Meanwhile, Akeno, who had arrived in the bathroom, leaned against the back of one of the stalls with her back while one of her hands rested between her breasts and the other pressed against the bathroom door.
Her heart was pounding harder than ever, and her mind was a mess.
'Akeno, you can't, he's your best friend's nephew! Besides, he already has a lovely fiancée... But... doesn't that make it even more interesting? No, no, I shouldn't think like that...'
Akeno began an internal struggle. Part of her just wanted to throw caution to the wind and go with the flow, regardless of the chaos it might cause. On the other hand, she treasured her friendship with Rias and was eternally grateful for everything Rias had done. She couldn't do this to her...
After all, she knew Rias's secret.
***
***
At the end of classes, Zaydas went with Rias and Akeno to meet up with the rest of the group, heading to the Occult Research Club.
In the clubroom, illuminated by candlelight, Zaydas said:
"Rias-nee, how's Gasper-kun doing after that?"
Sitting cross-legged, she replied:
"He's much better now. Would you like to see him?"
"Hm, okay." Zaydas agreed without much thought.
"Let's go." Akeno, who had been in the separate area making tea, saw them leaving and sighed.
In front of a double door, there were chains locking it.
Rias opened the door and broke all the seals meant to keep it locked.
As soon as the door opened, what was revealed was a dark room with little furniture and a coffin in the center.
"Gasper-kun, I've come."
As Zaydas's voice fell, the coffin door opened, and a cute creature that could easily be mistaken for a girl—either due to their feminine school uniform or their delicate appearance—practically flew toward Zaydas, hugging his waist.
"There, there." Zaydas patted his head with one hand while the other gave gentle pats on his back.
"Ara ara, what an emotional scene! For those who don't know, they might even think you're brothers~" Akeno, who had entered the room, said upon seeing the scene.
"Brothers?" Gasper didn't miss the point. Looking up and seeing Zaydas smiling at him, Gasper chuckled:
"Hihi, I wish I could be Zay-nii's little brother!"
Although not his main goal, Zaydas analyzed Gasper's Sacred Gear and the cost of replicating it.
[Sacred Gear: Forbidden Balor View (Rank ??)] – Replication Cost: 200,000 AP with a 52% success rate.
'This value... The only thing that can be considered good is the casually high success rate.' Zaydas thought upon seeing it. 'But even if I had that amount of AP, I wouldn't attempt to replicate it casually.'
It was a value higher than that of the Boosted Gear. Double the cost, to be precise.
Another thing: he didn't intend to try stealing the Sacred Gear as he did with Issei. To him, Issei wasn't significant. However, Gasper was almost like a slightly problematic younger brother.
Stolen novel; please report.
Sitting on the sofa with Gasper next to him, Zaydas asked:
"Gasper, have you thought about what I told you before?"
Ravel, who didn't know about this subject, grew curious but didn't know whom to ask.
***
***
Akeno was kind enough to explain to her: "Gasper-kun has social phobia. Many things happened to him in the past, which made him this way... However, he has been improving with the help of Zaydas-sama. And, last time, he basically proved that the way Gasper-kun thought was a little wrong."
"Zaydas-sama did something like that?" Ravel felt a bit moved.
Akeno, seeing this, felt strange but continued explaining.
Meanwhile, Gasper said to Zaydas: "Zay-nii, I've thought about what you said last time, and although I agree... Am I cowardly for thinking that people are still scary?"
"No, you're not." Zaydas lightly touched his head. "Gasper, not everything in life is black and white. Your fear originates from your traumas. First of all, you're a kind boy who, even though deep down knew you were powerful, didn't harm those who attacked you, whether verbally or even physically."
"You thought that way?" Gasper was surprised.
Zaydas added: "However, Gasper, I don't fully agree with that kind of mentality. It's okay to be kind, but never let others walk all over you. The moment you do, you'll be forever consumed by that fear. I'm not saying to cause a massacre, but if something like that happens again, fight back. Don't be afraid to fight when it's necessary."
"Don't be afraid to fight when it's necessary." Gasper repeated these words like a mantra.
"Yes, that's right," Zaydas said. "You're part of Rias-nee's nobility, and she will protect you. But, you know, Gasper? She needs you more than you think."
"Rias-buchou needs me?" Gasper couldn't hide his surprise.
"My little and silly Gasper, of course I need you," Rias said from the other side, hugging Gasper.
"I-I understand, I'll do my best!" Gasper said. "Rias-buchou, is it okay if... I start going to school?"
