42 Let's visit a shrine 2

Mike is confused. Even Nozomi didn't manage to confuse him this much. But the girl in front of him did it with a few words.

"Umm... Raynare? You mean, the fallen angel Raynare that fell from heaven due to her pride?" Mike asked to confirm it again.

"Yep! Although I don't really have the memories before reincarnation, so I don't know how the original Raynare fell." The fallen angel proclaimed.

And Mike is confused even more. Even though Mike never met Raynare, he knew that Raynare is well-known for her excessive pride even though she's weak with only two wings. But the girl in front of him doesn't show at least a little bit of pride even though she's a lot stronger now with six wings. And there's also this self-proclaimed reincarnation thing.

"What are you doing here? Isn't this supposed to be Baraqiel's location?" Mike asked.

"Oh, I am here as the bodyguard for Shuri-san and the cute little Akeno." The fallen angel said.

Mike concluded that these are the names of Baraqiel's wife and daughter. Mike found it even weird that Baraqiel left the lives of his wife and daughter in hands of Raynare. That means she earned that much trust from him. Mike understood that this personality-disordered Raynare has been there in this world for a long time. Yet no one knew about this. This girl is acting in secret for a long time.

"Then where are they, the wife and the daughter?" Mike asked.

"They are hiding inside from the moment the alarm was triggered," Raynare replied.

"When will Baraqiel be back? I need to talk to him." Mike asked.

"Well, if the events went correctly, he must be coming back here as fast as he can. But before that, as the bodyguard. I can't allow you here until I know your purpose for coming here. So, state your plot armor!!" Well, Raynare is reincarnated. So, she can unknowingly damage the fourth wall easily.

'Plot armor? Does she think she reincarnated into a book?' Mike wondered. Anyway, Mike doesn't understand if he should tell the truth or be silent. Raynare is a completely unknown factor to Mike. Well, she can find out Mike's purpose easily if the higher-ups trust her this much. So, Mike decided to tell the truth. "Let's just say I am trying to bring peace among the three factions."

"Hey hey hey! Aren't you accelerating the plot a bit too much? The peace treaty won't happen for at least 10 years from now." She said.

'Maybe, she thinks that she reincarnated into a book. So, she thinks she knows the future. And for some reason, I am not acting the way I am supposed to according to that book. And in that book, the peace treaty actually happens.' Mike guessed the scenario.

"Well, things really won't go the same way though. Since Issei was gender-bent. Wait, are you the main character of this world instead of him? Hey, are you OP or we are all done for." Raynare kept talking. It made Mike go even deeper into his thoughts. Mike doesn't know if her claim about reincarnation is true or not. So, for now, he decided to go along with it.

'The main character in the novel is not there anymore. The world will be in danger in the future and you need OP powers to stop it.' Mike doesn't know if he should believe all these.

"Oops, I think I talked too much. I can tell you more about it since you are an abnormality and you might be the MC but can you keep this a secret from the others?" Raynare winked at him.

"Sure." Mike agreed. 'Who would even believe this even if I said it?' Mike thought. Even Mike himself can't bring himself to believe this. 'But what the hell is this girl hiding? There is no way someone who is this bad at keeping secrets can keep their whole existence as a secret for years.' Mike decided to be on guard with this girl.

"So, can I meet Baraqiel now?" Mike asked the mysterious girl.

"Yep! He might be here in a few moments... Oh, he's here! Yo, hardcore masochist Oji-san!!" Raynare waved at the fallen angel Baraqiel who just came to the shrine.

'Just how cool is this girl to call her higher official with that nickname?' Mike wondered.

"I told you not to call me that, Raynare!!" Baraqiel complained. He looked at Mike. "Who are you?" He asked.

"You can call him 'Mist'! Don't ask for his full name because that's way too long and you already know it, Oji-san. He is the most popular high official from the church. You know, the child prodigy." Raynare answered before Mike could introduce himself.

Baraqiel eyes widened with surprise. "And why is he here?"

"I want to meet Azazel in secret. Getting into contact with him is really a problem. So, I request your help. You can call me 'Mike', by the way." Mike answered first this time.

"Like I said, 'Mist' is way cooler nickname than 'Mike'!!" Raynare pouted.

"Haa... If you wish to, you can call me 'Mist' instead." Mike sighed and told Raynare.

"And why should I let someone from the church meet Azazel-sama?" Baraqiel raised his eyebrow.

"Just tell Azazel that I want to meet him. With his personality, I am pretty sure he would agree." Mike said.

"Hmm... True, with his personality, he would definitely agree... Wait, how do you know about his personality? Unless..." Baraqiel became surprised.

"Yep, I am sent here by Archangel Michael-sama himself," Mike stated.

"Just how close are you to Michael that he talked about Azazel-sama with you?" Baraqiel asked Mike.

"Oh, the plot thickens..." Raynare commented. Both of them looked at Raynare and sighed.

"Is she always like that?" Mike asked while pointing at Raynare.

"Just get used to it," Baraqiel said with a sigh. "Anyway, answers. What is your relationship between you and Michael?"

