Standing beside the floor-to-ceiling window with her eyes closed, Giada listened as the final note played by the boy beneath the moonlight faded away. Then she opened her eyes, revealing a pair of moist, emerald-like eyes.
"What a lovely Moonlight."
As if she had only just stepped out of the music, Giada turned and sat on the table, speaking in a tone full of praise and admiration.
"Hah... Now then, you've had two days to investigate. Have you found where the Fourth Primogenitor is?"
Giada exhaled. The corner of her eye swept over her Vampire Peerage Members kneeling before her, who still seemed lost in that clear moonlight from earlier. She asked the question casually.
The moment she said it, the two female Vampires stiffened. They exchanged a glance, pressed their lips together, then braced themselves and spoke.
"Your Highness, the investigation into the Fourth Primogenitor has yet to make progress. Please give us a few more days. We will soon find the Fourth Primogenitor's location."
Giada did not answer. She merely looked at them in silence, and the atmosphere in the room gradually turned cold.
"Forget it..."
Just as the two Vampires were about to buckle under the oppressive silence, Giada spoke first, finally letting them breathe again.
"Keep looking. Once you find the Fourth Primogenitor's location, no matter which faction is involved, inform me immediately. I'll personally go and take the Fourth Primogenitor away."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The two female Vampires knelt on the ground and nodded together, answering Giada loudly.
"Also, send a message to Emma. Tell her to go through those old antiques I left in the Chaos Zone. I remember there was something among them capable of dismantling the Fourth Primogenitor's immortality. Once she finds it, have her bring it to me. And..."
At this point, Giada paused and closed her eyes to recall. It had been over a thousand years since the Fourth Primogenitor had been dismantled, and even she could no longer clearly remember exactly how the three Primogenitors had split the Fourth Primogenitor into twelve parts back then.
"Too much time has passed, so parts of that item should be damaged. We'll also need to contact the First Primogenitor and the Second Primogenitor and ask them for the other essential items needed to dismantle the Fourth Primogenitor."
After she gave the order, the two Vampires below did not immediately move. One of them hesitated, then spoke up to object.
"Your Highness, the First Primogenitor is currently on the World Battlefield, and the Second Primogenitor still doesn't know about the Fourth Primogenitor's mysterious disappearance. Shouldn't we inform the other two about this operation to destroy the Fourth Primogenitor first? Otherwise, it could develop into a diplomatic incident."
In the face of her subordinates' concerns, Giada gave a scornful laugh, her gaze cold.
"Ki and the others won't object. Finding this amusing doesn't mean we'll let others do whatever they please."
"If they want to steal what belongs to us, they can keep dreaming. I would rather destroy the Fourth Primogenitor and wait another few thousand years than hand it over to them."
Since she had put it that clearly, any further objection from her subordinates could no longer be explained away as simple caution. The female Vampire on the left gave a look, and the one on the right understood. She immediately rose and left to send the message.
"Let me think. What else was there...?"
After that female Vampire left, Giada sighed and walked back to the floor-to-ceiling window. She thought of the terrifying energy that had erupted from somewhere on the island earlier, and of the beautiful boy playing the piano beneath the moonlight.
"What troubled times..."
Her tone was melancholy, yet the corners of Giada's mouth would not stop rising.
"This really is... far too interesting!"
The events of these short two weeks had already brought Giada a long-lost sense of novelty and amusement. She could hardly imagine how much more fun might still be waiting for her.
"It's just... if things really reach that point, what am I supposed to offer the boy in place of the Fourth Primogenitor I promised in exchange for his blood?"
At this thought, Giada could not help feeling troubled. It was as if someone were deliberately targeting her. She had only just made a contract with Cid to exchange the Fourth Primogenitor's power for his blood, and then Kojou Akatsuki had been captured and modified.
That alone would not have been a serious issue. He was just someone who could not even rank among the world's top fifteen. She could kill him one-on-one with her eyes closed, relying purely on combat experience.
But then Shadow appeared, drawing her attention away. By the time she came back to her senses, Kojou Akatsuki was already gone. Now what was she supposed to use to trade for Cid's blood?
Give up on the trade and take it by force?
