I am Tenshin Trius.

A week passed by, and it was the middle of the afternoon. Desha and Rias were working on another assignment I had handed them, and they worked on it as Vieta was behind the seat I usually sit on. I wasn’t there until I came through the room carrying something in my arms.

"Guess who’s back!" I exclaimed.

"Welcome back, Master Tenshi," Vieta said as she pulled my chair back, and I sat on it.

Rias looked up at me. "What were you even doing you? You took a while."

I pulled out what was in my arm, revealing a canvas. "Ta-da," I said, showing her the artwork, which was a perfectly drawn and colored painting of her.

Rias gasped and dropped her pencil as she looked at it, joy shining in her eyes. She grabbed the canvas, examined it, and exclaimed, "You actually did it!? This is the best!"

I nodded with pride. "Yup, sorry it took a bit, but here it is now." I looked away. And also a sorry gift after you figured out what masturbating was. No regrets. I looked back at her with a grin. "Shouldn't you say...?" I paused, waiting for her to respond how I wanted.

Rias looked back up at me with a casual expression. "Oh yeah, thanks." Then, she returned her gaze to the painting and smiled again.

I looked at her with a poker face. "Wow, not even a smile for me…?" I muttered. I looked away and smirked. Little does she know it was drawn by an actual professional painter. Now I know I drew my beautiful master slash goddess fully colored, but in reality, I do not know shit. Like, I don’t know at all. I don’t know if I cast some spell on myself to make me a good painter for only Larah, but really, I don’t know shit… shit! I did draw the outline, though.

Vieta looked down at me. Noticing my smirk, she said, "Uhh..." I looked up at her after forgetting she was there, smiled, and then focused back on Rias and Desha as they continued their work.

***

After a couple of hours, I was done tutoring for the day. Rias, Vieta, and I all followed Desha, and both Rias and I had the same leather armor we had last time we sparred with swords since Desha was going to continue training us. As always I invited Vieta to come watch.

I looked down and noticed Rias continuing to hold the painting of herself. I looked up at her and said, "Rias, don’t you wanna keep that in your room? Isn’t it strange to just bring it with you outside?"

Rias looked back at me and replied, "I don’t need to do what you say." Rias would look back ahead. "Besides, I love it," She said with a smile.

I shrugged it off and smirked. Well, glad she liked it, at least. I looked ahead and noticed Salina walking by.

Rias ran up to her, exclaiming, "Mother, look at this awesome painting Tenshi drew for me!" She displayed the painting with a bright smile on her face.

Salina returned the smile and said, "That’s wonderful, my dear." However, when she looked up at me, her expression shifted to one of disapproval, as if I had done something wrong. Confused, I looked back at her, but she simply walked away.

I watched her leave and turned to Vieta. "Do you know why she doesn’t seem to like me?"

Vieta shrugged her shoulders, indicating that she didn’t have an answer.

I would look back at her leaving, and I would sigh.

***

Five months had passed, and it was summer. Both Rias and I were currently sparring with wooden swords in the castle courtyard. Vieta was inside the castle, so she decided not to join us. As we continued to clash swords, it became clear that we were evenly matched.

"Ha!" we both shouted as our swords collided. We grunted with effort, pushing against each other. Suddenly, Rias ducked down and tripped me with her legs.

"Ah!" I yelped as I stumbled.

"Haa!" Rias exclaimed as she slashed her sword at my ribs before I could hit the ground.

"Gah!" I spat out as she managed to strike me on the side, which made me fall.

Rias would pant as she aimed her sword right above herself for the finishing move.

I would roll over, look right up at her, and shout while waving my hand in front of myself, "WAIT, WAIT, WAAAAIT! I SURRENDER, I SURRENDER!" However, Rias wouldn’t care and would continue to stab the wooden sword down at me. But Desha would quickly swoop in and grab Rias's arm.

As Rias persisted, still pushing and grunting, Desha looked down at her and said, "Rias, he surrenders; you’ve won the training session. You can put the wooden sword down now."

Rias sighed and let go of the sword, which would hit me on the head. I yelped, "Ah!" Rias snickered and took a step back. As I sat up, I began using healing magic on myself, starting with my face.

Desha glanced over at Rias with a small smile and said, "Excellent work, Lady Rias. I can confidently say you are making progress. You are definitely nearing advanced-rank."