Gasper's final words practically made Rias cry. Even the rest of Rias's Peerage seemed very surprised.
[+19 AP]
'As expected, a simple decision from Gasper generated some AP.'
***
***
Later, close to 11 p.m., Zaydas didn't intend to return to the INN or the MHA. So, he said mentally:
'Great Sage, I want to go to another Medium-Rank dimension.'
[Accepted!]
[Processing...]
[Weak connection...]
[Forcing a connection...]
[Coordinates marked!]
[Processing...]
[Success!]
[Processing...]
[Prepare to use Dimensional Leap!]
'Ready.'
[1, 2, 3... Now!]
Zaydas used Dimensional Leap.
Zaydas was surrounded by a protective second skin before the Dimensional Leap.
In moments, he disappeared from his room, feeling as if chains tried to bind him but were all destroyed. Then, there was something blocking his path, but he forced his way through, as if breaking a glass wall that was impeding him, shattering it.
***
***
[Tokyo, Kanagawa Suburbs: Hikari no Mirai Orphanage – 8:35 a.m.]
The Hikari no Mirai Orphanage is like a typical old wooden mansion with two floors.
While the children had a "home," they also had to help with chores, such as cleaning or even hanging clothes once they reached a certain age.
Ai Hoshino, a little girl around 11 or 12 years old, was looking at a tall tree on the orphanage grounds.
Ai Hoshino was a pretty, very thin, almost malnourished little girl with gradient purple-to-pink eyes and a six-pointed star in each of them. She had long bluish-purple hair. Her outfit was simple: a white long-sleeved T-shirt and gray pants.
"How am I going to get that back..." she murmured. "They're going to fight with me and... this sheet belongs to Maia."
Thinking of Maia made her shudder a little.
Maia was one of the bullies at the orphanage.
Although there shouldn't be anything like a sheet that belonged to someone, Maia, who was 14 years old, had her name embroidered on the best sheet.
So, when Ai saw the embroidery with Maia's name on it, she was mortified with worry.
Suddenly, the skies began to darken.
Lightning seemed to form in the clouds, illuminating every time thunder echoed.
"Boom, boom!"
Ai's anxiety increased.
'Should I go ask for help?' Ai thought.
"BOOM!"
"Kyahhhhhhh!"
Right near her, what seemed to be a lightning strike hit the tree where Maia's sheet was stuck.
And when she opened her eyes again after screaming in fear, she was shocked to realize that the sheet had disappeared.
'Maia is going to hit me like Mommy...'
Memories of her mother made her tremble.
"Ai, Ai... Indeed, this time, it was even more complicated..."
"Huh? Is someone there?" Ai heard a male voice among the broken tree branches. As the curtain of dust settled, she saw a boy.
'How handsome...' was her first thought upon seeing him. The second was, 'He fell from the sky? Was he the one who caused this?'
She thought this because at that moment, she saw him exactly where the "lightning" had struck. As evidence, there were even pieces of tree branches scattered around him.
"Is this yours?"
When she saw him holding out a white sheet in his hand, Ai reflexively said, "No, it belongs to Maia."
"I see," he said. "By the way, where are we? Is this some kind of institution?"
"It's an orphanage, and you're on the grounds that belong to it," she replied.
"I understand." He seemed thoughtful.
"Hey, you..."
"Zaydas. You can call me by that name."
"Zaydas-sama, did you fall from the sky? Are you an angel?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.
"Haha, aren't you a bit young to be using such a pick-up line on me?" the boy laughed aloud.
"Pick-up line..." Ai thought about what she said and blushed slightly. "N-No, it's not like that, I..."
"I know, I'm just teasing you," Zaydas said with a small smile. "May I know your name?"
"Ai Hoshino."
"I'll call you Ai-chan, is that okay?"
She nodded.
"You thought I was an angel because you saw me fall from the sky, right?" he asked, and she nodded again.
He continued, "Hehe, actually, I'm the opposite of an 'angel.' But don't worry, I'm not a 'bad devil.' I'll even give you a first-meeting gift~"
Before she could react, she saw his left index finger glow, and then he touched her forehead.
Immediately after, she fainted.
***
***
Zaydas, seeing the little girl faint, gently picked her up in his arms and leaned her carefully against the tree after making the debris around them float away to a safer distance.
He murmured, "I hope you like my gift, Ai-chan."
Then he floated away, sensing someone approaching, leaving the white sheet he had retrieved earlier in Ai Hoshino's hand.
*****
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