Dota 57
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-Town of Fuyuki, Holy Grail.
3rd POV*
Shiki and the others also arrived at Lawrence's side where they were greeted by the gentle light coming from the grail. "Hm? You cleansed it?" Shiki who was the most sensitive instantly spotted the differences. Hearing that Nero could not help but get excited. "Really Master?! You managed to clean it?" Nero got closer to Lawrence shaking his body.
"Holy Grail…" Luvia and Anastashia muttered in amazement. It was still one of the wonders in Magus World, the grail was one of the way to reach Root so it was a tool of respect for the magus. They were even tempted for a second but immediately relinquished the thought, they can slowly gain power just by being on Lawrence's side, and there was no need to hasten up.
"Relax, despite it being called Omnipotent Device, it does not actually grant wishes directly. This device was more focused on obtaining True Magic" Lawrence patted the head of Nero to calm the excited girl. He doesn't want them to get excited for nothing . "Eh, that's disappointing" as expected, Nero immediately lost her interest after hearing that.
Shiki stared at Lawrence before asking, "Do you wish to obtain True Magic?" this question froze Lawrence for a second. "… You're joking right? I could mostly do what magic is capable of. There is no need for me to acquire one" he sighed shaking his head. He actually has no intention for this grail, it was no use for him.
"Then what should we do with this?" Shiki looked at the shining grail aware that it could already grant wish. The others turned towards Lawrence wondering what he will do in this situation, whether his greed will soar is not a problem for them as he is rightfully the owner of this grail. "Let's see, how about we just keepsafe it? Use it in times of emergency" Lawrence arrived at a decision.
The others were not averse to the decision hence why they stayed quiet. Lawrence opened his pocket storage and locked inside the Holy Grail, after doing that he closed the storage leaving the room silence. "Shall we go?" Lawrence asked tilting his head at them. The others didn't move which confused Lawrence.
He just then realized what they were curious about when Shiki pointed at something on the floor. Lawrence followed her finger reaching the figure of a blond vampire. "Who's she?" Shiki asked narrowing her eyes, not only her but everyone of them were surprised to see another sibling of Nero lying on the ground.
"Another sibling of the dumb Emperor?" Bea muttered getting headache at the thought. "Umu! I said that I don't have any siblings! Though I wonder how come there are many people with the same features as mine" Nero placed her hand on her chin muttering. This is the second time they have encountered a person with same face as her, not to mention having the same blonde hair.
This is also getting a mystery to the others. Only Lawrence was having fun because he is already imagining their faces once they meet characters like Jeanne or Okita. "So?" Shiki's gaze didn't leave Lawrence's body as she asked again. "Uhh… I don't know how to explain this. Basically, someone has gotten tired of handling their grandchild so that bastard decided that it would be amusing to throw that grandchild of his to me" Lawrence summarized the situation.
"Yes?" Shiki's confused voice was released. "Additionally, this girl is actually not Nero's sibling but Anastashia. Both of them are princesses of the Moon" Lawrence added puzzling them further more. It was getting out of hand. "Hold on! How come I gained another sibling? I have more than enough!" Anastashia opposed the idea.
Luvia who heard it was delighted, she was thinking that Anastashia was satisfied with her alone and doesn't need other else. What she didn't know was that her thought was the opposite of what Anastashia considers. Anastashia thinks that having another Luvia will easily break her mind, it is hard handling an obsessed person after all.
Anastashia can now comprehend what Lawrence had to experience with her previous obsessed personality. In fact, even she herself was scared to the extent of things she has done. If she just wasn't a child then she might have been living in the jail right now, that is how extreme the things she did in their childhood.
"Princess of the Moon? This girl has a different structure than a human being. What is she?" Bea asked sensing the differences. She was a homunculus so she is more sensitive on this fact. "Bingo, this girl is different from humans for she is a vampire. Not just an ordinary vampire though, she is one of the primordial ones" Lawrence snapped his finger in satisfaction.
"S-Surely you don't mean…" Luvia stuttered looking at the blonde vampire with scared gaze, just by the description of Lawrence, she could already guess what kind of being this is. "True Ancestor, this woman is indisputably a True Ancestor" Anastashia was the one who finished the sentence. After gaining Mirana's abilities, she also learned a lot about Type Moon.
Luvia gasped hearing her sister's confirmation. She got frightened for a second however once she remembered what just happened earlier, most of her fear dissipated. The feat of Shiki was more terrific than the presence of a True Ancestor.
"Do we really need to take care of her? We can just dump her on the sides, she won't bother to follow us if that happens" Nero tilted her head suggesting, she doesn't seem to see any kind of benefit for them to take this woman in their care. She would just bring more trouble considering her identity, and that is definitely not what Lawrence wanted.
Lawrence also considered what Nero suggested, he has no debts towards Zelretch. He does not need to follow his instruction. "Maybe you're right…" Lawrence muttered taking the suggestion seriously. His muttering was obviously heard by all of them including the girl who has been pretending to be asleep. "W-Wait! You can't do that!" the girl could not help but intervene.
"And why is that?" Shiki asked narrowing her eyes at the woman. This frightened the vampire because she was one of the observer of Karna vs Shiki fight, the might of Shiki scared her a lot. "M-My powers are still on recovery, I will be hunted in this state" The woman said giving Lawrence a pitiful look. This however had no effect to any of them. "I failed to recognize how is that our problem" Nero stated.
The woman became even more terrified, she doesn't know what to say because she has no excuse at all. Her grandfather suddenly sealed her powers making her literally powerless right now, if her enemies were to be informed of this then there is no doubt that it would spell her end. "B-But it is his problem! He is part of this mess!" the woman pointed at Lawrence.
Lawrence sighed not knowing what to do anymore. "Alright stop, let's just adopt her. A pet is also nice right? It is lonely with just Nero alone" he said defusing the atmosphere. "Umu! Uh? Wait Master! Are you referring to me as a dog?!" Nero was infuriated realizing the comparison that was made. She could not help but complain to Lawrence.
The woman's face visibly brightened hearing that, she was relieved that she can still live another day. Dying means that the loose part of her will fully control her powers and dominate the world, she can't let that happen, no matter what. That is her only regret and she swore to see it in the end, even sacrificing herself will do just to stop the man.
"Now, what is your name girl? Be grateful Lawrence is kind. If it were just us then you would have been sleeping on a garbage can right now" Shiki asked staring directly at the woman. She has no qualms in mentioning what she initially plan to do. The woman twitched her lips yet still proceeded to introduce herself. "Hello~! I am Arcueid! Nice to meet you all"
The woman who called herself Arcueid waved at them in joy. This group of misfits will surely be a great experience for her. "Hm? She has the quality alright! Umu! I must teach her art!" Nero seemed to see some potential inside Arcueid as she nodded her head in understanding. "Nice to meet you Lady Arcueid. I am Bea, a maid in the service of Master Lawrence"
Bea was the only one who responded to Arcueid's greetings but she wasn't sad about it. "Great! Take care of me Bea!" Arcueid said enthusiastically. This enthusiasm made Lawrence and Shiki shiver because it looked far too similar to how Nero was when she was just summoned. Lawrence is now wondering whether he made the correct decision or not. Either way, this will become a start of a new tale.
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