Highschool DxD: A New Opportunity - Chapter 44

Part 1

Rossweisse’s POV

“You might have my body, but you will never have my heart!” Nora exclaimed in a bitter tone.

Rossweisse facepalmed after hearing him mutter that. The girl was already feeling embarrassed by pulling him into her bed so he did not sleep on the floor or outside. Now he drops this as soon as he enters her room. The way he covered his ċhėst with both hands did not make it any better. Someone who did not know anything about their situation would surely misunderstand. Inwardly raising her spirit, she tried to make the boy stop playing around by using a dignified and serious tone.

“I-It is late already, you can’t play around all the time. G-Get i-into the b-bed w-with m-me already!” Rossweisse stuttered.

It seems like she failed miserably, and her words would further fan the flames of the misunderstanding.

“No, you see? I was just joking.” Nora smiled wryly. “I did not plan to go that far.”

The way he added the last part with a slightly embarrassed look made her inwardly chuckle, he can be teased too, and he looked rather cute. It was a different feeling than what he gave off usually. Nora acted like he was way older than he is, from the way he tried to talk to her and give her pieces of advice, Rossweisse felt his goodwill so it was hard to simply make him stop, not to mention that he said things similar to what her grandmother told her before.

“I have some free time tomorrow between classes, I will teach you for a bit so don’t go around causing a ruckus.” Rossweisse said.

Sitting on her bed, she tried to keep the blush from appearing on her face. It was going to be the first time she did something like this. A male and a female sharing a bed was something that her head found difficult to accept, but she had proposed by herself so she couldn’t say anything about it. Arming herself with courage, she patted lightly beside her, signaling Nora to sit.

Nonetheless, Nora did not immediately follow her directions, instead, he looked around the room. She felt slightly apprehensive, it was a simple room, a lot more than her room in the villa, would he say something about it? Would Nora frown upon it?

“You really do not have anything to spend your time here, other than books that is.” Nora smiled wryly. “Can I borrow a few books from here?”

“Do you want me to read you something before going to sleep? I have some books with stories about Valkyries and Einherjer adventuring together.” Rossweisse tapped her chin. “If you want I can read you until you fall asleep.”

Adding the last part with a slightly teasing tone, she wanted to joke for a bit.

“Oh, dear. I would love to hear your beautiful voice until I fall asleep, I am sure that I will have very sweet dreams.” Nora replied.

She ended up getting teased instead.

“However, I will regretfully turn down that offer. I have to make use of most of my time here, and your time as well. I will read as much as I can on my side, and any questions I have, I can ask them if you are not too busy.” Nora commented.

Lightly skimming over her bookshelf, he took books about Basic Magic Circle Creation, Setting Barriers, and a few other books that helped you create warding off barriers to repel people unrelated, or simply to hide your presence. For magic users, those were the basics of the basics so it was normal for someone to learn about them. She had been teaching him about how magic required several mathematic calculations for an actual phenomenon to occur, and despite using difficult terms, he understood it all without the need for extra explanations.

“You don’t need to be so mindful of it.” Rossweisse smiled wryly. “So you really don’t want me to read you a story?”

Taking the books, Nora walked near her and put them on the small table beside her bed. He stared at her with a pondering look before nodding.

“Do you find it difficult to sleep?” Nora inquired.

Scratching her cheek, the Valkyrie couldn’t refute him, he was right. She could not relax and did not feel sleepy.

“I see, then how about I use a special technique? It works wonderfully, you will be able to sleep in no time. It is one of the Shiki Household’s 99 secret techniques.” Nora added after reading her expression.

Tilting her head, curiosity made her want to give it a try so she nodded at him.

He did not waste time and tugged her in bed, and while sitting on the edge of her bed, Nora lightly moved aside the hair on her forehead.

“Eh, are you not going to get in?” Rossweisse raised a question.

He proceeded to massage her forehead with his fingers, lightly rubbing in one direction or sometimes changing to a more complex pattern.

“Are you that eager to sleep with me? Ecchi.” Nora smiled playfully. “Now now, go to sleep, I will make you a great breakfast tomorrow and prepare lunch for you to take in. I know you like to save money as much as possible so eating food made at home will be cheaper. Don’t worry, I got you covered, and before you ask, I will do so for your friend as well. To befriend Rossweisse-san, she must be a good girl.”

He teased her about her choice of words, but she did not feel bothered. There was no ŀust or any hidden feeling behind his gaze. His playful look kept watching over her kindly while his mouth uttered these words.

As his fingers danced on her forehead, she could feel a warm and fluffy feeling being transferred to her. That feeling traveled over her body and made her relax little by little. It was an incredibly comfortable feeling, and she had felt this before. Whenever she got close to him, she noticed that he gave off this kind of feeling, it irradiated from his body. She remembered that at one time, during their hike in that mountain path, he stood up momentarily for her to rest, and a few wild creatures got close to him. Birds perched on his shoulder and chirped happily, however, they flew off when she wanted to get close to them.

