47 Sorting out the trophies pt3

After Alduin left the school, he sauntered into a shadowy alley just two streets away.

"Maybe I should check on my little personal Dovahkiin. Miiraad Bormah Hofkiin" Alduin said, vanishing in a brilliant white glow.

Upon reaching Sovngarde, Alduin approached Morgana to assess her transformation progress. Perfect timing, as it seemed—poor Morgana was suffering from intense feverish convulsions. Her skin kept fluctuating between a ghostly white and a pale pinkish tone.

"Looks like the transformation is doing wonders for you.." Alduin commented as he examined Morgana's body. In just one day, she had grown considerably taller, and other parts of her body had developed quite... impressively since her past life.

"Milord, what is happening to her?" Xuelan inquired, sitting in a lotus position beside Morgana.

"Her body is reconstructing itself. Her mortal flesh is turning into that of a Dovah. She'll grow a bit taller and attain more ideal proportions – for mortals, that is. This is the beginning of her journey to become a full-fledged Dovah." Alduin explained.

"May I ask why we did not experience a transformation like that?" Xuelan inquired.

"Your transformations were not as significant. Even though you were not aware of it, a part of your Dovah soul was present in your body, causing it to develop and evolve beyond that of an ordinary human. This part of your soul sought to return its vessel to the state it was accustomed to. So, when your soul became whole again, the external changes were minimal. Of the three Dovah whose souls I've restored, only Walburga has grown noticeably" he explained, drawing closer to Morgana.

"Initially, she was just an ordinary mortal with a fragment of a Dovah soul within. A mortal body was her norm. Now, with a Dovah soul, she strives to adapt her vessel to its content." He glanced at Xuelan and continued, "In three days, she'll undergo a transformation that took you over a decade. And if I had tried to turn her without sharing my blood first, that thorn would have died without becoming even a lizard."

As Morgana moaned, her face twisted with pain from another violent spasm. Alduin placed his hand on her head to comfort her.

"Another difference between her transformation and yours is that I will have to teach her everything that you already knew from the beginning of time" Alduin mentioned, removing his hand when he saw Dovahkiin's expression ease.

"Milord, will you teach her like you taught all of us in our youth?" Xuelan asked, turning his attention to herself.

"Not really. She is not as foolish as she appears at first glance. I will show her the basics, but she will have to understand everything else under my guidance. Besides, she already knows how to properly control magic and was taught the Way of the Voice by the Greybeards. Although their teachings were overall misguided, there was some truth to them."

"Do you think it will be easier for her than it was for us?" Xuelan asked curiously.

"In a way. It will certainly be easier for me to teach her. But enough of that, how are your progress?" Alduin inquired.

"I managed to tame my Voice, Milord" Xuelan replied with a slight nod. "As for magic, it feels a little strange to use my hands to cast spells, but it is definitely more convenient."

"You've reached the same conclusion I did when I mastered magic after rebirth. Now, listen closely. The first set of words: 'Slen Fiik Sil' lets you access half of your Dovah power while maintaining human form. To assume your true form, use 'Dii Seik Sil.' Sense these words and try these Thuum's—outside the Hall of Valor, of course. And keep an eye on Dovahkiin. If anything unusual occurs, call me using the Wind Whisper"

"Yes, My Lord."

---

Student Council Office.

The day after, Alduin sat in the student council office, sifting through school club requests for essential supplies. It helped him distract himself from the chaos that unfolded at his home the day before, when a red-haired trouble decided to move into Issei's room, and Issei's smug face began to irritate Alduin like a red flag to a bull. But then, one document caught his attention.

"Wow, our Occult Club gets funded just as much as the home economics and track and field clubs. Home ec makes sense – they cook and teach students to be good wives. Track? No complaints, they're three-time high school champions. But isn't it a bit much for a club of, now, six people to spend this much cash? What do they even do there? Grope each other's tits? Every time I drop by, they're just eating and spitting at the ceiling. Kaicho, give me your wise opinion on this!"

"Gremory is a co-founder of the school, so there's nothing I can do" Sona replied.

"What the hell! A nudist, a sadist, a small-time troglodyte, a nun, a lustful spawn, and a biseinen munch through as much money in a month as the kendo club does in two years, and they don't even provide any decorative value!"

"Most students would disagree with you, Tatsumi-kun" remarked Momo, who sat next to Alduin, pointing out the window where Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima walked by, attracting longing gazes from both male and female students.

"They might as well be replaced by a tub of ficus in the hall" Alduin argued with confidence.

"Tatsumi, you were asked to sort the requests, not comment on them" said Sona, hiding her laughter behind a cough.

