But the girl had not come to join the club. She had thought of someone very suitable to develop into a servant.
The tennis club president, Abe Kiyame!
She was also on the bounty list, though she possessed no Sacred Gear—only her own abilities.
Born into a Magical Beast Master family from the Island Nation, she could skillfully control magical beasts and possessed extensive knowledge of them.
Thinking about Familiar Forest, Moonlit had her own plans. Given the chance, she definitely needed to make a trip there. Many of her targets were in Familiar Forest of the Underworld.
Among them was a Dragon King comparable to Demon King Class.
Having her along would undoubtedly make things much easier. Even setting that aside, her Beast Taming Talent was exceptional.
"Looking for the president? What do you need her for? The president just went out..."
Just as the club member was about to say that Abe Kiyame had gone out, a voice came from the doorway the next second.
"What do you need me for?"
Turning around, she saw a beautiful girl with curly golden hair walk in through the door. It was Abe Kiyame.
After entering the clubroom, Abe Kiyame sized up Miss Moonlit before her. She did not recognize her at all. Since when had the school had such a beautiful girl?
Then, she unexpectedly felt a trace of discouragement.
She had always considered herself quite beautiful, but the girl before her was clearly even more outstanding. Even that annoying demon might not be better than her, right?
"Hello. May I speak with you in private?"
Moonlit was very polite. There were too many people here, and what she was about to say was not suitable for ordinary people to know.
"In private?"
Abe Kiyame frowned slightly. What could possibly need to be said in private? Still, after thinking it over, she agreed.
"Then let's talk inside!"
As she spoke, the girl pointed deeper into the room, where there was hardly anyone.
Once they arrived, Moonlit's expression immediately turned serious. Looking at the girl before her, she said, "Human, let's make a deal!"
"Human? A deal? You're one of those demons too!"
Yet upon hearing Moonlit's words, before she could even say what the deal was, Abe Kiyame's attitude changed completely. Her expression was filled with disdain.
She clearly looked down on demons!
Yes, she knew there were quite a few demons in the school, but she had always disliked them.
"A demon? I'm not a demon."
Moonlit calmly denied it.
"You're not a demon?"
Hearing the girl's answer, Abe Kiyame was skeptical. First of all, she called other people humans. If she was not simply being childish, then she was not human herself.
And weren't deals and contracts exactly what demons loved most?
Abe Kiyame knew that very well. She occasionally saw the flyers handed out by those demons at school, and anyone with ability could recognize the Demon Teleportation Array printed on them.
"No. I suppose I'm... a vampire, human."
As she spoke, her crimson eyes flashed, revealing her cute little fangs.
Moonlit did not intend to hide her identity from this girl. After all, she intended to turn her into a vampire as well.
"A vampire? That's not much better."
After learning Moonlit's identity, Abe Kiyame showed almost no reaction. In her eyes, neither was particularly likable. She simply did not despise vampires as much as she despised demons.
"..."
What had vampires and demons ever done to her?!
Anyone who did not know better would think she had been bullied by demons or vampires before.
Seeing the girl's reaction, Moonlit puffed up her cheeks in anger!!
At that moment, however, Abe Kiyame looked at the pouting vampire and actually found her adorable. Without thinking, she stretched out a finger and poked Moonlit's puffed cheek.
"What are you doing?"
The girl hurriedly slapped her finger away. Her attitude was bad enough already, and now she was touching her too.
"What is this deal you mentioned? Go ahead and tell me."
Her hand having been slapped away, Abe Kiyame was not angry. She merely crossed her arms beneath her chest, displaying her impressive assets, and asked in the manner of a young lady.
"Human, don't make it sound like I'm begging you! This deal is for your own good."
If it had been the vampire Moonlit from ten thousand years ago, or any other Theresa, being looked down upon so arrogantly by this girl would have made her furious enough to slap her across the face.
What was the point of growing so big?!
But Theresa Moonlit, Miss Moonlit of today, did not care in the slightest!
"For my own good?"
Abe Kiyame looked puzzled at those words. They did not even know each other!
"Human, do you know of the Sacred Gear Sephiroths Cup?"
Ignoring the young lady's confusion, Moonlit found a seat nearby and sat down before continuing.
"A Sacred Gear? Sephiroths Cup? What do you mean?"
Though she did not know much, Abe Kiyame was aware of the existence of Sacred Gears. She had never seen such a divine artifact herself, only knowing that they were terrifyingly powerful.
"It is the strongest Sacred Gear, capable of overturning life itself. And it is in my hands."
She raised her hand, and the phantom image of a holy grail appeared in her palm.
Though Miss Moonlit clearly leaned toward being a vampire, at that moment she seemed as sacred as the "Lord" from the Bible. This was the Holy Power of God of the Bible.
"..."
She was clearly a vampire, so why did she possess this Sacred Gear? Abe Kiyame could not understand it.
But...
"What does that have to do with me?"
She was surprised by the vampire's Sacred Gear, but that was all, wasn't it?
Very few people knew of Fallen Angel Technology. In most people's common understanding, Sacred Gears could not be transferred or stolen.
