Dracula also looked down at the blushing girl, muttering quietly to himself,
"Damn it… If you weren't a girl, I would've already kicked you in the face…"
Dracula sat squatting nearby, looking completely deflated. Seeing this, Kiyohime's mouth twitched. She looked sorrowfully at him and said:
"Master… are you really this disappointed to have summoned me?"
"It's not that," Dracula said, hugging his knees. "I'm just lamenting my luck stat… As I thought, even if you're invincible, there are still things in this world you can't change…"
"Lord Dracula, showing such despair is an insult to me," said Kirie, hands on her hips, standing in front of him, lecturing sternly.
"Get lost, Kirie, you damn European. Did you come here just to mock me?" Dracula remained unmoved.
A vein popped on Kirie's forehead. She furiously kicked Dracula in the leg.
"Get up already! What kind of sorry sight is this?! Besides, you were half-hearted and distracted during the summoning. Of course no rare Servant would respond to that!"
These words struck Dracula like lightning. He stood up abruptly and grabbed Kirie by the shoulders, looking her dead in the eye.
"You're right, Kirie. I've been underestimating this summoning thing all along… I need to reflect. If I summon with sincere devotion, I'm sure I can bring forth the rarest of Servants!"
"…Well, it's good you're motivated again." Kirie turned away, walking toward the summoning circle.
"It's time for me to summon the second Servant. Excuse me."
Miss Kirie once again stepped onto the summoning circle, chanting solemnly:
"Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill."
"Repeat five times."
...
"Let thy body be bound by the three words of power, born of the Circle of Restraint, the Guardian of the Scales—!!"
The circle glowed once more, and from within rose a very familiar face. Why familiar? Because aside from the hairstyle, she looked exactly like Jeanne. And judging by Dracula's guess, she probably looked just like Mordred too.
"…Ah." Jeanne blinked, surprised. She touched her face, not even bothering to flip through her book this time.
"Servant, Saber—"
"Die, King Arthur!!"
At the sight of that face, Mordred flared up once more. Drawing her longsword, she charged at the girl in the circle in a rage.
The newly summoned figure, identical to Jeanne and Mordred, had barely opened her mouth to say her entrance line before a knight in full armor charged at her with a blade to the head.
She instinctively raised her hands and caught the strike barehanded, yelling in panic:
"W-What is this?! Is this how summons are greeted? Is this the thrill of heroic spirit summoning? Is this… a gladiator match?!"
By now, the girl had fully emerged from the summoning circle. She was dressed in a white wedding gown, complete with a bridal veil trailing behind her head.
"Though I don't know why you're attacking me, one thing is clear — there's definitely been a misunderstanding."
Clasping her hands together, she held off Mordred's blade with pure grit.
"Hey, look closely! Does your enemy wear such an elegant bridal outfit?!"
"I'm not listening! You think I won't recognize you just 'cause you're in a wedding dress?!"
Mordred roared, swinging her sword harder. "Die, King Arthur!"
"I told you, this is a misunderstanding!!"
While things looked life-threatening over there, Jeanne calmly flipped through her book and said cheerfully to Kirie,
"Oh, this is the 4-star Nero… Wait, no—it's the 5-star Wedding Dress Nero. Congratulations, Miss Kirie! Seems you're truly blessed with strong luck."
Dracula stroked his chin.
"Huh, this scene seems familiar somehow."
"What a fiery-tempered young lady," Kiyohime murmured behind her fan. "Really now… between the two of us, who's the real Berserker?"
"The issue isn't that!" Kirie cried out in exasperation. "Jeanne! Master! Either of you, please stop them!"
"Alright, alright." Dracula once again subdued the rampaging Mordred and said:
"Don't panic. Before you start slicing, look at her chest."
Mordred paused. Her eyes dropped to Nero's chest.
…
"…I'm very sorry. I got the wrong person again!" The ever-honest Mordred bowed her head in apology.
"It's fine," Nero said magnanimously, hands on her hips. "I am an Emperor, after all. I shall forgive your offense."
She then walked over to Kirie, looking her over.
"So, you're my Master, hm? Hmm…"
Suddenly, she leaned in close to Kirie's face, studying her carefully.
"Not bad… not bad at all. Such beauty. I'm quite fond of you."
