"Yeah."
Souta pulled out his system phone and waved it in front of Kiss-Shot.
"The system lets me return to my original world whenever I want. My plan was to give you my blood and then leave immediately. Even if you had the vampire instinct to devour me, you wouldn't have been able to reach me. After some time, the urge should have passed, and at the very least, I would've done you a favor."
"Unfortunately, I miscalculated. I didn't expect the transformation into a vampire to be so violent—I passed out before I could escape..."
As Souta spoke, he suddenly felt a wave of realization wash over him.
"Good thing you drank my blood with the intent of making me a familiar... ahem!"
He
immediately
stopped himself from finishing that thought.
After all,
creating a familiar
was essentially equivalent to...
that
sort of act.
Saying it out loud in front of Kiss-Shot was basically stepping on a
landmine
.
However, he was
overthinking
things.
Kiss-Shot showed
no
signs of embarrassment or anger.
In fact, she was utterly unfazed.
As a vampire, she also carried elements of a
succubus
, which meant that she was completely
unbothered
by sexual topics.
Despite her
strong
sense of chastity—essentially treating her purity as sacred—she had
zero
discomfort discussing such matters.
She wouldn't even blink!
"You really are an idiot."
Kiss-Shot's sharp gaze softened slightly, carrying a hint of acknowledgment.
"Most people in your situation would have run without hesitation. Yet, you chose to stay behind and offer your blood to me... you truly are..."
Though she called him an
idiot
, she didn't
dislike
people like him.
In fact, she rather
appreciated
it.
As a vampire who had lived for over
500 years
, she had an unimaginable amount of
life experience
.
Telling whether someone was lying was
child's play
for her.
And she could
tell
—Souta wasn't lying.
"It's not a big deal,"
Souta shrugged.
"Unlike normal people, I can't die from losing blood. That makes my situation different."
For him, this wasn't some
grand
sacrifice.
He had
multiple
ways to resolve his
own
situation.
If nothing had gone wrong, he'd probably
already
be back in his apartment, chatting with Rias Gremory after using the invitation to summon her.
Once she agreed to turn him into a
devil
, his blood loss problem would've been
solved
.
"Servant, stop standing there. Kneel down."
Kiss-Shot's sudden
weird
request snapped Souta out of his thoughts.
He didn't refuse and obediently crouched down.
Kiss-Shot nodded in satisfaction, then reached out—
And
ruffled his hair
.
Souta froze.
Kiss-Shot then spoke,
"Servant, you have a flaw."
"You are too humble."
Or rather...
"You are too fixated on the idea that you are just an ordinary human."
"From my perspective, there are very few people who would do what you did—unless they held special feelings for me."
Souta: "..."
Kiss-Shot might actually have some kind of mind-reading ability!
As a hardcore otaku, Souta
did
have a natural affinity for fictional characters.
When it came to helping them, his motivation was
way
higher than it would be for ordinary people.
If Kiss-Shot had been some hideous tentacle monster instead... Well... If he
had
the ability to save them, he'd
probably
still consider it.
"As my familiar, there's no need for you to act so humble in front of me. I've already acknowledged your character—if you deny it, wouldn't that be an insult to me? That would be very displeasing."
"...Saving your pride, huh?"
Souta glanced at Kiss-Shot's
tiny
arms and
short
little legs...
"Fine, fine. I promise I won't be humble anymore. I'm just a naturally kind person, okay?"
For some reason, he felt like he was
humoring a child
—his tone was almost
fond
.
Kiss-Shot
noticed
.
She
immediately
clenched her teeth in frustration.
"Servant! You are being extremely disrespectful! It seems I must properly establish our hierarchy!"
She withdrew her hand from Souta's head.
Then, she lifted her chin
proudly
and puffed out her chest—
...Well, she
tried
.
Her chest was
completely
flat.
Still, the
attitude
was there.
She definitely had
that vibe
.
"Servant! Do not be fooled by my current form—I am a vampire who has lived for over five hundred years—"
"Ah,"
Souta cut her off.
"I know. It's actually 598 years, to be precise."
"Oh? Right... Your world has information about me. I almost forgot that."
Kiss-Shot
maintained
her dignified stance and continued,
"Then you should understand—setting aside our master-servant relationship, as a newly turned vampire, you are not my equal. In terms of hierarchy, I am above you."
"Oh."
Souta nodded indifferently.
"...What is with that half-hearted response?"
Kiss-Shot frowned.
"Do you truly comprehend my noble status?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it."
"If you really understand, then prove it."
Kiss-Shot
smirked
, lifting her chin even higher.
"As a symbol of your submission, pat my head."
Souta stared at her.
...Wait, what?
Because she was currently in a
childlike form
, her
puffed-up stance
just made her look
adorable
.
However—
Her request was... a
bit
unusual.
"Patting your head... is a sign of submission?"
Souta found it
unbelievable
.
Did vampires
really
have such a weird
social structure
?!
He knew the general plot of
Kizumonogatari
, but it wasn't like his brain was a
database
.
There was no way he could remember
every
little detail.
"Of course!"
Kiss-Shot scoffed.
"How can you claim to understand my history when you don't even know this?!"
Souta frowned.
"But didn't you just pat my head earlier?"
"That was different. That was me acknowledging your commendable character. It was not an act of submission."
"...Alright, fine."
Souta stopped questioning it.
He simply raised his hand, placed it on Kiss-Shot's golden hair—
And
gently
patted her head.
Her hair was
incredibly
soft.
Smooth, silky, and
pleasant
to touch.
Souta got
carried away
.
He patted her again.
Then rubbed her hair.
Then
ruffled
it.
It just felt
so
nice.
Meanwhile, Kiss-Shot's lips curled into a satisfied smile.
"Hmph. Servant, don't let this get to your head."
"As my familiar, it is only natural that you serve me. If I command you to pat my head, you must be available at any time, no matter where we are."
She
puffed up
her chest again—
...Even though she had
nothing
there.
The
patting session
lasted for several minutes.
By the end, Kiss-Shot's
pride
was
fully
restored.
Her elegant face carried a
content
smile.
It was obvious to anyone—
She was in a
really
good mood.
At that moment, Souta finally realized—
She
wasn't
joking.
This was
actually
a
real
vampire tradition.
...What the
hell
?!