Master’s Smile

C133 – True Ancestors

“Goodness gracious…. I can’t take my eyes off Mel for a second.”

Vampir sat beside me, looking annoyed.

She and I are now riding in the carriage that Mel is driving.

Our destination is the venue where the Assembly of True Ancestors will be held.

Hahaha, well, I think Mel was just wanting to be spoiled….

I haven’t seen her in a long time, and Vampir too, isn’t always in the territory, so she must have been in high spirits, no?

I’m sure she would be bored if she had to be alone in Vampir’s mansion all the time.

“Umumumumumu…! I-If Master says so, it can’t be helped then….”

Vampir looked unconvinced.

Was she that jealous of Mel?

If you want, you can act spoiled with me, you know? But in moderation.

“EEEH!? Are you sure!?”

Vampir leaned forward with a haste.

My view was now covered by her large bre-…shouldn’t that action be banned as a lady…?

That being said, I don’t mind at all if she wants to be spoiled.

Rather, I’m delighted to pamper the girls in “Yelquchira”, which many of whom are already proper and independent, and to be depended on by them.

“T-T-T-Then, without delay…!”

What is she tense about? Vampir’s tone had become similar to Krankheit.

I almost feel her nervousness transferring to me.

But then, as if she was ready, Vampir’s beautiful crimson eyes snapped open and….

“My-…!?”

Vampir abruptly stopped speaking after saying that much.

Rather, it was the carriage which suddenly stopped and Vampir, who had been leaning heavily towards me, was flown forward.

Uwaah…she was completely thrown away….

“Master-sama, Vampir-sama, we have arrived at the venue.”

Mel informed us as she opened the carriage door.

Inside, her lord, Vampir, was groaning loudly, yet she ignored her.

Mel even felt a little refreshed….

As I was sweating and laughing bitterly, Vampir finally came back to life.

“Meeeeeeeel!!! That was definitely on purpose, wasn’t it!? You could have stopped the carriage more gently!!”

“No, no, I can only do so much.”

“You liaaar!!”

Vampir expressed her anger with tears in her eyes.

Indeed, I could understand her point.

Would Mel make such an elementary mistake…?

“Well, I did it on purpose.”

“I knew it!”

Vampir raised her hands in anger.

You guys really get along well….

“Oh my, I haven’t seen you guys in a while, but you two really get along well.”

As I watched Vampir and Mel bickering, such a voice reached my ears.

Oooh, there was someone else who thought the same way I did.

“Who just said we get alooong!?”

However, Vampir didn’t like what she heard at all and rolled out from the carriage as if she was going to start a fight.

Eeeh…, I wonder if it’s okay to be that aggressive when you don’t even know who you’re dealing with…?

I was getting worried, so I also got out of the carriage in a hurry.

What greeted me was two women glaring at each other near the carriage.

One was, of course, Vampir, and the other was a girl who looked like a smaller version of Vampir.

Except for her height and her hair, which was a little shorter than Vampir’s, she looked exactly like Vampir.

“I dare you to say it again!”

“I said, could you please stop making that shrill yelling sound in my presence?”

“Mukiiiiiiiii!!!”

Oooh, that little girl didn’t even take a step back when dealing with Vampir, in fact, she even provoked her.

Vampir may be stupid, but her power is the real deal.

That fact is even known in the vampire territory, and that’s why the former gatekeepers bowed down to her.

The number of vampires who can compete on equal terms with Vampir, a true ancestor, is narrowed down to a few.

I wonder who that girl is….

“That one is Lady Litricia.”

Mel, who was standing next to me, explained.

Hohou, that Litricia girl seems to have the strength not to back down even when dealing with Vampir.

“Indeed. She’s also one of the few true ancestors.”

Whoaaa!

Hearing Mel’s words, I looked at Litricia with surprise.

The little girl who is arguing with the currently flushed-faced Vampire is a true ancestor?

Though, humans aside, demons are very often not what they appear to be.

For instance, most of the members in our guild would only give the impression of being pretty or beautiful at first sight.

One wouldn’t think that each and every one of them is a dark guild member with extraordinary abilities.

I, who have been alive for a long time, am well aware of this point.

“You little runt!!”

“You useless t*ts!!”

…No, well, looking at these girls cursing each other with their faces so close together, it’s hard to believe that they are the best of the best in vampire territory.

“Vampir-sama, Litricia-sama, that’s enough for the charades. Your time is almost running out and Gehirneid-sama is most likely already waiting for you.”

Mel approached and warned them.

Although Vampir did not want to obey her at all, it was Litricia who quickly moved away from Vampir.

“Oh, Mel. Where have you been?”

“I was in Vampir-sama’s mansion as Master-sama just came back.”

“You weren’t there to welcome me!?”

Litricia spoke to Mel in a friendly manner.

Yet, Mel’s words made Vampir look shocked.

Oh, Mel knows Litricia too, I see.

Well, if you’re a true ancestor, your face and name will be known to ordinary vampires and their followers, so I guess it’s no wonder.

“Master…as in that guy over there?”

“Yes.”

Litricia stared at me.

W-What is it…? As expected, is this butler uniform strange…?

While I was still flustered, the girl turned away.

“Hmmm…. Well, you can tell me about that guy in the conference room.”

“Hah!? Me!? This me!? Why should I tell someone like Litricia-san the splendor of Master?”

“What did you saaay…!?”

Vampir and Litricia began cursing each other again.

Shouldn’t we get going if there’s someone waiting for us?

“Indeed if Master says so. Mel, show us the way.”

“Understood.”

Vampir’s attitude changed quickly.

…I wish you could show a little of that honesty to the others, though….

“W-What’s with that quick change of attitude…?”

Litricia was also perplexed by her.

Well, we should go to the conference room for now.

Let’s see how Vampir works there.

◆

Mel showed us to the conference room.

What greeted us was a large round table with seats around it.

As she had said before, there was already a man sitting there waiting for Vampir’s group.

Was he a true ancestor as well?

…Nevertheless, none of the true ancestors that were present when I came a long time ago were here anymore.

Well, there weren’t many of them in the past either, and those few true ancestors I…well, this is fine I guess.

In any case, I also thought about this before when I was walking around the vampire territory, but no one made a particular fuss when they saw me, so I wonder if any vampires know who I am.

It makes me a little sad, but if they knew about me, there would certainly be a bit of a commotion, so I guess I’d rather be in the situation we’re in now.

While I was deep in my own thoughts, Vampir and Litricia were already sitting a few seats away from each other. So I, being pretty much a servant, took my place behind Vampir.

Now that we’re here, I thought that the meeting would start right away, but it did not.

A little disturbance was waiting for us in this conference room instead.

“W-W-W-W-Wha-…!?!”

Vampir quivered a little.

I couldn’t even tease her by comparing her to Krankheit.

Because I was even a little surprised, too.

“Why is Mel standing behind yooooooou!?!”

Vampir pointed at Litricia, who was making a smug face.

And Mel was standing exactly behind her.