Chapter 2 (2): The adventurers, part 2
When I removed my bracelets, Van fell down in surprise from the hundredfold increase in my aura. As expected, it was quite the shock... more so than I predicted, actually. I did warn them.
"Would you like to leave the barrier, or will you wish to stay as I remove another one?" (Ryuu)
"You're a bit of a sadist, you know that? If you knew that removing two would do this much, you should have warned us about it" (Van)
"You know, I kinda did, saying that I've killed people with just my aura" (Ryuu)
"Fine, I'm leaving. You two can risk pissing yourselves, I'm not going to" (Van)
After he left, I removed one of my earrings, and caused Irene to flee. Ninya, on the other hand, was trembling with an ecstatic expression... is Ninya an M?
"Should I continue, or is that enough for you?" (Ryuu)
"I... Want to see what you have... to peer into the abyss of magic" (Ninya)
"Very well. Earring number two, coming off!" (Ryuu)
As soon as I'd removed it, he began breathing heavily. Honestly, I'm impressed he'd managed to stay conscious when faced with my aura after I'd removed four of my seven limiters, but looking happy, or rather, almost blissful? He's definitely an M. Still, since he hasn't pissed himself or fallen down, he could probably handle one more safely... please note, I'm not just doing this because I derive pleasure from making people feel fear or anything like that, I'm not really much of a sadist. I do this because people who can withstand an aura much stronger than their own can sometimes obtain an explosive growth in their mana pool, and also become more likely to be able to keep a level head in a fight. It's training for him, just training...
"Another one?" (Ryuu)
"Yes please... This is amazing... I might just get addicted to this feeling" (Ninya)
Yeah, definitely an M. I removed my axe, and he moaned, I think in pleasure as he sat down... wait... that was pretty high-pitched, even for a young boy... Hmm... I checked his aura and the flow of his mana, something that can pretty much only be done by demons and the strongest of elves due to the disparity in mana values needed between the one doing it and the target, and found... his aura had a slight pinkish hue to it, and the flow of mana seemed to be much more concentrated than usual around the chest.
"I thought so..." (Ryuu)
I put on everything that I'd removed, changed the barrier to also block sound, and moved next to Ninya, who stood up.
"Were you ever planning on telling me that you're a girl, or were you going to wait until your clothes got cut... or, if that didn't happen, until I revealed that I'd fallen in love with you or something?" (Ryuu)
"I... how did you know?" (Ninya)
"First, there was the fact that you're as old as I am but still haven't had your voice change, which could seem odd, but is explainable. There's also the fact that you didn't bathe with anyone else while we were traveling together, which could also be explained away. But then, when your moan was higher pitched than would be normal for even a young boy, I decided to check your mana flow and the color of your aura, which is a pink I've only ever seen on females, by the way. Still, you're hiding some pretty huge breasts, aren't you?" (Ryuu)
"Please don't tell anyone. Nobody knows, even among my party... actually... you said you checked the flow and color of my mana? You... you're not a normal half-elf, are you? Even if your mother was a high elf, you wouldn't normally be able to check someone's mana flow when only a halfblood, and seeing the hue of someone's aura is an ability exclusive to demons, from what I'd heard. That would also explain how you have such a massive amount of mana and an incredibly strong aura... So, am I right?" (Ninya)
"Yeah... I'll keep your secret, if you'll keep mine. Sound good?" (Ryuu)
"Very well, this sounds big... So of course I'd want to know (Ninya)
"That it is... See, my mother was an elf, my father was sorta a demon, and not a normal one either. My full name is Miryuu Maou, and you could say that I'm the Demon Lord, now that my father is dead" (Ryuu)
Even though Ninya didn't faint upon being in the middle of my aura when I had removed five of my limiters, she couldn't withstand the shock of hearing that I'm the Demon Lord. I hastily took down the barrier, and the rest of her party rushed in.
