Chapter 22: Meeting The Gremory's

Chapter 22:

"___" - Speech

(___) - Thoughts

{___} - Internal Voice(s)

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"It's too warm." Jin complained, showing clear discontent as he basked in the steam rising up from the water. "I don't like it." 

"It's an Onsen, what did you expect?" Azazel groaned. Tannin's roughhousing had left the Gremory peerage covered in grime and filth, which would've made for a poor first impression on her family. Hence, Rias had decided to use a little bit of her authority to book one of the luxurious Onsens in the territory. 

"Hm, I have an idea." Azazel's brows quipped as Jin approached the ledge of the men's section, looking down at one of the unused areas below. 

"Eh? What are you doing?" All of a sudden, he leaped over the edge cannonballing straight into the third-level spring. "You've got to be kidding me." The loud splash caused the men of the peerage to walk over and stare at the Fallen Angel in confusion. 

"Would it kill you to be normal for a few seconds?" The Governor sighed. 

(Adaloth, if you would.) 

A chilling energy seeped out of Jin's body as the temperature around him dropped drastically. The warm steam the spring water emitted was quickly replaced with a frigid smog sending shivers down the spines of even the girls in the uppermost section. 

"What the hell!" Rias exclaimed. 

"Jin! Could you not turn the hot spring into a cold spring?" Azazel yelled. "Good lord, are you some sort of yeti or what?" It didn't take long for him to realize how idiotic the decision was to bring Jin into a "hot" spring of all places, especially after Tannin had confirmed the sort of Dragon he was. 

Unfortunately, his complaints fell on deaf ears as Jin was simply too immersed in the soothing sensation of the ice-cold water, uninterested in listening to the complaints raining down at him from above. "Ahhh, much better." Jin's lack of mastery over his Sacred Gear had put most of Adaloth's power under lock and key, but something as simple as turning hot water cold was well within her repertoire. 

"Azazel, can't you do something?" Issei pleaded, submerging as much of his body into the water as possible to avoid the toe-biting air.

"Wait here, I'll handle it." He hopped over the ledge, splashing into Jin's ice-pool with little discomfort, a natural result of his overwhelming power.

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm trying to relax here?" Jin groaned.

"You've got to start learning to be a bit more considerate."

"That's rich coming from you of all people." Azazel waved his hand as he constructed a barrier around the lower level spring, shielding those above from its hypothermic wake.

"Fair enough." He sighed, scratching his chin as he looked at his subordinate with progressing intrigue. "So is this a result of her?" He queried.

"I think so. It's not as if warm temperatures are harmful to me or anything, but they make me, moody, to say the least." Jin spread his wings out as he allowed his feathers to soak in the water. "Our senses are shared, so it looks like I've inherited her preference towards the cold. Strange isn't it?"

"And just how far can I expect this to go?" Jin observed the Governor's face grow increasingly more concerned. "You aren't going to start growing fangs or anything right?"

He scratched his chin as he found his [King's] queries rather fascinating. "The stronger I get, the deeper the connection grows. So I suppose it's possible in theory, but for now this is all I'm dealing with."

"Can't she give you a definite answer?"

"No, since I'm the first host she's made this type of deal with. Neither of us can know for certain what to expect, I'm stepping into uncharted territory if you will." 

"Right, but even so there should be some way to keep her instincts away from yours. Doesn't it worry you that her influence has already started to change who you are?" As if the question had already been on his mind, the corners of Jin's lips curled upwards as he sunk deeper into the water. 

"Change isn't always a bad thing." He replied plainly. "Even if I grow fangs, horns, or even a tail. The core of who I am won't disappear, that's all that matters." 

Azazel breathed a deep sigh as his subordinate seemed set on maintaining his current status-quo. 

"And besides, Dragons are cool right?" 

"Haha, yeah they are." They shared a chuckle as Azazel decided to steer the conversation in a brighter direction. "So, there must be some merit to you undergoing all this? Otherwise I really won't be able to comprehend why you made such a deal in the first place." 

"Well, the first step is probably to meet that expectation of yours, and after that our connection should really begin to show. How much do you know about Silver Dragons?" 

"As Tannin said, they were a rather isolated species so our information on them is lacking. We know they dwelled in the colder regions of the world, which you are all but proving." Jin shrugged innocently in response. "And that they were well-versed in ice-magic, which I guess you are again proving to some extent. That's about it, in all my years I've yet to even see one with my own eyes." 

"You're pretty much correct, I'm sure there's more to it but she wants me to figure it out for myself rather than handhold me, which I guess I can respect." 

"Pretty much hm? So you do know something that I'm missing." 

"You're the scientist, I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out." 

"Cheeky." 

"Could you at least show them to me?" Jin looked at Azazel with a raised brow, momentarily wondering what he was referring to. 

"Ah-ah. You talked with my sister behind my back?" 

"It's my job to make sure my [Gold General] is safe at all times. It was just a chat, nothing more nothing less." 

"I'm more surprised that she answered any of your questions at all, I'm guessing you've told her about the pieces as well?" 

