17

I grumbled to myself, allowing my Flames to heal the damage Issei's punch caused. 'Immortal or not, a punch thrown at the Third Cosmic Velocity still hurts like a bitch.' I griped, rubbing at a phantom pain in my shoulder. One particularly violent spat between Issei, Sairaorg and I had resulted in a comminuted fracture in three separate bones, one of which turned my scapula into little more than dust. Asia assures me that the breaks are as healed as they can be, but the bones still ache whenever it rains.

I sighed and glanced around my lavish room, strewn with random charts, diagrams, and various measuring tools. Sensei's aptitude for insane experiments seems to have rubbed off on me. I reached over to a small crystal vial, which was, thankfully, exactly the way I had left it ten minutes ago. I had been experimenting with Phoenex Tears lately, inspired by Sairaorg's tales of how Sensei had healed his mother from death's door in less than an instant.

Phoenex Tears are a liquid that can instantly heal injuries, but not restore limb, blood or organ loss. I planned to improve on that… or reverse the process.

My sister had once warned me of the dangers of botched regeneration. After all, once something is healed with the flames of a Phoenix, the body will not heal further. The flames would force the body to believe that the new position was the original layout of its' shape, negating all other attempts to heal it. To drive the point home, she had broken my arm, setting it in a slightly crooked position. Sure enough, the Flames didn't bother fixing the position of the break, just the break itself. She then proceeded to re-break the bone, setting it properly this time.

It was a painful lesson, to be sure, but one I learned well. I had memorized the entire layout of my body, learning which angles each bone had to be set in. I studied medical diagrams, brushed up on my biology, and took a crash course in genetics.

Living existences, I learned, are terribly fragile. They break from simple slight things like connecting a blood vessel that shouldn't be able to connect or just detaching the spinal cord and brain. And the worst thing about Healing Magic, is that it disregards every possible resistance. Living things instinctively accept any healing influence as their own.

In other words, it's a certain kill hit that nullifies defense. Furthermore, using to the inherent transformative nature of Healing Magic paired with the Flames' overwriting the body's original shape, one could permanently rewrite anything about the body, from its' genetic makeup to its' chemical balance. I could shift my body into anything I desired, even changing my Y chromosome to an X if I so chose.

Thanks to this I was confident that the small vial in my hand could easily cure even birth defects or genetic irregularities, and I could easily warp it to do the exact opposite with a single drop of an otherwise harmless compound.

I hesitated, before crossing the room and setting the vial next to its' predecessors. The latest in a long line of failures. While it could cure or cause irreparable harm, it required three hours of constant work to create even that small dose. I'd need an entire bucketful of the stuff in order to cure or cause the lightest of scrapes.

I sighed, heading for the door. With all the frustration of the day, I definitely needed a distraction, not to mention that I still needed to inform my Peerage of the news. I descended the stairs, looking out the window to where I knew Xuelan would be training. Sure enough, she was practicing her forms alongside Mira. I chuckled to myself, deciding not to bother them. I continued down the stairs heading towards the living room.

I glanced around my house, fondly noting a few scrapes and dents in the wall from various scuffles. Sensei had indeed rubbed off on me, more than I'd care to admit. On my eighteenth birthday, my father gave me my share of land on the Phenex properties and told me to build myself a house. I looked over the land, sat down, and started drawing up blueprints. I stared at that goddamn paper for three hours straight, trying to think of any reason to justify having a huge-ass mansion like my parents'. I failed miserably, eventually deciding to go for utility and architecture over grandeur, and drew up the plans.

The result was an eight story, concrete structure placed at the head of a canyon and overlooking the river within. The lower two stories form a pedestal for a six story, stepped tower that was walled with windows. One could look from within the tower and see in all directions with minimal effort—both aesthetically beautiful and tactically sound. I had even convinced Sensei to help me create the windows. No flimsy glass for me, I asked for clear, reinforced diamond sheeting, which I personally enchanted them to be one-way. Those windows could safely be called 'missile-proof'.

Of course, with all the 'modifications' I had made, and the sheer level of enchantments Sensei had imbued in the individual diamond windows, we had created both a nigh-impenetrable ward scheme and a stationary magical artillery. Master jokingly called it the 'Beam-Spam Caster Complex', for reasons unknown to me. My Peerage just calls it the Library, due to floors 3-7 being used to house my personal collection.

No, Issei, I am not a nerd. I just… really like architecture. And reading. Honest.

I finally reached the second floor, where the living room, kitchen, and dining room were. I heard cheerful conversation from the kitchen, and the TV in the living room seemed to be on. I smiled to myself. "Girls!" I called.

I heard the sound of rapid footsteps as the sounds of conversation cut off. Soon enough, all members of my Peerage not out training were assembled in the dining room with me. Yubelluna smiled softly at me, adjusting her circular glasses, Mihae stepping up beside her. Ile and Nel bounded over from where I assumed they were watching the television. Burent and Marion ascended the stairs, dressed in their delicious French maid uniforms.

