Ch 239: A quest tailored for Sakura?

"Are you sure we must not go through this mine?" asked Mash to Dietrich, who shook her head.

The girls had stopped last night in a village to get some information, and most of the locals had been unwilling to speak, but one villager looking for a bribe had told them that the only way to go beyond this mountain range was to go through the mine. But it had been abandoned for a while, and those who came close didn't always return.

"I feel a strong Yoma presence inside. And we're deep into her territory."

"Maybe it's a sign that she should face her? I don't like the idea of running from a monster." frowned Asuka. "We're not even sure it's really Riful."

"I don't know." said Gudako. "Our mission is way more important than killing a local monster, no matter how strong. We shouldn't take chances we can avoid simply by going over the mountains. We have the Sanctuary and several Heroic Spirits, it would be easy."

Dietrich paled suddenly.

"It's too late. We've been noticed. That Yoma is coming."

Medb, Aife and Atalanta dematerialized, choosing ambush positions around the entrance of the cave. Asuka and Britomart summoned their armors, and Mash placed herself between the entrance and Gudako, shield ready.

After a few seconds, they started hearing footsteps coming from the mine. Mash, who possessed nigh vision, saw the thing coming closer, hunching to avoid hitting the mine's ceiling, despite it being rather large.

When it came out of the mine, the Awakened Being straightened, reaching six meters in heigh. He was a humanoid with a round, hairless head, his body made of the same metallic-looking flesh that most Awakened Beings possessed, and four massive rods protruded from his back. More notably, a little girl with golden eyes and long black hair, wearing a simple brown tunic that didn't cover her legs, was sitting on his right shoulder, looking at them curiously, and at Britomart and Asuka in particular.

"Huh, hello?" said Gudako with a wave of the hand. "Are you perhaps Riful of the West?"

"You heard about me, yet you came." replied the girl with a pleasant voice. "Are you Assassins from the Organization? I see two Warriors among you."

"No. We destroyed most of the Organization, actually."

"You are welcome then. It is not often that I have visitors. Especially not visitors looking so interesting. What is the reason for your presence, then, if you aren't working for them?"

"Well, we have two reasons for it. The first is that you and big guy over there are Yomas, and we want to protect humans, so even if we have no particular reason for it…"

"We haven't killed humans for a long time." cut in Riful.

"Oh?" blinked Gudako.

"Dauf and I haven't forgotten that we were humans once, and eating them left a bitter taste. I made an agreement with the surrounding villages. They acknowledged me as their ruler, and they send me some livestock as sacrifices every month. And we protect our subjects from other Yomas who intrude on our lands. It has been this way for generations."

"I see… How ironic, that two of the Warriors from their first attempts came closer to what the Organization wanted to achieve that the more recent Awakened Beings ever did."

"What do you know about their goals?" frowned Riful.

"How about we make a trade? We want to cross this mountain range. We have business with something beyond it. Something that shouldn't be in your world. If you let us pass, I'll tell you all about the organization, as well as the Abyss Eaters they created to kill you."

"…Interesting… And that thing you have business with, are you speaking about that tower of flesh who named itself Malphas?"

"It seems you've met that thing." nodded Gudako.

"An unpleasant fellow." said Riful with a sniff. " When we found it, it didn't touch Dauf here, but it tried to kill me, only stopping when I revealed my true form. And he refused to leave my territory. What is your business with Malphas?"

"We came to kill it."

"Are you strong enough. I hate to admit it, but I wasn't able to kill it myself."

"We are confident. We destroyed several like it already." said Britomart.

Riful considered them for a few seconds. She didn't care about the three Warriors as she was confident that she could easily deal with them. But the others were unknown quantities, and her instincts were screaming at her not to start a fight with them if she could.

The confidence in their eyes, and the relaxed way their presumed leader was speaking to her as if she wasn't really dangerous, were pretty big clues, and she hadn't survived this long by ignoring them.

"I see. Follow me, then, I will accompany you to the far side of the mine, and you will tell me everything you know about the Organization, and those Abyss Eaters you mentioned." nodded Riful, tapping Dauf's shoulder, and he slowly turned away, reentering the mine.

Hours later, as she watched from afar the destruction of Malphas, she praised herself on her decision, and decided to make herself scarce for a while, turning into her true form, a giant mass of black rubbery ribbons, and taking her husband Dauf with her as she ran at nearly ten times the speed of a running horse.

…

Someone knocked on the door, and Akeno, dressed in a black latex bodysuit and corset, smiled in anticipation. Mash was right on time.

"Open." said Akeno, and the door slit open, revealing Mash, her body covered by a black robe. She quickly entered with a grin, another folded robe in her left hand and pulling on the leash she held with her right hand, and Gudako followed on all fours. She was mostly naked, save from fake black dog paws on her hands and feet, a headband with fake red dog ears, and a butt plug with long orange hair forming a tail. Gudako looked up at Akeno with lustful eyes, her mouth filled with a red ball gag.

