Spear Devil - 021

Chapter 021 – Favor

[April – 2008]

“He defeated you in a spar?”, Rias questioned her Knight with wide eyes, knowing how impressive of a swordsman Kiba was.

Looking somewhat ashamed, Kiba nonetheless answered honestly as he nodded: "He did. Fair and square."

"Even if he isn't who he said he is, someone with his skills would make a rather fearsome Devil. He is definitely worth recruiting, Rias.", he added, still in awe of Akira's flawless technique and ferocious fighting spirit.

“It's rare for you to praise someone like that Kiba-kun. This Akira seems to be really special. I can't wait to meet him. Ufufu.”, Akeno remarked, giggling slightly in anticipation.

"I hope he is who he said he is though. If he told Koneko the truth, then … ", Rias started with hope in her voice, not finishing her sentence. Her peerage though knew what she was talking about, as all of them started carrying a mix of heavy and hopeful expressions.

Rias' engagement was naturally no secret to them, and like their King, they knew that the addition of someone like the son of the Heavenly Dragon would definitely be enough to go against Riser in a Rating Game.

“We have to find out if he told the truth, and if he did, do our best to recruit him, whatever the price.”, Rias stated fiercely, unwillingness and determination burning in her eyes.

…

"I am rather proficient in stealth and I discovered them on a nightly jog. I didn't plan to get involved but I did approach the church to find out if they had maybe targeted me after somehow finding out about my heritage.", I explained to both of them.

I wasn't even lying when I mentioned the stealth proficiency, as with Aura Concealment and Sound Concealment it was rather easy to sneak up on even supernatural beings as long as I made sure not to be seen, especially if they were as weak as the Fallen Angels in town.

Raynare and her three companions were the lowest class of Fallen, while the exorcists they had gathered were likewise just low-level goons.

I remembered that in the show Kiba and Koneko had been able to fight dozens of them at the same time, showcasing that Raynare hadn't been able to recruit any truly powerful exorcists, of which only a few existed.

And if even Rias and her peerage had been able to take care of them all easily, then Sona's peerage shouldn't have any difficulties with them either, as her servants weren't really that much weaker than Rias' at this point, not with them having the numbers advantage anyway.

“Instead I overheard them talking about someone called Genshirou Saji, who they planned to eliminate because they seemed to have discovered that he possesses a Sacred Gear called Absorption Line.”

I saw something like recognition flash over Sona's and Tsubaki's faces as I mentioned the name, which meant they probably already knew about Saji possessing a Sacred Gear, even though they had not yet decided to approach him.

"I do not know who they were talking about, but since this is your territory, I believe you can deal with this appropriately.", I ended.

I knew that this information was more than a little valuable, and that I could have more than likely bargained for something in return for it. But at this point, it was much more suitable for me to use this information to establish some rapport with one of the Kings in Kuoh.

It was also an attempt to complete the task of saving Saji indirectly, as I had no plans of getting into a fight with the Fallen for the time being.

Attacking them as a factionless half-dragon was undoubtedly a bad idea, as I did not know how Azazel would react to me killing some of his wayward subordinates. And I had no desire to find out either way.

It would have been a different story if I had already joined a peerage, as I wouldn't have to worry too much about possible backlash, considering that the Fallen had trespassed into Devil territory knowingly which was clearly an act of aggression.

Azazel would not dare to seek revenge in that case, especially not considering that this was the territory belonging to the younger siblings of two Satans. He would be happy if Serafall and Sirzechs didn't come knocking on his door, enraged that he allowed some of his subordinates to come to Kuoh to kill Sacred Gear users, endangering their beloved little sisters in the process.

"This is indeed a rather troubling issue. Thank you for informing us, Sasaki-san.", Sona stated with a heavy frown, "It was the right decision to come to us with this information, as it would have been troublesome if you had gotten into a fight with them in our territory."

"Still, this is a rather urgent matter, so I am afraid that we will have to postpone this meeting to a later date. I do wish for us to get to know each other better, so if you don't mind how about coming here tomorrow for lunch? Tsubaki is a great cook and it would give us the chance to chat some more.", she added with a polite smile.

I knew that this was absolutely her way of beginning recruitment, but I also saw no reason to decline.

“Beautiful and a great cook? You seemed to have picked your Queen wisely, Lady Sitri.”, I complimented with a smile, “And yes, I would love to get to know you better. I do however have a favour to ask of you.”

Tsubaki's eyes widened minutely in surprise at my words, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks making me realize that my charm seemed to work just fine on Devils.

"Tsubaki is indeed a very capable subordinate.", Sona stated with a small smile, clearly in favour of me complimenting her peerage, "What kind of favour?"

“A minor one.”, I replied calmly, “If you happen to clash with the Fallen and their exorcist goons, I would like to request that you give me any spears you find amongst the spoils.”

At this point, I knew that Sona did not really have a choice but to agree to my request, not after inviting me to have lunch together to try and recruit me. Not to mention that I just gave her a vital piece of information, so she automatically would feel more inclined to agree to such a minor request.

“Spears?”, Sona asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I learn the spear in my free time. It's a hobby of mine and I can only guess that these exorcists might have access to better weapons than would I could get my hands on.", I replied with a wry smile.

Thinking about it for a moment, Sona nodded lightly: “If there are any spear users amongst the exorcists and we defeat them, I will make sure that you receive their weapons as compensation for the information you shared with us.”

“You have my thanks, Lady Sitri.”, I thanked her politely, just as Tomoe returned to the office with two sets of the school uniform in my size.

Grabbing the bag and thanking the energetic girl for fetching them, I said my goodbyes to the three of them and left the student council office, knowing that things were about to get busy for them.

…

"You too didn't feel anything, did you Tsubaki?", Sona asked her Queen moments after Akira had left her office, a complex expression on her face, while Tomoe stood to the side quietly.

“No, his magic and aura were concealed perfectly, even when his eyes transformed.”, Tsubaki said quietly, unsure how something like that was possible, “What does that mean?”

"Well, it either means that he has impeccable control over his own magic. Better than I have ever seen in anybody. Or … ", Sona began with a thoughtful look.

“Or he is much more powerful than either of us.”, Tsubaki ended with a sharp look in her eyes.

"In either case, he is not simple. He most certainly is a half-dragon, and if he told the truth about his father being the Red Dragon Emperor then his potential is simply immeasurable.", Sona stated, a bright glimmer in her eyes, "But that's something to think about at a later date. Now, we have some Fallen Angels to deal with."

“Tsubaki, Tomoe, call for the others, there is no reason to delay this. We can't risk them attacking a potential peerage member, especially not now that we know that Genshirou Saji's Sacred Gear is one of Vritra's Sacred Gears.”, Sona instructed with a stern voice, deciding to push any thoughts about the attractive half-dragon out of her mind for the moment.