It was almost time for Kuroichi’s pups to return. That was when Zabuton alerted me to an anomaly in the north.
It was just like when Lu first arrived.
Kuro and the pack suddenly bolted toward the north, and Lu and I scrambled to follow them. I really hoped there wouldn't be another naked little girl waiting for us. Lu was more than enough for me.
With those thoughts in mind, I reached the spot where the pack had gathered. There, I found an Angel being tormented by the wolves.
An Angel.
She had blonde hair and a cute face, looking to be about the age of a high school student. Her chest firmly asserted its presence, making it clear she was undoubtedly a woman. She wore a pure white dress and had large, snowy wings on her back.
Unlike with Lu, the pack must have decided there was no risk of being bitten and turned into thralls. They were biting her limbs and wings, dragging her down to the ground.
I couldn't just stand by and watch that happen, so I stepped in to stop them.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
It really was just like when I met Lu.
Once I pulled the wolves away, the Angel looked at me and, realizing she was safe, burst into tears. Watching her wail like that stirred a protective instinct in me.
However, I already had Lu. I was about to leave the situation to her, but the moment the Angel saw Lu, she flew into a rage.
"So you were here! You rotten Vampire!"
The pack reacted immediately to her outburst and gave her another beating. To Kuro and the others, Lu was already a comrade—she was family. While I was happy to see how much they cared for her, I had to step in and stop them again.
"Ugh... thank you..."
She looked pitiful, covered in blood and dirt. I was wondering if there was anything I could do for her, but she took care of it herself.
Magic.
She used Recovery Magic to heal her wounds and stop the bleeding, then used another spell I didn't recognize to clean her body and clothes. Cleaning Magic, maybe?
As I was admiring how convenient it looked, Lu got competitive and insisted she could do that much as well.
...I wonder if I could ask her to clean out the waste pit under the outhouse later? I know I have to do it eventually, but it’s the kind of chore that’s hard to get excited about. I’ll try asking her when the timing is right. For now, even I could tell it was a bad time.
"Vampire. Have you been hiding here?"
It seemed Lu and the Angel were acquaintances. From the look of things, they were enemies.
"Various things happened," Lu replied. "Are you okay? That had to hurt."
"I’m managing... but it was more than just 'painful'."
"I know. They did the same to me."
"To you as well?"
"Yes. They’re relentless. Magic hardly works on them, and they’re so fast."
"I genuinely thought I was going to die."
"I'm glad you're safe. You're fine now."
Their relationship seemed to have shifted. Having suffered the same ordeal, a strange sense of empathy had formed between them.
"I was in the wrong back then," Lu admitted. "So, let's call a truce while we're here."
"To think you would actually apologize... fine. I’ll stop the fighting for now."
"Thank you. In that case, let me introduce you. This is my Husband."
Lu suddenly introduced me.
"Eh? Ah, right... um... I'm Hiraku."
Hiraku Machio. It had been so long since I'd acknowledged my own name that I stuttered over it.
"How polite. I am Tia. As you can see, I am of the Angel Race."
The Angel Race. So those existed too.
"I came here chasing Lulushi-san, but..."
"Chasing her?" I asked.
"Yes. Lulushi-san went on a rampage in a city, and there’s a bounty on her head."
I looked at Lu.
"Ahaha... I might have gone a bit overboard."
"It was more than a bit," Tia countered. "Even if there were no casualties, you utterly humiliated the nobility."
"Ahaha."
Lu added an explanation for my benefit. "The reason I came to this forest was to get away from her."
Run away? I felt I knew Lu’s personality reasonably well by now, and running away didn't seem like her style. Lu sensed my doubt and answered.
"In terms of compatibility, she’s a little stronger than me."
"Lulushi-san, you’ve changed," Tia remarked. "Until recently, you would have insisted you were the stronger one no matter what."
"Fufu... I’ve realized my own lack of power."
"Ah... I see. That makes sense. Your conceit vanished, didn't it?"
Tia and Lu both looked toward Kuro and the rest of the pack, who were watching from a distance.
"That many of them is just cheating," Tia muttered.
"I know."
Well, as long as they weren't going to fight, she was welcome here.
"For now, do you want to come back to the house? It’s just a crude hut, but... it’s better than standing around out here."
"That's right," Lu added, sounding unexpectedly enthusiastic. "You should definitely come."
"...Is that so? Then, if I’m not an intrusion, I would like to visit."
I dismissed the wolves and headed back to the sleeping quarters with Tia and Lu.
Once we got inside, Lu’s guidance somehow led to the three of us exerting ourselves in bed.
"Y-You tricked me! You wicked Vampire!"
"My body can't keep up with him on its own! Please, just help me out!"
"No sane person would help for a reason like that! Let go of me!"
"I was fine with just Lu, though..."
"I told you, I can't handle him! Look, do it now!"
One way or another, I gained a second housemate.