The transition from the safe, dim twilight of House 132 to the open air of the residential street was an immediate shock to my senses.
As we marched out, our formation was strictly tactical, designed by Elicia to afford me maximum coverage. I was placed dead center, flanked on my left by Evelyn…who stood at 5'6", her striking slime-born 20-year-old physique and F-cup breastplate creating an imposing barrier… and on my right by Elicia, who stood at an even more commanding 5'8" with her G-cup frame and casting staff held ready.
Standing between them at 5'5" with my modest C-cup chest hidden under the linen dress, I felt completely like the odd one out… a petite, fragile core shielded by two biological giants.
We had barely cleared the threshold of the porch, navigating the sharp morning shadows, when the positioning shifted slightly. For a fraction of a second, the heavy fabric of my traveling cloak parted near my side.
A single, harsh ray of morning sunlight tore through the gap, striking the pale skin of my newly regenerated left hand.
HISSSSS.
An immediate, blistering heat erupted across my knuckles. The flesh began to smoke, sizzling violently as the cellular structure reacted to the solar radiation. I gasped, flinching backward as a sharp jolt of agony flared up my arm, a brutal reminder that my body was still fundamentally an anomaly.
"Oh! I completely forgot," Elicia gasped, her analytical eyes snapping down to the damage.
Before I could pull my hand back into the safety of the cloak's folds, she stepped into my space. She didn't draw a magic circle or chant; she simply reached out and pressed her soft, delicate palm flat against my burned skin. Instantly, a bright, soothing white warmth flooded my hand, but it didn't just knit the flesh back together. Her god-tier mana sank deep into my circulatory system, establishing a familiar, advanced continuous-nullification loop. It was a real-time heat shield… healing the solar damage at the exact microsecond of contact, faster than the radiation could incinerate the cells.
"There, Now, you're safe in the sunlight, little Ren." Elicia murmured, her eyes crinkling with immense relief as she patted my shoulder.
The agonizing, sizzling pain vanished into a cool, calm numbness. Testing the limits of her legendary magic, I slowly reached up with my right hand and pulled the heavy hood completely off my head, exposing my face and silver-tipped brown hair to the glaring morning rays beating down on Caria.
Nothing happened. The moment the golden light touched my cheeks, a microscopic, faint pulse of white light flickered across my skin, wiping out the burns before they could even register.
While my massive, translucent crimson blood wings remained tightly buttoned, buckled, and hidden flat against my spine beneath my clothes to avoid alerting the public to my 18-gold bounty, my face was now completely bare. Thanks to Elicia's passive shield, I could look the world in the eye without burning.
"Let's move," I muttered, my mismatched jade-green and crimson eyes narrowing with renewed focus as I took a final bite of my apple and tossed the core aside.
With Evelyn keeping pace on my left and Elicia's staff humming on my right, we left the quiet dirt road of the 3rd district behind, walking boldly into the open sunlight toward the grand, intimidating spires of the Capital Knights Bureau Association .
The stone arches of the 3rd district gate towered above us, casting long, cool shadows that briefly interceded with the glaring morning sun. Stationed right at the choke point was the 3rd gatekeeper, Renny, leaning back against the reinforcement post with his armor loosely buckled and a smirk already plastered across his face.
As our bizarre trio approached… me in the center, flanked by my two physically imposing sisters… Renny's eyes scanned our heights and proportions. He let out a low, mocking whistle.
"Well, well, well, look who the odd one out here is,"
Renny began, his eyes darting from Elicia's commanding presence to Evelyn's sharp breastplate, before landing squarely on my petite, 5'5" frame in the plain white linen dress. He began teasing me instantly, leaning forward with a chuckle.
"What's the matter, little lady? Did your big sisters have to drag you out of bed today? You look like a porcelain doll caught between two siege towers. Anyways... toll and status cards, please."
My jaw tightened, my deadpan mask locking in place. My mismatched jade-green and crimson eyes narrowed slightly under the open sunlight, but I kept my mouth shut. The calculation was simple: drawing attention to myself by reacting to a low-level gatekeeper was a tactical waste of energy.
Evelyn didn't miss a beat. Stepping forward with the rigid, authoritative discipline of her crisp white-and-scarlet Luminous Knight uniform, she blocked Renny's line of sight.
