Questions : Surprise

After a very long discussion regarding who he was, where he came from, his association with the No Names, his relationship with Black Rabbit, and his intentions for the future, it was safe to say that Leticia was thoroughly perplexed. She understood everything he was saying, sure, but, after learning how short his stay in the Little Garden had been, it was difficult for her to accept how far close he and Black Rabbit had become.

Having watched Black Rabbit grow up ever since they had rescued her from the destruction of her clan, Leticia was far more concerned about the last surviving Moon Rabbit than herself. As a result, she left Black Rabbit floundering, hair pink and hands covering her tomato-red face as she calmly inquired, "Have the two of you had sex?" in a delicate, nearly monotone voice.

With Leticia's eyes shifting to him, Vahn's smile became somewhat wry as he joked, "Indeed. The last few days, in particular, have been quite enjoyable..."

"Vahn...!"

Unamused by Vahn's antics, Leticia raised her hand to silence Black Rabbit as she furrowed her brows and asked, "Do you love her?" with a pale light glowing in the depths of her eyes.

Without needing to consider his response, even for a moment, Vahn answered, "I do." in a firm, resolute tone.

Though she had quite a number of additional questions, Leticia ultimately decided to save them for later. Instead, she simply nodded in approval, saying, "I suppose that's enough. Just try not to tease her too much. Her reactions might be adorable, but she has experienced great pain and suffering. It would be good if you could heal her heart rather than place additional burdens on her..."

Returning a confident smile, Vahn's eyes shifted to meet Black Rabbit's as he said, "You don't have to worry about that. I intend to resolve Black Rabbit's burdens, not add to them. Also...I would never do anything she didn't want me to do..."

Punctuating his words with a wink, Vahn prompted Black Rabbit to remember the 'requests' she had been making as of late. This caused illusory steam to rise from her head as she used her bright pink ears as an additional cover for her face.

"..."

Seeing the interaction between the two, Leticia couldn't fathom had Vahn had managed to leave such a deep impression on the overly cautious bunny in such a short period of time. Black Rabbit was generally very shy, and, due to the number of licentious individuals targeting her, she typically avoided men older than their teens.

Based on Vahn's words, Leticia could surmise that he and Black Rabbit had only known each other for a few days before progressing their relationship to a physical one. This made very little sense to her as Black Rabbit actually used to boast about her purity. It was difficult to imagine her falling for someone to the extent she was willing to have sex with them mere days after their first meeting.

As that thought crossed her mind, Leticia stared directly at Vahn as if she were trying to see through him. She had to admit he was very handsome, but, compared to some of the Gods that had tried to claim Black Rabbit for themselves, his looks were only so-so. His most notable feature was the color of his eyes but even they weren't particularly rare within the Divine Realm...

Noticing Leticia's unwavering and unblinking gaze, Vahn's smile became noticeably wry as he asked, "Is there something on my face...?"

Instead of responding to Vahn's question immediately, Leticia continued to observe him for several seconds longer before directly inquiring, "How were you able to seduce Black Rabbit in such a short period of time?"

"Leticia-sama!? W-What are you asking~!?"

Recalling that she was the one that kept egging Vahn on, Black Rabbit's already pink hair practically erupted into a glowing mass of hot pink. This earned her a curious glance from Leticia, but, unable to suppress her curiosity, she calmly asserted, "It just doesn't make sense. I understand that people can change in two years' time, but I can't imagine you falling for someone so quickly. There must be a reason."

Answering in Black Rabbit's stead, Vahn left both girls at a loss for words as he asked, "Have you ever been in love, Leticia?"

"..."

Hanging her head, a depressive atmosphere immediately exuded from Leticia's tiny frame as she softly replied, "Not in the way you are thinking...but yes, I have been in love..."

Restraining his almost instinctual urge to apologize, Vahn's expression softened as he said, "Love is a peculiar thing. For some, it takes years to blossom. For others, a chance encounter is all it takes to fall madly in love with another. I was merely fortunate enough to be one of the people Black Rabbit was willing to open her heart to."

Detecting no falsehoods within Vahn's words, Leticia fell into a deep and contemplative silence. As for Black Rabbit, a remarkably tender smile had developed across her face. If it was just this, there wouldn't have been any issues. Unfortunately, spending upwards of eight hours every single day at Vahn's side had caused a perpetual flame to burn in her body. It only took a small amount of fuel to turn into a veritable bonfire, so, despite appearing relatively calm on the surface, even Leticia could feel the heat radiating from her body.

Though she was briefly confused by Black Rabbit's reaction, it didn't take long for Leticia to realize what was going on. This caused a rare smile to develop across her face, but, at the same time, she couldn't help furrowing her brows as she softly mused, "It would appear my presence has become an inconvenience..."

Blushing crimson in response to Leticia's words, Black Rabbit buried her face into her hands. She wanted to tell Leticia she was wrong, but, fearing she would cause some kind of misunderstanding, she just released a frustrated, "Wuuuuu..." sound as her mind worked to come up with the words to say.

Amused by the duo's interaction, a light chuckle emanated from Vahn's throat as he teased, "You're underestimating me..." before spontaneously splitting into two. This earned him a curious look from Leticia, not because it was particularly difficult to create copies of oneself, but because there was no way to distinguish between them...

