Lily and Straf arrive to the foot of the mountain, on top of which Lily's castle awaits her return. With his hands in his pockets, Straf looks up at the mountain's steep rock wall, stretching upward into the low clouds.

「It looks taller up close, honestly.」

Straf comments on the mountain, as Lily joins him in gazing upward.

「There is only a short way up left… For me. If we were to walk the rest of the way, we wouldn't get there before sunrise. Do you want me to carry you up there, Straf?」

Lily asks, glancing at Straf as she shields herself from the low sun.

「No, I'm good. Race you to the top, Lily.」

Straf shrugs and nonchalantly announces, looking down at Lily with his bored eyes, before squatting down a little.

「Huh? What do you mean race-」

Fwoop!

Straf disappears from in front of Lily before she can even finish her question. Gravel and rocks shoot backwards from where he was standing, as if fired out of a silent shotgun. The only clue as to where Straf went that Lily has, lies in his posture before his sudden disappearance.

「…What?」

Lily looks up, knowing Straf's pose resembled that of a man preparing to do a little lazy hop into the air. She blinks in disbelief, when she sees Straf holding onto a rock jutting out of the cliff face, still with one hand in his pocket. High above her, he looks down, and they lock their uncannily perfect gazes together.

Moments later, Straf looks away, shrugs, and once again shoots upward, disappearing into the clouds without as much as a little pinprick through them.

「He can do that?- No, of course he can, it's Straf after all… But I know the best path up!」

Lily blinks, shocked and awed by Straf's effortless vertical climb. She grins, and takes a look at the start of her favorite route up to her castle.

Fwoosh!

Her dress flutters loudly as she completely abandons any notion of finesse and vampiric stealth, leaping into a crevice on the rock face that allows her to jump upward off the mountain walls on each side. She ascends rapidly, trying to catch up to Straf…

…

《Man, this is getting really tiresome. How slow can jumping up a mountain be?》

Straf thinks as he catches onto another rock, and braces his feet against the mountain face. He looks down, and a blanket of white clouds covers everything below, obscuring the ground far beneath him.

「Heh… I'd have sweaty hands now, if this was for real.」

Straf pulls his hand out of his pocket, and rubs his fingers against the palm. It's perfectly dry, yet not dried out.

「…Nice view, though.」

He looks up from his palm, admiring the sight of the walled capital city in the distance as the sun bathes everything in a golden glow. He shrugs, and swings himself upward off the rock again. He floats, and floats, and floats for what seems like an eternity.

《That should be good enough to grab onto…》

Straf thinks, as he floats closer to another handhold, jutting out just enough to hook fingers onto. As he arrives at the peak of his parabolic arc, he grabs on, and [Contextual Time Perception] deactivates on its own.

「Man, do mountains really have to be this fucking high? Who builds a castle on a fucking mountain? At least it looks like this is the last stretch…」

He sighs, complaining at the basic geological phenomenon, as he looks upward at the mountain. The mountain's ridge is visible once more, and a bitterly frigid, tempestuous wind blows across the mountain face. Straf feels its chill, but isn't bothered much by it. He leaps upward again, and looks at the ring on his hand as he flies through the air.

《Huh. I forgot I have this thing on. Now that I think about it, shouldn't I be freezing? I'm not exactly dressed for mountain climbing.》

Straf furrows his brows, placing his hands back in his pockets as he rotates upside down. Completely unbothered by the massive fall beneath him, or above him, depending how one wants to see it. Despite being in the middle of a jump, his posture is not any different from him standing idly, perhaps waiting for someone.

A relatively flat area comes into Straf's view, as worst of the climb is over. He moves his legs a little, to shift his center of mass and allow the gravity to set him upright again, while he contemplates the ring on his finger further.

《…If I took it off now, would I freeze into a cube or something? Better not try it. I was curious, would be a pretty poor explanation for a surprise meeting with the dyslexiac.》

Straf shrugs, and places his hand back in his pocket. A castle far larger than it would be reasonable to build this high is just a short walk away, as he gracefully lands on the mountain ridge.

「I guess I'll wait for her at the door…」

He grumbles, peeking down the cliff he just climbed up, and heads for the dark castle's tall gate.

…

《Faster! Faster! Straf might be Straf, but I should have the advantage here!》

Lily thinks as she frantically tries to outrun Straf, taking massive leaps from rock to rock up the mountain face.

《Where is he, though? There's no chance he's already up the top, is he!?》

She grabs onto one of the rocks, pausing momentarily to look for Straf. Her eyes scan the entire mountain, but fail to find him.

