"Weird," Ciel commented.

"What is?"

"Those people before."

"Oh, them? What's weird about them?"

"They looked like those shady thugs you'd find in an alleyway, but they're so compliant about being investigated."

"Well, they are those shady thugs you had just described. However, they're protected by the city, you know?"

"Why?"

"Because they're a local. A part of the Labour Union, who changed this abandoned harbour into a tourist spot; that's why they're being left alone to their own devices."

"Then the reason they're suddenly going to raise a demonstration is that they demand something from the city?"

"Not exactly. If they truly need something, they just need to collaborate with the ruling body, and since they also helped the economy, they'll be accepted almost immediately, as long as it's law-compliant," I explained.

Adding to that explanation, I said my hypothesis, "I believe the crux of the problem lies with this foreign gang. That we suspect had something to do with the Other Side."

"So that's why you wanted to go through their front gate and crush them immediately?"

"Verily. However, you suspected the Other Side had a hand in this farce, that's why we're here right now, skulking around."

That's right. At this very moment, we're lurking around the place of the supposed North Wind gang; trying our best to catch some trail of the Other Side. It was a very much gangster-like place, with barbed wires, broken furniture, and empty bottles of alcohol strewn about its perimeter. However, there was no indication as to whether the Other Side had something to do with this gang. Ciel hasn't managed to find much, only the smell of tobacco and alcohol.

"Only tobacco and alcohol, same with the other places."

"Another bust?"

"Another bust."

She took a whiff, intending to not leave any stone unturned, and she was rewarded for it.

"Wait a minute. There's something. Although it's a bit faint, I detect traces of Magic usage. There's a distinct smell of blood, so we could be fairly certain that we're dealing against one with a vampiric nature."

"What about its timing? Did it just come about or did you somehow miss this one?"

"I believe it just came. I'd never miss something like this, both back in our day and now."

"Well, you'd never know. Still, I'll trust, and always trust you."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She nodded, knowing for certain the man before her, one they once called Laincelot, spoke only the truth to her.

They stayed at their hiding spot, unmoving, for a little while, all the way until the creature they were waiting for appeared in view. A man, in his middle ages, with a gentlemanly look. He brought with him an umbrella, a briefcase, and a book on philosophy. The man looked at our hiding spot, and vanished.

"To what honour do I owe the pleasure of being observed from afar, Sire and Madam?"

Knowing for a fact that the gentleman behind us was a high-ranking vampire who was probably sent here by their Council of Elders, I decided to play to his tune.

"To know who the esteemed gentleman in front of me was. Nocte ante diem."

I asked who he was while pleasing his pride, and to top it all off, I uttered the secret passage known only to those their elders trusted. As a response, he nodded to me and bowed with his right hand pressing against his forehead. A gesture that indicated trust amongst the vampires.

"This one's name is Allocer von Hohenheim, a Duke sent here by the Council to retrieve my goddaughter, Maria Alucardia."

His tone when he mentions the council seemed sour, looks like he somewhat abhors them.

"I see, her excellency Maria is quite healthy in her diet. She's now trying hard to push the lifeblood believers into a collective, and pit them against the dogs the council had sent."

He looked at me in surprise, and with a slight smile of curiosity, he asked.

"You just mentioned something about dogs of the council, knowing full well I am one of those dogs?"

"And you don't really care about the believers of the lifeblood, do you?"

"Hoho, you answer a question with another question. Very well, I shall entertain you for now. I don't really care about the believers of the lifeblood, since they will be extinct sooner or later."

"Then I'll also keep you company. You are one of those dogs if you think of yourself as one of them."

"Nice thinking, but it's rhetorics, I found no inherent value in such a statement."

"Who decided on such values? Isn't it yourself? Always remember, dear sire, there are two kinds of truth. Absolute truths that truly encompasses everything, and relative truth that only controls those within its domains."

He mulled for a bit, muttering incessantly, before clapping his hands in joy, as if he had found an answer that had eluded him for ages.

"You win this round. I'll stop funding the gang here to do a demonstration. I'll also let Maria roam around a bit more. However, since I've decided to stay here for a while, should you see me, don't forget to come by and chat."

With that, the gentleman bowed and made his way outside of the inner ring of the Char-Harbour, and I dropped down to my knees, with cold sweat pouring down my back.

"Are you okay?" Ciel asked worriedly.

"I am. It's just a bit nerve-wracking. I didn't expect someone with a rank as high as a Duke to come here. It's fine if we were in our heyday, however, we're weak; impossibly weak," I lamented.

"Then let's train after this whole fiasco is over. I believe your elder sister would be thrilled to train with you."

"Yeah, I will."

Ciel smiled, soothing my nerves.

"Still, how's your progress right now? Shouldn't your abilities hit their limits?"

"I don't know if it's because of our awakening or because we're in a new body, I feel like I could still improve, that it's just the beginning. Don't you feel the same way?"

"Now that you said it, I feel like the path I'm following gradually diverged from what I knew of. Last time, I followed the path of the Void Dragon, but now, it's something far more primal, primordial. Maybe it's got to do with the thing we've forgotten before we awakened? The sea of stars, and endless time."

"I see. Looks like mine doesn't exactly match yours, but, being able to move forward is a very happy thing indeed."

Recalling what the gentleman from before, Allocer von Hohenheim, had said, he seemed to mention Maria to us.

"Did he somehow know we came into contact with Maria?" I muttered.

"I guess she left behind a scent on us? Back then others also seemed to know we were in contact with Alucard."

"That's true. Anyway, should we go to the North Wind gang and reign?" I invited.

"Let's go!" she energetically smiled, one that reminded me of the time we raided an orc stronghold together.