13

Yuki, seeing that I was unhurt, threw her arms around me. It was a nice feeling that she cared. Mio looked on with a frown, so I looked at her and smiled, disarming her jealousy a little. Maria was helping her clean up; she had a little of my blood on her after all.

'Why did you let yourself get stabbed?' Ddraig asked.

'A few reasons,' I respond. 'One is in my arms, another is frowning while my blood is being wiped off her, but mostly because I wanted to draw out any other interested parties. So two out of three ain't bad, but now I have a different problem.'

'Hmm?'

'You watched my memories about this, right? Next episode, Mio is supposed to run away after internalizing all that garbage Lars was spewing. His whole point was to awaken her power.'

'Yes, so?'

'So, if she awakens it, she'll have to learn to control it. I need someone who is used to controlling highly destructive magic to help her through this. I need resources and a safe way to help her train. And most importantly, I need allies.'

'So, what's your plan?'

'Rias Gremory,' I think. 'She's the best option right now. She has a problem she needs help with, and she is in a unique position to help with Mio.'

'Hmm... Are you sure that it doesn't have to do with you wanting to fuck half her peerage?'

'Fringe benefits my deer Ddraig. Fringe benefits.'

.

.

.

"Wake up! Wake up!" the alarm clock says. "If ...if you won't wake up...I'll...I'll kiss you. Wake up. Wake up. Wake-"

Turning off the alarm clock, I can't help but smile to myself. It's Sunday, and today is the day that I meet with Yuuma, aka Raynare, but first, I should probably peel Mio off of me. I look down at the beautiful redhead crushing me in her arms.

The last two nights, she's woken up in the middle of the night with a nightmare that I was killed and couldn't calm down until she physically held me for an hour. As nice as waking up with Mio wrapped around me is, I may have to punch Lars in the head again when I see him on Monday. I know, I'm equally to blame since I let it happen, and it traumatized Mio more than I expected, but I'm the one that got sliced up, so I've already effectively punched myself in the head.

I stroke Mio's crimson locks for a little while before sliding out from underneath her and getting up. I walk downstairs to find Maria in the kitchen cooking breakfast.

"Good morning," I say.

"Good morning, big brother," she says with a wonderful smile. "How's Mio?"

"Same as last night. She came in around two and cried herself to sleep by three. So, I'm letting her sleep in. How did it go last night?"

"Same. The wards seem to be holding, and there haven't been a lot of demon beasts since you blasted that guy in the chest."

"Don't get complacent. Just because things have died down a bit doesn't mean that he isn't out there planning round two," I say, taking a sip from a glass of juice I poured. I watch Maria making breakfast. She's so tiny and yet kicks the crap out of things like a superhero.

Discerning Eye.

[Name: Maria Naruse

[Lv. 25

[Species: Succubus/??? (SEALED)

[Age: 18 (Author sprays FBI Begone)

[Occupation: Student

[Skills: [Demonic Physique (B)], [Supernatural Strength (C)], [??? (??)(SEALED)], [Succubus Magic (C), [Reprieve of Somnus (D)*], [Magic Expert (C)], [Master-Servant Testament (C)]

She has gotten stronger in the last week. Significantly. I still can't read her bloodline or whatever that sealed skill is. This brings up a good question.

'Wise Man, any clue how I can increase my skills' ranks?'

[Several methods exist for increasing skill ranks. The most common method is through practice. However, it is also possible for you to use the Edit skill to forcibly improve lesser ranked skills up to a rank one level below Edit's rank. For example, the current maximum level Edit may raise a skill to is A-rank. For ranks above A, you will have to use other means.]

Practice, huh? I guess it makes sense. "Wise Man, what if I were to create a skill that allowed me to merge similar skills to create a stronger skill? Is that possible?'

[Calculating optimal result.]

My eyebrows just about disappear into my hairline. That's a new one. Usually, it is just an instantaneous process. But, if Wise Man has to think about it, that could be interesting.

[Synthesis (A)

This ability allows the user to merge similar targets into a new form. Targets may not exceed the rank of this ability, and the results will not exceed one rank greater than this ability. It is not possible to merge sentient targets without the approval of all targets. The cost of this ability will depend on the initial targets and the eventual result. Not all combinations will result in an improvement to rank.]

I gulp. This ability is... terrifying. I can combine sentient targets? I think I just had a nightmare involving a little girl and a dog. A chill runs through me... But, on the other hand, if someone else had done something like that... I could create the opposite of this effect as well and unmerge them.

