Chapter Eight
Souji had seen extravagance before, but Castle Csejte put even the Doumon family to shame. Befitting its place as the former home of the legendary Elizabeth Ballory, priceless paintings and decorations of precious metals and gems lined the walls. It certainly served as a reminder that evil paid better than good, not that he would have said as much to his hosts.
He stopped behind a seat at a long, extravagant table that seemed to be made of pure marble. Kuroka stood next to him, and even her posture was serious. They were in enemy territory, a fact that neither could forget. Even so, there was no reason for things to devolve into chaos.
A single woman sat opposite them with long silver hair and crimson eyes. Her figure was every bit as stunning as Kuroka's but she exuded danger just as much as sex appeal. Standing to the side and just behind her was a young woman. She was even paler than the seated woman and had an almost doll-like appearance with blond hair that seemed almost white and deep red eyes. A number of vampires stood along the walls as well, no doubt serving as guards, but he didn't pay them too much attention.
"You are in the presence of her majesty Eliza Carmilla, Queen of the Carmilla Faction," the young woman said.
Souji gave a small but respectful bow, as did Kuroka. It wouldn't do to insult a queen, even one that had no authority over him.
"It is an honor to be granted an audience by the illustrious ruler of the Carmilla Faction," Souji greeted. "I am Meguri Souji, this generation's Stormborn, and my guest is the SS-class stray devil known as Kuroka."
The queen's lips twitched at that introduction and she glanced at her attendant. "Elmenhilde, bring tea for our guests."
The doll-like vampire quickly left the room to fulfill the order.
"Now then, take your seats and we can begin. It isn't every day that a Longinus wielder requests a meeting. I have heard much about both of you."
They took their seats without hesitation and Souji spoke. "I wouldn't have thought there was that much about me to hear."
Eliza Carmilla gave a wry smile at that remark and Kuroka gripped his leg hard enough to make him stop talking and glance at her.
"Now Souji, it's not proper to fish for information like that," Kuroka remarked, her eyes never leaving the vampire.
"I don't mind, stray devil. Such a young man would only naturally have questions," the queen said with a smile that didn't meet her lips. She turned her gaze back to Souji. "I can't honestly say that much is actually known about you. I've only heard of your exile from the Doumon family, your father's death, your encounter with the crows, and of course your recent encounter with the Tepes Faction."
Kuroka tensed, and even Souji frowned. He definitely wasn't a fan of his exile or his father's death being common knowledge to such distant factions, but in the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter that much. There were two points of matter that were worth noting though. First, she somehow knew about the encounter with the Tepes Faction. Not even a full day had passed since then, and Sona had promised him forty-eight hours before she even alerted her family. Rias hadn't been spying on his fight through magical means, and she didn't leave her base during the encounter, so it seemed unlikely that she could have revealed any information either. Secondly, his contract with Sona wasn't mentioned, so it seemed likely that his arrangement with her wasn't common knowledge.
"Your information network is impressive," Kuroka said, her voice more controlled than normal. He doubted anyone but him would have recognized the difference though.
To that, the vampire queen merely offered a pleased smile.
The doll-like vampire, Elmenhilde entered moments later and presented the queen and their guests cups of tea. To his senses, it smelled normal, but Souji didn't take a drink until Kuroka gave him the signal that it was fine. As a master of senjutsu, Kuroka was practically immune to poison, and she could detect it with ease.
"As you might have expected, I asked for this meeting because of that encounter with the Tepes Faction."
Eliza Carmilla arched an eyebrow. "Interesting, but I'm afraid I don't see how such a matter concerns me. If you are asking for my assistance in dealing with them, I will have to refuse you."
That actually made Souji smile. "I didn't come to you as the enemy of my enemy."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because I don't want you getting the wrong idea. What I'm going to do today has nothing to do with you or your faction. I merely want you to know why I do it so you don't mistakenly believe that your faction will meet the same fate."
That, more than anything, seemed to pique the vampire queen's interest. "And what do you intend to do today?"
"The Tepes Faction made an attack on my person and would have damaged my property if not for my quick actions. I have no choice but to retaliate and ensure that no one will ever try something like that again. Later today, I will personally destroy the Tepes Faction in its entirety."
The previously motionless guards stirred at his words with a few actually gasping. Elmenhilde's face had morphed into a shocked expression as well. Only the queen did not visibly react. At least, not at first.
A laugh that was both musical and sultry escaped the queen's lips a few moments later. "Now, I expected this meeting to be interesting, but this is certainly beyond what I could have ever predicted. I see your intentions now. You concluded that destroying our rivals would make us believe that you would come for us next."
