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"...Watching over the Fourth Progenitor? What's that supposed to mean?"
As if hearing something absurd, the witch sisters on the sofa completely lost their composure.
A Progenitor? Being watched over?
Since when did Japanese have this kind of word combination?
Vampires were among the strongest, most enduring races in the Underworld—practically the masters of survival. The Progenitors who stood at their species' apex possessed power rivaling the dragons who similarly dominated all demon races.
Setting aside those Creation-God-level outliers and existences with mythological bloodlines, vampire Progenitors were basically the strongest beings in all three realms, possessing nation-level power comparable to Underworld Satans.
(Even the weakest low-tier Satan was still a Satan)
Yet someone was watching over such a legendary existence?
"Tokoyogi Yuuma, are you serious??"
The younger witch sister—draped in a red hood and dressed like the Xanthous King from Dark Souls—shot up from the sofa.
"Humans watching over a Progenitor? That's impossible—"
"Are you questioning me, Octavia Meyer?"
Completely abandoning the cheerful, lively persona she'd shown with Bokue, Yuuma faced the witch's challenge with only a calm smile.
"What..."
Caught off-guard by the counter-question, Octavia paused, then quickly showed displeasure on her delicate features.
"What do you mean by that? Are you questioning my questioning? Don't forget—though you're nominally Tokoyogi Aya's daughter, you're actually just a copy she made using herself as a template—"
"I'm not lying."
Before the red-hooded sister could finish, Yuuma cut her off.
"True, I've lived my entire life under Mother's arrangements. But meeting him was my own decision. Only that relationship belongs to me alone. So regarding him, I absolutely won't lie."
"..."
Silence.
"By the way, I should mention—the Library appointed me as mission leader. Your job is to cooperate with me in achieving our goal. Any objections, Meyer sisters?"
"..."
Still silence.
For the Meyer sisters, they knew practically everything about the entity called Tokoyogi Yuuma. Yet the hardline attitude she displayed now completely contradicted their previous impressions.
"...No! Sister Emma, I still don't trust this."
Octavia gritted her teeth, objecting again.
"How could a normal human possibly watch over a Progenitor? I need to verify this myself before believing it."
"Believe? What do you want to believe?"
"Obviously... didn't you say it yourself? That a human can watch over a Progenitor!"
"Yes, so?"
Yuuma spread her hands.
"Octavia, what do you want to verify? What do you want to believe?"
"Obviously to verify that human's power!"
Octavia was getting irritated by the circular logic, speaking loudly with frustration.
"Isn't your current plan to leverage your relationship with that human to borrow his power? Since you're changing the plan like this, shouldn't you first prove that human's power can match a Progenitor??"
"Oh, that's what you meant."
Yuuma ignored her outburst, just rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm~ That's actually not a bad idea. Though it differs from my thinking, it's certainly a more reliable approach."
"See? I told you! Hmph!"
Seeing the short-haired girl readily agree to her demand, Octavia huffed with satisfaction.
But the next second, a grimoire with "539" emblazoned on its cover floated before her.
"Grimoire #539? What are you planning?"
Octavia froze slightly.
"Just preliminary conditions for the verification ritual."
Yuuma smiled slightly.
"Right now, my friend is probably still shopping downtown with his girlfriend. Can't perform verification in that state. Anyway, take this grimoire for now. I'll let you know when it's time—you just need to activate its power."
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Scene shift, time jump—
As darkness completely enveloped the sky outside, in the top-floor residence of a luxury apartment building on the west side of downtown Itogami Island—
In the dim space, only the screensaver's faint glow from the computer monitor on the desk by the bed's foot barely dispelled the deep twilight, illuminating the chaotic scene on the bed.
The air conditioning blanket the girl used every night had been pushed completely aside. The sheets that should've been neatly spread below were wrinkled from prolonged, intense aerobic activity.
Ambiguous moisture had splattered across every corner near the bed, large dark stains marking the sheets.
Asagi Aiba lay there, her still slightly chubby pale arms wrapped weakly around the young man's neck like limp noodles.
"Meanie..."
Opening eyes with sweat-dampened lashes to look at the young man's face inches away, Asagi mumbled softly, then still struggled to lift her head and kiss his lips.
"What time is it?"
"Now—"
Bokue stopped moving and looked around, then fished out the phone that had nearly fallen off the bed, checking the screen.
"Just past ten. What's wrong?"
"What do you mean 'just ten'..."
Asagi rolled her eyes in exasperation.
They'd gotten home at 8:20, and this guy had started the moment they walked through the door. From the entrance to the bedroom, from the bedroom back to the living room then the bathroom. After showering, they'd gone to the kitchen for water, then finally returned to the bedroom.
Nearly two full hours—this guy hadn't stopped once.
"I'm practically dehydrated. Get me some water, my throat's about to smoke."
Pushing at the young man on top of her with more playfulness than actual complaint, Asagi pouted.
"Oh..."
Bokue agreed without hesitation, then pulled out first, sitting up from the bed to go downstairs for water.
Though really, if this were Nagisa, she definitely wouldn't ask for water at this point. She'd demand they continue with a different method of mana transfer.
Both were liquids after all.
"Wait."
Just as Bokue was thinking this, the blonde girl's voice came from behind again.
Asagi had struggled to prop herself up on the bed, tossing his shorts over.
"Put on shorts before going downstairs. Mom's definitely home by now—it'd be bad if she saw."
"Got it."
Though it seemed troublesome, Bokue still took the shorts and put them on.
Though with his current "battle flag still flying high" state, mere shorts seemed completely ineffective at concealment!
This... was still totally visible!
But since his girlfriend said so, he'd comply.
"I'll be right back."
Casually dropping that line, Bokue reached the door and pressed the handle.
Vroom—
The instant he opened the door and stepped out, an inexplicable spatial fluctuation engulfed him without warning.
The next second, he vanished from the spot.
"B-Bokue?"
Asagi had watched him leave, had seen him suddenly disappear. Too shocked to care about her soreness, she sat straight up in bed.
"Bokue... Bokue, are you still there?"
No answer came.
Meanwhile, in a luxury hotel suite's living room downtown, Bokue—wearing only shorts—suddenly appeared out of thin air.
This was...
Looking out through the suite's massive floor-to-ceiling windows, Bokue recognized downtown Itogami Island with a glance.
But why was he here?
"Eh? Could you be... Bokue?"
Just as he wondered, a familiar yet surprised girl's voice came from behind.
Turning around, he saw Tokoyogi Yuuma—who'd been eating BBQ with them just two hours ago.
Though the girl seemed fresh from a shower, hair wrapped in a towel, wearing only a large bath towel covering from collarbone down.
Seeing the young man turn, Yuuma's face lit up with joy.
"Ah~ Bokue, it really is you! But why did you suddenly appear here? And that outfit..."
The girl's gaze traveled downward. When she spotted that unrelenting battle flag, shock inevitably flashed through those beautiful wine-red eyes.
Though she knew the answer, still—wasn't this a bit too big??
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