'Wise Man, save this skill and that other dual cultivation one for later. Once I finish up with my date tonight, if I have some extra LP, I may have to buy them.'

[Confirmed.]

"Are you okay, big brother?" Maria asks.

I nod, a large grin spreading on my face. "Better than okay. Things are looking up."

"Oh? What happened?" Mio asks, rubbing her eyes as she walks into the kitchen.

I take a step and lift her into my arms, spinning around. "Why you two came into my life, of course," I say, surprising her and Maria both. Maria recovers quickly and starts laughing.

Mio recovers and starts struggling in my arms. "Put me down. Put me down or-"

"You'll kill me a hundred times, I'm sure," I say dramatically, but I do put her down.

"What's gotten into you?" Mio asks in exasperation.

"Idea! Possibilities!..." I pause, my mind running in several directions.

'Hey, Ddraig?'

'Yes?'

'Can you sense the sword that's bound to me?'

'Of course?'

'Can you talk to the spirits sealed within?'

'Hmm. Not yet. Perhaps if you unlock my Balance Breaker, I will be able to.'

'Damn, alright, I guess I have to work on that.'

"What happened?" Mio asks. "You got quiet for a second there."

"Oh, nothing. I was asking Ddraig something."

Mio and Maria look at each other and then back to me. "Who?" they ask in stereo.

I blink. Well, shit, I never mentioned Ddraig to them. "Ah... hm," I look at the clock. I have three hours before I am supposed to meet Yuuma at the bridge. So I guess I have time.

"Alright, Maria may already be familiar with Sacred Gears, but for those who don't know, Sacred Gears are artifacts created by the capital 'G' God of the Bible and bestowed on humanity to help enact miracles. Why? I dunno. It's all part of the system. Some people are born with them, and some are more unique than others. Mine is one of the original thirteen unique Longinus Sacred Gears, called the Boosted Gear. A long time ago, two powerful dragons got into a pissing contest-"

'Hey!' Ddraig complains.

'Well, what would you call it?'

'A misunderstanding.'

'A misunderstanding that involved all the factions of a war putting their differences aside to kill you?'

'A severe misunderstanding.'

"Sorry. A severe misunderstanding, which led to an armistice being reached by the supernatural factions during a great bloody war, to put them down and seal their souls inside two Sacred Gears," I say, raising my arm and summoning the Boosted Gear. "This is one of those two Sacred Gear."

"Oh, wow!" Maria says.

"Kind of gaudy," Mio says with a frown. Maria nods. Ddraig grumbles.

"Okay, that's it," I say out loud. 'Wise Man, what would it cost to Bestow an ability to allow the wielder to change the general appearance of the Sacred Gear. Not any functions or abilities or anything, just the ability to choose a different skin for this beast. It's unwieldy and gonna stab me in the chest if I pull back for a punch.'

[Morphic Form (C)

Allows the wielder to modify the form of the object to the wielder's desired form. This cannot change the function or type of the object. For example, a pair of pants with this ability cannot become a shirt.]

'Fine, add the ability to the Sacred Gear and Brynhildr.'

[Remaining LP: 6000]

Well, that was more expensive than I thought. Fuck it. I look at the girls and hold up a finger to say, "Hang on a minute," and close my eyes to focus. I feel the gauntlet start to shift to the picture in my mind.

Something a bit more organic and dragon-like. A more Red Dragon Emperor version of the gauntlet from Witchblade, maybe. We'll keep the color scheme of the Boosted Gear, though, red and gold with the green gem. You can't be the Red Dragon Emperor without the red, after all.

I open my eyes and look at the new model. It's... not bad. I don't feel like the Tin Man in it anymore. The articulation is more natural; the design is sleeker. I'm not a great artist or anything, but that's why I chose someone else's design and just added some personalized flare. Some titanium-gold alloy with a little hot rod red.

"So? What do you think?" I ask the girls, including Ddraig.

"It's definitely better. Still a little ostentatious," Mio says.

"I like it," Maria says.

'Ddraig? What do you think?'

'I'm still wondering how you did it? However, I will admit that it is a more... fitting look for a dragon.'

'Thank you.'

I discuss some more about the effects of the Boosted Gear with the girls over breakfast and eventually modify Brynhildr to look less like one of Ruby's dust weapon experiments. The color scheme matches the Sacred Gear, so people might not notice that it's two separate artifacts immediately, and I didn't completely abandon the basics of its design.

