Chapter 229

"Until we meet again."

Waving goodbye, Souji didn't look back. He would rather deal with the woman who accompanied Igor than the blonde himself. Thankfully, Igor didn't follow them. That meant he could stretch this walk for thirty-minutes or so.

Yet just as he thought he would do that, Igor came out from behind a tree just ahead of them.

"Hi. We meet again."

"..."

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|DxD|

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Souji, Igor, and Isaiah walked in silence towards the mansion. While the two blondes seemed to have no problems, Souji warily eyed Igor. Ever since he saw him, Souji knew that Igor would be a great threat to his idle life.

Someone like Igor was too active for his liking, a conjecture thoroughly proven when the boy wanted to pick a fight with him.

[Troublesome…]

They walked along the gravel road towards the gates…which were still far, far away. All around them was forest and at this rate, it would take quite a while to reach the mansion.

"..."

Igor was not having that.

"Hey, sword brother. How about we hurry this up?"

"If you wish to hurry, then feel free to do so. I'll continue walking at this pace."

"..."

Igor was slightly miffed at Souji's attitude.

"Nope. My sister needs to meet you soon. So…let's go."

Su!

Rushing towards Souji with his full speed, Igor was about to grab his shoulder when at the last second, Souji backpedalled slightly.

"??"

Igor was taken so much by surprise that he stumbled forward. He knew Souji was fast, but not that fast.

"Eh?"

Correcting his posture by cartwheeling, he turned to face Souji with a look of astonishment.

"You…you're fast."

Slowly, that astonishment turned to excitement.

"Really fast…"

Granted he wasn't serious, but Souji was still fast.

"..."

Souji knew everything was now FUBAR*. That glint Igor had in his eye told him that he had exposed too much. A massive part of him told him that reaching the mansion earlier would've been much better than catching the interest of a battle-maniac.

[This will be troublesome.]

Su!

True to his thoughts, Igor rushed at him once more. Souji could see the blonde near him with his hand outstretched. He briefly wondered if he should let Igor catch him. That way, he could attest the previous event to luck, but that changed when Igor suddenly appeared behind him.

Tswii!

"?!?!"

Years of instinct took over. Completely exposing his speed, Souji drew out his sword and prepared himself to cut off the hand that was close to grabbing his shoulder.

SHIIING!

*Blocked!*

His blade was caught in Igor's hand. Not even a millimetre of skin was cut by the edge, something that Souji found appalling. But more than that, it was Igor's cerulean gaze that had him alert.

"You're fast. If I didn't get serious, I would've lost my hand."

Igor was honestly impressed. He thought he would gain an advantage by using the Instant Vanish. But Souji's reaction speed genuinely surprised him.

"Say. How do you feel about becoming my training partner? You could help me train my reaction speed."

Because of Aurelia's insistence on not using the clone scrolls, Igor was scrapped for challenging methods of training lately. But Souji? With Souji, he could train his perception and reaction speed.

"No."

Souji was quick to disagree. Disengaging his sword, he sheathed it once more before reiterating.

"I cannot afford to train with you. My time does not allow me to."

"Lies."

Igor was quick to dispute him.

"Your aura fluctuated when you mentioned your time constraints. That means you have a lot of free time, right?"

Igor had a victorious smirk on his grin. Folding his arms, he waited for how Souji would refuse him next.

[Lazy bastard. See how I don't drag you to the training field with me. How can I let go of a gold mine like you?]

Strong? Free time? He was perfect. Unlike Atid, Souji had no political obligations to attend otherwise, Igor would've made the Heavenly Realm his home.

"..."

Souji could only grumble. He was caught in a very awkward position

"Tch. Troublesome…"

He grabbed Isaiah by the shoulder and turned to face Igor.

"Next month-"

"Week. I'll come find you. See you later."

Tswii!

"..."

If Sirzechs did not tell him how important these guests were, he would've refused even if his whole family was brought back from the dead to plead with him.

Now, not only did he already have one blonde to deal with, but there was another one now.

"..."

*Glances at Isaiah*

"Haaaa…"

Souji sighed at his current predicament. He wondered if becoming Sirzechs's knight was worth it.

[Troublesome blondes.]

Su!

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|DxD|

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Back at the mansion, everything had been resolved. Once Igor returned, he found that Aurelia was now casually chatting with the Gremory Couple. Upon hearing the contents of their conversation, he did not see the need to stay any longer.