Don't ask me how, but I somehow managed to gather a Peerage of almost all of the different "types". Yubelluna is the serious, busty onee-sama who only warms to her love interest. She's silent, sultry, loyal, calm, collected, protective and vigilant, never hesitating to shield her comrades from harm. She is not openly talkative, and she prefers to analyze people and their actions.

Mihae is the gentle yamato nadeshiko hime-miko, always there to lend a helping hand. She's kind, gentle, and an excellent cook. Ironically enough, I think she'd get along with Akeno rather well if either ever gave the other a chance.

Burent and Marion are both my adorable maids. Burent is the affectionate and doting large-chested caretaker, and Marion is the flat-chested sadist who enjoys toying with others. Ile and Nel are energetic lolis who fight over who gets to kiss me longer whenever I lavish affection on them. (I have no objections to this.) Ni and Li are my twin catgirls. They playfully end most of their sentences with 'nya~' to mimic a cat's meow. It's quite adorable, really.

Xuelan and Shuriya are easygoing, exotic beauties whose personalities contrast the more serious Isabela and Siris. They all utilize my family's flames in their fighting styles, and they all enjoy training.

Finally, there's Karlamine, my knight. She's from a very traditional European family, and she takes her duties very seriously. The only time I can get her to show even a hint of affection towards me is when we're away from the others. However, once she's alone in a quiet, secluded space, she becomes putty in my hands.

…And yet, even with all of these beauties, I can't touch any of them. Dammit Rias.

I cleared my throat, shutting down that train of thought. Down that way lies madness. "The wedding is to be decided by a Rating Game. If Rias wins, the marriage will be dissolved. The game is to be held in ten days, so as to give all sides adequate time to prepare."

Yubelluna blinked, adjusting her glasses. "I see. So all we have to do is throw the match?"

I sighed. "Well yes, but we have to make it convincing. Very convincing. Issei is apparently now a part of Rias's Peerage." Most of the girls winced. I continued, ignoring their reaction. "Not to mention, Sensei is training the rest of her Peerage personally."

Yubelluna sighed. "So it won't really be faking when we lose."

I shrugged. "Sure it will. We'll show just enough of our hand to make it seem like we're trying, while keeping the best stuff under wraps."

Ile perked up. "Riser-sama, will you be using one of your World-Class spells?"

I hesitated. "…Maybe, but only If I get the perfect opportunity to. If I do, Issei might think of it as an invitation to use his, and Satan only knows what kind of death magics that crazy bastard has thought up. Sensei at least has moderation, but Issei will use his World-Class spells just for the hell of it if he gets bored."

"…Those spells are the kind that you invented yourself, right?" Mihae asked curiously. "How bad could something that pervert thought up possibly be?"

I sighed. "You forget that the pervert in question was trained by the same Sensei I was. He knows most of my tricks. Not to mention, he has enough knowledge of various aspects of physics to materialize and weaponize his Touki. You do remember his Aurora Pillar, right?"

There was a collective wince. I agreed with the sentiment. Having your best attack no-selled in a single hit was annoying as hell. "Well, if there's one plus, it's that he has practically no mana pool to speak of." I mused. "Even if he had… let's say 100 mana to start with, and he got ten times that from being reincarnated, he still only has 1000 mana to work with. Sensei says that even the weakest Devils get that much, and it costs about 500 mana for a decent fireball by Devil standards."

Yubelluna sighed. "Riser-sama…didn't you also say that your Sensei's magic system is cheaper than a Devil's?"

I froze. "Yes. It is. About a thousand times cheaper, in fact, but it requires tedious calculation. Which Issei is ridiculously good at. Fuck. 500 mana divided by a thousand…"

"Point five mana per fireball." Yubelluna finished for me.

I sighed. "Well, we can at least hope that he doesn't figure out how to use Conceptual spells, right?"

"Holy shit, this is awesome!" Issei shouted as he shot an enormous fireball out of his finger. A fireball that promptly froze everything within twenty feet of the impact zone. "Who knew that you could add the Concept of Freezing to fireballs!"

"God help us all." Shirone said drily. "The Super Pervert learned how to use Conceptual spells. Next thing you know, he'll be stripping clothes off of girls in under a second."

Gil frowned. "I would think you'd love to see that."

Shirone paused, considering. "I would, actually. HEY ISSEI! I HAVE AN IDEA!"

"Riser-sama… you just jinxed it." Marion deadpanned.

"And probably made it worse." Burent agreed.

I grimaced. "Well, whatever. Let's just get to training."

Ile and Nel cheered, pulling out their Chainsaws of Doom.

I turned to Gil. "Are you sure you want to be encouraging her?"

