{SHOYA SASAKI'S POV:}
[And that was her story...]
Erebus said, after releasing us from his Shadow Illusion spell.
Honestly, that was not how I expected everything to play out. I never expected Ms Frister to have had such an eventful yet sad life.
I looked over at Ms Frister, she seemed to have become rigid as her face became red. She gritted her teeth and glared at Erebus.
"Master...! You're always doing unnecessary things!"
Ms Frister tried to hit Erebus but the point of impact turned into black smoke and reformed.
He had an annoying solace smile on his face.
"There's something I don't understand though, Ms Frister."
"What?!"
Ms Frister shrieked.
I guess she thinks that I'm going to negatively comment on her life.
"Uhh... I just want to know your relationship with Nyx."
"Huh?"
"I mean, you acted like you and her were enemies. That wasn't explained during the Shadow Illusion, so I just got curious."
"Noisy kid."
She spat.
Not like you're the one to talk.
"We had a falling out after I swapped my mana arts for my Puppet Mastery. I also hate her since she's the one who got Erebus sealed as an Armament."
I guess that makes sense.
I want to ask more about how he got sealed as a weapon but, honestly, I'm too scared.
"Well, Ms Frister, if that's all, then I'll be going--"
"Wait."
She said as I was about to put Erebus back in my shadow.
I saw the sad look in her eyes.
"Is there some way for you to leave me with Erebus?"
"You want to catch up with him, don't you?"
The teacher nodded.
That's something I can't answer. I don't know if I can stay away from Erebus.
[Sorry, but if I'm with you all night, your student won't be able to attend your Summoning Arts class tomorrow due to mana exhaustion.]
He said.
"Yeah..."
She whispered.
I kind of want to let her after seeing her story. Maybe I should. Tomorrow, I do have Magic Theory and I don't want to attend that lesson so...
"You can catch up with him."
"Huh?"
[Oi, Shoya, but you'll--]
"It's fine, it's fine, I'll be fine."
I told them.
Erebus gave me a skeptical look while Ms Frister smiled.
---
The next day, I woke up, extremely exhausted. I couldn't even move a muscle.
It is to be expected from letting Erebus manifest in the real world for an extended period.
Mana exhaustion is a hassle to deal with. I don't feel like doing anything... That was the whole point, but...
"You're awake?"
I heard a familiar voice.
When I got up from my bed, I saw the school nurse in front of me, Ayaka.
"Ayaka? What're you doing in my room?"
"Your room? This is the nurse's office."
She said.
I looked around.
It was. I don't remember coming here, meaning that someone brought me here. I'm guessing it was Ms Frister.
"What's the time?"
I asked her.
"It's 10:02 am."
Meaning that it's the second period.
"You shouldn't try to move until your mana recovers. I heard you went on a mission yesterday. Still, it's strange that your mana was drained to such an extent."
Ayaka said, looking at a clipboard in her hand.
I laughed it off.
For some reason, when I look at Ayaka, I now think of Celestia. Perhaps it's her red eyes. Though, Celestia looks more similar to Akane.
"Hey, Ayaka..."
"Hm? Yeah?"
I don't know what I'm doing but now that I've seen Ms Frister's past, a lot of things are going through my mind right now.
"Are you a... uh..."
I couldn't manage to form the words.
"What?"
"Are you a vampire?"
Ayaka had turned away to put her clipboard on her desk but then she froze.
Maybe I shouldn't have asked. I mean, it is a rude question.
"Ah, that was a dumb question. Sorry for asking. I mean, there can't possibly be vampires here, right? They should've gone extinct during the start of the Modern era."
I looked over at her.
She's mad... I think. For someone as friendly as Ayaka, this is a sign of an incoming storm.
I braced myself.
"You know..."
The nurse started.
"I've been living in this world for over a thousand years and you're the second one to ask me that."
She turned her head and smiled.
It didn't seem like a happy smile but a smile of sorrow.
Ayaka grabbed a chair and placed it in front of my bed. She sat in it and looked at me with her palm on her chin.
I was nervous.
I now felt a slightly menacing aura surrounding her. To confirm my fear, I asked her,
"What happened to the first guy who asked you that?"
"I married him and we lived happily ever after."
That's... a good ending.
"Wait, but do the school or anyone else know that you're a vampire?"
"Of course not. If there was, there would be world powers attempting to use me as a test subject."
"Just because you're the only vampire left?"
She nodded.
"I'm the fourth vampire progenitor, meaning that I'm a Pureblood vampire. As soon as a vampire progenitor dies, a next one is born."
"Why are you telling me this?"
I asked, curious about her sudden change in attitude.
"Well, mostly because I plan to marry you next."
After she spoke, there was an awkward silence hanging in the air.
I'm not even going to ask if she truly means that because her face is telling me all I need to know.
"Eh, but I have two girlfriends so..."
"But you still haven't made an Oath with them yet, right? Plus, you can always have more."
Oath? How does she know--?
Actually, I remember. She seemed to know that I was the Black Emperor when I went to go meet Weissmann after I woke up from meeting Yumeko.
This woman couldn't be more filled with surprises.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Tch. Who could that be? Ruining my chance."
Ayaka pouted.
"Come in!"
She told them.
The door slid open, revealing a woman with blonde hair and silver eyes.
"Hey, Ayaka."
"Ah, Principal Kamish. I, uh, wasn't expecting you."
The nurse said, slightly nervous.
"Yeah, I came down unannounced."
She smiled before peering over at me.
"If you don't mind, Ayaka, I'd like to have a word with Shoya Sasaki. There's something we need to talk about."
Ugh... Why do I have a bad feeling about this?