"Now that we are in a place without people, can we talk about the City?" Leona asked, "Why does the City look like some bored God's weird joke?"
"You-!" Liza was going to complain to Leona again about her disrespect for the City, but she fell silent when Leona's eyes flashed azure blue.
"Shut up."
Liza's body shuddered, and immediately, she nodded meekly and stepped back.
Leona looked back at Anderson: "Explain."
"Haah..." Anderson sighed. He thought a little about his next words and then said: "In a very brief explanation."
"Eclipse Ventus is the product of Ancient Werewolves over 1000 years old, Young Werewolves who live on Earth and have come to live in Samar, and our partnership with the Witches."
"...." Leona and Natalia narrowed their eyes when they heard the Witches' part, but they decided not to bring it up and continued listening.
"The older Werewolves, who are powerful enough to live a long life, refused to change society from what they were used to. However, that didn't sit well with the Young Werewolves who came from outside Samar. Once you learn about modernity, you can't go back to living in the Middle Ages period."
"Consequently, these Young Werewolves allied with Young Werewolves who were related to these Ancient Werewolves, and gave them a taste of 'modernity' by presenting various entertainments, etc."
"That desire to modernize has grown just as strong as the Older Werewolves' desires to uphold tradition."
"Therefore, to not split society into several pieces and lose control of his people, The King of Werewolves ordered that everything be allowed."
Natalia raised an eyebrow. "... What do you mean everything is allowed?"
"Exactly what I said. He allowed everything. The young ones would bring modernity to Samar, and the Older Werewolves would keep the tradition. As long as you have an 'estate', you can build your estate however you wish. You no longer have to follow the standards the King has enacted. In this way, capitalism arrived at Monarchy."
"..." Leona and Natalia opened their eyes in shock. They had never heard so much bullshit in their lives before. A capitalist society functioning in a Monarchy with a King and a Queen who possesses absolute power?
Unlike London, where the power of the Monarchy was very 'limited', the King and Queen of Werewolves had complete control of society.
"This law opened loopholes for Witches to 'invest' in Samar and bring their products to sell."
"And thanks to Witches creating rather 'fantasy' items, this kind of scenario where various eras of history were mixed together can be seen."
"..." Leona and Natalia waited for Anderson to continue, but they realized that the man had no intention of continuing.
"... You summed up the events pretty well, huh." Leona couldn't help but say.
"Of course, if I were to tell the story exactly how it happened, it would take several hours. If you're that interested, just go read a book." Anderson snorted.
"I'll do that later..." Leona nodded.
'I wonder if Ruby will like these books. Maybe I'll get some books from the public library for her.' Natalia thought.
Leona and Natalia had doubts regarding how 'exactly' society was functioning in this chaos, but they could learn about that later.
They would definitely do that later, the reason being that despite being so chaotic, the city looked very interesting. They wanted to know how exactly it got that way.
"You mentioned the partnership you 'had' with Witches... What does that mean?" Natalia asked. She didn't miss that critical point.
Anderson looked at Natalia for a few seconds. He was thinking about whether or not he should reveal this information.
'Well, they'll be here for several weeks. They would find out anyway.' Coming to a decision, Anderson said:
"Exactly what it meant. The contract we had with the Witches was suddenly broken by them, and they left Eclipse Ventus. Today, we don't have any Witches in the City-... No, we don't have any Witches in all of Samar. They've completely left our planet."
"I assume this event took place during the war?" Leona asked.
"Yes." Anderson nodded.
Leona narrowed her eyes. "... I don't like that. This attitude is not very common for Witches. They are whores who like to profit in every possible situation. I thought they would do that on Earth when the war was over, but even after a year, I haven't seen any Witches yet."
'Except for Hecate, but it's safe to say she's an exiled Witch or something. After all, she's in love with Tatsuya.' Leona thought.
"I think the same as you. This is not the attitude of Mercenary Witches we are used to. Something is happening in Arcane, something that has made the Queen shut down her entire Nation. The fact that no one knows what is happening is even more alarming." Anderson spoke.
He looked at Natalia then, some thoughts crossed his mind, and soon he exposed these thoughts in a question:
"Lady Alioth, are you able to invade Arcane undetected?" Anderson reasoned that the Skill the Alioth Clan was so famous for should be able to do something like this easily, right?
"It's impossible," Natalia answered quickly.
Natalia's instant response proved that he was very naive for thinking that way:
"...Why?"
"The Witches have a specialist in Space Magic who protects Arcane," Natalia spoke.
'My father could probably break in if he wanted to, but he would consume a lot of Energy, which would risk his health.' Natalia thought internally but didn't voice her thoughts.
"Probably only a God of Space could sneak in undetected." She didn't talk about brute force. After all, it was clear that if a Pantheon of Gods wanted to invade Arcane, it would have already happened.
"...I see..." Anderson narrowed his eyes.
'Looks like I'll have to look at other methods to find out what those Mercenaries are doing.'
"We must-." Then, when Anderson was about to say something, he heard his father's roar.
"ANDERSON!"