Gil shrugged. "She knows that if she ever uses it on me, I'll skewer her."

I coughed. "I…see." {That is, if she uses it on you in public.}

She bristled slightly. "W-what's that supposed to mean?"

I smiled innocently. "Oh, nothing. Now you might want to get back to training your group."

We were currently at the Gremory family's private estate, the same one that had been Rias's training site in Canon. Seeing as I had to train both Sona and Rias's Peerages, I decided to bring my Peerage with me in order to help train the newbies. After a brief discussion with Sera, I split the sixteen new trainees into uneven groups. I asked each of my Peerage members (and Asia) to lead a training station, in which they taught a valuable skill.

As for what each station did, well…

Gil. "DODGE!" *Rain of weapons ensues*

Ruby. "Stop trying to hit me and HIT ME!"

Shirone. "Who the hell taught you to punch? That's not a punch. THIS is a punch!"

Rider. "Bwahahahaha! You call that running? My soldiers could run faster than you, and they wore full armor!"

Asia. "U-um… are you all right? You look kind of… terrified. And are those wounds? Here, let me show you how to heal those."

Five minutes later.

"All right, now that you're all ready to begin, let's start with some light exercise. Everyone get on the ground and give me two hundred push-ups. And once you're done with that, I want twenty laps around the mansion." *Angelic smile*

Minato. "…I think I'll just let you guys rest for a while. You seem to be… less than mentally sound."

I nodded in satisfaction, turning back to Gil. 'If they survive this, then they'll be fine.' I paused, glancing back at Asia. 'But seriously, though, when the hell did Asia get so brutal?'

Gil sighed, snapping me out of my thoughts. She was eyeing collapsed her group disdainfully. "I still don't get why one such as I must train them myself. Training others is for warriors, not Kings."

I winced internally. 'And here I was thinking that we had finally gotten rid of her arrogance. Ah, well, I suppose it is one of her defining features.' I thought for a moment, smug in my mild Thought Acceleration spell. 'Now, if I want to get the point across. I suppose I should point out any benefits to her first.' "You're not just training them, you're training yourself. You still have very little experience with your Talent, and it's best if you know what to expect for once it gets stronger." 'Nailed it.'

She glanced at Sera, who was watching the proceedings from her spot on my back. "Are you sure that you…?"

I sighed. "It's best if we trust her with some information, at least. At this point, she probably already knows about my Marble, what with how much she's been enjoying the feel of my aura."

I couldn't see her face, but I got the feeling that she was pouting at me. "Mou… Millicas-sama, I can't help it~! It's like being wrapped in a warm blanket while watching a movie on the couch. It's Ju~st right."

"Well, it's nice that I'm being compared to a couch. Really, it is." I snarked.

Shirone smirked. "Really? I could've sworn I heard her compare you to a blanket."

"You're not helping." I told her.

She smiled innocently. The expression didn't fit her face quite right. "I was supposed to be helping? Oh, I'm so sorry. Here, Sera, let me help you."

I was promptly pounced on by a mischievous cat. I could've easily dodged, but I allowed her to bowl me over and perch on my chest. She smirked down at me. "See? Now he's a couch for me, and a blanket for you!"

I managed to cast a slight levitation spell on myself, so as to not completely crush the childlike Maou under my weight. I could hear her gasp slightly, and my draconic hearing alerted me to her pulse skyrocketing.

Fortunately, Shirone was quickly lifted off of me by an irate Gil. "Damn it, Shirone! If I have to train my group, then you have to train yours!"

"Suuure. That's the reason. It's not that you're jealous or anything." Shirone replied cattishly. She blinked. "Wait, I have a group?"

I sighed, stumbling to my feet and brushing myself off. Sera said nothing, but still held her grip around my neck as I rose. "Like I said, training your Talent."

Shirone grimaced, allowing Gil to set her on the ground. "Any tips on controlling the damn thing?"

I shrugged. "Well, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you don't control your Talent, you negotiate with it. And even then, it's likely to activate when you least expect it to."

A loud crack was heard, and I felt a small spike of panic from Asia. We all turned to see Asia standing at the edge of a large crack in the ground. Her group was nowhere to be seen. I sighed. "Case in point."

"How did she manage to Break the ground?" Shirone asked incredulously.

I tuned out the rest of the conversation, noticing that Sera's pulse still hadn't calmed down. "Sera? Are you all right?"

I winced, feeling pain spike through my calf. It was slowing me down, making me last in the formation. I kept walking, trying to ignore the pain. One of the men slowed slightly, eying me with concern. "Is there a problem, Princess Sitri?"

I tried giving him a smile, but it came out more like a pained grimace. "It's fine, Prince Stolas. I'm fine. I just got hit with a lucky shot by one of the Crows. I already neutralized the Light poisoning, so it's just a flesh wound. It'll be fine by tomorrow."

