Chapter 4

–Kuisha–

With their second training of the day finished, they now had some free time, one which they used to complete as many contracts as they could. Their King was High-Class by birth alone, but they weren't. If they wanted to support his dream–and they all did–they needed to reach his level, not only in power but also in social standing.

Unfortunately, it was extremely hard for a Devil to rise in status through contracts alone as a result of their long lived nature. No Devil had ever died of old age, which meant they would have to complete a ridiculous number of contracts to be promoted to High-Class because to them, it was only a matter of time. It might take a century or two, and one would need to be both resourceful and smart about it, but it was possible to climb the ladder through contracts alone.

That was too long, however. That's why all of them were aiming to reach Mid-Class before they started participating in Rating Games, where they would prove their mettle and show the rest of their kind that they were more than worthy of being promoted to High-Class and that they weren't just some unwanted outcasts.

And once they were all recognized as High-Class Devils, they would have the chance to receive a peerage of their own. Then they could gather more like-minded individuals, people that no one believed in, those that were shunned by their world. Sairaorg had been willing to give them a chance, so they would do the same in the future, giving hope to those that needed it the most.

All of them believed in their King and fully trusted that he would one day reach the top. They all witnessed just how far he was willing to go for his dream every single day. From morning till dawn, he would not stop training and would push his body past its breaking point over and over again.

Sairaorg will one day become of one the Satans and there was no doubt in their mind about that. He might've lacked the vaunted Power of Destruction of the Bael clan, but he clearly didn't need it. He proved as much when accomplished a feat that no one else could replicate.

For who else had a Sacred Gear as part of their peerage? Not like his knight, Liban, or his bishop, Misteeta, who were both born with their Sacred Gears, but an actual Sacred Gear. And not just any, but one of the thirteen Longinus! Not to mention that he only needed seven pawn pieces to reincarnate one of the most powerful magical artifacts in the world, which proved that he was definitely on the right path.

It really was only a matter of time until everyone realized his potential. They just had to ensure they wouldn't hold him back when that happened.

Kuisha felt someone summoning her through one of the fliers she gave away. The call came from one of the cities that Sai was… given, for a lack of a better word, to oversee. It took her just a moment to recognize it as one of her new contacts, and she quickly recalled what she learned about him after their first deal.

Michael Wilder. Twenty years old. Well off for a human, enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life unless he started throwing away his money. No living relatives after his grandparents passed away two years ago.

All in all, he was someone that could be described as the perfect candidate to form a long lasting relationship. Not a romantic one, of course, but a business one.

Now, Michael had been skittish and wary of Kuisha when he summoned her the first time around. Nothing that surprising as most unaware of the supernatural tended to react in the same manner. Their peerage was used to dealing with people like that since they had to form connections on their own. Though his stance shifted extremely quickly when he saw the DevilPhone for reasons she just couldn't explain.

Truthfully, Kuisha expected him to summon her again sooner than this since he seemed interested in Magic, judging by the questions he asked. She had even sorted out a few basic introductory books in preparation for this.

Of course, she would also suggest that it would be better for him to find an actual teacher, and if he was willing to pay, she could even try to get him a chance to join one of the various Magician organizations. It would have to be one of the weaker ones since that was the best she could offer at the moment as their standing still wasn't that great.

Kuisha was prepared to greet Michael when she appeared in his living room, only for her words to die in her throat. Her eyes blinked in confusion as she blankly stared at the man sitting on the couch.

'It's been less than half a month!' Either there was something wrong with her memory or… or… she wasn't even sure what the "or" was here!

Roughly two weeks ago, Michael was a young man in good shape that was almost as tall as her King. And now? Now he looked like he was a bit taller and with a body that reminded her of Sairaorg's!

Michael frowned at her, probably because she was just standing there without saying anything! That was so embarrassing, but his appearance caught her off guard. She was about to apologize, but he beat her to the punch, speaking up before she could do so.

"There is something I would like to ask."

"Please do." This was unprofessional of her, but at least he didn't look that offended.

"I've looked through here and here." Michael tapped the book sitting on the table and the DevilPhone in his hand. "But I barely found any mentions of magical ingredients or the like."

"Magical ingredients?" Kuisha asked, a bit confused about what he was asking about.

"Yes." He nodded. "Plants, fruits, and vegetables with magical properties. There were mentions of Golden Apples and Peaches of Immortality, but I doubt that's something I can afford."

No, it was not. Kuisha also wasn't in a position to offer such a thing as she didn't have the standing to request something as precious as a Golden Apple. She doubted the Norse would even be willing to trade one of those even if her status was higher than what it was.

"Do you know if there is anything like that naturally grows in a magical environment?"

