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Chapter 19: The Governor-General Of Grigori
🕑 Added 2024-08-19 11:00:11 +0000 UTC10+ Advance Chapters: patreon.com/Accel14
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The sun's presence started to make itself known through the rays of light piercing his curtains.
Everything hurts… again.
Takauji groaned as his eyelids began to part, the aching sensation from having to put up with Raynare's instincts still just as profound as the day before.
At least this should improve the strength of her Sacred Gear somewhat… I just wish it didn't involve having my lower body feeling half-dead every time…
The culprit in question was currently laid atop him, her arms around the back of his neck and face buried into his chest.
"Raynare… it's time to wake up…" He said in his morning voice, gently nudging the side of her head.
"Mmmm… later…" She reminded him of a certain intrusive Fallen Angel.
"Don't later me, we have work to do." The problem of having inferior raw strength to supernatural beings had struck him once again, making him unable to push her off his body by force.
Guess I'll have to do that…
For some reason she decided to sleep with her wings out, giving him ample opportunity to free himself.
Here goes nothing…
He moved his hands from the back of her head towards her wings, causing her body to fidget a little as she felt his touch crawl downwards.
"Takauji-sama… what are you…?"
She murmured, the sensation waking her up a little.
Three… two… and one.
"NYA!"
Nya…?
He gave her feathers a quick yank, snapping her out of her slumber immediately as she looked at him with a butthurt expression.
"That wasn't nice…"
She pouted, resting her chin on him as she recalled her wings.
"You're the one who wouldn't wake up," he rolled his eyes. "We have a meeting today, remember?"
"Oh right… but we can wait a bit longer can't we?"
He shook his head.
"Raynare… have you seen the state of us?"
Both their appearances were completely disheveled, not to mention the profound stench of each other's dried sweat still clinging to their bodies.
And what remained of their clothes would probably need a few rounds in a washing machine before they were usable again, luckily Takauji had removed his Mana enhanced clothing beforehand.
If he had ruined such a gift on the same day he had received it, he would've probably cried.
"I suppose you have a point…"
Albeit reluctantly, she finally hopped off him allowing them to start getting washed up.
"So, where exactly did the sender want us to meet again?"
"I'm pretty sure the address is some kind of local restaurant nearby…" Her thoughts were clear as day. "I know, not as secretive as one would've expected. But sometimes hiding in plain sight can be effective."
"But what if we encounter the Gremory's while we're out…?"
"We won't, school's on today."
"Don't you have to go to school as well though?"
"Mhm."
She deadpanned.
"And are you going to go?"
"Nah." As long as he wasn't home, they would be incapable of teleporting to him. His contractor could only teleport to her reincarnated subordinates as she pleased.
"Well… alright then I guess."
She didn't have any reason to care, all things considered.
Takauji didn't bother preparing breakfast since they were going out to a restaurant anyway, and decided it would be fitting to wear the same clothing he had been gifted to him by the sender.
Hey, if it landed a good impression then all the better.
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Is this the place? I must admit it's a little more… carefree than I expected.
Both himself and Raynare were standing in front of a place called the Iwata Family Diner, that had a fairly homey feel to it for a place where he was about to discuss the acquisition of a parasite.
"Can we go in already? I'm starving…" She whined and clutched her stomach.
"Settle down, you can go without food for a few minutes."
They entered the eatery, looking around from table to table in hopes of identifying their sender.
I don't even know what he looks like…
"It can't be…" Raynare murmured. A look of disbelief in her eyes as she saw a hand shoot up from one of the tables and wave at them.
"What's wrong?" He raised a brow. "Raynare?"
But she simply started to walk towards the raised arm, her master following suit with a faint sense of unease.
What's got her acting like this…?
The second she reached the table, her eyes widened. Both her pulse and breath quickened as she immediately dropped to one knee, creating a scene in the middle of the restaurant.
"Azazel-sama! You honor me with your presence."
Takauji had never seen such an attitude come from his servant. Intriguing him even further as he looked at the figure for himself.
"Yo, Raynare. There's no need for formalities by the way, actually you're kinda disturbing the customers…"
He was a tall middle-aged man with an average build, black hair and blond bangs, alongside a dark goatee on chin.
His attire was pretty casual for the most part, only consisting of a standard white shirt and Hawaiian-themed shorts.
"My deepest apologies, Azazel-sama."
Wait. Azazel? Don't tell me this guy is…
"Uh, there's really no need for the -sama right now. Anyhow I'm sure you two must be hungry, for starters why don't you take a seat?"
They did as he asked, Takauji in particular being especially cautious.
