A few hours earlier…
The members of Blue Rose had entered the keep early in the morning. Each of them carried a large sack, which made metallic clattering noises when put on the ground. The sacks contained all their gear, because entering the Royal Palace all girded for war was not very appropriate.
After putting down their weighty luggage, the group rotated their shoulders. Renner looked kindly upon them, and their team leader, Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra, asked her:
"Will you have any princessly duties to discharge later?"
Renner had hardly any power, but she still had her responsibilities as the princess.
"It's fine. Those matters can wait. Don't worry."
"Aha."
A mischievous expression came over Lakyus' face. Similarly, Renner also flashed her a mischievous look, which then melted into unrestrained laughter.
"Lakyus. Once you're ready, I'd like to ask you to take care of that matter as soon as possible."
"Why? I heard yesterday that we were going to attack in secret, taking each location in turn. Isn't that so?" asked Evileye, the masked arcane magic caster.
"Something unexpected happened last night, so I feel we need to change part of the plan. It's like this—"
Renner described the brothel raid from last night.
Climb stood stock still behind Renner, and the members of Blue Rose looked upon him with respectful eyes.
"Not bad, cherry boy."
"Yup, Gagaran's right. Defeating a member of Six Arms is a pretty big deal."
"...'Undying King' Davernoc. 'Void Cutter' Peysilian. 'Bloody Scimitar' Edstrom. 'Thousand Kills' Malmvist. 'Illusion Devil' Succulent. And then their leader, 'Battle Demon' Zero."
Tia smoothly recited each name.
"Mmm. Catching one of them is a big aid to us."
Climb shook his head. "It wasn't me, it was Lily who caught him in the first place and…" he looked down for a bit. "I-I was the one who let Cocco Doll escape."
"Is that really what happened?" Evileye asked. "Lily sounds like a talented magician, I don't think she'll just let him get away without any means of locating him."
"How do you…"
"I don't, but I'd do the same thing if I was her. The Eight Fingers have some of the nobles backing them up. Apprehending him is a waste of time and killing him is also a waste,"
"I see… Sorry, I just… I told her I will take the blame for letting him go…"
There was a moment of silence before Lakyus finally spoke up. "Do you think we should ask her to join us in this operation?" she asked. "I'm actually curious about this Lily person, I've never heard of her before."
Evileye nodded a little. "We can try, she's staying in the Adventurer's Inn with his brother Momon. If we can somehow convince Momon to join us, I have no doubt we can get a guaranteed victory," she explained.
"Or maybe Sally if we're extremely lucky," Climb said, half joking.
"Who?"
"Momon's biological sister, she's…" the boy looked down a little. "Lily didn't ask me to keep it a secret, but please promise not to tell anyone," he looked at the Blue Rose with slightly pleading eyes.
"The secret is safe with us, Cherry Boy," Gagaran said. "So what's the deal with Momon's sister?"
"Lily called her a True Vampire,"
Evileye froze after hearing that.
"Whoa, seriously?" Lakyus asked.
"According to Sebas, only two people in the entire world can defeat her. That is Momon and their great mentor, Ainz Ooal Gown," Climb explained. "You might have heard of the Death Spreading Brigade?"
"It was her?" Lakyus asked. "She was behind that… massacre?"
"Unglaus san was part of that group and… he called her attack a divine judgement or something. He told me that Sally blocked the martial arts he created to defeat Gazef Stronoff with nothing more but her pinky," Climb shuddered a little at the thought. "I've never heard of someone this powerful in my life before…"
Evileye was silent the whole time. She didn't expect that there would be another true vampire exist. She didn't know how to feel about that. Should she be wary that there's someone as powerful as her? Happy that she's not the only one of her kind?
"Climb,"
Everyone turned towards Evileye.
"You said that Lily invited Brain to meet Sally," she started. "Did he accept?"
"I-I don't know, he's still thinking about it but…" Climb looked down in deep thought. "I think he said that he'll meet him in the inn at ten, today," he looked at the nearest clock. "In three hours? I think?"
Evileye turned to Lakyus. "Lakyus, I'm going to try to have an audience with Lily."
Lakyus nodded a little. "Take care of yourself Evileye, we do not know what they're capable of," she said.
Evileye watched the three men sitting on the table. They're three of the most powerful person in the Kingdom. They were Gazef Stronoff, Brain Unglaus, and Momon. She has no doubt that the latter is much, much powerful than the other two.
