Interlude: Mike's Italy Tour 1

(A few months later)

"No way!! I am not coming!" This chapter starts with Mike shouting during a phone call. And the person on the other side is Vasco Strada obviously.

(( Come on, my dear grandson, I already signed you up for this ))

"You should have at least asked for my permission, Gramps!! Why should I go around Italy and visit a few churches and some institutions under the church?"

(( Well, a survey is taken from the people there about the exorcist they want to meet from a list. And you got unanimously voted. So, I thought they would feel bad if you rejected. Don't worry, I am coming with you too ))

"Who the hell put my name on the list?!" Mike complained.

(( I don't know. It just appeared out of nowhere )), said Vasco from the other side of the call while whistling.

"Yeah right." Mike sighed. "Fine, I will talk about this with Mom and Dad."

A giggle came from the other side of the phone.

"Why are you laughing, Gramps?" Mike asked.

(( Nothing, it's just how you are casually saying the words 'Mom' and 'Dad' made me a little happy ))

Mike smiled at Vasco's response. "I will call you later, Gramps..." Mike Hyoudou cut off the call saying that.

Since Mike decided to stay in Kuoh, he made some changes here. Since the "death" of Cleria Belial, Touji Shidou "soloing" all the stray devils, and also Mike's warning to Euclid, the number of devils and fallen angels in Kuoh is reduced to zero. So, Mike used this reason to transfer all of Touji's teammates to other places leaving the church in Kuoh for the Shidou family to maintain. And Irina and Nozomi started their training to get stronger.

Anyway, Mike went back to Hyoudou Residence, one of his two homes. "Mom, I am home!"

"Ah, welcome back, Mike-chan, how did the work go?" Miki Hyoudou welcomed him.

"Well, no important work today but I got to go to Italy soon. It might take a few days to come back." Mike stated.

"What is it, Mike? Did you finally give in and started to try adding foreign girls into the harem?!!" Gorou Hyoudou said in excitement.

"I am not making a harem no matter how many times you tell me and this time, I have to visit the churches and institutes under the church to be a role model to the people, especially the children there," Mike gave a reply to Gorou as if this is a common occurrence.

"Hubby, make sure you visit all the famous places while you are at it. If they are good, you can take me there on our honeymoon, hehehe..." Nozomi said with a blush.

"Well, I want to come back home fast. So, I won't be visiting them and I already love Onee-chan. So, neither can I marry you nor can I have a honeymoon with you." Mike said while patting her head.

"Hehehe... I will never give up though..." Nozomi said while enjoying the pats from Mike.

Indeed, Nozomi and Irina still want to marry Mike. Gorou still wants Mike to make a harem. They keep on encouraging him while Mike keeps rejecting them. This is just another day in the Hyoudou Residence.

**********************

(Two days later)

Mike is in his exorcist uniform. His clothing covers all of his body. He wears a cloak and puts on a mask. To be honest, he is bored with the trip. He has been visiting the churches and waving his hand, saying a few words to inspire people and going to the next place.

"This is child labor. I am gonna sue you, gramps" Mike said with a boring tone.

"Says the child that won't take rest from his job even though others tell him to," Vasco replies to Mike's accusation.

"Haa... Where are we going next?" Mike asked with a sigh.

"It's the institution where the next Durandal wielder is being trained by Griselda Quarta. As you already know, you are her role model. How about you inspire her in the right way?" Vasco advised.

They went to the institute, as usual, Mike said a few words, and now, Griselda Quarta and the next Durandal wielder Xenovia Quarta meet Mike personally. By the way, this is a privilege given to Xenovia because she's the top in the institute.

They came and kneeled in front of Mike and Vasco since they are in a higher position.

"Michaelangelo-sama and Vasco-sama it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Griselda Quarta." Griselda introduced herself and then pointed at the blue-haired girl kneeling beside her "This girl, Xenovia Quarta, is being trained to be the next wielder of Durandal. She also considers Michaelangelo-sama as her role model. So, I request Vasco-sama, as the current wielder of Durandal, and Michaelangelo-sama, as her role model, to exchange a few words with her"

"Sure, it's not a problem,"

And the moment Vasco gave the permission, Xenovia said "Michaelangelo-sama, please have a duel with me."

And the next moment, Griselda knocked Xenovia on the head "Oww, Sister Griselda, it hurts!"

"Forgive her, Michaelangelo-sama, as I said this girl is your fan. So, she was so excited that she wants to have a duel with you. I will put her in her place. Please excuse us." Griselda said this and was about to drag Xenovia with her but Mike interrupted.

"That's not really an issue. I can also see how the training is going on. Okay, let's fight." Mike accepted. "But if it's just her, the fight will be too one-sided. So, Miss Griselda will be fighting together with her."

"Huh?" Griselda is surprised.

"Yes!" Xenovia became excited.

(After a few minutes... (Skipping the fight because the author is lazy and sucks at action scenes. And you all know Mike would win.))

"Now, Xenovia Quarta, I will list out the mistakes you did in our fight. The first one is obviously the less use of your brain. I guessed that you might be a musclehead because you wanted to fight me the moment you met me. So, I was able to easily guess your moves in the fight. The second one is the lack of coordination. When you are fighting together with someone, you should be mindful of your teammates. Miss Griselda had to hold back a lot because of you. But I can see the results of your training. Not bad." Mike lectured Xenovia after the fight.

Xenovia is depressed about losing the fight easily. "Yes, Michaelangelo-sama, I will train more and become stronger. And I will become like you and exterminate all the devils! This life is dedicated to God after all, just like Michaelangelo-sama."

Mike wondered what this girl's reaction would be if she knew that God is dead. He said, "Hmm... You seem to be misunderstanding something there, Xenovia Quarta."

"Huh?"

"Xenovia, why do you think I wear a disguise?" Mike asked.

Xenovia didn't understand the question. "Isn't that because Michaelangelo-sama likes to work in secret?"

"That's only partly true. You see, Xenovia, I lead a double life. This disguise is so that my exorcist life won't interfere with my secret life. Xenovia, why do you think God gave you this life? To dedicate everything to him? Do you think God is that selfish? No, he isn't. Since he gave you life, you should try to live it to the fullest. It's okay to cut some slack from the work a few times." Mike preached.

"Pfft... Hahaha!! It's funny when you are the one saying it, my dear grandson. Hahaha!" Vasco couldn't contain his demeanor and started laughing at Mike's preaching.

Both Xenovia and Griselda are surprised at this side of Vasco.

"As you can see, my Gramps has an unknown side too. So, it's okay to try something on your own, Xenovia." Mike said while ignoring Vasco's comments."Well, girls have a lot of interests, don't they? I mean something like fashion, food, etc. So, you should try something like that."

Xenovia looked confused. She never thought her role model would give her advice like that. Noticing this, Mike told her to think about it and decided to leave with Vasco.

When they exited the institute, they were stopped by Griselda this time.

"What is it, Miss Griselda?" Mike asked.

"I just want to say that I am grateful to Michaelangelo-sama for giving that advice to Xenovia. I was worried about her future but this might help her. So, thank you very much." Griselda bowed in front of him.

"It's fine. By the way, the advice that I gave to Xenovia, the same advice applies to you too, Sister Griselda." Mike said.

"Huh?" This time, Griselda is confused too.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree after all." With that comment, Mike and Vasco left leaving a confused Griselda.