Rias would have a big smile and raise her hands in a cheering gesture as she shouted, "Yes! I’m the best!"

I would pant as I was on the ground, continuing to use healing magic. "God, it is hot out here…" I said with a tired breath. I looked up at Desha while continuing to heal myself. "What about me? In the language of my father?"

Desha looked down at me. "You can do better than that. In my words, your skills fall just a little short of Rias’s; surprisingly, you're still doing decently well, though."

Once I healed myself, I stood up from the ground and stretched my arms. "That's good. I plan to aim for advanced or saint-class before I get home anyway."

Rias picked up her wooden sword from the ground and aimed it at me with a grin. "Don’t think you’ll reach my level, Tenshi. I’ll get there before you, and then I’ll go for king-class, emperor-class, and finally, god-class." Rias would let out an evil chuckle.

I looked back at Rias. "I never intended to compete in the first place, but whatever floats your boat." I would get out the leather armor, and so would Rias. I looked back at them. "All right, so magic lessons now or tomorrow?"

"Now, now!" Rias exclaimed with excitement.

"Okay, okay, calm down," I said with a smile. "Let me just go find Vieta and see if she is down for a lesson today."

Rias looked at me with a pouty expression. "Ugh, fine, but hurry up because it’s hot out here."

"Yeah, I’m on it!" I ran back into the castle.

***

A couple of minutes went by, and I walked through the castle halls as I flipped my wand in my hand. Huh, usually, I see Vieta around here cleaning. Maybe my room? As I continued walking for a bit longer, I would reach my room and look inside as I opened the door. "Vieta? You in here?!" I shouted as no one was in my room. I continued to look around the castle, checked Rias’s room, and shouted, "Vieta! You cleaning this room or something?!" But there was still nothing.

I continued walking around the castle. Man, where the hell is she? Eventually, I found Charles holding tea as he was walking down the hall. Oh, Charles! I walked up to him and said, "Hey, Charles!"

Charles looked down at me and said, "Why, hello, Master Tenshin. What may I do for you? As you see, I am a little busy at the moment, delivering tea to Lord Terits."

"Oh, sorry, I was just wondering if you know where Vieta is."

"Ah, yes, Miss Vieta is currently in her room."

"Great, thanks!" I rushed off to get to her as Charles looked back, wondering why I was in a hurry but shrugged it off and continued walking.

***

A few minutes passed by and I was standing out a door, looking directly at it. Not sure if this is her room, but I do frequently see her going in there, so I’d take a gamble at it. I was about to knock on the door, but I noticed it was already a little open. "Huh, already opened."

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I would carefully open the door and enter it. As I looked into the room, I saw that it looked quite bland. Just a bed and a bedside drawer with a window. "No wonder why she’s a depressed introvert; I would be too with a room like this." I would look over to another door where there was light coming through it, like candles or an oil lamp.

I walk over to the door, and as I reach it, I turn my head to see if anything is in there with my ear, but there is still nothing. "Well, guess I’m going in." I open the door and stand frozen after finding Vieta in there.

She was wearing something completely different from what I was used to. I had always seen her in a maid outfit, but this outfit was an interesting one.

She was wearing what I liked to call a birthday suit, so this meant I had seen her in a maid outfit and in her birthday suit, which was just her being naked and was about to enter the bathtub.

We both looked directly at each other, not knowing how to react, but Vieta was definitely heavily embarrassed and just stood frozen, looking as if she were about to freak out. Holy… as they always say, flat is justice. I looked at her from top to bottom and had a perverted grin but quickly shook my head. No, out of anyone else, I can’t let Vieta think badly of me. How about I just… I would slowly back away and close the door.

Clearing my throat, I said, "Hey, Vieta, I was planning to do more magic lessons, and I was wondering if you'd be interested in that—when you’re done, of course!" I let out a small, nervous laugh.

Vieta stayed silent for a moment, making the situation feel even more awkward than it already was, until she finally responded, "...Okay."

"All right, same place as always, sorry." I would walk away from the room and close the door fully. I looked back while letting out a breath of relief, and I grinned back at what happened. Oh, but I see a future B to C-cup in her. Always have to remember: Flat is justice. I would start walking away to go back to Rias and Desha. Maybe I should say that once I meet Larah again for a confidence boost.