Taking Kirie's hand, she said,
"I am Nero Claudius, Fifth Emperor of the Roman Empire. Pleased to make your acquaintance, my Master."
"Pleased to meet you," Kirie replied with a bow.
"Tch. Damn Europeans," Dracula muttered sourly from the side.
"Well then, Master, let me go make you some tea to calm your nerves," Kiyohime said gently. She asked Kirie where the kitchen was and went off to prepare tea.
Dracula walked to the summoning circle, rolling up his sleeves. This time, he sliced open his palm with a claw.
Blood dripped freely into the circle.
With a grin, Dracula declared:
"Hmph. With the blood of a Blood King whose presence surpasses even that of God, I will summon the strongest, rarest Servant yet. Watch me, Kirie. I won't lose to you."
He began to chant in solemn tone.
…
"Let thy body be bound by the three words of power, born of the Circle of Restraint, the Guardian of the Scales—!!"
With his final cry, a petite figure appeared from the summoning circle.
"Servant, Lancer, Elizabeth Báthory—responding to your call."
A small, loli-like girl with long crimson-purple hair stepped out. Dragon horns curled from her head like a Western dragon's, and she wore a poofy black mini-dress. In her hand was a microphone-shaped Noble Phantasm.
Looking up at Dracula, she tilted her head, then said with surprising warmth:
"So you're my Master? Hmm, not bad. I like this lazy aura you've got… I've decided, Master. From now on, you'll be my exclusive little piggy! I'll call you Piggy!"
"What the hell is a 'Piggy'?!" Dracula snapped.
[Actually, this system agrees. Based on the Host's aura… 'Piggy' is quite fitting.]
The system chimed in with a snide remark.
Dracula ignored it and held out a hand.
"I'm your Master, Dracula. Whatever, I don't even care anymore. Call me whatever you want…"
"Hmm… Dracula…"
Elizabeth circled around him, sniffing at him like a hound. Then her eyes widened.
"Piggy! Don't tell me you're that legendary Vlad the Impaler?!"
"What do you mean 'Impaler'? That's just one of my counterparts. I've already absorbed him. I am Dracula, the vampire, yes… but from another world," Dracula explained lazily.
"What? Mr. Dracula is actually a vampire?" Jeanne exclaimed in surprise.
"I mean, I get Nero and the others being clueless, but you too, Jeanne?" Dracula replied with a smirk. "And it's not just me—Kagarino Kirie is a vampire too."
"Eh? Miss Kirie as well...? Oh no, I was so hungry back then I didn't even notice…" Jeanne muttered to herself, flustered. "But Mr. Dracula and Miss Kirie did treat me to a delicious meal when I was starving… maybe they aren't bad people after all."
"Hey! What's wrong with being a vampire? You got something against vampires, you peasant?" Elizabeth barked, standing with hands on hips and glaring at Jeanne.
"Exactly! Even if our Master is a vampire, I, Kiyohime, would never betray him!" chimed in Kiyohime, who had just walked through the door.
The two locked eyes—and finally realized each other's presence.
"Ugh, lizard!!"
"What!? How dare you call me—what nerve! You filthy reptile!"
The two immediately started grappling and yelling, clawing at each other in an all-out squabble.
Watching the chaos unfold, Nero's eyes sparkled. She dashed to their side and egged them on gleefully, "Are you going to perform a gladiator match for me? How splendid! Fight on!"
"…Jeanne," Dracula took the opportunity to ask, "what star rank is Elizabeth as a Servant?"
"Hmm, let me check." Jeanne flipped through her book. "Well, first, congratulations, Mr. Dracula—Elizabeth is indeed a rare Servant. However... I'm afraid she's four-star. So sadly, you still haven't surpassed Miss Kirie."
Dracula immediately slumped into gloom, silently shuffling to a corner to draw circles on the ground in despair.
Jeanne stared at his dejected back, mumbling to herself, "Oh Lord, what should I do? Should I purify this kind-hearted vampire… or try to redeem and save him?"
"Go get her, Kiyohime! Grab her horns!" Nero cheered wildly, and in just two minutes, she had dragged Mordred into the madness as well. The two were now sitting together, happily watching the girl-fight like it was premium entertainment.
Kirie let out a long sigh, watching the room descend into chaos like a tangled mess of ink on an ancient scroll painting.
"…What did I do to deserve this?"