Chapter 250: Vampire?
Haruto raised an eyebrow. It was just as he had expected—a perfect cycle had been achieved.
Glancing at the time, he decided he could give a bit more essence this round, and there was only enough time for one more session. Any excess life essence could be digested and absorbed by them slowly over the following days.
If they couldn't finish absorbing it by tomorrow, then the day after would do. After all, they had nothing else to do, and who knew when their next treatment would be.
Later, the twin lolis, Marion, and Burent all returned to the Underworld with noticeably swollen bellies.
Xuelan and the others were briefly surprised, thinking the four might be pregnant, but no matter how they thought about it, it was impossible for their bellies to grow so large overnight.
When they learned the truth, the beautiful girls exchanged glances for a long while, only feeling even more eager for the day when it would be their turn for treatment.
During the continuous digestion of the life energy in their bellies, the four who had received Haruto's treatment were recovering their strength and vitality at an astonishingly rapid pace.
By the time they fully absorbed it, they would be almost completely restored, if not entirely.
Strike while the iron is hot.
Originally, Haruto and Ravel had planned to continue the treatment sessions consecutively. At a rate of three or four per night, all fourteen beautiful girls could be treated within four days.
After the initial treatment, once they had recovered some of their strength, the remaining sessions could proceed at a more leisurely pace.
However, the next morning, as Haruto walked into the classroom yawning, a piece of news forced him to put the treatments on hold.
"Tatara, where did you hear about the vampire?"
"Everyone's talking about it. It's been going on for a few days now. I thought you already knew."
In Class 2-A, Haruto fell into deep thought, his yawns forgotten.
Although he hadn't slept all night, he wasn't actually tired. It was just a habitual response, feeling like he should yawn since he hadn't slept.
The status of vampires in this world was peculiar. Though they undeniably existed, there was no concept of a vampire race, nor did anything like a "clan of blood" exist.
They seemed more like extraordinary beings mutated from individuals.
In both the original storylines of High School DxD and The Testament of Sister New Devil, a vampire had appeared, yet there was no introduction to a vampire race in either.
Back then, Haruto hadn't found it strange—if devils existed, vampires were nothing out of the ordinary.
But now, upon careful reflection, he realized how bizarre it truly was.
Searching his memories, Haruto vaguely recalled that in High School DxD, the vampire wasn't a true vampire but the reincarnated fragment of consciousness of the Celtic mythological devil god "Balor."
In The Testament of Sister New Devil, however, the vampire was genuine, with a mother who was a powerful True Ancestor.
If it was the latter, this situation wouldn't be a big problem. That vampire, who could freely switch genders, was quite gentle.
Moreover, with some effort, if they could persuade it to fix its gender as female, that would be even better.
But if it was the former...
Haruto couldn't recall the specific details, but he was certain of one thing: the other was a super cross-dresser with blonde hair.
This was different from Yuuto Kiba. Yuuto's original gender was already ambiguous, and there were even official gender-bent illustrations of him.
So although Haruto was initially shocked, he wasn't unable to accept it.
This individual appeared female on the surface but was actually male - a cross-dressing boy with a penchant for feminine attire.
He was a shut-in with golden hair, quite timid and afraid of strangers. He strongly disliked crowded places, feared talking to others, and adored cute things along with his cardboard box.
More crucially, in the original novel, this adorable boy grew into a tall, handsome man thirty years later, completely shedding any trace of his former cross-dressing attributes.
The moment Haruto recalled this, he couldn't muster any interest at all, only hoping this time it wouldn't be that person...
Even if it were, he would prevent this individual from becoming Rias's servant!
...
Haruto informed Ravel about postponing the treatment, intending to investigate the vampire incident throughout the night.
The three-faction summit was approaching soon. If not resolved early, it would drag on for at least one or two months, by which time it would be too late.
Especially concerning the latter - what if during this period "They" settled on identifying as male, or under the convergence of worldlines ended up being charmed by Toujou Basara? Haruto would have nowhere to cry over it.
Haruto understood more about the latter case.
He quite liked this person and, if possible, wanted to form a soul contract with her.
Their name was Tachibana Nanao, with platinum blonde shoulder-length hair, a half-blood vampire.
Due to the peculiar traits of half-blood vampires, "They" would continuously shift between male and female forms until adulthood when their subconscious would determine their permanent gender.
Their father was unknown, while their mother was a powerful True Ancestor known as the Crimson Lotus True Ancestor.
Of course, Haruto wasn't one hundred percent certain if this world still followed the same rules, but the probability remained high.
So far, although this world had become somewhat chaotic, the main characters hadn't changed much.
The biggest change was Yuuto Kiba, but that was merely another existing worldline.
Haruto immediately sprang into action.
His first thought was Rias, but as a member of the Occult Research Club himself, he had only learned about the vampire matter through Toujou Basara. Likely, Rias and the others wouldn't possess much information either.
Reality matched his expectations. After inquiring through the soul network, he only discovered that the incident had spread among ordinary students, with no additional details.
Recently, the Occult Research Club had been dealing with various matters - from Mio Naruse seeking refuge to Rating Games - so it was normal they hadn't paid attention.
Originally, Rias had planned to investigate, but seeing Haruto taking action, she simply delegated the matter to him.
Aside from the Occult Research Club, the most well-informed group at Kuoh Academy was the student council.
Due to the contract matter, Haruto had been avoiding Sona Sitri since the Rating Game, but this time it seemed unavoidable.
At 3 PM, when classes ended, he headed straight for the student council room.
Knock knock—
"Come in."
Haruto slowly pushed the door open. Only Sona and Tsubaki were in the activity room; the others hadn't arrived yet.
"So it's Lord Haruto. To what do we owe the honor of your visit? You must have some business, I presume."
Sona lifted her eyelids slightly, her glasses glinting with a white light before she returned to reviewing the documents in her hands, her tone neither warm nor cold.
"President, sarcasm doesn't suit your style."
Haruto restrained himself but ultimately couldn't resist muttering the retort.
The already tense atmosphere instantly grew colder. Just as Sona was about to angrily dismiss him, Haruto spoke first: "President Sona, I came here this time to explain the matter of the contract..."
Sona took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in her chest.
She wanted to see what excuses Haruto could possibly come up with.
Clearly, she had been there first, yet Haruto had been spending all his time with Rias, helping her in various ways without even mentioning it, and now he had even signed a contract with her.
Sona hadn't actually planned to force Haruto into a contract; she could have chosen not to sign it, but his evasive attitude made her furious.
The Rating Game had concluded, and he hadn't intervened in the end.
After their duel, Riser was also finished, Ravel had joined their side, and whether the truth about the soul contract remained secret or not no longer mattered much.
So, Haruto began to explain everything that had happened recently in detail, starting from the aftermath of the succubus loli incident.
Fortunately, the student council was aware of the incident involving the succubus loli intruding into Kuoh Academy, so the explanation went smoothly.
"So, that's how it is."
Haruto took the water cup handed to him by Tsubaki, moistened his throat, and said, "It's not that I don't want to sign a contract with you, but it's just not possible."
After understanding the truth about the soul contract, Sona could no longer stay angry.
She was inherently a rational person, and once the misunderstanding was cleared up, she immediately began weighing the pros and cons of the matter.