In the end Sitri accepts the revised contract Rias came up with, and Rias helps me get all the other paperwork mailed off whether to places here in Japan or in some otherworldly realm of fantasy.
Really these two could totally screw me over if they wanted, but considering how Sitri literally hypnotised me before and all she did was try to encourage my studies with a command weak enough I still managed to pervert it into watching more anime?
I figure I can probably trust them.
I transfer over all the data on my wonder medicine right away, no need to slow down the pace it can get physically made and then tested and approved, though bureaucracy being what it is I won’t see my first payment until the end of the month.
Selling that games console to Rias remains my best financial move in the short term, not only ensuring I can feed everyone until next month but giving just enough extra that we can afford some splurging.
Saeko gets herself a phone, our numbers get traded and she gets access to the supernatural internet.
There’s not quite enough in the bank to get Kaori a phone, but given how small she is even the most mobile of mobile phones isn’t something she can carry around anyway, and she accepts these limitations with good grace as we hit up a Korean barbecue place to celebrate with some prime beef!
This isn’t the kind of thing I’d normally do, I’m a cheap fast food kind of guy.
I just said that steak thing earlier because it was funny and felt appropriate, but I can’t deny the allure of some luxurious food, and Saeko really deserves it too considering she’s fresh out of the apocalypse.
Still I feel nervous as we go in and get seated, sure people must be looking at us even if Kaori is managing to keep her own otherworldly presence below people’s perceptions.
I mean, I’m having a sit down meal in a restaurant with a beautiful girl.
Two technically, but Kaori’s situation is weird.
Saeko however?
She’s as classic as it gets!
Is this like a date?
Despite spending evenings unsupervised in my apartment and literally sleeping a few feet away from her, there’s a real tension to the act of sitting opposite her in a booth in a crowded restaurant.
What should I talk about?
Does this change anything?
I must be radiating my nervousness because after the waitress takes our drink orders Saeko gives me a gentle smile and says, “This isn’t a date, Jiro-kun, you can relax.
Think of it like treating your club members as president.” “Haha, was I that obvious?” I ask with a laugh, but it has kind of punctured the tension a bit and I do feel myself relax more with boundaries clearly established.
“Never, you know, done this, so…” I gesture vaguely over the table to encompass the whole ‘this’ of a normal teenager’s dating life which I have zero experience with.
“You’ve done lots of other things,” Kaori says, her voice low but enough for both of us to hear her where she’s sitting up on the edge of the table at the back of the booth, “There’s no need to get nervous over dinner.” “There’s something to be said for doing things in their proper order,” Saeko notes as she looks over towards Kaori.
“I think you might have given Jiro-kun some warped expectations.” That makes Kaori cross her arms defensively and huff out, “I’m not the one who took his virginity.” Even if Kaori’s got some magic going so people don’t notice her, I know it only works fully when she literally sits still and does nothing, so I cringe and hope no one in the neighbouring booths is eavesdropping on this salacious gossip.
“I mean I’m not complaining, but I’m still… inexperienced about a lot of stuff.” I haven’t even kissed a girl, which feels really sad!
I bet if Kaori hadn’t been shrunk we’d have been making out like crazy too.
It would’ve been awesome.
“I’m sure you’ll learn, but no one who’s opinion matters is going to judge you for it so please don’t feel so self-conscious,” Saeko reassures me, a break as the waitress returns with our drinks and we belatedly get to checking the menu to decide what food we’re actually going to have.
It’s actually not so bad, after dispelling that initial worry over it being a date, I’m able to hang out with Saeko just like we’ve been doing the past couple days.
It’s actually a good chance to just talk about stuff that doesn’t have to do with devils and zombies.
I tell her a bit about my dad, who works at the headquarters of a big manufacturing company in Tokyo, and my aunt and uncle who live here in Kuoh and sometimes check up on me.
In turn I learn a bit about her own father who’s apparently a bigshot martial arts instructor who travels around a lot training elite bodyguards.
I guess it makes sense where she got it from.
I don’t know if he survived, she talks about him in the present tense but did mention he was out of the country when everything changed, so who knows?
If he’s half as badass as she is he’s probably leading a survivor camp somewhere, but we don’t get into that kind of stuff directly so as to keep the conversation light.
