"You said you could fix Nagisa's condition? Are you serious?"
After entering the facility, Natsuki couldn't help but ask when she heard Ren's claim.
To be honest, even she didn't fully understand what was wrong with Nagisa.
When she brought the Akatsuki siblings to Itogami Island, she suspected Kojou was linked to the Fourth Primogenitor as a blood servant—but Nagisa's situation remained unclear. She had already been placed into MAR's care.
Natsuki guessed her condition might relate to her miko powers, but never dug deeper.
After learning about the Banquet of Flames, she had too many other things to worry about.
If not for Ren getting involved, she'd probably have waited until the Fourth Primogenitor awakened—then helped with cleanup.
Like trying to contain the damage.
But—
"If that silly vampire girl becomes the Fourth Primogenitor, that might not be a bad thing. At least she's not the kind of threat that would destroy world peace…"
That was Natsuki's current thinking after seeing Ren and Remilia's group get involved.
In fact, she didn't dislike Remilia. As a sister, she was quite competent. Circumstances just forced her to make difficult decisions—like during the Flandre incident.
As a vampire, she wasn't hostile toward humans. Natsuki had even once seen her chatting with a student outside the school gates.
So no, she didn't hate Remilia.
She just thought the girl could be ridiculously silly sometimes.
Faced with her question, Ren replied with full confidence.
"Relax, no problem at all! This isn't the first time I've handled something like this."
That's right—just a primordial soul. Last time he sold off the soul of a Heavenly Dragon.
Compared to that, this one wasn't worth much.
Actually, could he use it as a crafting ingredient?
The formula for crystallizing true ancestor blood clearly needed such materials. What if he added a primordial soul?
Better not. Probably safer to sell it than risk creating something bizarre.
Seeing Ren's confident grin, Natsuki relaxed a little.
If he was that sure, she could trust him.
At least, Ren seemed far more reliable than Remilia and Flandre. And… up to now, she still couldn't tell Ren's full strength. He'd only acted once, but from Ophis's attitude, it was clear they were equal—or perhaps Ren was even stronger.
"So indeed he's a monster~"
Natsuki muttered again for perhaps the umpteenth time. She didn't know why, but in front of someone like this, the matter of the Fourth Primogenitor no longer felt that important. This vampire-human from another world was clearly far more intriguing. And he even joked about making her his pet.
---
Inside a small sunlit ward at dusk, on a bed in the center, lay a petite girl in slumber. Her name was Nagisa. She was an extremely rare hybrid—a medium-class spiritual channel and an over-adaptive inheritor. But that same ability became the root of her nightmares. Without it, she would never have been involved in the Fourth Primogenitor incident—or possessed by a cursed primordial soul.
Noticing footsteps, Nagisa shifted and opened her eyes. Then a teasing voice whispered in her ear: "Congratulations, the operation was very successful. You're now a cute little boy!"
Nagisa, still groggy, was jolted awake. Awareness returned in an instant. Spotting Natsuki covering her head and waving a folding fan at an unfamiliar man, Nagisa breathed a sigh of relief and smiled brightly.
"You startled me, Natsuki‑juu. When did you get here?"
After seeing Natsuki and Ren, she realized she'd been pranked. But Nagisa was bright and remained upbeat, taking it as a joke.
By the way, since she—Natsuki—was Nagisa's teacher, she had visited before. Even so, as both teacher and a witch, Natsuki didn't come often.
"Did Kojou‑kun not visit today?"
"He came already but has left."
"How are you feeling? You look more energetic than before."
"Heh… same as always, but I'm fine!"
Natsuki was relieved to see her in good spirits. She had recognized Nagisa's vivacious nature from their first meeting—and she didn't dislike it. Only—
"I've told you many times already—stop calling me '–juu' at the end when addressing me."
"Heh, I think it sounds more affectionate! And I'm not at school."
"You really are something…"
Nagisa joked, but her eyes soon shifted, inspecting the male behind Natsuki. Curiosity took over—gossip was a natural instinct. She knew Natsuki was at least in her twenties, so her being with a man meant…
"Natsuki‑juu—is that big brother behind you your…"
"Don't overthink it. He has nothing to do with me; he just stays at my house temporarily."
"Heh, you're living together and say you have nothing to do with each other?"
"I already said—ah, as you suggested… I'm Natsuki's boyfriend. Nice to meet you, Miss Nagisa."
Before Natsuki could speak, Ren cut in and smiled as he approached. Natsuki's expression instantly soured, glaring at Ren—but to no avail. He winked playfully. His look clearly said—what are you gonna do?
Natsuki's usually excellent control over her expressions was failing under Ren's teasing. The small motions between them confirmed Nagisa's speculation. Heh… so Natsuki‑juu gets shy too!
Noticing Nagisa's face, Natsuki rubbed her forehead in exasperation. She didn't bother denying the boyfriend claim. With a gossiping girl like Nagisa, denial only makes things worse. Better to skip that topic entirely.
"You said you've figured out how to help Nagisa's condition? Why dally around?"
At that prompt, Nagisa froze. My body… he can fix it!?