We stepped completely out of the house, crossing the threshold into the wide, sunlit courtyard. Instantly, the brilliant midday sun beat down upon us, but a soft, invisible shimmer of white light hummed across my skin. Big sister truly saved the day, her advanced continuous-nullification spell forming a perfect, cooling shield that protected my delicate vampire physiology from a single solar burn. I stood tall, entirely unbothered, wearing no heavy cloak, my massive crimson blood wings fully exposed and catching the bright golden light as we began our walk through the clean streets of the residential district.
We walked all the way across the manicured neighborhood until the towering stone archway of the 3rd District checkpoint came into view. Standing by the iron barrier was the local gatekeeper, Renny, a familiar guard who had watched the residents of this sector for years.
As we approached, his eyes widened slightly, tracking the majestic sway of my uncovered wings. He didn't flinch or draw his halberd; instead, a relaxed, good-natured grin spread across his face.
"Well, well, if it isn't our favorite demon, I have to admit, Lady Eirene, it's incredibly rare to see you without that scary vanguard cloak of yours. The front page of the paper wasn't kidding… you look like a completely different person in the daylight. Anyways, you know the drill. Standard transit toll and status identification cards, please." Renny called out, leaning casually against the stone pillar as he tapped his fingers against his leather breastplate.
I reached into my kirtle to produce my newly updated identification card, while Elicia stepped forward with a graceful smile.
"We appreciate your hard work today, Renny," Elicia said warmly. She reached into her silk satchel, pulling out her personal pocket money purse, and smoothly paid the required silver coins for both of our transit tolls.
Renny quickly stamped our status logs, gave a respectful nod of his helmet, and cranked the heavy iron lever to lift the barrier.
"Have a safe trip into the lower districts, ladies! Try not to cause too much of a stir down there."
With a polite dip of my head, I adjusted the heavy market basket on my forearm, my crimson wings giving a tight, satisfied flutter. Side by side, Elicia and I stepped through the grand archway and officially entered the bustling, vibrant thoroughfares of the 2nd District.
We walked deeper into the bustling thoroughfares of the 2nd District, the atmosphere transitioning smoothly from a lively trading hub into the rigid, prestigious Academy District. The grand, imposing stone walls of the Caria Mastery Academy began to loom ahead of us like a sleeping titan of gray granite and reinforced iron, dominating the skyline.
Elicia adjusted the fine collar of her walking dress, her crimson eyes scanning the fortress-like structure with a highly analytical gaze.
"The architecture here always feels incredibly oppressive, Back at the Sisiphon Magic Academy, the layout is designed for open-air pavilions, flowing mana currents, and swirling arcane circles. Here, it's nothing but raw physical dominance. Look at those rigid ivory and charcoal-gray uniforms... they look like young soldiers preparing for a frontline conflict, not students." Elicia commented, shaking her head slightly as she compared her own background to this martial stronghold.
She paused as we crossed a wide paved avenue, her expression shifting into a more thoughtful, administrative look.
"Though, I suppose that matches the leadership. Nautilus Cotton, the former High Secretary of the Capital Knights Bureau Association, is the current Principal of this entire school. He is a master of calculating logistics and strategic placements. If anyone can whip a military academy into shape, it's him."
As we walked along the broad perimeter of the training grounds, the rhythmic, heavy thud of wooden practice swords clashing against iron shields vibrated through the air, accompanied by the distant, echoing crack of firearms discharging from the shooting ranges. I looked around, my massive crimson blood wings gently catching the midday sun as Elicia's continuous healing pulse kept my skin perfectly cool and unbothered.
To my genuine surprise, the passing Mastery Students didn't flinch or scatter in terror. They stared openly at my exposed wings, their faces brightening with absolute awe and appraisal. Rumors of the 18 gold bounty being closed had traveled fast, and to these martial-focused youths, a legendary bounty hunter who could openly fly through the daylight was a figure of peak performance to be deeply respected.
