Aurelia neither supported nor opposed Shuri’s veiled desire for her lord. If the woman could somewhat change Igor’s perception of her, then she would not oppose to her marrying him.

[I shall have a talk with Shuri-sama.]

But that opinion could change very quickly depending on Shuri’s response. Her lord is destined for greatness. He will not need an unworthy woman beside him. And she would certainly do her best to make sure no unworthy woman sinks their claws into him.

.

|DxD|

.

Igor was at a loss for what to do. It had been roughly over an hour since Shuri had sought him for comfort. When she had finally let go after what seemed like a long time, all she said was…

‘Thank you.’

…before she retreated back into the house. He had pressed the issue for if she needed help with it, but she repeatedly insisted that this was something she must handle on her own. He didn’t understand this touchy-feely stuff so he chose to tread safely and not pry.

And so they were led to dinner where he was made privy to the mask Shuri had put up. Asia and Akeno didn’t notice. He himself probably wouldn’t have noticed her fake smile if she hadn’t cried in his arms. As for Aurelia, he wasn’t sure if she noticed or chose to ignore the issue due to how she silently ate her food.

Igor had expected it, but dinner that night was very cold. It was only due to the lively presence of Akeno and Asia that the evening wasn’t entirely quiet. Like two little embers, their lively chattering as they recounted the shopping experience made everyone present have a genuine smile on their face.

But as lively and innocent as they were, their presence was not enough to combat the cold. Soon enough, dinner was over and Shuri directed them to the shower, leaving him and Aurelia alone. Perhaps it was because she noticed how silent he was, but she never said anything the entire time they were alone.

Instead, she dutifully did the dishes using magic while he sat on the table, his head deep in thought. At a loss on what to do, the issue with Shuri troubled him greatly. He wondered if it was about Baraquiel. But then it wouldn’t make sense since this issue was something she said she needed to handle on her own. Atleast it didn’t make sense to him since the old man wasn’t an issue that needed to be “handled”.

He even worried if what she was facing was possibly life threatening.

[Did remnants of the Himejima target her for revenge?]

The thought alone made him furrow his eyebrows. Maybe she encountered a similar issue and was scared to tell him. Maybe some-

{Please don’t worry too much, my lord. Shuri-sama will be fine. This is a particular issue that is related to the matters of the heart. Your help will not be needed there, my lord. In fact, it may possibly be detrimental.}

“...”

Glossing aside her words, how she could use magic to clean up the kitchen and simultaneously use telepathy was beyond him.

Chuckling, he replied to her.

{Alright.}

As always, he could trust Aurelia to read him like an open book. If Shuri was indeed facing an issue like that, then he truly had no way of helping her. The best thing he could do now was silently give her support where she needed it.

For now though, it was time to deal with an issue that had been put off for too long.

{Sister. I need your advice with something. Meet me outside when you’re done.}

{I shall arrive in five minutes, my lord.}

Knowing she would be accurate to the dot, the blonde left first.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Su!

.

|DxD|

.

It was already dark outside in Kuoh. It was a moonless night, making everything appear in a shade of navy blue and black. Of course, the town was brightly lit with working street lights lighting up the streets.

As for the forest, it was so dark inside that just seeing the next tree was already difficult. But that wasn’t a problem for Igor. Leaping from tree to tree, he had no problem seeing in front of him. His eyes glowed in the night as he made his way across the forest at speeds already faster than most vehicles could ever hope to see.

His goal was to place atleast a few kilometres of distance between himself and Shuri’s house. That was because tonight, he was going to try and contact the little girl that manifests herself when he enters his Demigod State.

Whether it was to kill her or ally with her, that would depend on what Aurelia advised him to do alongside his considerations.

Su!

Landing on the ground, the leaves crunched under his feet as he looked around in nostalgia.

“I thought for sure this part of the forest would’ve been destroyed. Looks like this place remained untouched.”

