A few minutes later…

「Huuuu…」

Cycelia cries quietly into Straf's chest while he pets her head with his mouth aslant.

「…Listen, Lia… With the Academy out of the way, you've got some free time on your hands, right?」

Straf asks, turning his eyes down to her chestnut hair.

「…Well, yes… But I don't know how to spend it now.」

She nods, sniffling a few times as she pulls her face away from Straf and wipes her reddened, wet emerald eyes.

「World trip.」

He bluntly replies while looking into Cycelia's eyes.

「…Huh?」

She tilts her head, blinking at him, mildly confused.

「We're going to travel around and see exotic places. Don't you want to see a little of the world? We can also check out what kind of animals they have elsewhere… Like the demon lord…」

Straf asks, inquisitively raising his brows a little.

「…Or wherever the tall blue ones came from. How about it?」

He shrugs, and scrunches slightly to the side with his hand still resting on Cycelia's head.

「Right… I forgot… There's still the threat of the demon lord… But we just know he's somewhere in the east. Are you saying you want to find him, Straf?」

Cycelia nods, and lets out a wistful sigh of acceptance as she lets go of Straf. He likewise pulls his hands away into his pockets.

「Nah. I'm saying let's go eat some rice dishes, have a look around, and maybe have Carrothead act out his hero fantasy along the way. Are you up for that?」

With a disdainful scoff, Straf stops himself from rolling his eyes and returns a casual shrug as he asks again.

「…You want to have others join us?」

She asks, tilting her head with her brows furrowed gently.

「Yeah. Most everyone, that is. We'll fly to the Eastern Kingdoms for a-」

Straf nods back. He begins to explain, but stops when Cycelia starts feverishly shaking her chestnut head left and right with a greatly tight-lipped grimace.

「…No flying?」

He asks, furrowing his brows with his troubled gaze turned aside. Cycelia confirms by shaking her head at an even wider angle.

「Ahhhhhh… Fineee. We'll ride there…」

Resigned, Straf's mouth tilts sideways as he rolls his eyes. Cycelia lets out a sigh of relief.

「…By car.-」

He adds, and before he can even properly finish his sentence, her emerald eyes snap wide open and stare into his with a tight-lipped, almost betrayed look on her face.

「…We'll drive there slowly, at a reasonable speed.」

Straf says, staring back at her with a tight-lipped grimace of his own.

「…Do you promise?」

Cycelia asks with a pout, tapping her index fingers together.

「Tsk… Yeah, I'll make the ride slow and boring, just for you.」

Straf clicks his tongue and lets out a defeated sigh. He adds a shrug, and his mouth tilts again. A relieved smile appears on Cycelia's face.

「…Okay. In that case, I don't mind, then. But… Everyone is coming? Will we all fit in into the car?」

She asks, narrowing her eyes in confusion while fidgeting with her medallion in her fingers.

「I have it all planned out, don't you worry about it. Pack warm clothes, if we're not flying, that means we're crossing the mountains… I'll have to ask the cat about it.」

Straf nonchalantly explains while Cycelia folds up the letter from the Academy of Magic into a neat rectangle.

「Okay… When are we leaving?」

「Hmmm… How does next week sound? That'll give everyone some time to pack important stuff.」

Cycelia asks, and Straf quickly replies with another casual shrug.

「That's plenty of time. I'll go get ready.」

She nods with a smile and partially turns back towards her room.

「And I'll have to find Lily too, so I guess I'll see you later.」

Straf briefly spreads his hands before returning them to his pockets as he makes his way towards his room.

「Mhm. I'll make sure to only pack essentials this time!」

Cycelia replies, and rushes in the direction of her room in a half-jog with a smile on her face.

「…You better. Good grief.」

Straf mumbles to himself, shaking his head as he carries on…

…

A little under ten minutes later, in Straf's room…

Straf nonchalantly makes his way in and swings the door shut when he sees Stripe lying on his bed.

Thud.

The noise wakes her, and her head perks up. Her ears visibly twitch in her hat.

「Straf! Where were you!? I was waiting for you!… Do you seriously not sleep at all!?」

Stripe exclaims as she shoots up to her knees, pointing her clawed finger at him with her golden eyes wide open. Her slit pupils stare at his bored face with an intense gaze.

「I sleep… In my room. You can have this one…」

He nonchalantly replies as he approaches the bed.

「Eh? Your room? Isn't this?…」

Confused, she pulls her hand back with her brows furrowed.

「…I've got a better one now.」

He casually replies with a shrug of his shoulders and a little grimace on his face.

「Huh!? You mean you were sleeping in that big room this whole time!?」

She exclaims, leaning on her hands towards Straf.

「Yeah. It's much nicer than this one, and the bed is a little comfier- Hold on… I don't remember telling you where my new room is…」

Straf furrows his brows and begins rubbing his chin with his eyes narrowed at Stripe.

