What in front of me and Senya is an utter display of stupidity where everyone is scattered everywhere while visibly have drunk alcohol. It seems they had a lot of fun last night without us knowing. To be fair, everyone here is old enough for this activity and on the girl’s side, almost everyone is underage.

“What are we going to do, Senya?”

As I took a peek at Senya, her eyes are wide open and she was standing from her wheelchair. Her cheeks are twitching and there’s this malevolent force oozing out from her. An intense chill comes running down my spine as I saw how dreaded Senya’s face is.

At this very moment, the swirling rainbow light starts accumulating in her right palm and surge of strong power envelopes the vicinity. Then, it came out, the godly artifact exclusive only to Senya…

“Excelsior!”

At this point, every one of them intoxicated by alcohol immediately sobered up like a jolt of lightning struck them. Senya’s power creates a ripple in the water and had the leaves flying away in the air.

“How dare all of you…! To think that…you’d even drank my most precious Dragon Kill! I’ve saving that up for a hundred of year now and I haven’t got a single sip out of it!!”

It seems the alcohol business is a serious business for these people and to think that Senya got actually angry because of a single bottle of alcohol going to waste to these fellows.

Ichirou, upon seeing the sight of raging Senya, already sat on his knees while cold sweat flows from his face. Fang likewise, lowers his body scarily while his tail hides behind his legs in fear of Senya’s wrath.

Shouta panics and fell down from the branch where he is sleeping at and got groans in pain as he hits his cranium right off the ground. Gria also sat on his knees but he made sure that he lowers his head as much as possible to prevent Senya from seeing his face.

As usual, the only nonchalant man here is Susanoo who lazily stood up from the doorway of the wooden lodge and lifelessly sits on the porch. His eyes have deep circles on it and his hair is visibly messy as he sighs in his nonexistent exhaustion.

Fang hurriedly grab an expensive looking bottle with dragon claws as the main design and places it in front of them.

“Senya, I am truly sorry! I didn’t know what I was thinking back then!”

“We didn’t know that it is something precious to you! I am sorry that we enjoyed your property without you!”

“Yeah! My friend here drank most of it because he got addicted to it! He was the one who chugs everything down!”

“Fang, how could you sell me out?!”

“Friend, it was fun while it lasts.”

Ichirou pales as Fang sold him out. I didn’t know that when Senya said that Fang will bring them the necessities, it was booze to chug on and the end result is this mess.

Gria is still avoiding eye contact with the furious Senya and Shouta just lay down from his place where he fell earlier, unmoving and unspeaking. I think at this point, he is just pretending to be asleep.

Susanoo just returned sleeping while leaning against a wall even in this tense situation.

“*Hic* What did I do…to receive such cruel punishment?!”

“Eh…?”

“Uwaaaahhh!”

Senya picks up the dragon killer bottle and as Excelsior disappears from her hand, she hugs the bottle like it is her beloved that just died. She fell on her knees and started bawling like the bottle is the last string of her life.

I actually feel a little bad for Senya but this is just plain ridiculous to cry over a single booze…

I was stuck frozen at my place while the weird spectacle plays. I just saw someone mourn the death of her beloved alcohol…

I can only think that we live in a cruel and harsh world. I sat beside Senya and console her by rubbing her back.

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“That was a pathetic display…I can’t believe I cried over an alcohol…”

“It sure is pathetic…”

I second the motion of what Senya said about herself. After a good ten minutes of Senya’s crying fit and my nonstop consolation, everything returned to order as Senya didn’t forgive everyone here yet but will remember this grudge forever in her heart as long as she breathes.

Right now, there are more pressing matters that we needed to attend to. All we have to do for now is to wait for the others to arrive and start the meeting.

For a decent meeting to happen, a cleanup is being carried out by the guys that caused Senya’s heartbreak, in which the latter is embarrassed.

Eccentricity never separates from strong people…

“Ah?!”

Senya suddenly lets out another surprised voice. This time, she is looking at Gria who still tries hard to hide his face which is visibly pale from nervousness. Gria froze on the spot as Senya rolls her wheelchair towards him with suspecting gaze.

“You…I think…I know you…”

“Ohohoho…I…um…I get that…a lot…”

“No, no, no! I think I really know you…I really haven’t left the forest for hundreds of years now but I know when someone is familiar to me…or was vividly described to me…”

“I don’t know…there’s a lot of gents out there with such magnificent mustache, see?”

“You…are you a vampire? You’re…a vampire, right?”

“Who knows…”

Senya then immediately grabs Gria’s collar and pulls his face closer to hers. The calm and collected Senya in my mind collapses and her tomboyish and thug attitude resurfaces. It is as Meiko said, Senya once used to be a tomboyish adventurer…

Gria can no longer hide his face from Senya’s prying eyes. Senya’s brow furrows as she looks intently at Gria. Gria tried to confuse her by making funny faces but to no avail, Senya didn’t budge her eyes away from him.

However, as if giving up Gria hangs his head down in resignation but Senya otherwise let him go…

“Um…um…my apologies…It seems I am really mistaken. I’m sorry…I’m really sorry for being rough and rude…”

“Ohohoho…that’s okay…I told you…I get that a lot…”

“But still, you’re a vampire, right?”

