Wake Up

-----Yui's POV

I knew that something would happen when we brought Fabian along with us to the cabin, but I didn't expect for Fabian to be in this love triangle. Honestly reminds me of some of those romance stories I read back in my previous life. Usually I'd hate it when the guy can't make up his mind, and it seems like Fabian was about to do the same, however he pulled through in the end and actually chose Ilfa. Honestly, I would've preferred him being with Rina but that's probably because I don't know the whole story. Looking at Rina, she seems to be accepting it quite well, but I wouldn't be surprised if she's hurting inside.

Rina: "Then-"

But suddenly, Rina shatters those doubts in my mind as she closes the distance between her and Fabian, now resting her shoulder back against his.

Rina: "This close?"

Fabian: "S-sure."

Wow. I take it back. He's definitely starting his own harem right in front of my eyes... But seeing him quickly glace at Ilfa who's to his other side, it's clear that he's taking Ilfa into consideration with this. well, if both of them are happy, then I shouldn't have any problems with it.

Ilfa: "Anyway. So this is what your job has been?"

Alenia: "Yes, matriarch."

Kaede: "The woman on the ground is my mother."

Ilfa: "Mother?"

Kaede: "Yes."

Both Fabian and Ilfa seems to be confused by Kaede's words which leaves me with a smile surfacing on my face.

Kaede: "I guess I'll make one thing clear. I'm a half vampire. And my mother here is just a normal human."

Fabian: "How is that even possible?"

Ilfa: "Wait. I remember this happening before. Something like this happened a long time ago."

Wait.

Yui/Kaede: "You were there?!"

Both Kaede and I arrive at the same thought. Ilfa's definitely implying that she was there when the first half vampire was born.

Ilfa: "Yes. Although I didn't participate in the killing of it, I did hear about it. Fufu, but to think that I got the chance to fight one myself now."

It was then that she locked her eyes on Kaede. I don't know if it's just me, but her gaze almost feels threatening in a way.

Kaede: "You think I'm a monster, right?"

Ilfa: "Maybe before, but not right now. You're definitely not what everyone thought half vampires would be. And besides. People have the same opinion as my race. Sure I may be allied with the likes of spiders, elves, orcs, dragons and so on. But If I was weaker than any of them, I'm sure they would've killed me by now."

Interesting. I'm aware that with monsters, power is important when establishing some sort of hierarchy. But Ilfa seems to be implying something different.

Kaede: "So demons are considered to be some kind of abomination as well?"

Ilfa: "Something like that. Us demons only are able to survive because of our power. Without it, we'd be killed off."

That honestly sounds rough. Constantly trying to make sure everyone knows their place, trying to always remain on top in order to survive. I can see why to an outsider that someone like Ilfa would be a catastrophic existence, but it's not like she has any other options.

Kaede: "Heh. Yeah... I can relate to that. For the longest time, I had to keep what I am a secret out of that same fear."

Ilfa: "Fufu. But it seems like you're no longer alone."

Kaede: "Well-"

It was then that Kaede rested her head on my shoulders as she wear a soft smile on her face, letting her eyelids relax somewhat. Ah~ If we were on a bed right now, I'd just snuggle up right here and now.

Kaede: "That's mainly because of this one here."

Yui: "Eh?"

Ilfa: "Yui, right?"

Yui: "Y-yes!"

Wait, now I'm the target of conversation? I just want to enjoy Kaede's company right now...

Ilfa: "You're human, yes?"

Yui: "That's correct."

Kaede: "Without her, I wouldn't be able to live the life I have now. Sure I might've survived on my own, but I feel like now I can finally be myself. So I'm very grateful."

Ahh~ Kaede. If you snuggle into my shoulder like this, you're going to make it even harder for me!

Ilfa: "I'm surprised though that you're able to withstand Kaede's aura."

Yui: "Huh?"

Ilfa: "If you were truly a normal human, you'd be dead right now with how weak you are."

Is she catching on to my unique situation? I'm not sure revealing such a secret to Ilfa would be the right move or not. I know Kaede is on friendly terms with her, and even Fabian has entered a relationship with her, but I still don't want to take any risks. But what the hell am I meant to say?

Kaede: "It's because my blood is running through her veins."

But suddenly, Kaede spoke up for me whilst still keeping her head rested on my shoulder.

Ilfa: "Oh?"

Kaede: "Something happened which led to me giving some of my blood to her. So Yui in a way is an extension of my mana."

Ilfa: "I see. That would make sense."

Nice job Kaede! It's still scary how she can come up with a lie so easily, but in a way, what she said might have some truth to it. Or is it that her lie is that believable that even I'm falling for it?

Ilfa: "-But... She should still be dead from my aura though."

...Nevermind.

Kaede: "You wonder why I'm sticking this close to her?"

