Highschool DxD: A New Opportunity - Chapter 43

Part 1

MC’s POV

After Rossweisse-san began crying, it took me a while to calm her down as well as the troll, and with a while, I meant… over an hour.

Coaxing her was unusually hard since she was also confused by the situation, and I could tell that she looked guiltily at the troll who was crying. She probably felt guilty for all she did. That said, I don’t think she did anything wrong. Although it took me a while to make her understand that.

The troll, honestly, shattered the image I had about such a creature. I mean, shouldn’t they be a mighty race? Either violent beasts or maybe those filled with wisdom, not… that.

Taking this change where peace (?) reigned, I located the missing people. They looked fine, their clothes might be dirty and their faces were fearful, however, I could not see any wounds. I think I need context to understand what is going on.

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“Humans are to blame! I can’t go into town… but they keep coming!” The troll complained.

As soon as it could, it started to complain to me. Although it kept looking warily at Rossweisse-san, it directed his words at me after I asked for an explanation. I wondered if it did not see me shooting arrows at it so it trusted me more, or maybe because Rossweisse-san followed what I asked of her it saw me as the leading one.

“Rodrick, he was a good human. He kept his kin away so I could live happily.” The troll added. “He also lent his help when I needed it. However, the human calling himself his kin was not friendly, he called me a monster.”

With a pondering expression, I tried to summarise what the creature was trying to say.

“I wanted his help like Rodrick did before, but he refused. It was Rodrick’s job and now his kin had to do it in his place.” The troll muttered in a slow tone. “It even dared to demand that I give him some treasure, calling me a thief, but I am not.”

In a fit of anger, he banged the ground. The sound was loud, and the frightened screams coming from the cave sounded pitiful, but I ignored it. From the way the story goes, at least, the scammer had it coming from him. It is a miracle that he is alive, with how unreasonable the supernatural beings can be, I would not be surprised if the guy got killed from a slap. I just witnessed a small crater on the ground, and that is proof enough of its might.

Yet… the valkyrie who is happily munching on some chocolate cookies beside me was bravely fighting it, and as soon as she noticed me, Rossweisse-san got embarrassed, her first actions were to lean far from me and hide the cookies, but my stare probably weighed on her mind since she timidly extended her hand with one cookie, a half-eaten one while she continued to eat the rest. I narrowed my eyes at this, was this planned? However, I grinned because a golden opportunity presented itself.

I did not take the cookie, but I took her hand closer to my mouth.

“Have you heard of indirect kisses?” I muttered with a grin on my face.

Experimental log, first entry. Rossweisse-san has weak resistance to teasing. I thought I was aware of it, but to think she passed out in her spot. Although her blushing face was a bit mesmerizing, I reacted in time before she fell backward.

“What a terrifying creature… he knocked out that troublesome woman with words.” The troll shivered.

Alrighty, this one is an idiot. Nonetheless, I won’t correct him.

“Just like the people who came before, is he after it as well? They will be here soon, can I protect it?” The troll fearfully looked at me.

Hm?

“Would you mind explaining that?” I turned to the troll.

He shivered at looked even more scared, but I was not sure why the reaction. I did nothing wrong. I only directed a simple smile and slightly released my Ki while being careful to direct it his way.

How strange.

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I slowly walked deeper into the forest. After Rossweisse-san woke up, she went to check on the captured people. So I let her deal with that while I went to check on the ones mentioned by the troll.

I kept such a thing secret from Miss Valkyrie, and from what the troll said, they were bad guys. I planned to observe from a distance to judge their danger level. I came to scout the area with my clairvoyance.

I was sure that they were bad guys after hearing a simple explanation from the troll, but the question was about how strong they were. That guy was unreliable as heck, he believes that I am more dangerous than Rossweisse-san, me, a simple cat. Jeez, how can I be more powerful than someone with a main character aura, or rather, heroine aura? Regardless of that, I kept my clairvoyance prepared and stared straight ahead. Thanks to my continuous practice, the burden from the long time usage has been reduced, I can use it for a few minutes without problems. That said, the usage time gets cut down the more obstacles there are. It is a slight and almost unnoticeable reduction, but I did plenty of experiments to prove it in Urakyoto. Physical objects reduce less time than things such as magical barriers and the like. Nevertheless, those problems will only show in long fights so I have not seen the problem for now. Although, using my ability along with my eyes when I release my demonic powers creates quite the sight.

Stopping in my tracks, I finally found what I was looking for.

Dark cloaked figures were meeting in a densely packed forest area surrounding someone. There was hardly any light reaching that place, making their figures blend with the obscure background… not like it stopped my clairvoyance from catching their figures.

I did not know what to say when I saw them surround a figure, one that I recognized. An old man in a trench coat, and with a little more effort, I could see the one who was below that. It soon turned into a fight where the group was attacking with the intention to kill. Magic circles shone everywhere and they tried to attack Gondul-san, however, she was more than ready as a dome made of magic covered her, stopping the attacks before harming her.

“*Sigh* I can’t just look away, can I?” I muttered under my breath.

Taking out my bow, I nocked an arrow and pointed it at the group.

Releasing the string of the bow, the arrow flew at full speed before landing on one of the cloaked figure’s heads.

The second and third arrows I sent their way were unable to put an end to their lives, however, it did distract them, making them look my way, although I was too far to be seen from a simple glance. They would have to strain their eyes, and it might not be possible to see me given the trees standing in the way. That said, Gondul-san did not waste such an opportunity to strike some of them with several magic circles that shot magic arrows from different elements.

Changing my quick shooting style, I opted for shooting arrows loaded with Ki to maximize the damage. With that, the lone arrow went straight into one guy that was shielding another guy. I could not distinguish what they were saying given that I did not know how to read lips, but he seemed to be chanting magic.

Without losing her head, Gondul-san continued to clash against the other cloaked figures. One magic circle was created by them and Gondul-san did the same, the magic attacks exploded mid-air.

