“*Yawn*… So, why are you guys following me again?” [Ryner]

Ryner yawned rather loudly and rubbed his eyes while asking the two girls in front of him as they each rode on a horse. Maya was by his side and was drinking a bottle of alcohol that she took from somewhere again. In sharp contrast to the sleepy-looking man, she was energetic and was smiling happily while riding next to him. Her defiled body was completely tainted by her beloved master and to her, it felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. She wasn’t tired at all, except for a slight numbness in her hips and legs, and felt fully rested after waking up, though she would have preferred to stay in bed with him until noon. However, he urged her to wake up since they were leaving for the ruins right away after breakfast. When he told the heroes ‘I’m going to go visit the ruins, so training is cancelled for today’, he got mixed reactions. Some were happy, some were mad at his random reason and others were worried about him when they heard where he wanted to go.

“Don’t you think it would be better for you if we came along?” [Aria]

Aria said confidently in front of him. She was wearing a short black jacket over a purple shirt with black pants and black boots. A single-edged sword was strapped to the silver leather belt on her left waist.

“That’s right! We can help you! I can heal any wounds you and Maya get after fighting!” [Elena]

Elena strongly emphasized as she rode next to Aria. She had a sky blue turtleneck shirt along with black hot pants that had light brown rectangular pieces of cloth in front, behind and on the sides to make it look like a skirt. Furthermore, she had black knee socks, brown shoes and a short sword on her waist behind her.

Those that were worried included these two girls who both asked to go with him. However, since he kept refusing them, they forcefully tagged along without listening to his complaints. The two high schoolers decided to help them whenever they could after spying on them for a week. It was the least they could do and they simply felt too guilty to leave them alone, though Aria was still blushing mad for what she saw last night.

“… And, why are you guys following me again?” [Ryner]

He exasperatedly looked in front of the two girls that were trying to convince him of their usefulness. The entire group of heroes decided to go to the ruins as well.

“There’s no way I can leave you alone with Elena and Aria. Of course I’ll be coming too to protect them.” [Ryan]

Ryan answered in a matter-of-fact tone as his cape fluttered in the wind. He was wearing a shining white armor with gold linings along with a vibrant red cape that had golden embroidery depicting a sword with wings behind it.

“What he said. Besides *munch munch*, since you cancelled training, we figured we should go to the ruin and do our own training.” [Jayce]

Jayce also spoke up as he ate a sandwich. Unlike his best friend who donned full-body armor, he was wearing a sleeveless grey shirt with brown pants and steel gauntlets that covered his hands all the way to his forearms. With their two friends leaving with that man, they decided to come along as well and the entire group agreed with them. Knight Commander Cain and three of his strongest subordinates were accompanying them and rode in front of everyone as they lead them to the ruins. Ryner was already tired after they left the city since the heroes kept attracting everyone’s attention.

“Look! It’s the heroes and the knights!” [Random citizen]

“No way! It’s really them!” [Random citizen]

“I heard the heroes are all S rank and gifted with special powers.” [Random citizen]

“Kyaaa! It’s Ryan Wayer, the strongest hero!” [Random citizen]

“He’s so dreamy in white armor! Sir Ryan!!!” [Random citizen]

“Look besides him! It’s Jayce Alleyne, his right-hand man!” [Random citizen]

“The holy healer Elena Coleaf is there too! And her sword Aria Kayfield as well! So cool!” [Random citizen]

“I heard they’re Sir Ryan’s women. That guy is so lucky to have such cute young ladies. They’ll probably grow up to be even more beautiful.” [Random citizen]

“*Sigh*… I want them as my women.” [Random citizen]

“Who said that?!” [Random citizen]

“How dare you disrespect the heroes!” [Random citizen]

“GET HIM!!!” [Random citizen]

They slowly rode through the streets while the onlookers kept making a fuss.

“Hmm? Who’s that sleepy-looking man? Is he a hero or a knight? And is that a beastman next to him?” [Random citizen]

“Whoa you’re right. She’s got a slave collar around her neck too.” [Random citizen]

The only good thing was that, except for a few comments about a sleepy-looking man and a beastman slave, no one really noticed him and Maya during the commotion since they were all too focused on the heroes.

