Ch 49: Stepping stones.

Suzu checked her own appearance in the mirror, made sure she hadn’t forgotten her bento and school bag, and left her home. She walked in the direction of Akeno’s home, the closest to her own, but met Akeno, Rias, Koneko and Yuuto half-way, as they were headed for her.

They greeted each other and started walking toward the school, when Rias grinned.

“Suzu, I have some good news! We may, I repeat, may, have found your master!”

“You did?” Suzu froze in her steps as she looked at them.

“We devils have many contacts within human’s society. We used our network to search on his name, and found a few things. Is this person your Master?” asked Rias as she fished a photo from her pocket.

She didn’t need to ask for confirmation as she saw Suzu’s expression change.

“It’s him! Where is he?” asked Suzu.

Akeno and Yuuto chuckled at seeing her so unusually eager.

“He is actually quite close. Your master is a second-year student at Ginsei Academy, in the city next to this town, barely ten kilometers over. Also a member of the Anti-Demon Corps, an organization made of sacred gear users who fight hollows. One of our contacts is part of the Academy’s staff, and we got that information from him. My aunt is gathering more information about your master, then she will arrange a meeting.”

“Your aunt?” asked Suzu curiously.

“Well, not really my aunt. She is my mother’s maid, but she has watched me grow, even changed my diapers more than a few times, so she’s family to me. She is directing our family’s network of agents. She said she would investigate him in person.”

“Isn’t it because it’s the first time you ask about a young man, Rias?” laughed Akeno. “Maybe she misunderstood and thinks you have a romantic interest toward him? Suzu-chan, can you show me your master’s picture, please?”

Suzu gave her the photo, showing Noah smiling slightly in his Ginsei Academy uniform, and Akeno’s eyes widened slightly.

“Ara ara, your master is quite handsome, isn’t he?”

Koneko looked at the picture from the side and nodded. She made a thumbs up at Suzu.

“He is.” agreed Suzu with a rare smile, thinking that he would be their Master, too, eventually.

“…You think she might have misunderstood?” asked Rias, shocked.

“I was there when you asked her to inquire, remember? You gave her his name and physical description but didn’t mention the request was related to Suzu. What was she supposed to think when you never asked about a boy before? Venelana-sama likely heard about it by now.”

“Oh no… you’re right, I messed up!” exclaimed Rias, suddenly mortified, and Akeno laughed at her best friend’s misfortune.

Rias now understood the strange gleam in her aunt’s eyes when she said she would investigate personally and thoroughly. After a moment, Rias sighed.

“I’ll clear the misunderstanding when I see her. Let’s go, we shouldn’t be late at school.”

…

Later that day, at lunch break, Rias was having lunch with her peerage when she received a message on her smartphone.

“Suzu, tomorrow morning, we won’t go to school as usual. I’ll inform Sona.”

“We won’t? If you’re informing me first, my Master must be related. We’re going to visit him?” replied Suzu.

“Got it in one. He apparently spends most of his time outside school in the Anti-Demon Corps, and we’d prefer not to be too close to those people. There have been a few incidents in the past, with some devils looking down on humans and some humans conflating demons, aka hollows, with devils, and blaming us for the crimes perpetrated by stray devils. The Headmaster of that school is one of my mother’s friends, and he agreed to let us meet during school hours.”

“This is good.” nodded Suzu. “I will thank the Headmaster.”

“Rias, can we come, too?” asked Akeno.

“Of course. I want to meet him, to see if he is worthy of my Suzu.” answered Rias as she squeezed Suzu’s right shoulder.

“And worthy of joining your peerage?” inquired Yuuto with a sly grin.

“Yes, that, too. I need more members fast, and if even only half of what Suzu told us is true, I’d be a fool not to want him. But I also need to inform him about Suzu being part of my peerage, and I’m not giving her up!”

“Hopefully, he will know where Suzu’s nee-san is.” Suggested Koneko, a shadow on her face.

Suzu impulsively put an arm around Koneko’s shoulders and comforted her.

“Don’t worry, Koneko-chan. My Master has his ways. He will find your sister. And if she is a bad person, Master will give her a good spanking, then will turn her into a good person.”