My arrows landed on the barrier and I could see the annoying smirk of the guy who created it, that confident smirk did not last long since cracks appeared on the barrier before it broke, however, that was it, the arrow lost the strength to go forward. Laughing, the cloaked figure continued to chant to erect a new barrier. Unfortunately for him, an arrow struck his throat, my hands had not stopped shooting.

After that guy fell, the rest became an easy fight.

Standing among the fallen figures, Gondul-san seemed to be waiting for something with her eyes closed. An uncomfortable feeling bothered me and I glared in the direction of a small bird resting on top of a tree. The innocent bird was only looking at me, but this was a feeling I was familiar with.

Just like that, Gondul-san looked my way and smiled while waving at me.

Tsk.

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“I see, Rossweisse-san enemies were related to these guys huh.” I lightheartedly said.

I had complicated thoughts as I glared at the bodies of the cloaked figures.

Don’t get me wrong, I did not feel pity. However, that was why I felt bad, I had gotten used to this kind of thing. For her part, Gondul-san looked at me with slight pity.

“You are calm about this situation.” Gondul-san commented.

Shaking her head, she continued to explain her reasons to be here. While giving a slight summary of why she was absent.

“Those bastards were hard to deal with, more than I thought. There were too many middlemen in between to get to the proper culprits. For now, I put a stop to my investigation, I have marked every person of interest and will soon deal with them in one move. Nevertheless, I noticed these guys doing something near my place, so here I am.” Gondul-san shrugged her shoulders. “Unfortunately, I am not completely sure what their plans were.”

“I have an idea, follow me.” I muttered.

I intended to guide her to the troll but-

“By the way, how is my dear granddaughter doing? Is she alright? How far have you gone with her? Have you changed her mind? I don’t say it has to be now, but my dream is to fill my villa full of her children.” Gondul-san uttered.

I tripped.

What the heck? Does this woman think I will be like a horny rabbit?

“I am too young, and you know why I am here, right?” I retorted.

“What is wrong with that? I said that it doesn’t have to be now. Also, what is wrong with my dear Rose? She is a beautiful child, and in the future, her figure will become even more attractive. I have no problems with you taking her.” Gondul-san muttered.

Oi!

“Aren’t you giving her away too easily? What about the ‘you can live with her for a while, even if you want to break the engagement, do it after a while, it would hurt her too much if you do it right away. I also can’t hand her over just like that’.” I raised my voice.

“I did not know your character at that time. Living with that girl for a while was enough for me to confirm it. You did not trigger any of the magics I left prepared in my house.” Gondul-san said.

I suddenly felt a chill running down my back.

“…wut?” I uttered.

“Oh, nothing much. Magic that will trigger if you try to put your hands on her against her will, or if you try to harm her. It would immediately inform me, and to prevent you from continuing your actions, I prepared some that will leave you half-dead. I can’t kill my drinking buddy’s son, can I?” Gondul-san casually spoke.

SHE WASN’T TRUSTING ME AT ALL WHEN SHE LEFT WITH ROSSWEISSE-SAN, WHAT THE HECK? THAT’S SCARY!

Trying to calm down my beating heart, I turned to see a playful smile on her face.

“What? Did you think I will just leave her living with a stranger without any countermeasures? You are naive, although, given your age, you can be forgiven. The outside world is a scarier place than what you think, and magicians are more dangerous than what you think. Especially if you charge straight into their bases.” Gondul-san warned. “Magicians nowadays only seek immediate firepower but lack proper knowledge, unfortunately, not everyone is gifted enough to be able to go through that path and become successful.”

That would explain why many magicians become rogues.

“There are also ȧssholes who only seek to harm others but that is a different story.” Gondul-san shrugged her shoulders. “My dear Rose is a really good girl so I always wanted her to walk through the path of light without getting involved with anything bad, however, it seems that those with bad intentions are not going to just stay away.”

Just then, one of the guys lying down reacted and moved his arm to attack Gondul-san. I reacted by throwing a knife at his hand, resulting in his arm moving out of position, soon a dart flew off from his hand and it passed near Gondul-san, however, it bounced off from a dome-like shield that appeared over her.

“The moment when someone more skilled than you lets you live in a fight, it is the time you should start praying that person does not finish you off.” Gondul-san snorted.

Waving her cane, several inscriptions appeared above her arm, they were similar to the runes I had been taught by Rossweisse-san. Soon, roots started to leave the ground and enveloped the guys, the earth parted away and he was slowly being dragged below.

“Aghhh- help- ugh.”

His pitiful cries did not help him since he was buried alive.

I furrowed my eyebrows at that sight, not from the actions, no, maybe I did. Just now, I think I saw some small glowing dots flying around the area where everything happened.

“Oh? Were you able to see it? Those are some good eyes you have there. Not everyone has the talent to see spirits or fairies if they try to stay hidden from plain sight.” Gondul-san praised.

“Is that part of your special magic? The one from the crest?” I asked.

“You mean the ones I passed down my family? Not quite, but close enough. You could call it an extension of it. Fairies and spirits can help you accomplish plenty of things if your affinity towards them is high enough, or you have a contract with them. That said, I doubt you would have troubles getting help from some, too bad you don’t know how to communicate with them.” Gondul-san shook her head. “What a pickle, I wanted to question the guy, but I ended up killing him.”

Looking regretfully at the ground, the old lady sighed.

“Hey, is it truly impossible for Rossweisse-san to inherit the magic crest?” I questioned.

Even though I spouted all that to that girl, I am sure that she might be happier if she could simply inherit what her family passed down each generation.

“Honestly, it is not impossible. There exists a way, a rather painful way to do so. You don’t believe that she is the only one who has ever had that problem, do you?” Gondul-san started to walk away. “Many magicians have faced the same problem over the years. Some opted for a bloody way, to steal using certain methods the magic crest engraved on the magician. This situation has occurred often, and those who try to steal another’s magician knowledge use this method.”

Gondul-san raised her finger.