The Dragon Appels that grew on Dragon Mountain were the first thing that came to her mind, but again, she doubted she could get her hands on those. Unless Michael was secretly a Dragon himself, and she was sure he wasn't. He just didn't have the presence of a Dragon. If he was, Tannin would readily give him a few and would even invite Michael to live with him on Dragon Mountain.

'Magdaran.' She was reminded of Sairaorg's half brother. If anyone knew about magical ingredients, it would be him. However, the two brothers' relationship wasn't that great after Sairaorg defeated him to retake back his position as the heir of the Bael Clan.

Though this did give Kuisha an idea of what she could offer him. "The entirety of the Underworld could be considered as a magical environment. Pretty much everything that naturally grows there should fit your requirements."

This did make her wonder why he was so interested in such things. Was there a chance that his… transformation was a result of him finding some weird magical fruit?

That would certainly explain his interest in them. Though she doubted that any of the ones in the Underworld could produce such drastic changes.

"That… will do." Michael thoughtfully nodded. "Could you provide me with a list and a few samples if possible? Wheat if it naturally grows… down there? Some fruit and even meat would be nice."

"Easily," Kuisha agreed before quickly completing the task. She just had to teleport to one of the cities in the Underworld and visit a market to grab a few samples while noting down the products sold there.

Kuisha handed him the goods she picked up alongside the list she made and curiously watched him as he studied them. Michael seemed satisfied from what she saw, judging by the small smile on his face. She didn't get it since they weren't that much different than the ones from the human world, but that wasn't important.

What mattered was that this could easily turn into a weekly contract, an easy and quick to finish one at that. That's exactly what their peerage needed. It would be perfect if she could introduce one of the others to Michael, so they wouldn't have to worry too much. Preferably Gandama since he had a much harder time finding contracts with humans due to his appearance.

"There's one more thing," Michael said as he placed the fruits on the table.

"Go on," Kuisha urged, hoping it would be another easy task.

"How much would it cost for you to take care of a vampire?"

Kuisha was caught off guard for the second time today. They generally didn't take such contracts and tried their best to avoid them as much as possible since they could lead to political issues. A monster or even a Stray would be fine, especially if it was in their territory, but this was an entirely different story.

"Why?" She still couldn't help but ask.

"Because she attacked me?" He replied as if that hadn't been obvious.

"And you survived?" Kuisha raised her eyebrow at him. She didn't want to sound so accusatory, but she failed to see how a regular human could survive against a vampire, even a Low-Class one. Oh, Michael was in amazing shape, but that alone wasn't enough.

"The sun was coming up, and I ran away," he answered with a shrug. That made a lot of sense, but she felt there was more to this.

"I just had to make sure I didn't get caught by her Undead." And there it was.

"Undead?" Kuisha asked with a bit of edge in her voice. Vampires had special dietary needs as they could only feed themselves by consuming blood. That was an issue, but not a big one. They had learned how to be discreet about their feeding and how to ensure that their targets survived.

However, vampires could become a big problem if they weren't careful and ended up creating a bunch of Undead as those monstrosities could spread like a disease, infecting more and more people by the day. "How many Undead?"

"There were three of them."

Good. The situation wasn't that bad and there wasn't a massive outbreak.

"Right. You wouldn't need to pay anything for this as this is something that we are supposed to handle since my King is one of the overseers of the city."

Michael's posture shifted into a more guarded one the moment he heard Kuisha mention her King. "You're part of a peerage?"

"Yes," she admitted, and he took a deep breath.

"May I know who's your… King?"

"Sairaorg Bael," Kuisha replied as she puffed out her chest, proud to be part of his peerage.

In response, Michael grabbed his phone and started typing away. Her eyes twitched as she realized exactly what he was doing, and she understood at that moment exactly how valuable DevilPhones were. The DevilNet was filled with so much information, and the one about her King was probably not the positive kind.

Michael looked up from the phone to glance at her before his eyes returned to the screen. He repeated the action a few times, and she couldn't help but wonder what exactly had he discovered and what was going through his head at that moment.

–Michael–

What the fuck? No, really, what the fuck?

Part of the strongest Clan that held great political power. Check.

Disgraced and stripped from his position due to not inheriting the super special power of the family. Check.

Returned later and smacked down his half brother to gain back his status as the heir of the family. Check.

This was a main character in the middle of his story! I could even hazard a guess of what would happen next. He'd grow strong enough to become one of the Satans because of course the Devils had more than one Satan.

A part of me really wanted to meet a real life main character, but I was still wary about this. If only he wasn't a Devil, you know, the only race that had a convenient method of enslaving other people.

Well, this turned out to be a bit more troublesome than I expected. The only reason I even summoned Kuisha again was because I knew she was an Abbadon. One of the few Clans that didn't get the aptly named Evil Pieces because they were extra Demons, whatever that was supposed to mean.

Hopefully, this wouldn't bite me in the ass.