Rias, Akeno and Yuuto smiled as Koneko-chan cheered up a little, even if none of them considered Suzu’s words seriously. Although Suzu was very serious.

“Thank you, Suzu.” Said Koneko with a fragile smile.

Actually, Suzu could use her teleportation to appear next to Koneko’s sister Kuroka right this instant. But everything she heard about her told her that Kuroka was quite strong and dangerous, so she refrained from trying it.

Releasing Koneko after a slight squeeze of her shoulder, Suzu resumed eating. She looked forward to seeing Noah once more, and already missed the feeling of his arms around her. He gave her a feeling of warmth and safety that only Kaede could rival.

Although a small part of her regretted not having the time to prepare “gifts” for him.

…

On the morning of the following day, Suzu left her home a bit later than usual and headed for Rias’s house instead of the school. She reached the Gremory house, or rather, manor, and pressed the bell button at the gate.

“Suzu, come in!” sounded Akeno’s voice through the intercom, and the gate opened remotely.

Suzu entered the front yard and walked to the manor. She had been there once before, when Rias and her peerage had found her and brought her here to be reincarnated as a low-class devil.

Akeno opened the large double doors before Suzu reached it and ushered her in.

“Hi, Suzu, how are you doing today?” she grinned.

“Hi, Akeno. I’m eager to see him.”

“Eheh, I can guess. Follow me, Yuuto arrived a few minutes ago, and we’re waiting.”

Akeno led Suzu to the main living room, where Koneko, Rias and Yuuto were waiting.

They greeted each other, and chatted on school matters, when a large magic formation appeared on the floor. When the red light dimmed, a woman dressed in a white and blue maid uniform stood before them.

She was beautiful, slightly taller than Rias, about 1,75 meter tall, apparently in her early twenties, with long silver hairs. She styled her hairs with three braids, a large one reaching down her back, and two smaller ones in front, ending with small blue bows. Her red eyes stared at Suzu for a second before she made an elegant curtsy.

“Good morning, Rias-sama, Akeno, Koneko, Yuuto, and…?”

“Good morning, Grayfia.” Smiled Rias. “This is Suzu, my newest peerage member. Suzu, this is my aunt Grayfia Lucifuge.”

Suzu bowed to Grayfia.

“I am Suzu Aizawa. It is nice to meet you, miss Lucifuge.”

“The pleasure is mine. Please call me Grayfia.”

Rias cleared her throat, her face reddening a little. “Ah, Grayfia, there may have been a misunderstanding earlier, and I am sorry for being ambiguous. The reason I asked you to search for Noah Enfield is that he is Suzu’s master, and she was separated from him. It’s not that I am interested in him, well, not in this way…”

Grayfia blinked, then sighed visibly.

“A pity. I thought there was hope for you yet, Rias-sama.”

“Hey, Grayfia, that’s kinda rude! I don’t want to choose just anyone, that’s all.” retorted Rias.

“I understand, Rias-sama, but you are the sole heir of the Gremory family’s main branch. If you do not choose someone, and someone acceptable, very soon, Venelana-sama will make the decision for you. Your time is limited… That being said, Suzu, is Noah Enfield your Master? Are you a maid?” a gleam appeared in Grayfia’s eyes as she evaluated Suzu.

“…I had no formal training, but I serve him as one of his maids, yes.”

“That’s interesting. Would you like to compare experiences later? I could give you a few tips, and you might provide me with some insight.”

Suzu bowed again to her.

“I would be grateful. If I could improve as a maid and serve Master better…”

Grayfia smiled warmly at Suzu, happy to have found a kindred spirit. Together, they might advance further on the Maid Road.

Suzu, on the other hand, was happy not only to have an opportunity to serve her Master better, but also to have found another beautiful woman that would eventually become another sister, probably.

“Grayfia, my Suzu is cute enough as she is. Do not maidify her, I do not want her to go all formal on me.” retorted Rias, hugging Suzu from behind as if to stop her from walking to Grayfia and seal her fate as a maid.

"Are you all ready? If so, please get close to me, I will teleport us to Ginsei Academy.”

Rias and her peerage gathered close to her, and Grayfia activated her teleportation magic. The array appeared under her feet, large enough to include them all, and they disappeared.

…

“Student Noah Enfield, please report to the Headmaster’s Office.”