“There are those who forcefully inscribed the magic crests on their bodies, such a brutish method is extremely painful and wouldn’t save them from making them incompatible.” Gondul-san raised another finger. “Nonetheless, a horrendous guy used another method, or rather, he modified the last method. To fit his constitution, he passed the crest to several individuals and adjusted their bodies before killing them, not before passing the crest onto another person. The process kept repeating for several years until he could wield the crest properly. A funny thing though, as soon as the guy stepped outside his lab, a meteorite crashed on top of him, destroying the whole area.”

My lips twitched at the karma biting him back, but I seriously considered what was said.

“Don’t you think I have not looked for a way to make that girl happy? I don’t want to hurt her, either physically or mentally so I cannot use any of the methods I have found.” Gondul-san bitterly smiled.

This lady might be crazy, but I must admit that she loves that girl dearly.

“So there is nothing I can do huh.” I muttered.

I kept those ideas in mind, but I am far off from being able to use them as an inspiration with my scarce knowledge of magic. What can I do to help the valkyrie? I was not sure how to answer that question.

Gondul-san tactfully remained silent, not trying to cheer me up or laugh at my foolish words. Sometimes, remaining silent is better.

“You can marry that girl and study the wonders of magic together though.” Gondul-san suggested.

Yup, silence is better.

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Rossweisse-san had an interesting expression when I returned along with Gondul-san. A wide smile that turned into a stiff one, I could describe it as such. She also looked fearfully at the older lady, perhaps expecting getting scolded, but Gondul-san did nothing of the sort. Well, I had explained to her that it was my idea to come here already, I did not want her to blame the precious valkyrie so no fight occurred.

Meeting the captured people went well, they were going to be hypnotized to forget the supernatural soon so I requested Gondul-san to let them remember their gratitude for Rossweisse-san for saving them. However, there was a more important matter to attend to. After leaving them outside the cave with some food and under the watch of some of the older lady’s familiar, we headed to check the reason for this whole mess.

Guided by the troll, we went through the cave, we walked deeper and deeper, passing a place where it seemed those guys were kept, we continue to strode forward… and downwards. The air started to get more fresh, the deeper we walked and I could feel a huge life energy source nearby. The Ki on the air got more concentrated and it became easier to make use of it so I gathered Ki taking the opportunity.

Silently pondering about what most likely laid ahead, I turned to see Rossweisse-san looking curiously everywhere, like an excited child who found something new, her eyes darted left and right until she noticed my stare and she blushed before looking forward. That was heartwarming, this timid creature is too lovely, I need to think of my beloved or my heart might fall for this child.

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“This is what I wanted to fix, however, Rodrick’s kin refused to help me, he only yelled and screamed about escaping.” The troll explained in his languid tone.

Point his large in front of us, the troll showed us a sight you won’t find every day.

Mysterious lights were dancing happily around a tiny crack on the ground, which was covered with grass everywhere. Flowers grew from every corner of the large underground space we found ourselves into. Those lights had different colors and they flew around that crack that gave off a gentle glow. It had a white light that no matter how much you stared at it, no harm came to you. Around the space, large slabs with several runes lay standing.

“…what is that?” Rossweisse-san asked.

Her wide eyes did not leave the amazing sight in front of us.

“I think humans would call it, power spot. That said, it is just overflowing spiritual energy coming from the ley lines. Although, this must’ve been man-made. A natural occurring one is not easy to find in this state, and the scales are usually larger than this.” I explained. “Yasaka-san who is connected to such a thing once explained to me that. Nonetheless, I understand why this troll here wanted to fix this. Among the ley lines, you can usually find pure spiritual energy full of life force like this, however, there exists more than that running down this earth. The energy that grants life and a peerless life force can be seen here, but there is also the chaotic energy that constantly destroys the planet from the inside. It is a continuous clash of such energies that creates the so-called balance. Harnessing the Ki full of that good energy grants you incredible might, although touching that chaotic energy might take your life. That said, it is located much deeper and it is nigh impossible to find unless you have terrible luck. Ah, by the way, Mount Fuji along with other volcanos is such a place.”

“You are well informed, it is as you said. Rose, do keep in mind his words. Knowledge from different mythologies is not always easy to acquire.” Gondul-san nodded.

After saying her piece, she went to meddle with runes around the slabs.

I hope she does not end up blowing up the place.

“Amazing! Nora-kun is amazing.” Rossweisse-san praised.

Her respectful look and words of praise made me feel a bit smug. However, I can’t boast too much since I only said what Yasaka-san once explained to me.

Argh! This child is too much, those eyes, those eyes full of respect are making me itchy.

“Want to give it a try? I heard once about a Youkai who wanted to absorb large amounts of Ki directly from the ley lines to grow his strength. The power-up from such a thing, I doubt you will find someone who could match you unless they are at Ultimate-class.” Gondul-san suddenly suggested.

Ha, I snorted.

“That would be suicide, small amounts are not a problem, but receiving the full brunt of the ley lines would kill a simple cat like me. Listen, there is a limit to the output someone has about their powers, no matter how large their magic pool or Ki pool is, there is the maximum output. That is why you can find High-class devils, particularly the older ones, who have absurd amounts of demonic power but they are still only classified as High-class. To jump from classes, you usually need to raise that output. That said, there are those crazy guys who can power up in the middle of a fight with the power of friendship or ŀust, ignoring common sense.”

If I had the boosted gear, perhaps I would power up from maids? That sounds like me. That cheat Sacred Gear, to think his user would-

“Nora-kun, what kind of person can power up from friendship and ŀust?” Rossweisse-san innocently asked.

Please don’t ask that to a side character like me.

However, a cat is always ready. Pulling something from my pouch, I handed it to Rossweisse-san.

Tilting her head, she received the manga I gave her. A little something I worked in and published, I did not draw it but instead got myself, someone, to follow the plot of the story, the artist was apparently a fan of mine so she gladly took upon the job.

“One Pie? What is this?” Rossweisse-san started to check the manga.

Another manga I plagiarized, but at this point, I do not feel that bad. As long as that money can be used to help Yasaka-san, I don’t mind doing it. That said, I still get money from my original stories so I have my account separated for it. I have also prepared one for the catgirls, and I deposit some money for them to use as they like in the future. For now, Kuroka-chan and Shirone-chan can use the pocket money I hand them over, otherwise, their sense of money might become twisted.

