Selena's expression turned serious.
A white cloud of magic gathered around her hand.
Then—
"Sexy Jutsu: Reverse Harem Jutsu."
The cloud exploded outward.
And then—
Dozens of Akiras appeared.
Every single one of them was smiling at Erika.
Every single one of them…
Looked exactly like she had seen him in the bath.
Erika's mind went blank.
And before she could even react.
A ball of wind tore through the crowd of Akiras and slammed straight into her.
"—!"
The impact sent her flying across the arena.
She rolled across the ground before finally coming to a stop.
Silence.
For a moment… she didn't move.
Then—
"…Ow…"
Erika slowly pushed herself up.
Still dazed.
Her face was completely red.
And a thin streak of blood ran from her nose.
Whether it was from the attack…
Or something else…
No one could really tell.
She wiped it quickly with her sleeve, then stood up and glared at Selena.
"What the hell was that?!"
Selena was doubled over, laughing uncontrollably.
"Hahaha—! You should've seen your face— Hahaha!"
Erika snapped. "Stop laughing!"
Selena tried to compose herself, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Ahh… that was great…"
Then she added casually,
"Good thing I recorded it. I wonder how my brother will react—"
Erika's expression instantly changed.
"What—NO! Don't show it to him! Otherwise… otherwise…"
She froze for a second, then blurted out,
"I won't talk to you anymore!"
Selena raised her hands slightly, still smiling.
"Alright, alright. I won't show him."
Erika narrowed her eyes.
"…Fine."
Then she crossed her arms.
"But what was that? Why would you do that?!"
Selena tilted her head.
"What? It's the perfect training method."
Erika stared at her.
"…How?"
Selena explained calmly,
"Those were illusions. So it helps you deal with them… And at the same time—"
She smirked slightly.
"—it trains you to stay calm when it comes to my brother. So it's two birds with one stone."
Erika opened her mouth.
"I… you…"
Then stopped.
Because annoyingly…
It actually made sense.
Selena smiled.
"So? Are you continuing?"
Erika let out a long sigh.
"…I will."
Then she pointed at her.
"But next time—don't use that version. If you do… I'm telling Akira about what you are doing."
"Fine." Selena shrugged. "I'll use different versions, with more clothes."
Erika with blushing face looked at her but in the end didn't say anything.
And just like that—
The training continued.
Selena took her position again and raised her hand.
"Get ready for round two, Erika-chan."
Erika took a deep breath.
"Calm down… this is just an illusion… it's not the real Akira…"
Then—
The cloud formed again.
This time—
Only one Akira appeared.
At least… he was properly dressed.
But he moved too fast.
In an instant, he was right in front of her.
Leaning in close.
"Hey, Erika."
Erika froze.
Because it wasn't just visual.
She could feel him.
Hear him.
Even smell him.
This wasn't an illusion—
It felt exactly like the real Akira.
He leaned even closer and spoke softly.
"You're cuter than usual today."
Erika's face turned bright red.
"…Huh?"
Then—
BOOM.
A wind blast hit her directly.
She was sent flying again.
Selena smiled.
"Come on, Erika-chan. You can't even handle a single Akira?"
Erika pushed herself up.
"Wait—! You said this was an illusion!"
Selena shrugged.
"It is."
Erika frowned.
"Then why does it feel real?! That felt exactly like him!"
Selena crossed her arms.
"If you think illusions are just visual… You'll get defeated instantly."
She continued,
"High-level illusions are indistinguishable from reality. Compared to that, what I'm using is actually simple."
She tilted her head.
"So? Shall we continue?"
Erika took a deep breath.
She stood up straight again.
"I'm ready. I'll overcome this."
Selena smiled.
"Good, Now round three."
The smoke gathered—
Then shifted.
Another Akira appeared.
This time—
Dressed as a butler.
Neat.
Elegant.
Refined.
He bowed slightly.
"My lady…"
He extended his hand.
"How may I serve you tonight?"
Erika's brain short-circuited.
"…W-Wha—?!"
She stepped back—
But this time, she forced herself to focus.
Prepared.
Waiting for the attack.
But it didn't come—
From the front.
BOOM.
A wind blast hit her from the side.
She was sent flying again sideways.
Erika pushed herself up, annoyed.
"What was that?! That came from a different direction!"
Selena shrugged.
"I can't repeat the same pattern every time."
She added thoughtfully,
"You almost adapted… Maybe that version wasn't as effective."
Erika hesitated.
"Well… I mean… It worked. But it was also kind of funny, seeing him dressed like that, so…"
Selena nodded.
"Fair enough. No time to waste."
She raised her hands again.
"Round four."
Erika steadied herself.
This time—
She was ready.
The smoke formed again.
But what stepped out…
Wasn't the Akira she knew now but the Akira she used to know.
It was—
A younger version of Akira.
Small, cute, exactly as she remembered.
He walked up to her with a bright smile.
"Big sister… can we play?"
Erika's thoughts completely derailed.
"So cuteeeeee"
BOOM.
She was sent flying again.
"That's so unfair—!" she shouted mid-air.
Selena smiled calmly.
"Life isn't fair, Erika-chan."
And the training continued.
Akira in a prince outfit.
Akira dancing—for some reason.
More child versions.
And—
A dangerously underdressed Akira with just a towel.
Again and again—
Erika failed to react in time.
Then—
More appeared.
One.
Two.
Three.
Dozens.
No—
More.
