The Perks of Being Human

Beauty was subjective.

Oftentimes, someone or something that one person found beautiful might not be viewed with the same eyes by others.

However, there were exceptions.

And so far Kento had experienced two such instances.

Once while witnessing the fragile beauty of Inari, the delicate goddess.

And now…

When standing in front of Yasaka's sensual beauty.

Yasaka was a woman –a proper mature woman whose beauty was far different from the girls he hung out with in Kuoh. 

She had a charm that one could only achieve with age, an aura that was both breathtaking and heart fluttering with a figure that appeared to be drawn by a debauchee.

She was beautiful.

"Welcome to the Yasaka Shrine, Sir Kento." 

Kento was not aware of how much of a big deal it was to be called with such respect from the leader of the Kyoto Youkai Faction.

"I apologize that Lord Susanoo would not be able to meet you as he is out on an important quest." Yasaka smiled. "So, on his behalf –I, Yasaka, the current leader of the Kyoto Youkai Faction, greet you."

Kento calmed himself, not wanting to look like a creep staring at her.

"Thank you, my lady." Kento smiled.

Despite being unaware of her authority, he knew that she was someone strong and respected. Hence, he did not want to offend her in any way.

Additionally , he had the past experience of dealing with high profile women, so he knew how to act in front of them.

And that was to definitely not stare at their breasts, even if they were as big as Yasaka's.

Kento looked at Kunou. "Is she your daughter, Lady Yasaka?"

The woman smiled at the question. "She is my daughter and also a nine tailed fox Youkai just like me."

Kento nodded. "Nine tailed foxes are revered and feared throughout east Asia. It is an honor to be able to meet two of them in the flesh."

Hearing this Yasaka giggled, while Kunou puffed her chest in pride.

"We are one of the strongest Youkai kinds after all!" She announced and seeing how her mother did not deny her claim.

Kento knew she was strong.

{Name: Yasaka 

Age: 1900 

Class: Ultimate Class Kitsune 

Skills: Superhuman Physique (A+), Fox-Fire (SS-), Transformation (A+), Youjutsu (S), Leyline (A+)

Special Traits: Being the Kyuubi who's the center of Kyoto's leylines, Yasaka has access to all of the immense spiritual power flowing throughout the region.}

'She is strong.' 

"I heard you wanted to pray to lord Susanoo." Yakasa said. "I will guide you to his temple, please follow me."

Kento wasn't a person that prayed to gods, but he was here on behalf of his mother. And if he had to join his hands to the god of the storm for her, he didn't mind.

As they walked towards the main temple, Kunou asked. 

"Sir. Kento, Kami Inari said that you visit the shrine every year." She was curious. "But why haven't I seen you before?"

"Kunou." Yasaka frowned at her daughter, but Kento chuckled at the question.

"It's because it hasn't been long since I awakened my powers. So, before that I was not part of the supernatural word."

Seeing Kunou's awed face, Kento smiled. "And you don't have to call me Sir, Kunou. You can just call me Kento or since I am older than you, you can call me big brother."

He looked at Yasaka. "Same for you, Lady Yasaka. You can call me Kento, I am not used to being called with so much respect."

Yasaka shook her head. "Kami Inari said that you are someone under her protection as well as an esteemed guest of the Youkai faction. So, I cannot disrespect you by calling you by your name."

Hearing this, Kunou wanted to do the same but her mother had some other plan.

"You can call him big brother, Kunou. It is a form of respect as well."

This made the girl happy as she nodded blissfully.

But on their walk towards the temple, Kento noticed that the Youkais were rather stern.

"I apologize on their behalf." Yasaka said. "They are not used to other races. So, they seem stern."

Kento smiled. "I understand."

"In truth, being a human can also be the greatest blessing." Yasaka said.

"What do you mean?" Kento was surprised as the devils said humans were the weakest.

"Humans are not the strongest race." Yasaka said the same.

However…

"Yet humans are also the race with endless potential and can continue to grow. With the Sacred Gears that they possess, they can reach the realms of god slayers." She sighed. "The Christian God truly created something terrifying."

"Sacred Gears are that strong?" 

