Regarding Kirasaka Sayaka, besides Kaiser, basically no one knew anything.
Perhaps Minamiya Natsuki had noticed, and perhaps Yaze Motoki, who had the entire Saikai Academy under surveillance, had noticed as well. But neither of them showed any signs of it—one continued teaching class as normal, the other remained as laid-back and unreliable as ever, as if they hadn't noticed anything at all.
Akatsuki Kojou ultimately ended up being pitifully late. He was mercilessly demoted by Minamiya Natsuki to clean the school swimming pool, making him want to shout "What misfortune!"
But thanks to that, today on the way home, Kaiser and Akatsuki Nagisa had one less third wheel and gained a cute girl companion.
That's right—the one referred to was Kanase Kanon.
This girl had followed Akatsuki Nagisa out from the junior high building after school, saying she still wanted to go home with Kaiser to see whether those adorable cats had learned to backflip yet...
Thus, Kaiser took two cute and beautiful underclassmen home with him again, drawing who knows how many hostile stares along the way, stares so intense they even made someone with Kaiser's superior constitution feel a chill on his back.
Fortunately, the trip went smoothly. The three of them arrived at the apartment and entered Kaiser's home, where they were greeted by over a dozen lively kittens.
Kanase Kanon wore a gentle, satisfied smile the whole time. The burst of sacred aura from her made Akatsuki Nagisa's eyes sparkle—she couldn't resist and hugged her.
Kaiser also wanted to hug her, but for the sake of his reputation and image, he refrained.
Once Kanase Kanon had become completely immersed in petting the cats, Kaiser pulled Akatsuki Nagisa outside the cat room.
"Someone sent this today. I think it's meant for you."
Kaiser took out the letter and handed it to Akatsuki Nagisa.
"What's this?" Akatsuki Nagisa took the envelope and asked with surprise and confusion, "Is it a love letter I'm supposed to pass on to Kanon-chan? From one of your classmates, Kai-kun? Who is it? Do I know them? Ah... could it be Kojou-kun?"
The overly imaginative girl's eyes alternated between gossipy curiosity and a touch of dissatisfaction, clearly influenced by some unknown line of thinking.
"Couldn't it just be a love letter for you instead?"
Seeing this, Kaiser teased her.
"A l-love letter for me?" Akatsuki Nagisa was stunned at first, then quickly waved her hands and shook her head, laughing awkwardly. "No way no way, how could it possibly be a love letter for me? I'm not nearly as pretty as Kanon-chan or Asagi-chan!"
Now that's a bit of unnecessary self-deprecation, girl.
Though indeed a bit behind Kanase Kanon, Akatsuki Nagisa's popularity and charm at Saikai Academy were well recognized—she was definitely in the top tier just below the T0 level.
Saying she was a school beauty might be an exaggeration, but calling her the class beauty was definitely not an overstatement.
Even more so, if Kanase Kanon weren't also a third-year junior high student like Akatsuki Nagisa, Nagisa would absolutely be crowned the upperclassman flower.
And that's even considering she hasn't fully matured yet—once she does, she'll absolutely be a genuine beauty.
Unfortunately, if someone were to say that out loud, Akatsuki Nagisa surely wouldn't agree.
"I think you're cute too, Nagisa." Kaiser casually praised her, then, seeing her grow flustered, shifted to the main topic. "This invitation is definitely for you. If you don't believe me, open it and see."
"Invitation?" Though Akatsuki Nagisa still looked very confused, since Kaiser said so, she didn't hold back. She opened the envelope and took out the letter inside.
Just as Kaiser said, it really was an invitation.
The invitation was written in a very formal style, stating that tonight, at the port of Itogami Island, a very private party would be held.
The party host was none other than the current Duke of Ardeal, Dimitrie Vatler.
He sincerely invited Akatsuki Nagisa to attend the party and hoped that she and her escort would do him the honor.
"Duke of Ardeal?" Akatsuki Nagisa widened her eyes and exclaimed in confusion and astonishment, "Who's that? Sounds like a really important person, doesn't it? Wh-why would they send me an invitation, inviting me to a party?"
Could it be a prank?
That was Akatsuki Nagisa's first thought.
However, this invitation couldn't have been more real.
"Look at the wax seal on the envelope—that's the seal of the Ardeal Principality. The wax itself is a special material that can't be forged." Kaiser pointed at the emblem carved to resemble a snake and sword on the envelope and said, "That's the seal of a vassal state of the Warlord's Domain. No one would dare forge or impersonate that."
The Ardeal Principality, as Kaiser said, was a territory of the Night Empire founded by the First True Ancestor, the Lost Warlord, and one of the autonomous territories that made up the Warlord's Domain.
