"Here you go, Father."
A bright smile played on Shisha's face as she handed a bowl of water to Vani.
Vani was seated inside the tent, at the very front, while Alice and the rest of his commanders were settled before him.
"Thank you."
He grabbed the bowl from her and took a quick sip.
'Ugh, this water still tastes bland.'
When he was finished, Vani gently placed the empty bowl on the ground.
A moment later, Terra asked, "Lord Vani, will you really be joining us on the battlefield?" Distress was etched on her features.
Vani looked at her.
'I guess they are still shocked about it. I expected as much, anyway.'
Finally, he replied, "Well, yes. I intend to keep our losses as minimal as possible, which means I need to challenge the leader of the lizardmen army to end this quickly. I need to be there for that, don't I?"
None of them could respond; instead, they averted their eyes.
[It looks like they don't believe their lord can win in a fight.]
'Logical. Before I took over this body, Vani had shown no feat that would make him seem like a powerful leader. They merely feared him because of how he ruled, not because of the power he showed.'
Vani sighed.
'This is such a nuisance.'
Shisha, who was quite oblivious to the mood, raised another question. This time, it was directed at Alice.
"Hold on just a minute. I may be wrong here, but isn't Alice giving off a different kind of aura now?" she asked.
With her question, all attention fell on Alice.
She responded calmly. "I don't understand what you mean, Lady Shisha."
"No, she's right," added Terra. "I didn't say anything because I thought I was the only one who noticed, being a vampire myself. Alice, did you get some kind of power-up? Your energy is all over the place. Even some of the soldiers have mentioned it."
"A power-up, you say…" Alice stylishly glanced in Vani's direction, trying to check if he was alright with her revealing it to them.
However, Vani didn't seem the least bit interested. His eyes were glued to a map, planning the steps for tomorrow's battle against the lizardmen.
He did wiggle his hand at her, though, which most surely meant he had given her the go-ahead.
Knowing this, Alice turned her attention back to the others.
As always, Terra kept her composure, while Rebecca's eager expression was practically written on her face.
After a moment, Alice responded, "Lord Vani gave me a boost. That is correct."
Shisha's eyes widened. Actually, all of them were surprised.
"A boost? How? What kind?" Rebecca crawled towards Alice, her hands on her own lap. "Come on, tell us."
Once again, Alice peeked at Vani. He was still not paying attention.
"Umm… an SS+-rank."
The silence that followed was unbroken.
Not a single one of them said a thing. They simply stared at Alice with blank expressions.
Until Terra asked, her voice neutral, "Y-you are now an SS-ranked vampire?"
"Yes. Lord Vani also gifted me a true name."
One by one, they all turned their sights towards Vani.
While Terra and Rebecca both looked speechless, Shisha's expression was one of jealousy.
The highest amongst them was Shisha, an AA-ranked snake-beast. For a very long time, she had remained the strongest in the entire nation, and she took great pride in that.
Now, from nowhere, Alice had surpassed her.
Despite her own unwavering loyalty to Vani, why would he choose to do this for Alice instead of her?
"Father, does she speak the truth? I had no idea you had the ability to increase a monster's rank to such an extent," Shisha said, a bit of grief in her voice.
Vani grabbed the ink and wrote a couple of characters on the map before he replied.
"If she were lying, you would be aware of it. Although I understand your confusion, a monster's rank can normally only be increased through training and contracts with outer beings. That said, as a Demon Lord, a feat like this should not surprise you."
[Why are you trying to sound so cool? You're the only person in the world capable of this.]
'Pipe down.'
After hearing his response, Shisha's expression grew even sadder.
"Father, do you find me unworthy?" she asked.
Vani looked at her, then at the others.
'They are probably not saying anything because they are thinking the same thing. Sigh.'
"Shisha, come here."
Shisha did as she was told, hesitantly crawling towards Vani.
"Yes, Father."
Pinch.
Vani wasted no time in grabbing her cheeks.
"Owww! Father, it hurts! Oww~"
She whined as Vani kept pulling her cheeks to the side while the others watched.
"How many times have I told you not to let your emotions run wild? Huh?"
"I am sorry! Forgive me, I lost control."
"You lost control, eh?"
"I am sorry. It won't happen again."
Vani let go of her, allowing Shisha to lean back and hold her red, throbbing cheeks.
"But Father, if you do find me worthy, then why have you not done for me what you did for Alice?!"
Her expression was one of pure passion, as if she were seeking answers.
Vani gazed at her for a while.
'Because I just got reincarnated. Not exactly a regular answer anyone would want to hear.'
He had no choice but to play it off.
"There is a time for everything and everyone. It was simply her time. Yours begins now."
Shisha leaned forward excitedly. "Are you going to do the same for me now?"
"Y-yes, for all three of you. For my plan to succeed tomorrow, I need you at your strongest, so…"
Terra and Rebecca, who had been silent at the back, did not hesitate to move closer.
"We promise we won't let you down, My Lord. I would rather die."
"Yeah, same here."
'Wow, they must really want that upgrade,' Vani thought, hiding his deadpan look.
Then, he summoned the runes.
[Would you like to upgrade your commanders?]
'Yes.'