Though Tyr had regained her heart, she still moved through blood manipulation. Since she had no need to eat, there was only one reason for her to visit the dining hall.

"Hugh? You were here after all."

Having come to find me as usual, Tyr naturally took her place beside me. I asked as I cleared the dishes.

"What have you been up to?"

"Shei asked me to continue teaching her blood manipulation."

"You're still teaching her that?"

"We have had few lessons lately, but she seems to have resolved upon something recently. The look in her eyes has changed. She has grown more urgent, or perhaps desperate."

Was it to fight the woman who would soon descend here?

The Regressor had always devoted herself to training, but with the decisive battle approaching, she seemed to be feeling an even greater sense of urgency.

From what I had read, defeating that woman hadn't seemed to be part of the Regressor's original plan...

Well, circumstances must have changed.

That was good news for everyone who wasn't a Regressor.

"You said your blood manipulation had weakened, though."

"Who knows? Has it weakened, or merely changed...? Either way, who is to judge? No one has greater mastery of blood manipulation than I."

"Have you explained that to Shei?"

"Why should I? A teacher must always maintain an air of authority. How is a pupil to learn if she feels uncertain?"

The pupil was the one receiving instruction, after all. So there was nothing wrong with a teacher exaggerating her abilities a little.

Tyr said this in all seriousness. She meant it.

Talking to someone who thought differently had its own pleasures. As our conversation meandered along, Tyr suddenly turned toward the table.

Callis and the undying one were rubbing their affection in everyone else's faces.

After watching him feed Callis with a hint of envy, Tyr suddenly shifted her gaze to my hand.

Wait. I think I'm hearing some strange thoughts.

"... Hugh. Now that I think about it, I believe I am a little hungry myself."

"What? But you can live without eating."

Tyr spoke with a deliberate show of dignity.

"Who said anything about food? I am Tyrkanzyaka, Progenitor of vampires. I partake only of blood."

"So you want some blood? Why not ask Shei? Her blood tastes good."

"Enough of that. How could I drink the blood of a pupil busy with her training?"

This wouldn't do. That wouldn't do.

In my experience, when someone grew this fussy, the odds were high that they wanted something specific.

'With hints this obvious, surely he will offer me his blood of his own accord.'

You said it tasted bad. Why go out of your way to drink it, then?

Besides, I didn't like hurting myself. Even down here in the bottomless pit, I was rather averse to having holes put in my body.

When I merely stared at her without responding, Tyr grew restless and watched for my reaction.

'Has he not noticed, or is he pretending not to know? Tch...!'

After hesitating, Tyr finally lost patience and cried out.

"... This is the wish I won in our wager!"

"What?"

The abrupt declaration made me ask again. Tyr gave me a reproachful look and exclaimed,

"Did you not make a wager with me before? You promised to grant me a wish if I saw through your magic trick."

"Oh. That time."

"I shall claim the wish I won then. Share a little of your blood with me!"

"You'd really waste a whole wish on something like this?"

Still, if she'd won it in a wager, there was no helping it. Reluctantly, I went over to the sink and washed my hands thoroughly.

When I turned around, Tyr stood there with a slightly expectant look. Shaking the water off my hands, I asked,

"Come to think of it, didn't you force that win a little?"

"Which is precisely why I am content with a mere few drops of blood. Do you begrudge me even that? Enough to break your promise?"

"Well, when you put it that way, I can't argue."

Fine. It was only a few drops of blood.

I held out my freshly washed hand. Tyr swallowed as she looked at my finger, then summoned darkness to block out the surrounding view.

'... Until now, I have never needed to go so far as to sink my teeth into someone's flesh to take blood. That is a vulgar act fit only for thralls far beneath me. But...'

With her blood manipulation no longer fully intact, Tyr had lost the ability to draw in all the blood flowing through the world.

In exchange, the blood within her belonged wholly to her. To absorb blood from the world outside, she had to consume it and make it her own.

Even so, overflowing with blood energy as she was, Tyr had no need to drink blood.

It was just that...

'... How mortifying. To do something so vulgar and shameful... No, no. This is merely a meal. Everyone does it. I have no reason to be embarrassed!'

Tyr simply wanted to do something vulgar.

Where had those twelve centuries gone? Puberty had arrived only after twelve hundred springs.

"... Then, I shall partake."

"Sheesh. As if cooking for animals wasn't enough, now I'm an ingredient for a vampire. Well, enjoy your meal."

And Tyr's teeth entered my flesh.

Contrary to popular belief, being bitten by a vampire didn't turn you into one. For vampires, drinking blood was nothing more than eating a meal.

But meaning could be attached to anything. Tyr bit down with the utmost care, delicacy, and gentleness.

"Mm..."

'It does not hurt, does it...?'

Hurt? I wasn't even bleeding. Her teeth were merely brushing the tip of my finger. Was this really drinking blood? Her tongue was practically touching me more than her teeth were.

'... On reflection, I need not actually drink his blood. I have no desire to wound him or crave his blood.'

Then you're just sucking my finger.

There wasn't a trace of blood drinking here. This was something no amount of euphemism could disguise.

'Just a little nibble...'

It was a caress. No matter how you looked at it.

Her front teeth stimulated my fingertip as they lightly touched it and drew away. Absorbed in this bloodless blood drinking, Tyr didn't even look at me.