Noah blinked as the words coming from the speaker on the wall. The whole class turned to him.

“Noah, did you do something ‘Spank Spank’ bad? Are you going to be scolded?” laughed Miyabi.

“Not that I recall… Sensei, I’ll leave the class for a moment.”

“Yes, go ahead, Enfield-kun.”

Noah left the classroom and headed for the Headmaster’s office, wondering if he had done anything wrong, and raising his vigilance. For all he knew, it might be a trap from another devil candidate who would have learned of his intentions.

Seeing no one in the hallways, he reached the Headmaster’s office and knocked at the door.

“Enter.”

Noah opened the door and saw several people inside.

“Headmaster, you wanted to… Suzu!” exclaimed Noah, instantly forgetting about anything else.

“Master!” Suzu jumped in his arms, and they hugged each other fiercely.

He quickly pecked her forehead and they looked at each other’s eyes.

“…I missed you, Suzu.” Said Noah softly.

“Me too, Master.”

“I’m glad you’re okay. You seem to be doing fine?” asked Noah as he looked around. His eyes widened as he recognized Rias and her peerage, as well as Grayfia. They, as well as the Headmaster, were smiling warmly at him and Suzu.

“I’ve been lucky. Let me do the introductions.” Said Suzu with a smile.

Suzu proceeded to introduce everyone, and Noah politely greeted each of them. Koneko shyly hide behind Rias but still nodded to him, and Noah refrained from teasing her about it, though he found it cute.

Then Rias made a step forward.

“Noah-kun, call I call you like that?” she said with a warm smile.

“Please just call me Noah, I am not big on formalities. Can I call you Rias, too?”

“Yes, I do not mind either. Suzu accepted being a member of my peerage. Do you know what this means?”

“I think so. She will be part of your team during your rating games and when fighting hollows and other nuisances, and she is considered as one of your followers in devil society. In return, you must provide for her. Am I missing something?”

“No, that is a concise and accurate way to describe it. The thing is, that I have grown attached to her. So I’m not giving her up!”

Noah laughed softly as he patted Suzu’s head.

“I can easily understand the last part. She is quite adorable, isn’t she? I do not mind her being part of your peerage, as long as two conditions are fulfilled. She and I can meet each other whenever we want, and at a latter point, she will live in my house. Are you both fine with those conditions?”

“Of course, Master.” Said Suzu.

“It is fine to me, too, but why do you want her to live in your house at a later point, and not right away?”

Noah shrugged.

“Currently, I spend most of my time outside of school in Hueco Mundo for training, and I only spend a few hours late at night in my home to eat, wash up, and get some sleep. There would be little point having her in my home if we can’t really spend time with each other.”

“It’s fine, Master. I live alone right now. Rias-sama gave me a house.”

“Oh. That’s pretty generous of you, Rias. I am grateful for the help you gave her.”

“It’s part of providing for my peerage members. Suzu can even live in my home, if she prefers.“ smiled Rias.

“That being said, I am also interested in you, Noah. Suzu had praised you a lot, and I wonder, would you mind giving me a demonstration of your capabilities at some point?”

Noah rubbed his chin in thought, and an idea came to him.

“Why not right now? Grayfia-san, if my intuition is correct, you are the strongest person present, aside from the Headmaster. Would you mind sparring with me?” he suggested.

“Oh?” Grayfia raised an eyebrow.  “I must admit to being curious about you. I am willing to humor you.”

Noah spread his arms.

“Then please, everyone, put a hand on me. I will teleport us all to Hueco Mundo, but with the way my teleportation ability works, physical contact is necessary.”

Suzu didn’t hesitate an instant as she put a hand on his shoulder. One by one, Grayfia, Rias and the other member of her peerage did the same, and he raised an eyebrow when the Headmaster rose from his chair and put his hand on his back, too. Noah raised an eyebrow at him.

“Grayfia isn’t the only one being curious.” grinned the Headmaster.

Noah teleported them in Hueco Mundo, to the farthest place from the dormitory he had visited so far.

“Instantaneous teleportation. That is quite convenient.” Softly said Grayfia.

“Indeed.” Noah walked a little away from the group and removed his tie and vest, that he gave to Suzu. He drew the Asauchi that had become his permanent companion and default weapon. Then he pointed to one direction.

