"...Just so you know, Shigure."

  Before sinking her fangs into my neck, Lady Sofia spoke with a sluggish, listless tone.

  "My personal preference is... the blood of an 'unmarried office dy past her prime,' one who has been thoroughly battered and exhausted by the rough waves of society. That immoral, sinful fvor, aged to perfection with cheap booze and work stress, is the absolute best."

  "Hah... I'm sorry for being so young..." (What a hyper-specific preference...)

  "The blood of a high school girl with hopes and dreams like you is basically just watered-down juice to me. ...Well, I suppose I'll reluctantly take it as payment for attending your parent-teacher conference."

  Looking like she was doing me a huge favor with a "good grief" attitude, Lady Sofia bit into my neck.

  "Nn..."

  "..."

  Slurrrrrp...

  "...Nnngh!? ...What is this, it's delicious...!!"

  "Eh?"

  "Wait, it has such a rich body! The hardships of your life in poverty are acting as a hidden depth of fvor! Seconds! Give me another gss!!"

  "W-Wait, you said double the amount, right!? Any more than that is a lethal dose... Ahhhhhhh!!"

  After that, Anastasia, who had been waiting her turn, restrained my wrists, and I was thoroughly sucked dry. It was a literal hellish full-course meal of bloodsucking.

  (End of Fshback)

  "...Hah. The world is spinning from anemia..."

  The price for 60,000 yen a day was steep. I was slumped over my desk, my consciousness drifting off into space, when it happened.

  Cck, cck, cck, cck...

  Heavy, rhythmic footsteps approached from the hallway. The noisy atmosphere of the post-homeroom cssroom fell completely silent, like a receding tide. As everyone held their breath and stared at the door, the footsteps stopped perfectly right beside my desk.

  "..."

  When I slowly raised my head, standing there looking down at me through her purple underlights was Kei Kajiwara, known as the "Wolf of the Academy." Without a word, she tapped her index finger on my desk. Knock, knock.

  "Lend me your face. We're stepping outside. ..."

  I had no right to refuse. Bathed in the stares of my cssmates—whose eyes were silently screaming, "She's a goner" and "Rest in peace"—I was led away like a calf being hauled off to the sughter.

  The staircase nding leading to the old, deserted school building. The moment the heavy iron door shut with a cnk.

  "...Phew."

  Kei let out a deep breath, took her hands out of her pockets, and— She turned to face me, dropped to one knee right there, and bowed her head deeply.

  "—Please forgive my utmost disrespect, Shigure-dono."

  "...Huh?"

  I almost dropped my bag. What did she just say? -Dono (Lord/Lady)? Are we in a historical samurai drama?

  "Since we were under the public eye, I had to put on that crude dispy of behavior... I beg of your forgiveness."

  "U-Um... Kajiwara-san...?"

  The expression on her face as she looked up was no longer that of a "delinquent." Like a fiercely loyal samurai, she looked dignified, and yet somehow tense.

  "I shall get straight to the point. ...Shigure-dono. You are an undercover spy sent by the main branch of the Oba family, are you not?"

  "S-Spy...?"

  "You need not hide it. We, the Kajiwara cn, are descendants of the Kamakura Party, tied to the Oba family for generations. ...I am well aware that you have infiltrated that Western mansion single-handedly in order to sy the 'Vampires'."

  "W-Wait just a minute! You've got it completely wrong!"

  I frantically waved my hands.

  "I'm just a part-timer! I ran away from home and I'm broke, so I'm just working for money! I'm not a spy or anything!"

  "...Ho."

  Kei nodded, looking deeply impressed.

  "So you are infiltrating under the guise of 'just a part-timer.' ...As expected of the main family's bloodline. You are thoroughly committed to the act."

  "I'm telling you you're wrong!! Listen to me!?"

  It seemed Kei had interpreted my denial as "humility" or "high-level acting." With a dead-serious gaze, she began to speak of a shocking truth.

  "Shigure-dono. We have a 'special directive' inherited from Lord Minamoto no Yoritomo from 800 years ago, do we not? Is that not the reason you infiltrated that mansion?"

  "Special directive...?"

  "Yes. To sy the immortal monster nesting in Kamakura—the beast known in this age as a vampire."

  Kei's voice echoed heavily.

  "Lord Yoritomo was deeply wary of that vampire. He said, 'If that creature is allowed to remain in Kamakura, it will inevitably bring camity. For the sake of protecting the people of this nation, we absolutely cannot let it live.'"

  "Eh? But Lady Sofia said she was friends with Yoritomo..."

  "That was a trap."

  Kei decred coldly.

  "Lord Yoritomo realized he could not win in a head-on battle, so he resorted to a stratagem. ...He arranged to lure the beast into a banquet at the mansion by dangling a certain 'treasure' as bait."

  Treasure. So that's the treasure Lady Sofia has been looking for.