The food’s great too, definitely better than what I would’ve gotten for myself if I hadn’t been trying to impress the girls!
The rest of the evening passes peacefully, I decide to knock out the formula and methodology for another medicine back home while Saeko goes for a jog under enhanced gravity with Kaori.
This one is used for treating deficient immune systems, and so can alleviate a lot of potential diseases.
These kinds of medicines are a lot easier to make with current day methods compared to more aggressive cures that rely more on tailored gene editing unique to the patient which I really don’t have the resources to spread around.
Once Erect Solutions really gets going that might change, but stuff like this can bring in a huge cash flow and help a lot of people, so I’m happy to spend the time and effort on it.
Weirdly I don’t notice anything different when I wake up the next day, and neither do Saeko or Kaori.
I definitely had my morning friend rise to greet the day, so maybe it was something subtle?
It being Sunday it’s a good day for us to start training in earnest, and Saeko leads me through some callisthenics under enhanced gravity out in the lot in front of my apartment before we head off to that abandoned building where we can train in more flashy supernatural stuff.
Fortunately this time without any stray devils interrupting.
Even better, it does confirm my power is working when I get a message from Akeno, the promised picture showing she does fill out that miko outfit beautifully.
It’s not especially sexualised, but she still looks amazing and there’s a joy to getting this kind of material from a girl that my body readily responds to.
[8-12 Queen’s Blade Flower Decorations and a Hidden Power An episode where Yuit builds a set of vibration armour to counter Mirim’s Hyper Vibration Armour.
Unfortunately Yuit’s armour only afflicts the wearer with debilitating vibration without providing any of the increased power or defences of the original.
A set of erotic but otherwise useless vibration armour appears being worn by Akeno Himejima.] Now I don’t notice anything at first, no, and there is an initial worry that the whole thing has just stopped as abruptly and randomly as it started.
But then my phone buzzes with a voice call from Akeno… “J-J-Jiro-k-k-kun!” her voice sounds shaky and uneven and there’s a faint high-pitched whine in the background.
“D-did y-y-you l-l-like m-my sh-sh-shrine mai-aaaugh-maiden…!
My shrine m-maiden u-uniform th-that… nnngh!
That much?!” Okay I was at half mast before but now a tent is well and truly pitched as I listen to her and my brain summons up all sorts of images.
“It had an effect,” I admit bluntly, “Um, but what about you?” “Ahh- haha-!
J-jiro-kun you p-pervert!” she gasps and giggles, Kaori and Saeko both drifting over towards me to listen in to what’s going on.
“I-is this wh-what y-you did to- to the Presi- haaugh, J-Jiro-kun it’s making me… I’m g-gonna, y-you sh-shouldn’t… eeeik~!” Abruptly the call disconnects and I’m left staring numbly at my phone.
What the fuck was that?
“What did you do to her?” Kaori asks, sounding as awestruck as I’ve ever heard her voice.
“I don’t know!” I protest, “I was thinking about her, you know, and it… you know,” speaking of I hunch my posture a little awkwardly to cover up the ‘you know’ for Saeko’s benefit.
“So distance isn’t an issue so long as one is close to your heart, Jiro-kun?” Saeko asks in a dry tone that doesn’t quite conceal her amusement.
“In any case she did not sound in danger, we should resume our training.” Right.
Um.
I guess so?
And so a good day’s training is had.
Skills are sharpened, bodies are conditioned… and I don’t hear another word from Akeno.
Not until I go to school the next day where she very pointedly refuses to look at me, a red-faced and embarrassed look on her like I’ve never seen from the usually confident and eager-to-tease girl.
“Well done, Jiro-kun!
I’m impressed, no one’s ever gotten to Akeno like that!” Rias grins proudly at me while standing above Akeno’s desk, which sets off predictable whispering from the class.
Akeno herself lets out a mortified squeak of, “President!” before she collapses her head on her desk and buries her face in her arms, hiding from everyone.
I’ve no idea what’s going on, but I feel… proud.
Yes, that’s the feeling.
I’ve definitely accomplished something noteworthy, somehow.
“Well hey Akeno-chan, you know how much I’ve been thinking of you lately, now I know for sure you were thinking of me,” I say, feeling my cheeks hurt from how wide I must be grinning at getting one over on her.