Despite feeling more embarrassed than ever before, Black Rabbit offered virtually no resistance as Vahn guided her to her feet and escorted her from the room. This left a version of him alone with Leticia, who, despite the awkward tensions, appeared wholly unaffected as she blindsided Vahn by asking, "Are you going to seduce me next? I didn't want to discuss it in front of Black Rabbit, but I can detect the pheromones of several other women lingering in this place. Does she know about your relationships with other women?"

As he had nothing to hide, Vahn didn't hesitate to nod his head, explaining, "I informed her about my harem on the first day we met. I've never been fond of concealing things from the people I care about. Black Rabbit has suffered too much to have someone deceive her."

Nodding her head in approval, Leticia was about to say something when Vahn interrupted, adding, "That goes for you as well. This might be our first meeting, but I know quite a bit about you due to my association and relationship with Shiroyasha. She-"

Before Vahn could finish speaking, the person in question appeared out of thin air, saying, "Hey, now. That's confidential information you're about to share. I don't mind you revealing your own secrets, but it would cause a number of issues if you went around advertising the matters we've discussed. There will be a time and place for such revelations. Now is neither."

Though Vahn had grown accustomed to Shiroyasha's sudden appearances, Leticia was genuinely surprised by the aforementioned demon's spontaneous manifestation. Vahn's words were also at the forefront of her mind, so, with a slightly incredulous look on her face, she asked, "Are the two of you lovers...?"

Despite the characteristic smile on her face, Shiroyasha's eyes reflected severity as she said, "Don't ask about things you shouldn't..."

Blinking several times in surprise, innumerable questions appeared in Leticia's mind, but, as one of the people who had chosen Shiroyasha for her current position as Floor Master, she knew the loli's circumstances better than anyone else. Thus, after a very brief moment of consideration, she simply nodded her head before looking at Vahn as if he were even more monstrous than he had revealed himself to be. She had taken his words with a grain of salt previously, but, now that she knew about his relationship with Shiroyasha...that changed everything...

Approving of Leticia's reaction, Shiroyasha's expression regaining its usual mischievousness as she crossed her arms and mused, "Since I'm here, I might as well let you in on a secret or two. They're both Vahn's so it's only a matter of time before you learned about them yourself."

Though his attention had briefly shifted to the Law of Identity's explanation regarding Shiroyasha's behavior, Vahn's smile became wry when he heard the petite demoness's words, saying, "So you're allowed to reveal my secrets but I can't talk about yours...?"

Without any shame whatsoever, Shiroyasha cheekily replied, "Of course. You're the one who said you didn't have any secrets. The only difference between hearing it from me and hearing it from you is that she won't be blindsided by your, ahem, 'thoughtfulness'."

Adopting a deadpan expression, Vahn was tempted to retort, but, understanding the futility of such action, he just gestured for Shiroyasha to continue. She wouldn't do anything to compromise any of his future plans. Rather, she was secretly supporting most of them. Thus, even if she did reveal a few of his secrets, she likely had their shared interests in mind.

Amused by Vahn's quick acquiescence, a playful twinkle appeared in Shiroyasha's cat-like eyes as she looked directly at Leticia and stated, "I'll tell you something similar to what I told Black Rabbit. Vahn can basically transform himself and others into virtually any race. In other words, he can help to rebuild your population by converting worthy individuals into Pure-Blooded Vampires. Of course, the far more 'prudent' approach would be to rebuild from scratch..."

Like the pieces of a puzzle, most of the questions Leticia had regarding Vahn's and Black Rabbit's relationship spontaneously fell into place. Black Rabbit had always been under a lot of pressure as the sole surviving member of her race, so, if Vahn truly possessed such an ability, it was only natural that she does her best to 'secure' the future of her species.

As the Princess of the Vampire Race and one of only surviving members of her species, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Leticia was in a similar boat to Black Rabbit. Unfortunately, even if she did have the heart to try and revive her race, every surviving Shinso Vampire was female. She was also the reason the reputation of Pure-Blooded Vampires had been dragged through the mud, so, even if she could have children, they would forever be burdened with the stigma she had wrought upon her entire race...

Just as Leticia was about to refute Shiroyasha's words, the latter dropped a veritable bombshell on her, saying, "Your younger sister is still alive. Also, Canaria would have wanted you to do everything in your power to move forward. You can't keep living in the past, Leticia. I'm not saying you need to rush things, but you shouldn't keep beating yourself up over circumstances beyond your control..."

Ignoring everything else Shiroyasha had said, Leticia tentatively inquired, "Lamia is still alive?" in an understandably shaky tone of voice.

Nodding her head, Shiroyasha shifted Leticia's focus back to Vahn, smiling as she said, "I can't tell you more, but this big lug can undoubtedly uncover her location. Now might not be the best time to go searching, but it won't be long before an opportunity presents itself. Rather, given this idiot's personality, it's only a matter of time before he reunites you with your sister. He has a soft spot for women with tragic backstories. If you don't take the initiative, your sister might end up being eaten by him before you know it. Ufufufufufufu~."

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Shameless...','RIP Black Rabbit. She's too far gone xD...','Shiroyasha using her secret Gift Card, [Fragment of Origin: Loki]...')

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