"Mistress, as instructed, I have trained Ako to be a good bitch for you." purred Mash, removing her robe and putting another headband with dog ears over her head.

She wore a collar and a black leather harness underneath, forming rhombus patterns on her stomach. Lilac strands hung from the butt plug stuffing her rear, and Akeno could already see some love juices on Mash's inner thighs. She was very wet.

"Good job, Mash. I do remember promising you a threesome upon your return." grinned Akeno.

"Yes, Mistress." grinned Mash. "With both Senpai and Mistress at the same time, it couldn't be better."

She walked closer to accept Gudako's leash and created another that she clipped on Mash's collar. She dropped on all four with an eager expression.

Akeno nodded in approval, and looked at Gudako.

"Is that true, Ako? Have you become a good bitch? Are you willing to be my sex pet, and our Master's sex pet, for eternity?"

"Mmphheph, mphiftreph." nodded Gudako, eyes just as lustful as Mash's.

"Good girl. I see Mash trained you well." praised Akeno, patting her head. "I won't have time to engrave a permanent Crest on you like I did with Mash. I am going to the next timeline tomorrow. But I promise you, I will permanently mark you as our property when I return, or soon after. But you're getting a temporary one tonight, so you can get used to it. I will engrave it in your pubis, and I will want you to stare at the Crest in the mirror at least a few minutes every day while it lasts.

"Mmph, fphisthress." nodded Gudako, enjoying the idea of getting a magic tattoo to brand her as a treasured pet.

Smiling, Akeno stepped back toward the bed, gently pulling on the leashes, and her two eager pets followed.

…

"So, what happened with the Warriors?" asked Akeno as the three tired girls snuggled together on the bed.

"Only Dietrich, Elena and Claire decided to come to Chaldea, Mistress." said Mash. "The others stayed behind, to help kill the remaining Yomas and spread the truth among the other Warriors."

"I imagine the Director must have felt relieved. When you came back after a few months with only three more people." chuckled Akeno.

"She was." grinned Gudako. "But I heard from Da Vinci that she has already designed an extension to the complex. We have more than enough energy, and while we don't have the materials right now, we could easily procure them. There are enough people who would be willing to use Item Creation to help. She has a micro-factory and several utility drones that would do most of the processing and assembly."

"I see." nodded Akeno, gently rubbing the backs of her two pets. They both snuggled closer against her with satisfied expressions.

"Mistress, I have wanted to ask for a while. Can you tell us more about… Master?"

"What do you want to ask about? If you wish to talk to him, you should borrow my phone, or if I'm not here, the ones of Darkness or another of the representatives. I'm sure he would be glad to speak to you and answer your questions."

"Yes. But some of the things I want to ask aren't easy to do by phone." replied Mash, blushing.

"You mean questions about sex?"

"Yes, and also romance too. For example, how did he seduce you?"

Akeno smiled as she reminisced. "We met through peculiar circumstances. When he and three of his girls entered my timeline, they were separated, and one of them, Suzu, was found by me and my friends. Suzu joined our group, and we searched for her Master. Eventually, we located him and met him. He agreed to join our group as well. It's a bit complicated, but my closest friend Rias is technically his boss, and he is also technically her boss, depending on the occasion."

"But in reality, Rias has submitted to him barely a day after I did."

"How did he make you submit?" asked Gudako, interested.

"Well, by then, we were already more than close friends. He quickly made his interest clear, and I was interested as well. For example, he created for me some latex underwear, and I teased him for a while by letting him know I was wearing them, but not letting him touch or see. Until that night, where we decided to make our relationship reach the next level. I started by putting him in handcuffs, made him sit on a chair,  and straddled him to rile him up. I was wearing a latex bodysuit as I ground against his thighs, and I could feel his hard cock training against his pants."

"This is giving me ideas." giggled Mash, eyeing Akeno.

"Maybe later." said Akeno as she shook her head. "Anyway, I certainly succeeded, but before I knew it, I was the was being handcuffed, and he took me from behind, roughly. After a few rounds, he made me give him a tour of my high school, naked and in all fours, leashed like a dog, and with a vibrating dildo in my pussy.

"Whoa! It must have been a lot of fun." nodded Gudako.

"Yes. And we met one girl from a rival team, and he stopped me from hiding. He asked her to witness my humiliation, and that only made it even more intense! After that he brought me back home, and we had another round of sex, then he locked me into a chastity belt. Enforced chastity is one of his favorite plays."

"How long did he keep you locked in it, Mistress?"

"A few days. Although between that day and my departure for your world, he has put me back into chastity on occasion." smiled Akeno.

"It sounds great. I'm envious." smiled Mash.

"But wait, the night wasn't even over. Noah can use Soul Magic, and he did something I didn't think possible. He entered my dreams, and he took control. And he made me experience something that can't be done in real life."

"What kind of thing?" asked Mash.

