Interlude 1
Part 1
---Above [Underwood]. The Ancient Vampire Citadel
The air in the ancient city was filled with a sense of emptiness and dust particles.
Although the rock structures were obviously abandoned for a long time, they did not seem to be weathered away and that is probably due to the Kekkai[3] that barricades the Citadel from the outside world.
And happening at another side of the Game stage unbeknownst to most, during the time of the ceasefire...
Along the long cloister[4] that stretched from the castle doors to the throne room.
A young girl’s lively voice was echoing in the Ancient Vampire Palace which was supposed to be devoid of all presence.
“Your Highness---! Where did you go---?!”
A black haired girl was breaking her steps every now and then to search around her as she climbed the stairs of the cloister.
Dressed in a sleeveless black one piece dress, a short jacket was also tied to her waist. At first glance, she would just appear to be a cute lass, but hanging down from the leather belt along her waist, were several daggers that were exuding an ominous feeling around them.
“Your Highness---! Oji-san---! The Game has entered a state of ceasefire, what do we do next---!”
Climbing up to the top of the stairs that were located at the start of the cloister and onto the platform of the turning point, she gave a shout with all the air in her lungs.
“YOUR HIGHNESS---! HIGHNESS HIGHNESS HIGHNESS HIGHNESS HIGH---NESS!”
Although the childlike voice that sounded as crisp as the sound of a bell’s tinkle continued to echo around the cloister, the person she was looking for had yet to respond.
The girl tossed her long glossy black hair as she pouted her little lips seeming to be in a small tantrum as she puffed her cheeks as well.
At that moment, a wry giggle seemed to escape from the direction of the throne room.
“Rin, his Highness has already left to scout the situation outside the Citadel not long ago.”
Following the cloister that continued to stretch to the heart of the palace, one could see a woman who stood in the throne room bathing in the moonlight while having her face covered by the hood of her long robes and cradled in her hands was the [Golden Harp].
The girl who was addressed by the name of Rin turned back to look at the robed woman as she intertwined her fingers behind her back.
“Oh that’s how it is~Then it’s only me and Aura doing the house-sitting?”
“That’s right……But though it may be so, we are still not the Host of the game and do not have to abide by the oath to have a ceasefire. Well, the order to lead the Titan tribe into battle should come soon I think, so let’s just calmly rest and conserve our energies for now.”
The woman dressed in the long robes---addressed as Aura, was daintily covering her mouth as she continued to giggle. Rin nodded her head with enthusiasm as she crossed the large doorway that led to the throne room.
The semi-spherical ceiling was made using a crystal that allowed moonlight filter in. And the throne stood at the heart of this room.
And sitting at this very throne was the [Host] of this Game--- Leticia Draculea.
“Hey, Aura. How’s the condition of this blonde?”
“Still unconscious and perhaps she might stay that way for the whole duration of the game.” Aura replied while shrugging her shoulders.
With the sound of feet coming into contact with the ground, Rin had rushed off to the throne and bent over Leticia who was sitting upright on the throne though she had lost her consciousness.
“Come to think about it, this blonde……sure is cute. It sure is quite unbelievable that such a cute girl is actually a Demon Lord~”
Rin’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as she stared at Leticia.
Leticia was wearing a different set of clothes. A black formal dress that was different from the maid outfit she wore when she was captured. With both her wrists and ankles shackled by chains to the throne, rather than saying that she’s a demon lord, it would appear that she was more of a prisoner.
Rin slowly reached her hand towards the beautiful golden hair that was giving of a luster in the moonlight.
But at this moment, a voice from behind stopped her short.
“---Hold it. Rin. That Demon Lord is something like a bait. Touching her will make you targeted too.”
Rin’s fingertip twitched but immediately stopped.
Carrying a bit of the child-like qualities in the voice, it must have come from the youth.
Rin immediately turned around like the natural reflex of a kitten sensing its owner’s return.
“Your Highness[5]! And Occhan[6]!”
“Stop the ruckus, Rin. You needn’t be that loud for me to hear you.”
Following her shout came the reply of a husky voice that seemed to come from an old person who stood in the shadows of the cloister. Due to the cloister’s shadow being cast over the features, it made it difficult to see the facial feature or even to make out the gender of the person and the only thing identifiable was that the person was considerably old.
The youth addressed as his Highness, with his shoes clacking on the ground, strode into the throne room to stop before Aura and Rin.
Looking about the age of ten years old with the allowance of one or two years on that number, the regal airs that were exuded from him matched the title they addressed him by: ‘His Highness’. However, the formal dress seemed to be worn on his body without much care about tidiness.
From his dress style and that unique trait of his white hair sticking up on both sides of his head, one could see the childish side to him.