Little by little, she started to doze off, her eyelids were growing heavy.

“You… are not… going to…?” Rossweisse tried to inquire but her words found it hard to leave her mouth.

“It is ok, I know that you are reluctant to sleep with a guy next to you. You might not get proper rest if I lay down beside you, that is why, rest ȧssured, I won’t sneak into your bed.” Nora gently said. “Having a complete stranger suddenly sleeping beside you must be uncomfortable after all.”

That was not fair, where is he going to sleep then? She could not accept that, but she lacked the strength to retort. He is not a complete stranger, he is her friend. She wanted to say that but her eyelids couldn’t stay open for another second. The last thing she saw was Nora muttering something, she could only see his moving lips and it seemed he said ‘good night’. Inwardly thanking him and wishing him the same, she fell asleep.

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The next morning, Rossweisse groggily woke up. It was one of the best nights of sleep she had in this apartment’s bed, so much that she did not want to wake up, but her alarm clock would not allow her to slumber again as it noisily made sounds that made it impossible to ignore.

When she left her room and entered the kitchen, she found a down-hearted Nur sitting on their dinner table (which doubled as a study table sometimes). The girl was grumbling angrily that she was thrown away from her own kitchen. A smile found its way to Rossweisse face, she had an idea what happened and she was familiar with the feeling given that she found herself in that spot a couple of times.

“Ah, Rose, finally. That child, he shooed me away from the kitchen, my kitchen! Can you believe it? I wasn’t even able to force my way back, where did you pick up that child?” Nur complained after she noticed her friend.

“He is a bit pushy, but please forgive him. Nora-kun is a good cook so you don’t have to worry about the flavor.” Rossweisse calmed her friend.

However, she soon tilted her head curiously. She had the feeling that she forgot something, where did Nora sleep? She can’t remember him lying beside her, and while a bit blurry, her memories seemed to stop recalling that he did not plan to sleep with her.

“What if he wastes our ingredients? I might’ve bought a bit more groceries this month due to the extra money we managed to save during bargain sales, however, it is still bad to waste food unnecessarily.” Nur said.

Nodding quietly, Rosseweisse could understand her friend’s worry.

“Shhh, don’t say aloud that we might be troubled with food, that child cannot hear it, ok?” Rossweisse hastily covered her friend’s mouth, only letting it go after she confirmed that Nora was not paying attention to them.

Sighing in relief, she gestured Nur to Nora.

“I am confident in his skill to make use of everything at his disposal without wasting even anything during his cooking. Feel free to take a close look, as long as you don’t try to actively cook, he will not impede your presence.” Rossweisse said.

Feeling a bit smug, Rossweisse smiled. It will come as a big surprise to her fellow bargaining buyer how good that child is.

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“Rose, where did you pick up this child? I want to see if I can pick up one too.” Nur nonchalantly joked.

That question left her stumped, he came to find her on his own so saying that she picked him up was wrong. However, it was her grandmother’s fault since she had apparently communicated with the youkais for it.

“Cats are whimsical creatures, even if you pick one, they might just escape.” Nora said.

After clearing the table and washing the dishes, he sat at the table and started to read a new book.

Pouting at this answer, Nur looked the other way but soon turned her head back in front to speak with her.

“That aside, Rose. Have you finally changed your mind?” Nur asked.

“About what?” Rossweisse nonchalantly asked back.

She was only half paying attention to the question so she did not get what it was about. Rossweisse was observing Nora, or rather, the book he was holding. It was a different one than the ones she had seen him with yesterday so she wondered if he already finished them.

“Hey, you are not paying attention.” Nur lightly slammed the table. “Do you have plans to participate in the tournament this time? I heard that even Skadi will appear during that time, there is a rumor about how she plans to pick up a disciple so everyone is pumped up. That said, she is not the only one, many gods and goddesses plan to make themselves expectations. Although many of the male galleries are probably hoping to catch Skadi’s figure in their eyes… there is more to it. It will be a joint tournament, to improve cooperation within our colleges, the Einherjer College will also participate. There will be team battles where you can join in with their students, as well as individual battles.”

“…I won’t participate.” Rossweisse looked down.

“*Sigh* Again? Rose, I think you are very talented, it is your opportunity to prove yourself so you should take it. How about this? We could target the team competition. You will have me along with you so there is nothing to worry about.” Nur patted her ċhėst.

“Only last year students can form teams of two, or even think of going solo.” Rossweisse retorted.

Nur froze in place for a moment and she did not know what to do.

The green-eyed boy beside them had pulled a stack of papers that he read carefully.

“Nur-san, why don’t you call some of your friends to join the team? You can complete the missing members that way.” Nora suggested.

Directly looking into her eyes caused the green-eyed girl to then her head in another direction.

“I see.” Nora narrowed his eyes slightly before sighing. “Rossweisse-san, is the only problem that you do not have a full team?”