“A story about Nakama power and adventures. The power of friendship is amazing, never underestimate it.” I shrugged my shoulder.

She looked interested so I considered introducing her to that world. She needs a hobby, and studying can be good, but she takes too far from what Gondul-san told me before. No, maybe I could help her get friends? That sounds better.

That aside, those lights dancing around, fairies or spirits huh. Using my ability, I could get a better look, they looked like small people with translucent wings on their back. I can’t seem to hear them but looking at the way how they giggled and kept playing, I would say they have a free-spirited personality, no pun intended, I swear.

“Those are… I see so that is how they usually act.” Rossweisse-san had a complicated expression as she stared at the same thing as me.

Should I spoil her to cheer her up? Sighing, an idea occurred to me.

Walking slowly to not scare those little things, I moved closer and passed Gondul-san who turned to look at my actions with an amused expression after looking at Rossweisse-san for a moment.

Those thingies stopped dancing happily and time seemed to stop. They looked at me with eyes brimming with curiosity. At some point, when I took a step forward, they flew backward so I stopped and extended my hand. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm my beating heart. Somehow, I became a bit restless just now.

Soon, one of the fairies that looked braver than the rest armed itself with courage before slowly coming closer. The features became clearer to the nȧkėd eye, it looked like a beautiful girl but about the size of my finger. I noticed that their sizes seemed to vary and some were bigger than the others but I did not focus on that. It did not immediately reach my hand, but instead flew around me, her eyes darting everywhere. In a second, she nodded satisfied before landing on my hand.

“Can you come over with me for a moment?” I lowered my voice.

The fairy tilted its head like it did not understand me or maybe was curious about what I meant.

“I want someone to meet you, to see you from up close. Is that ok? Please.” I tried asking in a sincere tone.

It sat on my hand and held its chin with a pondering expression before nodding again.

I smiled at that and signaled at Rossweisse-san to get closer, who complied after I insisted. The girl seemed against it, perhaps afraid of scaring it.

Timidly walking closer, her eyes did not leave the top of my hand. When she was at my side, close enough for our arms to touch, my evil self wanted to tease her and call her ŀėwd for directly touching me with her arm, but I saved it for later. She was nervous and her hands were shaking, a small amount of excitement and expectation could be read on her face.

Blinking curiously the fairy noticed me gesturing her at Rossweisse-san and she nodded before extending her hand for a handshake, although the size of her hand was much smaller and she could hardly do it. Nevertheless, the valkyrie in training extended her pink finger which earned her a grin from the fairy who shook it happily. Like that was a signal, the rest of the fairies came flying and gathered around us. Frolicking, they threw away any caution they had before. For some reason there were many more gathered around me, perhaps my cat charm was to blame as they were after my ears and tails for the most part, while some just started to hover around me. However, Rossweisse-san was by no means lonely as she had a few fairies interested in her.

Meanwhile, Gondul-san worked on the slabs. She seemed to be using her wand to change a few symbols and they would glow every time she changed something. At the same time, her actions caused the glow from the crack to diminish.

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After a heartbreaking goodbye with the fairies, Rossweisse-san looked gloomy. I wondered if there was something I could do, however, I lack the necessary knowledge. I should add this to my list of things to investigate when I go to the valkyrie’s college. That said, they are quite mysterious creatures, I could not detect them with Senjutsu, yet they were not dead. They felt like part of nature instead of separate entities. Getting a hold of them seemed tricky, and I was curious whether I would find myself in a pickle against creatures that you can’t detect.

Shaking my head to get rid of those flag-raiser ideas, my presence faded as we got closer to town, Gondul-san who followed my idea to let the shy valkyrie earn the praises of the population also did the same. Our new friend, the troll named Steve (he did not have a name so it was up to me to name him), stayed in the cave to keep outsiders from messing with the repaired seal that kept hidden that crack. The older mage worked with the shy valkyrie to create a ‘masterpiece’ as she called it, a magic barrier to make the place hard to find, making it that people get lost when they try to go there.

A simple summary of what happened. Oh, I got several messages from Suzaku, she expressed her gratitude for sending maid-san and shinobi-san to help her. I took the opportunity when Rossweisse-san got a warm welcome from everyone in town to reply. Kuroka-chan and Shirone-chan sent me some lonely cat emoticons using a chatting app the white cat found on the internet and we use it to chat among cats. I resolved myself to send some treats for them to not miss me too much, but I honestly wanted to cuddle them after so long. My thoughts also went to Yasaka-san and furball known as Kunou-chan so I called her along with the catgirls. The phone call with Kuroka-chan left me pensive though, she told me that someone had been stealing cookies again. I smiled wryly when she whispered that she suspected that either Shirone-chan or Artoria-san were the culprits, but I managed to talk her out of making a ruckus. She seemed to have not forgotten her trial and is looking for revenge.

Cookies huh. The culprit most likely is-

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“Why did you abandon me as soon as we got near town? I was so nervous.” Rossweisse-san grumbled.

We went home via a magical circle, courtesy of Gondul-san. The shy valkyrie looked cute with her puffed cheeks as she sulked but she nonetheless prepared the materials for my lessons. New books were placed on the table and she took out a notebook full of handwritten text.

I smiled wryly at that, I did expect that she would get sulky but she has been grumbling for a while now, not like it bothers me though.

“Haha, don’t mind the small details.” I brushed off the topic. “I have a question Rossweisse-sensei! Is there an actual limit for contracted familiars?”

“Sensei?” Rossweisse shyly looked away, but her lips curled into a happy smile. “*Cough* There is not a limit, no, to be precise, that can change depending on the type of contract, but regular ones are not limited. If there is something to say about it, it is that there is no use to having that many. A magician can only manage a few contracted individuals at a time and in the case where they require you to share or provide magic power to summon them or sustain their appearance, you would get drained extremely fast, and that would be beyond reckless in a fight.”