“I kind of wanted to visit the city…” [Ryner]

Elura had the same structure as Sakael city where the richer districts were placed near the center of the city around the castle. But, from what he saw, not only was the capital bigger, it had more warriors walking about as well who were most likely adventurers. As he remembered his time in Sakael, the faces of his acquaintances popped up in his head: the innkeeper, the prostitute and the royal family.

“Hmm? I wonder if there’s a red-light district here.” [Ryner]

He associated the inns and the castle that he saw with Trish and the royalty from Garroth kingdom, but seeing no red-light district to associate with Lily, he couldn’t help but ask his question out loud.

“The red-light district? Oh my, Master~. Could it be I didn’t satisfy you?” [Maya]

Maya latched onto his words and began to tease him while being a bit surprise. She had practically lost her mind towards the end, but she could still clearly remember everything they did. A normal man would have fallen from exhaustion, yet her master was still looking for some action.

Her comment was heard by those nearby and they all perked up their ears to not miss anything. The girls went “kya!” and the guys went “tch!” secretly as they watched with interest.

“Could you not say anything weird? I’m only wondering out of curiosity.” [Ryner]

“So that you can go visit it later and have fun with the women there?” [Maya]

“No, I won’t.” [Ryner]

“Really~?” [Maya]

“Yes really.” [Ryner]

He wearily answered her while staring at her with lazy eyes. For some reason, he had to explain himself to Maya who was care freely smiling while happily interrogating him like a wife suspicious of her cheating husband. “They’re having a couple’s quarrel!” was heard on the side along with other comments made by the young heroes, but everyone stopped talking when they heard the beastman’s next words.

“Even though we did so much, you still want more?” [Maya]

She blushed and her tail wagged excitedly with her hand on her abdomen as she remembered last night after making that dangerous comment.

“Don’t listen to her people! It was completely normal! We went a few rounds normally and fell asleep!” [Ryner]

“What are you saying, Master~? We must have done it twenty times.” [Maya]

“No we didn’t!” [Ryner]

“Twenty?!” [Random hero]

“You were a total beast~.” [Maya]

“I don’t want to hear that from you!” [Ryner]

“Beast?!” [Random hero]

“You didn’t let me sleep at all~.” [Maya]

“Because you kept asking for more!” [Ryner]

“N-no sleep…!” [Random hero]

“If you set your sight on those poor women, they would probably break, you know~?” [Maya]

“BREAK!?!” [Random hero]

“… You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you…?” [Ryner]

“Bragging about it is actually quite fun~.” [Maya]

Jayce, who was also listening on the side, whistled before turning to Aria who was covering her red face with her hand.

“Wow, it really is like you guys said. Those two are a couple.” [Jayce]

“Well… Yeah…” [Aria]

She glanced at her best friend who was also blushing, but it wasn’t from embarrassment like her. Moreover, Elena was mumbling to herself things like “It wasn’t normal at all, Ryner”, “You were a real beast” and “You’d definitely break them”.

“No, we can’t be so sure. Ryner’s the type of guy that likes putting slave collars on women after all.” [Ryan]

Suddenly, Ryan, who was also told of the story when he returned after his business with the king, spoke up with a suspicious voice. After training with him for a week, he understood that Ryner wasn’t a bad guy, but he wasn’t a good guy either. Since he knew that Aria and Elena had been spying on him for a while, he didn’t think too much and figured that asking them for information was the best course of action.

“Aria, did Ryner force himself on Maya-urk!?” [Ryan]

His thoughtless question got him a scary glare from the embarrassed and ticked off girl which quickly shut him up.

“What the hell are you asking a girl, huuuuh?!” [Aria]

Her threatening voice made the strongest hero sweat bullets and reminded him of her infamous time in middle school as the Little Delinquent.

After an hour and a half of riding as well as a few more commotions during their trip, the group finally made it to their destination. All around them was a vast open plain with nothing but green grass. In that calming scenery, there was one foreign thing that stood out a bit further away in front of them. It was a ten meters tall squared-shape building with grey walls covered in green moss and plants. One side had an entrance that was seven meters tall and six meters long with stairs going deep into the ground.