Changing targets, Nora went back to look at her. Rossweisse recalled their previous conversations, the encouragement he had been giving her, she felt inclined to go forward with his suggestions but a small strand of fear remained. That said, she did not want to disappoint that boy for some reason. Her feelings told her that he would never get disappointed in her, but she did not want that to test it. Rossweisse wanted him to look at her proudly. Besides, her friend Nur would be with her, she would not do it alone, however-

“We need at least one more person, but I don’t have anyone else I can call.” Rossweisse weakly muttered.

“I see.” Nora nodded. “I promised before and I hope you do not forget it. I will lend you my strength. This time won’t be any different, I will join your team.”

After declaring such a thing, he smiled and put the papers down. Rossweisse and Nur looked clearly confused, only students could join so why would he say that? Nur doubted that he understood the issue so she was about to tell him, but he smugly looked at her before pointing at the papers. It irked Nur, but she grabbed the papers and started to read them first.

“You might just be a very smart cat.” Nur praised. “However, I don’t think you should join just because you want to fill the blanks. You can get hurt, you know? I am sure we can figure something out so…”

Looking slightly regretful about turning down the new member, Nur began to consider whom she could invite. She would’ve loved to take upon the boy’s offer but knowing that he could get hurt the girl could not bring herself to accept his offer.

In the meanwhile, Rossweisse read the papers and she looked lost in thoughts. The arrangements her grandmother made for him even covered the possibility of joining the tournament so she had even prepared his permission with a special note about it. Her grandmother believed in his strength, and she had experienced it as well.

“Nora-kun can join as our member. There is nothing to worry about his strength, I experienced it first hand and he is not lacking compared to some of our seniors.” Rossweisse spoke.

Looking at Nur, the aqua-eyed girl tried to convey her seriousness through her gaze. Nur widened her eyes for a moment given that she did not expect that. Biting her lips, she glanced at Nora before raising her hands in defeat.

“It is two against one, so I should be stubborn. However, I want to test what he is capable of, I will request a private training ground. Even though the tournament is coming, there will not be a situation where we will run out of places to train.” Nur said. “Only after testing will I acknowledge him as a real team member, otherwise, forget about even stepping in to fight, you will be left as a ghost member.”

Even though Nur used a harsh tone to say that, Nora just smiled wryly, like Rossweisse, he probably understood that Nur did not mean any harm and was only worried about his well-being.

“Nur-san, are you perhaps a tsundere?” Nora nonchalantly asked.

His words were responded with the tilt of heads from both Nur and Rossweisse so Nora awkwardly scratched his cheeks.

It was only an hour later when Nur checked the internet for the term and chased after Nora around the apartment with a blush on her face. Unfortunately for her, she failed to catch the boy who had transformed into a cat.

3rd Person POV

Standing alone on the top of a building, a figure clad in a maid outfit directed her eyesight to the streets below.

“Have you found him?” Marion asked.

There was not a figure of anyone else besides her, but there was a reply after a puff of smoke appeared behind her, and a girl clad in a ninja outfit appeared.

“I have, with this, we have found four of the Sacred Gear users that Shiki-sama mentioned. Just like he told us, there are some people clad in tuxedos watching them as well. What was his name… Shark? He was rather troublesome to follow compared to the others, his friends are not exactly good kids.” Shizuku commented.

Shaking her head, Marion did not comment either nor did she try to correct his name. Instead, she wondered where did her master acquire that kind of information. Sacred Gear users are not exactly common, and he asked to find several people at once. Was he mistaken? Did he expect them all to be users or maybe it is a possibility that one of them is a user?

“I can get the cute girls, but guys? Is Shiki-sama into- HIIII!?” Shizuku continued to speak nonsense until she suddenly shrieked scared.

Looking left and right, she had her tails in her arms, hugging it fearfully she did not dare to drop her guard.

“What happened?” Marion furrowed her eyebrows.

“I kind of felt sorry killing intent, no, it has to be Shiki-sama, he knows what I tried to say and he got angry. He will target my fluffy tail.” Shizuku fearfully muttered.

Shaking her head, Marion decided to ignore her. She would sometimes react like that when her words went too far.

“Our Master wanted to protect not only our targets but the people close to them as well. Start scanning those close to the target and write a list, I will prepare a suitable way to protect them. In the worst case, he told me we can drag them to Urakyoto until he is back.” Marion said. “Do not let any of the Five Clans people learn about them, Murmur-sama left that clearly.”

Slightly fearful, Shizuku nodded before forming a series of hand signs, when she finished, a puff of smoke was what remained in her location.

“Fallen angels, the Five Clans, and those people wearing tuxedos, besides them, Murmur-sama told me to watch out for Magicians. Out of them, Suzaku Himejima will become an ally and he told me that there are some people among the fallen angels that can collaborate, although he warned me about trusting anyone other than the Cadre Baraquiel.” Marion pondered for a moment.

Her master spoke nonchalantly about his connections, but they are quite something. Zekram Bael left her in Nora’s hands after telling her to inform him regularly about his growth, however, she felt conflicted about whom she should show loyalty toward. Nonetheless, her master did not seem to mind. He directly told her not to worry about contacting Zekram.