***

Twenty minutes passed, and I was back outside with Desha and Rias, as well as Vieta. I was in the middle of training them and have been for the past few minutes. I would currently be holding my magical guidebook in my hands while looking directly at them.

I would say, "Now, remember what I said. Now, fire!"

The three of them would put their hands out, and both Vieta and Desha would say, "Let the mana within me surge through my hands. Water ball!"

Rias also talked with them, but instead, she said, "Let the mana wifin me to… surge…? Eh, never mind."

A water ball would float in front of their hands and look like a perfect sphere, but Rias’s would look like a crumbled-up piece of paper.

I was impressed when I looked over at Rias and noticed her water ball looked a bit off. I had a good idea of why and said, "Rias, you need to say the full incantation next time."

Rias turned to me with shock. "What?! That’s not fair! You didn’t always have to say incantations, so why can’t I?!"

I cleared my throat. "Here’s what my master taught me. Incantations are like training wheels." That's a lie; there probably is no such thing as training wheels but it went something like that. "They help you release whatever magic spell you’re casting, making it cleaner, which means it has a better chance of hitting its target or achieving the desired effect in this situation. And since you aren’t at king-class yet, your spells won’t be perfect without incantations just yet."

Rias looked back at her messed-up water ball. "Well, whoever created magic sucks," She said with disappointment.

I scratched the back of my head, wearing a small fake smile. "Let’s just try other spells..." I glanced over at Desha and Vieta; Vieta looked back at me before quickly looking away, flustered. Oh, right, hopefully, she isn’t too hating on me for the… yeah. I would look over to one of the windows and notice Salina watching, and she would walk away. "And to this day, I’m still wondering…" I murmured.

***

A month and a few days passed by, and I was currently making another outline painting of Larah and would finish it. "Done! It’s done!" I exclaimed as I held the paper up. I started using paper more often since it was easier to carry. The painting was similar to the other outline drawing I had, but this time, her skirt was more lifted, and was able to see more of her panties.

I looked closely at it as I blushed. "Oh, my beautiful master, cute and hot as always…" I whispered. "Ah!" I yelped as I heard knocking on my door. I quickly set the paper down and pushed the others aside. "WAIT! DON’T COME IN!" I called urgently while trying to flip the others to the other side.

The person behind the door knocked again. "Tenshin, I would like to discuss some changes regarding tutoring Rias," Terits said from the other side.

I managed to finish what I was doing and slowly turned my head. …Oh no. Looking up at Terits, I asked, "Oh, Lord Terits, uh, this isn’t bad… right?"

Terits chuckled lightly and shook his head. "No, it’s just a few temporary changes that are needed for a specific occasion."

I let out a sigh of relief. Thank God… I would look back up at him. "Oh, come in and take a seat; I’m not using that chair right now," I said as I moved aside.

"Thank you," he said as he walked over and took a seat in my chair.

I went over to sit on my bed and looked at him. "So, what's this whole change about?"

"Well, I’m planning a revel party for Rias’s tenth birthday, which is coming up in just a month and a few weeks. I’ve already hired a dance teacher for her, and since Rias enjoys her free time, it would likely be impossible for her to attend classes at night. Therefore, I’ve decided to schedule her dance lessons every morning to afternoon during the week on most days. This means I’ll need to slightly reduce your payment to nine gold and two silver for this year. However, I believe the payment for teaching Rias magic shouldn’t be a problem, correct?"

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I laughed. "Rias dancing for a crowd? On her birthday, even? You’re joking, right?" I genuinely thought he was joking since it's something almost impossible to get Rias to do, or at least I thought.

"Pardon?"

I quickly shook my head, reminding myself he was a noble. "I-I was just coughing my throat," I said as I cleared my throat. Wait, did I just say coughing my… Never mind… "Sorry, I meant to say I’m fine with that." I would have a small nervous chuckle. But oh my God, does he really think Rias could do that? I mean, all the embarrassing things she does, she gets violent and heavily embarrassed.

Terits stood up from the chair. "Well, that's everything. I'll be off now," he said as he began to walk away.

Before he could exit the room, I called out, "Wait!" He paused to listen. "Is her dancing really necessary? Can't she just celebrate her birthday or revel thing in her own way?"

Terits chuckled, thinking I was joking. "Is that what you believe? A noble or royal's daughter or son dancing on their birthday is a customary tradition, and here it’s expected. It’s usually so the son or daughter would have a chance to find a potential partner, which is already difficult enough and isn’t strictly necessary but could assist in maintaining my lineage since Rias is my only child." He continued walking away, exited my room, and closed the door behind him.

