Chapter 15

Kuroka's POV:

  The best part about working as a Senjutsu teacher for a genius who did not really need all much guidance to basically abuse of a power system he should not be able to use in the first place was that she lazy around most of the day and eat as much fried chicken with ice-cream as she wanted. Her favorite thing about being a devil was that she could eat everything she wanted without worrying about getting fat or suffering acne for consuming too many oily foods. The only thing that could make this afternoon better would be to get laid with a handsome hot blonde…but since Riser was more prudish than an asexual octogenarian nun, the nekomata decided to settle down with a nice masturbation session in her room. 

That was her plan at the very least. 

"How may I serve you this afternoon, Lady Sitri?"

Kuroka bowed, politely offering the sweetest smile she could muster while feeling like gritting her teeth.

Had this devil been anyone else, a normal servant would have been enough to greet her. Unfortunately, the girl was Riser's fiancé, thus it was to be expected that either a Phenex or someone working directly under the hot moron would greet her. So much for avoiding members of the Ars Goetia! 

Why was the Sitri girl here again? She had already performed her weekly grooming sessions; she should not be here for at least another five days or so according to their weird and kinky schedule. 

"I believe this is the first time I have seen you here, I did not know that Riser has recruited a kitsune into his peerage?"

At least it was nice to confirm that her disguise skills were still great. The Phenex family seeing through it almost immediately had been a huge blow to her confidence. 

"He did not; I am merely his Senjutsu teacher. My name is Kaguya."

"You seem…normal." She sounded both doubtful and surprised by this. 

And she seemed like a librarian fetish with legs that arrived at the worst moment possible! 

"Not everyone here shares Lord Riser's unique view on the world."

Her violet eyes stared at Kuroka with pity, a feeling that the nekomata could fully understand because on more than one occasion she felt the same for the Sitri girl after the rumors about her being a groomer became popular enough to appear in the news. That didn't prevent Kuroka from laughing at the sight of Serafall Leviathan swearing vengeance on the media companies, though. 

"I see." She nodded in relief. "Anyways, I will be busy next week, so I decided to have our lessons earlier than usual. Where is Riser?" 

"He should have arrived at Rome a few hours ago."

Sona Sitri blinked. "Excuse me, I believe I misheard what you have just said. For a moment I could have sworn that you said Rome." 

"Lord Riser wanted to find a suitable teacher to train his peerage, so we went to ask Lady Leviathan for her advice on the matter a few months ago. She called him this morning to inform him that she had used all her connections and found the perfect teacher for them...she also urged him to go find him as soon as possible."

"Out of curiosity, was she laughing maniacally during the call?"

Kuroka nodded in reply. 

"Damn it Serafall." The short-haired devil muttered to herself, appearing utterly resigned rather than angry.

For some reason, Kuroka had never felt closer to the Sitri heir than now. 

"So...do you want to complain about the morons around us?" Since she was not in the mood to masturbate anymore, the nekomata thought that she may as well make some small talk to pass the time. 

After pondering about the offer for a few seconds, Sona Sitri shrugged. "Sure, I probably need that."

This would be a very long conversation. 

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Visiting the lower worlds and feeling the gentle sunlight on my skin after spending nearly six months grounded at home is somewhat cathartic. Those with my bloodline shouldn't stay away from the sun for too long unless they are in secluded cultivation. 

However, this is not a vacation. I was sent to the Vatican, the home of the famous Holy Sect that gave birth to so many powerful sword cultivators over the years, in order to meet the teacher that Senior Sister Serafall went out of her way to find for me. While it seems odd that she sent me to the Vatican out of all places, she patiently explained that my peerage learning under a member of the Holy Sect would help to build a friendly relationship between them and the Devil Empire, improving the chances of those rumored peace talks to take place earlier than intended. 

  Because the truce between Holy Sect and the Devil Empire was declared merely forty years ago, the tensions are still high, and it was decided that this meeting should take place in a neutral ground. 

"I will take a Mega Double Cheeseburger and a strawberry milkshake. Gaspy, do you want a milkshake too?" 

And there is nothing more neutral than a McDonald's; those fuckers are everywhere and held no loyalties to anyone. Even my family allows them in our territory, fearing that doing otherwise would destabilize our economy or they would indirectly cause our doom like they did with the Maraxs.

"I am not hungry?" 

"There is no need to be shy, young man." A tall old man sitting on the other side of the table looks at Gasper with an affable smile that would remind anyone of their favorite grandfather. "Two Big Macs and two Milkshakes, please." 

A devil phoenix, two devil dhampirs and the strongest Sword Saint were having a friendly dinner at the McDonald's inside the Vatican City. I am pretty sure that sounds like the start of a joke, but I don't feel like laughing. 

  In exchange of having the Sword Sovereign, Vasco Strada, teach Valerie and Gasper to make use of their legendary Dao Bones that only appear once every generation, the Holy Sect would earn the right of purchasing Phoenix Tears from the Phenex Clan at a discount price, just as my grandfather promised them 1200 years ago when he got drunk with the pope. 

