However…
Knowing full well that a bottomless abyss lies ahead, yet still taking a step forward for the sake of the justice in one’s heart!
This is the symbol of courage!
Just like the bedtime stories Sister Veil used to tell…
The glorious heroes of legend.
Fearless in the face of hardship, holding sacred swords, leading their companions to forge a brilliant future!
Those heroes, whether compiled into fairy tales or truly existing in past legends, have always been the objects of Selunia’s admiration.
She has always used those noble virtues recorded in books to restrain herself!
So today, she must sleep in the same room with this vampire! She must keep a close eye on her!
Not letting Lilith have another chance to run around like yesterday!
To protect the chastity of her companions!
To protect the students in the academy!
Now Selunia must also become a hero!
Even if that evil, lewd vampire uses any tricks! She will ignore them! She will remain true to her heart!
Oh, right, she should shout the slogan that the hero in the stories always shouts before fighting powerful enemies with his companions.
Selunia took a deep breath, her little face, already a bit flushed after bathing, was filled with a determined expression.
She waved her small fists clasped together in front of her chest, cheering herself on.
Then…
“Come on, Oli-ge.”
Selunia repeatedly whispered “Oli-ge,” even though she didn’t know what this difficult-to-pronounce slogan meant.
But whenever she recited this slogan, Selunia always felt incredibly invigorated.
It was as if thousands upon thousands of voices from another world were cheering her on! Granting this little nun endless courage!
And now, Hero Selunia was about to face the eternally invincible great vampire demon lord.
Bang!
The hero, whose home had been usurped by the demon lord, pushed open the blockade of her originally cozy home.
But what greeted her eyes…
Was completely different from her small room…
A dazzlingly gorgeous… luxurious and elegant bedroom.
First, the door panels in the room… they were intricately carved with iris patterns at some point, their surfaces inlaid with fine silver threads, and even the doorknobs had been replaced with pure silver ones…
This made Selunia, who accidentally touched the silver doorknob, feel as if she had been doused with scalding hot water.
She quickly pulled back her hand and shook it.
This damn vampire! She’s not afraid of silver! Is she changing the room’s decorations to silver just to disgust her?
Selunia’s temples throbbed.
Hero Nia’s expedition started poorly, falling into a trap set by Great Demon Lord Lilith right from the beginning.
Morale decreased by one, HP decreased by one, and rage skyrocketed!
The hero persevered!
Selunia stepped into the room again, only to find that it was soft under her feet.
She looked down and saw that the once somewhat worn floor had been covered with soft velvet, stepping on it felt like walking on clouds, every step felt like treading on a path paved with gold coins.
It just… looked very expensive…
This made Selunia a little flustered, and she quickly took off her slippers, stepping barefoot on the carpet, afraid of dirtying this precious carpet.
The hero’s spirit was shocked.
When she looked up again, she saw that the walls, where the paint had been peeling off, were now adorned with several genuine oil paintings by unknown masters… the frames, made of valuable wood, were inlaid with gold of unknown authenticity… yet the landscapes and portraits in the paintings were not at all overshadowed by the outward luxury…
Just a few paintings added so much cultural depth and artistic ambiance to this originally cramped and old room.
A huge crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, studded with countless dazzling gems.
The soft, ambiguous pink light refracted through these gems, casting a gentle and colorful glow, making the entire room feel as if it had fallen into a world of dreams and mystery.
And the original, aged wardrobe and wooden table had been replaced by new furniture made of top-grade mahogany… the tabletop was as smooth as a mirror, its edges carved with intricate and exquisite patterns.
On the table, in a tall goblet, there was still some unfinished crimson liquid… and a bottle of red wine beside it, which looked very old…
And many more precious small ornaments that Selunia didn’t know what they were for…
She didn’t even know her room could hold so many things…
This made the hero, who had been poor since childhood, unable to imagine everything she saw with her own eyes.
Is… is this still my room?
Even the single rooms of those noble young ladies in the academy aren’t this outrageous!
The child from a poor family was instantly completely overwhelmed by the aura of money.
The hero was defeated!
Then… Selunia, looking like a defeated dog, finally saw the center of the room…
Two single beds pushed together.
The brand new pure white sheets and bedding looked exceptionally soft under the pink light…
It made one feel an uncontrollable urge to throw themselves onto this big bed.