《Maybe I already left him behind? I should hurry anyway! I have nothing, but my speed! I have to excel at something!》

Lily resumes her rapid ascent, bouncing even faster from crevice to crevice, rock to rock, crevice to rock and rock to crevice. Eventually the frozen, snow-capped mountain ridge becomes visible once more.

《Almost there! I have to beat him! Even if it's someone like Straf, I have to be faster!-》

Her jaw drops in shock in mid air as she looks at the castle, only to see Straf casually looking it over with boredom in his eyes, standing at its gates. She lands, completely stunned, and stares at Straf for a few seconds in wordless silence.

「…How? It's not possible he knew the best route.」

Lily mumbles to herself, as she approaches her vampiric den.

「Hmpf… Why am I even surprised? It's Straf after all… I don't mind losing to him as much…」

She scoffs, and smirks at the human looking at the decorative gargoyles hanging off the battlements.

「Ah, Lily, what took you so long? Nice house, by the way.」

Straf notices Lily approach, and looks at her over his shoulder. She folds her parasol when she enters the castle's shade.

「Thank you… I've searched for a suitable place away from pests for quite some time.」

Lily nods, and gives the tall, heavy gates a push.

Crrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkk…

A loud, echoing creak of wood and metal emanates from the door as it swings open.

「Though, don't you get tired of going up and down the mountain? It's like living in a penthouse apartment, but the elevator never works. Doesn't that suck?」

Straf asks as they enter, and Lily pushes the massive gates shut. They pause for a moment,and Lily returns to Straf and faces him.

Crrrrrrrrreaaaaaaaakkkkkkkk… Slammm!

「I used to rarely leave my castle. Only when I was hungry, really. Now I leave because of you. I do not consider it an inconvenience, Straf.」

Lily says with a completely serious expression, looking up into Straf's eyes. Her ruby eyes glow as they reflect the very little light remaining in the day.

「Now come, I have a lot to show you.」

She smiles, and walks further inward into the castle courtyard. Harsh winds howl over the walls, almost silencing the sound of the gravel beneath their feet. They reach the keep's door, which are slightly ajar, and Lily slips in. She pushes the door further open to let Straf easily in as well.

「Ahhhh, it's good to be home after all…」

Lily hangs her parasol up on a random chair left in the dim hallway, just past the door, and stretches out with a loud, contented moan.

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「It's like it was custom-made for you. What is the purpose of this place? Telling people you have a literal castle in the sky?」

Straf looks at the dusty, old paintings of some people hanging off the walls as he follows Lily. The pervasive cold begins to set in, making Straf uncomfortable.

「It was a supply point for human armies, and an observation post to keep watch for the demon lord's forces. Or so I've heard, at least. There was so much food stored here by magic, it's surprising it was abandoned just like that. And in haste, too, most everything was left behind.」

「Uh-huh… Listen, isn't there a fireplace or something here?」

Lily explains as they walk through the dark halls. She stops and turns around, when she sees Straf shivering.

「Ah, apologies, Straf. Every day you keep amazing me so much, that I sometimes forget you're not a vampire. Yet, at least.」

She sighs, and shrugs her head.

「More like ever. So, is there anywhere I can warm up?」

Straf asks, and the cold begins slipping into his voice as well as he lightly starts to stammer.

「There is. Come.」

Lily waves her hand for Straf to follow, and continues in the same direction they were going.

「I know you're u- Undead, but d- Do you not feel cold?」

The chill keeps getting worse and worse as Straf follows Lily, unabating, despite him rubbing his arms to warm himself up a little.

「I do feel cold, but… How do I explain this? I know it's freezing cold outside, but I just do not care. It's not a concern of mine, really. It's not easy to explain to someone, who still has to worry about the cold, when it's no longer my problem.」

「Y- Yeah… Must be nice…」

Straf scoffs, and his breath disperses into a misty vapor as he shakes.

「It is.」

Lily bluntly replies, smirking a little, with no vapor to be seen. They arrive to a T-split from the right, and Lily takes a left turn. A few steps later, she opens a door to a room.

「Here, a lounge room. The firewood here probably seen the demon lord's times. I'll get the fire started, so try to warm yourself up in meanwhile.」

Lily enters the room, and heads straight for the large fireplace full of old ash. Straf follows her in, and sits down on a chair close to her, shivering heavily.

Ca-clunk. Clunk. Clunk.

「Normally, all the fireplaces here would be roaring. The whole castle is designed with that in mind, but I don't need them, so you see how it is…」

Lily explains as she throws ages old firewood into a pile in the fireplace. She takes one piece, carves shavings away onto the floor with her claw, and then throws the rest onto the pile. She stands up to reach a flint and steel on the fireplace, and starts flicking sparks into the wood shavings on the floor.

