The Fallen Vampire

Chapter 142: Smooth Sailing

In the dead of night on a large sailing vessel, a lone figure was seated on the roof of the observation deck. Discover worlds on m-v le-mpyr

After an unknown amount of time was spent in meditation, Taira finally opened his eyes and let out a disappointed exhale.

He knew that cultivating once he reached the sovereign realm would be more difficult, but he had underestimated just how painstakingly slow it would be.

As of now, trying to advance through normal means was like trying to fill an Olympic swimming pool with only one drop of water at a time.

Unbeknownst to him, he was finally understanding what it felt like to be a regular cultivator for the first time in his life.

"Seeing someone like you upset about your progress is a bit of a slap in the face to the rest of us."

Looking back over his shoulder from an impossible angle, Taira stared at his mother in law with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"What? Surprised that I could sneak up on you?"

"No. I am just surprised you bothered to speak to me after you spent so long just watching."

"...You're as annoying as your father was. Nothing ever phases you, does it?"

Taira's eyes narrowed, and Ayame held up her palms in surrender.

"Apologies... I know you weren't close."

"The understatement of a millennium." He spat coldly.

Alucard despised Taira for everything after it was discovered he was inept.

He couldn't breathe right, eat right, walk right, or anything close.

It got so bad that the mere sight of his third son filled the vampire king with disgust.

His irritation only became worse when his son tried to find other interests like reading, painting, and poetry.

Things his father felt were utterly useless.

Ayame deigned to intrude closer and sat down beside the nine tailed prince.

"I'm used to you being less than talkative, but this new air of hostility about you is more than a little bit jarring."

"...Apologies."

"Well since you've spent three days like this, maybe you are tired of it now? Want to share the story of your aggression with me?"

"And me!"

Out of nowhere, Aja climbed on top of the roof of the observation deck and startled the werewolf Ayame.

"How did you do that, elf?"

"I have become the night itself."

"You're so dense... that girl clearly feels just as strongly about you as you do her. If not more so."

"But she.."

"Taira, Inadu is a woman with real trauma. She has wounds that even you cannot fully heal just by coddling her. You have to give her the space to learn how to help herself again."

"But just because she needs that space does not mean that she will not also grow to need you one day." Ayame added. "There is no amount of self love a person can develop that can substitute a romantic connection."

Closing his eyes, Taira allowed the words of the girls to marinate in the back of his brain.

He hated to admit it, but he was starting to feel just a bit better after hearing their explanation more clearly.

The fog resting atop his mind began to clear, and he felt his mood beginning to improve little by little.

"Friendships do seem to have their value... I owe you both quite a bit."

"I-I'm not your friend you bastard..." Ayame had a small blush on her face as she looked away into the distant sea.

"I am."

Aja knew how much Taira hated being hugged by anyone that wasn't his wife, so she did it anyway out of spite.

But much to her surprise, he hugged her back with both arms and he didn't even complain as he did so.

She would have thought that she were hugging an imposter were she not intimately familiar with all of her best friend's finer points.

"Well... I'm glad that you are feeling a little less melancholic now." Ayame stood up and stretched her lean body a few times before leaping down from the roof.

"Try not to let these little moods of yours persist for too long again. I find that you're much more charming when you're only halfway broody."

Aja and Taira watched the werewolf queen retreat towards the cabin hall of the ship.

Even five minutes after she left, they still had yet to say anything.

"Do you think... she was flirting with me by chance?"

"How are you only just now noticing?"

"I'm used to women being more direct when they are attracted to me. My girls usually just undress and bend over provocatively."

"...Even after hearing that, it is still odd to think that you six have the best marriage of everyone I know."

Finally, the sun started to rise upon the dark ocean and the two of them watched their destination finally come into view.

"Tell me... how many of us do you think will survive this?" Aja asked.

Taira gave her hand a firm squeeze that was meant to act as a form of reassurance.

"I'm not sure." He confessed. " But no matter what it takes... We will give all that we have to ensure that they suffer more losses on their side than we do."

"Quite a boast, my friend." Aja added with a forced smile.

"I look forward to seeing how you keep your word."