《Shit!… I'm so stupid!》

Stripe immediately and openly winces, cringing heavily with her teeth clenched. She instantly realizes how it must look when Straf inquisitively tilts his head.

「I… Uh… Um…」

Her golden eyes dart around the room, glancing at everything but Straf as she thinks.

「…I asked.」

She ambiguously replies, and finally glances at his face to see if Straf bought it.

He furrows his brows, and with consternation on his face, he pulls his hand away from his chin to return it back into his pocket.

「…That makes sense.」

Straf says with a nod, apparently enlightened.

《He's so stupid!》

Stripe's jaw drops with her eyes wide open at how easily Straf was convinced.

「So, you were hit the worst, huh?… No one to pet your ears to sleep… Couldn't you have done that yourself?」

A smug smirk appears on his face as he asks, standing by the bed's foot end.

「That's not!… That wouldn't work…」

A blush appears on her cheeks before she turns them away.

「…Why are you here, anyway!? Isn't this not your room anymore!?」

She exclaims, crossing her arms.

Snap!

「Good question. Here's the quick answer… We're going over the mountains to the Eastern Kingdoms soon. Do you know a good route?」

Straf snaps his fingers and points at Stripe, before placing his hand back into his pocket.

「Eh?… You're going?… Why?」

Her head perks up in surprise, and she blinks her golden eyes at him.

「'Cause we can, that's why. Now answer my question.」

「…The mountains are perilous! You can't just cross them like it's a picnic!」

「And I don't intend to. I want to know a good route so it's not a pain in the fucking ass. Do you know one, or not?」

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Straf scoffs, smirking at Stripe's serious face.

「Tsk… I wouldn't call it a good route. There's no good routes. It's dangerous, cold, filled with monsters, and generally narrow and unpleasant.」

She clicks her tongue, turning her gaze aside.

「So, there is one?」

Straf continues probing, inquisitively raising his brow.

「Like I said, I wouldn't call it a good route. With everything I mentioned, I think it's amongst one of the safer ones… I also heard about some secret shortcuts, but I don't know any.」

She replies, and with her arms still crossed, she shrugs her shoulders.

「Where is it, then? How do I get to it?」

Straf asks, rubbing his chin.

「It's near a small village a little bit south of the Academy of Magic. The entrance to the path looks difficult, but it's actually not that bad once you're up there. It's freezing though.」

Stripe says while looking aside with an unfocused, pensive gaze.

「Right… I'll have you mark it on a map for me later. Start packing, I'll be sending you on an extra special mission soon. Come get breakfast with everyone tomorrow.」

Straf nods with approval in response then returns his hand to his pocket.

「An extra special mission!?」

Stripe perks up and leans towards Straf again with her golden eyes glowing from excitement.

「Yup. I'll tell you the details tomorrow…」

He replies as he nonchalantly turns for the door.

「Wait! What stuff should I pack!?」

「Warm stuff.」

She calls out as he opens the door. Straf simply glances over his shoulder at her, then leaves with a shrug and a blunt, terse reply…

…

Early into the night, at the far end of the Main Street…

Vampires deferentially bow their heads ass they pass by Lily, who is walking towards her bell tower at a leisurely pace. She warily eyes each alleyway she passes, neither fixating on them, nor disregarding them. She lets out a quiet, disdainful scoff from her small nose when each one turns out to be empty.

Fwap!

When she crosses a small junction, a shape jumps out and lifts her up by her armpits faster than she can react.

He splays her clawed fingers and cocks her arm back to swipe at the man's face, glaring at him with her murderous scarlet gaze.

「…Straf?」

「Lily!…」

Her golden head recoils back in surprise when she realizes that she's glaring at none other than Straf. Her face softens, and raised hand drops limp. She furrows her brows in confusion as Straf holds her up like a doll just above his head level, grinning at her ear to ear. She tilts her head, and her golden twintails sway gently from the motion.

「…There you are. You weren't at your tower. You're coming on a trip with us, Lily.」

Straf declares, still holding her up. Some people look at them in confusion, before the onlookers' faces twist to stunned shock as they realize who she is, and they rush away in hurry.

「I was attending some business… A trip?」

She asks, still stunned and not fully processing the suddenness situation.

「Yup. We're going east. Are the vampires there zombies, or regular vampires? Y'know, the ones with talismans on their faces.」

Straf nods and replies, still grinning as he adds a shrug.

「Huh? Vampires are vampires everywhere, I don't understand the question…」

Lily tilts her head, furrowing her brows at the bizarre question. A confused vampire's stare as he passes by makes Lily realize she's in public.

「…S- Straf! Put me down!… This is embarrassing.」

Her crimson eyes widen, and she feebly grasps at Straf's coat sleeves with her clawed hands. She pouts, turning her pale face away.