This was the first spot he appeared in when Ted first brought him to this world. Thinking back on that moment, he wondered if he could pelt that annoying fellow.

Running his eyes along the ground, he could even see that the exposed tree root he tripped on nearly eight years ago was still there. Of course, it had grown a bit thicker since then.

[I’ll wait for sister here.]

Slowly hovering in midair, he crossed his legs and closed his eyes. His pants really tightened up when he did that, making him very tempted to tear them apart. He couldn’t get used to how these pants limited his mobility and his shirt was starting to annoy him for different reasons.

Whether it was fate playing a joke or something else, but he could swear this shirt was magnetic with the ability to attract food and anything else not white. The amount of times he had to catch a piece of meat or some soup from spilling on it was much higher than normal.

He was already tempted to just tear off his clothing. Fortunately, Aurelia arrived in time before he could undress to his underwear.

Lowering her head in a respectful bow, she presented herself.

“Lord Dimori. I am at your service.”

“...”

Opening his eyes, he inwardly remarked at how he would never get used to this as he stood up.

“I need your advice, sister, so I’ll get to the point. When I was in my berserk state, I wasn’t completely out of it. While my body was rampaging, there was this entity in the form of a little girl in my mind. She called herself Triny and she was responsible for my state at the time.”

Stretching out his hand, he intertwined it with hers.

“Here. Let me share my memories.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Opening up her mind, Aurelia let his experience travel into her.

“?!”

Little by little, foreign images appeared in her head before they slowly mashed together to form one long movie sequence. Witnessing everything from his perspective, to say she was surprised was an understatement.

Aurelia was glad she had taught Igor how to transfer memories because he truly downplayed just how unique this entity was.

“My lord. This…this is nature energy given form.”

Remembering the books she had read by Nakamura, she elaborated.

“This is a demon. She is a true demon.”

“...”

Igor absorbed all the information Aurelia told him and processed it in his head.

“I see…”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite understand the significance of this information. Right now, he was more concerned on what he should do.

“I am sure you are aware of her abilities. Tell me, sister. How much of a risk is she? Should I get rid of her?”

“...”

Calming down from her surprise, Aurelia found she couldn’t provide a straight answer. That was because she saw hesitance in Igor’s eyes. Despite how nonchalant he tried to seem, he was truly having second thoughts on killing the girl. From the memories she saw, she probably would too.

But…this was the perfect opportunity.

“My advice is you should, my lord.”

She was worried that as time went, Igor would begin to rely too much on her. He would soon treat her advice as instructions, something she didn’t want for him to do.

And this…Triny, was the perfect catalyst for that. And from his reaction, it was already working.

“Is this the right course, sister?”

Seeing him express his doubt, she mentally approved of him.

“I cannot say whether it is right or wrong, my lord. I only know that this girl has direct access to your mind and can pull you within whenever she so desires. Her existence prevents you from using your most powerful transformation with peace of mind. Truthfully, my lord, I would also be at ease if she were to be erased.”

“...”

He was contemplating. Good. Now she needed to seal the coffin.

“Furthermore, my lord. I have a bold conjecture I would love to share. Perhaps it may ease your mind.”

“...”

Igor didn’t reply, but a nod of his head was enough for her to continue.

“You see, my lord. I have a theory that if you do kill this girl, you will be able to amass control over nature energy. This would no doubt add to your already growing power and although the possibility is slim, there is a chance of you finally acquiring chi.”

Chi, a culmination of ki and chakra. Igor knew about its existence from one of Nakamura’s books. He hadn’t set himself on working to acquire it yet since he still hadn’t reached the pinnacle of ki.

If absorbing Triny’s energy could in fact provide him with this power, then he would be stupid not to take such a shortcut.

“I see. Thank you for your advice, sister. I know what to do now.”

.

AN

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If you’re interested in reading ahead, you can browse my patreon under my username. Today is Friday so, until the next chapter.