But even if someone knew such technology existed, ordinary people could do nothing about it. Fallen Angels would never hand such important technology over to others.
Of course, some Transcenders and chief gods had other means of extracting Sacred Gears from other people's bodies, without needing this technology. But such figures could be counted on one hand in this world.
"Become Theresa's servant. I can share Ageless and Undying with you, along with even greater power. In the future, you will be able to change your fate by your own will."
"Heh, so that's how it is!"
Upon hearing Moonlit's purpose, Kiyame's face showed disdain.
She had wondered why this vampire had come looking for her. So she wanted to subdue her and make her a servant.
"So why would I, perfectly fine as I am, become some vampire lurking in the shadows? If that is the deal you mean, then let's end this here. I'm not interested."
"You can leave now."
Abe Kiyame was not tempted by what Moonlit had said. Ageless and Undying sounded nice, but becoming a vampire was impossible.
Toward demons, vampires, Yokai, Fallen Angels... these nonhuman beings, most local Exorcist Families of the Island Nation adopted an attitude of looking down on others despite clearly not daring to provoke them.
They possessed the arrogance of Ah Q, or perhaps a frog in a well.
Demons, Fallen Angels, and even the Church had clearly occupied so much territory in the Island Nation, yet they did not dare utter a word. They merely guarded their own tiny plots of land and looked down on these foreign races as barbarians...
Having grown up in such an environment, Abe Kiyame had also been influenced somewhat.
"Fine then! Human, I hope you will not regret it when you face your father's forced marriage later."
With that, Moonlit turned and prepared to leave. It was not as though she absolutely had to make her a servant. She merely could not bear to give up the few hundred Crystals in the bounty.
If she could not subdue her, then she could only kill her to receive the reward. But killing someone merely for a reward, especially someone who was neither evil nor an enemy, was something the girl could not do.
"Wait! Forced marriage? What do you mean?"
Hearing that sentence suddenly and recalling Moonlit's earlier words, Abe Kiyame grabbed Moonlit's wrist and demanded an explanation.
"Words are useless."
"Human, you should know that in a family like yours, you cannot truly decide your own fate unless you possess the means to choose it."
The girl did not explain much, nor did she mention what Kiyame would face later. In a family like that, certain things were simply inevitable.
Unless one possessed the strength to say no.
"..."
Hearing the vampire girl's words, Abe Kiyame had no reply.
She was right. Even a beloved young lady still had no choice when facing family arrangements, unless she possessed the power to resist her family.
But even so, she still did not want to stop being human and become a vampire.
"Oh, right, human. The deal I mentioned was not any of that."
Just before leaving, Moonlit seemed to recall something and offered her an explanation.
"What?"
Kiyame was stunned. Was Moonlit's deal not to turn her into a servant and grant her so-called power?
"Ageless and Undying is merely an extra benefit of becoming a servant. The actual deal is the highest-grade dragon species in Familiar Forest."
Her large crimson eyes swept across the girl's expression. Moonlit said regretfully, "If you agreed to become my servant, I had planned to help you tame at least one Dragon Species Magical Beast with the potential to reach the highest grade or even Quasi-Demon King level. But since you are unwilling, forget it!"
The girl vaguely remembered that this person was especially fond of Dragon Species Magical Beasts. Powerful dragons in particular—even being demons did not affect that fondness.
Using this as bait, Abe Kiyame's breathing noticeably quickened.
A highest-grade, Quasi-Demon King dragon species?
The girl did not even dare imagine such a thing. Her own strongest magical beast was only mid-grade, yet she already treasured it dearly.
Even high-grade magical beasts possessed unimaginable strength and were top-tier existences even within her family.
A Quasi-Demon King Class dragon species was something that could only exist in dreams, right?
"Is what you said true?"
Abe Kiyame was tempted. And since the vampire before her possessed a Sacred Gear, taming a highest-grade or even Quasi-Demon King Class dragon species was not impossible.
"Theresa never lies."
It seemed she had succeeded. Servant +1.
Qian Xun
But clearly, this young lady could not agree to become a servant right away. Moonlit would need to genuinely help her tame a suitable dragon species first.
That did not matter. Miss Moonlit had planned to visit Familiar Forest anyway. When the time came, she could simply bring Kiyame along. Helping her Blood Servant improve her strength would also benefit Moonlit in return. No matter how she thought about it, Moonlit would not be stingy.
On Friday afternoon, as the school dismissal bell rang, students gradually left their classrooms. Most wore happy smiles, because the weekend was finally here.
Other than students assigned to cleaning duty or participating in club activities, most simply grabbed their schoolbags and went home.
At that moment, Issei Hyoudou had his arms around the shoulders of his two best friends as they discussed something. His expression was extremely sleazy. Issei Hyoudou in particular even reached out and grabbed at empty air, seemingly gesturing at some size.
That made them even more disgusting. Students passing by the three, especially girls, cursed them as perverts under their breaths and kept far away.
The trio had long grown used to this and did not care much. It would be stranger if girls ever thought well of them.
Except for one veteran driver.
None of them treated her like a woman. She was even better at dirty jokes than the three of them, and the important thing was that the trio never came out ahead when facing her.
Before you continue