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Chapter 11: Summon Request
🕑 Added 2024-08-13 11:58:56 +0000 UTC10+ Advance Chapters: patreon.com/Accel14
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Right now Takauji found himself strolling through a children's park, being ordered by his contractor to go looking for a certain someone who had decided to skip school.
Christ it's hot out here.
He used his palm to shield his eyes from the blinding rays of sunlight. Taking off his blazer in an attempt to save himself from the scorching temperature.
I should've bought ice cream or something before I came here, it's like I'm about to turn into a puddle of gooey flesh.
Fueled with the desire to return to the sweet embrace of air conditioning, he decided to hasten his search. Putting all his effort into locating his target.
Not him. Not that guy either. Nope, nope, nope. Oh?
He narrowed his eyes, noticing a figure with spiky brown hair sitting on one of the benches by himself. His head glued to the ground with a solemn look on his face.
Bingo!
"I've been looking for you, Issei-kun."
He approached his underclassmen, causing Issei to look in bewilderment as he faced his upperclassmen.
"Takauji-senpai? What are you doing here?" His tone seemed pretty weak, void of its usual annoyingly high enthusiasm.
"That's my line, my contractor sent me here after you decided to skip school. They're probably worried about you or something."
Issei's lips quivered as his mood took another hit.
"It looks like I've caused them even more trouble."
Takauji breathed a sigh, deciding to sit down next to him as he turned to the Pawn.
"I'd ask what's eating you, but judging from how you were yesterday. I'm going to assume this is about the nun girl?"
Issei clenched his fists together.
"She's not the nun girl, she's Asia." Takauji didn't take his sudden burst of anger all that seriously.
"Right, Asia." He repeated with a distinct lack of care. "I take it you are still looking for a way to rescue her?"
"Yes, but yesterday has made me realize that I'm still too weak. Unless I get stronger, I'll never be able to get her back." He said with a faint sense of brimming resolve.
"So you're going to wield your strength for another? Rather than yourself?" Issei looked at the Magician with widened eyes.
"Is that so surprising?"
"It is for you, I thought you wanted to be stronger so you could have your harem or whatever it was?" The Sacred Gear welder donned a conflicted expression.
"I still do, but Asia is my friend. And she has a good heart, it doesn't sit right with me to just abandon her when she needs me."
"In that case, what are you doing brooding over here? You should be training with everyone else, if you actually want to help her that is."
Issei was about to respond, but the sound of a bell-like voice would soon catch his attention.
"Issei-san? Is that you?" He turned, a sense of elation welling within him as he faced the blonde individual standing before him.
"Asia?" He said, almost not believing that she was here himself. "What are you doing here?" She was supposed to be captive as of now, or working under the crazed Exorcist.
"I was just going on a stroll." The events of yesterday started to resurface in their minds, forming an awkward atmosphere between them.
"... I see," out of the blue, Issei decided to turn to Takauji and bow in front of him. "Takauji-senpai, please don't tell Buchou, but I'd like to spend a little time with Asia."
The Magician fell silent for a bit, his eyes shifting between the two momentarily. Thinking about his request briefly.
"Tell her what? I don't see anything out of place. Is there something I should be aware of?"
I shouldn't have to babysit her boyfriend to begin with, they can solve this mess on their own. I'd rather be at home working on something actually productive.
"Thank you," Issei held his bow. "I'll find a way to pay you back."
"No need, as you are now there's nothing of value you could give me. Pay me back when you actually have something worth giving to me." Takauji disappeared into a pillar of light.
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He found himself back in the clubroom, expecting looks all focused on him.
"He's fine," sighs of relief could be heard from the members. "I think he just needs some time to destress and process everything that happened in that house."
You're lucky I need that Familiar. Otherwise I wouldn't even think about putting up with having to be a babysitter.
The Magician sat down on the couch, making himself comfortable and politely receiving a cup of tea from Akeno.
"Is there anything else we should be aware of?" Rias questioned, looking at him expectantly.
"Not particularly, he does have an inferiority complex at the moment as a result of his lacking strength. So maybe training him up would be to his benefit."
"I see, I'll take that into account."
Takauji picked up a book he had left on the table, finding his bookmark and continuing where he left off.
"What are you studying this time?" Akeno inched closer, looking at the book with piqued interest.
"Something that I probably won't figure out for a long time. It's technically a high-tier spell, but doesn't possess any direct combat value."
"Do tell," she prompted.
"Apparently Darkness can be used to create a little Pocket Dimension if you will, however all you can do with it is store inanimate objects, and even those come with a whole array of restrictions and limitations depending on weight, size, and all that good stuff."
"A Pocket Dimension? Are you sure you should be working on something like that now?"
"No, that's why I said I wouldn't learn it for a while. All I'm doing is looking for bits and bobs that I have a vague understanding of, and using that to enhance the spells I do understand. It's kind of like taking the hilt from a steel sword, and applying it to a wooden one."
His approach to studying Magic was quite unorthodox in this regard, but that didn't necessarily mean it was useless.
Normally Magicians in academies such as Grauzauberer would follow a strict syllabus, forbidding them from touching material that they were not supposed to interact with.