"Mhm." 

"Interesting." Jin held out his hand, allowing frost-scented silver scales to appear on the surface of his hand. Being the researcher he was, Azazel's eyes immediately sparkled with curiosity as he leaned in to take a closer look. 

"I see, are they only able to form on your hand at the moment?" 

"They can form anywhere, but the surface area they cover will remain just as miniscule. Even I understand how dangerous of a process of Dragonization is, I won't rush things." 

"Good." He affirmed. 

------------

"Impressive." Jin muttered, glancing up at the multi-storied manor in front of him. The Gremory's seemed to show little restraint when it came to sprucing up their living quarters, and that was putting it lightly. "Are you sure I should be here?" He commented, examining the towering marble pillars holding the manors foundation in place, it was almost like he was looking at something built from a medieval fantasy.

"You'll be just fine. They might throw you an oddball or two, but that's it, the Gremory's wont overstep trust me." Azazel reassured. "It's time for me and Oron to take our leave, I'll be back to pick you up tomorrow. Good luck." The two quickly vanished into Azazel's teleportation circle, leaving Jin to face them on his own. 

The doors to the manor pried apart, revealing a young woman with back-length silver hair and long braids on each side. She wore a white-blue french maid outfit with a complimenting headband. "Welcome home, Ojou-sama, and your subordinates." She performed a polite bow as she welcomed the young Devils inside.

"It's good to be back." 

The maid's gaze shifted towards the man at the rear of the group, to which the latter met her sights with evident unease on his face. "The Gremory household looks forward to furthering their relationship with Grigori." He replied with a slight nod as he stiffly entered the residence. 

And what he was met with, did little to quell his nerves. Dozens of both maids and butlers alike had been lined up across the hallway, all with their heads bowed as they received their Heiress. As someone who preferred the plainer aspects in life, it was nothing short of a nightmare for Jin. 

"Rias-nee! Welcome home!" Out of the blue, a boy with short crimson hair wearing noble-like adornments came running through the hallway, straight towards Rias as he embraced her in a tight hug. 

"I'm home Millicas." She gently patted his head as he looked behind her with intrigue. "This is my nephew, and obviously my elder brother's son." Jin paid the young Devil a quick glance before averting his gaze, hoping his stay would be over soon. "Go say hello." She instructed. 

"Greetings, my name is Millicas Gremory, it's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed.

(So this is the Lucifer's son, I don't really know what I was expecting. He seems pleasant enough.) 

The maid walked up to the end of the hallway, opening the doorway as she gestured for the group to enter. "Venelana-sama is waiting inside for you." Millicas showed little hesitation rushing into the room with his arms wide open. 

"Rias-nee is home!" He yelled, running towards an older woman with flaxen hair and violet eyes, donning an elegant white dress. 

"Millicas, you need to learn to restrain yourself in the presence of guests." She chided lightly, slowly shifting her gaze towards the group. "I hope my daughter has been treating you well?" 

"I couldn't ask for a better leader." Issei replied, still bewildered as to how someone who looked so young could be a mother. 

"Issei, don't think I can't see that look on your face." 

"Ah-hah…" 

"That's good to hear, and you Azazel's [Gold General], I hope our territory has been pleasant thus far?" 

"Uhm, yeah." Since entering, Jin had been under the watchful eyes of both the maid, the servants, and now the head of the household's own wife. And he was well aware of it. 

(I'm starting to see why Azazel didn't go instead, tch.) 

"I see, Rias, your father is waiting for you at the dinner table. You should bring your subordinates along to go say hello." 

"Sure." As the group walked off, Jin soon attempted to follow suit. 

"Ah, would you mind staying for a short while?" He halted as he slowly craned his neck towards Venelana. "There's just a few things I'd like to discuss with you." Rias looked back with mild confusion as her mother gestured towards the maid, motioning for her to close the door behind them.

"Alright." He maintained his indifference, doing all he could to quell the deep unease in his stomach. "What do you want to discuss?" Being sandwiched in between two significantly stronger Devils wasn't exactly something he had been prepped for, Fallen Angel or not. 

"Nothing major, I hear you get along well with the Sitri Heiress, and even Serafall." 

(Define "get along".) 

"What of it?" 

"I just found it interesting, that's all. I for one am certainly not against making connections, however Grigori does acknowledge that Kuoh is under joint ownership correct?" 

"You think I'm favoring the Sitri's over the Gremory's?" He inquired bluntly. 

"I made no such allegation, but if you have some insight on the matter I'm all ears." Jin withheld a groan as she seemed fully intent on making him take a stance. 

"Whether I acknowledge who owns what is irrelevant, I just do what Azazel tells me to, nothing more nothing less." He took his glasses off as he used the bottom of his blazer to wipe away some of the built up fog. "I consider Sona a friend, but that doesn't mean I bear any ill will against your daughter." 

Venelana hummed as she set aside her teacup. "Fair enough, dinner should be ready any minute now so I don't suppose you'd mind continuing this conversation at a later time?" 

(I'd rather not.) 

"Alright."