"Official Bureau business," Evelyn stated, her voice carrying a manufactured weight that completely belied her chronological age.
With a smooth, practiced motion, she pulled the required coins from her pouch and handed over our tolls along with the necessary documentation, letting her status as an active uniform guard do the talking. Renny's smirk faltered slightly at her official demeanor. He stamped the logs, waving us through the iron grate without checking my lack of a reflection too closely.
Once past the gate, we maintained a brisk, steady pace. We walked through the bustling merchant streets of the 3rd district, navigating the crowds as we pushed steadily deeper into the city. We bypassed the commercial carriages, saving our money and moving entirely on foot through the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th districts. Elicia kept her staff close to her side, her passive healing loop continuously flickering invisibly across my face to nullify the solar radiation, while Evelyn managed the checkpoints with perfect efficiency.
By the time the architecture began to shift into the heavy, reinforced granite of the high-security zones, the air grew noticeably colder.
We finally arrived at the threshold of the 8th district… the inner sanctum leading toward the central command of the Capital Knights Bureau Association. Standing guard at the massive, runic iron gates was the senior gatekeeper, Damien Morkov.
Damien wasn't like Renny. His posture was perfectly rigid, his dark armor immaculate, and his eyes sharp enough to cut through a standard concealment spell. The moment our trio stepped into the clearing before his post, his gaze locked onto us. He saw the white-and-scarlet uniform on Evelyn, the high-tier casting staff in Elicia's hand, and finally, the hooded cloak draped over my hidden, compressed crimson blood wings.
The atmosphere instantly turned heavy. Damien stepped off his platform, his hand resting naturally near the hilt of his standard-issue blade as his eyes scanned my bare face, waiting for our approach.
Despite the bright afternoon sun still reflecting off the high stone walls, the cold shadow of the 8th district gate made the atmosphere feel remarkably distinct. Damien Morkov stepped forward, his boots clicking sharply against the stone.
"Evening, ladies, I suppose you're having a good day." Damien said, his voice deep and entirely devoid of the casual mockery we had encountered at the outer wall.
Unlike earlier gatekeepers, his demeanor had completely changed. There was no teasing, no scanning our proportions with cheap amusement. He spoke with the quiet, rigid professionalism of a man who guarded the inner sanctum of the city's military elite. His sharp eyes flickered over Evelyn's pristine white-and-scarlet uniform, acknowledging her rank with a subtle, disciplined nod.
Evelyn stepped up confidently, her movements fluid and practiced. She reached into her pouch, pulled out three gleaming silver coins, and presented them along with our official status cards.
Damien took the cards, his leather-gloved fingers running over the credentials. He checked the magical seals, ensuring the signatures cleared the high-security protocols of the 8th district. For a brief second, his gaze drifted toward my bare face, but Elicia's continuous-nullification loop kept my skin flawless, hiding the volatile Phase 5 infection beneath a mask of perfect, calm vitality. My massive crimson wings remained locked, buttoned, and completely motionless under my dark cloak.
With a crisp snap, Damien handed the status cards back to Evelyn and stepped aside, gesturing toward the open iron grate.
"Cleared. Pass through."
"Thank you, Senior Gatekeeper," Evelyn replied smoothly.
We crossed the threshold, leaving the rough dirt and cobblestones of the lower districts behind. Instantly, our boots met the pristine, polished porcelain tiles of the 8th district. The pristine white flooring reflected the grand, towering spires above like a sheet of ice, making me hyper-aware that my body cast a shadow, but would still leave a void in any polished glass we passed.
Elicia kept her casting staff anchored at her side, her presence a silent, protective wall on my right, while Evelyn marched proudly on my left. We walked down the wide, heavily guarded avenue, the immaculate architecture pressing in on us until we finally reached our destination.
Towering over the plaza was the Capital Knights Bureau Association. The massive structure stood as a monument of absolute authority, its grand white marble pillars and sharp scarlet banners cutting into the sky. This was the lion's den. Inside these walls, Chief Roman was waiting, and the velvet-wrapped head of the purebred vampire rested silently inside my inventory ring, ready to buy my freedom.