Tantalus, in the bottomless pit, was an isolated place.

With her heart beating once more, Tyr felt immense gratitude toward me. There was no running away, no avoiding it. If we spent just a little longer together like this, her feelings would probably become clearer.

And she would want something from me.

I was a mind reader.

I read other people's desires.

Whenever I heard someone's desire, whenever I read the earnest wish circling within their heart, I collided head-on with that desire as it passed from their heart to mine.

It was inevitable. It affected me. If a wish mattered more to someone than their own life, that longing would reach me.

Heat flows from hot places to cold ones. That great law applies to hearts as well, and through the direct contact of mind reading, it reaches me far faster.

Then, with my own heart heated, I bring that desire to a conclusion somehow, in one way or another.

That is why I am a magician.

Even if it takes a form they do not want. Even if it leads in a wholly unexpected direction.

So that they may face the wish they truly desire.

There is only one wish I cannot grant.

Changing me.

That includes killing me—and even saving me.

And so...

"Why are you just holding it in your mouth? I'm not bleeding."

"H-hm?"

"Come to think of it, you really love fingers. Every single day, you put one in your mouth. And inside your chest. I think you like my finger more than you like me."

"Ah, wai— Mmph."

I curled my finger slightly, like a hook. It scraped against her fang, drawing blood. Before the blood could even form a drop, it touched Tyr's tongue and melted away.

"Just this once. I'm only wounding this precious body of mine and shedding blood for you this once."

Once blood actually began to flow, Tyr didn't know what to do. Regardless, the blood already spilled ran down her throat.

At that instant, she forcefully spat out my finger.

Coughing softly, Tyr looked close to tears—a rare sight.

"Ughhh... It tastes awful."

"So it really does taste bad!"

Looking at my finger, I saw a tiny amount of blood seeping from a slight tear in the skin.

So even this little was bad enough to make her spit it out? Wasn't that practically poison?

"W-wait. This is my first time taking blood in such a manner..."

"Take that."

"Eek."

Tyr flinched when I held out my bleeding finger. Pressing it firmly to stop the bleeding, I said,

"I never knew my blood had this effect. Not vampire food, but a charm to ward vampires off."

"Hugh, I am not yet satisfied—"

"Take this. Holy blood."

"Ugh."

"How can you talk about satisfaction when you're acting like this? Forget it. We know you can't drink it, so we're done now, aren't we?"

Tyr fell silent. I strode through the darkness.

When I pushed my way out, with a disappointed Tyr following behind, I found Azi and Nabi tangled up in a fight.

"Mreeeow! Hand over my tribute, meow!"

"Woof, woof! It's my can! Woof, woof!"

Nabi was throwing a fit, trying to snatch the can. Unable to bite or pin her down, Azi didn't know what to do.

"What's going on?"

At my question, Azi cried out, clutching the can protectively to her chest.

"Woof! She's trying to take mine!"

Was she crazy? It hadn't been that long since she'd been beaten half to death doing this.

"Without her medicine, she's lost all sense of danger."

"Can I bite her?"

"If you can do it without hurting her."

Azi gave up and concentrated on guarding her can. Just how hard had she been planning to bite?

The undying one and Callis were already gone. Only Nabi was making a commotion, persistently pressing her attack on Azi as she targeted the unopened can.

Her claws weren't out yet, but if she went berserk, there would be blood again. I urgently called for the Regressor.

"Where's the medicine dispenser? Get over here!"

To get her accustomed to going without her medicine, we had to wait until she was near her limit before giving it to her. But if we made a habit of giving it to her when she threw a fit, that behavior might become ingrained.

Animals were simpler than you might think.

Well, humans were no different.

"Bring the mana herbs!"

"Woof! My can!"

"Mrrroow! Tribute! Hand over my tribute, meow!"

Amid that noisy yet companionable moment, a lonely thought reached me from beyond the wall.

'... It's peaceful. Relaxed. It's nice to see.'

What's peaceful about this? What's relaxed about it?! It's not nice at all! Bring those mana herbs right now!

'Everyone will leave the next time sunlight shines into the bottomless pit, won't they?'

Of course. There's no reason to stay.

'I don't know when or how she'll arrive, so I have to stay here. I have to keep her from getting the sword of the earth, Earth's Ripple.'

A bitter smile hovered on the Regressor's lips. Fiddling with a long mana-herb cigar, she pushed away from the wall.

'I wish this could be my last regression. But it probably won't be. I'll... probably fail again this time. Especially if I waste nine whole months in the bottomless pit.'

Steeling her resolve, the Regressor stepped into the convivial dining hall.

'So I won't settle for this regression. I'll find a better possibility... If only to keep this moment from becoming meaningless.'

The door burst open. Tossing the mana-herb cigar into the air and catching it again, the Regressor called to Nabi.

"Nabi. Here's today's tribute."

"Mreow! Tribute! It's tribute, meow! Give it to me, quick!"

Nabi rushed over like lightning to snatch it, but the Regressor secured it a beat faster and concealed it in her hand.

As I had taught her, she released the scent little by little, conserving as much of it as possible.

"Stay still. You have to breathe it in slowly."

"Meow. Meeooow."

While Nabi got high on her medicine, Azi gazed proudly down at the can she had successfully defended.

Between the canned cat food I'd made for Nabi and everything else...

There was a lot I would have to teach her.