When she first heard him saying that, she was fearful. Thinking that she might be sent back, something that would be a shame for any maid. However, he reassured her, telling her to not mind the small details. He did not want her to put her in a tough spot, and he was aware that Zekram Bael wanted to keep an eye on him.

“There is no need to contact Bael-sama.” Marion concluded.

After muttering such a thing, she tried to come up with a way for her master to contact the individuals he asked her to watch over. Knowing her master, she doubted he would have any hard time establishing a good relationship with them.

Part 2

3rd Person POV

After a simple spar between Nur and Nora, the girls left the boy on his own. They all had plans to attract possible new members, but the girls did not expect much from Nora.

After an hour of fruitlessly recruiting, they heard some people gossiping about a new person working in the cafeteria who was giving sweets of all kinds for free. They found the situation slightly odd but they did not want to miss an opportunity like that.

Along the way, Rossweisse bumped into a figure clad in a black cloak with a hood who was also in a hurry, but before she could apologize, the figure hastily went to the cafeteria. She was not able to see the face, but she managed to catch a sight of the purple hair peeking from the hood.

Rossweisse found that figure oddly familiar but due to Nur’s urging, she put it on the back of her head. While she walked, a new thought occurred to her. Nora was left alone. He wouldn’t get into any trouble, would he?

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As soon as Rossweisse and Nur arrived at the cafeteria, they found it difficult to stop the corner of their lips from twichting.

Surrounded by a group young women of different ages, there was Nora happily chatting.

“So, the cannibal was in front of me holding an stone axe. I did not dare to make fun of his weapon, he was over 2 meters tall and the stone attached to the axe was about my size, besides, he moved pretty fast. The pilot was hurt because of the landing so I had to keep him safe…” Nora spoke slowly.

Looking at how he had captivated everyone’s attention with his narrator’s skills, it seemed like he was good and coming up with stories. No, the story sounded familiar so he probably changed it in an easy to understand way. Rossweisse had a fleeting thought that he could become a good author.

On everyone’s hand, there were all kind of pastries. For a moment, when the story was about to reach the climax, he would stop, leaving everyone eagerly waiting for more. Going into the kitchen, he would give more sweets to everyone. She could even spot the individual with the hood happily eating ice cream in one corner.

Staying frozen on her spot, it was not until he finished speaking that he noticed her. He brightly smiled and waved her way. Instantly several eyes were directed at her. Her fist thought was to run away, but the warm smile that Nora had on his face as he eagerly walked her way made Rossweisse stay in place. She was subjected to many stares. Many were unfriendly bordering jealousy, she was not sure what did he do to charm the group that much but she could tell that he raised the affinity with all the girls present for quite a bit. However, there were also a good number of curious people who directed their good will at her.

“Girls, this is whom I was speaking about. Rossweisse-san is the kind soul who picked up the poor and stray me under her wing, and started to teach me magic. Isn’t she amazing? We currently have a little issue, we lack members for our party to enter the tournament. Is there anyone who could lend us a hand?” Nora used a pitiful tone to ask.

Rossweisse had not idea what her was playing at, she never picked him up, but the sad expression he put when he spoke about almost made her reach out for him to gently pat his head. In fact, her friend Nur looked moved, and the corner of her eyes had small amount of tears. The number of stares she received became filled with pure goodwill and friendly aura.

What did that child do with these people? Rossweisse coldly sweated as she wondered such a thing.

“Sorry, Rossweisse. I misjudged you, to be honest, I was afraid of you.”

“Me too, I used to avoid you because you looked too serious.”

“I thought you used to look down on us, but Nora told us how kind you really are, and how much you wish to study to train your skills.”

“If it’s ok with you, could we study together? There are some things I don’t understand.”

There were many people who directed words at her, leaving her a bit overwhelmed, but Rossweisse only focused on Nora who stood up in front of her.

“I might’ve changed a bit what truly happened, but I technically did not lie.” Nora smiled wryly. “Listen, things might be a bit more hectic than I originally planned so you are free to ignore everyone and go back to the training room. I know that this is too difficult to handle out of the blue so I will try to calm them down. However, you can also join in and talk with them. I am not saying that you should become friends with everyone, but… remember what I told you about before, making friends should be something worth giving a try.”

He pushed her into a difficult to deal situation, but he also gave her a way out. It was difficult to tell whether he was being kind or not, but Rossweisse had thought about it and-

“If you are there with me…” Rossweisse shyly muttered.

She lacked the confidence, but Nora could make up for that with his presence. It was embarrassing to actually say that so she could only ask him to stay close to her.

Beside her, Nur looked surprised at their exchange. However, she did not dislike the situation, as long as her friend could put aside her hard to approach aura, she was sure that making friends would be easy. It would be a little lonely, but her friend’s well-being was more important. That said, Nur wondered when did the boy and her friend get in good terms with each other, good enough for her friend to follow his words. Nonetheless, it was hardly important, she did not particularly care about making too many friends, given the side effects of mastering the magic she is learning.