"Tatsumi-kun! What was that sword you had at the end of the Rating Game?" asked Tomoe Meguru, bouncing in her seat.

"She's a sword fanatic, so don't expect a simple answer to satisfy her" Tsubasa commented.

"Just a regular plastic katana, wanted to show off a bit." Alduin shrugged, continuing to examine the documents until he stumbled upon a folder with a photo. The girl in it looked familiar.

"Whoa! I've seen this face before. And this one too. Rosalin and Revel Phenex? One to Issei's class and the other to mine? She's gonna come after me, Kaicho! And the other one's gonna grill my brother."

"It seems the Phenex Clan wants to negotiate with you about what you did to their third son. In the presence of the injured party."

"With Rosalin? I didn't do anything to her! I wanted Issei to do something with her."

"She used to be a guy, remember?"

"Well, check out how stunning she turned out to be as a girl once she was cleaned from soot, dust, and all those splinters and stones were removed from her hair. Add a bit of your feminine makeup magic and voila! I bet Issei's gonna love it. I honestly thought it'd go down like a typical anime scene: a guy jumps at another guy, one of them suddenly transforms into a girl, they kiss and walk off into the sunset, hand in hand, holding their children close to their chests. But I underestimated my brother. I didn't think he'd be so jumpy and smack Riser-Rosalin right in the face" Alduin explained.

"Tatsumi-kun, how can you say all this with a straight face?" Tomoe giggled.

"I've got a great role model to follow" Alduin replied, nodding in Sona's direction.

Sona's face flushed with annoyance as she marched towards Alduin's table.

"Tatsumi! Hand over those papers and leave!" she demanded, snatching the papers from his hands.

"Hey, I was just getting started!" Alduin protested.

"Then I'll finish it!" Sona retorted.

"All right, all right. No need to shout at me." said Tatsumi, raising his hands in surrender.

They stood there, staring at each other for a few long moments. Sona's eyebrow began to twitch, revealing her irritation.

"Tatsumi.." she began.

"So, when can we expect the little Phenex sisters to join us?" Tatsumi interrupted her with a slight smile.

"In about a week. Now, get out and stop bothering me while I work!" Sona commanded, her eyes narrowing as she focused on her tasks and tried to ignore Tatsumi.

---

An unknown apartment on the outskirts of Kuoh.

Georg sat at his desk, his eyes fixed on the ancient stone tablet before him. He was so absorbed in his study that he didn't notice Cao Cao's entrance into the room from the kitchen.

"How long are you going to sit here and meditate? The food will get cold" Cao Cao said with a hint of impatience.

"Just a moment," Georg replied, his attention still fixed on the tablet.

Cao Cao leaned in, peering over Georg's shoulder with a curious expression.

"Did you even find out anything?"

Georg looked up with excitement.

"Where did you get this, Cao? This tablet is at least fifteen million years old, possibly even older. I can't pinpoint the exact age, but what's depicted on it overturns all our understanding of the world's structure, both for humans and representatives of all mythologies!" Georg said, his voice a blend of awe and disbelief. "Do you even realize what this means?"

"It means that long before the emergence of mythologies, there was some civilization. What else?" Tsao raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"How foolish of me to expect you to understand." Georg shook his head, frustrated by Cao's casual dismissal of the tablet's importance. "It looks like a map, but I don't know which place it represents. Once I match it to a specific location, we'll be able to find out what places are marked on it."

"What about the inscription on the other side?" Cao Cao asked.

"Not a clue. It's in cuneiform, but not Sumerian. But there is an interesting fact. The inscription lit up twice with a faint blue light. I didn't pay attention at first, until I accidentally learned that SHE was feeling uneasy around the same time." Georg explained.

This, however, piqued Cao Cao's interest.

"Do you think she has something to do with this artifact?" he inquired with a curious tone.

"Maybe. Possibly. She is the oldest creature in the world, only matched in age by the Great Red." Georg replied, shrugging.

"Interesting.."

"Yeah.. And one more thing. During the last activation of the stone, the mask we found first heated up, then material it was made from turned into something silver, and after a while, it evaporated, like a piece of dry ice!" Georg exclaimed.

"And it was just as ancient as this stone.." he added silently.

Cao Cao frowned and before he could question him further, a voice shouted from the kitchen.

"What? You messed up what I cut a whole expedition of devils for!?"

"Sieg, shut up! I didn't do anything with the mask!" Georg shouted back.

"That's what you said last time about my CD player, you asshole!"

"Guys, Hercules is eyeing your portions already!" a girly voice rang from kitchen.

"Hold him back, Siegfried!" Cao Cao gave his order as he was forced back into a conversation.

No one was allowed to mess with his Takoyaki. No one.