Despite the blush on her face, her explanation was not lacking.

Sitting on a chair, she opened her notebook on a certain page.

“Listen, this is how a regular magic circle for contracts looks like. It provides basic terms such a summoning when the contractor requires the presence of the creature or even person. That said, there can always be changes made to it depending on what the contracted being wanted. You need to negotiate with it first to set the proper terms. It usually happens that the creature sets a limit for summoning it or it seeks some kind of payment. You would hardly find yourself summoning something selfless enough to work for free, keep that in mind.” Rossweisse-san showed me several magic circles she had drawn on the paper.

Hmmm?

“This one looks slightly different though, what does it do?” I asked.

“That is… well, I sometimes try to modify magic circles. I feel like they can be improved, but… I wouldn’t put my faith in those, you know? I have failed many times already.” Rossweisse-san down-heartedly muttered. “I am still a newbie at this so I think I am being arrogant to believe I can do things like this at my stage.”

I see.

“Listen, Sensei. Failure is not a bad thing, before success you will surely find such a thing often. Do not feel discouraged, there is always a reward for those who work hard, and your effort for trying will be rewarded. If you keep trying, you are bound to succeed. Besides, the more you practice, the more likely you are bound to fail less. I am sure that Rossweisse-san who is a smart girl can understand that.” I said.

She is not a fool neither she is lacking in brainpower. She knows what I just said, but she lacks the confidence to accept it. I know that by continuously telling her that she is capable and using facts to prove it, Rossweisse-san will come to raise her self-confidence to the point she won’t need to rely on others’ acknowledgment.

“I might not be your preferred choice of partner, but I will do my best so you can grow into a powerful magician. I can be your sparring partner, do not be afraid. I am a tough cat, I can handle whatever you throw at me without even blinking. Well, even I would be flustered if you confess your love to me right now. would stop working, I guarantee it.” I joked.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Rossweisse-san muttered gloomily.

“It is not like you will throw a nuclear bomb at me. I can evade or dodge if taking the hit is not what you dėsɨrė. I have confidence in my evading skills.” I said.

Someday, my evasion skills will grow to be so amazing that I would even avoid Death Flags. Which remains me, I should work on my evasion some more, maybe I could even try combining my Air Steps with it, or even better, using them to attack. They are technically footholds made of air, but they are solid enough to let me stand on them.

“Why don’t you let the boy show you what he is capable of? He is trying to help you after all.” Gondul-san showed up out of nowhere.

Intruding in our conversation, she nodded with a satisfied expression after looking at the stuff that the valkyrie planned to teach me.

“This is a great approach to teach someone. Rose, did you put extra effort because he is your fiance?” Gondul-san teased.

“I just wanted to teach him!” Rossweisse-san exclaimed although the slight redness on her cheeks showed that she received damage from the teasing.

“Heh, anyways. I think you should consider what he said. You have never fought a Youkai before, and while he is still young, I wouldn’t underestimate him if I were you. Besides, a mock fight is a way to teach him magic too, you know?” Gondul-san explained.

With a pondering expression, Rossweisse-san bit her lips before nodding.

“Promise to tell me if you get hurt, ok? I am clumsy so I cannot be sure if I will mess up.” Rossweisse-san warned me before going upstairs.

“Will you wear that glorious attire again?” I asked with slight excitement.

Carrying an embarrassed expression, Rossweisse-san turned around and glared at me with a pout and tears on the corner of her eyes.

“No!” She shouted and ran upstairs.

I tasted despair… or not. However, I was indeed disappointed.

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Nothing strange happened during our practice, she just send waves of magic attacks at me at a pace I wouldn’t be overwhelmed and I evaded. I noticed how lacking I was when I looked at her, she seemed to be holding back. Recalling a bit of my past, I never truly faced a skilled magician. Her chanting speed was fast, and some spells she threw at me did not even need a chant. Nonetheless, I did not see as many as when she fought the troll. Perhaps, I had become complacent. Fighting so many close-range fighters, and weak magicians made me think I was getting strong. However, I have still long ways to go.

That said, her klutz attribute activated and she sent some dangerous magic my way during her testing. Some went out of control and exploded, which sent me flying. So many fun memories were made, so many.

…

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…

The date changed, and it was time to go to college with Rossweisse-san. I got a proper male uniform, which I considered a waste since I did not plan to ȧssist for a long time. However, since I had no saying in the matter, I just shrugged my shoulders. I gave one last look to the roses that I had been taking care of during my time here, among other plans. These were a certain kind of roses so I treated them carefully, but it was still some time for them to bloom. I could make them do it with Senjutsu, but I had my plans for them. The reason for my actions was simple, I would stay with Rossweisse-san in the place she rented. It seemed she rented it together with a classmate and friend of hers, but she got an ok for me to reside there since I was a child.

Gondul-san told me to be careful and watch out for her granddaughter since she finally noticed some movement from the people who were after Rossweisse-san. For my part, I told her I would do my best. There is a saying, if a man does his best, you can’t ask him anything more. I would say it is pretty accurate if that person is really doing his best without holding back, which I planned to do so I got a sincere thank you from the older lady.

…

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…

I did not have time to take a look at the place I would be staying to sleep since we went directly to the college. That said, I noticed a slight change of demeanor from the beautiful valkyrie, she started to look more stoic and serious, and her gestures looked colder. Then, it clicked, I remembered that she used to be a tad unfriendly during her student days. Seeing her friendly when I met her made me forget another thing I wanted to help her with.

I planned to immediately hole up in the library as soon as I arrived, but I changed my mind, I wanted to observe her daily life in college for a bit, along with her surroundings and the people she interacts with.

With such thoughts in mind, I started to fiddle with the bandage I got from Kasen-san. Regardless of the origins, and the smell it carried when I started to use it. I found a good way to train my control of Ki. The difficulty to control it, making it follow my will, was hard, however, I found it easier to move when I considered it another tail. By now, I could skillfully use my tails to lift even Kuroka-chan if I wanted, I could even carry more weight if I used Senjutsu but I had not tried to use them in a fight. If I could learn the Youjutsu spell to change its length, I should be able to do some tricky stuff to take by surprise, my enemies.

