Ch 46: Meeting Lizel and Reina.

Noah walked with some anticipation toward the building where he had sparred the previous morning with Miyabi. The coming negotiation, if it could be called as such, was going to be rather important, as Miyabi had shown him the limits of his physical attributes. He really needed their help before going to Hagun Island.

He was wondering if he should wait for them outside of the door when Miyabi answered that question for him, opening the door as he approached.

“Hey, Noah! Come inside! Chop chop!”

He smiled as he hastened his steps. Miyabi’s cheerful voice and smile were a good sign.

“Hi, Miyabi. I hope I didn’t make you wait too long.” said Noah as he smiled back and entered with her.

“You’re right on time.”

She led him away from the dojo area and to a side passage back on the main building.

“It’s a nice place.” Said Noah as he looked around. “I like the furnishing, it’s elegant and not ostentatious.”

“Right?” grinned Miyabi. “All three of us girls redid the decoration to be more cozy. The original furnishing was too gaudy!”

She opened a door and ushered him in. Two young women were having tea and rose to their feet when they saw him.

“Noah, this is our senior, Lizel Himekami.” Said Miyabi as the extended her hand toward the tallest young woman, a beauty with long, straight black hair and light blue eyes. Lizel had feather and ribbon hair accessories behind each ear, a thin black leather choker around her neck, as was wearing the school uniform, black with white accents and a pale green tie. Her body curves were… just what one would expect from the main heroine of a harem fiction, and even more impressive than Miyabi’s. She smiled politely at him.

“A pleasure to meet you, Lizel-senpai.” Said Noah as he bowed slightly.

“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, Noah-kun. Miyabi told us a lot about you.”

“And this is our kouhai, Reina Koiwai.” Finished Miyabi.

Reina was smaller and had a slender body, with long silver hair and deep blue eyes. She styled some of her side hairs into two twin tails,

“It-it’s nice to meet you, Noah-senpai, desu!” quickly said Reina as she bowed deeply, blushing a little.

“It’s nice to meet your too, Reina-chan.” Noah found her so endearing he had to repress a sudden urge to pat her head. That was no good, Nei was corrupting him.

“Would you like some tea, Noah-kun?” invited Lizel as she gestured toward the table, where four teacups were waiting.

“With pleasure.” Noah sat on the seat Lizel designated for him and started serving tea for everyone, starting with him.

“Thank you.” He smiled at her, and she nodded slightly in acknowledgement.

“You don’t need to worry, Noah. We didn’t put anything strange in it!” joked Miyabi.

Noah grinned. “I’m not worried. If I thought you were the kind to resort to such tricks, I wouldn’t have come to meet you and your friends.”

Once everyone was sitting around the table, with Lizel facing him, she sipped her tea once, then started speaking.

“Miyabi told us about your conversation yesterday. We are, intrigued. At the same time, helping a future competitor become stronger isn’t exactly in our interest. I hope you can understand our position.”

Noah nodded, staring at Lizel as he raised his cup and tasted the tea she had made.

“That is very good tea, Lizel-senpai… I understand your position, maybe more clearly than you do. Lilith allowed me to know a few things about some of the other arcana holders, as well as you three and Yuuto Morioka.”

Noah saw Lizel’s face twitch when he mentioned the name of the one The Lovers’ Arcana had chosen.

“You do not need to worry. I do not plan to do anything preemptive against him or his family. Lilith would kick my butt if I started going after innocent people.”

“What kind of goddess is she?”

“She is the goddess of Conquest, Lust, and Domination.”

Noah grinned at their reaction.

“I know it doesn’t sound very good. But she’s actually a benevolent goddess. She may not be a big believer in relationships between equals, but she dislikes dominants who abuse their subs. To her, if a dominant can’t make their sub happy and has to resort to fear and abuse to keep their sub obedient, they simply aren’t worthy to be called a Master. In more general terms, she wants her subordinates like me to work to make the world safer and fairer, protect the innocent, and deal with the wicked.”

“And what about you, Noah-kun?” said Lizel as she narrowed her eyes.