"So, you're her master now are you?" The man scratched his goatee as he examined Takauji's figure. "Nice to meet you, Villain-kun."
Villain-kun? Really?
He extended his hand, to which Takauji somewhat nervously responded in kind.
"I see you've taken a liking to my little present," he nodded contently as he looked at his attire. "But before we start talking business, would either of you care for some waffles?"
The growling of their stomachs answered that question for him.
"Hahaha, I'll take care of the bill, don't worry."
He called for the waiter, ordering a breakfast set for the three of them before they started getting to the meat and bones of their meeting.
"Anyways. Ashikaga Takauji, do you know who I am?"
"She called you Azazel… so I can only assume…" If this man was who he thought he was, then he needed to act with extreme caution.
Azazel smiled, finding the Magician's wariness amusing.
"Then I'll just go ahead and spill the beans. My name is Azazel, and I'm the current Governor-General of Grigori." Takauji's grip tightened on the cup of coffee in his hands momentarily.
It really is him… I'm not even able to pick up on even a smidgen of his aura. That explains how he was able to just waltz into my house as he pleased.
"Sorry about the whole breaking and entering thing by the way," Takauji had been read. "I'm a pretty curious guy, all things considered, and sometimes that curiosity tends to get the better of me. Or so I've been told," he laughed calmly.
"I'd like to introduce myself as well… but it seems like you already know what you need to know about me."
"Don't overestimate me too much, there are quite a few things you can't figure out about someone unless you actually meet them in person." That was a lie, Azazel really did know everything he wanted to know about him.
Who could stop him after all? This was the strongest Fallen Angel alive, and the smartest to boot.
To think I'd be meeting someone of his caliber this early on… I don't know whether to count myself lucky or unlucky.
"Is that so…?" Even for him, keeping his composure in front of someone like this wasn't an easy task.
"Hey, you really don't have to be that cautious with me. I'm just here to chat ya'know?" He said in a care-free tone.
I'll be the judge of that.
Azazel sighed, knowing his words weren't really getting through to the man across from him.
"Before me and you start getting into everything, would you mind if I talked with Raynare for a bit?"
For some reason, she felt a faint chill run down her spine.
"Sure," he knew he wasn't in a position to deny.
"Raynare," Azazel's tone was significantly more firm than before. "I noticed you were getting pretty active behind my back here in Kuoh, don't you think you owe me an explanation of sorts?"
She shuddered.
"I… have no excuse…" She didn't dare refute his words.
"That much is certain," he replied with narrowed eyes. "Let me guess, you thought what you were doing would be to Grigori's benefit or something?"
"Yes…"
"Well it wasn't," his words were like daggers through her heart. "Your job was to observe and report, nowhere in your assignment did it say to rally a group of independently working Fallen Angel's and attempt to kill the wielder of the Boosted Gear. That order is up to me, and me only."
Such an order exists…? For what purpose would he have possibly wanted to kill Issei-kun?
"U-Understood…" She dipped her head even lower.
Azazel groaned, a part of him feeling responsible for letting her get under his radar in the first place.
"However, I'm going to let you off for three reasons."
She looked up with both shock and hope in her eyes.
"One; you didn't actually succeed in killing Hyoudou Issei. Two; you managed to obtain a Sacred Gear, and an extremely rare recovery-type one nonetheless. And three; Villain-kun over here seems to think you're of some use. If any of this weren't true, I would've killed you on the spot."
If not for wanting to maintain some level of decency, she might've shed a tear from the well deserved pain of having her idol scold her.
"Actually the fact that you're bound by a pact is the only reason I have even a morsel of trust left in you, so be thankful."
"Y-Yes, Azazel-sama." She found the strength to respond.
"Good, make sure you don't forget a word I've just told you." His expression softened as he turned back to Takauji. "Sorry about that, it's not really my place to admonish your servant but the situation called for it."
"It's fine, I understand the necessity." What kind of idiot would tell someone like him no to begin with?
"Then I must thank you for the understanding," he smiled. "Now then, let's start talking about why I really called you here."
Azazel opened his palm, creating a cage made entirely of his own Light Magic, which ordinary humans couldn't see of course.
Is that…
And inside it, was a writhing dark shadowy blob with two violet eyes trying to make its escape, but it was to no avail.
"The Cursed Eyes…" Takauji murmured. The greed in his eyes stronger than ever.
He had been yearning for it, and there it was.
Right in front of him, just a few inches from his face. If he wanted to, he could just reach out and touch it.
"You really do have it…"
"Of course I do, actually this thing isn't that hard to obtain for someone like me. You see, because of how this thing works, nobody really wants to be anywhere near it. They'd probably invest more money into getting rid of it if you ask me."
