"Woooow, this new school is amazing!" Zaira exclaims, standing in front of Tsugumi High’s gates.
Beside her, Chris and Mia share the sa excitent — eager to et their new teachers and, more than anything, their classmates.
It’s a prestigious private high school — way beyond what they could normally afford — but the multinational where Isabelle landed a job, Seryou Biotech, doesn’t just provide housing for its employees. It also covers their children’s education, along with a range of other benefits — or at least, that’s what they told Isabelle.
The three exchange a determined glance — like they’re bracing themselves for that classic first-day awkwardness — when...
"I can’t believe it! Princess Mia Valakys, in person! I’m so happy to see you again!" a voice chirps from behind them.
They spin around and find a lanky guy with bright carrot-colored hair and a radiant grin. His eyes glisten, on the verge of tears from sheer joy.
"V-Valakys...? You’ve got it wrong — her last na is Jones. You must be mixing her up with soone else," Chris says, correcting him.
After they moved to Tokyo, Isabelle filed a request with HESPARC Japan to use fake surnas in order to protect them.
They’re now Chris, Mia, and Isabelle Jones, while Zaira wasn’t allowed to change hers. That’s because Narkhalis isn’t considered a high-risk surna, and HESPARC is fairly strict about identity changes for people applying for residency on Earth.
"Save your breath, Chris. I’ve known that guy since before you even ca to this world. He used to be a young rapper Isabelle was obsessed with, so she’d jump at any chance to have him perform at the castle," Mia replies.
"Oh, nice to see you haven’t forgotten , Mia Valak— oops, Mia Jones."
The boy then turns to Chris and Zaira.
"Yo, I’m Leon Thzraneel — though back on Mildelar, everyone knows as Young Blood. I started rapping when I was just twelve, and I was already killing it. Unfortunately, ever since that old pain-in-the-ass Markus Dulcar took the throne, my career’s gone downhill. No more invitations to perform at the castle — and that did no favors. So I figured I’d try to build sothing here instead... though after almost four years, I was expecting a bit more by now."
"Hey, don’t get down — you’ll make it eventually if you stick with it. Anyway, nice to et you. I’m Chris, Mia’s adoptive brother — and she’s Zaira Narkhalis."
Leon’s eyes light up at the na.
"N-Narkhalis, you said? The royal succubus house of Ravessia...? Y-You don’t need a singer at the palace, do you? I’ve got great references, and since I’m trying to rebuild my image, I can offer really good rates! P-Please, I don’t want to stay on Earth anymore — it sucks!"
Zaira shrugs.
"Oh, sorry — wrong person. I gave up my princess title to follow Mia, so now I’m just a regular succubus like anyone else. And besides, rap’s way bigger here than on Elyndra — that should work in your favor, right?"
"Y-Yeah, it’s huge... maybe too huge. Even rocks rap here. Back on Elyndra, I had zero competition. It’s hard to stand out when everyone’s doing the sa thing!"
"It’s only hard if you’re diocre," Mia hisses, her voice cold — it’s obvious that, unlike Isabelle, she’s never been much of a fan. Quite the opposite.
Leon shoots her an offended pout, about to snap back, when...
"Leon!"
A boy with snow-white hair, faintly tinted violet, calls out as he strides toward them.
When he reaches them, his serious gaze locks onto Leon, ignoring the other three completely.
"Leon. We need to talk. Now. Co with ."
"Morning to you too, Ren. Yeah, yeah — give a second to say hi to the three new students, then I’ll catch up."
"New students? What new students?"
That’s when Ren realizes he’s never seen the three Leon’s talking to. Then again, he’s not exactly sociable — he barely knows his own classmates.
"My apologies — I’ve been a bit out of it lately. I’m Ren Toya. Nice to et you. I hope you’ll enjoy your ti here at Tsugumi."
"Nice to et you, I’m Chris—"
He doesn’t even get the words out before Ren grabs Leon by the wrist and pulls him away.
"Wow, that guy looked seriously pissed at your rapper friend," Zaira says, nudging Mia lightly with her elbow.
