Everyone leaned in a little closer, waiting for the grand reveal of what Alucard was planning.
Sunny, sitting next to Kai, shot him a look as if asking him to watch closely—just in case Alucard decided to lie.
Caster quietly narrowed his eyes, curious to see how much Alucard would reveal. Even he didn't know all of Alucard's secrets.
Alucard took a deep breath and interlocked his fingers, giving the cohort a serious look.
"Do you want me to be honest?"
Nephis narrowed her eyes at the question and simply nodded.
The rest of the cohort silently agreed.
Alucard sighed.
"What I will do when I get back to the real world…"
He paused for a very long time before finally answering.
"I don't know."
The entire cohort erupted in anger and frustration at being led on.
"What do you mean you don't know?" the tall huntress demanded.
"Why didn't you just say that from the start? Why were you being so dramatic about it?" Sunny asked, clearly annoyed. He had probably hoped to gain some valuable insight into Alucards goal's.
Kai tried to defend him.
"Well, he is being honest. He really doesn't know what he'll do."
But his defense fell on deaf ears as the others continued complaining. Eventually, Alucard was forced to give a half-hearted answer.
"I'll check on my family, then probably catch up on the shows and novels I used to read. There. Are you happy?"
Of course, they weren't happy—but no one could really complain. Not everyone needed a grand plan or noble mission.
Trying to deflect the attention away from himself, Alucard turned toward the only member of the cohort who hadn't spoken yet.
"Nephis. Yes, Nephis. It's your turn now. What will you do when you get back?"
Changing Star was silent for a while, gazing into the distance with a calm expression.
Then she sighed and answered quietly.
"I would go visit my mom, too."
Everyone grew silent.
Sunny voiced the question on everyone's mind.
"Wait. Your mom? I thought she was dead."
Nephis lingered for a moment, then turned her face away.
"She is. Technically."
Sunny glanced at the others and saw that they were just as confused—everyone except Caster, who seemed to know something, and Alucard, who thought he knew something.
"Oh. Is she undead?" Alucard asked innocently.
Everyone turned to stare at him.
"What? That's the only thing that's 'technically dead.' Why is everyone looking at me like that?"
Caster sighed into his hand, mentally preparing for the inevitable fiasco.
Alucard, seeing the dirty looks, raised his hands in surrender.
"There's nothing wrong with having an undead mother. In my Nightmare, my father was undead, and I was also in a castle—"
Kai quickly covered his mouth and whispered urgently, "Please shut up, okay? You're only digging your grave deeper."
A few tense moments passed before Changing Star broke the silence with a sigh.
"No. My mother isn't undead. She's one of the Hollow. She became Hollow while pregnant with me, actually. So I never really met her. Just her… body."
Nephis fell silent. After a moment, a strange smile appeared on her face.
Alucard was about to speak, but Kai subtly shook his head, stopping him.
"It's funny, really," Nephis continued evenly. "When my grandmother was still alive, I made a point of treating that body as nothing more than a corpse. But once she passed away and we were the only ones left… well, I found myself getting a bit confused."
She shrugged and turned away.
"Anyway, before leaving for the First Nightmare, I used what little money remained from our estate to buy her a VIP spot in a specialized Hollow care facility. They're treating her very well. But still… I don't like the idea of her being alone there. So when I return, that's what I'll do. Visit her."
No one spoke. Her words weighed heavily on them.
Alucard almost felt something akin to sympathy toward Nephis. It was strange. He could only imagine how difficult it must have been to grow up without a mother.
His own family was probably the only reason he wasn't a mass murderer by now. He couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for her.
That still didn't mean he liked being around her, though.
Sensing the heaviness in the air, Changing Star glanced at them and smiled darkly.
"What? Is this your first time meeting a hollowborn? I can't blame you. Creatures of my kind are pretty rare. In fact, even I've never met another one."
She stretched her legs toward the fire.
"So yeah. That—and dye my hair. Those are the first things I'd do in the real world."
Sunny blinked.
"…Dye your hair?"
Nephis nodded.
Feeling like he was missing something, Sunny scratched his head.
"Why?"
She looked at him in surprise.
"What do you mean, why? I'm not used to it. It's weird. Do I need another reason?"
He stared at her, perplexed. Noticing his expression, she frowned slightly, amusement flickering in her voice.
"Sunny… did you think this was my natural hair color?"
He hesitated.
"…It's not?"
Nephis stared at him for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Sunny, it's silver, for Spell's sake. Who has natural silver hair?"
Alucard answered before thinking—and instantly regretted it.
"I thought it was natural too. I actually know a lot of people with natural silver hair… and I hate almost all of them. Well, apart from—actually, forget I said anything."
Thankfully, Kai jumped in.
"Actually, I thought it was natural too. Ah… it suits you very well, Lady Nephis."
Changing Star turned to him in surprise, then glanced at Effie with a silent question.
The huntress nodded.
"Yeah, me too. I mean… who even knows what you Legacies are made of?"
Caster rolled his eyes at that comment—something only Alucard seemed to notice.
Nephis blinked a couple of times, then shook her head.
"Well… no, it's not natural. It turned silver after my First Nightmare."
Kai leaned forward curiously.
"Really? What color was it before?"
She shrugged.
"Black. A normal human color."
The archer smiled warmly.
"That would suit you very well too, Lady Nephis. I can just imagine it."
Alucard, meanwhile, shrugged.
"Well, I guess you and I are in the same boat. My hair used to be completely jet black too. Now it's mostly silver."
Nephis tilted her head.
"I guess I can imagine you with black hair. But I heard from Effie that it was short and black when you first entered the Forgotten Shore. So what changed?"
Alucard scratched the back of his neck.
"Well… long story short, I kind of died. Then I came back to life. That probably caused most of it. The rest just started turning white over time."