--Return to Eira POV--

**Sigh**

'Playing a Goddess is hard, and I had to use my last five essences to stimulate Eden's angel blood! All that hard work is gone, almost makes me want to cry.'

Anyway, I just sent Eden back to the 'Moonlight,' and I'm a bit exhausted. Having to watch your mannerisms, your tone, and such, so you don't give yourself away, is difficult. Luckily the Provisional Throne comes with a few features. It can disguise my voice as well as make it impossible for someone to recognize me.

'I am delighted with how that just turned out, but I have a feeling Eden might be a bit restless..'

With that thought, I leave my god space. After a moment, I find myself standing in the place I originally entered from. This is my usual spot at the stern of the ship. Walking to the rail, I let my hood down and take a pose of looking out over the ocean.

As expected, around half an hour later, I hear someone approaching.

"Eira, I hoped I'd find you here."

I turn my head toward Eden, she has her usual neutral expression, but I can see the expectation in her eyes. Speaking of eyes, it seems her right eye has changed to a dark red color. It's not very surprising as heterochromia is a common characteristic of dhampirs.

Putting on a gentle smile, "Miss Groth, what a pleasant surprise. Oh? I guess now it would be more appropriate to say, Sister Groth."

"Ye...Yes, the Goddess told me to stay close to you from now on."

"Is that so? Well, if it is the Goddess's will, then I'll allow you to tag along."

[Ding!]

[Main Task: The First Subordinate - Complete]

That night Eden and I talked until the sun was coming up. We talked about her past, her meeting with the Goddess (me), about her transformation, and lastly, about the eventual return of mana. She gave me a much more matter of fact version of her past then she gave me as the Goddess earlier, but still I was surprised she was willing to tell me anything at all. Finally, Eden was getting tired, so we agreed to meet again tomorrow.

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~The Next Day~

Hearing a knock on my room door, I look through the door hole to make sure it's not someone unexpected. Through the door hole, I can see Eden's face. It seems she is covering her newly acquired red eye.

'Huh, where did she get an eye patch?'

"Come in."

I open the door just enough for a person to squeeze through. She walks in and stops immediately after coming through the door.

"Eira, I can hardly see; it's like a cave in here." Eden reaches for the light switch and flicks it on.

I have been locked in this room and only gone out at night for going on a week now, so in an instant, my irises shrink to the size of a pinhole.

"Eden, to bright! Too bright!"

Eden gives me a questioning stare, "It doesn't seem that bright to me?"

"That's because you dhampirs aren't as sensitive to light as us purebloods."

"Is that how it is?"

Satisfied with my explanation Eden looks around the room, "Eira, why is your room destroyed?"

I glance around the room, starting with the corner where a large pile of junk food is stacked higher than the bed. Turning my head, I see my dirty clothes tossed into a messy pile. Finally, I glimpse at all the furniture I accidentally struck while practicing with my scythe.

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Turning toward Eden with a blank face, "It was like this when I got here...."

"...the couch is almost completely in half."

"Yeah, I was also surprised."

Seemingly unsatisfied with the state of the room, Eden starts going through my dirty laundry.

"Eira, all your underwear is unexpectedly cute."

My face turns hot instantly, "Stop! Don't touch my underwear! That's not what you're here for."

"Is this all the clothes you have? They're all dirty, and some of these dresses have...a lot of red stains on them."

"I've been busy, okay?! I obviously can't walk around the ship casually."

"...I can wash them for you if you want. Also, I can probably buy you some more clothes in the ship's store if you have the money."

Caught slightly off guard by Eden's offer, I just tilt my head and give her a confused look.

"Eira?"

"...that would be great if you could do that, but why are you willing to do that for me?"

"Well, you are my senior and...I guess as a member of the blood race now too, it is only right for me to help you..."

"Oh. That's true, I guess. Uh, well, here use this card."

Eden looks at the card, "Who's Martha?"

"She's a friend who fed me once when I was hungry. Anyways that's not important; didn't you want to learn more about the Goddess and the blood race?"