They were discussing some potential business deals and other miscellaneous matters that did not need his ear. As far as he knew, Aurelia would tell him if there was anything of importance.

So he went and saw Rias and his little sisters. The girls were playing around with Akane, Rias's bat familiar. When he entered the room, the bat was spooked by him and immediately hid behind its master.

Either way, he didn't care about it much. He was content that his sisters were happy here at the mansion and that was enough.

The girls wanted him to stay behind, but he tactfully declined when he saw what was on the big screen. He did not know what was the obsession with magical girls, but he would not embark on that route.

Upon leaving the girls alone, Igor sensed that Souji had returned along with Isaiah. He could sense that the kid was in some library of sorts with another older devil while Souji was in another room with his sister and the Gremory Couple.

There was nothing of interest for Igor to do and he couldn't be bothered sitting with a kid like Isaiah, nevermind the other devils. Apart from the sacred gear he sensed, Isaiah had nothing that would interest him.

And so faced with nothing to do, he vanished from the hallway towards the rooftop.

Su!

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|DxD|

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The Gremory Estate was immense, yet beautiful. Igor could vividly see the extensive landscape from his place on the edge of the rooftop. His legs dangled lifelessly, all while his mind absorbed the horizon.

Nearly an hour had passed by his guess, yet he never tired of the sight in front of him. A part of him idly wished he had a cup of tea to enjoy this view with.

[Hehe. I guess the old sage's influence is getting to me.]

While the view from the gazebo in the Himalayas was of pure, untouched nature, here it was a beautiful union of old-age architecture coming together with nature.

As time passed by and the sun slowly began to set, Igor felt Aurelia ascend the stairs leading to the rooftop.

Soon…

Dakaang~

…the door opened. Turning to face her out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but inwardly remark how beautiful she was.

[As always.]

She closed the door behind her and walked over to him. In her arms was a clipboard that contained several documents which upon seeing the dollar symbols all over, Igor guessed it was for her services.

Slowly, she sat next to him and said nothing. Neither said anything to the other. Just like that, the seconds drawled by as they looked at the horizon together.

Slowly, Igor snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She didn't resist and even actively scooted closer to him. He took the documents from her hands and gave them another cursory glance.

True to his guesses, the document was a contract for her to install new anti-spy barriers for the Gremorys. The cost was already more than the GDP of some countries, but the amount of zeroes didn't faze Igor.

Rather, he felt some concern.

"Aurelia. Are you sure you want to do this? I can stop the whole thing and make sure no one says a word."

Igor truly did not care for this alliance. He only went through with it because she truly wanted it. But if it would overwork her, then he would immediately tear it apart.

"Thank you for worrying, Igor. But this much work is something I can complete in a day. Clones, remember?"

"Oh…"

He had forgotten she could make them. If that was the case, then there was no need to worry about her. Still…

"Be careful, Lia. Some of these devils will try to take advantage of you. If you try to make a contract with them and see something you don't like, tell me. I'll break them."

Such a domineering attitude. But…she didn't hate it.

"Fufufu~. Thank you, my lord."

"Hey. We're alone, remember? Cut out that lord stuff."

"..."

Finding his annoyance cute, Aurelia couldn't help but smile.

"Yes…"

Chuu~

"...Igor."

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before leaning on his shoulder. The feeling of knowing he cared for her was enough to make her smile for the whole night.

"Hey, Lia. You know that's not gonna cut it, right?"

"?"

Looking up, he was looking at her with a coy smile before she realised what he meant.

"Right…"

Mustering her courage, she raised her head and pressed her lips against his. She let herself sink in this blissful feeling before slowly, she pulled away. Looking into his eyes, she could see the love and care contained in them.

"..."

If it wasn't because they were at the Gremory mansion, she would've wanted him here and there. Sadly, she could only restrain herself and lean on his shoulder once more. The feeling of his arm on her waist was something she enjoyed.

"I love you, Igor."

"..."

He didn't reply, but the tightening of his hold around her was more than enough to convey his feelings. He hadn't forgotten about the issue between her and Shuri, but he no longer pursued it. Everything was fine without the need for him to dig into other people's secrets.

And so as the sun set and the moon rose, they sat on the rooftop in each other's embrace. They were silent, but their intimate contact spoke of the connection they shared. Just these little moments were more than enough for him.

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AN

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There was an upload error I only noticed today. So enjoy the next two chapters.