"Slime and Tentacle play." grinned Akeno, and she giggled at Mash's and Gudako's shocked expressions. "Although now that we can create golems, we can do that in real life as well. Noah mentioned last time that he had done something along those lines to train a reluctant girl."

"It's only a matter of time until you meet him in person, and I know he will like you both a lot. And it's not like you're lacking people here in Chaldea who would be willing to have some fun with you, you know? As long as you return the favor."

"Yes, Mistress..." nodded Mash. "We just barely returned, and I only did it with you before, but I think I will ask a person or two. Senpai and I will likely take on another timeline in a week or so."

"Yes. We're ahead of schedule so far, but we shouldn't squander our advantage." replied Gudako.

…

The next day, at noon, Akeno said goodbye to everyone and entered the Rayshift Room. Alaya, Type: Moon, Mayumi and Olga-Marie were waiting along with those who would accompany her, all wearing casual street clothes.

"Akeno-Onee-sama!" exclaimed Izumi with a bright smile, her hands joined in front of her. Her happiness was such that Akeno could almost see stars in her eyes.

Behind her were Da Vinci, Mayumi and Kasumi. Kasumi looked determined, while Mayumi was fussing over them.

"Akeno, you take good care of my imoutos, you hear?" half-asked, half-commanded Mayumi.

"Yes. Nothing painful must happen to them. They are just too cute." grinned Akeno as she patted Izumi's head, and the girl closed her eyes in pleasure.

"Hey, Akeno, don't treat us like kids." protested Kasumi. "We may be less experienced, but we worked hard to learn Magecraft, and we want to do our part as well."

"Yes, I'm sorry, Kasumi, Izumi." nodded Akeno. "I am not looking down on you, and I will count on you both on the other side."

"Better." smiled Kasumi.

"Yes, Akeno-Onee-sama! We will do our best!" grinned Izumi.

"I have everything I need. Those spatial rings sure are convenient." said Da Vinci.

"Then we're ready to depart." said Akeno to Alaya.

The Saegusa siblings exchanged a last hug and Olga-Marie turned to Da Vinci. She was one of her oldest companions and most reliable friend.

"Good Luck, Da Vinci. I will miss you."

"I will miss you too, Director." smiled Da Vinci. "With luck, we'll bring this crisis to an end very soon."

"Yes. I hope you meet success." nodded Olga-Marie.

"See you later, Director."

"Yes. Good luck. Try not to break Chisato's record, please."

"Sounds like I should answer with 'Hold my beer'." chuckled Akeno.

She nodded to Alaya and Type: Moon, and the Rayshift device started powering up.

…

Akeno, Da Vinci and the Saegusa twins appeared inside what seemed to be an office building. But instead of the desks, computers and other furniture one would expect in a place like this, they could see several futons.

The whole place was in a state of severe disrepair, as if squatters had occupied it for a lengthy period.

Akeno walked to one of the windows, and saw that they were on the fourth floor, and many people were in a courtyard, standing, sitting or discussing in little groups, but mostly not doing anything. They seemed to be severely depressed, and the state of their clothes screamed "refugees" to her. She could see dozens of them gathered near a metal fence separating the courtyard from the street and holding placards.

"That doesn't look great." commented Da Vinci on Akeno's right.

"Yes. And I have a hunch Lilith-sama sent us there to do something about it." said Akeno.

As soon as she spoke, she received a message from her System.

[Akeno, you have received several quests. Do you wish to display them now?]

[Yes, please.]

[Lilith advises you to do those quests sequentially. A single reward will be given upon completion of all quests.]

[Quest 1: Volunteer yourself during the next round of recruitment, Integrate the wZERO special squadron, and take it over.]

[Quest 2: Make the Europian government change its policy regarding Japanese currently confined in internment camps.]

[Quest 3: Defeat the Order of Michael and Order of Raphael.]

[Quest 4: With the help of the allies you will have gathered and local resistance groups, fight the Britannian Occupation Force stationed in Japan and free the country.]

[Reward of the final quest: All of Noah's subordinates, present and future, will receive a limited version of the System with a Status screen, attributes, and a daily quest to improve them.

(The Champions' attributes, as well as those of the seven Representatives previously chosen to compete in the Fuyuki Holy Grail War, are capped at 1 000, while those receiving this limited System will have them limited to 500).

This limited version of the System will not include the possibility to gain Yin or Yang points, gain levels, Classes or receive quests, and will not have an inventory.]

"Whoa, we will all become powerhouses." breathed Akeno.

"What do you mean?" asked Da Vinci.

"Let's get away from the window first, we don't want to be seen right now." said Akeno as she walked to the center of the room. Da Vinci, Izumi and Kasumi gathered around her.

"We received several quests from Lilith-sama, and the final reward will give all of Noah's subordinates a limited version of the system. It will go a long way to make even the weakest among us much stronger. And when I say stronger, I mean strong to the point that even the current Scathach might struggle to keep up."

