Within two days of that announcement by Edward, a small ceremony of sorts was held, and Vanitas was officially appointed as the fifth Lieutenant of the Demon Extermination Corps.
Things got hectic after that.
After the small ceremony ended, he got to meet all the seven captains and two of the other Lieutenants as well, which he had already met. One was the purple-haired girl (calling her woman seems more fitting though) that had saved him during the fight against Elvis. Apparently, her name was Melfina. And the other of course was the one that he fought with that earned him the position of a Lieutenant - Elvis.
Since Elvis was hostile to him even before the two of them met and he had thought that he will become even more hostile to Vanitas after he defeated him but to his surprise, he actually came and apologized for his rash behavior and uncontrolled use of his demonic powers against the rules. He even clarified his reason for proposing a duel with him in the first place. It was because Edward, the General, had said that, Vanitas, who was a newcomer, was more powerful than the current Lieutenants and even almost as powerful or more powerful than the General. Elvis wasn't able to accept the Generals' words so he had set out to find out whether it was true or not and thus he proposed a duel with Vanitas.
After losing to Vanitas, he appeared apologetic and more humble and determined to hone his skills even more. Although unexpected, that change was welcome news for everyone including Vanitas. Though Vanitas found it somewhat uncomfortable, seeing a gentle expression on such a fierce and stiff, battle-hardened face laden with scars.
With the ceremony over, he had gone to take a breather at one of the open parks outside the living quarters but alas, he wasn't provided with such an opportunity.
Right as he settled down on the empty wooden bench, people started swarming him and asking all sorts of questions.
They asked him questions ranging from his name, address, how he had become so powerful, and did he have someone he loved. As anyone can easily guess, the questions related to his skills mostly came from boys while the queries regarding his love life came from girls. Although he did say that he didn't have anyone of such sorts, he did feel a pang in his heart. Why? He wondered. He felt as if there was someone but couldn't seem to recall who. However, the constant barrage of questions didn't let him dive deep into that matter.
As he was completely overwhelmed by the constant pestering, he internally prayed for all this to stop while he did his best to appear friendly on the outside with a forced smile. Fortunately for him, the Gods (or maybe demons in his case) heard his prayers.
"Hey, stop pestering Vanitas. Can't you see how bothered he is with this? He is still new and hasn't completely adapted to this new environment. Give him some time to settle down before you go around asking him questions. Got it?"
After the short rebuke from Melfina, which felt as if it was a mother scolding her children in a gentle and firm way, they all backed away with a sorry, and finally, Vanitas heaved a sigh of relief.
With her job done, Melfina was about to walk away. Before she did, however, Vanitas thanked her and Melfina responded with a smile and a wave of her hand.
Vanitas had settled here thinking he will be able to get some alone time for himself along with a breath of fresh air, but after what happened just now, he decided he shouldn't stay here any longer and instead should retreat to his room.
He got up and walked slowly towards the towering building ahead.
On the way, he was joined by the girl with red eyes and short black hair - Dominique.
For a few steps, they just continued to walk side by side without saying anything.
Eventually, Dominique broke the silence.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you."
Not wanting the conversation to die at that moment as it would make the air awkward, Dominique followed up.
"You were pretty strong, you know."
"Ah, yes." That was what Vanitas responded with as he didn't know how to respond when someone said that he was strong or praised him in any way.
"I knew that you were strong when I saw you in that fight against the two minotaur lords but I didn't think you were this strong. I was completely blown away."
Vanitas looked at the girl who he thought was expressionless before. But now, that notion had changed. Dominique had a stiff facial expression and a determined gaze burned in her red eyes fiercely.
"Not to mention, your swordsmanship was beyond amazing. I haven't seen such elegance ever before." She looked out towards the large defensive wall from the hall of the second floor as if reminiscing the exquisite swordsmanship she had witnessed.
"I was envious, to be honest." For the first time, Vanitas caught a glimpse of something resembling a smile on her face. However, that smile vanished almost instantly so he wasn't sure whether it was real or just a trick of his eyes though he was sure of one thing - that smile suited her.
The determined gaze flickered back into her eyes as she turned her head to look at Vanitas.
"Umm..." She looked hesitant to speak her mind so with a "Go on.", Vanitas encouraged her to say whatever she had in her mind without holding back.
"C-Can I ask you to teach me swordsmanship?"
With how she was struggling before she opened her mouth, Vanitas had expected that she had something more pressing and more uncomfortable for her to put into words easily. But, it was not as big as she made it out to be thus he was a bit taken aback which resulted in his momentary silence.
Taking his silence as his unwillingness to consider her offer, Dominique proceeded to immediately apologize.
"S-Sorry. Of course, you wouldn't! You are a Lieutenant and you have more pressing matters to handle. You surely wouldn't have time for the likes of me. Right sor-"
Before she could go any further, Vanitas interjected. "No, that's not it!"
Dominique looked surprised, "That's not it?"
"It wasn't as if I am against what you said. I was just surprised a bit. That's all." That seemed to calm her down a bit after which Vanitas continued. "Of course. I will be more than happy to teach you whatever that I know."
"Really?" Dominique asked, to make sure that she was not just hearing things.
"Yeah." Vanitas nodded readily.
It was Dominique and Eleanor who had rescued him from the forest. He was thankful to them and hadn't yet repaid them for their kindness. So teaching Dominique whatever he knew was a great way to just do that.
"Thank you so much." Dominique showed a genuinely happy expression on her face along with relief.
"So you use a sword as well, then?" Vanitas asked her as they resumed walking.
"Yes."
Dominique pressed her hands in the middle of her chest and then brought out a long sword.
"Wow," Vanitas muttered.
She handed the sword to Vanitas.
Vanitas carefully held it in his hands and looked at it.
It was magnificent.
The sword was long and curved with a nice and sharp edge. The V intersection in the sword was unique. However, what stood out the most about the sword was its color. The sword was red. Not just the blade or the hilt or the rivet - everything and every nook and corner and the edge of the sword were red. As if the whole sword was made out of the blood.
Blood.
That word stuck in his mind.
He returned the sword back to Dominque.
"It's a unique sword and I could feel it was no ordinary one."
"Ah, yes. I get that a lot. Especially the unique and weird part." The sword disappeared back into her chest.
"This here is my room." She stopped and pointed at the room just beside the stair on the third floor.
She held the handle of the door to her room.
Vanitas stood there, looking at the girl and contemplating inside his mind.
The question that had popped up in his mind when he met Dominique for the first time (well technically it was the second time but it was the first time he had properly met her face to face). He had felt something off about her. She felt inhuman to him. Then, 'blood'. Inhuman and blood - when he connected these two a certain being came to his mind. He wondered whether he should ask her about it or not. It could well be a sensitive topic for her but he really was curious.
"Hmm, is something the matter?" Dominique asked. That pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Oh, nothing. Good night."
"Oh, okay. Good night."
Dominique went inside her room and Vanitas climbed the stairs towards his room.
In the end, Vanitas decided not to ask her about it yet. There will be more opportunities in the future after all.