It was not impossible, but if she could, she still wanted to obtain that blood, which held a fatal temptation for her, openly and properly. The dignified Third Primogenitor robbing innocent civilians for blood sounded disgraceful.
"Go tell Emma to add a few items for restarting the Blazing Banquet to the things we're requesting from the First Primogenitor and the Second Primogenitor. Also ask for the design blueprints of the Fourth Primogenitor's original body from thousands of years ago. If they say they don't have them, go to the Deva Division. They should have that part of the legacy."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Hearing Giada's words, which sounded like an ancient ruler going to absurd lengths just to make a beauty smile, the remaining female Vampire began sweating coldly. She hurriedly answered, then stood and left as well.
...
So much had happened these past few days.
Cid inserted the key into the lock and turned it. With one hand, he opened the door, and the heavy door let out a creaking sound.
First, he had inexplicably been targeted by someone who seemed to be among the world's top five. Then, on his way home from school the next day, he had been attacked by the Church and played Moonlight. After that, Rias had asked him to investigate the true culprit. Things had not felt very peaceful lately... Hm?
Cid stopped what he was doing and turned to look toward the entrance of the Akatsuki family's apartment.
Apparently startled by the sound of the door opening, a small head peeked out from inside and looked in Cid's direction. When she saw that Cid was the one making the noise, Nagisa Akatsuki's face lit up, and she raised a hand to greet him warmly.
"Long time no see, Cid-nii-san."
"Yo, Nagisa. Long time no see. When did you get back?"
Cid greeted her in return. It really had been almost half a month since he had last seen Nagisa Akatsuki. No wonder things had felt so quiet lately. The usual noise he had gotten used to had suddenly vanished for half a month.
"I came back around noon. Oh, Cid-nii-san, do you want to come over for a bit? I just finished cooking, so we can eat together."
"Then I'll take you up on that."
The moment he heard Nagisa Akatsuki's words, Cid shut his own door without hesitation and turned toward her.
"You're not imposing at all. Not at all."
Nagisa Akatsuki scratched her head, then pulled Cid into the apartment with a happy smile.
Cid followed behind Nagisa Akatsuki, putting on a deliberately shy expression. He had been neighbors with the Akatsuki siblings for over a year, and coming here for free meals had practically become part of his routine. How could he possibly feel embarrassed?
With that thought, Cid stepped into the living room. Then the shy expression on his face vanished instantly. He blinked to confirm he was not seeing things, then pointed at the person on the sofa and looked at Nagisa Akatsuki.
"Nagisa, she..."
Seeing the person lying on the sofa, Nagisa Akatsuki also seemed to finally remember something. An awkward expression appeared on her face as she explained.
"Ah, Cid, don't misunderstand. When I came back at noon today, I picked her up at the door... I mean, I ran into her there. She was already unconscious when I found her. She seemed like she was only asleep, so I brought her into my place. It definitely wasn't because it was my first time being this close to an Elf and I wanted to touch her ears."
Nagisa, does that count as confessing without being asked? Also, that isn't the point I'm focused on. Actually, this kind of situation is pretty common. The real issue is...
"Mmm..."
Apparently awakened by the sound of Cid and Nagisa Akatsuki talking, the Elf sleeping on the sofa let out a long, low murmur. She stretched both arms, opened her eyes to reveal hollow, pale-purple pupils, and turned her delicate, expressionless face toward Cid and Nagisa Akatsuki, tilting her head.
"Good morning, Master."
"It's evening now, Eta."
Cid knew this Elf. She was one of his seven childhood friends, the youngest of the Seven Shadows, and the one most similar to him: Eta.
"Huh?"
Seeing that Cid not only knew the Elf she had picked up but seemed very familiar with her, Nagisa Akatsuki let out a confused sound from the side.
"She's my friend. Nagisa, you can call her Eta. Don't let that lazy look fool you. She's actually pretty friendly."
Cid pointed at Eta and introduced her to Nagisa Akatsuki.
"Mm. Eta..."
Whether she was being polite or not, Eta only said that much before turning her gaze back to Cid.
"Don't be rude. You're sleeping in Nagisa Akatsuki's place right now, so introduce yourself properly."
At Cid's instruction, Eta looked back and forth between Nagisa Akatsuki and Cid. In the end, under Cid's authority, she nodded and faced Nagisa Akatsuki again to introduce herself.