"Tell me you're joking!" exclaimed Kasumi, looking shocked and excited in equal measures. Izumi looked like a kid about to open a Christmas present.

"Oh oh, it will let me improve myself further." grinned Da Vinci. "I wonder what I would be able to achieve with this."

Everyone having spent a significant period of time in Chaldea had witnessed at least once someone getting trashed around by Scathach, and they had acquired a deep respect, and a bit of fear, for the legendary trainer of Heroes.

"I am not joking. Just by training an hour every day for a few years, you will become significantly faster and stronger and even I currently am. Of course, attributes are one thing, actual combat expertise and battle-related skills another. Unless you have a crushing advantage in the values of your attributes, don't expect to defeat a real martial artist without becoming one yourself."

"And Scathach will have those attributes as well." continued Akeno, thinking that her days of getting trashed around by Scathach were not going to be over any time soon.

The post-training sessions were worth the pain, though.

"What are those quests about, Akeno-Onee-sama?" asked Izumi.

"Join a military outfit and take it over, improve the lives of Japanese refugees abroad, defeat two Orders who I assume to be militaristic-oriented, and free Japan. It seems that in this timeline, Japan is being occupied by a foreign power called the Holy Britannian Empire."

"War, huh?" frowned Kasumi, feeling depressed. Volunteering herself to help save other worlds, even knowing that it might involve killing other human beings, was one thing. But having to take part in a war suddenly made that eventuality very real, and it gave her cold feet.

Izumi seemed to be feeling the same, and the twins hugged each other for mutual support.

Akeno nodded and squeezed their shoulders gently.

"That's the name of the game, Kasumi, Izumi. We do what is needed to make the world a better place. All too often, that means killing other people, and when war is involved, not all of the enemies are evildoers. Many are just people making a living and keeping their heads down. But we can't let that stop our hands, or the citizens behind our backs will suffer. The most we can do is to force a quick end to it."

"Yes… I'll get used to it. I won't slow us down, I promise." declared Kasumi, and Izumi nodded.

"I will count on you both, Kasumi, Izumi." smiled Akeno. "I'll call Noah. Maybe he can tell us more about this timeline."

"One day, you'll have to tell me how he can possibly know." said Da Vinci.

"Not happening. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss, and this is definitely one of those." warned Akeno.

"This will only make me more curious, you know?" pointed out Da Vinci, and Akeno shrugged. Whether Da Vinci eventually learned the truth or not, she wouldn't be the cause of it.

She called Noah, who eventually accepted the call, but in audio only. Akeno suspected he had been busy doing something quite… physical.

"Hi, Akeno. How are you doing?"

"Hi, Noah. With me are Da Vinci, Izumi and Kasumi, and I'm putting you on speaker. We just entered a new timeline, and I was hoping you would be able to tell us a few things about it."

"Hi, everyone. I'd be happy to help if I can."

"First, do you know a squadron named wZERO? We are supposed to join it and Defeat the Orders of Raphael and Michael."

"…That doesn't ring a bell. Orders? Is this a medieval timeline?"

"No. There are cars, electric ones from the sounds they make, and modern-looking buildings, though the architectural style is more European or American than Japanese where we are. Now for the most important details, I have a quest to liberate Japan from occupiers called Britannian."

"Now you're talking. It's the Holy Britannian Empire, right?"

"Correct." nodded Akeno with satisfaction.

"Okay. Get ready for an information dump. In this timeline, Britannia, who started as basically the united states of America, created a new weapon named Knightmare Frames, which are relatively small mechas, about five or six meters in height. Those Knightmares had firepower equivalent to a battle tank and enough armor to withstand small arms fire, while being much, much more mobile, and possessed grapples allowing them to climb walls or buildings."

"Using those, Britannia started invading other countries one after another before they could create their own Knightmares. They took over Canada, Mexico, all of Middle and South America, and didn't stop there. They also took most of Russia, if I remember correctly, and Japan. The world should be roughly divided into four major Players. The Holy Empire of Britannia, the European Union and middle East powers, whose exact names I do not remember, and the Chinese."

"The Chinese have a child Empress, but the real power is held by corrupt Eunuchs. I know almost nothing about the European Union or the Middle East organization. As for the Holy Britannian Empire, they have heavily inspired themselves from the legends of King Arthur. They are ruled by an Emperor, Charles vi Britannia, and a bunch of nobles, most of them being selfish scum."

"On the military side, their strongest elites are the Knights of Rounds, whose heavily customized Knightmares are named Lancelot, Galahad, and so on. Those guys are dangerous. I can tell you more about those later, but in the case of Japan, the nation has been renamed Area 11 by Britannia, and its citizens are forbidden from calling themselves Japanese. You can expect Britannians to call you guys Elevens, aside from Da Vinci. Their way to call you, well… sub-humans."

"My reservations about killing enemy soldiers are quickly disappearing." muttered Kasumi when Noah stopped talking for a few seconds to reorganize his thoughts. Izumi nodded beside her.