I would lay back on the bed and think to myself for a moment. Rias dancing… A partner…? Dude is already thinking about Rias having some boyfriend or husband. Doesn’t seem like a Rias thing, but what if she can’t do the dance? What then? I continued to think and ways of things going wrong would all go through my head. I quickly shook my head. It’s going to be weeks anyway, so I shouldn’t worry. I would smile. Ima look on the bright side. "Oh yeah! I got some time off!" I lifted my hand in a cheering manner.

***

A few days passed by, and I was enjoying myself often talking to Vieta and doing more and longer magic lessons with Desha, Rias, and Vieta, and also more of Desha’s help on getting better with sword. I was currently at the library going through books.

I flipped through one and put it back as I said, "Nope." I would look through another and do the same. "Nope." I continued doing so a few more times. Man, all these books suck. I try and try, but all these books have no good storytelling. People in these times really just read these overly formal storybooks and just a bunch of other trash crap? I would eventually get to one that caught my eye as I went through it.

"No..." I said as I flipped through the pages of a book on how to speak demi-human. "Oh, come on! I thought this world only had one language! What the hell?!"

Tertis walked by and remarked, "Ah, so you're quite the reader, it seems?"

I turned to Tertis. "I thought this world only spoke one language. Why is there a language called 'demi-human' now?"

Terits looked at me, surprised. "So, you thought this world had only one language? Nonsense. Every human may speak the same language, but most other races have their own distinct languages. The demi-human tongue isn’t so different from the human tongue and is quite easy to learn."

I looked back at the book. Ohhhh, so that’s what confused me. Every human speaks the same language, not every race, but still, this sucks. I hated being a foreign kid and having to learn English back in the day.

"I’d suggest learning it if you plan on finding a demi-human to marry or have some fun with one day. Just imagine not knowing it, and a beautiful demi-human passes by, but unfortunately, she would only understand demi-human. That would be a completely missed opportunity, wouldn’t it?"

I looked back at Terits as he spoke, and my mouth opened wide. I blushed at the thought, realizing he was right. I looked back at the book. He’s right! What if that does happen? Oh my god, Lumi! What if I go up to Lumi and flirt with her in some demi-human way? I can just imagine. Her getting all hot and then pushing me onto the bed. Oh, and then clothes come off, and we start having some… I grinned pervertedly at the thought. I looked back at Terits with a smirk. "Lord Terits! It’s official! I’m going to learn to be a good demi-human tongue speaker!"

He lightly clapped. "Marvelous decision. So, do you have any favorite features of a demi-human? I’m talking about wolf types, tiger types, cat types, dog types, you know? Ones like those."

I nodded, and without hesitation, I responded by saying, "Ears! Just touching those ears, seeing how they would react, is just the best thing to see—getting all embarrassed and begging them to ask me to stop."

Terits nodded in agreement. "Yes, most definitely. Tails, on the other hand, in my opinion, using that weak spot gets them even more… reactive. Demi-humans are so cuddly and augh! Just amazing!" Terits looked back at me. "Are you sure you aren’t in my line of the family? For being in another, you just seem so connected to our branch."

"I’m just a cultured man, Lord Tertis! Also, are there any other languages?"

He nodded. "Demon tongue, God tongue, dwarven tongue, and more. You should find some more on this shelf, but the language ones are definitely in this area. Here's some." Terits grabbed two books off the shelf and placed them on top of the demi-human book I was carrying. "Good luck to yourself, Tenshin. Take care now." Terits would walk away.

"Thanks!" I would look at the small pile of books, which was quite big. Man, this is either going to be really fun or really boring, but I guess I have something to do.

"Hello, Master Tenshi," Vieta said, appearing from behind me.

"Ah!" I shouted in surprise as I turned around and tripped. "Ow, ow!" I yelped as both books fell on top of me.

One of the books landed on Vieta's head. "Ow!" she squeaked in response. I got up while gathering the scattered books. "S-Sorry, Master Tenshi, that was my fault," she said, rubbing her forehead.

I glanced over at her. "No, it's fine." I continued to look at her, my eyes widening as an idea struck me. "Hey, wait, Vieta, I have a question."

She looked directly at me. "Of course. Ask away."