The Self-Proclaimed Stepmother (That no one asked for...)

“Second day in this world… and I'm already getting used to having as companions a bloodsucking, gothic blonde who speaks less than a platformer tutorial… And a talking pumpkin who speaks more than a J-RPG tutorial…”

It was their internal monologue as the three of them walked in silence.

It was early in the morning when Ayato, Isolde, and Vera left the abandoned church to begin their journey through the meadows of Luminovia in pursuit of investigating the cause of Ayato's summoning, the Dark Lords, and the role they play in the Count's absence, in which the three shared knowledge…

***

After dealing with a few groups of generic enemies, such as zombies and skeletons, they were affected by daylight, which diminished their abilities.

This allows Ayato to train a bit, but without weapons after losing the sword he had stolen during the fight with the Wyvern, while testing what kind of ability he has after assimilating its energy.

"Let's see... If that Wyvern's soul doesn't have an offensive effect... Should it be used for a passive support skill or just another mechanic?"

He tries to jump forward, and notices that his jump is higher than normal.

"Wow, a double jump skill!" Ayato noticed he was making significant progress in advancing into areas where precision jumps are necessary.

"And what goes up must come down..." Isolde looked expressionless and unsurprised to see Ayato...

Boom!

He ended up pathetically falling face first onto the road, already covered in mud from last night's rain.

"I have to learn how to control this..." Ayato gets up in pain from the miscalculated jump.

Vera approaches worriedly and takes out one of her spellbooks to recite a basic healing spell.

"This is the moment you need my help!" She uses the healing spell, which generates a small light in the blessed affinity being, the logical consequence of this selfless act.

"AHH!!! THIS BURNS!!!" Ayato screams in agony at the slight healing spell, given that they have completely opposite and mutually repellent affinities.

"I'd rather be bitten by that Wyvern than this a thousand times over!"

"Is your demonic affinity so strong that you would react like that to light healing magic?" Vera said, confused. Although she had witnessed him expressing pain in front of objects like crucifixes and holy water, it was already clear that those objects and any blessed affinity spell are measured by the same yardstick.

"And aren't you afraid that you could be the next Dark Lord?" Vera sounds legitimately concerned, while Isolde remains impassive, as if studying Ayato's behavior more closely.

"Nah, as long as I don't grow wings, fangs, horns, or develop a thirst for blood, I'll be fine!" Ayato gets up from the ground with a forced gesture, hiding his pain behind a mask of confidence.

Vera and Isolde exchange glances, while the witch cleric says in a low voice, "Give it some time", with obvious concern and hope, while the vampire mutters, "Sooner or later, he'll become one..." They then look back at Ayato, smoke rising from his body as if he'd been burned.

Then the three begin to walk, while Vera and Isolde go ahead and exchange a brief word.

"He may have been brought to our world for evil purposes, but deep down, he has a very noble heart~," Vera flashes a tender, optimistic smile, one of those that makes you want to protect.

"Yeah, so noble that he steals from those who can't defend themselves and always boasts about having everything under control...", Isolde tries to keep Vera grounded so she doesn't idealize Ayato.

"This is like my Vampire Slayer games, there's bound to be a reward after going through pure suffering...", Ayato murmurs, completely oblivious to his companions' conversation.

***

This peculiar trio arrived at a cemetery as a small stop on their journey because Vera was praying to the tombstones because today, November 1st, is All Saints' Day.

And while Vera was praying to a divine statue to ensure the safety of her and her teammates as they battled the dark forces.

Everything was interrupted by a gust of ominous wind, and black petals swept across the path, causing the crows in the area to scream wildly.

From the black mist, following a haughty female scream, a tall woman materialized, seemingly human, with thin horns, two asymmetrical wings (a medium-sized demon wing and a large angel wing), a black dress with a tight, low-cut corset, long navy-blue hair, magenta eyes, and a seductive yet disturbing smile.

"My little Isolde!" the woman approached as she threw herself at her with open arms.

"Go fly, you mock-succubus!" Isolde displayed slight hostility toward the woman, whom she obviously disliked.

Vera spoke in a low voice, saying, "Are you friends, or at most quite close?"

"No!" Isolde said sharply.

The succubus watched Vera and Ayato from behind Isolde, saying,

"You haven't learned anything from not allying with humans, have you, Princess?"Isolde responded reluctantly, wanting to end this conversation quickly.

"And you haven't learned anything after all those humiliations you went through?"

The Succubus kneels before Isolde, completely ignoring Vera and Ayato.

"You're so like your father... that bearing, that cold gaze... oh, how I miss his voice calling me 'unnecessary'..."

"And I see you're still the same ridiculous person you always were, Rydia..."

"I've seen parishioners display such behavior, but I didn't think I'd see anything so uncomfortable..."

"Shit, she's a fucking masochist just from the way she speaks!"

Both Ayato and Vera felt enormous embarrassment at this situation, noticing the succubus's melodramatic speech.

"Every rejection from the Count is a proof of love! I know that deep down…!"

"Deep down, you're just a pathetic slob with delusions of being a concubine… Realize that you won't be his fourth wife…"

Ayato interrupts the conversation between Isolde with a cold expression and the succubus she referred to as 'Rydia', smiling through tears, adding another layer of awkwardness to the situation.

"Well, at least she's persistent. In my world, that—"

"In your world, that's called harassment!" Isolde said without looking at Ayato, expressing that she did pay attention to the conversation he and Vera had last night, which the latter expressed with discontent.

"You heard me, corrupter of celibates! Go display your lust disguised as martyrdom somewhere else!"

Rydia stood up, composing herself and hiding a slight trembling after enjoying the verbal assault.

"Well, well, the Talking Pumpkin has spoken... Now then, sanctimonious one, tell me how it feels to betray your own kind in order to be a lapdog of that celestial tyrant they call God~?"

Rydia spoke contemptuously to Vera with an intimidating demeanor, deducing that she was a witch but that she preached the divine word, and she was gritting her teeth.

"Look who's saying that, since you're an embarrassment to your kind!" Isolde said insultingly, while Rydia once again showed an expression of enjoyment.

"Also, Princess... I came to warn you that more contenders have arrived to claim your father's throne~"

"Tell me something I don't know, fool!" The vampire is interested in extracting useful information from Rydia, given that those words indicate that she's more involved with summoning from other worlds than she lets on. Although that means having to endure her words.

"And above all, be careful with this one, Court Jester~", Rydia points one of her black-nailed fingers at Ayato, which turns into a claw.

"Great, they won't stop referring to me in a derogatory way... For just five minutes!?", Ayato shows strong anger at being the object of mockery, although he doesn't inspire any change, no matter how hard he tries.

"If you want more information, I recommend going to the Black Iriswood Forest, where the nearest Pseudo-Castle is located, and there's something like a library inside~"

Rydia lifts her wings, preparing to fly, as she says a few last words of farewell to Isolde in a pleading tone.

"Goodbye, my dear. Someday... you'll call me mother..."

"It'll be the day Hell freezes over..." Isolde appears emotionless as Rydia flies away over the horizon.

"She talked a lot to give us only brief information..." Ayato appears disappointed but somewhat optimistic. "Well, at least it's better than walking without a clear reference point..."

"That... It was completely awkward..." Vera visibly confused after seeing the "spectacle" that was the previous interaction.

"No. That was pathetic..." Isolde starts walking out of the cemetery as she and her mortal companions follow her, knowing that this won't be the last time they see Rydia and her very disturbing attitude.