"If you go to Japan, try to meet a guy named Lelouch Lamperouge, or Zero. His real name is Lelouch vi Britannia, one of the emperor's sons, and he was exiled after his mother was murdered. His goal is the same as us, creating a peaceful, better world, although you'll need to be vigilant since he's the manipulative and ruthless kind, and he is very capable of sacrificing strangers for the greater good. And since he may have one, we'll need to speak about the Geass."

"Geass? Like the Magecraft binding spell?" asked Akeno.

"Something vaguely similar. It is also called the Power of Kings. In this timeline, there are a handful of people who possess a special ability called Geass, the Emperor has one. He can seal someone's memories and implant fake ones. There's a guy named Rolo who can cut people's perception of time around him, causing them to stop moving. Another who can read minds. The strongest Knight of Rounds can see up to a second in the future."

"And Lelouch may, I repeat, may, have acquired one allowing him to give one, and only one, order to anyone, as long as the target makes eye contact at the time. This order could be anything, from performing a specific action at a set time, to committing suicide, or even to obey all future orders from him. That's why everyone will need to share our immunity or at least wear an item with a Stop rune to protect themselves. I did mention that he wasn't above sacrificing others, did I not?"

"You did. I'm not sure I want to associate with him." frowned Akeno, before she heard something. "We need to stop there, people are coming."

Seconds later, two middle-aged refugees entered the room and laid on futons to take a nap. None of them noticed the crystal ball hidden in a corner under a dirty rag.

There were asleep when four beautiful young women, now dressed in stained and slightly worn clothes that wouldn't make them seem out of place among the other refugees, appeared out of thin air, retrieved the crystal ball, and left silently.

…

"We offer anyone under the age of forty the possibility to acquire Europian citizenship in return for one year of military service!" shouted the man in a blue uniform in his speaker.

"Looks like it's our ticket to leave this ghetto." said Akeno to her companions, and they nodded with determined expressions.

It was about time they left, too, because they were attracting a lot of attention, and not the good kind. Keeping people in open-air cages led to a significant increase of criminality, and four beautiful women were magnets for people with evil intentions. Akeno had already punished a few of them.

They walked forward and stopped in front of the recruiters.

"We are volunteering, all four of us."

"Oh? A pity, since you're all so pretty. Are you sure you wouldn't be willing to consider… alternate employment?"

His lustful expression made clear he had very specific opinions about what this alternate employment would be about.

"We are sure." replied Akeno with a cold smile. "And see those guys over there? They tried to force us into 'alternate employment'. You do not want to be like them."

The man frowned as he looked in the direction the woman pointed at, and he noticed a handful of young men lying on the ground among the garbage bags. It seemed all of them had fainted while holding their crotches with both hands, and their faces still displayed agonized expressions.

"Ahem." said the man after clearing his throat. "I don't suppose you have any identification papers?"

"We don't." shrugged Akeno.

"Then climb into the truck. You'll be given your army tags and be transferred to the training officers. Your tags will also serve as electronic wallets after you receive your first pay."

"Yes." nodded Akeno, and the girl did as instructed.

They were the only volunteers, and the truck left. On the way out of the city, they saw the Eiffel tower.

"So, we were in Paris." sighed Kazumi. "A pity, I would like liked to do some sightseeing."

"The Paris in this timeline probably isn't the best one to visit. Not with the war going on." said Da Vinci.

The truck left the city and headed east. After a few dozen kilometers, they reached a military base and were asked to leave the vehicle. Several gray, purely utilitarian buildings were in front of them, and they could see on their left a large training field where several gray robots were doing an obstacle course.

Those seven-meter-tall robots were peculiar, with oversized backpacks, large cannons for arms, and crude, squat legs with visible, unprotected jacks in their backs. small, empty tubes were fixed on their hips, likely meant contain missiles, and two rotating sensor pods were fixed on top of a wide, squat chest. The sensor pods reminded Akeno of crab eyes.

"Those machines are quite… something." said Da Vinci with an expression that could be interpreted as amazement. Akeno snorted. Da Vinci was indeed amazed, but not in a good way. She wasn't either.

Those Knightmares were progressing along the obstacle course, but in her admittedly amateurish opinion, they weren't doing much better than a normal tank would.

"Yes, and you will learn how to pilot them." came a voice from their right, and they turned to see two officers in dark gray uniforms. The one who had spoken was a middle-aged man with blonde hair and gray eyes.

"I am Sergeant Fabreau. You guys will only have two weeks to become decent Knightmare pilots before being sent to the frontline and learn about military discipline! So you better listen carefully and work hard! Make sure you kill at least one enemy before you die. Now follow me!"

Akeno shrugged at the others before walking behind the first officer, the second one walking behind the girls, his right hand never straying far from his sidearm, making clear that as 'refugees', they were considered as much captives as recruits.

She took a last look at the Knightmares, shook her head, and decided to make it her priority to have Izumi and Kasumi share Noah's abilities, as it would dramatically increase their survivability if they had to take those… those walking coffins into a battlefield.