“Yes…”

It seems Senya didn’t fully recognize Gria as she didn’t saw him years ago stealing the Yggdrasil sap. She apologizes with an embarrassed face with her cheeks ablaze as she bows down. Gria rides with it and breathed a sigh of relief…

It seems Senya is still ashamed of her previous self. Much like how someone with eight grader syndrome realizes how embarrassing their past is…

Even Ichirou is somewhat flabbergasted by Senya’s thuggish display earlier towards Gria. I wonder if he already talked to Gria about Diyu and whatnot. Whatever transpired between the boys here, I will never know…

BRRRR…

Another bone-chilling shiver made its way down to my spine. At the sudden break of time, a hand lands on my head and strokes it unevenly with roughness…

I slowly turn my head towards the man whose hands landed on my cranium and sent so much danger signals throughout my body and fair enough, it was him, Susanoo who pats me on the head with his usual lethargic face.

“Um…umm…”

“Good…to see you safe…Asagao. I’m sure…he is quite…happy too…”

“He?”

“Nevermind.”

I can feel my legs shaking and my knees getting weak. He is the only guy that can immobilize me like this for multiple reasons and more reasons I don’t know. It’s not unpleasant but more like dreadful like I want to run away as fast as possible.

I’m pretty sure it is not his nature as an arcana magician but something entirely different…

When he is finally satisfied, he left my head alone and lazily walks back inside the wooden lodge, probably to find himself some sleep. Senya goes to a tree shade to rest because of racking up too much shock. Her body can’t take much stress at once so it’s probably better like that.

I took this opportunity and approach Gria.

“Lord Gria, I am glad that you are well.”

“Ohohoho…I am glad as well that I am okay after that. So…little white one…I’d like to know more about Mrothgir’s final moment…”

“You already knew even that…”

“Sadly…He was…my best friend after all…”

Gria shows a faint and fading smile under his mustache. His eyes are filled with sadness as he somewhat had a nostalgia. He stroke the tip of his treasured curvy mustache as he looks up to the sky.

“That fool…”

“Lord Gria…”

“We won’t get anywhere talking about someone who is not of this world anymore. I want to ask, what happened to the sap you received?”

“Ah…that’s…”

From Gria’s inquiry, I kind of hang my head down from what kind of an utter shame I’ve done. I pull the collar of my shirt to the point where the scar will be visible. Gria was able to notice such scar immediately and already had a guess of what happened.

“Little white one…you…”

“It was used…to save my life…that’s why…Lord Gria…I want to thank you too for granting us such thing. That’s why I keep quiet about the incident you did in here like what Senya told me a few years ago.”

“It was not me, it was the effort of those people around you that you are saved. The sap was merely become a bargain in a bet.”

“Still, if you didn’t have it at that time, who knows what could have happened to me…That’s why…thank you…”

“Ohohoh…aren’t you a precious little cheesecake…anyway, you…so you really are the one at the center of the brewing storm, huh…”

“Don’t call it like that! I didn’t want to be…”

“Ohohoh…still perky I see. Anyway, I want to ask, why is that guy with brown hair over there keeps on glancing on me?”

“Ah…Ichirou? He likes your daughter, Diyu, you know?”

At the very moment, Gria’s face becomes petrified. He was so shocked that his eyeballs roll to the back of his head with a gaping mouth.

“Is that it…?! Ohohoho…is that…it?!”

Gria’s face is dimmed as he takes a glance at Ichirou. I can feel the overwhelming fatherly aura emanating from Gria.

Wait…

Shit…

I messed up. I didn’t know that Ichirou hasn’t told Gria yet about Diyu. Wait, even in normal circumstances, no sane man would straight up tell the father of the girl you like that you are in love with her. I really messed up, I am sorry Ichirou!

“In regards to my daughter, I am going to accept any man she chose, however, I still do have the urge to filter the trashy ones.”

“Ahehehe…have you heard anything about your daughter?”

“Hmm? Worry not, she is safe. I assure you that.”

“You…are you…monitoring your daughter?!”

“No, it’s Lirin’s job. If something happens to Diyu, Lirin would immediately come and save her or directly reports to me.”

“Lirin…that maid Lirin?!?”

“Yes.”

How convenient…

I really don’t know how that works. Strong eccentric people always have eccentric ways in dealing with their problems.

“Ah, they are here.”

From Gria’s words, I turn my head to the place where he looks. Emerging from the curtain of the forest shades come the girls.

Higan and Alstroe chat leisurely as they walk side by side. Topaz is being pestered by Mimi as Mimi keeps offering food to her such as bread and sandwiches. Cattleya and Shouko are surprisingly friendly with each other as they also chat while walking at the same pace. Casablanca and Hibiscus hop around Higan and Alstroe which visibly, Higan is smiling happily.

Behind them are Mimosa, Ardisia, and Meiko. I didn’t know that Senya also told them to come…

From the opposite direction come Kel, male fairy kin as he flies.

“Asagao…”

“Senya, we are going to begin now…”

“I know that. However, I want to ask, do you have any idea or leads so we can get a clear objective?”

“I do.”

“That’s good. What’s on your mind then?”

“Senya…in this meeting…we are going to identify…the existence of the third party pulling the strings from the shadow.”

“You mean…Nil isn’t the only enemy?!”

“Yes…and the key here…is Topaz.”