“Grayfia-san, about 15 kilometers in this direction live some of my friends from the anti-demon corps. Just in case, please do not send any strong attack this way.”

“You do not need to worry.” Smiled Grayfia as she also separated from the group of onlookers. “Whenever you are ready.”

Noah bowed to her in salute, and she returned it. He took a deep breath, and activated Stride.

“Oh?” Grayfia started to raise an eyebrow, then hurriedly produced a dagger using her ice manipulation as Noah closed the distance at a speed no normal human should be able to reach. Her mastery over ice magic was so great that she could in an instant create ice weapons much harder and sharper than mere steel. And she was almost caught off guard when Noah’s speed suddenly doubled. She jumped back while parrying the katana’s blade with her dagger.

Noah and Grayfia exchanged blows so fast that the sounds of their blades clashing felt like a fully automatic rifle firing to the relatively untrained ears of Koneko and Suzu, and their eyes only saw blurs instead of Noah’s and Grayfia’s arms. Yuuto and Akeno, thanks to the speed increase conferred by the Knight evil piece and the Queen Evil pieces, could still follow the action more clearly.

“Ara ara, Suzu-chan, your Master is quite impressive. He’s faster than Yuuto.”

“It’s not only his speed, but the way he moves, the way his attacks flow seamlessly from one to another. He must be a sword master.” added Yuuto with admiration.

“Master isn’t completely serious yet.” commented Suzu, her gaze fixed on the two people sparring.

Now that Grayfia was more serious, she had stopped falling back, and she had Noah has started to do back and forth, advancing and retreating, or turning around each other.

“He’s holding back?” asked Rias in astonishment.

Suzu nodded, without turning her eyes away from the fight.

“He hasn’t used another weapon yet.”

As if on cue, Noah jumped back, added Maximize and Armored to his buffs, and created a spear made of light in his right hand. Four more spears appeared above his shoulders, and he closed the distance again, launching two spears before him.

Grayfia smiled and created two ice birds, using them to intercept the spears. She also created another dagger. The clash of weapons resumed, Noah attacking with four weapons, and even Grayfia had to focus to parry them. But Noah wasn’t the only one who could play that game, and several more daggers appeared around her as well. She unleashed them on the three light spears Noah was using, causing them to explode in harmless sparks, and it was Noah’s turn to fall back while defending against multiple weapons.

Suddenly, he disappeared. Grayfia, reacting instantly thanks to her ample battle experience, immediately jumped forward as she created an ice shield to protect her back, and she felt the impact of Noah's blade against it.

Turning against her opponent, Grayfia grinned, more daggers appearing around her. She launched a few at him, and he intercepted them by creating small shields of light on their trajectory before they reached him.

Noah hurriedly created three light arrows and launched them at Grayfia.

Grayfia made a step to the side to avoid the first two, intercepted the last one with another ice bird, and suddenly felt pain on the side of her left thigh.

Shocked, the looked to the side, seeing the dissolving light arrow that had hurt her, and the Hole that was closing. In a flash, she understood that Noah had created a portal-type Hole behind her to swallow one of the arrows she had avoided, only to open another portal in one of her blind spots and to send it back at her.

“Alright, I surrender. I’m out of tricks.” Called out Noah with a grin.

Grayfia exhaled slowly, a bit vexed at her carelessness, taking a hit from a junior, but also pleased by the fight and impressed.

Had it been a real fight, she would have gone all out, and Noah wouldn’t have lasted five seconds. They both knew it. But still, he impressed her.

Grayfia dispersed her daggers and nodded, then walked back to the group. The wound on her thigh wasn’t deep, and she would heal in a few hours. She was more concerned about the hole in the skirt of one of her favorite outfits!

“Grayfia-san, do you mind if I heal you?” asked Noah politely.

“You can?” she asked in surprise.

“Yes. Up to and including curing cancer and regrowing lost limbs.” Noah placed his palm close to her thigh and activated his healing capability. In seconds, the burn was gone.

“I can’t do anything about your damaged outfit, though, so how about I offer you another as compensation?”