  "The pn was this: Make the beast lower its guard at the banquet, and offer a young woman as a sacrifice. While it was absorbed in sucking the woman's blood, my ancestor, Kajiwara Kagetoki, and his men would simultaneously strike and take its head..."

  The blood drained from my face. The "treasure" Lady Sofia said she was promised... was actually bait to lure her in and assassinate her.

  "However... a few days before the pn was to be executed, Lord Yoritomo fell from his horse and passed away. The assassination plot ended as an unfulfilled attempt, and the beast survived."

  Kei clenched her fists in frustration.

  "Lord Yoritomo's final dying wish was this: 'Even if I die, you must sy it. Even if I am branded a fool who cut down a friend... if it is for the sake of this world, so be it.' ...He said."

  "A-And you're still doing that now...?"

  "Yes. We, the descendants of the Kamakura Party, have honed our skills for generations for this very purpose. ...And now, the beast has returned to Kamakura once again."

  Kei suddenly looked up at my face. Her eyes were burning with expectation and adoration.

  "And now is our perfect chance! ...To think that the main Oba family would send their own daughter, Shigure-dono, as the 'modern-day sacrifice'!"

  "!!"

  "To slip into the beast's inner circle, lower its guard, and slit its throat in its sleep... A fwless recreation of Lord Yoritomo's stratagem! I, Kei, am truly in awe of your resolve!!"

  "No, no, no!! You're wrong!!"

  I screamed with all my might.

  "I am genuinely just a broke student! My dad eloped with his local wife and got disowned by the family, so I haven't heard a single millimeter about any mission!!"

  "...Huh?"

  For the first time, Kei's stoic expression crumbled. Her mouth hung open in a daze, and she stood frozen stiff.

  "Eloped...? Disowned...?"

  "Yes! That's why I'm just a normal civilian who got lured in by a 60k daily wage and is getting my blood sucked!!"

  A heavy, oppressive silence dominated the stair nding. After freezing for several seconds, Kei muttered with a look of sheer disbelief.

  "...My word. Then, Shigure-dono, are you saying you were never told anything about the 'retionships' of our cns, or the 'lore' passed down since Lord Yoritomo...?"

  "Yes. First time hearing it."

  "..."

  Kei was speechless. Then, turning deathly pale, she spoke in a trembling voice.

  "...Which means, Shigure-dono, you jumped completely unarmed into a monster's den?"

  "Well, looking at the results, I guess so."

  Kei looked at me with agonizingly pitiful eyes, as if she were looking at a "toddler who had wandered onto a battlefield in pajamas."

  "...How reckless. But, such boldness is truly fitting of the Oba bloodline."

  "You're not complimenting me, are you?"

  Shortly after, Kei stood up and pointed out the window.

  "However, please rest assured. I have spent this entire weekend making perfect preparations."

  "Preparations?"

  "Yes. On Friday night, I sent out a call to arms to our cn members and affiliates scattered across the country. 'The time to fulfill the Lord of Kamakura's dearest wish has come,' I decred."

  I have nothing but a very bad feeling about this. Timidly, I looked down at the school gates through the dusty window.

  "............Huh?"

  My brain stopped working. An utterly bizarre scene was unfolding down there.

  There were horses in front of the school gates. Not sleek, slender thoroughbreds. These had thick torsos and short legs—they were ten actual, literal warhorses straight out of a historical drama.

  And straddling them were—.

  "...Samurai?"

  They weren't wearing the armor you see in the Sengoku (Warring States) period. It was O-yoroi (Great Armor)—that bulky, boxy-looking armor with square components used from the te Heian to the Kamakura period. A group cd in this armor was lined up in a neat row in front of the gates. And behind them, foot soldiers (Kachi) were standing by, holding spears and naginata halberds.

  "...W-What is this? Are they filming a movie?"

  "No, this is our subjugation force."

  Kei puffed out her chest proudly.

  "Ten mounted warriors, fifty foot soldiers. ...It took my entire weekend to assemble a force of this magnitude."

  "No, no, no!! You stand out!! You stand out way too much!!"

  I banged on the window gss.

  "Someone's going to call the police!? This viotes the Swords and Firearms Control Law, the Road Traffic Act, and a whole bunch of other things!?"

  "Rest assured. ...This is the ancient capital of Kamakura."

  Kei gave a confident smirk.

  "I have already submitted a road usage permit application to the police under the guise of a 'Samurai Parade.' The groundwork has been id perfectly."

  "What is wrong with the Kamakura police!?"

  True, this city hosts the "Kamakura Festival" in the spring, so it's a town where seeing people walking around in samurai armor can be brushed off as "how elegant." Even so, an armed group with genuine murderous intent standing by with official, legal permits can only be described as a miracle.

  "Now, Shigure-dono. ...It is time to march."

  Kei took my hand, looking at me with a burning, passionate gaze.

  "The arrangements are complete. The moment Shigure-dono returns to the mansion, we shall storm the premises and suppress them in one fell swoop."