Sounds of heavy footsteps were heard, and the next moment, the door was opened with a bang. Soon a tall man, along with a woman with chocolate skin, entered. Beside the two was a man that Leona knew very well.
"Father!?" Leona looked at her father with a wide look in shock. He looked so different!
His beard hadn't changed, but his expression, along with his being decked in full armor, made him look completely different than what she was used to.
Before the Volk could yell at his son, he was interrupted by Adam.
"Elizabeth!? What are you doing-...Wait a sec, if you are here, that means..." He looked at Natalia for a few seconds, then his gaze shifted to Leona with an even more intense gaze.
"Victor is here, right?"
Adam couldn't imagine Leona coming to this place alone. After all, he knew Victor very well. He wouldn't put his daughter in unnecessary danger.
Leona just nodded as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Fuck... So he was the owner of that terrifying aura." Adam could already see problems happening all over the city. Victor was like a damn hurricane that caused chaos wherever he went.
"Why are you reacting like this? Didn't you know that?" Leona asked, confused.
"Of course not. We just knew that someone powerful arrived along with the Second Prince." Adam explained.
"Excuse me? But I clearly ordered the gatekeeper to pass the message to the King that Alucard was here." Anderson said, "I told them it was top priority!"
"Wait, Alucard's here?" Tasha interjected, "Are you talking about THAT man? The Second Progenitor, King of Hell, and the most handsome man in existence?"
"...." Was the last Title really necessary? That thought went through the head of every man in the room when they heard Tasha's words.
Volk studied his wife for a few seconds, and sensing nothing wrong, he let it go.
"Correct," Leona responded by nodding.
"That is good! You did something very good, Anderson!" A big smile appeared on Tasha's face.
"Mother/Tasha!?" Volk and Anderson asked at the same time with shocked expressions.
Natalia and Leona looked at each other and nodded. They had the same thought in their heads.
'His existence itself is a threat to every husband out there.'
Seeing her son and husband's overreaction, the woman narrowed her eyes as she realized what they were thinking:
"Stop thinking nonsense. Although I find him very handsome, I'm not interested in him because of that. He's the King of Hell, right? So he must be able to do something to help our friend."
Demons were known for many things. They were unreliable, 'evil', and the Beings who most understood how to harm someone in a 'cunning' and silent way.
Not to mention, Fenrir had been sick since the Demons invaded Samar, so it was logical to think that Demons were somehow involved with Fenrir's state. As the King of Hell, Victor must know something, right?
That was Tasha's reasoning.
"....." Anderson and Volk looked at Tasha suspiciously. The fact that Tasha had said she thought he was handsome raised the two men's wariness even more.
This feeling was even more intense in Anderson because he knew Victor did not discriminate against Werewolves like other Vampires. Leona herself was an example.
Tasha stared at her husband seriously. That face was something Volk knew very well; Tasha wasn't kidding.
"... Your idea has merit, Tasha... But I still have a lot of things that worry me." He spoke honestly with a stern look. He still remembered the feeling of Alucard's Power. He had a lot of worries about letting that man go with him to meet with a weakened Fenrir.
Seeing that Tasha looked like she was going to say something, he added:
"We'll talk about that later. We need to get to know him first and treat him with respect. He is, after all, the King of an entire species."
The look Tasha gave Volk was enough for him to know she didn't appreciate being interrupted, but he didn't care about that right now.
Someone at the level of a God-King was roaming his territory. He didn't like it one bit; he needed to do something.
"Anderson, we'll talk later."
"... Yes."
Volk looked at Juan, his son's speed and tracking specialist subordinate, and ordered: "I want that damn gatekeeper Anderson talked about in front of me when I get back!"
"Yes, My King!" Juan spoke as he immediately left and went to capture the gatekeeper.
Volk nodded in satisfaction, and soon his entire countenance began to change.
"Grrr..." A snarl came out of Volk, and his expression grew even wilder. His eyes glowed azure blue, and all the Wolves around several KM away felt a shiver run down their spines, that included the Alpha Werewolves like Leona and Adam.
Tasha immediately put her hand over her ears.
Seeing Tasha doing this, Natalia, Leona, Adam, and Anderson did the same.
A powerful aura erupted out of his body, and soon a powerful voice echoed throughout the city.
"The King of Hell, Victor Alucard, is in town. He is a guest of Second Prince Anderson; no one must antagonize him!"
'Ugh... Such a barbaric method of communication.' Tasha groaned internally, though she couldn't deny that it was effective. Her husband's voice alone was too powerful for all Wolves. After all, he was the Alpha among Alphas. He was The King of All Werewolves.
Natalia looked cautiously at Volk and thought: 'So this is The King of the Werewolves...' She studied the man for a few seconds, then concluded: 'He is strong... But my Husband is much stronger.'
Leona was having similar thoughts. She looked at her father and understood why her father served such a man, but... 'Was he that important?' Despite feeling a shudder at Volk's voice, she didn't feel as suffocated as the people around her made it seem.
She looked around and saw Anderson and his subordinates with very submissive expressions.
'Strange.'
Adam, who was watching Leona's reaction, displayed a small satisfied smile.