Both girls, each with different thoughts about the situation, went after the boy.

MC’s POV

There were good news and bad news regarding the gathering of the college students. I was able to have Rosseweisse-san chat with them, and even though I had to intervene now and then, I am sure that soon she will be able to do so by herself. I don’t think she will make a friend out of all of them, but as long as she gets one more friend, I would be happy. It worried me slightly the lonely look that Nur-san had so I made a mental note about looking into later. Nevertheless, the bad news that no one could join our team. The only people who wanted to participate were already part of a team so they could not change sides like that. Although I did get way too many invitations to hang out together on different occasions. There was even this purple-haired woman who wanted to take me to her ‘castle’, but I turned down most invitations given the approaching tournament.

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Practicing together a few times a day became a routine, along with learning about the different teams we might face. I tried to collect as much information as possible regarding them. Putting the Valkyries aside, the guys from that male only college had a troublesome raising star. A guy who suddenly got stronger after leaving for training, he was supposed to be a lanky guy but became ripped with muscles to point that people wouldn’t recognize him… sounds as fishy as Kuroka-chan saying she will clean her room every day from now on. No, that would be pretty much an impossible future, wouldn’t it? That girl never cleans her messy room and claims that she never will.

Although my plan of bribing- I mean, coaxing other students to join the team failed, I managed to widen my information network so I got some intel on that suspicious guy. Other than his change in size, he got different tattoos over his body, hardly unnoticeable even while he covers his body. More experienced students are making different guesses about the origins of those, given the design they have. However, there was a rather unfortunate info, or rather, the lack of it. No one had seen him fighting since arriving, although there was a bit of rumor that a group of people who used to bully him met someone unfortunate accident and got sent to an hospital since he arrived. The more I heard, the more my instincts told me that there was something wrong.

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“…and that is how you solve this problem.” Rossweisse-san put the chalk on her hand down.

Including the amazing cat (me), several people were hanging out in an empty classroom. Busily taking notes, several young girls were coping down what Rossweisse-san just wrote on the blackboard. For my part, I just paying close attention to a book I ‘borrowed’ from the library. It was nothing fancy, it helped me swap item currently in my possession with other items in my possession, or simply summon things I had stored somewhere. It sounded amazing, but this was just the basics for spells such as changing clothes via magic. Lame? Perhaps, but useless? No, I could see peerless potential in this kind of ability. If I could take things from my pouch without the need to put my hand inside, I would be able to take things like weapons or medical supplies in a swift manner. Not to mention, I could change outfits to fit the situation, a example I thought it would be useful is when you are trying to lose someone following you, changing your outfit to blend with the crowd sounds useful. That said, it is not like there are no way to counter that, but I am not a master in magic so learning stuff step by step is important. Besides, I heard from Rossweisse-san how this will become the foundation for storage magic.

Putting aside my lengthy train of thoughts, I glanced around the room. There were over 20 people here that were taking notes. All these people were girls that I originally bribed- I coaxed to join the team, but declined. However, I got chatty and managed to get in friendly terms with them. They seemed nice so I encouraged Rossweisse-san to make some friends, and while I wished the number was bigger, the valkyrie had a hard time to win them all over with just a short chat. Nonetheless, it is not like they became enemies, but rather that the age difference and their timing for classes made it hard to meet and chat. One thing lead to another and these girls asked for Rossweisse help in studying. Considering the high grades the precious valkyrie usually got, many wanted to improve themselves.

Rossweisse-san was initially worried that she would get distracted from her studies or her grades might drop, but on the contrary, by teaching others, she came to learn new ways to approach study topics. The aqua-eyed girl had to look for more info to help the girls understand to her own understanding went up.

It was heartwarming to watch her hop in place when she got better grades on a test she had not much confidence in. A little credit goes to her seniors whom she befriended as well, they did try to teach her whatever they could. About half only came to see, and I am questioning why, but since Rossweisse-san got something out of it, I will not mind the small details. Yes, I will ignore the fact that there was a lady who keeps inviting me to her castle. She is truly a beauty, but she does not let anyone see her appearence and that makes me suspicious. Somehow, I feel a similar air coming from her, one that resembles the Canon’s Rossweisse. I wonder why, but I feel some pity. For some reason, my brain recalled a part where Rossweisse complained about not having a boyfriend and the pity I felt for that lady intensified. Is she single? That would be sad indeed.

The air got cold all of sudden, how strange.

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“I have been wondering, are you hurt Nora?” Nur-san suddenly asked.

I was going to the library to look for another book and a certain someone had the same idea as me.

“No, why?” I replied.

If you put aside my lonely heart that is lacking certain vitamins such Kurokanium, Shironenium, Yasakanium and Kunounium… I am perfectly fine.

“I can see that bandage peeking from your sleeves.” Nur-san leaned closer and pointed at my arm.

Oh, that.