"That was my thought," Souji confirmed. "Personally, I have no intention of making an enemy of the Carmilla. You haven't done anything to necessitate it, and I'd prefer not to mess things up too much in another country. Even with the Carmilla around to pick up the pieces, I'm sure wiping out the Tepes won't be good for stability. I'd hate to imagine what would happen if your faction wasn't around to pick up the pieces."
"I can appreciate the rationale behind your argument, but I would suggest not speaking to the head of a faction as though you could casually destroy them in the future." The voice queen's dry statement made him grimace and offer a nod of something between understanding and apology. "I must correct you on one further matter. If you did hypothetically destroy both the Tepes and Carmilla, you would create a power vacuum within Romania. It is possible nothing would come of it, but it is more likely that something far worse than vampires would take over this country. Perhaps even Khaos Brigade."
Souji almost spoke up to ask what that was, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the grave expression on Kuroka's face and held his tongue. There was no reason to expose his deficiencies before the monarch when he could get an answer later. So instead, he said, "That is the last thing I want. So, I'd like to offer you something. It's not a deal but a promise. Kuroka and I will deal with the Tepes Faction. We don't need any assistance from your faction, and we aren't asking for it. After we are done, we will leave Romania as soon as possible. That's the promise I offer to you. I can't say that we'll never return to this country since I can't see the future, but I'd prefer never to return personally."
Eliza Carmilla met his gaze. It felt as though she could see straight into his soul and uncover his every secret, but he couldn't look away. After an uncomfortably long moment, she spoke. "I accept your words, Meguri Souji. I offer you no assistance and hope to never see you again after this day, but I do wish you the best of luck in destroying my enemies."
"Well, that went a little better than I expected," Souji admitted as he fell back onto the bed. The meeting with the Carmilla Faction had ended nearly an hour ago and now they were in their hotel room in one of the cities between Carmilla and Tepes territory.
"It went surprisingly well," Kuroka agreed as she sat down next to him.
He gave her a look, but she merely grinned. There were two separate beds, but she had no intention of using the other one.
Knowing better than to press her on the matter, he ignored it and continued speaking. "I think we might have avoided starting a conflict with the Carmilla, but I definitely don't trust that she's going to sit around and do nothing."
"Then you're learning," Kuroka said, lying down on her side so she could comfortably look at him from a few inches away. "There's a chance she'll pass a warning on to the Tepes Faction so they have a better chance at killing you during the attack. And if by some chance it doesn't work, they could always show up during our attack and wait until we're tired so they can finish us off."
Souji didn't say anything, instead simply listening. That possibility had crossed his mind, though it didn't seem too likely in his estimation.
"But there are other ways to use the information that won't be so direct. It's possible we won't even know what she does with it unless we're specifically told later."
He had to nod at that. Knowing that the Tepes Faction would be destroyed actually gave her considerable opportunity if she acted quickly enough.
"Some of what she mentioned went over my head, but it seemed like you followed along just fine. Like when she mentioned Khaos Brigade."
Kuroka froze for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I need you to trust me. I'll explain about it when we're back in Kuoh, but it'll just distract you if I tell you now."
Souji met her eyes and nodded without a second of hesitation. The simple truth of the matter was that he did trust Kuroka. If she thought it would be bad to discuss it now, he could wait.
Apart from that, there was really only one thing about the whole conversation that he needed her input on, and it wasn't really about anything that was said. Rather, it was the opposite.
"Do you think she hid anything when she mentioned what she knew about me?"
Kuroka seemed to consider that for a long moment before answering. "No, I think her answer was surprisingly honest. That's pretty much all the information that the youkai factions have on you too."
"What about my connection to Sona?"
That made Kuroka purse her lips. It almost seemed as if she was annoyed about that subject. "The only connection that is public knowledge is your blood relation to Meguri Tomoe. This vague deal you made with Sona is something I wouldn't know about if you hadn't told me."
He actually let out something of a snort. "It's not that vague, really. The deal was pretty straight forward actually. In exchange for using her influence to grant me emancipation, I would owe her a single favor so long as I wasn't required to take a life, cast away my humanity, or do anything that would put my life in serious danger. I didn't have anything else worth offering in exchange for what it cost her to get me emancipated, so that was the only way we could make a pact. At the time, she said that she was considering using that favor to make me work for one of the businesses that the Sitri family owns in the human world."
Kuroka actually seemed surprised by the full terms of the deal. "That actually doesn't sound that bad."
