Not long after the blonde vampire escaped.
"Hmm, she wasn't caught. Next, we'll rescue the others and then continue the investigation with magic to track her trail. Her Majesty's side is also continuing to track her using surveillance cameras."
After reporting the situation there to Morgan by phone, Melusine looked at Ritsuka and the others: "Alright, let's find the others. They should still be downstairs."
"No... Wait, wait a minute."
Ritsuka waved her hand: "Big Sis Melusine, didn't you hear just now?"
"Hear what?"
"Auntie!" Ritsuka exclaimed, "She called Mash and me Auntie! I'm only 22, you know!"
For any woman, age is an eternal taboo. Especially for women who are already quite aged, calling them Auntie is akin to dancing on their landmines.
Although Ritsuka didn't dwell too much on her age, being so young, an enthusiastic and beautiful college student, being called Auntie just made her feel defeated somewhere.
"Why were Mash and I called Auntie?"
"Is that a title that needs to be responded to with such emotion?" Melusine asked confusedly, "We've also been called Auntie before."
"Eh? Big Sis Melusine and Baobhan too?"
That was a very unexpected reaction.
(No, that's not right!)
Ritsuka and Mash looked at each other, then Mash asked: "That... Miss Melusine, Miss Baobhan Sith, do you know the meaning of Auntie?"
Melusine: "Don't know. Isn't it just a common appellation?"
Baobhan Sith: "Me too. Although it sounds a bit annoying, I guess it means something similar to calls like Idiot, Pervert, Bastard."
Okay, confirmation complete.
Although they seemed to have assimilated into modern society, because the Lostbelt had no concept of this and they might not have studied it in detail here, Melusine and Baobhan Sith completely misunderstood the vampire's words.
"Big Sis Melusine, Baobhan Sith, actually, 'Auntie' is used to call a woman whose age is almost the same as one's own mother." Ritsuka explained.
"Of course, it's usually used to call women in their thirties or forties—or generally used for women who look older."
"Oh, that means..."
"We look old?"
After Baobhan Sith said that, including herself, her and Melusine's gazes immediately sharpened!
Look old?
What the heck! Although one was a dragon as old as the earth, and the other was a fairy who had reincarnated many times, their relative ages were indeed older, but look old?
"Next time we meet, I'll have to cut her clean."
"I'll also prepare some special curses for her."
Seeing the two of them starting to plan their next operation, clearly beginning to incorporate personal motives, Ritsuka and Mash smiled awkwardly.
"But... if she called us Auntie." Mash thought of something, "does that mean the vampire's mother knows us?"
As soon as this sentence was uttered, the four people present were stunned for a moment.
Come to think of it, it's true.
"Blonde vampire, Auntie, can use Imaginary Manifestation and Magecraft Displacement, plus there's a connection with Big Sis Arcueid..." Ritsuka pieced together the information, "Could she be the child of Big Sis Arcueid and the Head of Department?"
"!"
The conjecture Ritsuka put forward made everyone fall silent for a moment.
Arcueid's and Naoki's child?
Baobhan Sith: "Indeed, her appearance and abilities are a combination of the two, but..."
"The timing doesn't fit." Melusine said, "Naoki hasn't returned for six years. According to the time here, the last time he returned was about seven years ago. Could six years produce a child that big?"
"Besides, if it were his child, there's no way they would ask for our help to catch her."
That makes sense too.
If the vampire was truly Arcueid's and Naoki's child, even if following the great fortune in Avalon at that time, she should only be about six years old now. Not to mention Arcueid's character, if she had a child, she would definitely say so immediately.
(So it's not? But that's the only possibility.)
"Alright, alright~~~ Let's think about this problem later." Baobhan Sith smiled, clapping her hands, "We should go down and rescue Caster and the others first. It's not good to leave them downstairs for too long."
"You're right."
Saying so, Melusine swung her Fairy Sword and created a gap in the roof, returning to the inside of the apartment in the most direct way. Ritsuka and the others smiled bitterly and immediately followed her.
And whether it was a coincidence or Melusine had calculated it, as soon as they arrived downstairs—
"..."
Barghest's figure, squeezed between two walls, was immediately visible to them.
Ritsuka poked the wall trapping her: "Is this... Imaginary Manifestation?"
"Yes, the opponent skillfully exploited Barghest's large size, creating this trap where the more she tries to get out, the tighter she gets squeezed." Melusine explained. "Although it looks like just two walls, for Barghest it's actually like being stuck in a narrow alley."
"I am truly sorry..."
With her head buried in her chest, Barghest was full of apologies and shame.
As a Fairy Knight, being restricted by a mechanism like this was truly unbecoming.
"Miss Barghest couldn't free herself?" Mash asked, "With your strength, it should be easy."
"No, this trap seems to squeeze tighter the more I use force. I can't break free from the inside. So, we have to ask Mash to destroy it with her shield."
Mash nodded upon hearing that, and Ritsuka deftly placed a hand on Mash's shoulder, continuously using several reinforcement Magecrafts on her—this was also a development of himself over six years. Magecraft that once required a Mystic Code, he could now use with his own strength.
"Hyaaa!"
*BAM!*
Accompanied by Mash's powerful impact, one of the walls trapping Barghest shattered into pieces. Barghest, regaining her freedom, immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Only...
*THUD!*
Due to the height difference, when Barghest landed, Melusine, who was standing in front of her, immediately felt two additional weights on her head.
Melusine: "..."
For a moment, everyone felt a pure and unabashed murderous aura.
"Okay, one has been rescued. What about Caster and Big Sis Lia then?" Ritsuka asked.
"As for them..."
Barghest walked into the corridor leading to the west side, and immediately opened the door to one of the residents' rooms on the west side.
"Uwaaahhhhhhhh~~~~~~"
"I-I can't take it... Ugh..."
What was seen was Artoria Caster surrounded by several dolls shaped like Morgan, being pressed to work on exam papers. And Artoria, whose body was buried under a pile of potatoes and octopuses, with only her head visible.
(This is truly a trap full of malicious intent.)