"Don't worry, Ninya is fine, just unconscious. I wouldn't do anything to hurt a friend, after all, let alone someone I'm a bit attracted to in the romantic sense" (Ryuu)
"I take it you went too far when showing him your aura or something?" (Bradley)
"More or less, yeah. Ninya is... quite the M, wouldn't you say? Sh... Yeah, he was fine with my aura being a hundredfold what Irene fled from, but when it went back to what you feel now, he collapsed soon after. I guess he got a bit addicted to it or something, maybe?" (Ryuu)
"You could say that, I guess... Let's do that again sometime" (Ninya)
"That was fast. I was expecting you to stay out for half an hour or so" (Ryuu)
"I was able to hear what was said, but not able to move from the shock. Yes, I'm an M, and, I'm fine" (Ninya)
"So, uh... you heard..." (Ryuu)
"Yes, I heard you say you are a bit attracted to me. I don't know if I feel the same about you, not yet, at least. You are quite pretty though, in addition to being kind, smart, and strong. You are definitely someone I call a friend, but... Well, your sadism seems to be a good match for me, so that's another thing in your favor. We'll see, but right now, you have school, and I have a party. Still, once you graduate, I think we'd be happy to have another solid mage in our party. Right now, we only have the one, so I have to balance attack magic and keeping mana in reserve to heal people, and there's nobody who could heal me if I got hurt" (Ninya)
"You didn't have to add the part about me being a sadist, I'm not really one... baka" (Ryuu)
"Tsundere?" (Just about everyone besides the two of us)
"I think she is, just a bit" (Ninya)
Shut up... please, don't say that...
"If you say anything more like that, I'll tell everyone here in a lot of detail about the rather unmanly moan you let out. Your face at that time was also rather cute, if I am being honest, so I'd describe that too" (Ryuu)
"Stop... please, don't... You say anything like that, and I'll talk about what I figured out about YOU" (Ninya)
"Do that, and either I'll kill you, or make you wish you were dead while enjoying myself... wait, you'd just find that to be pleasurable... well, it'd be a great way to make you fall for me, I guess. I wouldn't actually kill you, by the way" (Ryuu)
"That sounds fun... I guess I'll say it. Hey, guys, I figured out that she's real- Mmpph!" (Ninya)
"Let me change my threat. You do that, and I won't do what I was implying I might do to you. If you keep quiet, I'll make you feel good all night long, okay? Don't worry, I'll heal you afterwards" (Ryuu)
"It's a date. Tonight?" (Ninya)
Looking forward to it... and I wasn't expecting her to accept my offer, honestly.
"Weren't you just saying that you don't know if you feel that way about her?" (Van)
"One can have fun without love, you know. You were the one saying that, after the last time I had to listen to you all night when you brought a woman you barely knew to your room" (Ninya)
"Did you have to bring that up?" (Van)
"All's fair in love and war, right?" (Ninya)
"I think you aren't using that right..." (Van)
"I half feel like backing Ninya up, but that's not quite my style, and half feel like being protective and saying 'Leave my Ninya alone!' or something, but that's a bit on the clingy side, so I'm just going to stay out of this ex-lover's spat or whatever it is" (Ryuu)
With that, everyone started to laugh, save for the two in question, Van seemed to be stunned, while Ninya just started to panic.
"What? Nonononono, I'm not into guys, I think, and I certainly never was in that kind of a relationship with Van, so... I mean, I... No, I just... I... UWAA!!!" (Ninya)
"Is it just me, or is Ninya starting to act the way a maiden in love and trying desperately to hide it while also making sure to not drive away the one she loves would act?" (Shion)
Wait, what? I don't have any experience with that, but... Maybe? Hopefully?