He frowned. "Well, we can't have that, now can we?" He stopped, crouching to let me onto his back. "Hop on. We're only a few miles away from our next camping spot, so I'll just carry you."

I smiled gratefully, climbing on his back and wrapping my arms around his neck. "Thanks, Stolas."

He chuckled. "My name's Bartamaeus. Call me Bart."

We made idle chatter as we walked, and I laughed at some of the crude jokes the men around us made. I even made a few of my own. As the sun began to go down, I heard a faint *click*. We all tensed, waiting for something to attack. A minute later, we all relaxed. Bart chuckled. "Well, I guess we're all a bit—"

An explosion rocked the ground, the firebomb obliterating the entire company in an instant. Those at the edges were knocked backwards by the force of the blow, sent flying backwards. Fortunately, Bart was at the back of the unit. Unfortunately, he was no less dead because of it. We were shot backwards, my back skidding on the sharp rocks that we had just walked over. I could smell the scent of burning skin as Bart's corpse weighed me down. I struggled to breathe, to move, to—

"Sera? Are you all right?" Millicas-sama's voice shook me from the past, jolting me back into reality like a two-by-four to the face.

I shivered, pressing my face into the back of Millicas-sama's neck. 'I'm safe. I'm secure. I'm in an open field, in one of the most secure locations on earth. And even if something happened, Red-sama saved me before, he can do it again. Just…breathe.'

I took a deep, shuddering breath, analyzing my surroundings to try and calm my racing heart. 'No overt threats within ten feet. Possible strategies include taking several ground routes through the forest or into the foothills to escape, using my wings to gain aerial surveillance and utilizing carpet bombing tactics, Teleportation to a more defensible location, and countless combinations of Shadow Clone matched with one of my other spells. Calm down, Sera. Just…calm…down. Now, take a deep breath, and answer the man.' I took a shuddering breath, concentrating on the smoky scent of Millicas's skin to ground myself in reality. "I-I'm fine."

His voice held a concerned note. "Are you sure?"

I inhaled deeply one more time, before smiling widely. "Yep! I'm absolutely positive!" 'Happy thoughts, now. Happy thoughts. Magical Girls. Cosplay. Anime. Conversations with Millicas-sama. You're fine. Millicas-sama would never let anything happen to you.

He obviously wasn't convinced, but he didn't press it. 'And that's one of the wonderful things about Millicas-sama. He knows when not to push.' I sighed, finally relaxing completely as my heartbeat slowed to a steady thrum. 'Wait, was that number 51 or 89 on Shirone's 'List of Wonderful Things About Millicas'? I get the two confused.'

I sighed, filing the incident in the back of my mind for a later d-ate. 'That's something I'll have to look into. At first I thought those moments were just harmless daydreaming, but now I'm not so sure.'

"Oi, Sensei!" Issei called. "I have a question."

I nodded, kneeling to let Sera off my back. Whatever had happened to her, I didn't want to take any chances. "Yes, Issei?"

He held up a magic circle. "Now that I actually have enough mana to do shit, do you mind giving me something more advanced than fireballs to work on?"

I shrugged, walking over and reaching into my side pouch. "Sure. Knock yourself out." I handed him a thin book with a black cover.

He took it, glancing at the cover. "'The Unbidden Dreams'? Is this a Grimoire?"

I nodded. "Yep. I made it myself, and it's damn near perfect. It has everything that you might need to become an expert Dreamer."

He opened it, flipping through the pages. "Well it's kind of thin, but I'm…not…judging…what the hell?"

I chuckled, watching as the little book casually ignored all the laws of space and time that it seemed to be breaking during the massive flip-fest. There was no way in hell a normal book could fit that much paper inside that small of a binding. Issei blinked and closed the book before looking at the binding. He turned it one way, then another, before shrugging and glancing up at me. "All right, I give. Why the hell does this thing have so much paper in it?"

I smiled sheepishly. "Well, I started making that thing a couple years ago, and I just added blank paper whenever I needed to a new entry. I guess I just... lost track...of how much was in there?"

He stared at me for a moment. "…Only you, Sensei." He paused. "Wait, so if this is the 'perfect' version, then how many previous copies did you have?"

I did a quick mental count. "Three."

He blinked. "Three?"

I shrugged. "I've been making them since I was two."

In truth, I had started writing them in order to test how much of my old life I still remembered. I had written down everything from the Evil Overlord's List to various movie plotlines to several poems by Shel Silverstein. After I had a basic idea of what I had left, I started experimenting with my magic, writing down my observations and a general list of steps. I used the pages to jot down my more outlandish theories, including the ones I eventually discarded, as well as my original ideas for acquiring enough power to match Trihexa.

As I developed the sketchier and more advanced stuff, I decided that writing down entire spells was an invitation to get blasted with them by some noob down the line. So I just wrote down the theories behind each one, as well as speculation as to possible ways it could be implemented.