Then, she watched as two little girl entered the inn. Both looked very similar yet different at the same time. One has bright yellow eyes that sparkles with joy and mischief. The other has dark red eyes that spoke of cold and calculating judgement. The former wore white traveler's clothing while the latter wore something akin to a maid uniform.
"Illusion?" Evileye quietly cast [Greater Magic Vision] on herself and the girl's form shifted. Her eyes turned brilliant crimson and her hair turned platinum. Her skin turns pale and her nails gleamed like steel.
Lily didn't change one bit so she's not wearing any disguise.
Then, she watched as the little girl cast [Silence] on their table. It should have just muted all voice in an area, but Evileye suspects that the girl's control over spells let her create a mute bubble instead of a field.
Evileye silently cursed for not taking Tia or Tina along. Their lip reading skills can be extremely handy at the moment. Sure she can dispel the spell, but that would serve the same purpose as barging in unannounced.
Instead, Evileye chose to observe their expression. Momon has that gentle yet stern attitude. Sally has a slightly colder attitude and very attached to her older brother. Lily is Lily. Gazef is calm and judging. Brain is drunk and terrified.
Then, Lily started walking away from the table with a single silver coin. Evileye considered calling her out but knowing Lily, she might find herself in a very awkward situation. Instead, she just watched as the little girl bought herself a big jug of strawberry milk.
When she returns to the table, Lily raised her drinks and everyone else did the same. Evileye scoffed at her childishness and resume watching the vampire.
Sally is obviously missing out and Evileye knew it. She also feels the same thing when her sisters are drinking together. Being an undead made her impossible for her to consume anything.
Momon seemed to notice this and watched as the man took off a ring from Sally's finger. Then, the man talked to her some more though the girl looked extremely reluctant. She thought that the man is asking her to leave, but…
"What?" Evileye gasped in disbelief when Momon offered his own blood to his sister.
'Uwaa… He's so kind…' Evileye thought to herself. 'Will he let me do the same? N-no, what am I thinking? But I can't help it…' she shook her head as she tried to clear her mind. 'Okay, look, he's doing this because she's his sister… this is, this is just natural for him.'
Evileye finally calmed herself down and watched as Momon gently pat Sally's head when she's done. 'You're so lucky Sally, to have someone as kind and powerful as him for a brother…'
After a while, Sally shook Unglaus's hand and she wonder if they just made an agreement or something. Then, Lily led Sally outside the inn and Evileye was about to leave when a voice called out to her.
"Evileye san,"
Evileye froze, he slowly turned her head towards the man sitting on the table. "Y-yes," she didn't realize how frail her voice sounds. She wonders why this man made her scared so much, as if his presence alone is enough to make her feel like a child.
"Come here,"
Her feet moves on its own as if summoned by a command spell. Evileye gulped a little and cursed herself for thinking a simple concealment charm is enough to hide herself from someone like him. She looked at Momon and found him looking at her in slight confusion.
"Something wrong?"
Evileye shook her head in a hurry. "Nothing wrong, Mo-Momon sama, I was just…" she racked her brains for an excuse. She found none and realized there's only one thing left to do. "I was spying at you, I'm sorry!" she bowed at him.
What am I doing, me?! Why did I tell him!? He obviously didn't know! Gods dammit!"
She closed her eyes and braced herself. She felt his hand on her head and thought that he's going to crush her head. She almost accepted death right then and there. She did a terrible mistake of underestimating her opponent and betraying his trust.
Evileye heard a chuckle and the hand started to caress her head. She opened her eyes and looked up. His dark onyx eyes gazed at her with the same gentle smile he gave to his own sister.
"What are you saying Evileye san?" Momon asked. "I saw you staring at us since before Lily arrived, but I don't feel like inviting you because Lily."
The Vampire felt like a stupid child being berated for stealing a candy. She nodded a little and looked down in regret. "I'm sorry…" she muttered.
Then, Momon took out a ring and held it in front of her. The Vampire froze at the sight of it. 'Wh-what is this? Mo-Momon sama are you-' she thought to herself.
"Can you return this to Sally? I'm afraid Lily's blood is the equivalent of liquid candy for her," Momon said.
'Just what the hell were you thinking about, ME?!' Evileye berated herself. 'Aaaah, so embarrassing…'
The girl took the ring and nodded a little. "Yes, Momon sama, I will return this to Sally," she said before practically running out of the inn.