"H-He’s not my friend! He’s just a lazy bum who dreams of being a singer but’s always been too lazy to actually go for it. He just got lucky — for so reason I’ll never understand, Isabelle’s obsessed with his diocre songs. And whatever you do, don’t tell her Young Blood goes here — she might actually show up and make a scene in front of the whole school!"
"Co on, you’re overreacting. What’s so bad about Isabelle eting her idol?" Chris asks.
Mia shoots him a sharp glare.
"T-The last ti that idiot perford at the castle, she took off her bra and threw it on stage. And she was already married to my father back then... I don’t even want to think about what she’d do now!"
Chris flushes bright red as a sudden surge of jealousy hits him.
"G-Got it. ssage received!"
◇◇◇
"Leon, I want an explanation. What the hell got into you two nights ago? Why did you attack ?" Ren growls.
He drives him back against a wall behind Tsugumi — out of sight, away from prying eyes.
"Hey, easy — you’re hurting ! I’m still sore from that wound you gave !"
Ren exhales slowly, forcing himself to calm down. Then he lights a cigarette and drops onto a nearby concrete block.
"How are you feeling now?"
"Well, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t okay. Still... that was a close one, you know? Took a full hour before the wound even started to regenerate. Didn’t expect you to use Paralysis Magic too — you really caught off guard."
"How do you know that power? And how do you know Raelor Valraen? Did he tell you to attack ? Talk, damn it!"
"Easy, easy — I’ll tell you everything! What I know was told to by the people I work for. They’re the ones who told Raelor Valraen killed your parents and that you and your sisters were left alone, so they’d have sothing to use to convince you to join us.
As for who Raelor is and Paralysis Magic... well, everyone knows that incubus and his terrifying ability to block other people’s mana. But they didn’t warn that you could use it too — that was an unpleasant surprise."
"I get it — but I still don’t understand why you attacked ."
"I didn’t have a choice. Apparently, the people I work for think I’m just slacking off, so they sent a supervisor to keep tabs on . He’s the one who made set up that ambush."
"I wonder why they think you’re a slacker..." Ren says, a hint of irony in his voice — then his expression hardens. "Who do you work for? Tell , so I can end this once and for all."
"I’d like to help but I really don’t know."
"Leon, I’ve been patient so far. Don’t make use force to get you to talk."
"I-I swear, I don’t know! I’ve always taken orders from a woman who goes by Blue, but I don’t know her real na — or where she is! What I do know is that she’s not at the top. She’s just the middleman between and the boss."
"Damn, what a ss... fine, then tell at least who that supervisor you ntioned is. You said he’s here in Tokyo, right? I want to et him today."
"Ren, please — don’t do anything stupid! The fact they sent a small fry like after you ans you’re not a priority for the boss. Let’s not make things worse. We just keep doing what we’ve been doing — I play the bad guy, we trade a few blows, and then we go back to normal. Sooner or later the supervisor’ll get bored and leave. So... what do you say?"
Ren isn’t having it.
"I’ll ask you one last ti — who’s your supervisor? I just want to talk to him. It’ll be better for you if you tell everything you know... otherwise, next ti he forces you to co after , you won’t get away with just a scratch."
Leon lets out a long, resigned sigh.
"Aaah... your funeral. I warned you. He’s a vampire — Axel Volkom. Inside the organization, they call him Red. But that’s really all I know — I swear. I don’t even know where he’s based. We’ve always t in the old industrial district, near the Tama hills. Just... please, Ren, don’t do anything stupid. You’re the only friend I’ve got. I don’t want to see you end up dead."
"You should know by now I’m not that easy to kill. I’ll take Axel Volkom down and maybe then your boss will finally get the ssage and leave alone."
"Oh, Ren... if you knew Axel Volkom, you wouldn’t be talking like that — you’d do everything you could to stay as far away from him as possible. The mont he got here, he challenged — said he wanted to test . Knocked out in an instant. Believe , if that guy dropped dead, I’d be even happier than you — he’s been making my life hell ever since he showed up. You’re strong, Ren... but you don’t stand a chance against him. I’m telling you as a friend — let it go. Just wait this out."
Ren pushes himself up from the concrete block. He steps in front of Leon and gives him a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"Co on — classes are about to start."
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