...

Rule 73: 

Ancient and powerful cultivators are known for being whimsical and confusing beings. 

If a young master is unlucky enough to find himself at their mercy, they should do their best to go with the flow until the other party forgets about their existence. 

...

"I will take two Mega Double Cheeseburgers and a bottle of mineral water." I don't feel like ordering chicken nuggets. 

The gently expression on the white-haired old man managed to convey approachability. And yet, I would need to be stupid to underestimate the man known as the violence of heaven. 

Vasco Strada is, for the lack of a better description, a sword in human form. Even while sheathed, the sheer amount of sword intent emanating from his body was staggering to the point where it felt like I jumped into a swimming pool filled with razor blades just by being in his proximity. He isn't even trying to be threatening, he just happens to exude that pressure merely by existing. 

"This Young Master apologies for not choosing a more dignified establishment to meet the legendary Sword Sovereign." 

"There is no need to be that formal with a feeble old man like me. Just call me Vasco; Mr. Strada if you want to." The kind smile on his face isn't threatening nor condescended. 

"If Elder Strada calls himself feeble, then nobody can call themselves strong." The guy made most pagan gods shit themselves in the battlefield. "That said; this Young Master is grateful for the fact you accepted to look after his little wife and Junior Brother despite us being devils."

Suddenly, I feel like my body was cut into hundreds of pieces.

"If the future proves me wrong for accepting this deal, then I shall take responsibility for it."  Those words do not sound like a threat at all but as a factual statement. 

If his standing near him was like touching razor blades, now I know for sure that the Damocles' sword is hanging over my neck. 

"My prince." Valerie shakily mutters behind me, her delicate fingers grabbing my back in an almost tender manner. 

...Yep, she is using me a meatshield. Then again, I plan to do the same with Gasper if worse comes to worst, so I have no room to complain. 

Acting as if I have not noticed that little detail, I hold her hand in a comforting manner and do what any Young Master would do in this situation to calm his wife down. I kiss her red lips. This isn't a passionate kiss, but rather the cute kind that Valerie enjoyed the most…mostly because she is not that comfortable with the touchy stuff yet. 

She is truly beautiful. 

A fairly amused Vasco Strada coughed, reminding everyone that he is still here. 

Right; I was in the middle of an important negotiation with the very powerful Sword Saint who could behead everyone in the building with just his bare hands. I really should stop thinking with my dick during dangerous situations; even though it had worked wonders for me till this point. 

"My apologies, young lady. It wasn't my intention to scare any of you." 

I personally find that hard to believe, and I am not the only one thinking that. 

"You are not killing us, right?" Junior Brother asks the real questions. 

"As long as you don't hurt any innocent, I will be happy to train all of you to the best of my capabilities." Wait, is he training me too?! "In fact, it was I who personally request to be granted the opportunity to train young Valerie when the pope asked for my opinion on the matter. I was close friends with the previous user, so I do not wish for anyone else to go through everything that he suffered because of it." 

From his tone to his posture, everything indicates that the great elder is being genuine (no human should be able of faking the sadness that painted his voice when he mentioned his late friend). And even if he were lying, there is not a lot we could do given his superior cultivation.

"Because of a never spoken promise, thou shall take upon thyself the task of instructing this princess in the healing arts. Thou have our gratitude."

The elder shakes his head. 

"The Sephiroth Graal can't truly heal anything." Elder Strada states in utter serious. "Inside of it, the user can find the secrets of life and death and learn to use them to perform things that could only be described as miracles since they go against the natural order of things." 

Basically, my wife is a very talented soul cultivator. 

"Valerie Tepes, don't ever attempt to understand the secrets inside the Graal for only those with omniscience can endure such knowledge." He stares at Valerie with severity. "If you ever try to stare at the abyss and comprehend its whispers, I will stop training you even if it means breaking the agreement between the church and the Phenex."

Valerie slowly nods in acceptance. What else is she supposed to do? 

"So…I am actually not a healer, but a person that breaks the rules imposed by the world by deleting the idea of injury in someone's soul. In theory I could produce a substance capable of altering the proprieties of nature itself." 

"That is accurate enough, but-" 

"I was never a princess with the power of healing." While she doesn't sound hurt, I still make sure to caress her hair just the way she likes it, letting her know that I am here for her. 

I did not expect that she would start squealing in excitement. 

"Gasper, Riser... I AM A WITCH!" She immediately stands up.  "Where can I buy a cauldron? Merlin has nothing on me!"

We all watched her excitedly leave the restaurant by herself in silence.  I hope that she remembers that I am the only in our group with a wallet.

"Don't worry, these kinds of things are fairly common in young people, especially when they discover that they were chosen by some holy or cursed weapon." Elder Strada is the first one to speak. "The training starts this Monday in the morning, is that fine with the two of you?" 

That's fine by me. The sooner I can my throw Junior Brother at my problems, the better.