Without waiting for her opinion, Noah created a maid outfit identical to the “day uniform” Suzu and Kaede often wore. He had gotten pretty good at guessing sizes, due to his long practice at making clothes for his girls, and didn’t doubt that this one would fit Grayfia well.

“You are very resourceful. Thank you.” said Grayfia as she accepted the gift, secretly pleased at having another maid uniform to add to her collection. And this one looked both cute and elegant, and modest enough to be worn for all occasions. She decided that this young man had good tastes.

Noah then turned to Rias.

“Well, this is my current strength. I am working hard to grow stronger.”

“This is already very impressive. Aunt Grayfia, what do you think?” smiled Rias.

“Noah-kun should be about as strong as the average high-class devil. His mobility, weapon expertise and ability to fight efficiently at all ranges are excellent, but his toughness and raw power are lacking. Still, Noah-kun is exceptional, considering his age. But I am wondering, Noah-kun. Why are you able to use Hole, and light-based weapons? Are you related to the Abaddon family?”

“Before I answer, I suggest that we first return to the Headmaster’s office. We are still in enemy territory.”

Grayfia and the others nodded, and like before, Noah teleported them back to the Academy.

As he put his tie back on, Noah spoke to them. He told them about him and his girls being sent there by the Goddess Lilith to grow stronger, then work to improve the world, such as dealing with overly corrupt politicians and promoting peace and human rights, for more than only humans. To that end, the goddess had given him a sacred gear, and each of his girls a perk, that they could share with him via the soul contract.

“So…” he finished. “The Hard Light Arsenal magic I got from her is a clue that Kaede is likely somewhere with the Heaven faction, the fallen angels, or the Church, and the Shinigami weapon at my waist is evidence that Asuna is with the Shinigamis, probably training at their academy at this time.”

“A Shinigami weapon? What is so special about it?” asked Suzu, gingerly touching the sheathed katana with her index.

“It is currently in its larval form, and called an Asauchi. Over time, it will imprint on my soul to develop its own awareness and become a proper Zanpakuto. Those Zanpakutos can be used to send errand souls to the Soul Society, where Shinigamis live, and purify the unfortunate souls that became hollows. That is for those reasons that Shinigamis patrol the human world.”

“Now, if I manage to establish communication with the sword’s spirit to the point where I can learn its name, I will be able to use what is called Shikai, or First Release. Its form is unique to each Zanpakuto, but it is generally pretty strong. At a later point, if I manage to forcefully materialize the sword’s spirit and subjugate it, I will be able to use Bankai, of Second Release. Again, its form is unique to each individual, but from what my goddess told me, they are very strong. To be honest, I do not think Grayfia-san or even the Headmaster would be able to defeat any of the Shinigami Captains, who have some very potent movement techniques and magic on top of having their Bankais.”

“That strong…” wondered Akeno. Rias and the other members of her peerage were staring at his Zanpakuto.

“As I understand, for most Shikai and Bankai, their real strength isn’t to be measured in raw destructive ability. As far as raw power is concerned, the Five Satans are likely stronger than most Bankai users. Bankais are more subtle, but that also makes them harder to deal with. My goddess gave me a few examples to illustrate."

"There is one Shinigami captain who can, using his Bankai, impose rules on the battlefield based on various children’s games. He can for example chose a color, say, ‘yellow’, and both himself and his target will suffer injuries if they wear anything yellow, and the more yellow they wear, the bigger the injury. Then the opponent gets to choose another color, making this Bankai a double-edged sword. And that captain has many different rules to play with, but nothing forces him to tell his opponent about the rules in effect, or how his Bankai functions in the first place, and he won’t.”

“The other example she gave me was about another Captain’s Bankai. This one can create an area where everyone inside will be deprived of their five senses, except for the ones touching his Zanpakuto. That’s quite terrifying, when you think about it. You are plunged in darkness, cannot hear or feel anything, and you only recover your senses for a fleeting instant while that Captain’s blade is slicing into your body.”

Noah reflected that he might have told them a bit too much, seeing their expressions. Grayfia and the Headmaster seemed lost in thought, while Rias, Akeno and the others looked downright scared.

“Hey, relax, those guys aren’t enemies. They won’t come for you unless you do something to provoke them, and Suzu and I are immune to the two things I mentioned, since we share an immunity to curses-like effects.”