I don’t know exactly what happened, but it must have been some kind of vibrator or something and she was totally getting off while on the phone with me, and that’s a massive win in my book.
“It’s supposed to be the other way around… I’ll get you for this, Jiro-kun!” Akeno swears, thumping her fist on her desk.
I can only hope she plans to retaliate in kind.
— [4-4 Dead or Alive Helena/Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 costumes One of the costumes on this page is summoned, chosen randomly.
Rouge swimsuit (Helena).
A red one-piece old school style swimsuit with Helena written across the chest.
Due to the low power roll, it has enough tears in it to be impractical to wear.
It appears worn by Kaori Saeki.] [5-12 Fate/Grand Order Demon King of the Sixth Heaven Rank Ex The true noble phantasm of Oda Nobunaga, destroyer of Shinto and Buddhism, it materialises a reality marble that holds absolute power against the divine.
Jiro gains the power of this reality marble, though as expected for such a high tier ability its upkeep is expensive in terms of energy.
It manifests the surroundings as a burning hell which actively erodes the existence of supernatural beings.
The greater their divinity the greater the effect.
A normal human would simply find it to be a little bit hot, while a devil or angel would find themselves assailed by debilitating flames, and an actual deity would feel their life in danger.
Jiro himself will always be unharmed by his own reality marble, even if he does acquire divine traits in the future.] [7-10 Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Fafnir Chapter 3 A chapter in which a welcome party is thrown for Fafnir, where he loses a game and has to make curry for the group.
A full spread of Fafnir’s curry is summoned.
It’s surprisingly mild, but tastes quite good.] — While I don’t get any more sexy texts from Akeno, my dick still works and even without the morning visitor a few things come throughout the week when I get excited for one reason or another.
A swimsuit appeared while I was in the shower with Kaori after getting sweaty from training, unfortunately while it was shrunk down to fit on Kaori and would’ve looked nice if intact, it had a few rips in it.
Which is nice from my point of view, but does mean it’s not beach ready.
Interestingly it had the name Helena written across the chest, which reminded me of one of the girls in that game that came with the Nintendo Switch.
I sent a picture of it to Rias and she quickly confirmed back that the outfit was one of the ones you could buy for Helena in the game, with a picture as proof.
So quickly in fact it was pretty obvious she’d hung onto the thing to play by herself rather than sending it off to a lab to be reverse engineered.
Oh well, she’d paid good money, she could do what she wanted with it.
Another nice surprise came in the form of several plates of steaming hot curry rice one afternoon while my mind wandered as Saeko and I were doing our homework.
Randomly getting horny before making dinner paid off again!
The real prize came in the middle of PE though.
I’d been holding myself back to not display any superhuman capabilities but otherwise taking part more than I ever did in the past.
In this case I was climbing the rope rather than engaging in any fun stretching exercises with Rias, but… look, there’s stimulation, the body reacts, I don’t need to defend myself.
And anyway, I’d take the embarrassment for something like what I got there, as knowledge blossomed inside of me like it had done several times before.
An inner world, one of fire and flame, one that hates the supernatural.
I feel a little bit bad, I like that stuff.
The supernatural’s done right by me so far!
But the flames held so much power, they would make for an incredible weapon against otherworldly beings, a weapon that basically scaled up depending on the mysticism of the opponent.
So if some less friendly devil came after me?
Well, it’d definitely do the job if freezing them with the blizzard dance didn’t!
Got a real fire and ice theme going on here.
Kinda neat, I like it!
Naturally we test it that evening in our usual isolated training spot.
Kaori and Saeko flank me as I prepare myself.
“Okay, this is an actual spell, so you know… don’t judge me, okay?” I ask, cringing a little bit at what I have to recite to pull this off.
Saeko gives a non-judgemental nod, while Kaori just rolls her eyes and says, “Never feel self-conscious about chanting a spell that does real magic.” I guess that actually is kind of heartening support from her, but all the same I can’t help but feel a sense of shame as I start to speak with reddened cheeks.
“Those who cherish their life should get away from here right now.” A heaviness settles in the air around us when I start to speak, the magic building in a way I think literally anyone could sense far less those of us who’ve grown experienced with the supernatural.
“This place will soon become hell on Earth.” I can feel the heat under my skin now, sweat beading from it, a tension waiting to explode.