By the time I finished version one, it read like a genuine Grimoire, while still looking like a child's journal on the outside. As a finishing touch, I had even put a minor SEP field around it, keyed to whoever knew the name of the book. Matched with a few tweaks to the subspace matrix that held the pages, the book had become an unnoticeable, self-shuffling mass of information.

…Of course, three days later, it was the bane of my existence. You know how you can paint a canvas one day, believe that it's perfect, and think it's a piece of shit the next time you look at it? Yeah, that. I just kind of… tossed it somewhere, I think. I'm not even sure where it is now.

Issei was still eying the Grimoire suspiciously. "Are you sure this thing isn't alive? I remember you telling me that the most powerful Grimoires become sentient."

I frowned. "Well, yes, but I made sure that wouldn't happen to mine. I'd rather not be responsible for dooming a sentient entity to an eternity of boredom."

"How the heck do you prevent a Grimoire from becoming sentient?" Issei asked in amusement.

I shrugged. "Easy. Make sure that the Grimoire doesn't have enough power to 'awaken'. With my first one, I did it by making sure that there weren't any actual spells, just theoretical matrices. In my second, I literally cut the book in half—top and bottom. A Grimoire can't exactly be considered 'powerful' when it consists of only the top halves of pages, now can it?"

Issei held up the black book. "And this one?"

I smirked, turning and walking away. "Why don't you try finding out yourself?" I called over my shoulder.

"What, no cryptic advice?" Issei called back.

I paused. "Devil magic is powered by imagination. As such, it completely skips the calculation process and gives you your result. Literally anything is possible, you just have to imagine it." I replied, a mysterious note to my voice.

I returned to my even pace, smugly imagining his irritated expression. I reached the spot where Sera still stood, watching Gil hurl insults and weapons at her victi-I mean, trainees. "You sure you don't want to train some of them yourself? I'm sure your sister would prefer having you to Ruby."

An explosion sounded to my left, punctuating my words.

Sera smiled, ignoring the sound. "Oh, no, I can't train anyone. I'm just here on a vacation with my boyfriend."

"…Of course you are." I agreed.

"What difference does it make?" Ruby asked, walking up and practically oozing satisfaction. {Oh, and Asia, you might want to do some healing. I'm pretty sure the white-haired one broke her neck in a mysterious accident.}

{I seem to have the same problem with an extremely perverted Dragon brat. His ribs were crushed by some unknown force.} Shirone sent.

{It's a mystery.} I agreed drily. '…To be honest, I'm just glad she remembered where she left her group…'

Sera, oblivious to the suffering of her sister's Peerage, smiled viciously. "Well, if I tell the old fogeys that I was training my sister's Peerage, they'll call favoritism. But if I tell them I'm going on a vacation with a strong, High-Class male who just so happens to be my boyfriend, they'll give me knowing looks and give me more 'vacation time' in the hopes that I get pregnant."

"I…see." Ruby blinked. "That's… very different from the way Dragon culture works."

I snorted. "Ruby, from what you've told me of Dragon culture, it revolves around an outlandish combination of subtle posturing and rampant violence. Not necessarily in that order."

She shrugged. "True enough."

"Devil society practically based itself off of survival. As the only female Maou, Sera is probably expected to have at least six strong children in order to repopulate the species." I continued, glancing over at said Maou. "Am I wrong?"

She shook her head, still smiling. "Oh, no, you're actually being a bit too kind on them. They don't just want six children; the misogynistic bastards would love nothing more than to make me into a living baby factory."

{…Okay, that was unexpectedly dark, especially for her.} Ruby sent, concern tinting her mental voice. {What happened?}

I gave the mental equivalent of a shrug. {I don't know. She zoned out a few minutes ago, and hasn't really done more than stare off into space since. I tried to get her to tell me what was wrong, but she just gave me one of her chirpy, overly enthusiastic responses.}

Ruby sighed, walking over and tentatively embracing Sera. "I wish you would tell us when something's wrong." She muttered, pressing her forehead against Sera's. "I'm not used to dealing with people I can't feel."

Sera's smile turned slightly strained. "O-oh. S-sorry."

The sound of running feet and a roaring engine heralded the arrival of Rider's group, saving Sera from responding. Gil paused her Rain of Terror to watch them pass. "Since when is chasing people with Gordius Wheel a legitimate training method?" She muttered.

I chuckled, letting the matter with Sera go for now. "Since about an hour ago. And besides," One of Sona's )Knights(, a redhead that I'm pretty sure is named Tomoe, finally collapsed from all the running. Rider leaned over and picked her up on the way by, setting her in the passenger seat. "Rider seems to be taking it seriously. I say trust him for now. He did lead an entire army once upon a time, so he should have some idea what he's doing."

Gil sighed, turning back to her group. "Who told you you could relax!" She shouted, the Gate of Babylon opening once more.