But as a self-taught Magician, Takauji was free to choose his own method of study.
The spell basically creates a tear in space, opening up a pocket of "nothing" and allowing the caster to use that "nothing" as storage. But the amount of calculative prowess needed to pull this off… until I get that Familiar I won't even be able to touch the surface of this spell.
Everything comes back to that doesn't it?
Just be patient, Takauji, you'll get it when the time calls.
"How interesting," she said in spite of not fully understanding what he was blabbing about.
"Hey, Taka." She lowered her voice, and Takauji pretended that she hadn't just called him that. "Is Issei-kun really alright?"
He didn't move, only moving his eyes towards her.
"Of course. Why would you suggest otherwise?"
She hummed, bringing her face closer to him so she could see his expression more clearly. But Takauji's face revealed little as always.
"No reason, maybe I'm just more worried about Issei-kun than I thought," she softened.
"Maybe you are," Takauji closed his book and stood up. Deciding that he had enough interaction for the day.
"And where might you be headed?" Rias asked. "School's still on."
"You can cover for me, I'm going back home to prepare for our confrontation with the Fallen Angels." She couldn't deny him if that was the reasoning.
"You can't do it here?"
"Unless you want a face full of Darkness Magic exploding in your face while I train, then I'm afraid not."
"I'll come with," Akeno suggested, which was more like a declaration seeing as Takauji wouldn't have much of a choice in a matter. "Don't give me that look, you're the one who said I could do as I please after all."
"I did say that," as long as she didn't interrupt. He could find it in him to tolerate her presence.
Pretending not to notice the disgruntled look on his contractor's face, he took himself and Akeno back to his abode of knowledge acquisition.
"Hey, do you want to spar with me for a bit?" Akeno asked him out of the blue.
"Can't say I was expecting you to ask me that. Any reason you want to spar in particular?" He was understandably curious.
"Not really, it's just that I've watched you train for a bit now, and I've seen you use some spells here and there. But I've never had a chance to see where your strength actually is first hand."
"I see. But if that's what you wanted you should've asked me when we were still at the clubroom, if we spar here the neighbors will see it."
"That's not a problem," Takauji raised a brow. "I'll just create a barrier around us, that way they won't be able to see what's going on."
"You can do that?" He hadn't heard of such a technique, which was understandable considering he barely had over a week of experience.
"Mhm, watch." She twirled her finger as a dark-colored dome descended around his house, making it appear almost as if it were night time.
"That was quick."
"What can I say? I'm good at what I do." She beamed proudly, leading him to the backyard as they stood opposite one another.
"You ready?" Akeno asked.
"You didn't even ask me if I wanted to accept."
"True, but you would've agreed anyway. Aren't I right?" She had a fair point.
Takauji didn't need to respond, he simply unsheathed his Katana and looked at his own reflection in the blade momentarily.
"Whenever you're ready," she awaited.
He decided to take the initiative, opening the fight by using Mana Step in order to appear right in front of her.
His plan was relatively simple, he would keep pressuring her with Phantom Blade until he either managed to get a lucky hit, or stressed her enough into giving him an opening.
"Sorry, the truth is I've actually been watching your sparring sessions with Yuuto-kun."
She formed a widespread defensive circle that covered the entirety of her torso, blocking his blade effortlessly.
I see. If she covers her entire body to begin with, then it doesn't matter whether I disguise the trajectory of my blade or not. It just won't hit regardless.
"I don't mind," he stepped back. Using his foot to kick up a cloud of dust to hide his position momentarily.
Obviously, she could still sense him with her Demonic Power, but that sense only worked on things that contained a certain amount of Mana.
(SWOOSH!)
Her eyes widened as his blade came hurtling towards her from the dust, thrown at her like a javelin.
"That won't work either," she soon composed herself. Using another defensive circle to block the oncoming weapon.
You sure?
"Eh?" But once the "sword" made contact with her circle, she was stunned to find out that it had turned into a pebble out of nowhere.
And before she knew it, Takauji had Mana Stepped towards her with his actual blade pointed right at her throat, an impassive look on his face.
Defensive circles can't be casted without any delay unless you're a top-tier caster. You seem to still need a few seconds in between uses.
It was now that she remembered that he was able to mask inanimate objects with his illusions, but she hadn't expected him to have already progressed to the level where he can make something as small as a pebble appear like his Katana.
"That was a little cheap don't you think?" She said with a wry smile.
"One of the books I read said that a good Darkness Magician needs to be a good con-man as well. And I obviously can't contend with you in a contest of brute force."
He was not a Knight, he was a Magician. And Magicians have always been tricksters.
"You have a point but," she grabbed the blade with her hand. Squeezing it tightly and not shedding so much as a drop of blood. "Brute force has its uses as well."
"I suppose that is true," Takauji lowered his blade.
"But you did in fact win," Akeno said with a smile. "Good work."
Out of the blue, Takauji's face seemed to contort. Noticing something interacting with his Mana.
"What's the matter?" She asked.
"It looks like I have some business to attend to, I'll be back soon." It was a summon request from Issei.