「Hup… We're leaving next week, so be ready… I guess you don't need to pack anything, huh? Convenient. Might want to get a dress or two into your whirly thing, at least.」

Straf obliges, setting Lily back down on her boots with a gentle clack on the exposed cobblestones, and then places his fists on his hips..

「But I can't, Straf. I have a barony to manage-」

「Tsk… Lilyyyy…」

Lily furrows her brows with a troubled face, but Straf cuts in, rolling his eyes with his mouth aslant.

「…Just delegate it to someone, and threaten that you'll nail 'im to a wall if he fucks up. Do you really intend to rule everything personally? Not even I do that anymor-」

Straf briefly shrugs his hand towards her before returning it to his hip. His brows rise as he abruptly stops himself.

「…Not even Lia does that anymore. The current fashion is to have someone else do stuff for you, so that you can pin infinite blame on others. It's also really convenient.」

He nonchalantly corrects himself, with Lily either not noticing or ignoring his previous words. She purses her lips, visibly thinking for a moment.

「…Do you want me to come with you?」

She asks, quizzically raising her brow as she looks up into Straf's eyes.

「Yeah? That's why I-」

「Very well, I'll come along.」

Lily cuts in, nodding her golden head with her arms crossed.

「…That was a quick change of mind. Alright then. I know you don't eat, but come get breakfast tomorrow. You can feed your ego by looking at everyone around the table with disdain.」

Straf remarks with a little nod of his own and a grimace somewhat lacking in surprise.

「Ego?」

She echoes as Straf places his hands in his pockets and takes a few steps in the direction of the palace.

「Or id, or superego, if your regular ego is not enough. See you tomorrow, Lily.」

Straf adds as he departs, shrugging his coat-covered shoulders.

「Of course…」

Lily nods, crossing her arms as her scarlet eyes drift down.

「…Superego?」

She mumbles to herself, placing her chin between her thumb and finger while her elbow rests in her other hand.

Lily continues onward to her bell tower, pondering the new words…

…

In the morning, in the palace, in one of the dining rooms…

Lily nonchalantly enters the room where Straf, Cycelia, Stripe, Nona, Shien, as well as Greaves and his party are seated already. She takes a seat at one of the vacant chairs, where there is no plate present. Everyone else is already either finished or almost finished with their meals. Lily glances with a cold, vaguely disdainful look at the humans around the table, with the exception of Straf, Cycelia, and Nona, who she meets with her regular gaze.

「Ahh… If that was poisoned, I guess we'll know in a few hours…」

Straf remarks as he sets down an emptied wine glass. The faces of the maids attending Cycelia twitch as they appear to take great offense at the remark, but they manage to conceal it.

「…Right, so… Lily is fashionably late, so I guess I can tell you what's up now.」

He leans back in his chair, casually placing one elbow over his backrest and resting his ankle over his other knee.

Will stares at Straf with a focused gaze, thinking about something. His pensive eyes frequently drift down at his empty plate, but he remains silent, and continues staring.

「Spit it out already. I don't like waiting for stuff.」

Greaves says with his arms crossed and his mouth aslant in frustration.

「Heh… We're going on a trip to the east. Pack your shit and be ready by the next week's morning.」

Lowering his head, Straf crosses his arms as well, then lifts his smug smirk to announce the trip.

「…Huh? To the east? Are we going to investigate the demon lord rumors then?」

Greaves asks, narrowing his eyes in confusion. He glances at Will, Lian, and Alicia, but all three simply shrug in response.

「Not rumors. I'm thinking we'll just go and fuckin' kill 'im as one of the sightseeing objectives. How about it?」

Straf shrugs in response as he asks, tilting his head a little with his arms still crossed. Alicia appears a little alarmed for a moment, but quickly masks it.

「Not rumors? What are you talking about?」

Greaves leans in on the table, inquisitively narrowing one eye at Straf.

「I'm saying that I mostly know where he is… And the cat here-」

「I am not a-!」

Stripe perks up with her voice raised.

「Shush… And she can head east a little ahead of time to scout things out…」

Straf casually shushes Stripe, extending his index finger at her as he nonchalantly continues talking to Greaves.

「…I'm something of a persona non grata or there, I think. I want to know if I can take it easy and treat it as a vacation, or not.」

「Huh? Persona what?」

Greaves echoes as his spiky head recoils back in mild confusion. He tilts it, jiggling the mass of orange hair upon it.

「Ah- Hey! You can't not say the rest of that! It's gonna count as an IP namedrop! Say the rest of it!」

Straf abruptly straightens out of his casual slouch, pointing his finger at Greaves from across the table as he makes a demand.

「I don't know what a persona whatever is! I don't speak your language, you dumbass!」

Greaves scoffs in disdain, crossing his muscular arms.

「Hey! You're making it worse! Stop!- Seriously do you think we can do crossovers!?」

Thud!

Still pointing, Straf slaps the table and almost stands up…