“No, I am not hurt. This was something an acquaintance of mine gave me. Consider it a tool for practicing certain skills and a trump card.” I playfully winked.

That said, even though I have gotten better at using it, I must keep it hidden if I want it to work as a trump card, although… seeing as we are all alone, I felt slightly mischievous. I could feel the end of my lips curling up, and when Nur-san started to poke the bandage out of curiosity, I controlled it and wrapped it on her hand, then I pulled her and linked our hands, basically, we were holding hands. How ŀėwd.

“Hya!” Nur-san got surprised.

The girl tried to pull away but she failed to, I found her face of surprise and distressed face at failing to get away rather cute but voicing it will earn me a blow so I kept it to myself. While I looked at her, I thought of about discussing something I had been meaning to ask.

“Can I ask you something? Why are starting to keep you distance from Rossweisse-san when she is with her new friends. No, I noticed that beside that, you are starting to interact less with her.” I said.

Nur-san paused her action and looked down.

“You went straight to the point without leaving me any way out, Nora.” Nur smiled wryly. “Girls don’t like men who are forceful.”

That is true, but I won’t allow her to weasel out of this one. After observing that I did not react to her words, she sighed.

“Why do you want to know?” Nur-san inquired.

“It is obvious, I am Rossweisse-san’s ally so I will do my best to be her strength while I am here.” I spoke in a serious tone.

I received a complicated gaze, it looked lonely and there was a bit of jealousy mixed.

“As expected, you-” Nur-san muttered but got stopped midway.

“Of course, I would like to think of you as a friend, so I would not hesitate to help you if there is something troubling you.” I said.

Honestly, I found her to be a funny gal. I do enjoy how Rossweisse-san and her always converse about bargain sales, making plans to buy the necessary food for the week and how she would still include me in those expenses without asking me for money even though she complains about being short on cash.

“…You really mean all that huh.” Nur-san sighed.

She stopped trying to release herself long ago so I unwrapped the bandage. My control had gotten good enough that once I surprised Rossweisse-san by lifting her.

“Seer, fortune-teller, prophet, diviner, and many others. I am sure you are aware of that those terms and their meanings. My magic specialty, Astrology is tied together to carriers like those, no, those who study the stars are often called with those titles, and while there many of those people who deceive people, there are many who are serious about astrology.” Nur-san muttered. “To be honest, the more you immerse yourself in this kind of magic, the more you would develop the skills of this type of career. You see, I can tell when people lie, which is one of the magic skills you develop.”

I immediately began to sweat coldly. I am screwed, she knows. Damn, she obviously knows that I ate her pudding.

“Hmph, feeling nervous? I know you ate it, Rose would not do that.” Nur-san snorted. “Idiot.”

Oi, it takes one to recognize one.

“Unfortunately, the study of this magic is about uncovering the mysteries of the world, the truth behind it. Something as simple as knowing whether someone is lying is a play in the park. The more you use certain spells to read the stars, the fate or future of a person, the more you deprive yourself of the ignorance of some things.”

I see, so she-

“I have come to dislike hanging around others that much, because I can easily tell if they lie… and I have been disappointed at how much they do on simple conversations.” Nur-san looked incredible bitter.

“That would explain why you avoid Rossweisse-san’s new friends. However, that girl is as pure as the seraph Gabriel. Why are you avoiding her?” I pointed out.

“The path of an astrologist is always lonely.” Nur-san muttered. “She is getting more friends and soon will not need a troublesome girl like me, I might scare off her friends if I reply bluntly to one of their lies.”

I cannot be certain if all the things she said are correct since I have not given it a look about what she is studying. However, I can feel that she is lonely, maybe it could simply being left out and ȧssuming strange things or something else, but regardless of the reason, staying away of your friends like that will only hurt both parties.

“You are an idiot.” I shook my head. “A real idiot.”

With pursed lips, Nur-san looked at me, she had something to say but I did not allow it.

“You are her friend, and she thinks of you as someone important, how do you think she would feel when she noticed that you are so far from her that your relationship can be saved? Listen, I think I can mostly summarize what your problem is.” I raised my index finger. “You are afraid of people lying, that much is normal. You will probably will see the ugly side of people that unsightly part they are trying to hide. However, I think you are too young to just ȧssume that. I won’t question people’s ugliness, but there is always light where there is darkness. I can’t guarantee one hundred percent that she will never lie to you, but I can guarantee that she will never have any bad intentions of she does it. Listen up, do not deprive her of her friend because you one sidely ȧssumed that your friendship might end soon, and for the love of- do not deprive yourself of her friendship.”

I thrust my finger forward, action that bewildered her.

“Nur-san, you should treasure people like Rossweisse-san, those who are so honest do not come by easily.” I muttered.

“Like you?” Nur-san smiled. “You are an straightforward person.”

I could only smile bitterly at that.

“I wouldn’t put your trust in me, I am certain that I will lie to you at some point, saying that I will never do so, that… would be a lie.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“Hehe.” Nur-san giggled.

