Intervention

"Ymirite...that's quite the significant discovery..." remarked Rias, resting her cheek on the knuckles of her left hand and smiling from behind her desk as she watched Vahn caressing Koneko's head with a tinge of envy in her heart.

"Yeah, and I'm also thinking about learning how to refine it myself," said Vahn, reciprocating with a smile as he conceded, "Though, even with the Corridor, I'm not sure I have the time..."

"What do you mean...?" asked Rias, raising her brows slightly as she had a pretty good idea of how Vahn would respond.

"I mean...if I have free time, shouldn't I be spending it with all of you...?" asked Vahn, his smile cramping as he reasoned, "I may not have wanted a harem, but now that I have one, I feel like I need to spend time getting to know everyone and ensuring you're all happy..."

"Mmm...I see..." muttered Rias, lightly tapping her desk with her right index finger as Akeno, standing at her side, adopted her characteristically sleepy-eyed smile and hummed, "As much as we appreciate Vahn-sama's consideration, we're going to be together for the next ten thousand years, if not longer. If you immerse yourself in a hobby or two, we're not going to die from frustration or loneliness."

"Akeno...?"

Not expecting such words from her Queen, Rias looked back at Akeno quizzically. In response, Akeno covered her mouth and giggled before softly reminding, "It's easy to forget because of how exceptional he is, but Vahn-sama is still new to our world, and what brought him to Kuoh was the desire to attend school and experience life as a normal student. It's too late not to involve him in our matters, but his life shouldn't revolve around solving our problems and making us happy. He should be allowed to have hobbies and interests unrelated to us."

"Right..." muttered Rias, having heard something similar from her mother. Even her father invested most of his free time brewing wine and rearing Gryphons, not because he didn't enjoy spending time with her mother or the members of his harem but to avoid falling out of love. After all, you could continuously improve crafts and hobbies, but it was difficult to fall deeper in love with someone past a certain point...

"I like spending time with everyone..." expressed Vahn, gently kneading Koneko's cat-like ear as he softly appended, "If anything, I wish I could spend more time with everyone..."

"The issue is that you have too many people you want to spend time with. Is that it...?" asked Rias.

Nodding, Vahn met Rias's gaze, his expression softening as he stated, "You're all incredible in different ways...you deserve someone who can give you all their love and devotion, and I wish I could be that person for each of you..."

"I see..." muttered Rias, exhaling a faint sigh from her nose as she crossed her arms and remarked, "We've placed a great burden on you..."

"But it's one that I bear willingly..." affirmed Vahn, his tone serious and his eyes smoldering as he looked down at Koneko and asserted, "I won't give up a single one of you..."

"Then I suppose a solution isn't needed," said Rias, placing her elbows on her desk, linking her fingers together, and resting her chin on her thumbs as she stated, "You just need to do as you please. If you want to get into forging, go ahead. If you want to spend the night at Issei's and play video games, feel free. And if you desire to spend time with us, you need only to ask."

"Indeed~" hummed Akeno, beaming.

"Nn..." appended Koneko, closing her eyes and rubbing her cheek against Vahn's thigh. Had Asia been present, she likely would have responded in a similar fashion, but she was presently preparing tea and snacks.

"Thank you..." responded Vahn, his smile gaining a hint of awkwardness as he confessed, "Though if I'm being honest, it makes me happy when everyone wants to spend time with me. So, if any of you ever feel lonely, please tell me. I'm pretty sure I would notice, but if I didn't and ended up making any of you feel sad or neglected, I would feel terrible..."

"In other words, we just need to be honest and communicate with each other," stated Rias, nodding approvingly before rising from her desk and adding, "If that's the case, I want you to pet my head as well. It's not fair if Koneko and Asia are the only ones who get to borrow your lap."

"I'm Goshujin-sama's cat..." responded Koneko, turning onto her stomach and crossing her arms as if shielding Vahn's lap as she stated, "This is my territory..."

"But you get to cuddle with him all the time in the Corridor..." argued Rias, crossing her arms and raising her right index finger as she asserted, "And you're not the only one who can sprout cat ears..." as a pair of crimson cat ears appeared atop her head, created from Magic.

"My identity has been stolen..." muttered Koneko, looking aggrieved but mostly pretending as she sat up, licked Vahn's left cheek, and whispered, "Let's go to the Corridor later..."

"Sure..." responded Vahn, feeling slightly lost as he didn't know which side to take in the feigned quarrel. Fortunately, the situation seemed to resolve itself as Koneko got up, cutely stood on the tips of her toes to stretch, and vacated the room, making space for Rias to lie down and substitute her as his markedly more buxom pet cat...

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With the evening passing without incident, Vahn used the Corridor to give those who had stayed up all night a chance to rest before returning to the broadcast room for another day of observation and searching for Kokabiel and his goons. The previous day's search all but confirmed they weren't holed up in the city, but since individuals at Kokabiel's level could teleport and use barriers to avoid conventional detection methods, they needed to be vigilant.

'Short skirts are nice...' thought Vahn, his gaze focused on the displays as Asia sat atop his lap in a frilly, short-skirted Maid outfit. There were still a few layers of fabric separating them, but he felt her warmth and softness much more clearly than when she wore a longer skirt. Better yet, Asia had the back of her skirt hiked, meaning the only things separating them were her silk panties and his pants and boxers.

