With that, Black gave a faint smile as dark crimson flames ignited across his entire body.
Miyabi frowned and swung her blade without hesitation, unwilling to believe it.
The result was like a breeze passing through red clouds. The instant the blade's light touched the dark crimson flames, it slipped straight through, and Black's entire body dispersed like mist.
"Fast runner."
Miyabi returned her blade to its sheath, her expression as calm as ever.
"Haaah~~ So does that mean today's work is finally done? I really don't want to do overtime anymore! Tsukishiro… Tsukishiro? What are you doing?"
Already dead tired, Harumasa yawned nonstop. If he had the choice, he'd have happily lain down on the spot and gone straight to sleep.
But with Yanagi—officially the "Deputy Chief," but in practice the real Chief—still silent, Harumasa wouldn't dare slip away no matter how brave he was. Otherwise, his next leave request definitely wouldn't get approved.
So Harumasa turned to ask Yanagi. He called out once, got no response, and only then noticed that Yanagi was standing there absentmindedly, clearly lost in thought. With no other choice, Harumasa raised his voice.
"Hm? Oh—sorry. I was distracted for a moment."
Yanagi adjusted her glasses and, suppressing her fatigue, said, "In that case, tonight's operation is officially over. That's it for today, everyone. Clock out and find somewhere to rest."
Ellen tilted her head, looking a little puzzled.
"But didn't things get pretty intense over in Blazewood just now? Is there even anywhere left for us to stay?"
"Uh… buildings are probably out of the question. But it's fine, we still have tents. Supplies are tight, though—looks like each family will have to squeeze into one," Harumasa said casually, shooting Phaga a wink.
Before Phaga could react, Ellen suddenly perked up—then her legs went limp, and she collapsed straight into Phaga's arms. She buried her face against his chest, making sure no one could see the guilt on her face.
Phaga instinctively wrapped an arm around her, hearing her muffled muttering against his chest.
"Phaga~ I'm so sleepy. I really want to sleep."
Phaga's mouth twitched.
"You looked full of energy just a second ago."
"Well, she's a shark-thiren. One moment she's wide awake, the next she's out cold. Totally normal."
Nicole, ever perceptive, could clearly see what Ellen was really up to.
She circled around behind Phaga and gave his back a push.
"Alright, Phaga, take Ellen back to sleep already. Who knows what tomorrow might bring!"
"Fine, fine… but why does it feel like you're more eager than I am?" Phaga muttered to himself.
He hooked an arm under Ellen's legs and lifted her into his arms, then slowly headed toward the military encampment near Blazewood.
What he didn't notice was that, at some point, Ellen's tail had quietly wrapped around his back. Half of her tail fin curled slightly, while the other half remained upright—looking very much like she was giving Nicole a thumbs-up.
Nicole kept a straight face, calling for Nekomata, Soukaku, Yanagi, and Miyabi to follow her, while also telling Billy to share a tent with Harumasa.
Miyabi hesitated for a moment. Deciding that Nicole probably didn't have the nerve to trick her out of her blade right now, she went along with Soukaku.
Partway there, she suddenly noticed that Yanagi had stopped walking.
Miyabi turned back, her brows knitting slightly.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, Chief. You should all head back and sleep. I just received a notice about another meeting I need to attend."
Yanagi put on a strained smile and slipped her still-glowing phone back into her pocket right in front of Miyabi.
"What?!"
Miyabi's voice shot up, her ears snapping upright as if she'd been shocked. She immediately pulled out her phone to check.
A few seconds later, seeing no such notification, she let out a visible sigh of relief. Even her ears relaxed, and her tone returned to normal.
"Good. I didn't get any notice. No need to start the 'sleep first, then play dumb and apologize tomorrow' training."
Yanagi smiled.
"Even if you didn't go, Chief, there'd be no need to apologize. Honestly, anyone who schedules meetings in the middle of the night has something wrong with their head."
"Well then, Chief, I'll be heading out. Get some rest."
Miyabi gave a small nod, her calm voice carrying a subtle trace of emotion.
"Mm. You should come back early too."
...
On the outskirts of Blazewood, a massive tent glowed brightly with lamplight.
Yet within that vast space, only four lonely figures were hunched over their desks, flipping through endless documents and sighing repeatedly.
"Achoo!"
Suddenly, a girl with side-swept bangs sneezed, her body shuddering uncontrollably.
"Lucy!"
Startled by the sudden noise beside her, the green-haired maid with twin ponytails looked worried. She reluctantly pulled her gaze away from the paperwork, grabbed Lucy by the shoulders, and pressed a soft hand to Lucy's forehead.
Frowning with concern, she placed her other hand against her own forehead, comparing their temperatures as she murmured to herself.
"Lucy, you were out in the cold wind for a long time today, and you haven't rested at all. You might be running a fever. How about taking a break?"
"Corin…"
Lucy stared blankly at Corin, still holding her hand tightly, at a complete loss for words.
At this point, the other two people in the tent couldn't stand it anymore.
On the far side of the desk, Mrs. Meilin clicked her tongue in jealousy and sighed dramatically.
"Ah, figures. People the same age always have more to talk about. Here I am, a woman nearing fifty, working even harder than before—and not even getting a young girl's concern. Truly, being mature is a mistake."
As she spoke, Mrs. Meilin cupped her face and studied her reflection, dissatisfied no matter how she looked. A hint of melancholy creased her brows, completely unaware that years of careful upkeep had left her skin as smooth as a woman in her twenties.
Though she no longer had the boundless vitality of eighteen, that youthful complexion combined with decades of accumulated charm made her resemble a perfectly ripe peach, rich with its own allure.
"Uh…"
At Mrs. Meilin's comment, Corin's face flushed instantly, steam practically rising from her head.
Flustered, she immediately let go of Lucy's hand, fumbling in place.
"S-sorry! I-I'll go pour everyone some coffee right now!"
With that, Corin turned and bolted out of the tent. The black-and-white doll perched on the table hurriedly called out for her to be careful—but she still slammed straight into Yanagi, who had just pulled open the tent flap.
"Ow! I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! I need to get the coffee right now—I'll apologize properly later!"
Rubbing her aching forehead, Corin bowed repeatedly to Yanagi before darting off again like a gust of wind.
"What was that about?"
Yanagi glanced after Corin, then stepped into the tent.
"Why was that kid in such a hurry?"
[Hehe, she got tricked just a bit by our lovely, cheerful mama and ran off to make coffee for everyone.]
The black-and-white doll giggled, wiggling its fingers. In an instant, two water serpents pulled out a chair for Yanagi.
"I see. Thank you."
Yanagi nodded and took her seat.
The doll then turned to Lucy, who was still staring blankly at the hand Corin had just been holding.
[Still spacing out? We're about to start the meeting.]
[And you too, No. 11—don't act like nothing's going on outside! Get up and join the meeting!]
"Huh? Ah! Oh—okay."
Startled out of her thoughts by the doll, No. 11 responded in a daze, clearly still not fully focused.
Seeing this, Mrs. Meilin shook her head with a smile and stood up. Her full figure pushed the chair back, scraping loudly across the floor.
"Since Miss Overlord and the military representative No. 11 haven't taken charge yet, then this meeting will be presided over by me—the representative of the half-blood vampires."
"First, we need to identify our common enemy: the Predator Civilization, led primarily by pureblood vampires."
"Second, we must express our gratitude for the tremendous sacrifices made by the Outer Ring, who are willing to stake everything and stand with us against the enemy."