Before she could launch another weapon, I raised my fingers to my mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Everyone paused, turning to look at me. I cleared my throat, casting a silent amplification spell. "Attention all trainees and teachers. We will be stopping here for today."

There was an audible sigh of relief from the victi—I mean, trainees. I continued, silently snickering at the looks of glee I got from the poor basta—the relieved teens. "After all, if we push them too hard today, then we won't be able to do the same thing tomorrow."

In less than an instant, their relief was shattered by their realization that they had nine more days of hell left to go. I snickered again. Poor fools didn't even realize that this was just the basic stuff. The real fun would begin once we got bored—I mean, once their bodies were sufficiently trained.

{…Have I ever told you how much I love you?} Ruby sent, still cuddling Sera. {Because this sounds like it's going to be the best ten days of my life.}

I just smirked, watching as the exhausted teens headed for the air-conditioned mansion to cool off and wash up. Rider dismissed Gordius Wheel, approaching from the side. "Well, King Millicas, you certainly seem to have a good eye for how much your troops can handle. I was just about to suggest turning in myself."

I smiled at him. "Well, you know how much I care for their well-being."

{{{Bullshit.}}} Gil, Ruby and Shirone chorused in unison. Asia just sighed.

I ignored the disbelievers, heading towards the mansion to try and find the kitchen. I had a few trainees of my own, after all.

I arrived at my destination without getting too lost, thankfully. I opened the kitchen door to see Valerie and Gaspar chopping garlic. Valerie glanced up at me, her eyes burning. "I fucking hate you right now."

I smiled innocently. "Who, me?"

"No, the other guy making us touch poison." Valerie replied, her tone heavy with snark.

I shrugged. "Well, I have to prepare dinner somehow, and I can't do that while I'm out making sure Ruby doesn't accidentally kill someone. And besides, garlic isn't lethal in its' raw form, it just gives you a nasty rash." I paused. "And training is over for today, anyway."

Gaspar blinked. "Wait, this is training? All you've been doing is having us peel garlic and cook all day. How the hell is that training?"

I smirked. "You two don't really have an issue, power-wise. But Riser is a wily bastard, so he's going to try and target your weaknesses as much as possible. Today it's garlic, tomorrow it's Holy Water. Which, I might add, you have a double weakness to due to your heritage."

Valerie blinked. "Where would you get Holy Water? It's not like you can just walk into a church and borrow some."

I smiled. "You'd be surprised. But for now, let's just say I asked a little birdy for it. Anyway, we're all taking a bath now, if you'd care to join."

I turned and left the room, heading towards where I thought the baths were. I walked… and walked… and walked…

'Dammit, I'm Lost again. Should've just teleported.' I grumbled to myself. 'Ah, well, might as well just try and find the baths this way.'

Three hills, a bog, a field, and a dozen small towns later, I opened a wooden stable door to find Saji and Issei chatting while fastening towels around their waists. They both glanced up as I entered, pausing their conversation. "'Sup, Sensei." Issei called, tossing me a towel. "Looks like it'll just be us today."

I caught the flying towel, closing the door behind me. Saji just looked confused. "Wait, did that door just—"

"Yes." I told him. "Yes it did. I'm very good at getting Lost."

Saji nodded slowly. "So I've heard."

I turned to Issei. "Is Gaspar already in there?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. He might be. Why, are you expecting him?"

I shook my head. "I told him that we were all taking a bath now, but he might not be interested."

Issei nodded in understanding. "Ah, I gotcha. Well, knowing him, he should drop by sooner or later." He paused. "Though, hopefully Valerie is with the girls so she can chase him away if he decides to slip in as a shadow."

I raised an eyebrow. "I would think that you would be cheering him on."

He shook his head. "Nah, Buchou already offered to let me bathe with her, but I turned her down before Sona could even open her mouth."

Saji crossed his arms indignantly. "I still don't get why, though. Do you not see how hot your Peerage is!? I would kill for the chance to bathe with Kaichou!" He grinned perversely, making squeezing motions with his hands. "And did you see those girls who were training us? All of them are perfect tens in my book. I would totally ask one of them out if I didn't like Kaichou."

Issei choked back a laugh. "U-um, dude? You do realize that they can all kick your ass, right?"

Saji nodded seriously. "So?"

"They also happen to be taken." I interrupted, folding my clothes and tying the towel around my waist. "No touching my girls. This is your one warning. That won't be a problem, right?" I smiled kindly at him.

Saji blanched, taking a step back. "R-right, right, We're perfectly clear on that. Crystal clear."

Issei snickered. "Dude, you're just lucky that he gave you a warning in the first place. I wasn't going to."

I sighed, crossing to open the door to the bath. "Let's just go."