Mike looked at Raynare and looked back at Baraqiel. "Is she necessary here?" Mike asked.

"Well, you can trust her. Azazel-sama trusts her too." Baraqiel replied.

'As I thought, I really have to keep my guard near her.' Mike thought. He decided to say the truth for now. "I am his adopted little brother. I am here to do some peace talks." Mike stated.

"Then, did Michael tell anything about me?" Baraqiel asked with a suspicious look.

"Well, he did. But he never mentioned that you are a hardcore masochist. Maybe it's a kink that you developed after you fell?" Mike answered.

Baraqiel took a shot straight to his heart. "That's a lot of damage," Raynare commented.

"Well, Nii-chan also said a few weird things about Azazel and you too. Like how Azazel is a chunni and named his inventions 'Blazer Shining' or 'Darkness Blade'. As for you..."

"Alright! You are definitely his little brother! Please don't continue the dark history of the fallen angels." Baraqiel pleaded. Archangel Michael also used to tease everyone like this back in heaven. So, Baraqiel became sure that Mike is definitely his little brother.

"Haa... I will ask Azazel-sama about your case. How should I contact you if he agreed?" Baraqiel asked.

"Well, just decide the place and the date. I will be back in two days to find out the details. Alright, see ya." Mike turned around and was about to go.

"Chotto Matte!" ("Wait a second!") Raynare stopped him,

"What?" Mike asked.

"Have dinner and go! It's not manners to send a guest away without doing anything. Shuri-san will be mad. And also, consider this as thanks for taking care of the assassins!"

"Wait, what do you mean assassins?" Baraqiel asked after hearing Raynare's comment.

"Yeah, a few assassins came. But it seems he took care of them instead of me." Raynare casually replied.

"I don't really like to kill. But I also don't like people who involve innocents in their stupid war. They wanted to kill your wife and daughter. So, I killed them and took care of their bodies." Mike explained.

"So, they really didn't give up huh..." Baraqiel sighed. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mike. I will talk to Azazel-sama about you."

"Thank you very much. Now, no need to treat me as a guest. My job here is done after all." Mike stated his intention to leave.

"Yeah, I don't see a reason for you to stay too." Baraqiel agreed.

"Oji-san, Shuri-san accidentally made more food today than usual," Raynare said.

"Mike, as the esteemed guest that helped me, please have dinner with us." Baraqiel changed his tone in an instant.

"Um, weren't you against it?" Mike asked.

"Oh, that was a joke. I am pretty sure my wife would want you to stay for dinner."

"Well, you see... Shuri-san usually makes a lot of food that our stomach might burst if we ate a little more. And she becomes 'scary' if we tried to waste food." Raynare explained Baraqiel's sudden change in tone.

'She is trying really hard to make me stay huh.' Mike thought. He sighed and agreed. Not for the 'free food'. It's because Raynare piques his interest.

"Great, I will call them out! They should have been hiding in there for a while." Raynare went inside and brought two people out after a while. A mature woman with black hair, Shuri, and a little girl who is the younger version of Akeno.

"This is 'Mist'! Like I said, our guest for the day!" Raynare introduced Mike.

"Hello, Shuri-san, you can call me Mike." Mike introduced himself.

"Ara, to think such a cute boy killed them... Appearances can be deceiving." Shuri commented.

"Yeah, like how everyone thinks that you are a proper lady and Oji-san as a tough guy. But in reality, both of you..."

Shuri pinched Raynare's cheeks with a smile. "How many times do I have to tell you to not talk about those things in front of children, Ray-chan?"

"Yesh, Ma'am" Raynare nodded.

"It's about that again, isn't it? Why won't you tell me what game you would play with those ropes, candles, and that whip?!!" The little Akeno shouted.

"Not yet, Akeno. You need to grow some more to play that game and as I said, you need to first find someone special to play that game." Shuri tried to explain to her daughter.

"I have already grown enough! And like I said, I will play that game with Ray onee-chan!! She's special to me!" Akeno protested.

"I am sorry, Akeno. I am happy about your feelings but I am not into that game." Raynare said with an awkward smile.

"Does Ray onee-chan hate me?" Akeno asked with puppy eyes.

"No, not at all. I love you a lot." Raynare said with a firm expression.

"Then why won't you agree?!" Akeno complained.

"Sore wa sore. Kore wa kore" ("This is this. That is that.") Raynare tried to get out of this smoothly.

"This is not fair!! Hey, what about you? Will you play it with me?!" Akeno said while pointing at Mike.

"Umm... I am not into that game too." Mike understood the situation and imitated Raynare.

"Huh? The fact that you said that means you know about the game even though you look about the same age as me! This is unfair!" Akeno complained.

Baraqiel looked at Mike with a complicated expression. Mike felt that this tough guy might cry at any moment. Mike shot him and thumbs up. "Don't worry. I am used to it."

'It looks like I got involved with another weird family. Is there a rule that all the families I meet must be weird like this?' Mike internally thought and couldn't help but sigh at himself.