Author's Note: Chapters prices are not decided by authors. It's automatic, and all books follow same pricing.

Long chapters are expensive (exact amount depends on length of chapters), and short chapters are cheap.

So an expensive chapter just means that it's long.

...

'I knew he was planning to force me to join him.'

We had worked together, and fought together.

But that didn't erase the reason he had come all the way here in the first place.

Valen had openly antagonized both Prime Five and the Exorcist Union.

He had killed the people they sent to recruit me without hesitation.

That alone told me he never intended to walk away empty-handed.

He had invested too much.

And men like him never liked losses.

Still, when the words came out of my mouth, they were calm.

"I don't want to."

The room fell quiet.

Valen didn't react immediately.

His expression remained composed, almost pleasant, as if I had merely declined a dinner invitation rather than his grand plan.

"Even if I tell you I would give you anything you wanted?"

"Yes."

There was no hesitation in my answer.

A brief pause followed. Then his fingers tightened, just slightly, on my shoulder.

"…Even if I force you?"

I didn't look at his hand. I didn't tense either.

Instead, I spoke evenly.

"You're tired and injured, Valen. We have five crewmates here, each with combat power at Rank 4. We're also in Nautilus territory. If there's a commotion, the shipmates will respond immediately, and they won't be gentle about it."

He listened without interrupting.

"You can't even run. If you use your [Key], it'll return to the Japanese Exorcist branch. That alone will cause problems you don't want right now."

I finally met his eyes.

"At best, you escape fatally injured. At worst, you don't escape at all."

At my words, Valen laughed.

He sounded… amused.

He let go of my shoulder and calmly sat down on the edge of the bed, crossing one leg over the other like a host settling in for a conversation.

"That was quite direct, and very confident," he said.

In the Bermuda Triangle domain, everyone received a [Key] when they booked a room at an inn.

The key was more than just access to lodging.

It was the only way to leave the domain, and enter it.

Even if your stay at inn ended, the key remained valid.

It allowed re-entry at any time.

But once you entered, the key would vanish. You couldn't leave without it, and you would need to buy key at inn again.

Workers and voyagers alike relied on it.

Crewmates received shared keys through the Quartermaster. Guests carried their own, given by inns.

This wasn't all.

In the real world, you could enter the Bermuda Triangle domain through any door by using the key.

But inside the domain, only Nautilus allowed you to leave.

This domain had archipelagoes, monsters so big that countries existed on their back or belly.

The Key would only work when you used it on Nautilus.

That rule alone made the ship a focal point of Exorcists.

However, there were ways to upgrade a key.

The Innkeepers and Quartermaster could modify it so it worked elsewhere, but the requirements were strict and rarely met.

Which meant my words weren't empty.

Valen knew it.

"Don't worry," he said pleasantly. "I won't force you."

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking around.

The inn room we were in belonged to Valen.

We appeared here since he used his key.

The room was big. Big enough that all crewmates, inn girl and unconscious Saint Maverick and Dante didn't make the room feel crowded.

"Your knowledge and potential are… impressive. You managed to steal a god. More than that, you did it boldly, just to call a meeting with Prime Five and the Exorcist Union."

He leaned back slightly.

"There's no reason to make an enemy out of someone like that when there are better options, like being friends."

"You talk about friendship, but you killed everyone who came to recruit me. Even if you say you won't force me, it's obvious you didn't want me joining anyone else."

Valen laughed again, softer this time.

"And aren't you speaking differently now as well? You know I'm exhausted and injured, so you are speaking arrogantly, even going as far as to threaten me. Just like you who changed depending on the situation, I am doing the same."

"I don't remember ever being submissive, or a coward. I've always been confident."

That earned me another chuckle from him.

"Fair enough."

He glanced around the room.

"You all are free to leave. I won't force you to stay."

As if I had asked for the reason for his words, he added, "The potential you showed inside the Rank 4 Cursed Spirit's domain was remarkable. Not just you. Those three as well."

He pointed toward Dante, Saint Maverick, and Judy.

"Unlike the Exorcist Union, Vampire Companies aren't obsessed with labels like 'legal' and 'illegal' exorcists. If you fight cursed spirits, you're useful. If you're useful, you're an ally."