This question made Yasaka pause for a bit. "Oh, so you do not know."

This rose Kento's curiosity even further.

"Sacred Gears are the most powerful weapons that any being could possess. But in truth, it is not the normal gears that the supernatural beings are afraid of." She looked at Kento. "It's the Longinus."

Kento knew what a longinus was. It was the spear that stabbed Jesus. The spear was named after the soldier by the name of Longinus who did the stabbing.

But here, Longinus were totally different.

"Longinus are the peak of Sacred Gears. So powerful that only one of a specific kind can exist at one point of time. There are thirteen different longinus and as I said, no two of the same longinus can exist at one point in time."

Kento was quite shocked by her statement.

"How powerful are they exactly?" He asked.

"They are said to wield enough power to slay even the gods."

Now this was something that Kento did not know. 

'Why would the god of Christianity create such a thing?'

"It is also because of these gears that humans are sought after by other races." Yasaka continued. "They want the humans to either serve them or help them."

This made Kento remember the devils and the fallens.

"This also gives humans a neutral stance among the other races and thus they do not have many enemies." She said. "And humanity prays to different gods so the gods also like humans quite a bit."

Never did Kento expect the humans to have such an advantage. 

"And considering you have the blessing of Kami Inari, you have an even greater standing." She smiled. "You are young and have barely started your journey. To be able to start one's journey with a good relationship with the Shinto gods and Youkai faction is a rather big thing."

'Who knew a family tradition would prove to be so beneficial.'

"Kami Inari is very kind but she does not appear before others often." Yasaka said. "Even for Youkais… it is difficult to contact her. So, remember Sir Kento that her blessing is a big deal and even the other Shinto gods will respect her decision."

"I will keep that in mind." Kento assured. 

"We are at the temple, big brother." Kunou announced.

…

…

While Kento was in Kyoto, the devils in Kuoh were in a dilemma.

"Will I find a good familiar, President?" Issei asked hopefully.

"I know that you will, Issei." Rias assured. "As long as you remain calm and can maintain your posture, you should be able to make a contract with at least one of them."

This made Issei ecstatic as he rushed to tell Asia.

"Asia! Asia! President said that I might get a familiar!"

Rias chuckled at the boy's childishness.

After the incident, Asia recovered pretty fast as she did not suffer any serious wounds. 

And when the girl learnt that Issei had saved her, she was grateful to him and the devils.

But Issei did not want to lie to her and told her that it was mostly Kento that did the work. Asia wanted to thank Kento but the boy had been busy with a lot of things recently.

He even took a leave after consulting with Sona –who got a headache from it as he became a disciplinary representative recently, and staying absent caused a lot of trouble for her.

But both the devil heiresses owed to Kento and it was the least they could do.

As for Asia, she did not join Rias's peerage as she wanted to continue praying to god despite everything that happened. While it was sad, Rias could do nothing about it.

However, there was hope as the girl said that she might consider in the future if her god allowed it.

Rias knew it was not going to be easy to convince her, but there was still a possibility.

"He looks happy." Akeno said as she walked in. 

"*Sigh* He is." Rias said, showing a tired smile.

Akeno knew exactly what Rias was going through. So, she placed her hand over Rias's shoulder.

"Everything will be fine." Akeno said. "We still have time."

"We do not have enough." Rias bit her lips. "He will arrive soon and there is not much we can do."

"We can still do it. If Issei fully awakens his gear and we manage to get another member, we might just win this."

"You know he is strong." Rias looked down. "We are not strong enough. If this continues, everything that I worked for… Everything that I built will be for nothing."

"Don't lose hope, Rias." Akeno said. "No matter what happens. I will always support you and you know that the others feel the same."

"Can we win?" Rias asked. "Can we win against him?"

"After all, he is a Phenex and a Phenex never dies." Rias was horrified at the thought of losing.

After all, the one who she had to win against was a devil who could not be killed.

The devil called Riser Phenex.

And the worst of all…

He was her fiancé.

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[[A/N: Read 25 Chapter ahead on Pat reon: Pat reon.com/Greedyfrog

Currently in Luxembourg, the next chapter might be delayed.]]