…

Asuka, Sakura and Medusa completed their Rayshift transition and found themselves on the rooftop of what they quickly understood to be a school building. The sun was setting, and a few students were still present, doing various club and sport activities like soccer or tennis.

"Nice, a modern world. We'll have cars and music and so on." smiled Asuka, looking around with her hands on her hips.

"Yes." nodded Sakura, a little more subdued. She liked Music, Movies and other modern-day comforts just as much as Asuka, but the peaceful school atmosphere felt slightly unpleasant to her. It reminded her of those years when she was alone, with magic worms in her body, and a half-brother who…

She shook her head to stop the reminiscing. They were here for a reason, and the less trouble they encountered on the way, the better. Peaceful was good.

"Should we start by trying to find an internet access and browse the news to learn about this world?" asked Sakura.

"…A minute, I just got a quest from Athena." replied Asuka, her eyes switching from left to right as she read.

Sakura and Medusa waited expectantly, watching Asuka's face display surprise, then amusement.

"Okay, this is an odd one." finally said Asuka as she turned back to look at them. "We are asked to attend class in this school, and Athena procured ID cards and uniforms, as well as a furnished apartment close by. Then, an anomaly will happen, but she didn't give me details as to what exactly. And that's where the quest is becoming strange."

"How so?" asked Medusa.

"Medusa, your mission will be to assist Sakura and help her become a Demon Lord."

"Come again?" blinked Sakura.

"I know, right?" grinned Asuka. "But wait, it gets better. While you and Sakura will be the bad guys, I am supposed to join the Hero side. But all three of us must actually prevent the Heroes from defeating you."

"Oh, so you will be a spy or saboteur." nodded Sakura.

"It sounds that way. But I think you'll make for a great demon queen, Sakura. You have your shadow powers, and you're just sadistic enough to pull it off."

Sakura nodded. She had to admit that, as long as it didn't involve harming innocents, playing the bad guy was something she could see herself enjoying.

"Is this like one of those isekai stories where a whole classroom is abducted to another world, the protagonist is singled out for being weak and kicked out, and he ends up serving the Demon Lord who just happens to be an attractive and busty woman? And he was actually strong all along?" asked Medusa.

"You just resumed half of the isekai fictions settings in existence." grinned Asuka. "I guess we'll just have to see what happens."

"What is the reward for this quest?" asked Sakura.

"Satanachia and Forneus will be sent to Chaldea with new, fully functional bodies. And no, I don't know who those guys are." shrugged Asuka.

"…If they get new bodies, this is a rather big clue." mused Sakura. "It reminds me of what Noah said about his first world, you know, where he played a VR game for two years? Maybe they are AIs?"

"…Actually, I could see that happening." nodded Asuka. "It's more likely than being sent to yet another world. If there were two worlds in this timeline, that would complicate the search for the Demonic Pillar. Maybe we'll get struck into a VR game like he was."

"We'll have to wait and see, follow our future classmates to make sure we do not miss the event starting this, and improvise. For now, let's change into those uniforms Athena-sama gave us." suggested Sakura, and Asuka nodded, taking her Sanctuary from her inventory.

"Sakura, remind me to give you a few of the special collars, if you get to play Demon Lord. They'll be useless if we end up in a VR game, but we may be wrong. I'll keep the Sanctuary with me."

"Yes." smiled Sakura.

They had agreed that Asuka, as one of the seven chosen by the gods, was the team leader.

…

"I am Asuka Himejima, and it is nice to meet you all. Please call me simply Asuka. We hope we can get along." said Asuka with a polite smile and bow, standing in front of the chalkboard.

As she did, she observed the reactions of her new classmates. Without surprise, the vast majority of the male students looked smitten by her beauty, and a few of the girls for that matter. One

"Thank you, Himejima-san. Please choose a seat." said the teacher.

Since all available seats were at the back of the classrooms, Asuka walked over to the girl who sat in the last row, near the windows.

"Hi, do you mind if I sit beside you?" smiled Asuka.

"I don't. I'm Ichinon Shizuka. Please don't call me Nonnon like a certain someone. Let's get along." shrugged the girl. From the tone of her voice, she wasn't that interested in getting along and just wanted to be courteous.

She had a petite body and relatively modest curves, but a neat appearance, with a cute face, deep purple eyes and long, black, lustrous hair kept in place by two thin red and white headbands and whose bangs hid her forehead.

"Thank you." smiled Asuka, sitting down as Sakura started her own introduction.

"It's very unusual, to have three students come mid-term and at the same time." said Ichinon in a low voice when Sakura was done. She was deliberately phrasing her question as a comment that Sakura would easily be able to ignore if she didn't wish to answer.

"Sakura and I are close friends, and Medusa is Sakura's attendant." shrugged Asuka, using the cover story they had agreed upon. "We just returned from abroad. We are sharing the same apartment to save up on the rent, too."