He reached into a drawer beside the bed and pulled out a red vial.

Without ceremony, he drank it.

The scent was unmistakable.

Blood. Dense and refined.

Likely extracted from a high-ranking cursed spirit.

Color returned to his face almost immediately.

After a moment, he continued, "There's no reason to kill you or antagonize you by force. So I'd like to revise my offer."

"I'm listening."

"Become my friend."

"That's vague."

He nodded thoughtfully.

"Then let me clarify. If we request assistance dealing with cursed spirits, come to help us. You're free to refuse. If you do accept, you'll receive a fair share of the rewards."

That was reasonable. I nodded.

"And," he added smoothly, "don't align yourself with rival Vampire Companies."

I frowned slightly.

"That sounds restrictive."

"If we wrong you, or act against your interests, you're free to walk away. Until then, I hope you'll side with us."

It was a clean offer.

I felt a smile tug at my lips, but I suppressed it before it could show.

There was a reason I had stolen the god of House Daelthorn.

I could have taken the god of any house.

But I knew what my family had been doing in the States. The assassination attempt on me had caused ripples far larger than one could've predicted.

House Daelthorn had been wreaking havoc, and the Vampire Companies were not pleased with them.

'I stole the god from my own house because it would make them my enemy.'

And in doing so, I made myself valuable to their enemies.

'An enemy of my enemy is a friend.'

That had been my reason to antagonize House Daelthorn.

'I needed vampires to enter the States.'

America was closed off for Exorcists.

On paper, anyone with the right credentials could enter. In reality, every foreign exorcist who stepped foot there was watched, recorded, and quietly or forcefully sent back outside.

If they refused, they disappeared.

This was because in America Vampires and Rank 4 Cursed Spirit Blood Moon moved as wished.

Vampires were hated because they were created through corruption by Blood Moon.

But Vampires did work to exorcise other Cursed Spirits, just like all Exorcists.

The foreign Exorcists didn't believe Vampires were allies, and would always create problems.

That's why Vampires wouldn't allow them set foot on their country. It could lead to battles and large-scale destruction.

Valen's offer aligned far too neatly with what I needed.

Working together with him meant I would be allowed easy entry into America.

Of course, if I happily said yes here, it wouldn't match the personality of Caelum Nocthera, the proud and arrogant young master.

So I said, "I'll think about it. If your Company turns out to be weak, don't expect me to waste my time with you."

"Very well."

Valen, a Vampire Prince, was arrogant.

Every vampire of his status was.

But the fact that he didn't get angry after I openly called his Company weak meant he valued me enough to tolerate it.

'Well, I did stop a Cursed Spirit God's hammer.'

'I also completed the final step of the exorcism alone, and I rallied the crewmates. It isn't an exaggeration to say nearly thirty percent of the entire operation had been carried by me.'

'Considering we exorcised a Rank 4 Cursed Spirit, it's natural he thinks highly of me.'

We shook hands.

Valen's grip was firm but measured, like everything else about him.

When he released me, there was no lingering tension, no threat hidden beneath the gesture.

I turned away from him and looked at the others.

Dante was still unconscious.

His injuries were severe enough that moving him normally would have been dangerous.

I reached down and stored his body into my pocket space. Size didn't matter. The fit into the small pocket mouth due to spatial magic cast on it.

Then I lifted Saint Maverick, adjusting his weight carefully, and picket Judy's Core.

"Let's go. We're leaving."

The crewmates nodded without hesitation.

The inn girl followed close behind us, her tentacles swaying as she walked.

As we stepped out of the room and began descending the stairs, I noticed the atmosphere of the inn.

Vampires were everywhere.

They leaned against walls, sat at tables, and watched us from balconies above.

'This must be Valen's base in Nautilus,' I thought.

Their gazes followed us, cold and curious, but no one gave chase.

Valen must have already sent word.

Once we exited the inn and stepped into the open deck, I pulled out the Navigation Flame from my pocket and held it out to the inn girl.

"Can you guide us to the Drinkin' Whale Inn? My hands are full."

She took the flame carefully, her eyes flicking between it and me.

"Blimey, what are yer pockets? One moment ye put a body in them, next ye pull out fires and trinkets."