While at the same time, the golden irises that gave off a glow of its own seemed to exude a sense of prudence that seemed to be a mismatch with his appeared age.
The youth who was addressed as ‘His Highness’ took a glance at the trio in turn to confirm the current situation.
“Aura, Rin. Have you heard of the game coming to a cease-fire?”
“Of course.”
“Then that makes things simpler. I want you two to take this opportunity to launch an attack on [Underwood] with the Titan tribes, so play it by ear. When the main force of the enemy is broken, find a chance to inform me. Any questions?”
“Me!”
Rin exaggeratedly raised her hand with her fingers straightened to emphasize her point.
Although it was his question that led to this response, His Highness seemed to be displeased as he furrowed his brows.
“……Rin. I don’t see how my brief on the battle operation has anything confusing about it.”
“Nn! I just wanted to confirm something. The battle operation that you just mentioned is along the grounds of [Breaking the main force of the enemy’s participants] right? If the participants did not disperse but fled together, then what do we do?”
His Highness gave a *Uu~* sound as he was momentarily stumped. Rin’s question had unexpectedly hit the mark and that gave him a surprise.
His Highness reflected upon his own mistake for having been unclear about his orders before continuing:
“Sorry about that, for it is my mistake for not stating it clearly enough. If there are participants who escape, let them be. Our main motive here is to disrupt the ascension of a new [Floor Master]. And hence it will be fine to just destroy [Underwood].”
“Oh I see! Then, what if the participants organize themselves to take on the Titans together?”
“Impossible.”
His Highness immediately replied. That unexpectedly quick reply caused Rin to blink her eyes for a few times.
But seeing how her master had answered with such certainty in his voice, Rin decided to give her own lively reply:
“Nn. Since Your Highness says so, I will just take you up on that.”
“Nn. Just believe in me.”
“But, I say… Why can’t I touch this blond haired girl?”
Rin pointed at Leticia while pouting in dissatisfaction. That expression of hers was just like a kitten that has its toy cruelly taken away from her.
His Highness shook his head disapprovingly and his white hair, which could be said to be his unique trait, had also swung with the movement of his head.
“Enough. Just don’t touch it and all will be fine. Haven’t you heard of the idiom of ‘Curiosity killed the cat’ before?”
“……Really? What a pity.” Rin chewed her finger as her shoulders drooped in disappointment.
Aura who stood to one side as she watched the whole banter between the two youths play out before her was suppressing her laughter as she opened her mouth to bring the conversation back to the main topic.
“Well then. Your Highness, Rin and I shall be going down to ground level. As for this Citadel, we will be leaving it to you and him---Graiya. Is that okay?”
“Nn. Gra-Ojichan[7], you should reply too.”
Under His Highness’s urging, Aura turned her gaze to the cloisters. And sounding from the shadows was a reply that was completely different from the husky voice of an elderly that had answered earlier. Sounding more of a low growl of a wild beast.
“I understand……But Your Highness, there’s something that bothers me.”
“What is it?”
“Regarding the [No Name]s that have defeated the [Black Death Demon Lord]……I heard rumors that they have the complete form of the [Genome Tree].”
Hearing that piece of news, the eyes of His Highness grew as round as saucers and his surprise caused him to be silent for a moment.
“……Is that source reliable?”
“It’s just a rumor I heard. But if it is the truth, then that will become quite a situation to reckon with.”
“So how do you intent to deal with that?” he added.
*Hmm~* His Highness went into deep thought as he placed his hand to the corner of his mouth to think for a while before replying:
“……No. Let’s not do anything about that for now. Even if that is indeed the real thing, the change of hands should only be in the recent years and it will not pose a significant threat for now. Moreover, the information is still unconfirmed.”
“Yes.”
“But in the case when the holder of [Genome Tree] appears before you, please give it your all to get it into your hands. In the worst case scenario, even if it means giving up on the battle plans, we must obtain it for ourselves.”
“Oh my. Is that really going to go well?”
“It’s okay. [Genome Tree] is definitely as valuable as that. In comparison to its value, one or two [Underwood]s wouldn’t even be able to match up to it. We must obtain it even if you have to kill the current holder.” His Highness gave the announcement with much resolve in his voice.
Aura’s mouth twitched into a stunning smile as she nodded her head.
“Yes sir. I’d also planned to try out the power of my little war trophy……Hehe, looks like I can have an experiment at this time too.”
“War trophy?”
Rin looked at Aura curiously as she took out a cyan colored Gift card to display the Gift that she had stolen from [Underwood].
“---[The Death Eye of Balor]. It’s said that this is the strongest mystical eye that holds the power to release a wave of death and is of an inheritance to the Titan race. So, let me use it to destroy [Underwood] for you.”
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