We entered, walking down the stairs to the deep bath and sitting on the stepped side of the bath. Saji glanced at me. "So, um, on the topic of girls…"

I sighed. "Sona's in love with Minato. Sorry, dude. If it's romance you're looking for, ask out Momo and Ruruko. They seem to have some kind of love rivalry over your affections."

Saji blinked. "Wait, what?" He raised a fist, shaking it angrily. "Curse you, Minato-sensei! Why did you have to steal Kaichou from me!" He shouted.

The door slid open, allowing Minato and Rider to enter the room. Minato blinked. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Rider grinned, clapping him on the back. "It was a declaration of war, my friend! A war over a maiden's heart!"

Minato sighed, ignoring the hearty slap by virtue of experience. "Please tell me he's not serious."

I shook my head. "Nope. There is no war, seeing as you already won."

"…What did I win?" He asked resignedly, entering the bath.

"Sona." I replied bluntly.

"…Sona-kaichou? What about her?" He asked curiously, sitting beside me.

"She's in love with you, you dense moron!" Issei shouted, throwing his hands in the air.

Minato looked baffled. "What? Why would she be in love with me?"

"…You know that chess match she challenged you to?" I asked in amusement.

He nodded slowly. "And all of them thereafter. Why?"

"She made a deal with her parents that she would marry the first eligible Devil to beat her in a chess match." I replied, watching cautiously as Rider curiously inspected the tiles on the wall. "She didn't know you were a Devil when she challenged you. Rider, what are you doing?"

He glanced back at me. "Ah, King Millicas. I am merely observing this mural. What do you suppose it represents?"

I eyed it. "It's a fish, Rider. A really big fish."

"Well, yes, but what does it represent? Is it a reference to the Devils' Christian roots? Does it take the Japanese meaning, and represent love? Does it use the more traditional—"

I sighed, interrupting his scholarly rant. "It's a fish, Rider. We're in a bath. It's pretty common to see murals of fish in baths. There's another one on the bottom of the pool here, see?"

He walked over, peering down through the water. "So there is!" He smiled sheepishly. "My apologies."

He slipped into the bath, a wave sloshing over the edge of the pool as his large form displaced a Rider-sized amount of water. I tuned back in to the conversation between Minato and Issei. "…ude, she turns red whenever you compliment her! How the hell do you not notice these things?" Issei asked incredulously.

Minato frowned. "I don't know. I always just assumed that she was feeling warm."

I groaned. "This is getting nowhere."

Saji sniffled. "Yeah, let's change the subject. My poor heart can't take this for much longer."

The door slid open once more, heralding the arrival of Kiba. He was sporting small cuts all over his body, and he winced every other step. "Millicas, I think you turned Ravel into a sadist."

I chuckled, rising from the water and heading up the stairs. "She's not a sadist, she just really hates it when people don't do what she tells them to. If she were, she would have used Holy Weapons."

Kiba blanched. "She has those?"

I nodded, finally reaching where Kiba stood. I decided not to take my chances with Gil's mean streak and used ))Sands of Sanctity(( to cover Kiba's wounds in a light golden dust. The dust dissolved into his skin, and all of his wounds faded into nothingness. "She has the prototypes of every legendary weapon in existence. Most of the weapons in her treasury could kill you in less than a heartbeat, without her even trying."

Kiba blinked, examining his now unblemished skin. "…I'll keep that in mind." He replied absently, checking over his torso and legs. "How did that spell work? It even got rid of my old training scars from years ago."

I smiled. "Well, it—"

"Don't ask." Issei warned, raising his voice to be heard. "We'll be here all night."

"Probably." I admitted. "But he asked, so…"

Kiba held up a hand, smiling uncomfortably. "I…think I'll pass, actually."

I shrugged, heading back into the large bath. "Suit yourself."

Kiba followed, sitting next to Saji on the step on the side of the bath. Conversation lulled for a time, as we all simply enjoyed the feel of hot water on our skin. Finally, Saji asked, "What do you think the girls are talking about?"

I shrugged. "I could ask, but it's really not worth it."

Issei smirked. "Oh? You wish to know what our female compatriots are talking about?" He held up a hand, briefly concentrating, and summoned up a magic circle. It floated off his hand, hoovering a few feet above our heads. "Then listen well, my comrades."

He snapped his fingers, and the circle began to transmit a static crackle. A moment later, the static disappeared, and the hum of conversation followed. Laughter, splashing, and several voices were heard in the background. Issei frowned, concentrating once more. "Give me a moment, I must've aimed too high."

The sound warped, and the voices seemingly changed position. The splash of water could be heard, and I distinctly heard Asia's mortified squeak. Valerie's soft voice carried a tone of amusement as she spoke. "Wow, Asia-san, you certainly are big for your age."

Saji choked. "D-did she?"

I chuckled, feeling Asia's embarrassment over the Link. "She did."

