I had dered my goal was to resurrect a Demon God, but in truth, there wasn’t much I needed to do. My only task was to stay by Tyr’s side, soothe her mood, and help restore her senses.


    As a result, I ended up spending nearly all my time with her.


    And by spending time, I didn’t mean just being in the same space—


    “Sister! May Ie in?”


    “Enter.”


    “Yes! I shall bask in your presence for a mome—”


    The moment Tyr granted permission, Kabi gleefully pushed open the doors to the audience chamber… only to freeze mid-sentence at the sight before her.


    Inside, Tyr and I were seated. If that had been all, it might have barely been within Kabi’s threshold of tolerance.


    But there was one detail—


    We were sitting on the same chair.


    “…What the hell?”


    Sometimes, when something is too absurd, words simply fail you—even if you’re a vampire.


    I could feel Kabi’s thoughts unraveling as I spoke.


    With Tyr sitting on myp.


    “You two go ahead and talk. Don’t mind me.”


    “How am I not supposed to mind?! No, why are you holding my sister?! How dare some outsidery hands on her—wait, again?!”


    “Didn’t Tyr exin? I’m in the middle of restoring her senses. That means I have to stay as close to her as possible.”


    I wasn’t lying. My hands, currently resting on Tyr’s shoulders, were embedding sensations into her body.


    Even a Demon God of Thunder couldn’t just imprint sensations onto another’s body at will. A Demon God understood the structure of the world, not how a single human body functioned. If forms alone could exin all real-world problems, the term armchair theorist wouldn’t exist.


    But I was different. The King of Humans could read people themselves, and if I also understood the knowledge of a Demon God, then I could tailor sensations to fit the body.


    As long as Tyr cooperated, that is.


    “Hmm. As expected, there’s still a psychological barrier when others are watching…”


    “Should we stop, then?”


    “No, continue. It would be inconsiderate to treat Kabi as an outsider. She has been by my side long enough to have seen my most disgraceful moments…”


    Tyr leaned into me even more as she spoke. I nodded and ced my hands back on her shoulders.


    She wore a dress with thin shoulder straps, baring most of her shoulders. There was nothing in the way as I pressed my palm against her skin.


    A faint crackle of static. I gently kneaded her shoulders. Tyr shivered like a cat, eyes closed.


    “How does it feel? Rxing?”


    “Mmm. Yes. I can feel it.”


    “Your muscles are really stiff. Why are your shoulders so tense?”


    “Can muscles even get stiff? I haven’t exerted any strength at all.”


    “Ah. Sorry. My strength must be too weak.”


    The conversation felt like something out of a scene where a grandchild massages their grandparent’s shoulders.


    Not that it mattered. I probably looked older than Tyr anyway.


    As I continued kneading her shoulders, Kabi stood frozen, watching the scene unfold before her in disbelief.


    “S-Sister?”


    “That’s enough, Kabi.”


    Still receiving my massage, Tyr scolded her.


    “I do not wish to disy such an undignified sight before others either… but Hughes is human. He needs sleep and food. He needs to rest his hands and go outside from time to time. I cannot demand more of his time than he can afford.”


    “You should demand it! A consort should dedicate himself to serving you with the utmost devotion!”


    “I refuse. I will not allow Hughes to exhaust himself because of me. So I ask you to understand.”


    The progenitor had spoken. Kabi had no choice but to ept it, even if she clearly didn’t like it.


    Her thoughts fumed.


    “That man is touching Sister so casually…! He doesn’t even understand how undeserving he is! Enough with this public disy of affection…!”


    …Is this really that bad? If you set aside all bias, isn’t this just a basic shoulder massage? This is so tame that an elderly care center would approve of it. Just let it slide.


    Tyr gestured for Kabi to sit.


    “Now, what did youe for?”


    “…It’s about the Night Ebb.”


    “Ah. So it approaches. It seems I returned at a fitting time.”


    Night Ebb?


    The unfamiliar term gave me pause. Tyr must have felt my hands falter slightly, because she immediately understood my confusion.


    “Ah. Of course. Hughes is an outsider—he wouldn’t know what the Night Ebb is. Even though I told him not to mind, I cannot talk about something he does not understand all day.”


    See? Tyr gets it.


    I could read thoughts, but pretending I didn’t know something I actually knew was harder than just being told outright.


    It had been a long time since anyone showed me such consideration.


    “But simply saying, ‘Hughes doesn’t know, exin it to him,’ would embarrass him. I must uphold my partner’s dignity.”


    …You didn’t have to go that far, but alright.


    Tyr cleared her throat.


    “Kabi. Forgive my momentarypse. Could you remind me—what exactly is the Night Ebb?”


    “Of course, Sister!”


    Kabi, suspecting nothing, began exining.


    “In the Sea of Terrors, two great sea beasts dwell—the Ind Whale and the Cloud Ray. The reckless Cloud Ray ps the water’s surface with its wing-like fins, stunning fish beforezily floating above the sea to scoop them up. It’s a gluttonous menace that causes no end of trouble… but it’s nothingpared to the Ind Whale.”


    I still remembered that tidal wave.