Rias stared at Noah for a moment, and nodded to herself.

“Noah, I would like you to join my peerage, by using my Rook Piece. I won’t stop you from doing what your goddess wants, but I need your strength.”

Noah considered the offer for a moment. It would be a good opportunity to get closer to Rias and Akeno, and conquer them from the inside. But, on the other hand, he worked for the goddess of Conquest and Domination, among other things, and he wasn’t sure she would appreciate her champion technically being an underling.

But then again, he technically was Kyouka’s underling already, and Lilith hadn’t said anything. So he decided to make things more equal.

“I have two conditions.” He said finally.

“First, I won’t call you Master.”

Akeno and Koneko burst into laughter, while Rias and Yuuto struggled to keep a still face. Noah raised an eyebrow, and Suzu explained.

“That’s the exact first condition I insisted on before joining Rias’s peerage.”

“Oh.”

“I’m fine with this condition. On some formal occasions, you’ll have to call me Rias-sama, though. Is that an issue?”

“Not at all. The second condition is to make things a bit more equal between us. One day, I will have my own set of Evil Pieces. When I do, Rias, you will be my Queen.”

Rias’s eyes widened, and she started reddening, while Grayfia frowned.

“Noah-kun, are you aware that having Rias-sama in your peerage wouldn’t give you any right over the management or succession of the Gremory house? If that is your goal, I suggest you refrain.”

“I wasn’t aware of that, but that’s good news to me, because I am not interested in leading any House. It sounds like a lot of paperwork, and I hate paperwork.”

“I accept this condition.” decided Rias.

“Rias-sama?” Grayfia blinked at her charge.

Rias turned to Grayfia and shrugged.

“He is right. Considering the difference in power between us, our relationship shouldn’t be so one-sided in my favor. If I want to rely on his strength, is it not fair that I would reciprocate? Besides, Noah is going to become very strong. He might even rival Diehauser Belial one day. Being part of his peerage will be a definite advantage for me on the long term, especially if I am his Queen.”

“Rias-sama, if the rumor spreads that you agreed to be someone’s Queen, some of the young masters who want your hand will become agitated. They will see this as an engagement in all but name. They might try to do something about it.” Warned Grayfia.

Rias turned to Noah, her face reddening further.

“Noah, you have heard. Me accepting to be your Queen doesn’t mean I see you as my fiancé, please don’t misunderstand. But there are some who will see it this way. And the more I try to deny it, the more they will believe it. Knowing that, do you still want me to be your Queen, as a condition to joining my peerage?”

“Yes. If they come, I will simply teach them a lesson or two.” nodded Noah with a confident smile.

“Then we agree. Please go to my house after class, and we will do the devil reincarnation ritual.”

Rias gave him her address, and they added each other to their phones. Noah also added Akeno, Koneko, Suzu and Yuuto to his contacts.

There was one last thing Noah needed to do, and he turned to the Headmaster.

“Headmaster, can I take a leave of absence for a while? Lilith gave me a dangerous job to do in… eight days from now, and I’d like to have more free time to prepare.”

“What kind of job?” Asked the headmaster curiously.

“Have you heard of a place called Hagun Island?”

From the way the headmaster’s and Grayfia’s eyes narrowed, they recognized the name.

“We know a little about that place. We capture on occasion some devils from the old faction, the warmongers, and a few mentioned that place. But we never could locate it. The devils we captured died while they were interrogated because of some kind of curse.” said Grayfia.

“I see… Lilith obtained an invitation for me. She wants me to go there, assess the situation, and start kicking butt. That’s going to be dangerous, so I’d like to make some preparations, instead of wasting time sitting in class.”

The Headmaster snorted. “It’s not really a good thing to do, telling the Headmaster to his face that you find attending class a waste of your time. But considering the situation, I can’t blame you. Do what you want. But how about we help you deal with Hagun island?”

“Thank you, but I do not think it will be necessary. I already talked about it with the Anti-demon corps, and the Commander as well as several Chiefs will be on stand-by, if needed.”

Grayfia nodded.

“If that girl is going to reinforce you, you do not need us. She is even stronger than me. Are there any other subject to discuss? I should soon return to my duties.” asked Grayfia.