"Abroad?"

"Germany, to be accurate."

Ichinon nodded as Sakura chose the desk on Asuka's right, and Medusa introduced herself.

As soon as all three had settled in, the teacher started his lessons and there wasn't time to talk anymore. The lesson's content was so easy for the girls enhanced by their MAG or PER attributes that they didn't need to pay attention, and Asuka discreetly observed her classmates.

As expected of a class inspired from a fiction, all of them were well above the average standard of beauty, and the classic tropes were well represented, like a flashy gyaru girl with her hair dyed blonde, or the boy with delicate features who would easily pass as a girl if wearing a dress. And knowing Sakura, most of the girls would end up in Noah's harem, unless they had some serious personality flaws. Maybe even then.

Asuka was far from opposed to it. Overseeing a dozen plus worlds would take a lot of manpower, and surely, a lot of the girls here were good people and worth making friends with.

Ichinon wasn't the only one wondering about three transfer students coming the same day, and when the bell rang again, signaling the morning break, half of their new classmates gathered around them to start the interro… the friendly introductions.

…

"It's no fun being a soldier." grumbled Kasumi as the girls returned from the cafeteria.

"I concur. Especially in this army." added Da Vinci.

Akeno couldn't disagree with them.

After a day and a half learning getting inducted, learning the basic of military discipline like ranks and how and when to salute and so on, and getting their first simulator session, Akeno was already starting to feel her patience running thin.

The worst part wasn't the training itself. No, that was fine.

The problem was the attitude of the officers training them, as well as the Europian soldiers. It didn't take the girls long to understand that just like the Britannian soldiers did, according to Noah, the Europians didn't see the Japanese volunteers as equals.

One of them had maliciously fake whispered to his comrades, loud enough to be clearly heard by the girls, that the new Elevens wouldn't last long. That because casualties among the Eleven volunteers weren't included in the reports sent to the public, the special wZERO squadron they would be part of would be assigned the most dangerous missions. In short, they were cannon fodder to protect the lives of Europian soldiers.

And they didn't feel a shred of guilt or gratitude about it.

If not for the importance of fulfilling the quests Lilith had given them, Akeno would have taken Izumi, Kazumi and Da Vinci in her Sanctuary and flown directly to Japan, leaving a few scum with broken bones in her wake.

But she both wanted to fulfill those quests, and after learning about the use of Japanese refugees in the war, the girls now felt a strong desire to take over that special squadron and get them out of the United Republic of Europia's chain of command.

"We'll just have to endure." sighed Akeno. "Once we reach that squadron, things will change, and fast."

Izumi and Kasumi nodded, and they entered the room the four of them had been assigned to. Near the entrance was a camera that would keep an eye on them and make certain they didn't try to escape. There was only one corner of the room that wasn't covered by the camera, where they could undress and change their clothes.

A few minutes after they entered, Da Vinci moved to the corner to pretext a change of clothes, dematerialized, and rematerialized behind the camera. In seconds, she had opened an access panel and started fiddling with the circuitry. Once done, she straightened with a satisfied smile.

"Done, they will see AI-generated footage of us acting like obedient little soldiers relaxing before going to bed."

"Great job, Da Vinci." nodded Akeno.

She took her sanctuary, placed it on the single desk beside the small television, then gave her smartphone to Da Vinci.

"Have fun." smiled Da Vinci, accepting the smartphone.

"That's the plan." grinned Akeno, with Izumi looking both eager and nervous.

Akeno and Izumi disappeared inside the Sanctuary.

Kasumi got comfortable and took a game console from her spatial ring.

"Da Vinci, how much time do you think is needed to get Noah's abilities?"

"That heavily depends on the individual, but since it's your sister we're speaking about, I would say, two nights at most." smiled Da Vinci.

"Yes. And then it's my turn. And I still don't know how those powers are transmitted. It's like there's a big secret about it, but no one in Chaldea is telling anything." complained Kasumi.

"I know it involves signing a magic contract with a drop of blood." nodded Da Vinci with sympathy. She knew there was more to it and that sex was involved, but she didn't want to risk spooking Kasumi. Not with everything at stake. "That contract will be about recognizing Noah as your leader and agreeing to follow his instructions. If you agree to those terms from the bottom of your heart, you will gain Noah's abilities immediately. If not, Akeno has ways to help you reach that state of mind."

"I… see…' replied Kasumi as she scrunched her face. "Rather, I don't, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see. And you have work to do, so I won't bother you anymore. Just tell me if I can do anything for you."

"Yes, thank you, Kasumi." smiled Da Vinci, using Akeno's smartphone to make a video call to Noah.

Minutes later, she had set up a conference with Noah, Tabane, Ernesta and Camilla and had used the smartphone to connect her computer to Noah's house network. They were discussing designs, and had sent them some footage she had captured during the day.