Eventually, a spark lands just right, and embers start to burn gently. Lily blows air at it, taking the shavings into her tiny, pale hands, until they start emanating thick smoke. She places the shavings carefully into the fireplace, and covers it with smaller pieces of firewood, blowing further onto the embers.

A small fire starts licking the rest of the piled wood, burning hot enough to sustain itself. Straf takes his chair and scoots up closer to the flame. Lily takes a seat on a couch behind him, in front of the fireplace.

「Better?」

She smugly asks, placing her elbow on the armrest, and resting her head on a loose fist.

「…N- No. In fact… I feel that it's warmer, but I'm not a- Actually warming up…」

Straf shakes his head, still shivering heavily as he sits hunched over close to the growing flame.

「Hm? That's rather bizarre, that's… Almost how I feel. Except I don't actually get cold or hot.」

Her head straightens out, as she blinks in confusion.

「I- It's the fff- Fault of this ss- Stupid ffffucking ring!」

Straf holds his hand out in front of him, looking at the once-helpful ring on his finger with a scowl on his face.

「Shouldn't you take it-」

「Off? Y- Yeah, I considered it… Then I realized… I might j- Just end up turning into a ffff- Fucking ice c- Cube!」

Straf completes Lily's suggestion, and shakes his head, explaining the situation while stuttering from cold.

「…Could I interest you in a tea, in that case? I don't need to drink or eat, but I do find a nice cup of tea to be pleasant on colder, windy days like this.」

Lily stands up as she asks. Without her ever-present parasol in hands, she holds them in a lady-like manner low in front of her, one on top of the other.

「Y- Yeah… Anything warm at this point…」

Straf nods, and scoots even closer to the flame.

「Very well. It won't take long, but I'll have to start a fire for the tea as well. The water is mostly fresh, I have made one not that long ago.」

Lily nods, and starts heading for the door as she speaks.

「M- Mostly? G- Great… D- Death of dysentery… On the o- Otherworld trail…」

The adjective「mostly」alarms Straf, but he is far too cold to care about the tea's freshness. Lily leaves for roughly 10 to 15 minutes, and returns with a silver tray of two steaming teacups.

「I'm back. It's too bad this room doesn't have a proper table, I'll just have to set this aside here…」

She says, and sets the silver tray down on the couch. She takes one teacup, and presents it to Straf.

「Here you go, Straf.」

Lily smiles with a slight tilt of her head, though her eyes are smugly narrowed. He takes it, and as soon as Lily turns around to reach for her own teacup, he splashes the entire contents into his mouth, and gulps it all down.

「Now we can enjoy a tea togeth- Eh?」

She smiles as she takes her tea in hands, only for her to turn her head and see Straf returning the empty teacup to her.

「I feel marginally better, but it's not because of the tea. The tea kind of did nothing. It was good, though, thanks.」

Straf says, still shivering somewhat, though now in control of his voice. He nods as Lily takes the cup back, and places it back on the tray with a soft clink.

「Well… You've enjoyed your tea, now I suppose I will slowly enjoy mine while you warm up…」

Lily says as she sits back down, and sips her tea with a quiet slurp, after giving it a few gentle blows.

「Is that all you do around here, Lily? Just drink tea, and… I don't know, sleep?」

Straf asks as he stares at the dancing flames.

「Of course not… I read to pass the time. I have a rather considerable library, a lot of it written by vampires long gone. I have tripe romances, fantasy tales, childrens' stories too… Some bestiaries…」

Lily goes on about her collection of books, pausing momentarily to take a sip of her steaming tea.

「Wait, you have a bestiary?」

Straf asks with clear interest in his voice, as he looks over his shoulder at Lily. She scoffs as she lowers the teacup from her pale lips.

「A bestiary, Straf? Please. I have multiple.」

Lily smugly grins at Straf, and takes another sip.

「…Can I see them?」

He asks, after pausing for a moment to look for a less childish way to ask to see cool monsters, before giving up.

「Of course. You can read anything you'd like from my collection, Straf. There's enough here to keep you for centuries.」

Lowering the cup once more, she smirks at Straf with pride. Straf raises his brows.

「Yeah… I'd argue if that's the case, but I don't feel like reading a bunch of nerd lore just to prove you wrong. I value my sanity more over a minor disagreement.」

Straf furrows his brows as he replies to Lily, and turns his head back to the fire.

「Let me have a look at that bestiary, once I stop feeling like I have a fever that just won't fuck off. Do you know that feeling, where you feel like you're cold, but no amount of blankets can fix it?」

Straf asks, peeking over his shoulder at Lily for just a second.

「No.」

Lily bluntly replies, and finishes the last sip of her tea.

「Yeah, I should have figured…」

Straf rolls his eyes and sighs, as his shivering gradually starts to calm…