Selena didn't answer right away. Instead, she waited until they were alone to answer that question.
After lunch, the aliens attacked the fort again, but this time, only several hundred appeared. As a result, the battle itself wasn't hard and with Anubis going around, they only suffered 2 deaths while killing almost 700 aliens.
Of course, Nathan remained close to Daz, observing their movements to see if there was any need for further improvement.
Once the battle was over, they finally chose to retire for the day.
In the end, they returned to their room.
Selena was resting her head on Nathan's lap while saying, "I thought you were not really interested in my family. Then again, I don't know much about my family since I didn't receive a lot of education in my childhood. So I don't know how much I can tell you."
"That's fine. Maybe something like your family history? Since we're talking about prejudice, it should have started several hundred years ago, right?"
"Let's see…" Selena paused for a moment. "My Ashton family was created approximately 470 years ago. My ancestor managed to summon a vampire progenitor and fought against the aliens in the early invasion.
"The king recognized my ancestor's strength and achievement and granted him the title of baron. It turned into a marquis before he passed away.
"However, due to the continuous change, the family gained or lost power along the way before returning to a baron in recent years. Thanks to my father having another vampire progenitor, the Ashton family once again becomes a county.
"But not a single point in history that the Ashton family ceases to be a noble. That's all I know, I guess."
Nathan nodded. "How about the prejudice?"
Selena raised one finger. "It started from the creation of the family, I guess?"
"That long? Seriously?"
"Yeah. Because my father was worried about me, he told me about it. In the early days, my ancestor was able to become a strong summoner, allowing him to become a noble.
"At the same time, he actually had a sister whose talent was no less than his."
"Hmm? Interesting." Nathan squinted his eyes.
"Yes. For their first familiars, both of them managed to summon a count and a countess respectively. Both of them worked together to establish their strength.
"After that, the story about them was about their rivalry. If my ancestor summoned a marquis, his sister would have a marchioness.
"In the end, their talent was so equal that both of them summoned a royal vampire at the same time.
"However, it all changed when they reached the level of vampire progenitor. My ancestor managed to summon a vampire progenitor, but his sister only summoned a royal vampire."
"!!!" Nathan widened his eyes. "Is it just like that?"
"Not necessarily. Both of them had a good relationship. In the story, my ancestor continued to support his sister while the latter didn't resent her brother.
"However, because of that single difference, it was decided that my ancestor would become a noble.
"There was no grudge between them and their relationship was written as harmonious.
"The prejudice started from the next generation. My ancestor ended up marrying a noble daughter. They gave birth to a daughter with a talent surpassing both my ancestor and his sister.
"In the first summoning, she was able to summon a countess, but in the third summoning, instead of a duchess, she actually summoned a royal vampire.
"As a result, the family rejoiced. Even my ancestor's sister thought she would be the one surpassing her.
"However, reality was harsh. After summoning a royal vampire, all the familiars she summoned next couldn't exceed that rank."
"What?!" Nathan widened his eyes in shock. "Why? How? Is it because there's no knowledge about Lilith? Or is it because Lilith doesn't answer that call? This is weird.
"No. I was supposed to summon Sun Wukong once. Was it because he was a demon instead of a divine beast? Or was it because of his personality? He wanted freedom after all.
"Does Lilith have another personality we're not aware of?" Nathan fell into deep thought.
"I don't know about that. That's why I'd like to test it. If I can't summon Lilith, that means there's no female vampire progenitor or Lilith doesn't want to be summoned to this world.
"Besides, I'm not anxious anymore. Even if I can't summon a progenitor, you will help me, right?" Selena smiled, showing her complete trust in Nathan.
"Hehehe. That's why I will just try it and I will accept any outcome. Anyway, the prejudice started from that generation.
"Despite being more talented than those two, she didn't manage to summon a progenitor, making people believe that there was no female vampire progenitor.
"The prejudice wasn't strong at that time, considering my ancestor controlled his family well.
"But after that incident, a female heir became less desired. In addition, there was no more prominent heir for the next several generations. By the time there was another talented female summoner, the belief that the female vampire progenitor doesn't exist has been ingrained in their mind.
"And this is the result. Even if one wants to break that prejudice, it's not easy. The family's fund is limited. As you already know, raising a summoner requires a lot of money. And a family doesn't just have one summoner to take care of. Besides, noble daughters are more valuable for political marriages.
"Because of the prejudice, even female heirs who have a certain level of talent are ignored, stopping them from developing their talents.
"In the end, it's like a normal legend. Because time passes, the legend deteriorates or changes slightly because each generation has its own interpretation. Still, I would like to end it in my generation. Even if I fail to summon a female progenitor, I know Risa will definitely achieve it in the future. And it might not be just Risa.
"With this, people know that there are female progenitors too." Selena clenched her hands into fists. "Please help me, Nathan."
"Of course. I will do my best to fulfill your dream. However, I still believe Lilith exists. We just have to wait until you summon your fifth familiar before making any decision."