Regardless, this summoning was important to me for multiple reasons. Getting a stable source of magical ingredients being right at the top. Food made out of mundane ingredients just wasn't doing it for me after my… transformation. It still worked, but the effects were minimal at best.

Dealing with the vampire bitch was another reason. I had the confidence of taking her on, but I didn't know if she was part of a larger group. Not to mention that I didn't even know where to search for her. San Francisco was a big city and finding her was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The faster she was dealt with, the quicker I could return to solely focusing on improving myself. Because currently I was a bit distracted, waiting for her to attack me in my own home any moment now.

Oh, sure, vampires couldn't enter a building without being invited first, but what stopped them from destroying my house with Magic? Assuming that they couldn't do that for whatever reason, what stopped them from making a bunch of Undead and strapping them all with bombs before ordering them to surround my house? Boom, problem solved, now there was no longer a building in their way.

I would probably live through all of that since I could now apparently survive a blow from a Dead Apostle. And wasn't that a thing? It seemed my Celestial Grimoire wasn't a Sacred Gear like I initially assumed it was. Its name was also a lie because where the fuck was my fancy Magic?!

Regardless, the last reason I summoned her was because I wished to see if the Celestial Grimoire would activate after this meeting. So far, it had only opened after I encountered a supernatural being, and I wanted to see if this trend would continue. At the very least, I wanted to figure out how it worked, so I could prepare better for it.

The last gift was great, amazing even. I was so much stronger now that the difference between the old and current me was like night and day. However, I'd prefer to avoid experiencing that again. I mean, if that's what it took for me to gain power, then so be it, I would sweat, bleed, cry as long as I became strong enough to survive in this world. But I'd still prefer to avoid it if possible.

"Alright," I said as I placed my phone back on the table. "So you guys will handle the vampire?"

"Yes," Kuisha confirmed with a nod.

"And I won't have to pay?" I asked just to make sure. I had no idea how much something like that would cost, but it definitely wouldn't be cheap, that was for sure.

"No. Keeping things orderly and ensuring things don't get out of hand is part of our responsibility as overseers of the city," Kuisha informed me, and I stopped myself from sighing in relief since I no longer had to concern myself with the vampire.

We then settled the contract for the samples she procured for me before Kuisha teleported away. I grabbed everything and rushed towards my kitchen, feeling a bit disappointed yet also happy that she hadn't asked about my transformation. After all, I was a bit taller and quite a bit bulkier than the last time she saw me.

This change could've been explained easily if a few months or even a year had passed. However, it had only been two weeks since I first summoned her. I honestly wanted her to ask and get interested, so I could reveal some of the things I could make.

Until she mentioned she was part of a peerage. That changed things as I would prefer if I could avoid being press ganged into becoming a Devil. I was fine with being human, thank you very much.

Though I would still have to reveal some of the things I could make at some point. They would be a good way for me to make connections with others, if anything else.

Regardless, that was something I'd have to deal with at a later time. Now I had some magical ingredients I wished to experiment with. All of them were brimming with energy, unlike anything I could've purchased from the stores in the city, and I was sure I could make meals that would affect me as I was now with them.

The wheat was the first thing I dealt with. I didn't have a tool to grind it with, but I didn't need one, my hands were more than good enough for the job. Once done, I quickly made some dough with the flour and set it to rest before turning my attention to the rest of the ingredients.

My eyes locked onto the delicious-looking steak at first. However, I looked away with a grumble and focused on the fruits because I needed to know just how much better would a protein shake mixed with those be.

"Brrr!"

I stared at the mixer in annoyance. This thing offended me. Why was something that took me at most a couple of minutes to prepare so much better than the elaborate meals I worked so hard for?

I sighed once it was done, already sure that it would be quite effective. Stupid, bullshit shake. At least I could make better homemade sodas now that I had access to magical fruits, though it did take a couple of days for them to finish carbonating. There was least one thing going for me.

After downing the drink, I made my way to my garage to start working out with the weights I recently bought. I could lift them for hours with my new strength, but this was better than nothing. Hmm, I might have to ask Kuisha if she had any better options.

"The Grimoire didn't activate."

I paused my workout as I realized that. So meeting with a supernatural being wasn't what triggered it. Unless, of course, I had to encounter new and unique ones for it to activate. That was the next thing I had to test.

I dropped the weights about an hour later and returned to the kitchen. The dough was done by this point, so I quickly formed it into buns and threw them in the oven. While those were being baked, I chopped up the meat and turned into a couple of patties that went right in the pan.

Shortly after, my magnum opus was complete. A burger that rejuvenated and filled my body with energy with each bite! I grabbed a homemade soda from the fridge and lamented the lack of fries. I should definitely ask about some potatoes the next time I summoned Kuisha.