  "Eh, I'm going too?"

  "But of course! Shigure-dono, you are the Supreme Commander of this battle!"

  "Noooooo!! I want to go hooooome!!"

  My screams reached no one. Kei opened the window, leaned out, and roared.

  "All forces, our target is the Western mansion in Kita-Kamakura..."

  OOOOOHHHHHHH!!!

  A deep, thick battle cry and the booming sound of conch shells (horagai) echoed from the school gates.

  The area in front of the school was engulfed in a bizarre, feverish atmosphere. While tourists were pointing their smartphones and saying things like, "Kyaa, so cool!" or "What event is this?", I was being carried by two rge foot soldiers on a makeshift mikoshi (portable shrine), like they were carrying a bale of rice.

  "W-Wait, put me down! This is so embarrassing!!"

  "Shigure-dono! The Supreme Commander must not set foot upon the ground!"

  Kei, now having changed into armor herself, said with a sharp, disciplined face while gripping the reins of her horse. She was completely in "War Mode." She couldn't be stopped.

  "Then, let us advance!"

  Just as the samurai procession began to move at the command of Kei...

  "Halt right theeeere!!"

  A deep, menacing shout came from the direction of the school building. When everyone turned around, an unbelievable sight was charging right at us.

  Wearing a Kendo mask and uniform, holding a metal baseball bat in her hands... was a high school girl. My best friend, Yoshino.

  "Shigureee! Are you okay!? I'm gonna save you right now!"

  Apparently, she had heard from our cssmates that "Shigure got tangled up with Kajiwara and was taken away," and had dragged her equipment out of the club room. To see her charging head-on into a group of armored samurai armed with nothing but a metal bat... she has way too much courage.

  "Eh, w-wait, Yoshino!?"

  "Kajiwaraaa! What the hell are you doing to my best friend! Take your filthy hands off her!!"

  Yoshino swung her bat around wildly. The tourists murmured, "Eh, what's that? A new type of performance art?" Honestly, a high school girl in Kendo armor swinging a baseball bat looks way more suspicious than the armored samurai.

  "Miura? This has nothing to do with you. Get lost."

  When Kei gave an order in her usual delinquent tone, several samurai moved to restrain Yoshino.

  "Let go of me! Shigure! Shigureeeee!!"

  I frantically waved my hands from atop the panquin.

  "Y-Yoshinooo! It's okay! I'm totally fine!!"

  "Hah!? You're getting kidnapped, aren't you!"

  "No! This is... um... a festival! Yeah, it's a rehearsal for a festival!!"

  It was a painfully weak excuse, but I could tell Yoshino was rolling her eyes in confusion behind her Kendo mask.

  "I'll definitely expin everything ter! I'm so soooorry!!"

  "Eh, wait, hol—"

  My voice was drowned out by the sound of the conch shells. The samurai procession picked up speed, leaving my dumbfounded best friend behind.

  "Shigureeeee..."

  In front of the receding school gates, the girl in the Kendo armor was left standing completely alone.

  I let my shoulders drop in despair. My 60,000-yen-a-day part-time job had somehow escated into the "Kamakura War of the Reiwa Era," turning into a massive disaster that even dragged my best friend into it.

  Lady Sofia, please run. Seriously.

  (End of Chapter 6 - Part 1)

  [Author's Historical Notes]Here is a brief expnation of the terminology and cns that appeared this time. Actually, these members have very "deep" historical connections!

  Kei Kajiwara's Ancestor: Kajiwara Kagetoki A military commander who served as Minamoto no Yoritomo's trusted right-hand man. In historical TV dramas, he's often portrayed as the "bad guy who bullied Minamoto no Yoshitsune," but in reality, he was an incredibly competent elite bureaucrat and warrior. He was so loyal that he was called "Yoritomo's Watchdog." Because he took on all the dirty work, he earned the resentment of those around him and was eventually ousted (The Kajiwara Kagetoki Incident)—making him a somewhat tragic figure. Kei's trait of being "easily misunderstood but fiercely loyal" is definitely inherited from her ancestor!

  Shigure's Ancestor (?): The Oba Family A powerful ruling family of the Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture), famous for figures like "Oba Kagechika." Actually, Oba Kagechika and Kajiwara Kagetoki were cousins. Historically, they were on the enemy side that cornered Yoritomo at the Battle of Ishibashiyama, but their influence in this region (around Kamakura) was absolute. That's why Kei cannot raise her head against Shigure, who carries the Oba bloodline.

  Yoshino's Ancestor: The Miura Family A powerful cn based in the Miura Peninsu. Historically, the central figures who impeached Kajiwara Kagetoki and caused his downfall were Miura Yoshimura and his allies. In other words, "Miura vs. Kajiwara" is an 800-year-old destined rivalry! The fact that Yoshino charged at Kei with a metal bat might just be fighting instincts carved into her DNA.