Previously: Having learned of Zenos’s extraordinary power, Liz decided to get serious about making him fall for her.
[Saint Fabius Calendar, Year 304, Sixth Month, Fourteenth Day]
Zenos, who had gone for a walk in the ruined district with the woman claiming to have amnesia, returned.
“So your memory didn’t return after all?”
“No, I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m the one who should be sorry for pushing you.”
“No, no, thank you. There’s no point in rushing things now. I’ll take it slow.”
Zenos and the woman named Liz were conversing.
“But a slasher… that’s scary, isn’t it…”
The elf, Lily, shivered.
It seemed there had been some kind of incident in the slums.
“Yeah. The slums have been peaceful lately…”
Zenos said, glancing over at Liz.
Liz offered a beautiful, radiant smile.
“What’s wrong, Zenos-chan?”
“Ah, no… it’s nothing.”
At her carefree expression, Zenos shook his head, and Liz clapped her hands together.
“Alright then, let’s change the mood. I think I’ll do a little cleaning.”
“Huh? But that’s Lily’s job.”
When Lily said that, Zenos’s childhood friend from the orphanage replied with a smile.
“It’s fine. You’re taking care of me, so I’ll do it. Here, have a seat.”
She pressed on Lily’s shoulders, making her sit down in a chair.
Rolling up her sleeves, Liz wrung out a rag and began cleaning efficiently.
And in just under an hour, the room was so clean it was almost unrecognizable.
“Hmm, well, I suppose this will do.”
“Whoa, that’s amazing.”
“Amazing…”
As Zenos and Lily marveled together, Liz picked up a duster and headed for the stairs.
“Next is the second floor.”
“Ah, no, please don’t do the second floor.”
When Zenos stopped her abruptly, Liz tilted her head and then looked up the stairs.
She murmured with a somewhat uneasy look on her face.
“You’re right… I don’t know why, but I also have a feeling I should stay away…”
Perhaps the trauma flashed through her mind.
In the end, the second floor wasn’t cleaned. Afterward, Zenos and Lily went out to shop for ingredients and medicine, leaving the woman staying with them behind alone.
I had thought for sure she would go shopping with them, so her behavior was a little surprising.
She opened a cupboard and seemed to be looking at Lily’s sewing kit.
I wondered what she was doing, but I understood her intentions a little while later.
“Lord Zenos, Ringa has brought fish!”
The werewolf, Ringa, showed up at the clinic with a basket full of fish.
“Oh, hello. Zenos-chan is out right now.”
Ringa spoke with a slightly surprised look to Liz, who had come to greet her.
“Hmph. You’re the one who collapsed yesterday… So you’ve regained consciousness.”
“Ah, so you’re Miss Ringa. I heard you were the one who carried me. Thanks to you, I was saved. Thank you so much.”
“Hmph. By the way, why are you still here? If you’re better, you should hurry up and go home.”
“Well, the shock gave me amnesia… and Zenos-chan said I should live here with him until I recover.”
“What? Lord Zenos said… you should live with him…?”
Ringa’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“That’s right. Zenos-chan and I are old acquaintances, and he seems to be worried about me.”
“Kuh… I knew I shouldn’t have saved her.”
Subtle sparks flew between the two of them.
“…Huh?”
As if noticing something, Liz approached the basket of fish Ringa had set down.
“Miss Ringa. What is the meaning of this?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Look, this fish. There’s a needle in its gills.”
Lifting one of the fish, Liz pulled something out.
She was pinching a thin needle between her fingertips.
“What is the meaning of this, Miss Ringa?”
Ringa’s eyes went wide.
“I-I don’t know. These fish were just caught this morning…”
“That’s not what I’m asking. What if someone had gotten hurt?!”
“N-No, that’s not it. Ringa would never—”
“Actually, the fish we received before also had a needle in it. Miss Lily almost got hurt, and Zenos-chan was very angry.”
“Th-That can’t be!”
Ringa backed away from the advancing Liz.
“It’s not true, it’s not! Ringa wouldn’t do that… I wouldn’t do something like that!”
With those words, Ringa fled as if escaping.
Watching her retreating back with narrowed eyes, Liz murmured.
“Fufufu, I thought someone would bring a gift if I just waited. It happened yesterday, too.”
Returning the needle to the sewing box, Liz gave a small laugh.
“That’s one down… I’ll eliminate all the women who get in my way.”
The second floor, dominated by pitch-black darkness.
A single wraith smirked before a diary.
“I see… so that’s what the sewing kit was for. She cleaned to confirm where the sewing kit was kept. Kukuku, not bad, newcomer. It’s a cliché trick, but being hit with it out of the blue can be confusing.”
Then, she placed a checkmark in the upper right corner of the name written as “Ringa.”
“So Ringa has taken a step back. The enemy may be just one person, but she’s quite formidable. After all, when it comes to ‘feminine charm,’ Zenos’s women are nothing but a disorderly mob…”
Translator’s note
“Feminine charm” is “joshiryoku” (女子力) in the original. It’s a Japanese term referring to a woman’s perceived level of femininity through skills in cooking, cleaning, fashion, and overall demeanor.
Tucking the pen behind her ear, she flipped a page in the diary.
“Now then, the newcomer childhood friend versus Zenos’s women, which side will win Zenos? Kukuku, just as I predicted, things are getting interesting…!”
In the darkness, Carmilla slowly crossed her arms.
—Now, let the battle commence! Fight!
A/N: Fight!