"Because it's not. Sona did warn me not to break the pact since her affection for my cousin doesn't extend so far that she could allow me to shame her family. I believe she said something about being willing to use her influence to ensure I was left homeless and unemployed for the rest of my life if I violated the pact. But she also said that refusing a command isn't actually a violation of the pact. There is some leniency beyond those restrictions. Though I obviously can't refuse to do something with a reasoning as flimsy as because I don't want to."
Kuroka didn't say anything for several minutes. While he usually saw confidence and amusement in her amber eyes, he now saw an intelligence that at least equaled Sona's. "Who all knows about the terms of your pact?"
"Outside of us, there's only Sona, her Queen, Tomoe, and Serafall Leviathan."
Kuroka actually shuddered at that last name. He couldn't blame her either. While Souji had never actually met the woman, he had sensed her presence before. Simply put, she was a monster. As powerful as Kuroka was, Serafall could more than likely crush her with nothing but raw power.
"Only Sona and Tsubaki were there when I made the pact. I told you and Tomoe about it, and Sona told her sister. I'm reasonably certain that no one has been told outside of that."
"That's good," Kuroka said after a long moment. "Though, I'm sure there are others that know you at least owe a favor to her. Them not knowing about the restrictions is helpful though. Sona isn't too likely to call in this favor unless she has to because the threat of unleashing you on her enemies is too great for most to risk."
It was more beneficial for Sona than him, but his connection to the Sitri family had the potential to help his reputation in certain circles. Of course, that connection was currently not widely known, but it could come in handy in the future.
"Speaking of Sona, you know we're going to have to talk about what you said to her yesterday." Souji didn't phrase it like a question, and Kuroka nodded, albeit with a smile.
She understood exactly what he was talking about. She had told Sona that she was right about them being lovers.
Like the matter with Khaos Brigade, it probably would have been better to have that conversation once they were back in Kuoh. He didn't actually intend to have it now at all, instead merely wanting to remind her. As a result, his eyes widened when she moved. It wasn't far, but she still moved with such speed that he saw more blur than anything.
Instead of lying beside him, she was above him on her hands and knees, straddling his hips and looking directly into his eyes. If he had looked down, Souji would have been treated to a nice view, but her eyes were as mesmerizing as always.
"You're not stupid, Souji. You know why I said what I did."
His voice caught in his throat, unable to say anything. She wasn't exactly right about that. He didn't know why she did. He wasn't certain enough to call it anything more than a strong suspicion.
Before he could force any words out, she leaned down. The first thing he felt was the swell of her breasts against his chest, her kimono and his shirt doing little to dampen the sensation. That paled in comparison to the feel of her lips against his and she kissed him. Her lips tasted as sweet as always, a hint of cherry on them today, but this time there wasn't a soft, teasing aspect to the contact. Their lips met far harder than when she healed him in training, a fierce passion fueling his actions.
Souji did the only thing he could. He returned her kiss with just as much intensity as she showed him, his hands clutching at her hips and their tongues parting lips before meeting in dance. Without conscious thought, he shifted their positions and Kuroka was beneath him. Her hands ran through his hair and pulled him against her even harder.
After what felt like both an eternity and a few mere seconds, Souji pulled away from her, his breathing rough. Even Kuroka seemed to be breathing harder than normal. He certainly had never put her in such a state through training.
"If the next words out of your mouth are anything to the effect of this was a mistake, you're going to regret it," she warned him, though her lips had an upward curve to them and her eyes held undisguised satisfaction.
That actually earned a small laugh from him. "I wasn't planning on saying anything like that, though we should probably stop before anything more serious happens."
Kuroka flashed him a sultry expression. "You say that, but I can feel just how much you want things to continue."
Souji felt the blood rush to his cheeks as he realized what she meant. His pants were strained against her mostly bare leg.
She leaned up, her lips coming to a stop just short of his ear. "Once we're back in Kuoh."
He didn't need to hear anymore, and she was content to let his imagination do the rest. She did, however, have someone else she needed to say to him.
"The next time someone says we're lovers, are you going to deny it?"
"Not a chance." Souji didn't need to even think about it. Honestly, if he had fully accepted that she was being genuine rather than simply teasing him, he never would have considered arguing when Sona made her assumption.
The satisfaction in her eyes only seemed to swell at his answer. "Now, that's what I like to hear."
For a moment, he actually did wonder if it was a good idea to have this conversation now, but he dismissed it nearly as quickly. The simple truth of the matter was that it didn't affect their mission at all. They both would have risked their lives for each other when they were simply friends. A romantic relationship didn't change that at all.
He had no more time to think on such matters as her lips met his again. There was less passion and more control this time, but it was no less wonderful.
They really would have to stop before things escalated too far, but for now, he embraced her.