'As expected, she managed to resist, huh... Is this due to Victor's influence or because she has that?' He looked at Anderson: 'Unlikely... After all, Anderson reacted that way... Hmm, I'd better watch-.' Adam's thoughts froze completely, and he looked mechanically at Leona.
"...Father?" Leona narrowed her eyes, "What's the matter? Why are you looking at me like I died or something?"
"That smell..."
Leona shuddered when she heard what Adam said. 'Fuck, did my scent leak? How is that possible!? I specifically asked Victor to cover my scent with his Magic.'
"Smell?" Volk and Tasha spoke, confused. They sniffed the air and felt the heavy scent of an unknown man on Leona's body. When they focused on that scent, they realized that the same scent could be smelled on the blonde who was dressing as Maid.
"...Oya... Looks like Adam's little princess got a boyfriend; who is it? Is it a Werewolf?" Tasha asked curiously, even looking to her son for answers, but when she saw him sweating like a pig waiting to be slaughtered, she felt like he had done something very wrong.
Tasha knew her son too well to know that this reaction happened when a dire secret [from his perspective] was leaked. He reacted the same way when in the past when he protected his brother from the embarrassment of bedwetting. As an intelligent woman, Tasha looked at Leona and Adam's expressions, put two and two together, and understood what had happened.
Her eyes widened in shock, "Don't tell me..." Tasha looked at Leona in pure disbelief.
Leona noticed that Tasha had come to the correct conclusion but didn't care. She only cared about her father's reaction; the opinion of strangers to her didn't influence her life.
When she saw her father's expression getting even darker. Cold sweat began to fall from Leona's face:
"Father, I can explain-."
"FUCKING BASTARD!!!" A neon green aura covered Adam's body and exploded throughout the room.
"Father, you need to calm down!"
"Calm down!? I sent you to that bastard to protect you, not for you to do this!"
"Stop being unreasonable; you know very well that I always wanted this!"
"It doesn't matter! He's a Vampire! He broke my trust!"
"Screw this! Race does not define a person! Stop being so petty!"
Adam completely ignored Leona; he didn't want to hear reason:
"I'll go look for him... No, I'll kill him!"
Suddenly, Leona lost all momentum from her face, and she looked up with a bored expression.
"What's with that face, Leona!?"
She spoke quietly in a bored voice, "... I mean, good luck with that?" She really couldn't see her Husband losing.
If a spanking was all it took for Adam to calm down, a spanking he was going to get.
'Actually, that's a good solution...' What can't be solved in dialogue can be solved with violence. Leona had the same mindset as Victor at that point.
Completely changing her thinking as if she were a bipolar person, she declared:
"You should go after him, Father! He went after an arrogant extra who looked at his Wife with dark lust. You should be able to find him easily. Go where the chaos is happening!" She gave instructions for him to follow.
"I trust you! Beat him up, Father!" She started rooting for her Father:
"Fight, Fight, Father! Ganbare, Father!" She even spoke a few words of Japanese to give her father emotional support. She was acting like a cheerleader now.
"..." It was clear to everyone that she wasn't serious about her 'support'.
Literal veins were showing on Adam's face now.
Somehow the fact that his daughter underestimated him so much made him angrier than knowing Victor deflowered her. "I WILL KILL HIM!"
"Mm!" Leona nodded in satisfaction.
"Good luck! KÅun o! Buona fortuna! Bene vale! Boa sorte! Buena Suerte! Bonne chance! Viel Glück!" She cheered him up again by saying 'good luck' in different languages she knew.
Those words made Adam even angrier! She was clearly underestimating him!
Eyes gleaming like a man possessed, he looked at Volk.
Volk broke out in a slightly cold sweat when he saw his General's expression. He had never seen him that way before. "You will go with me!"
"Huh?" Volk didn't have time to think as he suddenly found himself being grabbed by the White Wolf, and his world started to move.
Adam ran towards the window and jumped, breaking the window easily, and soon started running at high speed towards Victor's scent.
"...." The silence that fell when the two most powerful men left was quite deafening.
"... Leona, you overreacted," Natalia spoke, breaking the silence.
"I know my Father. I know he won't calm down that easily, so it's a good chance for someone to beat some sense into him." Leona spoke indifferently. As she returned to sit on the sofa, she folded her legs.
"Haah... You're cruel enough to your Father to send him off to one-sided defeat. His pride can be hurt, you know?" Natalia felt a little sorry for Adam.
'Hmm, I'll record the fight to show everyone later.' She thought as she sat beside Leona and picked up a crystal ball.
"He needs to lower his pride a bit. He is strong, but my Husband is the strongest." She snorted, then added, "This is for his own good."
"..." Anderson was simply speechless with the whole situation, and also how Leona was casually chatting before Tasha like she didn't care that she was the literal 'Queen' of The Werewolves.
He couldn't understand how his authoritative mother couldn't care about this 'little' fact.
'This girl... Somehow, she reminds me a lot of her grandmother.' Tasha thought in amusement.
...
[A/N: Ganbare in literal translation means strives.]