Asia's voice sounded once more. "V-Valerie-san, p-please stop…"

Saji turned towards Issei, a perverse grin on his face. "Can this thing do video?"

I cleared my throat. "No, it doesn't."

Saji grumbled to himself.

Gil came to Asia's rescue. "Valerie, stop touching poor Asia like that."

"Oh? Would you prefer to do it yourself?" Valerie replied, seemingly moving away from the microphone.

Gil sighed. "No, but Asia doesn't really like being touched by anyone other than Millicas-sama."

"The same could be said of you." Ruby pointed out, her voice much louder than the others'. The spell crackled with static once more, drowning out the rest of her words.

Issei sighed. "Give me a moment." He held up his hand once more, and the sound warped slightly.

"Ara ara, Ruby-sensei. Are you saying that Ravel-sensei is shy?" Akeno asked, her voice tinged with mirth.

"I-I'm not shy!" Gil spluttered.

"You're hiding your boobs behind your arm." Valerie pointed out.

"S-so? I just don't like showing off my body." Gil replied with a huff.

Rias's sultry tones sounded next, punctuated by Gil's embarrassed squawk. "Why not? Your body is quite beautiful. I'm sure Millicas enjoys it quite a bit."

Rider grinned, giving me a thumbs-up. I just sighed.

"W-we haven't—He doesn't—I'm still—" Gil squeaked.

Rias's voice sounded disappointed. "Really? That's a shame. I would've thought that you would've at least experimented by now."

"We're waiting for Shirone to be legal, first." Ruby explained calmly. "By the laws of the Underworld, at least. She's still fifteen, and the age of consent is some time away."

There was an audible pause as everyone seemed to turn and stare at the little Nekoshou. I could almost hear her reflexive ear twitch as she felt ten pairs of eyes land on her. "What?" She muttered. "I can't choose my age. I'll be sixteen in a few months. My birthday is November twenty-third, after all."

"You certainly are…well-endowed, for a fifteen-year-old." An unfamiliar voice grumbled.

"88-57-82." Ruby supplied helpfully. "And still growing."

There was another pause, this one sounding almost depressed.

"Don't worry, Bennia." Sona sighed. "You'll grow."

"Aww, Sona, I'm supposed to be telling you that!" Sera complained, bouncing in place. "And then you'll blush and smile at me, and then I'll smile back, and then we'll kiss, and then it'll lead to some hot girl-on-girl action after you shyly lead me back to your room, and then—"

"Sera." Ruby sighed. "Stop steamrolling poor Sona. And I seriously doubt that Sona will be having any kind of lesbian sex anytime soon."

Sera pouted. "But Ruby…"

Shirone's smirk crept into her voice. "Yeah, Ruby. Why'd you stop her? I wanted to see Sona get flustered."

Saji grinned. "Yeah, me too!"

Gil interrupted them. "This is hardly proper conversation for in the bathhouse."

I chuckled. "I don't know, that seems to be pretty typical for those two."

"And besides, Sona's obviously saving herself for Minato." Gil continued, oblivious.

Saji twitched. "Minatoooooo…" He growled, his fists clenched.

Issei sighed, dispersing the spell. "I should probably stop now, before Saji tries to kill Minato-sensei."

I nodded. "Probably a good idea."

Rider chuckled. "I would rather enjoy such a spectacle, actually. It would be hilariously one-sided."

Saji puffed out his chest, crossing his arms. "I'm glad you realize that. It's good that someone recognizes my power."

Rider burst out laughing. "No, no, little man!" He bellowed, clutching his stomach and wheezing as his shoulders shook with mirth. "Y-you would be a smear on the ground before you could so much as approach him! The King of Souls is leagues greater than you are!"

Saji blinked, looking over at Minato. Admittedly, the Persona user was rather scrawny and pitiful-looking to those too inexperienced to notice the corded muscle beneath his skin. "Him? I bet I could take him with one hand tied behind my back!" Saji scoffed.

I sighed. "Minato is my )Bishop(, Saji. He could kill you without moving from his spot. He just prefers to avoid conflict whenever possible."

Issei nodded. "I can vouch for that."

Saji frowned. "So? I'll just Promote to )Bishop(, then."

I grimaced, turning to Minato. "Care for a demonstration?"

He tilted his head. "Would it help?"

I shrugged. "Probably not, but it might."

He frowned. "All right, then. How about this?" He stretched out his hand. "Pulinpa."

Saji sat bolt upright, his eyes widening. "Wh-what did you do?" He paled, and he began glancing around the room suspiciously. "What did you do?" He almost yelled, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head.

I chuckled. "Nice choice. Non-violent, but still gets the point across. But I must ask, why not Evil Touch?"

He shrugged. "You said I could hurt him from where I am. I would have to get up to touch him."

"Fair enough." I yawned, standing and heading for the door. "Well, I have to put dinner in the oven soon, so I'll see you guys later."