'Uwaa, I've never felt like this before… Is it because he was so kind? Or is it because he was so strong? I don't even know how strong he is but…' the vampire shivered a little on her path through the kingdom and didn't notice Lily and Sally walking ahead of her.
It was until Lily and Sally turned around to face her that Evileye snapped out of it. "Lily san, Sally san," she took out the ring of sustenance. "Momon sama told me to give you this."
Sally took the ring and wear it on her middle finger. "Ah, thank you…"
"Evileye."
"Thank you Evileye san," Sally turned towards Lily and found her vibrating in excitement. "I was about to ask but…" she looked at Lily's hand and found her holding the exact replica of the girl in front of her. "I take it, you're part of the Blue Rose?"
"Yes, I am part of the Blue Rose, it's a pleasure to meet you Sally san," they shook hands for a moment. But when Evileye wanted to let go, Sally didn't let go. "Sally san, you can let me…"
"You're a Vampire,"
'She knew! Well of course she knew, she's a vampire! Ah, should I tell her? It's okay right? Momon wouldn't hate me for it. Wait, why am I thinking of him at the time like this?? Uwaa… What is wrong with me?'
"Y-yes… Please keep this a secret…" Evileye said finally.
"Don't worry, I will," Sally said with a look of understanding in her face.
With that, the three of them continued their way through the Re-Estize Kingdom. Evileye decided to start some idle chat with Lily first about the raid last night and talk to Sally about her brother. She listened with quiet attention as the little girl told her about Momon's fight for vengeance to the vampire who turned Sally into what she has become.
"...and then he was like, 'You didn't think I wouldn't hide my true HP right?' and that look on Honyopenyoko's face was PRICELESS! Momon started overwhelming her with his ultimate secret weapon and she didn't stand a single chance!!!"
'He's a true hero,' love struck Evileye thought to herself. 'Aah, Sally san, I'm so jealous of you…'
Soon enough, the story is over and Sally started to speak up. "So, Evileye san, why are you spying on us earlier?" she asked.
Evileye looked at Sally for a bit. "Well, I actually wanted to talk to him about our preemptive strike on the Eight Fingers," she said. "I was hoping Lily or Momon would help us."
"Of course!" Lily exclaimed with zero hesitation. "I would love to join the Blue Rose,"
Sally bopped her head. "Stupid Lily, that's not what she was asking," she said.
"That's also a possibility if you want to help us," Evileye pointed out.
Lily pumped her fist in victory while Sally just sighed in exasperation.
"Evileye san, there exist two people in the world," Sally held up two of her fingers. "Those who severely underestimate Lily and those who severely overestimate her. I think you belong to the latter category," she added.
Evileye looked at Lily who's still doing her little victory dance. Then back to Sally who's staring at her flatly. "Perhaps when she's older."
Lily froze and pouted. "No way…" she said in dismay. "What if I…" she grinned a little. "What if I prove myself? Yeah, I'll go help you in this raid and I'll show you my super powerful secret hidden technique! I'm not gonna hold anything back!"
This time, Sally shot Lily a warning look. "Don't, nothing beyond second tier spell."
"Hee, no fair! You get to use sixth and seventh tier spells all the time," Lily said. "How come I only get to use second tier?"
'Seventh? Just what kind of Monster is this girl?' Evileye thought to herself.
"Can you even use fourth tier spell?"
Lily bit her lip. "Well yeah, I can't, but the point is, I'm not gonna hold back!"
Sally rolled her eyes after hearing that. "Alright, fine," she looked at Evileye apologetically. "Evileye san, a word of advice about my sister: She is deathly afraid of insects, she cannot stand still for more than two minutes, and her physical damage rating is abyssmal."
Evileye nodded a little. "I'll keep that in mind," she looked back at Lily who's still pouting at her sister. "I'm looking forward to work with you Lily."
"When should we start?"
"Tonight," Evileye replied. "My team and I will be raiding an Eight Fingers Mansion. Although it will be great to have you around, I think it might be an overkill for our part," she explained.
Lily grinned and gave her a thumb up. "Got it!"
Then Evileye turned to Sally. "Are you…"
"No," Sally replied. "I have another thing to do in the Empire, I just came here to say my farewells to my brother before I go," she said.
Evileye nodded a little. "I see, take care of yourself Sally," she said.
"Same goes to you Evileye san," Sally replied.