"...It’s over."

  Lunch break. I was slumped over my desk in the cssroom, reduced to white ash. In my hand was a single printout. The title: Career Path Preference Form (Guardian Signature Required). The deadline for submission... today.

  "I forgot... Dad’s overseas, and there's no way mail will make it in time..."

  My homeroom teacher (nicknamed "The Drill Sergeant") had said: "If you forget it today, I’m squeezing you into the very first slot of the parent-teacher conferences this weekend." That would be bad. Very, very bad. With Dad gone, who would even come to the conference? No one. And it’s not like I could call my "part-time employer (who is a vampire)."

  "...Wait, hold on?"

  A brilliant idea suddenly struck me. At that Western mansion, there’s a maid with inhuman beauty and perfect (arguably) common sense. If she came and insisted she was my "older sister," I might just pull this off.

  Later that afternoon, in the mansion’s salon.

  "...And that’s the situation. Anastasia-san, could you please come to my school this Friday?"

  As I pleaded while handing her the printout, Anastasia stopped pouring tea and nodded quietly.

  "A simple task. If it is Shigure’s request, I shall py the role of sister or even mother with perfection."

  "T-Thank you! You’re a lifesaver!"

  "What should I wear? I shall prepare a modest suit so as not to stand out."

  "Yes, please do that!"

  Thank goodness. The crisis of the parent-teacher conference had been averted—or so I thought.

  "Hold it."

  Lady Sofia, who had been lounging on the sofa reading a manga magazine, interjected.

  "I object to sending Nastya. Request denied."

  "Eh? Why?"

  Lady Sofia snapped the magazine shut and sighed in exasperation.

  "Shigure, you don't understand the implications of throwing a Vampire into an all-girls school."

  "Implications...?"

  "That pce is a sanctuary where hundreds of young, innocent maidens gather. The air is saturated with the suffocatingly sweet scent of their blood."

  Lady Sofia gnced at Anastasia.

  "Try throwing a 'starving wolf' who has been suppressing her thirst for days into a 'flock of sheep.' ...No matter how much restraint Nastya has, there is no guarantee her reason will hold."

  "..."

  Anastasia cast her eyes down awkwardly.

  "...My apologies, My Lady. Indeed... in my current condition, visiting an all-girls school might be... a bit too stimuting."

  "Eeeek... (Was my school really such a danger zone?)"

  I shuddered. That was close. I was about to trigger a school-wide biohazard.

  "Then, what should I do...?"

  As I clutched my head in despair, Lady Sofia gave a fearless smirk and stood up from the sofa.

  "I suppose I have no choice. ...I shall go in her pce."

  "Eh? But Lady Sofia, you look like a child..."

  "How rude. After living for two thousand years, maniputing my physical age is child's py."

  Lady Sofia’s body was suddenly enveloped in a puff of white smoke!

  "—There. No compints now, I assume?"

  As the smoke cleared, a mature woman was standing there. She was about 170cm tall, with her ptinum blonde hair elegantly curled, wearing a tight suit that accentuated her curves. She was a breathtaking beauty—the very image of a "career woman in her te twenties."

  "S-Stunning...! You’re a total adult...!"

  "Hmph. I haven't lived this long for nothing. ...Now, let’s go, Shigure. I shall enjoy this 'school' visit. It’s been quite a while."

  Adult Sofia (though 2000 years old on the inside) elegantly brushed back her hair. ...I felt a glimmer of unease, but beggars can't be choosers. I set off for school with this strongest (and most terrifying) guardian in tow.

  Friday, after school.

  "Who is that...?" "Is she a model? She’s insanely beautiful..."

  Just by walking down the corridor, students turned their heads. Lady Sofia’s aura was overwhelming. Her dignified stride was nothing less than a royal procession.

  When we entered the staff room, the Drill Sergeant (a single man in his 50s) stood there, frozen stiff.

  "Ah... so, you are Shigure-san’s older sister?"

  "Yes. Actually... I was born to my father’s 'local wife' at his overseas post... so I am her half-sister."

  Adult Sofia leaned forward with a bewitching smile. What kind of backstory is that?! Her blonde hair and blue eyes gave the phrase "local wife" a strange sense of credibility.

  (Dad, I’m so sorry... Now the whole school thinks you’re a scumbag who started a second family overseas...)

  I bowed deeply in my mind to my father, who was far away under a distant sky.

  "I-I see... (That's quite a heavy burden...)"

  The teacher cleared his throat awkwardly and changed the subject.

  "Um, if you don't mind me asking, what is your profession?"

  "I am a manga artist."

  "Eh?"

  The words slipped out of my mouth. A manga artist? I mean, she is a doujin creator, so it’s technically not wrong.

  "Ho! A manga artist! That is wonderful."

  "Yes. I have been deeply impressed by Japan’s subculture, you see."

  "I see, so that expins your refined air... If I may ask, which university did you graduate from?"

  When the teacher asked with great interest, Lady Sofia’s eyes grew distant as she smiled nostalgically.

  "Universitas Oxoniensis in Engnd. ...It was quite an old era; the university had only just been established back then."

  "Uni...? Ah, an overseas university? The name sounds quite impressive..."

  The teacher, clearly not catching on, nodded along aimlessly. Curious, I pulled out my phone under the desk and searched for it.

  ‘Universitas... whatever’... Search.

  Search Result: University of Oxford (Latin name).

  (O-Oxford?! One of the top universities in the world?!)

  Then, I shuddered at the description below it. ‘Established: Late 11th to 12th century.’

  (...She said it had 'just been established'... that’s insane...)

  She was dead serious. The weight of her history was on another level. The teacher hadn't realized it, but he was looking at a living witness to history.

  "Hehe. This child is a bit clumsy. However, I am taking full responsibility for her 'education,' so please rest assured."

  Lady Sofia pced a hand on my shoulder. I felt like her fingertips were digging in just a little too much—it hurt. Her definition of "education" and the teacher's were definitely not the same.

  "Y-Yes! She’s clearly in good hands with an older sister like you! Hahaha!"

  So easy. The Drill Sergeant was completely putty in her hands. Was Lady Sofia’s "Charm" a vampire ability, or just the result of 2000 years of experience?

  After (somehow) finishing the conference, we stepped out into the hallway.

  "Phew... we managed to pull it off. Thank you, Lady Sofia."

  "You can pay me back with 'blood.' Double the usual amount."

  "Eeeeh..."

  As we exchanged such banter, we left the school building.

  Meanwhile, there was a shadow looking down at us from the third floor. It was Kei Kajiwara.

  "..."

  Kei was sipping on a carton of strawberry milk, staring intently at the duo walking below. One was her cssmate, Shigure. The other was a beautiful foreign woman she had never seen before.

  "..."

  Kei said nothing and tossed the empty carton into the bin. However, deep within her eyes, a quiet, purple light of wariness flickered.

  (End of Chapter 3)