“The deities of the three realms shall all be nothing but ash!” It’s coming now, the words seeming to tumble out of my lips almost without conscious volition, like I’ve started something that can’t be stopped, the pressure roaring forth in a way that makes my head feel heavy.
I want to pop my ears, it’s like when you’re on a plane taking off.
“I am the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, Jiro Onano!” The pressure breaks with that last declaration, and the world explodes around us.
The grassy yard, the ruined mansion, the trees and the city beyond them, all of it gets stripped away as my inner world rushes past the confines of my body and my ears get that satisfying pop of equilibrium being restored.
It’s night, but there’s no darkness.
The sky red, dark choking clouds of smoke lit up by the hellish glow of flames crackling and licking upwards.
To one side there’s a torii gate, red paint peeling off to reveal blackened char underneath as fire dances up its surface.
In the other direction a temple in ruins, pagoda roof sinking inwards as supports fracture and fall.
All around the courtyard we stand in are deliberately scrapped items you’d usually see in a shrine – offering boxes, sacred ropes, fortune boards, stone lanterns.
All piled up like trash for the fires to consume.
Flames immediately latch onto Kaori and she bites her lip, trying and failing to brush them off her arm.
“I don’t like this at all,” she says, a faint shudder in her voice.
I’m not sure how ‘divine’ fairies count as for the effectiveness of this ability, but the fact fairies have incredible physical and mental resilience is probably letting her endure it a lot better than someone like Rias would.
“Demon King of the Sixth Heaven?” Saeko repeats in an odd voice, looking directly at me after taking in her surroundings, appearing completely at ease in contrast to Kaori’s discomfort.
I cringe.
It sounds pretentious as all fuck, doesn’t it?
Even if magic is real, some things are a bit too chuuni to say with a straight face.
“Yeah I know, it’s what I have to say though, I can’t help it,” I say apologetically, letting out a deep exhale relaxing a knot of tension inside of me that causes the burning temple to fade away like a mirage, our mundane surroundings returning.
Feel a little light-headed after that, like when I pushed the blizzard dance too long one time.
“I think you misunderstand me,” Saeko says, before dropping a name that even I recognise.
“Demon King of the Sixth Heaven was a title adopted by Oda Nobunaga.” — Jiro was hardly the only one training hard in this week, the recently rebuilt church was now constantly abuzz with activity.
Not that Nanael needed to do much, her victory was assured, but it would look bad if her followers were weak and so she was ensuring everyone fighting under the banner of Team Nanael was ready to pull their weight!
The four fallen angels were engaged in a frantic free-for-all, joined with that one incredibly rude cultist that also happened to be a cut above the rest of the rabble these black-winged losers liked to have do their menial work for them.
Every now and then Nanael would bombard them with a telekinetically thrown object, ensuring they stayed on their toes while she performed the vital role of overseer to make sure no one slacked off.
“Come on Dragon King,” she reached down and tickled the side of the boy she was sitting on the back of as he laboriously performed push ups underneath the weight she was adding on his back.
“Your power multiplies your base, so the stronger you get to start with the better the gains you’ll receive.
You should feel honoured getting this kind of special training!” He let out a gasping noise before his arms gave out and he collapsed.
But there was no reprieve to be found, as the newest member of Nanael’s group knelt nearby with a worried expression and held out her hands, a green healing light glowing over the boy to revitalise him.
“H-hang in there… I mean, ganbarimasu!” she added her own encouragement.
It all sounded the same to Nanael who could speak all languages like any angel, but the healer was doing her best to learn the local tongue after flying halfway around the world to join their little group.
Bolstering everyone’s training routines with powerful magic healing was certainly a better use of her ability than getting that annoying cultist out of the hospital, but since he hadn’t made any further comments about her wings she’d had no reason to send him back there for now.
“Ahhh… two beautiful girls cheering me on, I can’t lose!” he let out a grunt of resurgent effort and Nanael felt herself being lifted up as he resumed his work towards attaining physical fitness worthy of his magical blessing.
“Here you are, Nanael-chan!” her other harem boys called out as numbers two and three came back to the church laden down with snacks for her.
They were much friendlier and more fun than the dead-eyed cultist goons that would otherwise be running errands around here, though she was a bit annoyed by their habit of fawning over the recently arrived nun.
“Good, you’re back.