“…I guess I could tell you, but you might doubt my words, as I’m hardly unbiased in this. So instead, I will show you. I recently acquired something called Soul Magic, and it is quite a polyvalent thing. One of its possible applications allows me to project my memories. I have yet to try it, but this might be an opportunity. “

Noah used his soul magic to establish a temporary link between himself and Lizel, Miyabi and Reina, then closed his eyes and projected on the link his memories of the time where he was in the white room with Lilith, Asuna, Suzu and Kaede, and where they all had decided to part ways to grow stronger. The three of them experienced what he had seen, heard and felt, from his point of view. It lasted only a few minutes, but by the time he stopped the magic, they were slack-jawed.

“This should address any worry you might have as to how I treat my women.” Lightly said Noah, slowly drinking his tea as he let them recover.

“It does. I could see the love and affection in their eyes as they looked at me… I mean you.” Said Lizel as she nodded, reevaluating him.

“And Lilith… she is so… impressive, desu.” whispered Reina, blushing slightly.

“That she is.” agreed Noah with a grin.

“If I understand correctly, Asuna, Kaede and Suzu are giving you one special ability each. Is that why you are so strong?” asked Lizel.

“Only in part. They each gave me one special something, yes. But I also acquired a number of abilities on my own, and I share most of those with them, too. They benefit from our skill sharing much more than I do from each of them. Suzu and Kaede shared with me their newly acquired Light and Demonic magic affinity, as well as the ability to create and control weapons made of solidified light, and one magic specific to one of the more prominent Devil’s families. Asuna didn’t give me an ability, but a Shinigami’s weapon. So I have a pretty good idea of her current location, at least.”

“The Shinigamis!” gasped Reina.

“Did you meet some?” asked Noah.

“Yes… Months ago, Reina was patrolling the city at night for training, desu! Reina saw one hollow being killed at a man dressed in black. The man looked at Reina, waved in greeting, and went through a door in the air that disappeared after it closed, desu. Lizel-senpai later told Reina it was a Shinigami, desu.“

“More importantly!” demanded Miyabi excitedly. “You come from another world!”

“Yes. A world very similar to this one, in another dimension. There’s another Japan over there, too, but there are only humans, and the only people with supernatural abilities are myself and my girls. The technology is a little more advanced than here, and they are starting to create artificial intelligences.”

“Why would there be another Japan in another world?” frowned Lizel.

“…That is a secret, and irrelevant to the reason we are meeting this morning. I have answered your questions about my goals and shown you that I am not like the typical devil that will participate in the competition, willing to disregard anything and trample others to fulfill his selfish desires. Now, are you willing to help me grow stronger?”

“I told Miyabi what you girls could gain by cooperating with me. If you don’t, our relationship will be, much simpler. I will not make the mistake of underestimating the Lovers’ Arcana. I will subdue your team before Yuuto has time to learn how to use it to its full extent.”

“Threatening us is not cool, Noah.” scolded Miyabi.

“You aren’t wrong. But it would be for your own sake, too. If I am the one to bring you down, I can make certain you would all survive and stop Miyabi and her mother from being sold off as slaves. But I would need to do it fast, because Reina’s time is limited.”

Noah looked at Reina with sympathy, and she lowered her head. Lizel and Miyabi winced visibly.

“You know what I am referring to, right?” he asked gently.

“…Reina knows.” She said in a small voice.

Reina was an artificial human. A homunculus, created by a couple of devils to replace the daughter they had just lost. After a few years, those devils had another natural child.

And Reina, was discarded.

Thrown away, like an obsolete piece of furniture. Barely allowed to live alone in a run-down house that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Japan’s early nineteenth century.

A lot of devils were like that, only motivated by their selfish desires and utterly devoid of empathy.

That was already bad enough. But there was another issue. The sorcerer who had created Reina was incompetent and used an inferior magic stone as her core. As a result, Reina needed to regularly receive affection, or her core’s energy level would slowly drain. Affection her parents were unwilling to provide her. In the fiction, Reina started falling unconscious increasingly frequently because of her failing core only weeks after the protagonist joined Ginsei Academy, and only one of the antagonists specializing in puppetry knew how to strengthen or replace her core.