Part 2

MC’s POV

I considered that college a lesser Shangri-La with all the beautiful bishoujos walking around with those uniforms that had rather short skirts. I would’ve died of happiness if there were wearing maid uniforms instead of their uniforms but life is not that sweet for me.

The place itself was different from the usual ol’ earth since arrived using a strange magic circle and the ambiance of the place felt slightly out of place, the flow of Ki was even different. Later we used a bus so I think Rossweisse-san teleported us to a station, when I asked her about it she just said that she can’t teleport using magic just yet and the magic circle we used was prepared in advance by someone else.

Shrugging my shoulders, I couldn’t complain since I did not know how to teleport either.

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…

The college was called Freya’s Magic College, or at least, that was what the huge sign at the entry said. I marveled at detailed work while my mind tried to recall who Freya was, one second later, I recalled that she was a goddess ȧssociated with love, beauty, fertility, sėx, war, and gold. I wondered what face would Rossweisse-san out when I asked her to describe what kind of goddess Freya was but I held the impulse, what if I made her faint here?

“Nora-kun, are you sure you want to go by yourself? I can give you a tour around, you know?” Rossweisse-san interrupted my musings with a worried tone.

Lowering her height slightly, she tried to match our eyes when she spoke to me.

“Ouch.” She leaned back with teary eyes and covered her forehead.

I had flicked her forehead lightly so I think that the tears are too much, but that was not the point.

“You are planning to skip classes, aren’t you? I am happy that you give me so much importance, but it also saddens me that you are missing your beloved classes because of me. I can take care of myself around here, I did take a long road to meet you, remember? Strolling around this place will be a piece of cake.” I reassured. “Wait, do you perhaps wish to stay with me so we can flirt? I did not know you looked at me that way…”

Faking a shy look, I did not look directly into her eyes. My actions made her speechless, and with movements similar to a rusted machine, she left. I blame my evil side for enjoying her reaction more than needed, but this was all for the sake of being left alone.

I did attract quite a bit of attention from the numerous people from this place, but I ignored it and kept my eyes directly on the valkyrie and her surroundings. Just like the messiah, whenever she walked it was like the sea split. The students, girls were a tad bit older than her, enough to be called young women moved aside wherever she went through. A polite greeting left Rossweisse-san lips, but the other people only nodded in response before minding their business far from the valkyrie I will always root with all my heart.

Things seemed more difficult to fix than I thought.

A sigh left my mouth when I started to think about what to do, but I still followed after her as stealthily as possible.

…

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…

I heard some disturbing rumors about a crazy guy who killed magicians who had inherited magic crests from their families at a young age, but I just walked away faster, it had nothing to do with me. Yup. I am watching over Rossweisse-san, no more than that.

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…

I got stopped a few times by the concerned students, even teachers. Inwardly, I cursed this world’s people high specs, but not to such since these beautiful ladies spoiled me with head pats and snacks. I wanted to turn down their approaches but leaving a bad impression would be bad. It was certainly not because they found my weak spot on the ears, certainly not.

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…

The area that this college occupied was immense, and it contained several facilities, however, after properly getting some information from those kind ladies, I was in no mood to marvel at my surroundings, I have even lost sight of Rossweisse-san so I honestly did not pay attention when I bumped into someone.

A girl of short stature, who had black hair tied in twin tails style ended up dropping her belongings. Several books fell over, and after a simple apology, the girl did not long for long. She left after exclaiming something about being late for Astrology class, however, she ended up leaving behind some books. People can be pretty careless around here. Keeping her stuff, I planned to leave it with the college staff, they should be able to give it back.

That said, Astrology huh. I recall that Rossweisse-san mentioned she had a friend who was a geek about that type of magic. Among the types she explained, such as Numerology or Symbology, she said that Astrology required quite a bit of hard work and money to be able to study. They used many gadgets to study the stars and they were not cheap. One thing she told me about was that they used many catalysts when they are preparing to cast large-scale spells, and after a simple questioning, she explained that even other types of magic can use catalysts to improve their efficiency. Nonetheless, things got spooky when she mentioned that among those catalysts you could use jewels, special stones filled with spiritual energy such a Magatama were included, but blood was a commonly used catalyst given the easy access one has to it. Magic can be scary, but my dream of being a flying cat will not be stopped so easily.

3rd Person POV

Sitting in her office, Yasaka was not in a good mood. Putting aside the fact that she was getting stressed due to the approaching ceremony regarding Tamamo no Mae, the lack of Nora was hitting her harder than she expected. For starters, her little furball is sulking on daily basis, looking sad, and throwing tantrums. Her bar of Noranium is running low so she tries to ask for it by pointing to the picture of a black she has on her animal’s picture books. The children Nora brought home are reaching their limits as well, the older catgirl will soon go feral due to the lack of the limiter known as Nora, and the younger catgirl is looking sluggish and is starting to hole up in Nora’s room, using his computer. The only normal one is the new child, Alice who is keeping the order in the house by using her dolls to take care of everyone’s needs, although her sister is not very helpful. She has a boyish personality and often gets into fights with the purple-haired one. That said, it is not that bad since that way, that child avoids socializing and meeting people. The cold eyes she directs at others are a little concerning but Nora’s name is the way to keep away from trouble. Nonetheless, she is also a bit lonely, he used to prepare her stuff, and he would even help her with work, always trying to crack jokes to lessen her stress by making her laugh, or simply by hearing her complaints and ramblings. While she is not in love with him by any means, she can’t deny that he made her life more easy-going.

Sighing deeply, Yasaka stretched in her chair. She just had a meeting with a friend of hers, a Kudan. The youkais who can predict the future are widely known, and while their abilities are famous, they also suffer from a problem like the nine-tailed foxes, zero male population, and they have beautiful figures, so they are bound to have relationships with other races, almost always having offsprings from their same race. Thanks to that, and the greed some have for their abilities, they live in seclusion and hardly leave their hidden village, very much like the kyuubis. She came to warn her about a terrible danger that will come during the next ceremony to strengthen the seal from the killing stone, and how only by bringing a certain cat will the worst scenario be avoided. Complicated feelings sprang on her heart, she was told that it was someone close to her whom she holds dear, so it can only be him.

