Seeing as how Ristia had slightly considered asking her, “Would you mind becoming my kinswoman and my little sister?” she hesitated to tell the truth. Once Nanami saw this visible hesitation, her face was filled with a sort of despair—as if she knew that the world was coming to an end. This was where tragedy struck.
Becoming the kinswoman of Ristia, a True Blood, would mean being nearly immortal, possessing advanced physical abilities, as well as a long lifespan with almost no vampiric impulses. It meant gaining the ultimate body. However, in Nanami’s mind, becoming the kinswoman of the lower-grade vampires that currently haunted the lands meant gaining slightly-enhanced physical abilities, but also introduced a host of weaknesses and meant needing to drink people’s blood for even a chance at survival—and, in worst case scenarios, it meant even losing your sanity. It was a matter of becoming what was practically a living corpse.
There was an overwhelming disparity in what sprung to mind when it came to vampire kinsfolk for the two. Unfortunately, Ristia hadn’t considered that aspect adding into the equation, so upon seeing Nanami fall into despair, she believed Nanami was rejecting her.
“S-Sorry, you don’t like the idea of kinsfolk, yes?! It’s okay, I won’t be making you into a kinswoman!”
“R-Really?”
“Uh-huh, uh-huh! I assure you, I will not do anything that you do not want, Nanami!” Waaah, making this promise means I can’t make Nanami my little sister~! But, but... Nanami looked really freaked out, so I definitely cannot afford to make her do something she doesn’t like. I would be a failure of an older sister otherwise. I don’t like it, but that’s life. A sisterless life... Sniff...
Ristia cried internally as she swore up and down that she wouldn’t turn the girl into a kinswoman.
──3──
“A-Are you really, really, really not going to turn me into your kinsfolk?”
“I really, really, really, really mean it!” Ristia said, trying to desperately soothe the worried Nanami, causing her adorable voice to ring throughout the labyrinth floor. Her perseverance eventually prevailed, as it helped Nanami settle her nerves a little.
“...All right, then. I will believe what you say, Lady Ristia.”
“Well, I thank you for believing in me.” Ristia breathed a sigh of relief.
“By the way, Lady Ristia? Why were you asleep in that cage back there, anyway?”
“Oh, that? Well... A little sister was...”
“A little sister?”
“Um, no, it’s nothing. Just forget it.”
“Oh, okay...”
Nanami remembered what was written on the pedestal and decided not to delve any deeper, assuming that the reasons behind it were too complicated. The truth of the matter was that Ristia was just too embarrassed to tell her, “A little sister was what I wanted. So much so that I ran away from home.”
“Is that all you’d like to ask?”
“Well... one more thing, then. What do you plan on doing now, Lady Ristia?”
“What do you mean...? ‘What do I plan on doing’?”
“Erm, you know... wiping out humanity? Stuff like that?”
“I’m... quite curious as to what you’ve been taking me for this whole time, my dear Nanami.” I’m a totally normal girl, so why does she think I’d do something so wicked? Ristia pondered, cutely cocking her head to the side.
“You are the princess of the True Bloods, who reigned supreme over all other tribes in an era far more prosperous than ours. And you’d massacre any tribes that you disliked, right?”
“Um, no?!”
“You didn’t?”
“I certainly did not~! I mean, if anyone ruined or disturbed places I liked or something, I’d give them a little slap on the wrist, sure.”
It was worth noting that, if things like that did happen, Ristia would descend upon the battlefields of warring tribes, shouting, “Trampling all over the flowerbed I worked so hard on? You’re all going to get it!” as she pummeled everyone into the dirt—that was the level her pleasant little “slaps on the wrists” would reach. That was just what Ristia thought; it was taught among many different tribes that one must never anger a True Blood, but... it could be overlooked.
“So... you’re not going to destroy all humans...?”
“No, I’m not~! ...Wait... did I just hear you say ‘an era far more prosperous than ours’?” It took her a second to register, but Ristia realized what that meant.
Ristia had only planned on a slumber that would last a few decades’ time. This entire time, she was under the impression that she had only slept a couple of years, since she was awakened by some unforseen incident. But, what if...
“Um, please hear me out, and try not to be startled. Lady Ristia, if you say that you are a member of the True Bloods, then as it stands... I think, well... At least a millennium has passed since your time.”
“...Huh? A-A millennium?”
“Y-Yes, Ma’am. The True Bloods disappeared a thousand years ago. It’s just my guess, but I would say that has to be the case...”
She had no good reason to lie. Plus, it was hard to imagine Nanami lying anyway, given the current circumstances. Which meant that even if the True Bloods disappeared right after she went to sleep, a millennium would have already gone by. This was why Ristia was surprised. Shocked, in fact. Enough so that she thought, How much of a jerkface is Father? Not creating another offspring in over a whole darn millennium?! Of course, there were a bevy of things odd about all this in terms of human sensibilities, but Ristia was extremely serious about things in her own way.
True Bloods were preordained with a lifespan of several millennia. What was supposed to be a few decades’ worth of sleep ended up being a whole millennium through an oversight. This was a mistake that Ristia acknowledged as less of a catastrophic shock and more of a slightly-above-average startle.