“There are two possible solutions to your issue. The first would be to get the owner of the Tower Arcana to help. Which is easier said than done. He’ll consider you and your group as enemies and won’t help unless he’s first defeated, and his ultimate attack is some kind of indirect lethal curse. Not easy to avoid or counter. And if another Arcana holder gets to him first and kills him…"

"The second, is for you to put yourself under my wing. One of the abilities I will soon cash in some of my achievements for, will allow me to share my unlimited lifespan with those who are bound to me by a soul contract. Asuna, Kaede and Suzu will soon be immortal, and you could be, too.”

“…Assuming we accept your sugestion and help you, and that you later defeat us… what happens next?” cautiously asked Lizel.

“Let’s see… Yuuto Morioka would return to his current school, and any devil trying to harm him or his family would get their sorry butt kicked by me. You three would become my Cards, but I would not require any… personal service, let’s call it like that, for a while. I would give us time to develop some mutual feelings first. I would proceed to defeat one Arcana owner after another until I emerge victorious, keeping those with good potential and good or redeemable personalities as future subordinates, and then keep training and training, and I’d try to solve various crisis as they appear. To start on the reforms that humanity needs, just being a high-class devil is far from enough. I need to reach the very top.”

“…I see.” Lizel stared at him for a while, then looked at Reina and Miyabi. Finally, she sighed.

“Noah-kun, could you stay here for a few minutes? I’d like to speak with Miyabi and Reina in private.”

“Sure. Do you mind if I help myself to more tea while I wait?”

“Not at all.” smiled Lizel as she led the two other girls in another room, and Noah checked his smartphone. He still had an hour before the start of class.

If he couldn’t secure their help, Noah would need to find another way to learn Stride, the speed-boosting spell, at the very least. He thought he might be able to make do without Maximize and Armored, if push came to shove. But in a fight, speed was the most important factor, and he needed to regain that advantage.

A few minutes later, Lizel, Miyabi and Reina returned and sat back. All three of them looked determined.

“Noah-kun, we have a proposal. If you agree to our conditions, we will be willing to become your Cards.” stated Lizel.

“Oh?” Noah leaned forward, slightly surprised. “What are your conditions?”

“You must not only protect Yuuto Morioka, but also give him and his parents preferential treatment in the future. If he still ends up being chosen by the Arcana and participate, you must make him surrender before anyone else gets to him, or defeat him without seriously injuring him. You must defeat at least two other Candidates by yourself, to prove your ability. You must do your best to protect not only Miyabi and her mother, but also my family from any negative consequences that might come from us joining your side. You must save Reina. And you must not do anything erotic with us until we get used to the situation, and even then, take things slowly. As you said, we should give ourselves time to develop some mutual feelings before doing anything physical.”

“I accept those conditions, and I am grateful that you girls are willing to trust me about a decision of this magnitude. But I would like to know how you came to that decision.” Said Noah as he watched them in turn.

“It’s like you said earlier, Noah.” sighed Miyabi. “As part of the Lovers, our chances of winning aren’t great. Even less with you as an opponent, since you won’t make the mistake of giving us time to train him. Most likely, Yuuto will get killed, and we will end up as slaves.”

Lizel cleared her throat. “I am indebted to Yuuto. I wanted to repay that debt by making him a high-class devil, and then stay by his side and support him. I also wanted the lands and companies that come with the title to be in the hands of a decent person, not in those of a truly selfish devil like most of the others. But with your help, maybe I can repay him in another way, without risking his life in a very unfavorable bet.”

“Reina doesn’t know Yuuto, and just wants to remain with Lizel-senpai and Miyabi-senpai for as long as possible, desu. They are Reina’s family.”

Noah looked softly at the silver haired girl.

“Reina-chan, I promise you this. You will live a long, long life, and you will be surrounded by many sisters who will treat you kindly, just like Lizel-senpai and Miyabi do.”