The killing stone has been used to produce offsprings of her race since it appeared, and they all basically came from the mighty Youkai, Tamamo no Mae, whom she was a fan of. The hidden village of the Nine-tailed foxes probably received the same warning so they will send extra help, but the question was whether she would take Nora or not. Without mincing her words, she would love to yell ‘screw the ceremony, I won’t take that cat there’, but it would be nigh impossible to hide it from him. He is a trouble magnet, and will just tag along just to help her.

“Nora-kun, you idiot.” Yasaka muttered.

She picked a file lying on her desk, the highest-ranking fallen angel, their governor Azazel was requesting to meet the very child she felt troubled about. It had a simple explanation regarding his intentions, there was even a letter attached from Baraquiel, whom Nora had mentioned before. The Cadre wanted to plead for the meeting to happen since there was something extra to discuss besides thanking Nora, so he did not want her to think his leader had hidden agendas. Coincidently, she got a letter from one of the Maou, using the title as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Serafall Leviathan also wanted to meet formally. That said, Nora was mentioned more than a few times in the letter. For a moment she felt overwhelmed, big shots were contacting her at once all of sudden so she was a little scared, but Serafall’s letter mentioned something hard to ignore. The word peace made her arm herself with resolution and push forward the meetings, although that would require the black cat in person.

Feeling low on sugar, she pulled a small bag of cookies Nora left as a reserve for her. It had a simple wrapping and a note that said, ‘enjoy yourself, do not forget to eat healthily… and for the love of xxxxxx, do not eat Kuroka-chan’s cookies again’. It brought a smile to her face and a slight blush. She only ate those once… or twice, maybe more than that, but it is not enough for Nora to chide her.

MC’s POV

After a full day of classes, we were walking to the place Rossweisse-san rented along with her friend. I felt slightly sad since I won’t live alone with her anymore but it should just the evil side that wanted me to have her all for myself so I could tease her with ease.

That aside, Rossweisse-san looked uncomfortable. It was obvious since she caught me watching her from afar a couple of times since I was not hiding every time, it is normal that it happened.

“Eh… Nora-kun, how was your day?” Rossweisse-san awkwardly asked.

Scratching my cheek, I wondered why she was using this round-way method. When we met a while ago, we had the same conversation. Let’s quicken the pace by going straight to the point.

“It was wonderful, I spent most of it watching over a very cute girl who has aqua-colored eyes.” I muttered.

“Geez, that is not what I meant.” Rossweisse-san complained and her tinted cheeks were easy to notice given her light skin.

Well, I lightened the mood a little and she looks more comfortable now.

“I did not lie there. I took a tour around the facilities of the college but I kept my eyes on you most of the time.” I said. “I noticed that you are different than when you are with me, distant and cold could be a way to describe it.”

I basically confessed that I stalked her. I am amazed at how many crimes I have pilled up in a decade of living.

“Wait, don’t tell me!? I am different because you are in love with me!? Kya! Rossweisse-san, you beast!” I faked a shy appearance.

Before she starts getting gloomy and tries to gloss over the matter, I should try to keep her talking, even at the cost of fooling around, which by no means I enjoy. Do not believe I receive any sort of pŀėȧsurė by teasing this child.

“I am not a beast! Geez, Nora-kun jokes way too much. Teasing girls are no good, you know? You will get a reputation of fooling around with girls.” Rossweisse-san reprimanded me. “As a student, you should strive for good grades without minding anything else. That way, you can get a good job and have a successful carrier.”

The way she speak like she chiding a child and gently guiding him left me a strange feeling. I know that what she is saying is not wrong, but she took it too far in my opinion.

“Is it truly like that?” I asked.

I received a confused look so I thought I needed to have a long conversation with this child so I took her to a nearby park. Even though the college is a tad far from the apartment, it is not that far away from the city I was taken to. That said, the apartment she rented was not downtown, but rather at the outskirts as well. Many parks and greeneries were surrounding us so I had plenty of choices. A small vendor selling bretzels (pretzels) picked my interest so I bought some for the valkyrie who had a question sign over her head as I lead her around.

“Rossweisse-san, do you truly believe in your words from before? I think you are having a slight misunderstanding. Good grades are not the only thing you should pursue in your student’s life.” I spoke.

“Nora-kun, it is not good to play around. You must leave those things for later. I have many classmates that fool around and get bad grades, you are a bright child and it would pain me to see you end up like them.” Rossweisse-san furrowed her eyebrows.

Sighing, I prepared myself to make her angry.

“Listen, you are not wrong. However, you are not correct either. There are several things you can do as a student, and that is not only studying, but socializing.” I said. “Of course, fooling around during every opportunity is not good, but excluding yourself as you do is not wise either. You have to meet people, befriend them or simply learn how to communicate. You could say you are also learning by making friends.”

Sealing her lips with my finger, I stopped her from interrupting me.

“After you leave college, there is bound to be a world out there. Putting aside special cases, you are bound to find yourself in situations where you have to socialize with other people. Well, not to scare you, but they will come from all types and shapes.” I added. “You might not be socially inept, but you should stop distancing yourself from others. It doesn’t have to be all the time. If your classmates are going to hang out or something, or they are simply chatting, try to join in if they invite you.”

Taking my finger off her lips, I let her be since she remained silent.

“If they don’t invite you though, screw them. You are an amazing girl, I am sure you can find other friends. Why don’t you start by flashing that cute smile I have seen before? That will show them that you are more approachable.” I tapped my chin. “Let me tell you something. I am not telling you to become a party girl who always goes partying, no, I just want you to enjoy more your student time. You even skipped a few years so you’ve had even less time than others to enjoy your youth.”

Scratching my cheeks, I wondered if this will make her angry, however, she needs to look what and reconsider what to do from now on.