Ilfa: "...I see. So you're saying you're shielding her even as we speak?"

Kaede: "Correct."

What a smooth comeback! I was panicking for a second there, but Kaede just brushed that off so easily! Unable to contain my happiness any more, I wrap my arms around Kaede, bringing her in closer which seems to have made Kaede's face quite a bit flushed. Heh. She acts all cool and calm, but when we're like this, her mask slowly slips away.

Mell: "Hey~ No fair."

Mell tries to reclaim some of her mother, but sorry Mell. Can I have Kaede like this for a bit longer?

Fabian: "Haha. Seems like Kaede's also got a harem building."

Kaede: "Ew... What did you say? Mell's my daughter."

Yui: "Mm! And I'm Kaede's partner!"

I was just following with the flow, but the room quickly became swallowed in silence as Fabian, Ilfa, Rina and Alenia all looked over in surprise. Ah... Maybe I should've thought what I was going to say before actually saying it... Fuck.

Fabian: "Wait. You mean like-"

Iris: "The same way how you feel for Ilfa."

Fabian: "What?"

It's to be expected. This isn't really a known thing in this world so of course my brother would be confused.

Ilfa: "Fascinating. So this love thing isn't only limited to the opposite sex?"

But unlike Fabian, Ilfa seems to be looking at us with curiosity.

Iris: "It's a long story, but yes. These two are inseparable."

Going along with mom's words, I embrace Kaede a bit more strongly as if solidifying her words as fact.

...

After the whole "love talk" ended, we all began to relax. Fabian is now sandwiched between both Ilfa and Rina, meanwhile Kaede is sandwiched between Mell and I.

Ilfa: "So you're trying to wait out your mother's recovery by using the trees as a temporary mana source?"

Kaede: "Yes."

Ilfa: "Why not give your blood to your mother then? You did the same for Yui, right?"

Kaede: "T-that's...

I can tell what she's thinking... Back when I drank Kaede's blood, it was nothing but hell. Even now, I can only imagine what kind of pain Kaede went though to see me in that state. To be honest, I felt like I could've died multiple times... I'm sure Kaede's frightened about repeating such a thing again.

Ilfa: "The way I see it. She'll be stuck like this."

Mai: "She's right, Kaede."

Suddenly. Mai pops out once again. Kaede was probably trying to confirm what Ilfa said with Mai.

Mai: "I was honestly thinking the same thing. But I know how you feel about this, so I was hesitant in bringing it up."

Seeing Kaede tense up like this only makes me try and comfort her once more, wrapping an arm around her side, giving her something to lean on as her head ends up resting back on my shoulder like before.

Kaede: "...Is that really the only way?"

I can see a single tear begin to form in her eyes as pain quickly rushes into my heart.

Yui: "Hey. This won't be a repeat like before."

Kaede: "How would you know that?"

Yui: "We're prepared for it now, plus she has so many people around her. Hell, she even has the trees on her side with the help of Rina and her mother."

Kaede: "...But you didn't look like this back then. Mom could easily just die."

Yui: "But I did drink a fair amount of your blood back then and I was fine. Maybe if you only give a small drop, it might not be as bad."

It's a little white lie on my part. Back during that time, I remember only licking some of Kaede's blood, but it was still much more than a drop.

Kaede: "..."

Yui: "And besides. Look at me now!"

With my free hand that's not wrapped around Kaede's side, I form a small water ball with my own magic, showing it off to her as this would be the first time I've done something like this in front of her.

Yui: "I'm much stronger than I was before. So I'm sure your blood will also make your mother stronger."

Kaede: "Heh. You finally managed to create something out of mana?"

Yui: "Mm! I've been putting in a lot of work."

At last, a gentle smile appears on Kaede's face as she watches me play around with my little water ball. In the heat of the moment, I decide to quickly shoot it towards Kaede's face as it breaks apart on Kaede's cheek, washing away any tears that might've slipped away.

Kaede: "Hehe. Okay. I'll give it a go."

I squeeze my arms around her once more before freeing her.

Kaede: "Thank you."

Yui: "Mm. I'm here for you."

We share a proper embrace for a moment before we part ways. Kaede shuffles over to her mother's head that's in front of us, taking a moment to brush some of her hair away, tidying up her face. I hear Kaede take a deep breathe in before exhaling out just as deeply.

Kaede: "I can't believe I'm doing this."

With Alenia still funneling the trees' mana into Lilith, Kaede ends up nicking her finger with a nail, drawing out a single drop of blood before hovering her finger over her mouther's mouth.

Kaede: "Mom... Please wake up."

I watch as the drop of blood falls from Kaede's finger before slipping in between Lilith's lips.

Kaede: "..."

I hold Kaede from behind as I poke my head over her shoulder as we both watch for any changes on her mother's face together.