"Yeah, I can kinda see that too, now that you mention it..." (Irene)
"Stop it guys, it's really not funny. I just like the feelings that Ryuu's aura gave me, and she's a good person too, so I figured I'd give her a chance" (Ninya)
"Speaking of... Ninya, you said you figured out something about Ryuu? What was that about? You don't have to say the specifics, just the general sort of thing, be it her family's background, her race, or that you figured out one or more of her fetishes" (Bradley)
"It was about my family. Any more than that, and neither of us will say. Though, if you get it right on the first try, I'll tell you that you did. Get it wrong on the first try, I'll say that you got it wrong. Second try or after, I won't say anything if I don't want to, but I won't lie about it" (Ryuu)
"And if we get it half right? Say, your mother was a noble from a house that got demolished, and we say that, but about your father, what would you say?" (Van)
"I'd say you were close, if that was the case, which it's probably not. Would that be your guess?" (Ryuu)
"No, it's not. My guess is that your father was actually one of the demon generals" (Van)
"Uh... somewhat close, but no" (Ryuu)
"Wait, really?" (Irene)
"Yep. Still, I have no blood ties to the demon generals, so you are only somewhat close" (Ryuu)
"Well, in that case... You're a demon, right? Or a part-demon, I guess, if your mother really was an elf" (Irene)
"That is true, however, it's not what Ninya realized and learned after asking me. Still, partially correct" (Ryuu)
"Hey, you said your father died to some cowardly tactics on the Katze Wasteland, right? That would be assassination, if he was on the demon's side. That was limited to the generals, the Demon Lord, and a few aids. Therefore..." (Van)
I forgot that I'd said that... crap.
"Your family name... Maou? If that's the case, the church would call you th-" (Shion)
"THE SPAWN OF THE DEMON LORD, AND ALL WHO SUPPORT IT, MUST DIE!!! FOR THE GOD OF LIGHT LARS AND HIS HOLY CRUSADE AGAINST THE EVIL DEMONS!!!" (Priest popping out of nowhere)
He attacked Ninya, as she was the one closest to where he was hidden, which I blocked.
"Barrier" (Ryuu)
I put a barrier around the priest to keep him from moving, walked next to it, put up another one around the two of us to keep my aura contained, and removed all my limiters at once as I stopped hiding my wings and horns. He did attack my friend on nothing more than an unconfirmed theory, after all.
"HHHIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!" (Priest)
"Such undignified last words from someone who dared to use the name of my friend Lars to try to kill me, and who thought he had the ability to kill the Demon Lord, especially without the element of stealth" (Ryuu)
"That was... a bit too far, wouldn't you say? He only tried to-" (Van)
"He tried to hurt my friend after declaring his intent to kill me and several of my friends. Besides, if I tried to hand him over to the guards for trying to kill me, and he was still alive, he'd be able to say that I'm the Demon Lord's daughter, and with his standing in the church, they'd probably believe him, regardless of whether or not it was the truth. By the way, it is. The name's Miryuu Maou, and I'm the Demon Lord. Still, as I said, the Demon Lord isn't a malicious existence or anything like that, and I have no powers over how many magical beasts there are, nor what they try to do... well, I can change their numbers by killing them, which I do whenever I can, but other than that, they have nothing to do with me. I'm still the same person you ate, slept, talked, and laughed with for a week, not a threat to anyone who doesn't threaten my friends. People could attack me all they'd like, and I'd only disable them, but attack my friends because of who I am? That's asking to die" (Ryuu)
"So, you don't care about your own life, but you are overly protective of the ones you care about? Hmm... we have a tsundere M and a yandere S. A perfect match, I think" (Van)
"STOP IT!!!!" (Ninya)
"Van, Irene, Shion, I'll leave the tsundere to you, as this yandere has to get to her dorm room if she wants to get a good spot. Sorry about that, Ninya. Don't worry, I'll rent a room in a good inn for tonight. I'll meet you in the central square on the south side at sunset, if that works?" (Ryuu)
"Yeah. You guys, if any of you try to follow either of us or 'just happen' to have something to do in the area, I will hunt you down and make you regret the day you were born" (Ninya)
With a wink, I left her behind and headed back to the school.