People are always tempted.

There is no need to verify this proposition. Every morning, humanity faces a tremendous trial.

Do we savor a few more minutes of bliss in a comfortable bed beneath warm blankets, or throw them off and face the frightening world? Every day, the moment we go to bed, we confront the harsh trial that inevitably awaits us the next morning.

Almost everyone overcomes that trial and takes a step into the harsh world. Not because they are courageous, but because they cannot survive otherwise. Still, that does not invalidate their victory.

Take pride, humans. You battle the morning and triumph every time.

Well, things might be a little different for a vampire who can sleep in a coffin for three hundred years straight. But that is how humans are.

And yet.

"Woof! Woof, woof!"

The Military State's alarm clock—or Azi, the King of Dogs, who had agreed to replace it—made even that trial unnecessary.

By forcibly hauling people out of bed, they robbed me of my right to be tested. They brutally pruned away every alternative, forcing me down a single path.

Yes, they were convenient. Efficient.

But there was no struggle there. No reflection gained through struggle, nor any growth achieved through that reflection.

Begone, dog.

You are not the King of Chickens. Why do you covet my right to better myself?

I shall struggle a little longer beneath these soft blankets, then claim my delayed victory. Now piss off!

"Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!!"

"Okay. Sorry! I'll get up!"

Damn it. Not a bit of that got through.

As usual, I washed my face and wet my hair, then slotted in a clothing packet to put on my instructor uniform. The crisp uniform enveloped my body.

Like all clothing packets, it was far more comfortable than it looked, but I had one complaint: the sleeves were too narrow to hide things inside easily. Only a magician of my caliber could conceal cards in sleeves this tight. Any other magician would feel as though they were wearing handcuffs.

Entertaining these pointless thoughts, I concealed my cards up my sleeves as usual and stepped out of my room. That was when I heard it.

"Grrrr."

"Huh?"

"Woof?"

I looked at Azi, and she looked back, turning her big eyes toward me.

I tilted my head, and she copied me.

"That's strange. Weren't you growling just now?"

"Woof?"

"Really? Well, never mind, then."

Strange. I could have sworn I heard something. Was Finlay nearby?

Eh, whatever. Probably nothing.

I made breakfast with yesterday's leftovers. While Azi enjoyed her meal, I ate just enough to fill my stomach, then leisurely headed down to the yard.

"Now, what should I do today...? Hmm, there's not much to do. It'd be nice to squeeze some alchemical gold coins out of Trainee Shei under the pretext of a lesson."

I could coax the vampire along by telling her today's lesson was very important, get her hopes up, then pretend to be in a bind and back out. Wouldn't the Regressor open her wallet on her own, then?

The vampire's artworks might fetch a high price, but their drawback was that I couldn't use them right away. Taking that into account, alchemical gold coins really were the best. Especially since I could turn them into something tangible immediately.

Heh heh. I'd squeeze a pile of alchemical gold coins out of her and have a new deck of cards made. All capable of alchemical transmutation, of course.

As I walked along, planning today's scam, I heard another strange thought coming from one side of the yard.

What was it? Had the Regressor cut Finlay's arm off again? Curious, I approached.

Then I heard a voice.

"I thought you would be arriving soon, Instructor."

The Regressor and Finlay were facing each other. The sight reminded me of the day Finlay first arrived.

Their attitudes, however, were the exact opposite of before. Finlay sat confidently in a chair, flanked by two black knights whose entire bodies were made of rippling darkness. They stood rigidly at attention like bodyguards.

The Regressor had her arms crossed, looking as displeased as ever.

Puzzled, I asked a question.

"What's all the fuss this time? Did Trainee Shei cut someone's arm off?"

The Regressor glanced at me and answered curtly.

"Not yet."

Not yet, huh. Hmm.

Catching the implication, Finlay let out a brief, incredulous laugh.

"Wielding a sword far beyond your station has made you insolent... Though that ends today."

"Insolent?"

What was this? Was he that desperate to die?

The Regressor trying to cut off someone's arm was nothing new, but Finlay's confident defiance was completely unexpected.

What gave him the nerve to stand his ground when the Regressor could turn him into freshly sliced vampire sashimi whenever she pleased?

I was curious.

I concentrated, reading Finlay's thoughts coming from outside.

And discovered what he had done last night.

Well, well.

Here was an even bigger swindler than me.

The swindler lifted his chin. The gesture looked so much like an imitation of the vampire that it was strangely unpleasant.

"I have no liking for you. But the Progenitor seems rather fond of you and that brat. So I shall leave you a message."

As though he were her representative, Finlay haughtily declared to the Regressor and me,

"The Progenitor will be returning to the surface with me."