They surrounded her.
From every direction.
Every angle.
Everywhere she looked—
Akira.
Soft voices echoed all around her.
"…Erika."
"Erika."
"Erika."
"Come here."
"Look at me."
"Don't ignore me."
"Stay with me."
The voices overlapped.
Close.
Everywhere.
Her breathing became uneven.
"…S-Stop…"
BOOM.
She was sent flying again.
This time—
She didn't get up immediately.
She just lay there.
"…I hate this…"
Selena sighed, watching her.
"…Why isn't this working like I thought…"
She muttered to herself,
"Maybe I need more Akiras… and more dangerous dressed versions…"
She clapped her hands once.
"Alright, Erika-chan. Break's over. Next round."
Erika's voice echoed across the arena.
"NOOOOO—!"
And the training continued—
Until morning.
And so—
Morning came.
Inside the castle's medical center, Akira slowly opened his eyes.
He was still inside the DRI scanner.
"…Mm…"
He sat up and stretched lazily.
For some reason—
He had slept unusually well.
Better than usual.
He glanced around, still half-asleep.
"…What time is it…?"
Then—
Selena appeared beside him.
"Oh, morning, brother."
She casually handed him a cup.
"Coffee?"
Akira blinked.
"…Sister? what are you doing here?"
Selena raised an eyebrow.
"Did you forget? You're in the castle."
Akira paused.
"…Oh right. I almost forgot."
He took the coffee and sipped it.
"…What time is it?"
Selena shrugged.
"Around eight."
Akira froze.
"Oh I see… Wait, I slept that long?"
He looked at her.
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
Selena shrugged.
"It's rare for you to sleep that long. So I let you."
Akira frowned.
"It's not that, I need to wake Erika up and make breakfast."
Selena waved it off.
"Don't worry about her. She only fell asleep about two hours ago. I don't think she's waking up anytime soon."
Akira blinked.
"…What was she doing awake until six in the morning?"
Selena answered smoothly.
"Well… after what happened last night… Erika and I had some girl talk. It just… continued until morning."
Akira paused.
He remembered last night—
Then quickly shook his head.
"…What kind of 'girl talk' lasts the entire night?"
Selena turned away slightly.
"It's classified."
She sighed.
"I promised Erika-chan I wouldn't tell you. She said she'd stop talking to me if I did."
Akira narrowed his eyes.
"…Suspicious."
But he let it go.
"…Fine. Then no breakfast today, I guess. I've got work to do anyway."
Selena immediately shut that down.
"No. Erika chan told me to make sure you eat. So you're having breakfast."
"…Do I have to?" Akira sighed. "I need to work on the servant ritual tonight."
"Yes, You do." Selena crossed her arms. "Everything else comes after your morning routine."
She pointed toward the door. "Now go. Get ready, make breakfast, and eat."
Akira looked at her.
"…You're saying that like you're the one cooking."
Selena shrugged.
"You make better food. So go do it."
Akira sighed again.
"…Fine."
He got up—
Took a bath—
Freshened himself up—
And made a light breakfast.
Only after that—
Did Selena finally let him get back to work.
Akira stood in the spell training room in the basement of his mansion.
Not the colosseum where he usually trained—
But a quieter space.
A place for research.
For refining spells.
Today, he was working on perfecting the servant ritual for Erika.
Selena had suggested using the castle's training room instead.
Better facilities.
Better tools.
But Akira had refused.
Saying he is more familiar here and it's not a dangerous spell anyway.
So—
He chose this place.
—
Magic circles covered the table in front of him.
Dozens of them.
Layered.
Incomplete.
Rewritten again and again.
Akira adjusted one of the lines, then paused.
Selena's voice echoed in his mind.
"Why are you working on magic circles? The servant ritual doesn't require any magic circles. What exactly are you planning?"
Akira didn't look up.
Instead, he asked,
"Hey, sis… do you know how vampires increase their numbers?"
Selena replied immediately.
"You mean their peerage? It's simple. They bite someone in their neck during a full moon… Then use their power to turn them into a subordinate vampire."
Akira nodded slightly.
"Yeah. But it's risky. If they're not compatible… they turn into undead… Or worse, zombies."
Selena agreed.
"I know. But the Sendo family doesn't use that method. They create servants instead, not vampires."
Akira continued working as he spoke.
"Yeah… the servants. Humans turned into familiars. Something in between human and vampire. They don't drink blood. But they gain longer lifespans… and enhanced strength."
He paused for a moment.
"I heard Erika's grandfather created that method."
"He did." Selena answered, "He didn't want to turn humans into blood-drinking vampires…Or risk creating monsters."
Akira leaned back slightly.
"I don't really know much about him. What kind of person was he?"
Selena thought for a moment.
"…A strange one. But he is kind."
She continued,
"Despite being a high-ranking vampire… He ran away from Romania to escape the ongoing vampire civil war that had been going on for a while now, without joining any faction. Then came to Japan… Fell in love with a human. And asked our family for protection, for him and his wife"
She added,
"That's why the Sendo family… and the Togi family… work under us."
Akira nodded slowly.
"I see… Then what happened to him?"
Selena paused.
"That's a long story. I'll tell you another time."
Then her tone shifted.
"Now answer me. What are you doing with those magic circles?"
Akira hesitated.
"…Well…"
He glanced at the scattered designs in front of him.
Then said,
"Anyway… about the servants... You know despite their powers they also have some terrifying weakness right?