Azazel could tell that hardly any of his words were actually getting through to him, the young man was simply too captivated by the grotesque creature in front of him.
Which in his eyes, was even more beautiful than Raynare's bare figure.
(AN: Cue Lego Batman "I just died in your arms tonight.")
He could tell, their Mana resonated with one another. Him and this parasite, were fated to meet.
"Hello? Earth to Villain-kun?" Azazel snapped him out of his trance.
"O-Oh… I apologize." He adjusted his glasses and took a sharp breath. "As you know, that thing is of considerable value to me."
"That much is clear," he replied. "But what you should be focused on, is what I want in exchange for this."
"Name your price," he sat upright.
"I'll get to that, but before I put anything on the table you do understand you're technically collaborating with the enemy right?"
"Mhm. And what of it?" He didn't seem phased.
"I mean, I imagine your contractor won't take kindly to this." In truth, Azazel could care less about Rias Gremory if not for the Sacred Gear's in her peerage. He just wanted to get a read on Takauji.
"I let her Pawn's beloved die on purpose, and rescued her direct enemy. Does it really matter at this point?"
Azazel sported a devilish grin.
"No, I suppose it doesn't." He recalled the parasite much to Takauji's disappointment. "Just for the record, how long do you plan on staying with the Gremory peerage?"
I might as well answer, especially if this leads to me getting a contract with him.
"Our current contract stands for a month, which right now should still be active for around 3 more weeks. However, I don't really have much reason as it stands to continue it. Honestly, the only reason I extended it to begin with was to acquire the Cursed Eyes."
"Which I can now offer you."
"Indeed," he took a sip of his coffee. "Are you perhaps suggesting a contract between the two of us?"
"Ahahaha, let's not get ahead of ourselves shall we? First let's settle what we have going on here, and then we can talk about the future."
"Very well. What is it you want from me in exchange for the Cursed Eyes?"
"It's about Raynare," she flinched. "Or more accurately, her Sacred Gear."
"Oh?"
"Tell me Villain-kun, have you ever heard of Balance Breaker?" For some reason the phrase had Azazel noticeably elated.
"I'm afraid not," he admitted.
"I see, Balance Breaker basically refers to a state where a Sacred Gear enters a temporary evolutionary mode. Like a second-form you see in anime if you will."
Now that's interesting…
"I myself have spent a good portion of my life studying Sacred Gears and their many mysteries, and I can say with confidence, Balance Breaker is one of the greatest ones by far." He spoke with sparkles in his eyes.
Azazel forgot to mention that the state was only possible because of God's passing, leaving a flaw in the Sacred Gear System, or a "bug" if you will. However that was a discussion for a much later date.
An evolution… I see, so that's what he wants from me.
"And you want me to help Raynare achieve this state?" She seemed fairly taken aback.
"Precisely! Of course I don't plan to just send you off on your own. I will first supply you with a great deal of my research on what I believe to be the main conditions for achieving this state, and moreover I'll make sure you're compensated for your time by helping you with your studies."
"How so?"
"The material Rias Gremory has been giving you isn't half-bad, but it's barebones in comparison to what I can offer you," Azazel summoned a book, sliding it across the table.
Hold on… is this?
"Not bad right?" He said with a certain confidence.
The Pocket Dimension technique… this detail… these diagrams…
"Not bad is an understatement, this is… phenomenal." Takauji was simply astounded as he flipped through the pages, it was like he had a treasure trove of knowledge in the palm of his hands.
"You can keep that one if you want as a freebie, I'll get you the rest if you agree to the deal."
"There's more…?"
"Of course, that book is just the tip of the iceberg. Though there aren't really any notable Darkness Magic practitioners alive nowadays, they were quite prominent a few hundred years ago. And we managed to get our hands on a good chunk of the knowledge they left behind."
"So basically you're in possession of their inheritance."
"Yeah, pretty much." He shrugged. "So, will you accept?"
"Just to confirm, you want me to help Raynare achieve Balance Breaker in exchange for giving me the Cursed Eyes?"
"Yes."
"And is there a time limit to this?"
"Nope, when you live as long as me, time really isn't a focus. Even if you took more than a decade it would pass in the blink of an eye for me."
An old monster indeed…
"In that case, I have no reason to refuse, do I?" They shook hands, sealing the deal.
"Excellent," he beamed. "Would you mind giving me your hand for a bit?"
"Uh… alright?" He did as he requested, watching as Azazel implanted a bit of his Mana into his.
"Now you can open a communication line with me should any problems arise."
"Oh, that's rather useful."
"Indeed it is, well then. I shall look forward to your success."
