'I was just checking, don't overthink it,' Sū ěr muttered to Think internally, while maintaining his scrutinizing gaze outwardly.
His hair was dyed blonde, just as Kiss-shot had described; Sū ěr could see the black roots. The hair wasn't particularly soft, causing every strand to stand up like golden needles without the need for styling products.
Meeting Sū ěr gaze, the blonde man maintained his frivolous air. It might have been a disguise, or perhaps it had become his nature. Combined with his pink Hawaiian shirt printed with flower petals, Sū ěr could only say that, based on first impressions, he was exactly the type of person Sū ěr disliked.
Not someone you could entrust things to.
But that was just the first impression. He'd need to observe more.
"Yo~ My name is Meme Oshino. You can call me Oshino or Meme. What do you think? It's a cute name, right?" Having apparently forgotten the concept of "shame," the blonde man introduced himself with a grin. "As for my profession... well, I guess I'm unemployed. But monsters call me an 'Oddity Specialist.' Basically, I'm just a guy wandering around Japan."
"...Sū ěr." Sū ěr expression was subtle. He didn't know how to rate that bizarre name, especially on a blonde man with a middle-aged face. "I assume you already know."
Though Sū ěr was decades old, he didn't have a middle-aged face.
"Yes, Araragi-kun already told me your name," Meme Oshino sighed with a look of helplessness. "Man, because of you, Sū-san, the balance in this city is a total mess."
"Wait, why is he 'Araragi-kun' but Sū ěr-san is 'Sū-san'?" Araragi complained. "Sū ěr-san doesn't look much older than me, does he?"
"Hahaha, Sū-san is much older than he looks, and much scarier too~ You need to work on your eye for people, Araragi-kun," Oshino laughed, casually patting Araragi on the shoulder.
"Eh? Sū ěr-san?" Araragi looked over curiously.
"...You can call me 'Grandpa,'" Sū ěr told the boy frankly after a moment's thought.
Araragi: "..."
Setting aside the silenced Araragi, Sū ěr was more concerned with the information Oshino had just dropped.
"Balance?" Sū ěr mused. "Is that why you stole Kiss-shot's heart and showed up here?"
"Exactly," Oshino admitted. "The iron-blooded, hot-blooded, cold-blooded vampire. The Oddity among Oddities, the Oddity Killer... those are all that vampire's titles. Her power has been legendary for centuries. She is the undisputed King of Oddities."
"Those three vampire hunters are pretty good~ but they're nowhere near a match for the King of Oddities. If she weren't someone who avoids indiscriminate killing, they would have been dead the second they stepped in front of her," Oshino said, rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache.
"So that violated the balance you mentioned?" Sū ěr began to understand what this frivolous man was chasing. "Is that why you stole her heart? To weaken her to a level where those three hunters could actually compete?"
"Precisely, precisely. That's how things were supposed to go," Oshino nodded repeatedly.
"Do you believe what he's saying, Araragi?" Even though Oshino looked like he had more to say, Sū ěr cut him off and looked seriously at Araragi. "Even if you don't want to admit it, you are the thrall she created. There's a connection between you that outsiders can't understand or feel... can you accept this 'balance' he's talking about?"
"I..." Araragi started, looking momentarily agitated, but he quickly returned to a low-spirited calm. "Actually, Oshino-san approached me. The two hunters other than Episode want to contact us through him for a duel. If we lose, we have to hand over Kiss-shot. But if they lose, they'll return her limbs."
"...Is this also part of your balance?" Sū ěr glanced at Meme Oshino. The man's face still wore that frivolous smile, as if nothing could bother him. But this time, the dislike Sū ěr felt from his first impression diminished slightly.
Though he didn't say it outright, Sū ěr realized that this man—who kept talking about balance—seemed to want to help Araragi. He just wasn't sure yet.
"Of course, that's balance," Oshino sighed. "The balance I'd prepared was trashed the moment you and Araragi-kun appeared. Who could have predicted that someone as powerful as you and your companions would suddenly show up and intervene? Not to mention, no one expected that Oddity among Oddities to create a thrall again. It's a total mess."
The fact that Sū ěr group, returning from the distant past, had appeared in that specific alley was indeed unpredictable.
"Does Kiss-shot rarely create thralls?" Not only was Sū ěr curious, but Araragi was as well.
"It's not just 'rarely'; it's 'almost never,'" Oshino held up two fingers. "The legend of the King of Oddities has been unbroken for centuries. And if my memory serves me, Araragi-kun is only the second thrall she's created in hundreds of years~ You could say both your status and power are incredibly high~"
"The second?" Araragi repeated blankly. "Then the first...?"
"Don't know—I think they're dead?" Oshino said bluntly. "Ordinary people have a hard time getting close to her. Why? She didn't tell you?"
Araragi shook his head. In fact, while he was technically her thrall, the vampire hadn't given him any orders or asked him to do anything. Their relationship was quite subtle.
The second thrall in hundreds of years?
Araragi suddenly felt a surge of excitement. This feeling of being "special."