40 How to ruin someone else's wedding pt3
Sovngarde, Hall of Valor, the night before the incident at the Occult Research Club.
"So, I have the Dragon Scroll and the Blood Scroll. Just need to find the Scroll of the Sun and... then what?" Alduin pondered aloud, rocking back and forth on his chair in the Hall of Valor and sipping on a bottle of Juniper Mead.
"Great Alduin drinks the very beverage he threatened to destroy just so he wouldn't have to listen to drunken Nord songs" Lorkhan said, opening one eye, having dozed off on his chair. "You seem to be alone tonight."
"They're just getting used to modern realities in full immersion mode. Sitis' visit seems to have scared Odahviing enough that he learned how to control the mana flow in his spells after just one session" Alduin chuckled.
"Sitis?" Lorkhan cautiously asked "And what did my parent say?"
"In short, 'Akatosh fucked it up, you're his son - deal with it'" Alduin replied with a smirk, causing Lorkhan to nod off again.
"Well, good luck with that" Lorkhan muttered before dozing off again.
"Ah, thanks for throwing me off track. Now, where was I?" Alduin asked himself.
"Oh, right. What will I do when I collect all three of Magnus' scrolls?" the Firstborn of Akatosh asked himself again, and his gaze fell upon the statue of his father in the courtyard "Oh well, that's a matter for another day. Right now, I need to deal with the spectacle that cow recently caused."
Stepping out to the backyard, Alduin walked briskly to the statue of his father and, casting an angry glance at it, picked up an old scroll with a dragon relief on it.
"The Elder Scrolls do not reveal their secrets to those who are unworthy or do not belong to the Aedra lineage" he said quietly to himself.
"The Minor Scrolls, which were kept by mortals, can be understood by mortal minds because they contain only parts of the visions shown by the Elder Scrolls."
"Magnus saw the essence of this scroll in the dragon, Akatosh in the constancy of time, and if I understand it correctly.." Alduin whispered, opening the scroll and let his aura flow through it.
His mind was immediately assaulted by a multitude of images, but he knew what he needed.
The Elder Scroll will reveal everything it observes, but to see the answer to your question, it must be asked correctly. And he needed an answer to the question of how the Dremora's Evil Pieces worked and how it related to his brother, whom Gremory planned to use in Rating Game.
After the flow of knowledge stopped, Alduin grinned and rolled up the scroll.
"I'd be a mammoth's dung if I don't take advantage of this opportunity. It's not every day that you get a chance to acquire a temporary base in Nirn through someone else's hands."
---
Occult Club, after Riser departure.
"Excellent" said Alduin, turning to Rias. "And now let's talk details. You already know what I'm capable of, so since our goals partially align, I propose that we join our forces. Your wedding will be cancelled, and I'll get that European and Chinese girl in the blue qipao, she's quite cute."
"I agree" replied Rias, taking out her remaining Evil Pieces - a knight and a rook.
"Rias, it's pointless. You don't have the power to turn me into devil, trust me. Sona already tried." Alduin said. "I propose another way."
"There is no other way. Only devils and their servants can participate in the Rating Games" said Grafia.
"You really don't know what you're using, huh. Gremory, I propose a magical contract similar to those you make with mortals, with the condition that Riser Phenex loses in the Rating Game as the contract's completion."
"That's impossible. A magical contract cannot replace an Evil Piece" said Rias, shaking her head.
"Are you guys stupid or what? Let me explain. The contract is made between an Evil Piece, preferably a rook, and myself. Due to the incapacity of the Evil Piece itself, the contract is signed by its owner. Thus, the piece starts working not directly, but through the magical contract" Alduin explained, thinking to himself 'Thanks to the Scroll and Walburga's explanation of modern magical contracts.'
"Rias-sama, theoretically, it is possible" Grafia expressed her opinion.
"Well then, let's begin the drafting?" asked Alduin.
"Grafia, bring the papers. What is your price, Hyodo-kun?"
"In case of victory in the Rating Games, your side buys me a two-story house in the Academy Kuoh district, convinces my mother to let me live separately, and I am entitled to a small amount of a few hundred million yen. On my side, I do everything possible for your victory and help train your servants."
"Don't you think you're overvaluing yourself?" Grafia asked.
"Overvaluing? That's still cheap, maid. I can fuck you right here, in both literal and figurative senses, without breaking a sweat, and you'll enjoy it. The only question is what will be left of you afterwards" said Hyodo.
Upon hearing this, Grafia frowned. After his defiant behavior at the meeting, she couldn't let this insolence go unpunished. She started to release her aura, trying to scare Alduin and put him in his place. However, to her surprise, Alduin simply responded with a slight smile and met her gaze.
"Dah!" muttered Alduin, and with a force that nobody could feel, Grafia was thrown back and pushed against the wall.
"Maid, I only need to say three words and there won't be even memories left of you" Alduin said quietly, looking directly into Grafia's eyes.
"That's a perfectly acceptable price, Hyodo-kun" Rias said, diverting Alduin's and Grafia's attention to herself. Unlike Tatsumi, Rias knew what serious Grafia was capable of.
After this small incident, Grafia brought the papers and the negotiating parties began drafting the contract. In addition to the conditions previously discussed, Rias committed to covering his absence from school during the time of the game and training. Shaking hands, Alduin and Rias returned to their own affairs.