“So that’s the entrance, huh?” [Ryner]

“Yes, we can enter the ruin from there. Um, since we’re this close, you should-“ [Elena]

When Ryner casually asked, Elena answered him shyly. But, before she could finish her sentence, the ground around them started to shake with a loud rumbling noise, causing the horses to panic. Ryner and Maya were surprised, but everyone else seemed used to it and worked on calming their horses down. After a dozen of seconds, the shaking stopped and Ryner turned to the cool and collected Aria.

“What was that?” [Ryner]

“Earthquake, probably magnitude 5. Every ruin entrance has an earthquake centered on them that spans in a twenty kilometers radius or so. I’ve been told that it happens at least once a day and can go from three times to ten times. That’s why no one builds a city near them even if it’s full of treasure.” [Aria]

“The closest city is actually Elura and it’s where the adventurers make their stop to replenish their supplies before exploring the ruin.” [Elena]

Elena added some extra information while raising her index finger after her best friend was finished speaking. She was trying to be helpful to make up for spying on them… and peeping on them.

“Ohhh, is that so?” [Ryner]

Ryner exclaimed upon hearing their explanations, but he didn’t really look impressed since he was focused on something else. His sleepy eyes didn’t leave the squared-shape building for a second and his mind only thought of Alice’s words. Whatever creatures were there, they were strong enough to kill him.

Sitting in front of her desk, Evelyn was rectifying her notes as she compared the results from past experiments with the latest ones. Hearing light knocks from behind her, she turned around and saw sunlight streaming through the crack between the curtains of the window. A small blue bird that was knocking on the glass with its beak flew off into the sky.

“It’s morning already…” [Evelyn]

Having pulled another all-nighter, she stood up from her chair and rubbed her eyes. Then, she moved towards the window and pulled the curtain away. Bathing in the warm morning light, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As a pure-blooded vampire, this blonde-haired woman had no trouble walking under the sun. As such, unlike popular belief, the day was no threat to her. Instead, it was the weaker half-vampires known as dhampirs that would turn to ash whenever they get hit by sunlight. That is why important positions in this vampire kingdom were held by true vampires who were considered nobility. This way, they could interact with the other races during the day. Furthermore, since dhampirs made up the majority of the population as commoners, the kingdom was nocturnal, only coming to life when the sky became dark and the stars were out.

Evelyn slept during the night and worked during the day… If she actually slept at all. This forced her servants, who were dhampirs, to change their lifestyle to serve her. Since sunlight was deadly to them, all of the windows were covered by thick, black curtains to block it out. Simply working for a noble was dangerous, so she had told them not to push themselves and that she would be fine by herself, but they insisted to be of service to her. After all, she was a well-respected figure revered by everyone for taking down Ryner.

“I wonder how he’s doing.” [Evelyn]

She remembered when she first met him after her parents ran away and abandoned her. She was still just a ten years old child when it happened. With a short stature, long blond hair and red eyes, she was an adorable little girl that would blossom into a beautiful woman. She loved her family dearly because, although her studies to be an aristocratic lady were strict, they were always kind to her. Yet, both of her parents suddenly went and left her behind after finding themselves a new lover. To be forsaken because of love, such a stupid reason had traumatized her so much that once her crying fit subsided, her bright, innocent eyes had turned sharp and she vowed to never love someone like the two irresponsible adults that ditched her as if she was an afterthought. Then, one day, a young dhampir came to her mansion as her new guardian.

“Hi, because of some circumstances, I’ll be in charge of looking after you for a while.” [Ryner]

“You? A dhampir? As if I’d stand for such a disgrace. Leave! I’m fine on my own!” [Little Evelyn]

“(That’s right, I’ll be fine alone. Who needs anyone? Who needs love?!)” [Little Evelyn]

The little girl shouted in a commanding tone with her arms crossed in front of her chest while glaring at him with cold eyes.

