"Ho, young master?" asked Jerman after closing the back door for .
"Yes."
Having dealt with the issue of drug-making and sword-addicted female protagonist who was living a life of poverty, so of the weight was lifted off my shoulders.
I had wrapped up the conversation with her and her mother ten minutes ago but it took a while to make it back to my car because a crowd had ford and I had to sign a few things and take a couple of pictures.
A few daredevils even attempted to pickpocket but Jerman ensured that they all left with one less finger than they ca with.
I concluded that although this side of the city was extrely poor and had a high rate of cri, most of the people were still good-hearted.
As the car slowed down below the speed limit due to high traffic on the road, I took my seatbelt off and laid down in the backseat.
Looking up at the ceiling that mimicked the beauty of the galaxy, I began to wonder what Earth was up to at the mont.
In the middle of a conversation with the artifacts I had on hand, suddenly, I felt this strange feeling in my heart; it was like soone was squeezing it but at the sa ti, they weren't.
I jolted up.
A second squeeze.
I knew then that sothing was wrong with Diana.
While inputting the address of her ho into the GPS in front of , I told Jerman, "Change of plans Jerman. Head to this location on the GPS."
He looked down at the screen in front of him and responded, "Yes, young master."
Imdiately, he changed to the lane on our right, squeezing in between this tight space between two cars which led the car behind us to sound their horn.
I grabbed my phone and dialed Diana's number but there was no response.
I tried a few more tis but to no avail.
I didn't know what the details of the situation were but it couldn't be good. She could be in danger, her identity revealed to her family, and the authorities could be arriving at her location at any mont.
'What happened, Diana?' I sighed.
"Is this the fastest we can go?" I asked Jerman.
"Yes, young master. Doesn't seem like the traffic is lessening any ti soon."
'Why now, Diana? Why now?' I asked as I closed my eyes and massaged the bridge of my nose.
It just had to be when I wasn't near her area. I was all the way down in the southside of the city. She was across the city.
'Forget this.'
As I began taking off my jacket, I instructed Jerman, "Keep heading towards the destination. et there as soon as you can. I'll head there on foot."
Getting out of the car, I pushed my mana to its limit and began sprinting towards the direction of Diana's house.
Through our connection, I knew that she was there — or at least around it.
In a desperate rush, I cut through an alleyway, leaped over a fence, and scaled up to the top of this building.
I began running and jumping across buildings, heading directly in her direction.
"Liona, I'll be counting on you."
'Aye aye captain,' she said and I could visualize her lifting her hand to a salute.
Activating Liona's ability, I began skipping ahead in ti and was covering a large distance of land within seconds.
I continued using it until Liona had fallen asleep.
So much strain was on my leg muscles as they were being pushed to their limits that I felt like my at was about to slide off the bones.
Why was I in so much of a hurry?
It's just because she's important to the plot — that's what I was telling myself.
'Faster. Co on. Faster!' I yelled at myself.
The distance I was traveling would take the fastest human on Earth an hour and a half to cover. I was on pace to cover the distance in less than ten minutes.
Why was I in so much of a hurry?
The truthful answer is that she had found herself a spot in my heart.
It's not love.
It's not even friendship.
It was sothing else that I couldn't place a finger on. Millions of words in the world and I can't find the right one to describe.
I leaped off the building, broken roof tiles flying into the air, and I began to descend toward the ground.
If it wasn't for the thin layer of mana I had coating my body, I would've looked like a forest with how many bugs I had run into.
Breathing heavily, I slowed down and ca to a complete stop in front of her door.
"Shoot," I muttered as I realized I didn't have a disguise on.
If her parents were ho then I'd only create more problems for the two of us but luckily, I used my mana to sense how many people were in the house and there were only two.
The strange feeling in my heart had cald down but now that I was extrely close to her, I could see all these emotions that she was feeling.
I knocked on the door.
After a while, I knocked again.
"I'm coming. Stop knocking," said a voice behind the door. The voice was trying its best to sound normal but I could hear the errors in it.
The door opened and a confused Diana looked at as if she had just seen a ghost.
