[44] Girls Talk and. . .

[. . .are you a hero?]

That was the first question Igris Neihime, the ghost that stalked the Glacial Tower, asked when Claire Hill returned. There was shock in his voice.

"Not at all," Claire ran a hand through her black hair, crimson eyes calm.

[Then how the heck was that battle so easy for you!? You know you were supposed to die or be beaten up pretty badly, right? Do you know how much work it took me to actually catch an evolved Blaze Wyvern, tame it, and stick it into the tower!? Or what, do you think the monster just appeared from thin air!?]

"Blame the Angel," Claire replied, matter-of-factly.

The ancient voice sighed.

[I have no idea what you're talking about. . .give me my time back.]

The ice queen rolled her eyes, crossed her arms and waited. She waited until she decided not to.

"Where's my reward?" She asked.

[Gah—let me brood some more.]

"No can do, Alicia is likely still waiting for me. Knowing her, she's not the type to simply go to sleep if I'm too late."

[Fine.] He sighed.

With his words, a gem floated down and stopped before Claire. She stared at the thing that resembled ruby, but was shaped like a heart and placed her hand atop it. It was as large as her head and could feel the flow of mana within, alongside a pulsing beat that matched that of her heart's.

[Dragon's Heart: Increases the rank of your Strength, Speed, or Mana by 1 major rank as long as your chosen plate is currently below the OverLord rank.

Can also be used to craft a weapon or a piece of armor which takes in the trait of the dragon.]

"That's. . .rather amazing," Claire murmured as a layer of ice covered the thing, and it disappeared. "How do you even use it?"

[You bring it out, hold it, and wish. It'll shatter and the mana of the dragon will shape you.]

"Interesting." Claire muttered.

Her mind ran with the thought of how she would use the item. Then, the wandering stopped at the realization that she yet had a need for it. Just like the Crystal Globe, it was another thing she did not currently need. Useful in the future? Certainly. Right now? Not so much.

In the end, she simply willed the tower to take her back to the house floor. In an instant, she was back in the familiar room with the large bed that faced a wall that showed the outside world of snow, a full kitchen to its side, and two doors at the other side.

"You're back!" A grin met her return.

Alicia stood before her, mask-less, her fangs in plain view as she produced a rather silly looking smile.

'With or without her mask, she looks stunning,' Claire thought, momentarily admiring the angel-like beauty before her. Unlike herself, who looked like the spitting image of a cold-beauty. Alicia held the innocent charm, even when she was far from that.

"Mhmm," Claire nodded and took the hand of the girl. "I'm back. Now, let's enjoy the bath!"

The space was huge and practically a glorified—highly decorated—circular, pool which just happened to be a perpetual bath. Magical mist filled the scene and blocked off just the right parts of the girls to keep the story pg-13.

The scrubbing was done and Claire found herself washing Alicia's golden hair as the vampire sat before her, face pointed down to the tea-colored water.

". . .is something on your mind?" Claire asked, stopping the motion of her hand.

It was a bit unusual. Although Alice appeared cold to others, the girl was usually like a puppy whenever they were alone, taking in all of Claire's attention. They had bathed together several times before and this was the first time the vampire had not tried her hand at extra skin-ship.

"Umm. . ." A murmur.

"Hmm?"

In the end, both girls being quite direct with themselves, Alicia spoke her troubles while Claire listened.

"I didn't fully tell the truth about the memories that I saw when I drank your blood. In one of them, in a life I do not fully know, I was male. I believe that was the one on earth."

"So. . .you're worried about that?"

"I'm worried I was once a male."

"Why is that something to worry over?" Claire frowned, leaning closer, not understanding in the least. In fact, it made no sense whatsoever to her.

At that moment, the vampire turned to face her.

". . .won't you push me away?" Alicia looked up, her crimson eyes a rare shade of uncertainty.

Claire's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Ah, so that's what it is? That's rather silly," Claire squished the girl's face between her hands and stared into her confused eyes, a playful smile upon her lips.

"You look just like a cute puppy sometimes. . .sometimes you're just like me, and sometimes you're a bit air-headed. Why do you think it would matter to me if you were a boy in some sort of past life? You're the first person aside from my parents that I've opened up to. No matter what you were before, right now, you're my Alicia."

Two pairs of crimson eyes locked onto one another, one set absolutely not understanding, and Claire sighed, holding the chin of the girl as she brought her face closer.

She paused.

"You're my partner, Alice, no matter what."

Their lips connected. A short span of five seconds passed before they separated.

"Now, isn't it clear how I feel? I won't push you away," Claire said, a thin smile upon her lips.

Alicia, on the other hand, sat in a momentary daze.

". . .hello?"

A hand gripped the back of Claire's head and, once more, their lips connected. This time, their tongues rolled together and the kiss lasted far longer. The hair they had both gingerly washed for each other was gripped and roughed.

When they separated, a string of saliva broke apart.

The vampire licked her lips, "This tastes good too."

'Ah,' Claire thought, recognizing her increased heartbeat, 'We're both switches, aren't we? That's a bit troublesome.'

"Better than my blood?" She asked.

"Nope~" Alicia grinned.

"Would you like my blood?"

"Hum hum!" The vampire quickly nodded, twice.

"Then kiss me."

A passionate kiss developed between them. It was wild, enchanting, and they became lost in their combination.

And, thus, eighty thousand reads of their story was celebrated as magical mist kept everything pg-13.