“No can do, it’s a request from my friend… and by that I mean my lord.” [Ryner]

But, he easily warded off her demand while using the authority of the one that told him to care for her. That was how he had started living with her much to her displeasure. She didn’t like him at first because he was just a lowly half-vampire, not to mention he had unkempt black hair, a sleepy expression and one of his eyes was white instead of red. Overall, he was a strange man that, no matter how you looked at it, would never be chosen as her new guardian. Besides, she decided that she would make it on her own without relying on anyone. But, although he was sloppy and lazy, she quickly learned to respect him after being taught by him and seeing the depths of his knowledge.

“Focus kid, if you want to live by yourself, then you need to be able to take care of yourself.” [Ryner]

“I am! How do you know all of this?! You’re just a dhampir!” [Little Evelyn]

Literature, mathematics, physics, philosophy, history, geography… Little Evelyn had all sorts of knowledge crammed into her head starting at the young age of ten. Moreover, Ryner was going to teach her martial arts and politics as well. She was amazed by what she was learning since her teacher was smart enough to be a respected scholar, yet she never even heard of him. When she asked him why that was so, his answer baffled her.

“Because it’s way too troublesome. In this life, I want to laze around all day long.” [Ryner]

Apparently he only ran errands for his lord, Daniel Redheart. This dhampir that was used as an errand boy was very intelligent, so she could understand why he was chosen to look after her, the only daughter of the noble house of Ivyblood.

“(If only he did something about that lazy personality, he would be a better person.)” [Little Evelyn]

She thought in her head as she saw him yawn loudly, but she didn’t notice that it was this trait of his that allowed her to relax her guard. Time passed and although she acted cold towards him, she didn’t look down on him anymore.

“Wow, you sure learn fast, kid. It took me years to get all this.” [Ryner]

“That’s only to be expected. I’ve been praised as a prodigy before. Don’t compare me with you.” [Little Evelyn]

“That so? Hopefully you won’t grow a big head.” [Ryner]

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” [Little Evelyn]

“Nothing~.” [Ryner]

“(Kuh! Truly he is a disrespectful dhampir!)” [Evelyn]

Every day, he would infuriate her because of his attitude and they would quarrel, or at least she would angrily yell at him and he would care freely answer back. But, part of her enjoyed these small fights that were completely different from the usual interactions in high society parties that she had attended to. She herself didn’t know it, but Ryner had taken place in her closed-off heart, no matter how small that place was. The little girl that had chosen to live while rejecting everyone had accepted him in just a few weeks.

“… Father…! Mother…! Please…! Wait…!” [Little Evelyn]

One day, Evelyn got another nightmare of being abandoned by her parents. She woke up in her bed while crying and her hand stretched out towards the ceiling, trying to reach people that she knew wouldn’t ever come back. Angrily rubbing her eyes, she clicked her tongue and scolded herself for showing such weakness.

“It’s just a stupid dream. Who needs parents? Who needs love?” [Little Evelyn]

She had moved on already. It didn’t bother her anymore. If her parents chose strangers over their own daughter, then they could go and do whatever they wanted. She didn’t care.

“I’m fine being alone! I’m fine!” [Little Evelyn]

Or so she repeatedly told herself with clenched her fists as she forced herself to smile confidently, but tears were falling down her cheeks again. While she was trying to endure the pain in her chest that her nightmare dragged out, she suddenly thought of the other person living with her in the mansion, not the servants, but her guardian. Before she knew it, Evelyn found herself in front of Ryner’s room.

“(What I am doing?)” [Little Evelyn]

She questioned her actions in her head, but she didn’t go back to her own room and instead opened the door without knocking. Inside, she saw the dhampir sitting cross-legged on top of his bed, meditating instead of sleeping. Noticing her presence, he turned his attention to her.

“What is it kid?” [Ryner]

He asked her while tilting his head, wondering what she wanted. It was the middle of the day and for a nocturnal race, it was a late hour.

“That… That is… Um…” [Little Evelyn]

Seeing his questioning look directed at her, Evelyn wanted to stop herself from talking. Her pride wouldn’t allow her to go through with it. Yet, she didn’t stop. Something was compelling her, telling her that it was fine to do it. As such, with teary eyes and both hands clasping the skirt of her black nightgown, she went and said it.