Raising an eyebrow, I looked at her waiting for her to calm down and explain what that was about.

“I will keep your words in mind, I will also apologize to Rose.” Nur-san turned to leave.

“Wait, why did you laugh?” I stopped her.

She pondered for a moment before opening her lips.

“You are certainly correct, you are not an honest guy. Even though you say to not put my trust on you, I would find it difficult to find anyone as trust worthy as you. A bad person who lies for bad reasons will never tell you in advance or try to advice you against trusting them. Despite my inexperience as you mentioned, I can tell that much.” Nur-san reached for my head. “I guess there was no need to feel jealous huh.”

In an almost inaudible whisper, she muttered such words as she played with my cat ears.

Wait, that jealousy from before-

“You like Rossweisse-san!?” I asked.

“*Cough* *cough* *cough*” Nur-san coughed nonstop. “What made you think that!?”

“That chat about being jealous… Where you jealous of Rossweisse-san and me? You had that kind of friendship with her!? I refuse to accept that, Rossweisse-san is the pure goddess of my heart! No one can ŀėwd her!” I exclaimed.

“Are you an idiot!? How did you arrive at that conclusion? I don’t swing that way! I absolutely not. I have my ideal type, and I won’t settle for anyone else.” Nur-san said.

I looked at her with suspicious eyes, she wouldn’t be trying to fool me, would she?

“Ah! You don’t believe me, do you?” Nur-san fumed angrily.

“Oh, so you have a type. Why don’t you describe your type of guy then? It should be easy, right?” I smiled.

Nur-san opened and closed her mouth at a loss over what to do and I found it amusing. While I enjoyed her expression, the girl seemed to get her bearing back and she replied at once.

“Well, he is tall, a lot taller than me and you, he has a sturdy build but not overly muscular. He might have iron-like muscles but must look slim overall. He also needs to know how to treat a lady and like to tease her, I would find it boring if he does not joke around. He will spoil me rotten and call me cute all the time. My ideal guy must fill the criteria of having eyes like mine, I want our children to have a high chance to inherit eyes like ours.” Nur-san spoke fast paced, almost like a machine gun.

That description… Heh.

“So, if you find a guy like that… you will be on the offensive.” I praised.

Just like I imagined, Nur-san started to act smug.

“Of course, I will make him fall for my charm.” Nur-san boasted.

Heh.

If I don’t tease her using this opportunity, I wouldn’t be able to call myself Nora.

It should be fine if it is for a bit so I carefully prepared equals amounts of Senjutsu and Touki, or the most similar amounts, and mixed them inside me. Just like I had practiced countless times, my point of view changed and easily surpassed Nur-san in height. The girl who was boasting kept her head high with closed eyes so when she noticed the shadow covering her from the light, it was too late.

Nora V2, nicknamed like Shirone-chan canon version when she increased her height and certain places had appeared in my own version. There was not much to say, I only grew up to my teens physically, although there are more changes, just my appearance alone is what I sought to do. It has a terrible constrain of time limit even after I worked with Rossweisse-san to improve how I use it, but what I am about to do hardly affects the transformation.

Nur’s POV

After managing to bluff her way out of the predicament that Rose’s friend had brought her, she was able to clean her name. In all honestly, she was aware that she can be only straight. She never looked at a girl in another way and she finds men attractive. There was another reason, one that had to do with this one-time she tried to foresee her future, she managed to catch the image of a tall man with green eyes whispering sweets words on her ear. That image got plastered on her mind since that time. She just needs to find that guy and fate will work its magic.

Pausing for a moment, she found Nora being rather quiet, did she manage to convince him? Timidly opening one her eyes to peek at Nora, she soon fully opened both eyes, her mouth follow after her eyes. The sheer surprise she felt could not be put into words. A young man taller than her, with green eyes and black hair was standing in front of her, he was wearing the male version of their uniform and had a confident air around him. Smiling slightly, he looked straight into her eyes, freezing her. His appearance was that of a handsome young man, he looked slim but the uniform that tightly wrapped around his body showed that he had a healthy and muscular built beneath it. Her mind went overdrive to figure out what happened, she was speaking to Nora just now, where did this guy appear from? She couldn’t have teleported or switch places with Nora or she would’ve noticed it.

No, her eyes scanned his figure fully, only for one reason, yes, only for one reason. She tried to overlap a certain figure with the young man in front of her and she soon swallowed a gasp that was about to escape from her mouth. He is-

“Heh.” Nora chuckled. “Did you finally figure it out? It took you long enough.”

The older version of Nora lightly stretched his busy and she followed his every moves. How did? No, that is not important.

“I must say, I did not expect to say this phrase in my life but I can’t help it. Did you finish checking me out?” Nora looked amused and his mischievous smile made it more certain, he was indeed that boy. “It still feel strange to suddenly change like this, I need to improve more. Now then, I guess I should do it.”

“How!? You were-” “Shhhh, don’t yell, it would attract unnecessary attention, and this is something private, you know?”