“Not from me. Thank you, Grayfia-san, for the spar, and for helping me reunite with Suzu.” said Noah with a grateful nod.

“You’re welcome. Sparring with you was a refreshing exercise, and a valuable lesson in not underestimating my opponent because of his age. I wouldn’t mind doing it again, after you grow stronger.”

Noah smiled warmly.

“It would be my pleasure. Suzu, Rias, Akeno, Koneko and Yuuto, see you later after class.”

“See you.” They waved back at him, and Noah said goodbye to the headmaster before leaving the office.

As he walked back to class, he was already using his smartphone to search for a certain shop in Karakura Town, not far from here. It was time to make contact with a few major figures from the Bleach fiction, and time to acquire a certain sacred gear, before someone else did.

…

After dropping Rias and her peerage at Kuoh Academy, Grayfia teleported back to the underworld, into her room.

She sighed as she looked again at the hole in her skirt and removed her uniform. She was starting to open her closet, where many maid uniforms of different designs were safely stored, when she remembered the one Noah had given her and took it out of her dimensional space. She decided to try it on, and was pleasantly surprised by how well it fit her and how comfortable it was. Looking at herself in the mirror, she was quite satisfied, and she left the room to visit her Master.

She found her in the back garden, where she was doing her daily exercise in the pool.

Venelana Gremory, one of the five Great Satans, interrupted her swimming and reached the edge of the pool, and smiled at her best friend and right hand as Grayfia curtsied. Her semi-long brown hairs were tucked inside a white rubber swimming cap, and her purples eyes stared at Grayfia with undivided attention.

“Venelana-sama, I am back.”

“Welcome back, Grayfia. It’s the first time I see you with this uniform. It's cute. Where did you find it?”

“Hum, it was gifted to me, by Enfield-kun.”

“What? The young man my daughter has taken an interest to? Give me details!”

“Well, actually, Venelana-sama, it seems I misunderstood the situation, and she wasn’t interested in him in that sense. Although I’m not so sure of it now…”

Grayfia narrated in great details her encounter with Suzu, then Noah, their sparring match in Hueco Mundo, and the agreement between Rias and Noah, then his intention to go to Hagun Island, and his stated goals. Venelana listened without interrupting Grayfia until she was done.

“That is quite interesting… If that young man manages to shut down Hagun Island, that will be one source of irritation off my list. Do you think he’s aiming at my daughter?”

“Without a doubt.” Instantly nodded Grayfia. “He is quite good at keeping his face from showing his intentions, but there are clues in his body language. I do not think Rias-sama has noticed yet, but I have seen how often he looks at her, and at Akeno-san for that matter. If they are not careful, he will make them fall for him. Although I am not too worried. I have seen the affection and care whenever he looked at Suzu, and her happiness at finding her Master could not be faked. If Rias-sama were to fall into his clutches, I am confident he will treat her well. Much better than most devils would.”

“…I am not necessarily opposed to it, despite his lack of background. He did manage to hit you, and this young man seems to have a lot of potential. Bringing him into the family might be a better option than most of the young men from other houses… still, we do not need to make it easy for him… We will leave him alone until he comes back from Hagun Island, if he does. After his return, spread the rumor of Rias agreeing to be his Queen once he obtain his Evil Pieces. He will need to defeat a few youngsters of his generation to gain respect from his peers, so we might as well arrange for volunteers to be his stepping stones.”

“Let’s see… If he defeats the stepping stones, I will formally acknowledge him as engaged to Rias, assuming she does fall for him. But I will not allow him to marry her for a few years, until we are certain he is worthy of my daughter. Meanwhile, put him under surveillance. We need to make sure he doesn’t have some hidden flaws, and if the goddess he works for truly is benevolent.”

“Yes, Venelana-sama. His ability to teleport and the time he spends in Hueco Mundo will make surveillance somewhat difficult, but I will do what I can. I’ll will do it personally.”

“Thank you, Grayfia. When you’re done, join me for lunch.” Venelana smiled.

As she watched her friend go, she frowned a little in concentration, mentally replaying every single one of Grayfia’s expression and tone changes when she made her report. She had a hunch that, maybe, Grayfia herself was being affected by this young man, without being aware of it.