"…Those Panzer Hummel Knightmares aren't just ugly, they are plain terrible." snorted Ernesta. "Those arm cannons do not have coaxial cameras or laser rangefinders and their joints don't look like they can take much recoil, so their accuracy much be lousy. Their legs are bound to make them slow to turn or sidestep, those jacks are unprotected, and… The flaws would be too long to list."

"Indeed." nodded Da Vinci. "But while this Knightmare had a lot of design flaws, its power source is interesting. I connected to their internet to have the basic principles of their Yggdrasil Drives. I am sending you the data. As an energy source, it is quite decent, with a good output for its compact size.

"I can do so much better with my Black Boxes." muttered Tabane.

"Yes, but you are here, and you can't sent them over, Tabane. But there is an issue with the Yggdrasil Drives." pointed out Noah, who was participating in the first of those sessions. "All Knightmares, as far as I am aware, use them as their power source, but there exists a device called Gefjun Disturber that can disable them. Its creator is a woman named Rakshata Chawla, from India. It has a very limited range, but any Knightmare you girls create must be hardened against this or use a completely different energy source."

"…Do you know how those Gefjun Disturbers work?" asked Camilla, already looking at the data Da Vinci had sent them.

"Sorry, I can only describe its effects." replied Noah. "All I can tell you from visual observation is that the model I saw had retractable bits that glowed green while causing a visible air deformation around them and a fairly high-pitched hum."

"…It probably uses sound harmonics to introduce zones of high and low pressure in the exchange fluid around the spinning core and cause a loss of synchronization, like injecting impurities into a fuel." decided Tabane, and Da Vinci nodded, as this theory made sense to her.

"We'll use layers of dampening materials around the Drive, both sound and magnetic. So what are the requirements we agree on?" asked Da Vinci.

"It should be nimble enough to execute martial art moves like spinning kicks and high-level fencing. Some of the enemy Knightmares will be as fast and nimble as martial artists." said Noah.

"Eight meters tall. Big enough that we can stuff more and better features inside, not so big that some of the enemy Knightmares barely reaching five meters tall would be able to use their size to their advantage." decided Ernesta.

"Yes. With a hardened Yggdrasil Drive, and maybe an additional power source like a battery, just in case the hardening proves insufficient." suggested Da Vinci.

"It should fly as well, and be able to perform midair high-g maneuvering." added Tabane.

"About that…" said Noah. "…there are two genius engineers in the Britannian side. Lloyd Asplund, and Cécile Croomy. I don't care about the former, but the latter will create energy wings for Knightmares. And I really want her in our family."

"Hehe, because it isn't large enough already." laughed Ernesta.

"Speaking about family, Noah, I am still waiting for you to revive Houki."

"You're right, sorry about the delay, Tabane. Come see me after the end of this session, and we'll do it."

Tabane nodded with a satisfied smile.

"It feels wrong to steal this Cécile's thunder by copying her idea, but it may be a while before she joins our side. How about a jetpack module as a temporary measure?" asked Camilla.

"Yeah, good idea." smiled Ernesta.

"Mobility and armor should be as good as we can make them, and they should have shields as well. The generator can be very compact." said Tabane, and the girls nodded.

"And for the armament…" suggested Da Vinci. "…How about two sword-length vibro-blades, a few smoke grenades, and one high power automatic rifle with predictive AI targeting sub-routines and high ammunition reserves."

"Yes!" said Ernesta. "A railgun would be better than a cannon for accuracy, penetration, and to reduce the size of the munitions. It will allow them to carry more without being overburdened."

"The smoke grenades won't be very useful long-term, when our Knightmares become able to fly. Sensors? I am thinking visible light, thermal and radar." asked Da Vinci.

"I do not think they have any active stealth system." said Noah as he scratched his chin. "Britannia has far too much pride and is too obsessed with the chivalric code. Now that I think of it, I'm not even sure they have any snipers. Our machines will have a huge advantage if they can fire accurately at targets several kilometers away."

"Then let's add active camouflage to our prototype. They won't have countermeasures if they don't expect it." grinned Ernesta.

"Covering our Knightmare with two-centimeter hexagonal LED scales and heating systems to control their temperature will take some work, but it's easy to design." said Da Vinci.

"If would be nice if they could have bandwidth for drone support, even if just to transmit simple orders." said Tabana.

"At this rate, we'll need two Yggdrasil Drives." grinned Da Vinci. "Or maybe a Fusion Reactor. I can probably make one that would be small enough."

"Let's add an ejection function to the cockpit, just in case. almost all Knightmares have this." added Noah.

As the discussion continued and each of them started claiming responsibility for designing parts of the project, Da Vinci felt satisfaction as she could visualize their Knightmare prototype taking shape and start to estimate its total power requirements, among many other necessary parameters.

This session was proving to be very useful, and very soon, their Sanctuary would turn into a factory.

Kasumi, listening on the side, was nodding along, getting increasingly happy as well. After experiencing the Europian Panzer Hummels in the simulators, the difference in survivability offered by the new Frames would be between light and day!