"What... what are you doing here?" she asked, already about to break down in front of and burst into tears.
"...Are you okay?" I asked, still breathing heavily, trying my hardest to catch my breath.
She looked like she was about to lie but then stopped herself because there was no way for her to get away with it due to our connection.
"No," she shook her head. "I'm not."
"...Who's in the house with you?" I asked.
She turned her head back and responded softly and sorrowfully, "Peaches is in my bedroom right now."
"Did... did you..."
"...Yeah. I attacked her," she said while biting down on her bottom lips, her fingernails digging into her palm.
Guilt, sha, sadness, and a level of pain so strong that I wanted to get down on my knees and clutch at my own heart.
"Does she know that I know?" I asked.
"No," she shook her head.
I gave her two choices. "Would you like to co inside and help resolve the issue or would you rather stay away for the mont and co back when she's gone?"
Giving her these options brought so sense of control back to her which allowed her to ease her rapid heartbeats a little bit.
She thought about it for a bit before responding, "Co inside. I think it's better now to let her know than risk her finding out later on her own."
"Alright," I nodded as I stepped inside.
"Would you like a towel?" she asked.
"Yes, please."
Wiping the sweat off my body, I walked inside her bedroom and a still terrified Peaches was in the corner of the room, sitting down while holding her neck which I assud was where the two fang holes were.
As soon as she saw , confusion sared her face.
"What are you doing here, Bell?" Peaches asked as she stood up slowly.
She looked at , then at Diana who stood a step behind , then back at .
I could see the gears turning in her head. Assumptions were being made. Dots were being connected. Confusion from the past was being resolved.
"I'm so stupid," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. I could see in her eyes that she was hurting a lot. "It's all starting to make sense."
She was chuckling but wasn't finding anything about the situation humorous.
"Silly . Assuming that two of my friends, one who is my best friend, would include in on a secret," she chuckled, a tear dropping down on her face.
"Peaches—"
"No! D-don't call that right now. Neither... neither of you can call that," she said.
I could see the fatigue in her body that was overwhelming her especially with her emotions rising. This was the typical reaction a person my age would have after having their blood drunk.
My mana reserve was simply on a different level.
"Peneri," I called her by her real na, "calm down for now. There's a lot I need to explain to you."
"Please," said Diana, struggling to stop herself from crumbling into dust.
Both of these girls were going through a lot and I was caught in the middle of it all.
"You can explode at us later once you've heard everything," I told Peaches who was struggling to not look at the two of us with disdain.
Peaches turned her gaze to Diana and continued to stare without blinking. Sparks could be seen shooting out of her.
"Please," Diana said again.
"...Fine."
The conversation was long. The conversation was tiring. By the end of it, the rest of her family had returned and I had to use a mana bubble to prevent them from hearing our conversation.
Peaches still wasn't satisfied but she understood Diana's perspective to keep the secret hidden between the two of us and not including her.
"I will have more questions."
"I know."
"I won't hesitate to ask them regardless of how late it is."
"I understand."
"You better answer them."
"I will."
"Promise?"
"Promise," answered Diana who offered her pinky. The two of them locked pinkies and I could see that a piece of their friendship that had fallen off had been glued back.
Throughout the conversation between the three of us, I began to understand what led Diana to lose her control and attack Peaches.
It made sense why I was so unfamiliar with the sensation I felt in my heart because it wasn't bloodlust that took over her but her human side's addiction.
Even in the novel, she was able to hold her bloodlust back for a week when the main character had been trapped in a dungeon.
How co she could survive a week without the main character's A1 blood but not mine?
It was like her lies from earlier where she claid she needed a daily dose of blood had co to fruition.
As Peaches left through the door and I left through the window, I sat down at the side of her house for a little bit before standing back up and crawling back into the bedroom.
Diana was there waiting for .
"Thank you," she said, wiping tears trickling down her face. Relief was washing over her. "I didn't know what I would do without you."
"You're welco," I responded as I sat down on her bed.
She didn't ask but I could sense it.
She wanted my blood.
"Can I?" she asked.
"Go ahead," I chuckled. "Feast away."
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