Nur tried to ask what had been on her mind, but it only took Nora to lightly put a finger on her mouth to signal her to keep quiet. She obediently did as he asked without thinking.

“Hey, I recall a certain someone bragging about swarming at the guy of her dreams, her type. I know I lack in the handsomeness area, but I should look close enough to your ideal. Aren’t you going to try to win me over? I am right here, and I won’t go anywhere.” Nora muttered.

HE! HE IS MAKING FUN OF HER!

Without waiting for her reply, he took a step forward and they almost collided so she stepped backwards, her actions led her to crash against the wall, she knew that there was no way out when he slammed his hand on the wall, just at her left. She did not want to admit it, but her heart was beating loudly. This situation was anything but normal so she was already nervous. The air around Nora looked totally different from silly self, and she had bȧrėly gotten used to interacting with Nora as a child, not to mention. It was one of her biggest secrets, but she could not interact with guys that well. There was one thing she will deny with all her heart, she is not acting shy because Nora looks were to her linking, she must make sure that such a thing it understood and engraved in all the parties here so she wanted to open her mouth but Nora put a hand on her chin, his thumb finger almost touching her lips.

“I never told you, but you have pretty lips. The type that make people want to taste them. Those plump and rosy lips would surely taste like the sweetest nectar.” Nora said.

WHY CAN’T SHE REPLY!? SHE WANTS TO BEAT AT THE PART OF HERSELF WHO FELT GENUINE JOY FROM HIS WORDS, HE IS CLEARLY TEASING HER. GET A GRIP, NUR!

“You j-” “Don’t speak, I can tell what you think just by staring at those emerald like green eyes, they shine like the brightest jewels and they tell me many things.” Nora continued after interrupting her.

DON’T! DON’T CURL UP, MY LIPS! DON’T SMILE HAPPILY AT HIM!

“It is a shame, our meeting must be cut short, I won’t be able to hear your beautiful voice calling my name.” Nora put on a sad and regretful expression. “At least let me taste…”

Her heart tightened at the sad look on her face, but the second half of the words made the alarms in her head to run amok. He w-wouldn’t d-do it? Ah! He is leaning closer and his eyes are close. What to do? Should she run away? Her indecision made her freeze and he was too close already. She shut her eyes immediately and she could feel the blood rushing to her face, she probably looked redder than a tomato. The feeling of another pair of lips overlapping hers did not appear. She felt slightly down, but did not have time to dwell on that disappointment as she felt a rather strange feeling.

“Next time, you shouldn’t brag about getting a guy that easily.” Nora’s voice sound right beside her ear as he whispered, his hot breath made her ticklish. “Not to mention, why did you let me get so close to you? A bad guy might ended up taking advantage of you, and they wouldn’t hesitate to eat you up.”

*Blow*

The young man, AKA, Nora, blew into her ear after saying that. His actions send a chill down her spine, but she was not sure why the feeling did not make her feel repulsed, her inner self even like it. She must be feeling sick, no doubt.

“In fact, if you had met the me from the past, you would’ve been eaten continuously since I never let a prey of my liking to escape. Lucky you, don’t you think?” Nora’s voice pulled away after he said that and she heard him getting far from her. “I want you to not allow yourself to be played so use this situation to make sure you don’t make the same mistake. From the bottom of my heart, I am worried. I intended to tease you, but you are way too defenseless. You are a very attractive girl so take care of yourself.”

When she opened her eyes again, she saw him with his back turned back to her. Nora was starting to walk away and she unknowingly extended her hand to reach for him. He looked just like-

“You should take a rest to get your act together, you look incredibly cute with that flustered look, but I think people will misunderstand something if they see us walking together. I will go to the library so don’t follow me.” Nora winked playfully after shamelessly praising her and tuned his head back to the front, after waving his hand nonchalantly, he started to walk away. His figure shrinking with every step until he was back to his original figure. The only evidence of what happened seconds ago being her beating heart and the phantom feeling of his finger on her lips that she unknowingly traced.

Eh? Why does she feel like she is forgetting something important? Pondering for a moment, she stroke her chin before recalling his advices. That said, she could shake her head at that, he was completely wrong, she wouldn’t let just anyone get close to her like that. In fact, it was only because she had built certain familiarity with Nora that they walked together. For some reason, it always felt soothing to be near him so she always let her guard down. Finding it strange, she asked one of her teachers about it, trying to find out if that was a Youkai trait, and the reply was rather surprising. It was not something that they possessed; in fact, they could give good impression to others but not on the level Nur described. She never mentioned or asked about it to Nora since… she had kind of made her teacher curious about him, not to mention one of her seniors looked really interested in meeting him, even asking her to her to take him over to him. She firmly refused, even if she was the beloved senior of the college and the one considered to be the strongest participant on the competition, Nur was not going to hand over her friend, so she dashed out of the place and never came back.

Huh? The feeling that she is forgetting something again is bothering her, when she thought of Nora… Ah! She forgot! That jerk! H-He p-played around t-too much!

She must teach him a lesson!