“… Can I sleep with you?” [Little Evelyn]

The ten years old little girl asked in a meek and uneasy tone of voice, vastly different from her usual prideful nature. She put up a strong front, but she was still a kid that had been cast away by the father and mother that she trusted the most. Now alone, her feet had unconsciously taken her to the one person that she believed she could rely on, even if she didn’t admit it.

She waited for his answer while staring at him uneasily. Her body was unconsciously trembling from fear, a fear that she didn’t understand. It was the fear of being rejected, of being abandoned. Without saying anything, Ryner calmly walked towards her and picked her up in a princess-carry.

“Kya! Wh-what are you doing, you dhampir?!” [Little Evelyn]

Ignoring the blushing kid in his arms, he then went back to the bed and gently laid her on it. He spread the blanket over her and gave her a lap pillow as she looked at him puzzlingly.

“Go ahead and sleep kid. I won’t go anywhere until you wake up.” [Ryner]

Her eyes were wide open when she heard the words that he said so casually. To her whose parents disappeared all of a sudden, it felt as if they had healed the wound in her heart a bit.

“… You really won’t go anywhere?” [Little Evelyn]

“Of course I won’t. Whether you like it or not, I’ll be sticking around until you can take care of yourself.” [Ryner]

He gently patted her head and told her to sleep. She turned away from him as she tried to hide her face because she didn’t want him to see her right now. After all, she was crying, not from sadness like when she was thrown away, but from happiness. Her face was red and warmth returned to her cold expression that slowly melted away as she entrusted herself to him.

“… Evelyn.” [Little Evelyn]

“Mhh?” [Ryner]

“… Stop calling me kid. Call me Evelyn…Please…” [Evelyn]

Before she knew it, she shyly blurted out another demand in a quiet voice while pulling the blanket over her nose. Embarrassed, she peeked at Ryner, watching his reaction. Her guardian only looked at her with his usual sleepy expression, but she could have sworn that, although it was only for an instant, he showed her a small smile before nodding slightly. When she saw that, her heart skipped a beat and her eyes opened wide as she absentmindedly stared at him. It was a gentle and melancholic smile, like the light of the full moon in the night sky.

“Alright then. I’ll call you Evelyn from now on. Now sleep. We’ve got another day of studying ahead of us.” [Ryner]

“… Ok…” [Little Evelyn]

She obediently listened to him and closed her eyes, secretly happy to hear him call her by her name. Since that night, she would smile more often around him which had been a rare sight to see. Her feelings of animosity slowly changed as her cheerful face returned and soon enough, she would fawn on him like a daughter that wanted to be spoiled by her father. She even called him “daddy”, but changed it to “father” as she grew older until she only called him by his name. Her affectionate behavior was completely different from when they first met.

“(Thinking back, that was probably the moment that I fell for him.)” [Evelyn]

But, her feelings for him were more than just familial love. Yet, she never tried to change their relationship because he had once told her that he didn’t plan to get a lover nor have kids when she brought up the topic. Having been next to him for hundreds of years, she could see that for some reason, he was averse to anything related to romance. As such, she never made any progress with him. Even so, she believed that things were fine the way they were since she could be by his side all the time. But, with him gone, she now realized that she wanted more. She realized that she didn’t want Ryner as a father, but Ryner as a man, her man.

“(Really now… I should have just taken my chances.)” [Evelyn]

Evelyn closed the curtains of the window to block out the sunlight and left the room to get breakfast. She still had a lot of work to do, so she needed to replenish her strength.

“I’ll find you no matter what, Ryner. And when I do…” [Evelyn]

That was why, after eating, she planned on going into his room, throwing herself on the bed and smelling the sheets while comforting herself using the clothes he left behind.

“We’ll sleep together every night. And we’ll hug and cuddle and kiss… Enough to make up for the centuries we’ve been apart.” [Evelyn]

The years without her foster father that died by her hands had started to negatively affect her head which could be seen by the evil smile that was on her blushing face. Right now, a certain fantasy was intoxicating her mind. It was a certain fantasy that was born when she had let slip a perfect chance after talking Ryner into participating in a drinking bout with her.

“And we’ll drink together again… And then…” [Evelyn]