"Phaga's about to wake up. Could you switch to another vehicle? There are some things I need to discuss with him."
"Uh… but the vehicles behind us are packed. And everyone's moving—sudden braking could cause a chain reaction. We just finished a brutal fight, too. We're exhausted."
"This is two hundred grams of gold. Please."
A long convoy was rolling along the asphalt road back toward the Outer Ring.
At the very front was an ambulance. Inside, a bed had been set up, carrying Phaga, who had overexerted himself, and Ellen, who had lost a large amount of blood.
Bent slightly over the bed stood a beautiful, mature woman. She placed her gentle palm against the ice encasing them. The solid ice slowly melted, turning into a shallow pool of water that soaked into Phaga's and Ellen's clothes.
Moments later, the warmth radiating from her hand caused the moisture to steam away as well.
When the woman noticed Phaga's brow twitch faintly, she knew he was about to wake. In a soft voice, she asked his teammates to move to another vehicle for the remainder of the trip.
At first, Harumasa wasn't thrilled. After everything they'd been through, all he wanted was sleep.
But the moment the woman removed her necklace and offered it as payment, Nicole's eyes lit up—brighter than gold itself.
In the blink of an eye, the golden necklace vanished into Nicole's pocket.
Then, right in front of everyone, she grabbed Nekomata with one hand and shoved Harumasa forward with the other, smiling brightly as she said,
"Oh come on, everyone. She must have her reasons. We should be understanding, right?"
"B-But…" Harumasa protested weakly as he was pushed along, glancing back over his shoulder.
More precisely, he was staring at the glittering gold still peeking out of Nicole's pocket.
"Stop looking. Worst case, I'll treat you to some mackerel!"
Nicole kicked open the ambulance's rear door and gave Harumasa a firm pat on the back.
Harumasa sighed, shot her a helpless look, and made one final attempt to negotiate.
"Fine. Just remember—schedule the treat during working hours, send it as a commission through HAND, and avoid the Deputy Section Chief."
Nicole blinked and gave him an OK sign.
"No problem!"
Harumasa shook his head, then leapt up onto the roof of the truck behind them.
Soon after, Nicole and Nekomata followed, finding Harumasa sprawled awkwardly—his lower body on the roof, his upper body pressed against the passenger-side window.
"Hey, boy, open the door a bit. Make some room."
...
"Little Black-White, you don't need to get out. Just help me close the door."
The woman noticed the Black-White Doll preparing to leave as well and called out to stop it, asking it to close the ambulance door instead.
The Doll clenched its teeth in frustration. After slamming the door shut, it spun around and complained angrily:
[Hey! Don't just call me Little Black-White! Call me Lord, Black-White Doll—'Lord' is part of my name!]
"Is that so?" the woman replied gently. "But Little Corin told me that Phaga and Ellen usually call you that. I thought 'Little Black-White' would make you happy. Since that's not the case, I'll call you 'Lord Black-White Doll' instead, to show my respect."
She smiled warmly and inclined her head in apology.
[That's more like it! Let me tell you, Lord Black-White Doll, is very strong! Once we're inside a Hollow, I'll be the one protecting you!]
Seeing her take such a deferential attitude, the Doll felt an unfamiliar sense of being cherished. It planted its hands on its hips, chest out, grin climbing so high it practically rivaled the sun.
But then, the last scraps of its rationality caught onto a few words—
Little Corin!
A sense of dread washed over it.
[Y-You… you know Little Corin?]
"Of course."
The woman smiled.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Meilin. I'm the one behind Victoria Housekeeping. In a sense, whether it's Phaga, Ellen, or Little Corin, they're all my children."
"Oh—Phaga's about to wake up. From what you said earlier, you seem rather dissatisfied with how Phaga addresses you. Don't worry. I'll talk to him and have him call you—"
Before she could finish, Mrs. Meilin felt Phaga's fingers twitch slightly. He was moments away from waking.
But the Doll, upon hearing the second half of her sentence, broke out in a cold sweat. It dove straight into Mrs. Meilin's arms, burying its head in her ample bosom and shouting:
[Mom! You're my real mom! I belong to Victoria Housekeeping too—so that means I'm your child as well!]
[Please, call me Little Black-White! I suddenly think that name sounds amazing—I really love it!]
At that moment, Phaga slowly opened his eyes. He glanced sideways at the noisy Black-White Doll, clicked his tongue, sat up, and grabbed it by its toy head.
[Please, I really—ahhh, that hurts! Let go! Let go of me, you stinky vampire!]
With its head firmly seized, a wave of sharp pain made the Doll scream.
It wailed pitifully before being tossed aside by Phaga.
"So loud… You're—Mrs. Meilin? What are you doing here?"
Only after flinging the Doll away did Phaga notice someone else in the ambulance.
Looking closely, he realized it was Mrs. Meilin—someone who should have been far away in the Outer Ring.
Startled, Phaga immediately tried to get out of bed.
Mrs. Meilin quickly pressed him back down with a gentle hand and said softly,
"No need. Just sit like this."
Phaga nodded silently and sat at the edge of the bed.
Looking down, he saw Ellen lying beside him—her soft, delicate face peaceful and lovely. Smiling, he reached out and lightly pinched her cheek.
Even in her unconscious state, Ellen frowned instinctively, her lips puffing up as if resisting his touch—or perhaps half-inviting it.
Seeing this, Mrs. Meilin smiled with quiet satisfaction and scolded him fondly,
"You really are something. Let her rest a bit longer. To restore your strength, she lost a lot of blood."
"Heh heh."
Phaga gave a sheepish smile, then held Ellen's hand tightly and asked,
"So, Mrs. Meilin… you—"
"Your signal was jammed. You needed reinforcements," Mrs. Meilin said calmly. "I was those reinforcements—and I brought more than ten thousand mixed-blood vampire soldiers with me."
"What?"
For a brief moment, Phaga wondered if he'd misheard something wildly out of place.
He rubbed his temples and asked again,
"Um… sorry, Mrs. Meilin. Did you just say you brought over ten thousand mixed-blood vampire soldiers…?"
"You heard correctly."
Mrs. Meilin answered without hesitation, her tone serious and open.
"I am a mixed-blood vampire. Within vampire society, I am responsible for educating young mixed-blood vampires."
"At the same time, I am the one in charge of executing the [Symbiosis Program] under the [Vampire Civilization Continuation Project]."