It's still single-edged, the guard still comes over the grip a bit, there is still a green stone in it, or a stone that glows green, I guess, but I can no longer catch enough wind to sail a schooner around the world. So it looks less like one of Cloud's swords and more like a decorative yet functional blade with a red grip and golden guard and pommel.

Relatively simple yet elegant. At least, I think so. It still doesn't scream, "This is the sword a Valkyrie used," but it has that shiny veneer that says, "I will cut you down and look good doing it."

At around eleven, I start getting ready to go. When I come downstairs, the girls look surprised. "Well, how do I look?"

"You look really nice, big brother," Maria says. "Doesn't he, Mio?"

"Are you... D-do you have a d-date?" Mio asks.

I smile a little and then squint like I'm trying to think of the answer really hard. "Sort of, but..."

Mio jumps up. "But what?!" she shouts, fuming.

"At the beginning, we will both treat this as a date, but the reality is much different. She thinks she's setting a trap for me, but since I know it's a trap, I can defuse it."

"A trap? What do you mean, big brother?" Maria asks.

"Well, she's a bit of a sadist, so she likes seeing the betrayal on her victims' faces when she kills them. I think it's all a cry for help personally."

"Kill?!" Mio shouts. She really is excitable. "Who's she going to kill?"

"Well, no one tonight. She thinks she's going to kill me, but that's not going to happen. Mostly I'm using this as an excuse to recruit some allies from the local devils."

Mio looks panicked, and her pact mark starts flashing pink. "Mio," I say firmly. "Calm down. Come and sit. I'll explain a little better."

I pull Mio on my lap; she blushes but stays there. I call that progress. "So, I met a girl who claimed to want me to be her boyfriend," I say. I hold up a hand to forestall the barrage of questions. "The girl is a fallen angel who sensed some of the power of the Sacred Gear. Thinking I'm just some weak human, she plans to kill me and maybe steal my Sacred Gear, but don't worry, I recognize what she is, and I'm significantly more powerful than she is. Now, instead of trapping me, I'm using her as bait to draw out one of the devil peerages in the area."

"Shouldn't we come with you? What happens if she brings back up?" Maria asks.

"No, she's arrogant, and even if she suddenly gains caution, the other fallen angels with her aren't even as strong as she is. So there's nothing to worry about."

"How do you know?!" Mio says, still upset.

How do I know? Still too early in the story for the big guns to come out. There's still a few weeks until the plot calls for Asia to show up, and even then, Kokabiel isn't due for a while after that. Not until after the Grilled Chicken Saga.

I look Mio in the eyes. "Have I broken my promises to you?"

She blushes and looks down. "If I promise to see you in the morning, will you believe me?"

"Why in the morning?" she asks.

"Honestly, I'm not sure how long negotiations will take once Rias shows up. So, if I promised to see you tonight, I run the risk of breaking that promise, and I never want to break my promises to you."

Maria hops on the couch next to me and leans her head on my chest. "Maria, you should stay in tonight with Mio. I'll have Rias's peerage handle the demon beasts while we're negotiating."

Maria nods. I plant a kiss on her head and one on Mio's cheek, which turns an interesting shade of scarlet. I set Mio back on the couch and get up. "I need to go. You two have a good day, and try not to worry. I know it's a tall order, but this is going to be something good for us in the long run, I think," I say as I walk towards the door. "One more thing. Please, don't follow me. The target will sense your presence and get spooked. I don't want to have to track her down when she has time to plan and gather more backup."

I look back, and both are looking away, embarrassed. So I leave and walk back to the bridge where I met her. Since she changed the original meeting place and time from the anime, I pay extra attention to my surroundings. What's surprising is that the same girl who hands Issei the summoning paper in the anime is handing them out here on the bridge. So I guess that proves Rias is watching me.

"Please help us out," she says, handing me the page.

I take it in hand and smile. "Thanks."

She giggles and walks away.

"Issei-kun," a cute voice calls out.

I look up. "Hey, Yuuma-chan."

She runs up. "Sorry, did you wait long?" she asks.

"Nope. I just got here."

"I've been looking forward to our date all week," she says. Fibber.

"Me too; I'm really looking forward to getting to know the real you," I say with as close to a radiant smile as I can. Mask of Thespis, don't fail me now. I hold out my arm and say, "Shall we?"