If only there wasn’t another… soft-looking creature on the bed…
Heh heh… This is the first time I’ve seen two single beds combined make such a large one…
Selunia’s eyes were cold as she watched Lilith, lying on her side on the bed, wearing a translucent, lewd sheer dress, her blood-red eyes alluring like pulled silk, her jade-like fingers picking up her skirt hem, slightly parting her legs to reveal her charms to Selunia.
In the arms of the spring-blossoming vampire princess, there was even a pillow with the strange character “YES” printed on it…
Naked…
(i)…
To be honest, these past few days… Selunia had seen Lilith naked too many times…
She felt that Lilith was looking down on her, and now that she was pulling this stunt again, Selunia surely wouldn’t feel anything.
But why did her face feel a little hot?
It must be because the temperature has risen recently! After all, spring is almost over! Summer is coming soon!
Or it was because she had just taken a hot bath!!!
Selunia painfully turned her head away, no longer letting her vision be filled with that distracting small body.
This vampire… is she not a succubus reincarnated?!
Such an enticing display… it’s just like a… a…
Selunia still couldn’t bring herself to use such words to insult someone…
Even thinking about it, she couldn’t do it…
Finally, she could only close her eyes in silence…
“What’s wrong? Come to bed quickly~ You can be as rough as you want with me~”
“…”
Seeing Selunia like a block of wood, Lilith didn’t pay too much attention.
She just wanted to tease this overly serious girl.
So, she put down her lifted skirt and reached up to play the vinyl record player placed by the bedside.
And with a snap of her fingers, she changed the ambiguous pink light in the room back to a normal hue.
Melodious and soothing music echoed through the room, instantly reducing the pressure on Selunia’s heart.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw Lilith leaning against the headboard, looking at her with a half-smile.
“…”
After confirming the atmosphere had returned to normal, Selunia slowly walked to the bed, grabbed the edge, and tried to separate the two pushed-together beds.
No matter what… even if this room had completely transformed into Lilith’s domain…
She absolutely could not sleep in the same bed with her.
“I nailed the two beds together. If you forcefully pull them apart, both beds will break, you know~”
“…”
“And I’ve hidden all your old bedding. If you don’t sleep with me, you’ll have to sleep on the hard bed board… without even a blanket. How pathetic~”
“…Then I’ll go sleep with Ginny and the others…”
Selunia threw her hands up in exasperation, her earlier resolve to become a hero and protect her companions’ chastity completely crumbling.
If she couldn’t even protect her own chastity, how could she protect others?
“Dream on! Get over here!”
Lilith grabbed Selunia, pulling her onto the soft mattress with her, then seized her hands and straddled her soft little belly.
“You! What are you going to do now?” Selunia’s voice trembled, like a startled small animal.
This was different from before… This time, they were truly on the bed together…
“Don’t worry, you know I won’t force you to do anything like that, so why are you panicking? Or are you expecting something?”
“…”
The hero was defeated… and bound to the bed by the evil vampire demon lord…
This story instantly… became unsuitable for children.
The poor little hero felt that sharp, lewd gaze sweeping over her, and the weak, helpless hero could only pray for the demon lord’s mercy in her heart.
After carefully scanning Selunia’s body, Lilith finally noticed something amiss.
“The side seam of your nightgown is open.”
“Huh?”
“Your old nightgown doesn’t fit my carefully arranged room! I’m going to mend it!”
With that! Lilith pulled out a needle and thread from under her skirt, and the sight of the evil vampire holding the needle and thread was even more terrifying to Selunia.
Like a cruel governess about to inflict some torture upon her…
“Wait, I don’t need you to mend it!”
“If you don’t let me mend it, I’ll strip you naked! Then I’ll throw away this mood-ruining nightgown! Lie still and be good!”
“Don’t throw it away! Sister Veil gave this to me! I’ll mend it myself! Ouch! You pricked me!”
“I told you not to move…”
After a bit of sewing and mending, Lilith looked at the small flower she had embroidered on the edge of Selunia’s nightgown with satisfaction.
Perfect! My OCD was flaring up!
As for accidentally pricking Selunia because she moved around, Lilith didn’t take it to heart at all.
After all, it was just a small scratch, barely any blood, and with a vampire’s regeneration, it healed in a single breath.
This girl… she didn’t even whimper much when she was kicked in the guts at the hospital blood bank that day.
Now she’s whimpering after being pricked.
What a troublesome little brat.
“Alright! Let’s go to bed early now!”
“…”
Selunia felt weak all over, her eyes dull… her heart filled with the sorrow and indignation that the nightgown given to her by Her Holiness the Saintess had been defiled by a vampire.