    A wave that had nearly swept away the humans who hade to gather food during low tide. It could have been a catastrophic disaster, and yet, it was merely a side effect—just the aftermath of a sea beast’s hunt.


    And the Ind Whale was beyond even that. Even Kabi, who hardly feared anything, spoke of it with a trace of awe.


    “Once every four years, the Ind Whale rises from the deep sea, where it slumbers as if dead, and returns to the Sea of Terrors. What is deep water for us… is shallow for the Ind Whale. When it flips onto its belly, its back emerges above the surface like an ind. Then, it settles between two inds like a dam, opens its mouth toward the ocean’s currents, and…”


    “…It lets the sea flow through its belly.”


    “Exactly. The Ind Whale gulps down seawater with insatiable hunger, filtering out prey while expelling the excess water through its massive gills and blowhole.”


    As if words weren’t enough, Kabi formed a demonstration with her blood magic.


    A barrier blocking the ocean’s flow. A massive mouth opening. Blood poured into its maw. A whale sculpted from blood swallowed entire waves, filtering the water and spewing the remains through its gills.


    “But the water the Ind Whale releases is far less than what it takes in. This creates a shortage in the Sea of Terrors. As a result, an immense ebb tide urs—far greater than usual. That’s the Night Ebb. The ocean floor isid bare, revealing ins beneath the waves.”


    Stories of the Sea of Terrors were often treated as legends.


    Not only was it difficult to understand through mere words, but few had witnessed it firsthand.


    Yet, hearing it from a vampire’s mouth… even knowing the truth, it still sounded like legend.


    What the hell?


    So it’s called an Ind Whale because its back literally bes an ind, and it blocks off the sea like a dam just to filter-feed? And because of that, an ebb tide so massive urs that an entire in emerges?


    The scale was utterly terrifying.


    Now I understood why boats didn’t venture beyond rivers andkes. It wasn’t about monsters or sea creatures.


    The sea itself was a living disaster.


    Kabi crossed her arms, looking unimpressed.


    “I personally don’t care for it, but for the livestock, it’s a golden opportunity. They can make a fortune selling coral and seashells. Just greedy fools jumping at the chance.”


    “Didn’t they used to sell most of it to the Golden Kingdom? That nation is gone now. Who still wants them?”


    “Plenty of buyers. The wandering merchants of the Mage Federation still trade, and that vanished kingdom—its nobles still secretly bet them as duel prizes. Even in the barbariannds to the south, ck sorcerers use them as materials.”


    Kabi was just like dimir in that regard.


    Since Tyrkanzyaka had spent decades—sometimes centuries—in seclusion, she often needed updates on the current state of affairs. Kabi had clearly gotten used to exining things.


    “So before the Night Ebb arrives, all the humans and vampires of the duchy will gather here. Like nightfall, bringing darkness in its wake.”


    A rare moment when every vampire and human scattered across the duchy would converge in one ce.


    That was the Night Ebb.


    “And… dimir has decided to hold Lir Nightingale’s trial on that day.”


    So that was the real reason Kabi had brought up the Night Ebb.


    It wasn’t just any event—it involved an Elder.


    Naturally, all vampires had to be informed. The Crimson Duke had consulted Kabi on whether that would be the right moment…


    “Of course, Sister must give her approval first!”


    And so, Kabi hade to ask for the final permission.


    Tyrkanzyaka nodded without hesitation.


    “Let it be done.”


    “You have no objections?”


    “It is logical. There is no reason to change it. All awake vampires will be present, and afterward, they will all be upied. It is best to settle the matter beforehand.”


    Her decisiveness was absolute.


    That was why Tyr entrusted the nation to dimir, and why dimir served her with unwavering loyalty.


    In truth, nearly every major decision for the duchy was handled by dimir.


    Kabi, expecting this oue, nodded.


    “…Then, I’ll make the announcement.”


    “Thank you. I leave it to you, Kabi. Ah, wait—one more request.”


    “Of course.”


    Tyr nced at me before smiling.


    “The food you prepared was truly exquisite. It was both a blessing and a curse—now that I have regained my taste, my standards have risen too high to be satisfied with anything else.”


    “You tter me.”


    “Not at all. It is no exaggeration. So, would you cook for me and Hughes again? I wish to share in that delight together.”


    …Late discoveries are always the most dangerous.


    She hadn’t even had her taste buds back for long, and now she was developing culinary preferences?


    What must it feel like to prepare a meal for the revered progenitor—no, for the sister she admired?


    It must be an overwhelming, heart-pounding moment.


    Perhaps even enough to make her faint from emotion.


    But Kabi was a vampire.


    No matter how moved she was, her body would not copse.


    Besides, cooking had never been something she did for herself.@@novelbin@@


    It was a skill she learned only to satisfy the needs of humans.


    Once upon a time, things had been different.


    Tyr, in the past, had been lofty yet hollow.


    And her vassal, Kabi, had been bound to that power and emptiness.


    She had once struggled desperately to bring even the slightest joy to Tyr.


    Back then, it had been a one-sided devotion.


    But now—


    “For you, Sister, anything!”


    —Only a smile, crafted over a thousand years, remained.


    That was all she had left to offer.