Seeing Erika's expression turn sad, Akira was taken aback. Then he remembered that in the anime, Erika didn't like being a vampire. Maybe she felt the same way here.
"Did I say something wrong?" Akira asked, his voice filled with concern. Even though he could guess why she reacted that way, Erika had never told him directly, so he had to act as if he had no idea what was going on.
"It's nothing," Erika replied.
"Really?" Akira asked, unconvinced.
"Really," Erika insisted.
Akira didn't push further, but he stared into her eyes without saying a word. He decided to use one of his secret techniques, the "Awkward Stare of Truth." It was a method where Akira stared unblinkingly at someone until they felt so uncomfortable that they blurted out their true feelings.
The catch was that it only worked on people who knew him well and had a good relationship with him. This was the first time he was trying it out, so he wasn't sure if it would actually work.
As he continued staring, Erika avoided his gaze, turning her face away. But every so often, she glanced back at him, only to look away again. After a while, she couldn't hold out anymore and finally gave in.
"It's really nothing… It's just… I don't like using my powers," Erika whispered.
"You don't like using your powers? Why?" Akira asked, leaning in slightly.
"Because I don't like drinking blood. Using more power makes me need to drink more blood, and most vampire techniques are... well, they're bad," Erika admitted, still avoiding Akira's gaze.
"Using her powers makes her need more blood? Was that a thing? I don't remember this from the anime," Akira thought. He was fairly certain there was no magic in Fortune Arterial, so he wondered if this effect came from another anime.
"Is it because blood tastes bad?" Akira asked.
"It's not that it tastes bad… well, it does, but that's not the point. Drinking someone else's blood is wrong, right?" Erika said with a sad smile.
"You're not hurting anyone when you drink blood, though, right? I thought you guys got it from a blood bank or something. So there's no reason to feel bad, right?" Akira reasoned, trying to make her feel better.
"We do get it from the blood bank, but that's not the problem. Would you drink human blood if I gave it to you? Even if it was from the blood bank? Even if it tasted good?" Erika asked, her frustration showing as she glared at him.
"Well, I guess I wouldn't," Akira admitted, realizing how thoughtless his questions were. Erika's issue wasn't about the taste, it was more psychological, likely because she was half-human. Even if her vampire side craved blood, her human side rejected it.
"But this world is dangerous. What if someone attacks you? Or worse, finds out about your identity? You need to be strong," Akira said. Knowing that this world had elements of High School DxD, he was aware of how powerful and dangerous the beings here could be.
And with so many anime worlds mixed in, he had no idea what kind of enemies they might face in the future. He wanted Erika to be as strong as possible.
"I know some memory alteration magic. If anyone finds out, I can erase their memories," Erika replied, sounding as though she were trying to reassure herself more than Akira.
"But what about strong enemies? What will you do to fight them?" Akira pressed.
"Well… Mom said the same thing. that there are strong enemies. But… but…" As Erika spoke, her voice began to break, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Wait, wait, don't cry!" Akira panicked, unsure of how to handle the situation. He had never dealt with something like this before.
"But… but… Mother said I need to get stronger," Erika wept, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Looking at her cry, Akira started to panic. He had absolutely no idea how to handle situations like this. For someone like him, who had never even had a proper friend, trying to comfort a little girl was nothing short of a monumental task.
"Seriously, this is the second time I've made a little girl cry in just two days. Do I have some kind of curse or something?" he thought, half in exasperation. Still, whatever the case, the first thing he had to do was stop her tears.
"It's fine, you don't have to get stronger if you don't want to, and you don't have to use magic you hate," Akira said with a gentle smile, trying his best to reassure her.
"But Mom said we have a lot of enemies… and I need to get stronger for that… which means I need to drink more blood," Erika said through her tears, clearly not reassured.
"Well, if that's what you're worried about, don't. I'll protect you," Akira said with a warm smile.
"You'll protect me?" Erika asked, looking at him through her tears, a little surprised.
"Yes, I'll protect you, no matter who or what comes our way. It's a promise, so you don't need to worry," Akira said confidently with a smile. He also thought it was cruel to force her to drink more blood than necessary. If it came down to it, he'd just protect her himself.
"Really? You'll protect me?" Erika asked, still a little bewildered. No one had ever said that to her before. Both her mother and brother had told her she needed to get stronger to protect herself, but they had never offered to protect her.
"Yep. How about we make a pinky promise?" Akira said with a smile, reaching out his hand.
"Well…" Erika was still a bit confused, but she instinctively raised her hand and intertwined her pinky with Akira's.
"No matter what happens, I will always protect you," Akira promised with a bright smile. For Erika, his smile felt so warm, warmer than anything she had ever felt before.