Chapter 44 I have something for you.

The butler reached down behind the sofa and picked up a bundle of cloth. He walked around the sofa and held it out to Seekvaira, who accepted it, before returning to his place.

"This blade is not as valuable as Harpe, but it is immensely powerful in its own right." Pulling away the covering, Seekvaira revealed an elegant longsword. The blade was a pale blue with veins snaking throughout the color of sapphires. The hilt and crossguard were simple silver. "This is Hrotti." Seekvaira said, holding the blade out to me. "It was taken from Fafnir's hoard when Siegfried slayed him. Not much else is known about its origin, but if you are looking for a strong blade, few could match it."

Gently lifting the sword out of her hands, I began to inspect it. It was beautiful; it felt powerful. My lack of crafting expertise kept me from truly understanding what I was holding, but I felt it was powerful.

Accept the blade, devil.

The soothing voice of the sword at my hip entered my mind.

You are unlikely to come across an opportunity to receive such a fine instrument again.

Thinking at the sword, I responded, Is it stronger than you?

I felt amusement from my sword.

There are few blades that are my equal. This does not number among them.

So, according to my sword at least, Hrotti wasn't as powerful as my sword. That being the case, I had never intended to use Harpe. I was going to go with my gut and my sword's advice.

"Your mutation bishop, copies of the Agares library and Hrotti for the Red Dragon Emperor?" I said, clarifying our deal.

Seekvaira nodded. "Is this acceptable to you?"

Setting Hrotti on the coffee table, I stood from my chair and extended my hand to Seekvaira. "You have a deal."

Seekvaira's eyes lit up as she stood, accepting the handshake. "I am pleased we were able to reach an agreement. Where can I find the Red Dragon Emperor?"

"Let me write an agreement saying we have struck a deal and I'll take you to him." I didn't think Seekvaira would try to short me, but when dealing with devils, you always needed to be careful.

Seekvaira easily signed the agreement I wrote up, and within ten minutes Alivian, Yubelluna, Seekvaira and I had teleported to Kuoh Town. Clarissa had elected to stay behind to restore some items she had reportedly used in the battle against the Fallen. Her magic was incredibly versatile, but that versatility came at the cost of needing constant preparation.

"This feels…mundane." Seekvaira said in disappointment as we approached the Hyoudou residence.

"Not all Longinus reside inside descendants of the Leviathan." I said, knocking on the door. "The Red Dragon Emperor is this couple's only son. He will be incredibly easy for you to convince to let you reincarnate him. Though I should warn you to let Alivian go first."

Seekvaira scoffed. "I would not ask my peerage to do anything I would not do myself." I stepped aside as she walked up to the door and knocked.

The door was answered by a young man with brown hair whose eyes shot wide when he beheld Seekvaira. His eyes quickly drifted down to her chest and he leaned forward, grasping with his hands.

Before he could touch Seekvaira, she latched onto both of his arms and crushed. The sound of bones snapping rang through the air.

Seekvaira forced the boy down to his knees and loomed over him. "Should you ever attempt to touch me again, worm, I will have you castrated. Alivian? Take him." She unceremoniously threw Issei over her shoulder by his shattered arms, prompting the boy to scream.

Alivian calmly caught Issei.

"Once he is reincarnated it will be your duty to see to it he becomes a respectable man." Seekvaira said, dusting her hands off on the folds of her dress.

"The boy will have improved within the month, my king." Alivian said, his hand covering Issei's mouth muffle The Red Dragon Emperor's pained crying.

Seekvaira turned to me with a look of resigned understanding. "I see now why you did not procure him for your own peerage." Sighing, she said, "Nevertheless, it has been a pleasure conducting business with you, Riser. I look forward to our next meeting." Seekvaira approached Alivian and the two of them and a crying Issei teleported away.

"She kind of just kidnapped him, didn't she?" I asked Yubelluna.

"Yes, my king, she did. I imagine she will use that, as well as the prospect of healing his broken bones, to convince him to accept her Evil Piece."

At the mention of Evil Pieces, I grinned as I summoned my unused bishop. While it wasn't the same as the one I'd possessed before, the bishop before me was a mutation bishop. The agreement signed between Seekvaira and I stated our bishops would trade once the Red Dragon Emperor was hers. I'd delivered the Red Dragon Emperor and been rewarded with a mutation bishop.

"What now, Riser?" Yubelluna asked, seeing the expectant grin on my face.

"Now? Now we make some plans. I won't lose this piece like I did my last one. We need to use it as soon as possible."

"Of course, my king. What do you require of me?"

"Nothing right now, Yubelluna. In fact, I have something for you."

Yubelluna's head tilted curiously as I teleported us back to the manor. I motioned her after me; she followed along as I walked through the manor. We reached my lab and I picked up three bundles of cloth.

"I saw you eye-balling these when we were in the craft store. I'm not sure if you actually wanted them or not, but I figured why not?" I held the bolts out to Yubelluna, but she didn't take them – she didn't so much as move.

"Yube?" I asked, beginning to think I might have made a mistake.

Yubelluna looked up past the bolts to meet my eyes. "My king, may I act inappropriately?"

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