"Tch. Eta. I'm good at research. My favorite thing is sleeping. Done introducing myself. Master, who is she?"
It was only slightly better than before. Perhaps to keep Cid from deciding it was not good enough and making her do it again, Eta immediately asked him about Nagisa Akatsuki after finishing.
"Nagisa Akatsuki. She goes to the same school as me, but since she's younger, she's one grade below me. Come on, say hello to each other."
Cid saw through Eta's real intention, but with Delta's example still fresh in his mind, he only gave Eta a warning look.
"Hello, Eta... Wait, no!"
Nagisa Akatsuki's naturally friendly personality began to kick in, and she instinctively started greeting Eta. But she quickly stopped, took a step back, pointed at Eta and Cid, and shouted as if only just realizing the issue.
"Why does Eta-chan call Cid Master? Didn't you say you two were friends?"
As sharp as ever, Nagisa-chan. Unfortunately, I wasn't lying this time. Eta and I really are just friends.
"Master, who is she?"
Ignoring Nagisa Akatsuki, Eta kept her gaze entirely on Cid and asked again.
"My friend."
Not knowing what Eta meant, Cid answered honestly.
"I see. Master's friend. Then I understand."
As if she had received an important answer, Eta murmured to herself.
"A game..."
Eta rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment, then spoke to Nagisa Akatsuki.
"Master is what I call Master because of a game we played. Back then, Master's setting was that he was my master, so I called him Master every day. Later, even though we stopped playing, I had already gotten used to calling him that, so I kept it..."
Is Shadow Garden and the Cult of Diablos really the kind of game you can just talk about so casually? I never knew you had a naturally black-hearted side to you, Eta. Why didn't you mention that you had plenty of fun playing the Cult of Diablos game too?
You're making it sound like I forced you all to play. Careful, or I'll sue you for slander. Besides, when you stopped wanting to play later, didn't you all stop too?
"Oh, so Master is just an affectionate nickname between you and Cid, right, Eta-chan?"
"Mm."
"...I'm really jealous of Cid."
Once the misunderstanding was cleared up and she learned the general story behind it, Nagisa Akatsuki suddenly felt a little envious of Cid.
"What's there to be jealous of?"
Cid asked in confusion. He really could not figure out what was enviable about playing games with the Seven Shadows. To him, each of the Seven Shadows was more troublesome than the last, especially when they made money off his knowledge and did not share any of it with him.
"Cid, how can you say that?"
Hearing Cid's question, Nagisa Akatsuki suddenly became excited.
"She's a legendary Elf, you know. And she has that emotionless, airheaded, cute character type. Yet she actually calls someone Master..."
Nagisa Akatsuki froze for a second, then turned to Eta, clasped her hands together, and bowed.
"Um, Eta-chan, could you call me Mast... like you call Cid-nii-san? Eek!"
As if she had been frozen from a distance by Eta's icy stare, Nagisa Akatsuki let out a startled cry.
"I'm sorry, but I don't like calling other people Master."
As if realizing she had overreacted, Eta turned her gaze away and apologized flatly. Just from her tone, Cid could tell how perfunctory it was.
"No, no, it's my fault. I got way too familiar."
Perhaps failing to hear the perfunctoriness in Eta's apology, Nagisa Akatsuki hurriedly apologized after being startled.
"All right, all right, Nagisa. Eta isn't that petty. Besides, she might actually be grateful to you deep down."
"You can tell?!"
Facing Nagisa Akatsuki's excited gaze, and Eta's doubtful look after hearing what he had said, Cid changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, where's Kojou? Since earlier, you're the only one I've seen, Nagisa. Didn't Kojou come back with you?"
"Huh? Mm..."
Nagisa Akatsuki froze for a moment before reacting. She held her forehead as if trying to remember.
"Kojou really didn't come back with me. According to Gajou and Mimori, my parents, Kojou needs to receive treatment on his own for the next few days. So they told me to come back first while they took Kojou to another hospital."
"Kojou got sick?"
What kind of virus is that powerful? One that can make even the Fourth Primogenitor obediently receive treatment?
Cid stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes. Having only just changed jobs into a detective because of President Rias's request, he found this hard to believe.