Gimme!” she called, waving a hand towards them as harem boy number three pulled out one of those pudding cups she loved and handed it to her along with a spoon.
He was a good boy, very dedicated to pleasing her, exactly how she liked her boys.
She rewarded him with a smile and a pat on the head before she started eating her sweet treat, only to yelp as a stray shot from one of the fallen angels blasted right through her cup, showering her with sticky white cream!
“Why does this always happen?!” she cried in outrage, looking down at herself as her chest was covered in thick gooey white globs, and not the fun kind that she got when playing with her harem!
An angelically fierce gaze was swiftly turned towards the melee, “Who did that?!” Fingers immediately pointed towards Loligoth.
One thing she could always count on fallen angels was for them to have no solidarity among themselves.
It gave Nanael an excuse to get a little more involved in their training, chasing the now screaming blonde fallen angel around with her floating sword and slicing her up pretty aggressively until she fell over in a crying and bleeding heap.
“Healing Saint, go fix her up while I get cleaned and changed,” she ordered the blonde girl, leaving harem boy number one to make do with only the moral support of his two friends as he continued training.
Predictably the fallen angels had all taken her absence as an excuse to slack off so when she came back out the only one still working was harem boy number one, even if he was clearly just trying to show off to the cute blonde nun that had gone back to hanging out with him and his friends rather than the lazy fallen angels or that gross cultist.
Not that she really blamed either of them for making the best of it in the absence of Nanael’s radiant presence.
Who would have thought mortals would be the most tolerable company around here?
It really spoke to the depravity of fallen angels.
“Nanael-sama,” one of the fallen who was not currently striving to sharpen her skills in anticipation of the tournament approached, the dark haired one who liked to wear spiky fetish clothes when not cosplaying as a demure young maid sidled up next to her.
“We received the last parts to finish assembling the sacred gear extractor while you were gone.
Now we can put those tools into better hands,” despite being a slacker she still spoke with the transparent eagerness-to-please of a lifelong brown-noser.
Nanael just gave her a look, silently inviting her to go on.
And bury herself deeper.
Which with a complete lack of awareness she cheerfully did until Nanael had had enough of listening to her.
Smack!
The sound of her palm hitting a pale cheek echoed around the church all the more satisfyingly thanks to the acoustics meant for better raising the Lord’s worship to the heavens.
Everyone froze and turned to look at the fallen angel knocked to the floor from the force Nanael just put behind her disciplinary slap.
She actually felt angry!
She didn’t think she could be any more shocked by how awful these fallen angels were, it really showed the mountain she still had to climb with her self-appointed task of redeeming them.
“I’ve seen a lot of disappointments since I came here, but this is a new low!” she declared, making sure everyone could hear her and understand how mad she was at the suggestion she’d just been given.
“Even if you’re fallen, for an angel to think about stealing the weapon of a human… where’s your pride?
Your faith?
In your own abilities if not in God?!
We’re superior beings, and that means we have to act like it.
If that’s the only way you can come up with to get stronger, you’ll always be a bottom feeder that’ll never amount to anything!” Also Dragon King was cute!
And Healing Saint was the kind of mortal woman she liked best; deferential and obedient!
Nanael wasn’t one to go all protective big sister or anything like that, but the least she could do was scare the idea right out of these fallen angels’ heads so no funny business occurred!
“I’m sorry Nanael-sama, I overstepped, I didn’t think it through!” the fallen angel that had been in charge of this group before her arrival at least gratifyingly got on her knees and bowed her head.
“I bet you didn’t,” she scoffed in reply, before thinking of an appropriate punishment.
Inspiration struck and she smiled before pointing towards where the supposed Red Dragon Emperor was doing his exercises.
“Go lie down on your back there.
Dragon King, do your next set of push ups on top of her!” An excited cheer came from the brown-haired boy while his friends made jealous noises, and Spiked Shoulders went to her fate with the despair of the condemned.
Nanael just smiled smugly at her cleverness, not only was it a fun bit of motivation to spur on Dragon King, she knew it would be off-putting enough to stop Healing Saint from making doe-eyes at him so much.
Indeed, the blonde girl made a scandalised noise and covered her face as a red-faced boy started grunting and levering himself up and down on top of a distressed fallen angel… But why was her pure innocent saint peeking through the gaps in her fingers like she was actually interested?!