My hair stood on edge just as I was about to dig in. My head snapped in the direction my sixth sense pointed out, namely my living room where the familiar dangerous presence of Kuisha had returned. Gingerly, I made my way there, only for her to look at me with narrowed eyes the moment she saw me.

"You can use Touki," Kuisha stated, her posture a bit more defensive than a couple of hours ago. Well… that wasn't good. She probably learned about that from the stupid vampire bitch.

"Yes?" I replied, tilting my head as if I was confused.

"How is that possible?" Kuisha asked, her eyes staring at me with intensity as if she was trying to figure it all out.

"What do you mean? You're the one that told me how," I replied, acting like a fool while being completely honest since I didn't know if Devils had the ability to detect lies. It wasn't mentioned in the information package, but it made sense thematically. Better to be careful and all that.

"What?" Kuisha asked, looking baffled at my response. "You would've had to train without resting and even then…"

"It might be best to show you?" I said, figuring I might as well reveal my food. I was initially planning to do that, after all.

"Please do," she replied.

I nodded and led her to the kitchen before I pointed at one of the burgers.

"This?" Kuisha asked with clear confusion in her voice.

"Take one bite, and you will understand," I said as I placed one of the burgers on a separate plate before pushing it towards her. Kuisha stared at it for a very long moment before she sighed and took a deep breath.

"I was getting a bit hungry," she murmured and cautiously took a bite. Her eyes opened in surprise as the taste hit her first, then they widened even more once she gulped, feeling the effect of my magnum opus.

"I can train to exhaustion, eat one of those, rest for a bit, and repeat the process," I said, again being completely honest. "Over and over again."

"Oh, no…" There were a few reactions that I envisioned, but the look of dread on her face was not among the ones I expected.

That's all I planned to reveal at first, and I wasn't sure why, but I added the following, "I can also make a drink that stimulates muscle growth and makes all of my training just that much more effective."

"No…" Kuisha shivered and stared at me with pure horror in her eyes as if I was the Devil between the two of us. She left right there and then, immediately teleporting away as if she was running away from some horrifying monster.

Cooking Magic was scarier than I imagined, huh? To think I could scare a Devil to such an extent with food of all things.

Or maybe not because she returned moments later with big and sweaty.

Sairaorg image

My hair stood on edge the second he appeared. Kuisha still felt dangerous to my sixth sense, but this guy? He was a fucking monster, I was sure of that.

Sairaorg's eyes lit up in happiness when they landed on me. The goofiest smile formed on his face as he took my appearance, and his whole body vibrated in excitement. Kuisha was the exact opposite, face pale and eyes filled with dread.

"Can you really make special food?" He had a deep voice, but it couldn't hide his childish glee.

"You can try for yourself." I pointed at the burger Kuisha took a bite off. There was no way I would give him mine considering I hadn't even tasted it yet.

Sairaorg wasted no time at all and ate the burger in just a couple of big bites. He started hopping in place, his body language just screaming how happy he was before he started laughing loudly. "Hahaha!"

"Hey! Do you want to join my peerage?" He then asked the question I was hoping to avoid.

"I would prefer not to, if that's okay with you," I said, being as cordial as possible. He was the heir of the most influential Devil house, and I'd rather not offend him.

"Oh, well." Sairaorg shrugged, though he thankfully didn't look offended by my refusal. He calmed down a bit, and his expression turned more apprehensive as he gulped, looking almost afraid. "Um, I wonder if you'd be interested in cooking for me and my peerage?"

"As long as I'm provided with enough ingredients," I replied after thinking it over. I'd be losing a bit of my free time to gain the friendship of the heir of the most influential Devil house. No, that was wrong. I'd be gaining the friendship of a main character.

"Ha! You don't have to worry about that! I will do my best to get you as many ingredients as you want!" Sairaorg declared loudly, his goofy happiness coming back in full force the moment I agreed. Kuisha, on the other hand, looked as if she was about to start crying.

"So… you like training?" He asked with that stupid grin of his.

"I do." I nodded in agreement. "Though the weights I have are starting to get a bit light."

"Want to train with me and my peerage?" He offered without hesitation. "We have some enhancement weights, and Liban, my knight, has Gravity Jail, which allows him to increase the gravity of anything within his line of sight."

Son of a bitch! Dragon Ball-like gravity training? It couldn't get any more shounen than that! That's when it hit me, and I had my moment of enlightenment. This whacky world lacked good shounen manga because it was already a shounen world in the first place.

And I might've just met the main character of the world. Sure, Sairaorg was a Devil, but he definitely gave off similar vibes to Goku. I guess it wouldn't hurt to befriend him… Though I would have to be careful since it was very likely that he would end up being pulled in incredibly dangerous situations.

"You know what? Sure," I agreed to his offer. Training with him was bound to be beneficial, plus it would give me an idea where I stood strength wise.