Suddenly, the heavy double doors of the central training pavilion burst open. A group of rowdy first-year boys came jogging out, laughing and boasting about their morning marksmanship scores. But right at the front of the pack, a scruffy, street-smart teenager with a highly energetic, cocky posture froze dead in his tracks.
The tips of his messy hair caught the light as his eyes locked onto my single jade-green eye and the massive crimson wings folded against my back.
He detached himself from the group, sprinting straight across the dirt courtyard toward us with a look of pure, unadulterated shock and recognition.
"Eirene!" Zenni gasped, stopping right in front of us as he frantically wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.
Both of my eyes blinked in unison, and my massive crimson wings gave a sharp, involuntary twitch against my back as I looked down at the boy standing in front of me. The sheer, bizarre irony of the situation hit me like a physical wave. The public knew Zenni Roy as a real, living, scruffy transfer student here at the Mastery Academy… but to my own memory, "Zenni" was the chaotic, trouble-making slum-kid alias I had hijacked, reshaped, and worn like a second skin to infiltrate the drug empire and tear apart the Sisiphon Magic Academy from the inside.
I shook off the surreal feeling, letting my expression soften into a more relaxed, human demeanor as I adjusted the heavy market basket on my forearm.
"Good morning, Zenni, Well? What is with the sudden training? You look entirely exhausted." I greeted him, my voice flat but genuinely warm.
Zenni rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes still wide as he stared openly at my exposed, shimmering blood wings.
"Good morning, Eirene! Man, I'm just getting back from the shooting ranges. But seriously... I didn't know you were actually a high-tier vampire! Back when you paid my four gold pieces for my tuition and dragged me out of the slums, you were just this mysterious, silent anonymous bounty hunter with a massive shotgun on your back. Seeing you out here in the open like this... it's completely wild!"
Before I could reply, Elicia stepped up beside me, her arms crossing over her fine silk dress as her crimson eyes narrowed into a sharp, deeply stern administrative glare. The maternal aura she usually reserved for the household instantly shifted into that of a strict, no-nonsense academic authority figure.
"Zenni Roy? What exactly are you doing roaming around this sector? Aren't you supposed to be enrolled in your mandatory morning combat mastery courses? Why are you skipping lessons and causing a scene in the public courtyard?" Elicia spoke up, her voice dropping into a dangerous, icy register.
A cold sweat nearly broke out down my spine. I glanced between Elicia's furious face and Zenni's confused expression. Right, I had briefly mentioned to big sister a few weeks ago that I had used advanced shapeshifting magic to assume a fake identity named "Zenni" so I could secretly infiltrate the drug empire and look over the academy's internal affairs. But because Elicia was a high-ranking academic figure who frequently scolded the real troublesome Zenni at school, she didn't know the full, chaotic details of how I had completely hijacked his life, fought upperclassmen, and run amok under her very nose. To preserve my own long-term survival, I decided it was best to keep my mouth completely shut about those specific metrics.
Zenni, completely oblivious to the massive dramatic irony suffocating the air, frantically scrambled backward and gave a clumsy, panicked military salute.
"Oh! Hello, Principal Elicia!"
Zenni squeaked, his face turning bright red under her intense gaze. He looked back and forth between the two of us, his jaw dropping as the pieces finally clicked in his teenage brain.
"Wait... Eirene... Principal Elicia... Oh my goodness, I didn't know both of you were actual birth sisters! No wonder you both have that exact same terrifying, unreadable stare when you're angry!"
The silence that followed was so thick you could have sliced it with one of the Mastery Academy's heavy broadswords. I stood frozen in a perfect, unmoving deadpan, my left hand gripping the handle of the woven basket containing our adobo ingredients just a little tighter. My crimson wings flared out slightly, catching the midday heat before folding back against my green kirtle with a soft, rhythmic rustle.
"Zenni, Your combat are currently being monitored by your instructors. If you loiter out here any longer, your marksmanship scores will be zero, I didn't want that." I interrupted smoothly, my low voice cutting through the tension with a calm, human warmth meant to defuse the boy before he dug my grave any deeper.