Lilith pulled Selunia, whose eyes had lost their spark, into her arms, wrapping her arms and legs around her like an octopus to prevent Selunia from breaking free once she came to her senses.
Turn off the stereo, turn off the lights, pull up the blankets!
All in one smooth motion!
Finally, in the dim room, only two pairs of slightly reddish eyes remained, gazing at each other.
The luxurious and elegant furniture vanished into the darkness, awaiting the moment to once again radiate their splendor…
The two remained silent for a long time.
Observing each other’s faces in the darkness.
“Thank you…”
Selunia lowered her gaze, not daring to look at those eyes that sparkled like stars in the dark.
“Hehe, it was nothing. I forced you to sew it anyway.”
Lilith rubbed Selunia’s head.
She truly was an overly proper child in every way.
“Um… so, can you let go of me…? I won’t go sleep somewhere else… but please at least give me a blanket… this is… really…”
“I can’t sleep without holding someone. If I can’t sleep, I’ll sleepwalk into some other girl’s bed.”
“Alright…”
“Besides, we’re both girls, after all. Is it really against proper conduct for girls to hug while sleeping?”
“…”
Sleeping with someone else certainly wouldn’t be against proper conduct… but sleeping with you might be…
However, Selunia had given up struggling now.
At least… she confirmed that Lilith wouldn’t do anything lewd… that was enough…
Instead of continuing to be angry, she might as well enjoy this soft and warm new bed.
The vampire princess holding her was also quite soft… she could just be a pillow.
Selunia burrowed her neck into Lilith’s embrace, her body slowly relaxing.
She was truly exhausted today.
The duvet was light and warm, making Selunia, whose small feet used to get cold while sleeping, feel very comfortable.
Her little feet unconsciously hooked around Lilith’s calf, but then she reacted and moved her foot away.
She cautiously looked up to check Lilith’s expression, wondering if she would be ridiculed for her somewhat childish, affectionate gesture.
But she could only see the tenderness in Lilith’s eyes and the lingering smile on her lips.
This… it couldn’t be faked, could it…?
“Lilith…”
“Hmm?”
“Where did you get so many valuable things…? Are they from legitimate sources? And how could you redecorate the room so quickly…?”
“You can just consider it an elder’s savings… As for decorating so quickly… magic explains everything…”
Lilith was a little awkward.
She couldn’t very well say that all these were bought with the money your Saintess mother gave me to take care of me…
Although they only arrived at the monastery by delivery today…
Twenty gold a month, she felt like she could go support someone else.
But it was probably better not to say such things…
Otherwise, this little girl, who had finally softened up, would get angry again…
“Oh… right… What are you going to do about that vampire in the city, Lilith?”
“That’s not something you need to worry about right now. It’s time for good children to sleep. Do you need me to sing you to sleep?”
“…No…”
However, Lilith wasn’t asking for Selunia’s opinion.
Before the girl in her arms could even utter her refusal, a soft song flowed from Lilith’s throat.
The colorless world, quietly descends.
Bringing all things to a halt, sinking into deep slumber.
Gathering all those with sorrow and joy.
Peacefully watching over the passing of time…
This was an interlude from a game Lilith used to love…
Utawarerumono… destiny…
Unfortunately, now… no one could understand the song she sang.
Those worthy of being praised…
How many have been buried in an unreachable past…?
Selunia’s eyelids began to feel heavy.
This song, whose lyrics’ meaning was unclear, was like a language from another world…
She had heard it more than once…
Sister Veil… had also sung it to her more than once…
Why could this vampire sing it too…?
Sister Veil… and Lilith…
What was their relationship…?
But Selunia could no longer think.
She was too exhausted today… the familiar song quickly lulled her into a peaceful sleep.
Looking at the girl in her arms, whose eyes were closed and breathing had become steady, Lilith’s eyes narrowed slightly.
But her gaze…
Was fixed on the steel needle on her fingertip, which had just pricked Selunia.
An almost imperceptible golden glow… shimmered within those few specks of blood.
As Lilith had expected…
The glorious legacy flowing in her bloodline…
From the Age of Glory until now… an honor that even ideals could not sever.
The Radiant Hero
Like the sun descending upon the mortal world, wielding the sword of light.
However, people with such a bloodline heritage were not particularly rare in the world today.
Such widespread bloodline inheritance certainly fulfilled… that one’s wish to be a harem king…
That idiot’s wish.
But who was it again?
Lilith remained silent… then gently blew on it.
The bloodstain on the needle vanished.
The imperceptible glow faded.
Goodnight…