Now that Solvane had agreed to join him, Kyle had two potential sires. He would have turned her right then and there, but he wanted Himiko to be his first.
After speaking for a few more seconds, they went downstairs to meet Anika, who, as promised, had made them all cups of tea.
Solvane apologized for staying in her attic without permission. The story they went with was that she had come here after losing all her money in a pyramid scheme.
But Anika seemed more relieved that there was never any monster.
They all sat down in the reading room, sipping on chamomile tea when Anika glanced at Solvane.
"Wait, if there was no monster upstairs… then what is that banging sound I always hear?"
Everyone turned their attention to Solvane, who laughed nervously.
"Oh… that…"
Her hand suddenly morphed into a semi-wolf paw, and she smacked it on the couch.
Thud thud!
"My TV always has bad network during storms, so sometimes I have to give it a good smack to get it to work!"
Anika pursed her lips. "Hmm… that actually makes—wait, you have a TV up there?!"
"Ehehe…" Solvane laughed nervously. "I'm sorry…"
Although Anika was surprised, there were a lot of things that were now making sense.
"No wonder the light bill has been slowly going up. What else do you have up there?"
Solvane glanced at the ceiling, her eyes narrowing as she contemplated.
Himiko dropped her cup. "Is it that many?!"
The petite woman shrugged. "A microwave, a music player, a mini fridge… and a few other stuff I scavenged from the junkyard."
When she finished speaking, Anika's eye was twitching as she took deep breaths to calm herself.
Solvane turned to face her. "Sorry, did I go overboard?"
Anika smiled in pain. "O-of course not! You have more appliances than I have in my office, but who cares, right?"
Kyle finished his tea and placed his cup on the table. "I'll donate some money to the library to offset the cost she has incurred over the years."
He took out his checkbook and began scribbling on it.
"No, no! I can't accept—?!"
When Anika saw the figure Kyle had written, she cleared her throat, a wide smile appearing on her face.
"Uhum… well, if you're insisting, then it would be rude to reject your offer!"
Kyle placed the paper in her hand but did not let go immediately.
"Can I politely ask that you house her for a little longer? We'll come for her when things are a bit more settled…"
Currently, they still didn't have a base, and he couldn't exactly take her home with him.
Anika waved her hand in the air. "Of course, of course! No problems here!"
Kyle thanked her and let go of the check.
Not long after, the girls began another conversation, most of it being about Solvane and how she had lived up there for so long.
As they spoke, Kyle zoned out of the conversation, his mind moving to a subject of particular interest.
The Hero Public Safety Commission.
They were vile, that much was true. But what interested Kyle was not their evil deeds; rather, it was how they could be beneficial to his plans.
What would happen if everything they had done so far were to come to light?
Would it only be the Commission that would go down?
No, the public would not just lose faith in the Commission; if planned properly, it would also come back to bite heroes in the rear.
A plan was slowly forming in Kyle's mind.
Even with his strength, if he were to forcefully impose himself upon the people, it would make him no different from a villain or tyrant.
And so, Kyle's plan of changing the city had been unstable and without any actionable course.
But what if there was a way to garner public opinion and become saints in the eyes of the public?
The Paranormal Liberation War arc.
Kyle remembered the arc perfectly well. It was the greatest stain on the reputation of the heroes—
The time when an entire city under their care was wiped out. It was so bad that the hero structure was damaged to the point that they had to request external help.
The point in the story that inevitably led to the start of the Dark Deku arc.
This arc was the perfect time to act. The public already hated villains, and during that time, the heroes would be on the receiving end of their rage.
But what if there was another organization to step up when public opinion was at an all-time low?
An organization neither allied with the failed heroes nor the overzealous villains?
Kyle paused and sighed. 'This can work.'
Eight months—
He had roughly eight months till then to build an organization from the ground up, train an army of vampires, and prepare himself to wrestle the city out of the heroes' hands…
Himiko tapped his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Kyle?"
Kyle glanced around, realizing that the conversation had long ended, and both Solvane and Anika were cleaning up.
'How long did I blank out?' he thought.
"What's up, Miko?"
Himiko smiled and pointed at the window. "The rain has stopped and my shift is over."
She offered him her hand. "Shall we?"
Kyle grabbed it and stood up. "I hope you have something good planned out for today."
She was already pulling him along with her; it was clear that she had been waiting impatiently for the rain to stop.
"Trust me, you're going to love it!"
•••
It was about 4 p.m. in the evening by the time they left the library.
After greeting them goodbye, Kyle left Anika and Solvane, making sure to tell Anika to keep Solvane's existence a secret.
The mood outside was serene. The atmosphere was humid and slightly cool, the comforting after-smell of the rain encompassing them all.
They got into the car, and following Himiko's directions, they arrived at their destination.
Kyle's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the building. There was no way he could have guessed that this was Himiko's plan for today.
"A bathhouse?"
Himiko was skipping by his side, perfectly matching his pace.
"I initially wanted to visit the aquarium but thought this place would be better after the rain."
'A bathhouse huh…'
A certain lewd thought made Kyle's face blush red. He shook his head to rid himself of them.
Himiko stopped skipping and held Kyle's hand in hers, the warmth of her fingers soothing his cold ones.
"Let's go, I already made a reservation!"