"What?"

"I am neither asking permission nor seeking your understanding. I am informing you. The Progenitor's will is firm. You will not be able to stop her."

The Progenitor's will? More like his own.

While I scoffed inwardly, the Regressor, who knew none of the circumstances, voiced her doubts.

"What are you talking about? Tyrkanzyaka said she had no intention of going—"

"You wretch! Do not speak the Progenitor's name so casually!"

The Regressor bristled for an instant, but even then, she showed enough good sense not to draw Sky Cherry Blossom. Finlay looked at us with satisfaction as we remained still.

"Yes. The Progenitor did say that some time ago. But she soon changed her mind. She has decided to return to the surface and care for our kind."

"I don't believe you."

"Look at the black knights beside me. This is the Progenitor's power. If this were not her will, how could I be accompanied by black knights cloaked in blood battle aura?"

As if in response, the black knights, wreathed in red blood battle aura, stamped their feet in unison. It was their attempt at intimidation.

But the Regressor answered without batting an eye.

"I'll see Tyrkanzyaka myself and decide. Take me to her."

Her gaze was sharp enough to suggest she would cut down anything in her path.

Finlay did not look away.

"Did you not hear me? I said the Progenitor is preparing to ascend."

"Did you not hear me? I'll hear it from her and decide for myself. Take me to her."

The air churned uneasily. Killing intent radiated from the Regressor's gaze. In response, blood battle aura flared over the black knights' bodies.

Violence was imminent. Sky Cherry Blossom, which had been spinning like a compass needle, slowly came to a stop, and the black knights began to reach behind their backs.

"Wait, Trainee Shei."

I intervened. Extending an arm to block the Regressor's path, I pointed at Finlay, who remained seated even now.

"That's a puppet made of blood and darkness."

The Regressor frowned.

"A puppet?"

"Yes. The real one is controlling it from outside this building."

The moment I pointed it out, Finlay's body swelled with darkness. His puppet turned into a pitch-black shadow in an instant, then stretched its mouth wide and spoke.

["You're quite perceptive, Instructor. How did you know?"]

I read your thoughts. The ones coming from outside the building right now.

Since I couldn't say that, I improvised a plausible excuse.

"Cowards all act the same way. A coward like you would never show his real body in front of us, would he?"

At my answer, the pitch-black shadow opened its mouth wide and laughed wildly.

["Heh. Such arrogance. Such arrogance. A lowborn wretch, strutting about with what little power he has..."]

That was what the puppet said, but the real body's thoughts as he listened in were a little different.

'He saw through a puppet made with the Progenitor's power? He's certainly no ordinary man...! Ugh, yes. Definitely. Even with the Progenitor's power, I'd be better off avoiding a fight...!'

The thoughts coming from beyond the wall grew more distant. Finlay had been concealing himself in the vampire's darkness and watching us. The moment I exposed him, he fled at full speed.

He wasn't just a coward. He was an extraordinary coward.

As the distance increased, the puppet's shape distorted. Its skin melted and twisted, darkness billowing out of the cracks. No longer resembling a puppet, let alone a human, Finlay's puppet emitted a grotesque voice.

["But do you see? This puppet, which imitates me perfectly, is itself proof of the Progenitor's power. Brat, do you now believe that my will is the Progenitor's will?"]

There was no denying it. Even the Regressor's senses had failed to detect that the puppet was not his real body.

The Regressor answered bitterly.

"Tch. It certainly is more power than the likes of you deserve to wield."

["Now that you understand, this should be simpler. We have only one demand."]

Even as his real body fled far away, the puppet doggedly delivered its final message.

["Do not interfere with our escape. If you refrain, we will not kill—"]

SH Slice!

Before it could finish forming those words, the Regressor sliced the puppet through the waist. Its body buckled, streams of smoke spilling from the gap.

The black knights reacted to the loss of the puppet, but with a swift swing of Sky Cherry Blossom, the Regressor beheaded them both as well. The moment their black helmets hit the ground, their bodies turned into black smoke and vanished.

Silence settled over the space the vampire had vacated. Putting Sky Cherry Blossom away, the Regressor glared at the billowing black smoke with eyes blazing with hostility.

"I need to see Tyrkanzyaka. I need to meet her in person and hear what's going on."

'If Tyrkanzyaka truly fights me, I won't be able to beat her alone. At best, I could take her down with me. But...'

Mutual destruction would mean victory for the Regressor. She had another run waiting after this one.

She could use what she learned this time to seek a better future.

Her resolve firm, the Regressor turned her gaze toward me.

"What are you going to do?"