"Beloved, why were you in Lucia's room?"
Despite Keran's calm and friendly tone, everyone knew that she was suppressing a great deal of murderous intent.
Subconsciously, everyone other than Indra took a step back from the possible rampaging werewolf.
Indra however was not afraid in the slightest and even found this situation to be rather amusing.
"We slept together, isn't that obvious?"
Not only the hall, it felt like the entire inn had gone silent from Indra's sudden remark.
'Indra... why are you teasing her?' Enyo asked.
'Not sure... I suppose I want to see what she'll do.'
Behind Keran, Vermeil looked to be absolutely crestfallen.
'I-Is it because she's got those massive tits?! O-Or does he only like monster girls?!'
The human girl felt like the fantasy she'd been harboring since puberty about having a vampire boyfriend was all going up in smoke right in front of her very eyes.
Lucia however had a face as red as a tomato and quickly tried to end this unnecessarily bad joke.
"P-Princess, I can assure you t-that I would never betray you in that manner! E-even if I do find Indra extremely attractive, I have too much respect for-"
"I didn't know you found me attractive." Indra suddenly said.
"S-shut up! That's not important! I'm trying to clear up this stupid misunderstanding!"
The lamia's face seemed to be getting redder by the minute and she looked to be on the verge of fainting.
Against all expectations, Keran's face suddenly softened and she lost her intense aura. "I know you didn't sleep together, Lucia."
"R-Really? How?"
Keran briefly glanced at Indra's hands, pants, and lips.
"If you had, the chances of you having the energy to have this conversation are almost null." She replied without elaborating but everyone in the hall naturally knew what she meant.
And if they didn't, the extremely fond and hazy look in her eyes was most certainly enough to give her away.
A chill ran down Indra's spine when he felt the women's gazes around him suddenly increase in intensity.
Even within his ring, Enyo had begun having some very lewd fantasies that were naturally very easy to read.
'Be patient, Enyo...'
'…I'm trying...' She responded shyly.
After last night, they naturally both wanted to take things further but ultimately decided that they wanted to enjoy such a moment somewhere more special and when they weren't so pressed for time.
Indra finally shook his head to dissuade himself from changing his mind. "Enough playing around, girls. I'm sure you're all aware of what's waiting for us outside."
Unsurprisingly, all of the girls nodded with serious expressions.
Well except for Vermeil who, unsurprisingly had not noticed anything out of the ordinary.
"What's outside?"
-
"There he is!"
"It's him!"
"The vampires have returned!"
After Keran's bold declaration at the gate, the guards immediately got to talking.
The conversation spread like wildfire however when the citizens realized that the handsome man they'd seen earlier in the day was of a race that was largely believed to be extinct.
All of that culminated in this scene that Indra and his group were witnessing, what appeared to be the entire city was standing outside their inn.
For the first time since their arrival, the group could see something other than dread within the eyes of the people present.
"Please, move aside!"
"These are the esteemed guests of the city lord!"
Almost on cue, a small squadron of soldiers wearing a black insignia began to weave through the crowd.
Once in front, they immediately bowed in front of Indra and Keran who were watching all of this with neutral gazes.
"We're sorry for the delay, our lord has sent us here personally to escort you to his mansion."
The soldiers opened up a path for the group to walk through and they were soon making their way through the crowd.
Vermeil wanted to get a better look at the horde of different races surrounding her but her fear of being found out suffocated any lingering curiosity.
As she pulled her hood a little further down, both Kohaku and Kuro moved to shield her.
Kohaku : "You needn't worry, we won't let you be found out."
Kuro : "It would be troublesome if we did..."
By now Vermeil had long become accustomed to Kuro's prickliness and was no longer fazed by it.
She was actually quite elated that the tigerkin had actually spoken to her for once.
"Thank you..." Vermeil whispered. "You're both so nice."
Kohaku : "Think nothing of it."
Kuro : "If you keep talking I will let you die."
The group was lead to an extravagant black and gold carriage that they promptly entered.
Only when all six were comfortably inside did Indra let out a frustrated sigh. "Did you have to announce my identity so casually?"
"Yes, I did." Keran said without hesitation.
"And why was that necessary?"
Keran simply pointed outside the window where even now the crowd of fallen were following behind the carriage with eager eyes.
"You don't remember the past, so you do not understand what your kind meant to the fallen. The vampires were a large part of our strength and your absence has most certainly been felt throughout the centuries.
On his deathbed, my father himself admitted that if your father or even your mother were still alive, the direction of the war might be on a completely different course."
Within Indra's ring, Enyo opened her eyes wide in surprise.
She was rather shocked to find out that not only was the werewolf king dead, but he had actually admitted to being inferior to the Ascalons.
The absurdity of such information made her head feel like it was going to explode.
Keran smiled fondly as she continued to gaze out the window.
"What the fallen races need now is a beacon, a ray of hope that they can rally behind and fight for."
She suddenly turned to Indra and took one of his hands in hers.
"Your identity, your presence will give our people something to believe in again and give us the momentum needed to emerge as the victors in this horrible war."
Indra said nothing as Keran placed a tender hand upon his cheek.
"Our people need you to give them hope, my love. So I want to ask of you one selfish request, will you carry this honor even if you feel it is undeserved?"
The only sounds that could be heard were of the rattling of the carriage as it traveled down the dirt road.
It seemed as though Indra was going to ignore her request, when he suddenly opened her mouth to speak.
"I've thought this before but you really are unbearably charismatic."
"Fufufu~ You used to love that about me though?" She giggled as she lay her head on his shoulder.
Enyo, Lucia, and Vermeil all became jealous enough to scream and felt like they had just been cuckolded.
Why should she get to have his shoulder all to herself!?
With Keran resting against him after her heartfelt request, Indra sighed before leaning his head back to stare at the roof of the carriage.
Within his mind, he knew what he wanted to say but he was unsure as to the effect his words would have if he said them carelessly.
As he thought about how best to articulate his feelings, eventually he decided to just be honest and deal with whatever fallout may come.
"Keran, there's something that you should know."