opposite from what she expected.
“Ichi, please eat before it gets cold. I tried making a rolled Japanese-style omelet today.”
“Okay,” is all Ichi could say in response to the food placed in front of her. She was aware of her taciturn personality, but her lack of words today was for another reason.
Azusa was in the kitchen since the early hours of the morning zealously making breakfast. She hummed while she cooked too. Ichi was at her wits’ end; this was a completely unexpected turn of events.
Azusa had been undeniably docile on the first day. By all appearances, she was a typical example of Pitiful Captured Girl A. The second day brought her to request permission to go jogging in the garden. Ichi kept her guard up against any possible attempts of escape, but there wasn’t even an inkling of her wanting to. The day ended with Azusa’s request to make dinner. And now she was making breakfast on the third day.
The servants, who were supposed to make breakfast for her originally, watched helplessly from the corner of the room. Ichi was given permission to allow Azusa to do as she pleased within the mansion grounds from the day she was assigned the job, but it felt like she was doing more with that permission than they anticipated.
“By the way, Azusa, this has been on my mind since yesterday, but why are you making food for me too?”
“What? You don’t like Japanese-style omelets?”
“…No, I do not have a problem with the food…”
Miso soup, rice, grilled fish, rolled omelets, and pickled vegetables for two sat on the table. It was the epitome of the perfect Japanese-style breakfast seen on cooking shows.
“Vampires eat food normally like humans, right?”
“We do. It depends on the person, but as long as there are no abnormal circumstances, we only need to drink blood once every two to three months. The rest of our nutrients and calories are provided by normal food.”
Too much crossbreeding with humans allowed vampires to reduce their need for blood by sustaining their energy with food. The weaker the vampire, the less frequently they required blood. About once every two to three months was all the average vampire needed. More powerful vampires could last about a month before requiring more blood.
Ichi explained about vampires to Azusa during their first day together. She recalled how inquisitive Azusa was about every little detail. Thinking about the course of events since then turned Pitiful Captured Girl A into a gradually more suspicious façade.
“Then dig in,” Azusa suggested.
“……”
What does she mean by dig in? A normal person wouldn’t serve food to the person keeping them locked up. Does this girl have nerves of steel or something?
“Please eat with me. It’s boring to eat alone… Dad isn’t here now either.”
“…All right. Thank you for the food.” Ichi gave in and brought the food to her mouth. Azusa sat beside her and started eating her share.
The man who had been Azusa’s father was taken away by Subaru after their conversation on the first day. Neither she nor Ichi had seen him since. Ichi assumed he was fated for a court of inquiry. While the Blue Coven arbitrarily continued the research in a different direction, the original goal of turning vampires into humans was a collaborative research project between the three covens. Shinji brought their research into the outside world. The Red Coven had every right to judge him for his crimes.
Ichi sympathized with Azusa. The man who raised her all these years turned out to be a complete stranger and told her she was a human created as the result of a research experiment. No doubt Ichi would have despised Shinji if she were in Azusa’s shoes.
But what about Azusa herself? Doubt casually crossed Ichi’s mind. Just now she called Shinji, Dad. Is it possible she feels otherwise? No doubt she resents him for it. The answer should be as clear as day, but…
“Do you resent Shinji, Azusa?” Ichi questioned to clear her doubt.
“…My dad?” Azusa froze, her eyes widening with surprise. “Of course I do!”
I knew it, Ichi thought at Azusa’s declaration.
“I mean, if your daughter asks you, ‘Was I ever a daughter to you?’, you should answer, ‘Of course!’ without a moment’s delay and hug her. Isn’t that what a parent does? He shouldn’t think too much about the complicated stuff like: we have different DNA or whether it’s okay for him to think of me as a daughter or if he has the right to--and just give me a bear hug! That’s all he had to do! I plan on reprimanding him the next time I see him! Dad has always had a bad habit of letting all the complicated details get to him! I plan on using this opportunity to straighten him out!” Azusa ranted with puffed out cheeks.
“That sounds like you…are angry at him rather than resentful.”
“Good point. You can say that again!”
“Isn’t that all I can say about it?”
Her reaction is different from what I imagined. Ichi laughed as she watched Azusa’s face redden with anger.
“Also, while I did snap at him at the time out of confusion, I know full-well that he loved me like I was his real daughter, even though I wasn’t. Although I did brood over it until my head hurt at first,” Azusa smiled bashfully.
Ichi silently listened as Azusa went on with a gentle expression, “Contrary to his looks, Dad hates dogs. But he threw himself in front of me to protect me when I was attacked by a wild dog, resulting in a bite requiring more stiches than I can remember. After he chased off the dog he pulled me into his blood-soaked arms and kept asking if I was okay. He was the one who wasn’t okay. He tried to let me on the ambulance, but was stopped by the paramedic… When I remember Dad like that, I feel like an idiot for asking if he thought of me as a daughter. Oh, I should properly apologize for this later.”
“You are…an interesting girl,” Ichi laughed. Azusa stared at her curiously. She had no clue what was so funny.
“You think so?”
“I do. I thought how glad I am you are Azusa Saito.”
If I have to be stuck with someone, I want it to be someone I can get along with. I don’t know what is going to happen from here, but it would be agonizing to spend every day with someone I despise, Ichi thought.
“I’m also glad you are my bodyguard, Ichi.”
Ichi responded with a faint smile and drank her miso soup. It was a relaxing morning lightly fragranced by miso.