“…Reina would like it, desu.” She nodded with a fragile smile.

“Reina-chan, you currently live alone in a small house that is… quite run down, isn’t it?” asked Noah, as tactfully as he could.

She blushed a little in embarrassment but nodded.

“Really?” asked Miyabi in shock, and Lizel’s eyes widened. All that she and Lizel knew about Reina’s family was that it was a relatively high-ranked and wealthy one, and they had assumed Reina lived in a large mansion.

“You did well living by yourself in those conditions, Reina-chan. But being alone isn’t healthy and will only accelerate the degradation of your core. Lizel-senpai, Miyabi, can I ask you to let Reina-chan live with you for a while? She needs to be surrounded by people who will treat her like family. That will alleviate her issue. I’d invite her to my own home, but with my responsibilities with the anti-demon corps, I only spent a few hours over there to sleep, so there would be little point.”

“Of course!" Said Miyabi, taking Reina's hand. "My Mom always wanted to have another daughter! Reina-chan, you’ll live in my home for now, ok?”

“…Is that, really okay, desu?” Reina’s eyes started tearing up, and her voice trembled.

“Yes!” grinned Miyabi.

“We’ll help you with moving in after class, Reina-chan. Noah-kun, thank you, for telling us. I’ve been completely blindsided.”

“That’s the kind of things I’m happy to help with, you do not need to thank me for that.”

Lizel nodded and stood.

“Since we agreed, we should make the most of the time we still have before you go to that Island. We still have some before class starts. I will try to teach you combat Magic.” Offered Lizel as she walked toward the dojo building.

“Gladly.” Noah smiled as he followed her.

“Hey, I want to teach him, too.” said Miyabi. Reina joined them, and they all entered the Dojo.”

“Miyabi, your explanations can be a tad confusing. It’s better if I’m the one doing it.” said Lizel tactfully.

“What?” Miyabi pouted cutely. “I can teach him! Look, Noah! You do it like this ‘KAPPOOOO’!”

Noah could see the magic formation appear beneath Miyabi’s feet, but her explanations were defeating his Mag-enhanced comprehension… He struggled not to laugh.

“Sorry, Miyabi, but can you explain without this ‘Kappoooo’ sound?”

“And that is why I want to teach you myself, Noah-kun. Miyabi is so adept at body reinforcement that she does it like moving a muscle. But once we try to have her explain… Rather than spend days teaching you about the theory of energy circulation, the best way is to make you feel it.”

Lizel moving around Noah to stop behind him, and placed her two palms against his upper back.

“Noah-kun, I am going to inject some of my own magic power into your body and circulate it. Please memorize how it’s done. “

“Yes.”

Noah felt her energy enter his body. Since it wasn’t doing anything nefarious and Noah was consciously allowing it, his immunity response wasn’t triggered. And his Gemini Drive allowed him to instantly memorize the technique.

A small blue magic array appeared beneath his feet, and Noah felt as if the world around him had slowed down slightly. That was the Stride demonic magic, slightly increasing his perception and sharply increasing his movement speed, by a factor of about three.

After thirty seconds, Lizel stopped, slightly out of breath.

“How about you try, Noah-kun?”

Noah nodded and activated Stride, but didn’t move. He wasn’t dressed for exercising and didn’t want to risk damaging the dojo.

“Woah! On the first try! Noah, are you some kind of ‘buzz buzz’ genius?”

“You are really talented, to manage it on the first try.” praised Lizel, and he simply shrugged.

“No, I’m a fake genius. It’s my sacred gear who’s doing the work of memorizing any technique I my body is exposed to. But it’s a massive gain of time.”

Noah told them how his Gemini Drive worked, and its limitations.

“Still, it’s good. Then I will teach you Maximize and Armored the same way. For the external spells like Barricade or Figa, you will have to learn the hard way, Noah-kun.” smiled Lizel.

“Yes. I’m in your care, Lizel-senpai.”

Noah wondered if he would manage to learn any of them before his mission started. But he was simply going to give it his all, and hope for the best.