"I trust you."
Akua Shuzen Ai liked hearing Arthur say that and nodded lightly.
"There's one more thing…"
Her gaze flickered slightly, and a faint flush rose on her pale cheek.
She asked, a little embarrassed, "May I ask — was the tomato juice I drank bought by you outside?"
From her knowledge of the human world, that kind of tomato juice clearly wasn't sold there.
But what if it was?
After all, she hadn't been to the human world for about five years.
When she chatted with Akashiya Moka she'd drunk five glasses of that tomato juice.
To be blunt, she had completely fallen for the taste.
It didn't just satisfy her thirst for blood.
It also brought a kind of spiritual pleasure.
"Tomato juice…" Arthur raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Sorry — that tomato juice was a special blend I made for Mengxiang."
"Oh…"
Akua Shuzen Ai couldn't help feeling disappointed.
Her hopes were dashed.
It looked like it would be almost impossible to taste that tomato juice again.
Unless she came to see Mengxiang often.
In that case, she might be able to enjoy it once more.
The thought had barely formed when Akua Shuzen Ai realized it and felt a wave of shame wash over her — her face went bright red.
Arthur: "???"
Seeing Akua Shuzen Ai go from disappointed to suddenly flushed and embarrassed made Arthur narrow his eyes; a flicker of curiosity crossed his face.
What was she thinking?
He had no intention of probing further.
Arthur watched her with a faintly curious expression and asked, "When you go back, how do you plan to deal with the Fujisaki Miyabi Ya problem?"
"Fujisaki Miyabi Ya…"
Akua Shuzen Ai, still flushed, was taken aback for a moment when she heard the name. She looked at Arthur, fell silent, and then said, "First I'll find out what he wants Mengxiang for. If I can't make him give up, I'll find a way to kill him."
There's an old saying: if you can't solve the problem, take care of the person causing it.
"Kill him…"
Arthur couldn't help the faint curl at the corner of his mouth. "You're no match for him, and you can't kill him."
"Why?" Akua Shuzen Ai's willow brows contracted.
She admitted she wasn't Arthur's equal.
But it wasn't because she was weak.
Among the monsters of the Demon Realm she was one of the rarer strong ones.
She also had the Crumbling Moon Dimensional Blade.
Although Arthur's ability suppressed it and she couldn't use it now, once unleashed the blade's lethality was terrifying.
After all, it was one of the signature techniques of one of the three Lords of the Underworld, Dongfang Bubai — a weapon that kills by manipulating space. It had been called "the strongest blade."
As a fellow officer of the Fairy Tale, even if Fujisaki Miyabi Ya was hiding something, she didn't think she couldn't kill him.
Arthur smiled faintly: "It's simple. He's very powerful — possibly not weaker than me. Across the entire Demon Realm there's only one person who can duel him one-on-one."
Even if Fujisaki Miyabi Ya's clone perhaps had only half the strength of the original, it could still almost mortally wound Dongfang Bubai with a single strike. That was because this clone actually possessed all the intelligence, memories, and personality of the original, 'Alucard.' The sealed original, by contrast, lacked those intelligent memories and personality.
"How do you know? Who is that person you're talking about?" Akua Shuzen Ai frowned slightly, skeptical of Arthur's words.
"You don't need to concern yourself with that." Arthur had no desire to explain.
Akua Shuzen Ai: "..."
After a moment of silence, her eyes flickered and she suddenly asked, "What do you want to do?"
She didn't think Arthur had told her those things just for conversation.
Arthur hooked the corner of his mouth. Locking eyes with Akua Shuzen Ai, with a hint of seduction he said, "Do you want to become a True Ancestor?"
"!!!"
Akua Shuzen Ai's pupils shrank; she sprang up from the sofa, her blood-red eyes wide open. She was stunned and incredulous.
Seeing her shocked expression made the curve at the corner of Arthur's mouth even more pronounced. He'd just realized something — it seemed Akua Shuzen Ai had wanted to become a True Ancestor since childhood. To obtain the power of a True Ancestor, she had even once thought of killing Mengxiang's mother, Akasha Bloodriver.
Akua Shuzen Ai stared straight at Arthur, forcing the tide of emotion in her chest down and asked suspiciously, "You can make me a True Ancestor?"
"It's possible."
Arthur only smiled faintly and gave a vague reply.
"..."
At that answer Akua Shuzen Ai's eyes dimmed with a complicated light. Arthur said no more.
After a while of silence, Akua Shuzen Ai spoke up, "What would I have to give?"
Seeing that the bait he'd cast was being tentatively nibbled at, Arthur, the old angler, broke into a pleased smile. "It's simple — just become mine."
"What… impossible!" Hearing that price, Akua Shuzen Ai's expression changed; without hesitation she rejected it.
Arthur smiled casually: "Don't be so absolute. You should know the value of the power I'm offering — the True Ancestor's power is said to be almost godlike. In the history of the Demon Realm there have only ever been two True Ancestors. If you want to become a True Ancestor, unless you become mine, you can't afford the cost of obtaining that power."
There had only been two True Ancestors because Akashiya Moka only counted as half. She had inherited the True Ancestor's power, but it hadn't awakened yet. Only once the True Ancestor power awakens can one be qualified to be called a True Ancestor.
"..."
Hearing Arthur speak like a devil whispering in her ear, Akua Shuzen Ai's expression shifted; her heart churned uneasily. She admitted Arthur was not wrong. This was the vampire True Ancestor's power — near-divine. It wasn't some roadside bargain.
She very much wanted to become a True Ancestor. But the price of becoming Arthur's — that made her resist. Not because she despised Arthur, but simply because she didn't want to trade herself for it, whoever the buyer might be.
"How about this." Arthur spoke again: "I'll give you a few days to think. This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity — whether you grasp it is up to you. Some chances, once missed, are truly gone."
Akua Shuzen Ai fell silent for a moment, looked at Arthur and suddenly asked, "Why are you doing this? There should be restrictions on the method that can make a vampire a True Ancestor. Why won't you give it to Mengxiang?"
"Not Mengxiang, but me?" At her question a contemplative glint flashed through Arthur's eyes. It seemed Akua Shuzen Ai had misunderstood. She didn't know that Akashiya Moka had inherited the True Ancestor's power. She also assumed that the method to make a vampire a True Ancestor must have limitations and costs and couldn't be used freely.
Having understood that, Arthur naturally didn't correct her. He smiled at her and said, "Whether the method to make you a True Ancestor has restrictions or costs — you don't need to worry about that now. You don't need to worry about Mengxiang — I have my own arrangements. As for why I chose you, you can understand it simply as: I like you, so I'm giving you the chance."
Arthur didn't hide his thoughts. He genuinely liked Akua Shuzen Ai. Though she was plain and unremarkable, he believed in his kneading skills — he could slowly work two lumps of dough into a bigger one. And small things were cute too.
...