"It's just magic," I replied with a small smile.

She snorted. "Aye, an' grass is green."

We kept making small talk as we moved.

There was a faint flush beneath the strange texture of her eldritch features and crass words.

Even through the octopus-like head and shifting skin, I could tell she was flustered.

She looked…. smitten?

It was hard to say for sure.

Either way, I didn't pay it much attention. I wasn't planning to see her again. Whatever feelings she had weren't my concern.

My thoughts were already elsewhere.

'Should I make a run for it, or should I try to upgrade my key first?'

Behind me, the crewmates laughed quietly, talking among themselves as if the chaos earlier hadn't nearly killed them.

I forced myself to think clearly.

I had invited multiple parties to the inn. The Exorcist Union. Prime Five.

They caused a commotion, but that part wasn't directly on me.

Valen killing the recruiters would earn him a fine from the Quartermaster or the captain, but that was his problem.

Up until that point, everything was manageable.

The real issue started after.

One of the guests I invited—Tomoe Gozen—had been hosting a hostile Cursed Spirit.

That Cursed Spirit kidnapped several crewmates. It took a legitimate worker of Nautilus, including the inn girl.

It killed dozens of crewmates, leaving only five alive.

On top of that, I impersonated an officer and forced those crewmates to follow my orders.

I could plead innocence regarding Tomoe Gozen.

I was attacked by her.

The Cursed Spirit possessing her wasn't something I knowingly invited.

That would likely spare me from execution or extreme punishment.

I'd still have to pay a massive fine. Lives were lost, after all.

But that wasn't the real problem.

'I impersonated an officer.'

The crewmates had believed me. Actual officers wouldn't.

And impersonation an officer was a serious crime.

'There should be a few officers and a lot of crewmates setting up a perimeter at the Drinkin' Whale Inn. That's where all of us disappeared from.'

If I went there now, I would be exposed immediately.

I glanced around the deck.

Should I just run?

'No. Running won't solve it.'

The headquarters of the System Church was located somewhere in the archipelago in this domain. Not on Nautilus.

That meant I couldn't use my key there.

'If I go there without upgrading my key, I'll be trapped. I wouldn't be able to return to my house daily return.'

I clenched my jaw.

First the Blackout Priest. Then the Japanese Exorcist Branch. Now the crewmates.

'This is a headache.'

'I keep getting thrown from one mess to another because Fate can't leave me alone.'

My mind raced, working through possibilities.

What if I ran and found another inn? Got a new key and tried to upgrade that one instead?

Before I could decide, the inn girl spoke up.

"Oy, you lot Get yer sorry hides to the officers an' tell 'em what happened. Don't leave out the ugly bits," she called back to the crewmates.

The crewmates exchanged looks.

"Alright. We'll report," one of them said.

Another hesitated. "I'll stay back. I can guide the officer Caelum—"

The inn girl cut him off with a sharp snort.

"Haven't ye seen 'im?" she said, jerking her chin toward me. "He can handle himself just fine. More'n fine, if ye ask me."

She waved him away. "Go on. Ye need healing, not another scrap."

The crewmate hesitated once more, then nodded and left with the others. Their Navigation Flames flared up as they moved away.

Soon, it was just the inn girl and me.

She walked a few steps ahead, then suddenly stopped.

Before I could react, she turned around, grabbed my hand, and pulled me sharply to the side.

"Oi, don't make a fuss. Just move," she muttered under her breath, tugging me into a narrow passage between bulkheads.

I stumbled once, then followed her as she dragged me out of sight.

Her grip was firm.

'What is she doing?'

My body tensed.

Fight or flight sat right beneath my skin, waiting.

Her behavior was strange enough that I kept my guard up, tracking every turn and corner as we moved.

The mist opened into a narrow alley wedged between two buildings.

Pipes ran overhead, dripping slowly, and the hum of the ship's mechanisms echoed faintly through the metal walls.

"This isn't the Drinkin' Whale Inn," I said.

"Aye, that's the point," she nodded, slowing to a stop.

I frowned. "Explain."

"If we march back there all nice an' proper, ye'll get nabbed the moment yer boots cross the door. Officers'll be waitin'."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.