"Oh...yes. Let's go somewhere else, though. I feel uncomfortable here."

"Fine. Just as long as it's somewhere below deck."

Putting on my usual outfit Eden and I make our way to the ship's coffee bar and find a quiet place in the corner. I can assume from someone else's perspective; it probably looks like a sketchy individual is trying to sell something illegal to an innocent girl.

"Okay, so let's start with the Goddess. The legend goes that a very very long time ago, on the night of a blood moon, the Goddess gained sentience. For this reason, the Goddess is believed to be an incarnation of the moon. Anyways a long time later, the Goddess came down to Earth out of curiosity. She was disappointed to find it barren and lifeless, but she saw the Earth's potential. So to help Earth reach it's potential, the Goddess slit her wrists and bled into the sea, turning it red. Satisfied, the Goddess returned to the moon and then slept for an exceptionally long time. Next time she awoke, she found the Earth full of life. This is one of the reasons many people of the blood race in the past referred to her as the Mother Goddess."

Eden tilts her head, cutely, "What's the other reason?"

"You know a little about this already, but many years after the Goddess reawoke, it is said she heard voices praying to her. Looking toward the source of the noise, she saw a group of various races praying toward the blood moon. Hearing their grief and listening to their prayers, the Goddess descended. She found that multiple tribes of mixed races had banded together in a desperate attempt to resist the onslaught of the many beasts and monsters of the past. The Goddess felt pity for their never-ending suffering. Taking out a golden goblet, she filled it with her blood and had each of the tribe members drink from the goblet."

To be honest, I have no idea if either of these legends is true. My inherited memories don't go nearly far enough back to know if these are true.

"So, the blood race isn't actually a single race?"

"That's right. The blood race was anyone that directly drank the Goddess's blood or was later-born of the tribes. Having shared a common history and connection through the blood of the Goddess, they considered themselves a single race even though technically they were not."

"Is that so. How many members does the blood race have left?"

I give Eden an awkward smile and hold up two fingers.

"Only two tribes?"

"Uh, not exactly. It's actually more accurate to say only two people..."

Eden's eyes got big, showing a rare shocked expression.

"Only two people?! You and who else?"

"Yeah, that would be me, and I was including you.", I chuckle awkwardly and rub the back of my head.

"What happened?"

"There was a great war between many powerful forces. The blood race was pretty much wiped out, and the Goddess, Uhm, just recently reawakened from the aftermath of the war. The God of Heaven and humanity were largely responsible."

I went on to give a detailed account of the past to Eden.

"So it was the God of Heaven's fault...so what tribe were you a part of?"

"I guess I would have been a part of the vampire family, but my origins are a bit unique. I'd rather not go too deep into my past."

"That makes sense. What were some of the other members of the blood race?"

"The bulk of the blood race consisted of the Vampire Family, the Beast Blood Clan, and the Scarlet Elves, however, there were smaller groups like the Red-Wood Dryads, the Blood Angels, Night Demons, among a few others."

I move my gaze to the floor and continue to speak, "It doesn't matter though, in the end, women, children, young, old, even the newborns were slaughtered..."

I bite my lip and attempt to suppress the emotions building. Along with the inheritance came the intense grief and anger toward the atrocities of the past. I've done pretty well suppressing them, but I've also never openly talked about it before today.

"Eira...your hand."

Hearing Edens's voice, I glance at my hand, without realizing my nails had sunk deep into my palm, and blood had started to seep onto the table.

"Oh...sorry. Anyways if you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about the blood race's history anymore today."

"Yeah, of course...I'll go get some napkins."

Eden grabs some napkins from the counter and walks back to the table. Just when she is about to place the napkins over the blood, she hesitates. With her azure eye, she stares at the blood on the table with great passion. I raise my eyebrow and look at Eden. At the same time, a loud noise rings out.

**grrrrrrrrrr**

My lips naturally form a smirk. "Oh. Might the blood race's new member be hungry?"