The principality bordered the constitutional monarchy of Aldegia in Northern Europe and had a standing military force capable of rivaling the armies of Western European nations, making it an extremely important area within the Warlord's Domain.
And the ruler of the Ardeal Principality was the current duke of the Warlord's Domain—a pureblood vampire of the direct lineage from the First True Ancestor, the Lost Warlord—Dimitrie Vatler.
He wasn't a vampire directly descended from the First True Ancestor, and although a pureblood noble, he was merely a distant descendant of a third-generation elder.
Such a vampire might be powerful compared to humans and other demons, but within vampire society, there was no way he could possibly sit upon the ducal throne of the Night Empire created by a True Ancestor, nor become the ruler of a principality.
A duke of a country, the monarch of an autonomous territory—such a position was typically reserved for at least second-generation royalty, or at minimum, elite third-generation elders.
A mere distant descendant of a third-generation elder, a normal pureblood noble, could never obtain such status or honor.
However, this Duke of Ardeal was an exception.
"Dimitrie Vatler is a very famous noble in the Warlord's Domain, and he's said to possess power extremely close to that of a True Ancestor. He's highly valued by the First True Ancestor, the Lost Warlord."
Kaiser explained, trying to use terms that Akatsuki Nagisa could understand.
"It's said that even though this Duke of Ardeal is just a pureblood noble, he once devoured two elders."
Devouring, formally called kin-devouring, is an act where vampires gain strength by consuming other vampires.
As previously mentioned, for immortal vampires, blood is the source of their magical power. It serves both as the medium for summoning their familiars and as the foundation of their existence. Vampires who live long lives usually accumulate powerful memories in their blood through acts of feeding, thereby acquiring immense magical power. Thus, aside from bloodline purity, the longer a vampire lives, the more powerful they naturally become.
However, it isn't impossible for younger vampires to quickly gain strength surpassing that of ancient ones.
That method is kin-devouring—absorbing the blood memories of more powerful vampires.
As long as one steals another vampire's blood memory—the core of their existence—they can naturally gain that vampire's power and magical strength.
Of course, typically, weaker vampires can't devour stronger ones. Even if they suck all the blood, they risk having their own body and consciousness overtaken from the inside and being devoured themselves instead. But in this world, there are always exceptions. With the right special abilities, it becomes possible to overturn that natural law.
Dimitrie Vatler was a vampire who possessed just such an ability to overturn bloodline concentration.
Thanks to that unique power, despite originally being a distant descendant of the elders—a mere noble among vampires—he gained tremendous power by devouring two elder-class vampires and became one of the beings closest to a True Ancestor in this world.
And then...
"This person seems to have come to Itogami Island."
The moment Kaiser saw the invitation, he understood. This duke who was obsessively interested in the Fourth True Ancestor in the original work had, just as Minamiya Natsuki said, been drawn here.
The battle maniac Kaiser had mentioned before, and the troublesome individual that Minamiya Natsuki had described as more difficult to deal with than even third-generation elders or second-generation royalty—was this very duke from the Ardeal Principality.
"A-A duke among vampires...?"
Now understanding what was going on, Akatsuki Nagisa's face immediately turned pale.
As if holding a hot potato, she hurriedly threw the invitation aside and took two steps back.
"Why would such a big shot invite me to a party? I'm not going!"
Akatsuki Nagisa's reaction did not surprise Kaiser.
It couldn't be helped. While the other party was indeed a major figure, to Akatsuki Nagisa, who suffered from a phobia of demons, he was just a terrifying monster.
How could she possibly attend a party hosted by such a demon?
Absolutely impossible!
"Is this really okay?" Kaiser had expected such a response from Akatsuki Nagisa, but still said to her, "That person is a national ruler and a favored vassal of a True Ancestor who commands a Night Empire, you know?"
"If you refuse such an important person's invitation so casually and it triggers a diplomatic incident, that'll be a huge problem."
This wasn't just a scare tactic.
The First True Ancestor, the Forgotten Warlord, as the ruler of the Warlord's Domain, was a true king whose status in the international community was unmatched.
Now his envoy had arrived on Itogami Island, and both logically and politically, they had to greet the Fourth True Ancestor, whose base was this island.
If the Fourth True Ancestor refused to meet, it could be interpreted as a provocation—or even as a declaration of war.
If that caused a diplomatic incident, then both the administration of Itogami Island and the government of Japan would find all sorts of ways to pester Akatsuki Nagisa.
"B-But I..."
Akatsuki Nagisa couldn't think rationally at all. Just the idea of meeting a demon made her tremble uncontrollably.
"There, there. Don't be nervous." Kaiser quickly comforted her, patting her on the head and saying, "If you don't want to go, then don't. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."