Elicia, however, did not look defused. She lowered her arms, her sharp crimson eyes darting from Zenni's sweat-stained ivory-and-charcoal uniform right back to my unreadable face. A highly suspicious hum vibrated in her throat.
"Is that so, little Ren? It is truly fascinating how familiar you are with young Zenni's academic schedule. And Zenni... you seem remarkably well-acquainted with my sister for someone who supposedly only met her briefly during a civilian rescue operation." Elicia asked, tilting her silver-haired head with a slow, calculating grace.
Zenni blinked, completely missing the invisible daggers flying through the air. He cracked a wide, cocky grin, rubbing the back of his neck with an energetic chuckle.
"Familiar? Principal Elicia, Eirene literally changed my life! If she hadn't dropped four entire gold coins onto the Registrar's desk right in front of old Principal Nautilus, I'd still be fighting for scraps in the lower sector slums. She's basically my legal guardian! Though..."
He paused, his eyes drifting over my exposed fangs and the shimmering crimson wings currently basking in the sun.
"I gotta admit, finding out my savior is the legendary 'Crimson Phantom' demon from the newspaper makes a lot of things make sense. No wonder you could carry that massive Death Chant Shotgun like it was a piece of plastic!"
Elicia's eyebrows raised to their absolute limit. She slowly turned her gaze to me, her voice dropping into that sweet, utterly terrifying tone she used when she caught Evelyn trying to sneak sweets before dinner.
"Four royal gold coins, Ren? From your Oksana bounty payout? The one you told me you 'accidentally misplaced' in the desert sands?"
"The transaction was a necessary investment in the district's future labor force," I replied instantly, my expression remaining completely flat, though a very human bead of sweat formed near my hairline.
"Hey, don't get mad at her, Principal Elicia! Eirene did a good thing. I promised her I'd study hard, master the sword, and become an elite vanguard for the LKBA to repay her. I'm already ranking in the top tier of my marksmanship class!" Zenni chimed in, stepping forward defensively, his young face hardening with that rugged, slum-born loyalty.
Seeing the conversation veering dangerously close to the details of the Sisiphon infiltration… and the heavy dramatic irony of how I used his D-rank status card to bypass academy security… I decided it was time to initiate an immediate tactical retreat.
"We must depart, The canned beef, soy sauce, and fresh garlic require immediate temperature control, and the workers in the 1st District will be starting their afternoon breaks shortly. We have a business infrastructure to establish." I announced, lifting the market basket slightly to draw Elicia's attention back to our original objective.
Elicia let out a long, theatrical sigh, the strict administrative principal melting away as she looked at Zenni's earnest, bright face, and then at me. Her expression softened into a deep, incredibly proud smile, her crimson eyes shimmering with warmth.
"You really are something else, little Ren. Underneath all that quiet armor and vanguard talk, you're just a big softie who can't bear to see a child left behind in the dark."
She reached out, gently patting Zenni on his shoulder, her touch full of genuine maternal kindness.
"Continue to study hard, Zenni Roy. Do not let my sister's investment go to waste. And if I catch you skipping classes again... I will personally ensure your next physical evaluation is handled by Nautilus."
Zenni visibly paled at the mention of the 5th-ranked Shadow Walker, giving another frantic, rigid salute.
"Yes, ma'am! Loud and clear, Principal Elicia! Bye, Eirene! Good luck with whatever you're cooking!"
With a final wave, the scruffy teenager turned on his heel and sprinted back toward the training barracks, shouting to his classmates about how he just spoke to the legendary winged demon of Caria.
I watched his silhouette disappear into the crowd of ivory-and-charcoal uniforms, a profound, comfortable warmth settling deep in my chest. I looked down at the basket of ingredients, my mind already drifting toward the rich, savory aroma of the adobo we were about to create.
"Come along then, future business owner, Let's go show the 1st District what a legendary vampire can do with a kitchen."