"We've got something..." remarked Sona, touching her right index finger and thumb together before spreading them, causing the display following Issei, Kiba, and Irina to expand. The trio had disappeared from view, and their respective displays were now just blue backgrounds.

"I recognize that place. It's where we fought the Stray named Viser..." said Vahn, his aquamarine eyes reflecting the image of an abandoned, dilapidated art museum surrounded by forest.

Nodding, Sona suggested, "We should send backup, but not too much, as the enemy's most likely target is the Academy."

"I will sortie with Grayfia and Asia..." declared Vahn, grabbing the latter's waist, causing her to startle as he rose to his feet with her before turning his attention to Grayfia.

Though she believed it was better for their particular group to remain on campus, Grayfia didn't hesitate to close her eyes and bow, offering a curt, "As Goshujin-sama wills..." before rising to her full height and preparing a Mass Teleportation Circle. The version used by most Devils only allowed them to transport themselves and members of their Peerage, so she had to prepare the more advanced version.

Stepping onto the silver, slightly blue-tinted Magic Circle, Vahn briefly met Tsubaki's gaze before focusing on Sona, smiling as he said, "I leave the Academy in your capable hands."

"What should I tell Rias...?" asked Sona, reciprocating with a faint smile of her own.

"Well, if it's just a bunch of goons, Issei, Kiba, and Irina should be able to hold their own," reasoned Vahn, exuding confidence as he stated, "And if it turns out to be Kokabiel, I should be able to destabilize the barrier from within and summon everyone."

"We'll be ready," assured Sona, offering a curt nod before tapping her right ear, causing a blue Magic Circle to appear as she connected with Rias. At the same time, Vahn, Asia, and Grayfia disappeared, reappearing in the central display in a flash of silvery-white light...

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"Alright...I'll take point. Grayfia, keep Asia safe..." said Vahn, swapping his Eastern Prince Set for a black long-sleeved dress shirt, a white vest with solid gold buttons and a pattern of golden wings on the back, white pants with a gold-leaf pattern, and solid white dress shoes. These three pieces of equipment, combined with the opaline studs and rings he was wearing, granted him a hypothetical 100% Resistance to the Light Element, but just to be safe, he also activated his [Aura of Karmic Protection].

"Understood..." responded Grayfia, her brows perking as she noticed the aura around Vahn change drastically. Ordinarily, it was difficult to grasp his energy, but with his hair and eyes turning a luminous shade of golden blonde and a distinctive Dragon Aura exuding from his body, he reminded her of the original Lucifer...

"Be careful, Vahn-sama..." said Asia, grasping the ringed cross around her neck, causing her outfit to change to her papal attire.

"Have faith..." responded Vahn, supplying a faint smile and winking before turning away from the duo and striding forward, unaware of the effect his words had on Asia's heart and mind. He was just attempting to lighten the mood a bit, but he inadvertantly caused a hint of fervor to appear in Asia's emerald-green eyes...

Following a sensation akin to stepping through a thin silk curtain, Vahn raised his gaze to the sky, finding it a swirling mass of crimson and black. When he heard an explosion and saw a flash of light, however, he bolted forward, quickly reaching the clearing around the abandoned museum to find Kiba and Irina darting around at high speeds, battling a white-haired, sword-wielding man dressed in white, black-and-gold-trimmed priestly attire.

"Vahn!? Nice timing...!" exclaimed Issei, adopting a broad smile as the green gem on his crimson gauntlet pulsed, shouting 'boost' in Ddraig's reverberating voice.

"My...you insects just keep crawling out of the woodwork..." remarked a portly, bespectacled man with fluffy grey hair, a pointed mustache with a large space between them, a white skullcap, and white robes with a large golden cross on the front.

Recognizing the man, Vahn's expression hardened as he materialized his Legendary Spear and said, "Valper Galilei...surrender and answer for your crimes or face judgment..."

"And who are you supposed to be? One of Michael's pawns...?" asked Valper, noticing the almost overwhelming aura of light emanating from Vahn's body. He initially wasn't too concerned by this, but when he saw Asia, whom he recognized, and, far more importantly, Grayfia, the pupils of his beady eyes contracted.

Understanding there was no way he could defeat an Ultimate-Class Devil, Valper turned around and shouted, "Freed! Forget the Excalibur! We need to flee at once...!"

"Huaaaaah!? But things are just starting to get interesting...!" responded the white-haired Priest, wielding a large, strange-looking sword with a diamond-shaped gap near the center and spikes on both edges. It didn't appear to be a very practical weapon at a glance, but despite its size, the man named Freed was able to wield it with finesse and keep up with both Kiba and Irina at the same time.

"You're not going anywhere! Asia...!" exclaimed Vahn, prompting Asia to startle before responding, "Y-Yes, Goshujin-sama...!"

Stabbing the pointed end of her staff into the ground, Asia released a faint golden pulse of energy that caused Grayfia, Issei, and the already scowling Kiba to grimace as the sky went from hazy crimson and black to a brilliant shade of white and gold reminiscent of sunlight piercing through billowy white clouds.

"What is the meaning of this!? How can a Devil wield such high-level Holy Magic...!?" exclaimed Valper, staring at Asia with a mix of hatred, disbelief, and fascination. He was once one of the top researchers associated with the Church, rising all the way to the rank of Archbishop, so as much as he disdained Asia's actions, he couldn't help wanting to capture, dissect, and learn everything about her...

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