The moon hung bright and high over the city.
In a luxury apartment building located in the high-end residential district of Itogami Island, within a room just shy of the penthouse, Arcueid was pulling ice cream from a bag, distributing it to the solemnly seated Avroras.
Her short golden hair shone dazzlingly under the light. Her crimson eyes turned towards Minamiya Natsuki, who was silently watching her, and she spoke softly.
"Natsuki-chan, want some ice cream?"
The Fifth Primogenitor was one of only five such beings in this world.
Guests of the Mystic Eyes Collection Train often said the Fifth Primogenitor was powerful and mysterious.
Those who had seen her face claimed she was beautiful and elegant.
Those who hadn't often imagined just how noble a presence the Fifth Primogenitor must be.
Regardless, people's impressions of the Fifth Primogenitor always included nobility and mystery.
Certainly...
None of them would picture her like this.
Minamiya Natsuki watched the pristine silhouette before her warily, golden chains edged out from the void.
"Hey, hey, hey~ Natsuki-chan, are you listening?"
Arcueid leaned forward slightly, blinking her eyes in confusion.
"...I'm listening."
Faced with this exquisitely detailed countenance drawing near, Minamiya Natsuki couldn't help but lean back. "No need for ice cream. It's not really suitable to eat this so late at night."
An upset stomach? Since when does a witch get stomachaches!
"Then, could you put those chains away first?"
Arcueid puffed out her cheeks, but then broke into a radiant smile. "There's no need to be so on guard. This is a friendly vampire you're dealing with."
Friendly? Breaking into someone's home in the middle of the night?
Minamiya Natsuki shot a glance at Trimmau and Avrora standing off to the side, let out a soft sigh, and the chains retracted with a sound. "So you are Arcueid Brunestud?"
"Mmhmm, that's right. Just Arcueid is fine."
Arcueid gently patted her chest, a flicker of amusement passing through her scarlet eyes.
'Hehe, just as I thought, Natsuki-chan didn't recognize me.'
Just like how Superman could hide his identity by putting on glasses, she, now operating in her Arcueid form, would absolutely not be recognized as that Fifth Primogenitor.
Even though her and 'Brunestud's' appearance and personalities were different, they were still the same individual.
This was Archetype: Earth / Arcueid Brunestud.
--+--
So similar. Too similar.
Watching the smiling girl, Minamiya Natsuki rubbed the space between her brows and shifted her gaze to Akatsuki Nagisa nearby. "Are you alright?"
Hearing this, Akatsuki Nagisa gently swayed her waist-length black hair. "I'm perfectly fine."
In that case, it seemed this Arcueid was indeed the Princess herself.
Akatsuki Nagisa suffered from a severe phobia of Demons, aside from the Princess and Avrora, she would become extremely flustered and frightened when faced with unfamiliar Demons.
Who would have thought the Princess had a side like this too.
Having easily seen through Arcueid's identity via Nagisa's Demon radar, Minamiya Natsuki gave a slight nod, then produced a photograph. "These are the Avroras brought by that 'snake charmer'. The Third, Fourth, and Fifth, respectively."
The photo showed three golden-haired girls, nearly identical to Avrora, sneakily walking down a dark street.
"Are they... playing outside?" Arcueid tilted her head.
"Ah, correct." Minamiya Natsuki snapped her folding fan open with a sharp 'pa!' "It seems he's chosen a rather... hands-off approach to raising the Avroras he brought."
The fan fluttered, a trace of displeasure flashing in her eyes. "The snake charmer might be having his fun, but they're causing a bit of a nuisance for public order at night."
Avroras out and about at night... so that means a chance for a strange encounter, perhaps?
"With six Avroras already on Itogami Island, what about the others?"
Arcueid handed the ice cream Natsuki refused to Avrora, making the latter's already shining eyes brighten by several degrees.
"The others seem to be being collected by a man named Zaharias. He's the chairman of a Ghoul autonomous region." Minamiya Natsuki said with a tone of disdain. "He's also an arms dealer."
Ghouls were a lower-class vampire race incapable of summoning familiars.
A politician whose real identity is an arms dealer... how utterly unsurprising.
Arcueid nodded slightly and beckoned to Akatsuki Nagisa.
"Normally, we definitely wouldn't allow multiple Avroras to be in one person's possession."
Minamiya Natsuki swayed her fan, her tone detached. "He basically stole them all. And he had a hand in pushing for this Blazing Banquet to happen. It seems he's already making his way towards Itogami Island."
"So, that means we just need to wait for the other Avroras to be delivered right to our hands." Arcueid gently pinched Nagisa's cheek, studying the girl's mystic eyes intently.
'The "Root" is still fast asleep.'
Although there were twelve Avroras in total, there was only one primary consciousness: the "Root" currently possessing Akatsuki Nagisa.
"Nagisa, Natsuki-chan has already told you about what's attached to you, right?"
"Mm." Akatsuki Nagisa nodded, her lips pressed tightly together. "A vampire is possessing me. My previous illness was caused by her too."
The girl's slender shoulders trembled slightly. Her Demon phobia was acting up.
"Hmm..." Arcueid tilted her head, as if thinking of something, then her eyes suddenly lit up. "You can think of her as Avrora's mother."
Avrora, licking ice cream from the corner of her mouth, looked up in confusion, her large blue eyes filled with bewilderment.
"Avrora's... mother?"
Akatsuki Nagisa murmured the words low, the trembling in her shoulders subsiding a little.
It seemed somewhat effective, but the fear of an unfamiliar Demon still couldn't be completely erased.
"Well~ it's a similar kind of existence." Arcueid smiled at the golden-haired girls. "Right?"
The Sixth and Tenth exchanged a glance, then nodded silently.
"Ri... right?" Avrora blinked dazedly, but upon seeing Arcueid's expression, quickly corrected herself. "Ri... Right?"
"Of course it's right." Arcueid patted Akatsuki Nagisa's head. "Don't worry, it'll all be resolved soon."
She straightened up and looked at Minamiya Natsuki. "Is Avrora's school situation settled?"
"She's in the same class as Nagisa."
"And the Sixth and Tenth?"
"They refused." Minamiya Natsuki looked at the Sixth and Tenth, rubbing her smooth chin as she pondered something.
Arcueid gave the two golden-haired girls a look of pity.
Seems they know exactly what school is like.
She then patted the top of Avrora's head. "You're going to school soon. Happy?"
"Studying together with Nagisa sounds fun." Avrora's face was full of excitement.
Arcueid smiled silently. 'I hope you still feel that way after a while.'
"And what about you?" Minamiya Natsuki asked. "What do you plan to do?"
"Me...?" Arcueid lifted her face, tapping her chin, then her eyes suddenly sparkled. "I'll become a teacher."
The special lecturer, Arcutie, was about to make her grand return.
--+--
T/N: here's the thing, her lecturer name, Arcutie, is a reference to day 8 of the princess route in tsukihime remake, where she disguises as a teacher to see shiki at school, but the name just isn't shown in the english wiki so i for some reason had to watch 2 videos of day 8 gameplay just to see this cause the first playthrough didn't choose that specific option. My days was it a pain.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.