“Do things in a way that will never leave you with regrets. Perhaps when you get to work, you won’t have time to rest or your schedule will make it nigh impossible for you to properly reunite with your friends. Your pay could be awful and you would need to withstand a terrible boss. The future is not always destined to be bright even if you do your best. My words might sound grim and scary, but don’t worry. It is not set in stone. This is why I want you to keep in mind other possibilities besides what you envision.” I got up. “Rossweisse-san, I don’t want you to change the way you are, just give it some thought. Making friends is not bad in the long run, making connections with other people can lead to unexpected results. That said, you can ignore what I said, I am just being a busy body.”

As I turned around, I was stopped by her. With her head lowered, she did not show me her expression.

“Do you think that what I have been doing until now is wrong, useless… bad?” Rossweisse-san spoke in a weak tone of voice.

“I would never say that. Sorry if it sounded like I am dissing your achievements, the things you got by working hard are not wrong. I believe you did an amazing job to get to where you are at the cost of many nights without sleep, however, why don’t you find a way to get good grades and enjoy a little bit of your youth? If you wish to do so, this Nora will lend his power to do so. Even if you want to remain the way you are now, I will still support you to the best of my ability. We are friends, right?” I smiled.

“I have many things to say about what you told me. However, I will not say anything until I have reflected enough.” Rossweisse-san looked seriously at me. “The only thing is clearer than water, it is that you are thinking of my well-being so I will keep it in mind. Give me today, and I will reply to you, even the thing you told me before, I will give you my answer. Now, let’s go home. I will introduce you to my friend.”

After that, she gave a refreshing smile. I was led out of the park by her, this time, she took the lead by pulling my hand. Her smile was rather dazzling so it threw me off, letting her take the initiative. However, even after I recovered myself, I let her guide me around. She was being proactive and I did not want to put a stop to that. Besides… I don’t know where she lives.

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…

“It’s you! Give me back my precious book! I have not read it yet!”

Being shaken by a stranger as soon as I put a foot on Rossweisse-san’s apartment made me think that black cats are not as lucky as you guys believe.

I remembered this gal’s appearance immediately since I met her today. Bumping by accident, she dropped her book, a book I kind of forgot to leave in the college.

“Wait, Nur! What are you doing to Nora-kun? You will hurt him!” Rossweisse-san stepped in to help me.

The gal in question had light skin and pale green eyes, her long black hair was tied in pigtails. Currently, she was wearing a long white shirt that left too much to the imagination every time she shook me. She was quite defenseless given that she was at home, but she would be more careful even here. Her thɨġhs are quite a sight, although she looked slim, the girl called Nur had a curvy body. Of course, Rossweisse-san looked even more amazing.

“I have it on me!” I managed to shake her off.

I took my time since I avoided being forceful, however, she was unreasonable.

Nevertheless, as soon as those words left my mouth, she looked at me with a sharp glare.

Standing in from of me to shield me, Rossweisse-san looked at a loss. On one side, there was her friend whom she had been living during her student days in college. On the other side, a simple cat whom she met not long ago and happened to be her fiance.

Honestly, even though I feed her with cookies, she won’t take my side more than-

“I don’t know what is going on, but why don’t you calm down? Nora-kun might be a strange child and his words might not make sense sometimes, but he is a good kid. I am sure there must be a reason for this.” Rossweisse-san spoke on my behalf.

Should I be glad or cry?

“If Rose says so I will stop. However, who is this child?” Nur-san asked with a hint of curiosity.

I took the book from my pouch which made the girl’s eye widen, she looked ready to pound on me, and not in an ecchi way. I handed it to her before I widened my eyes after thinking of an answer to that question.

“Ah! My dear book! I spent off this month’s savings for you!” Nur-san hugged the book with happiness overflowing from her whole persona.

A wicked smile appeared on my face and Rossweisse-san noticed, she immediately panicked probably because she imagined what I would say. Unfortunately, she was too far and by the time she extended her hand to cover my mouth-

“I am her friend, and for a short time, she could be said to be my magic teacher.” I smiled widely.

With an innocent expression, I looked at Rossweisse-san who had frozen mid-way her actions with an open mouth.

“What is it?” I tilted my head trying to at cutely like Kuroka-chan.

I cringed inwardly, but all for the sake of-

“N-Nothing.” Rossweisse-san stuttered and blushed down to her neck.

Yup, it was worth going through that cringy moment.

“Uh? Rose, are you ok?” Nur-san asked in a concerned tone.

The valkyrie in question just shook her head while avoiding my eyes.

Heh.

“If you say so… Ah, look at this Rose! This is the book I told you about, it was pretty expensive but it was worth every cent. It might be hard to read since it is an ordinal copy written in an ancient language, but it contains several spells about star-related magic. Isn’t it amazing? They are so hard to come by since not many people practice it, but I was so lucky to get my hands on it.” Nur-san spoke like a machine gun.

My eyebrow twitched a little, she is too energic.

“As expected of Rossweisse-san’s friend, she has a screw loose,” I muttered.

The girl in question kept blabbering about the book, opening and pointing at different magical circles. Reading aloud lines that she later said she did not understand, however, she continued to do so.

“Why do you mean by that?” Rossweisse-san pouted.

“I mean, you are a klutz and that child looks like an astrology geek.” I shrugged my shoulders. “A whacky person only befriends another whacky person.”

“You said you were my friend just now.” Rossweisse-san retorted.

Tsk, she is getting smarter.

“I am your fiance, that does not apply to me. I am a regular cat, nothing more nothing less.” I exclaimed.

“Idiot.” Rossweisse-san lightly punched my shoulder.

Always.

“By the way, where is that child going to stay? You are not going to take him home?” Nur suddenly woke up from her crazy talking streak.

“Eh… here?” Rossweisse-san timidly said.

“We only have two rooms though?” Nur-san tilted her head.

“Eh…” Rossweisse-san looked at a loss.

Oh, my. I will have to sleep on the streets? My black cat’s aura is getting stronger.. No, being called stray might be what is causing this.