Chapter 10: The Kuoh Town (3)
"Hey, Azrail…"
Standing in front of a mirror, Latia looked at the reflection of her blonde hair, which fell past her knees.
My eyes drifted away from the book in my hands, slowly turning towards her.
"You've been standing in front of the mirror for almost an hour. What are you even trying to do?"
"Maybe I should dye my hair tips blue..." She then turned towards me with a rather excited expression. "What do you think?"
"Why?"
"It'll make me look more mature and feminine, like my mother."
Was she already old enough to worry about stuff like that?
"I think you look pretty enough, though… And honestly, the dye would do nothing but ruin the look of your hair."
"You think so?"
"Yeah."
"Hmmm." Latia walked over to my side, glancing at the book in my hands. "A novel? What's this about?"
I raised the book, showing her the cover.
"Artemis?"
"Yeah, it's about the first and only city built on the Moon called Artemis… Although the book has some flaws, it's a good enough Science Fiction."
It was another novel by the author who wrote one of my favourite books in the science fiction genre—The Martian. It was one of the books I never had the time to read in my past life, so when I saw it in a bookstore, I bought it almost instantly.
I had no idea how books that were supposed to be published after 2010 existed during the 90s in 'this' world, but then again, it didn't matter all that much.
"The premise sounds pretty boring to me."
"Well, you like fantasy and historical stories, so I can't say much to make you read this..."
Not everyone could have the same taste regarding stories, which was why the perfect piece of fiction never existed.
While we were on the subject, Latia had a severe fear of places that stored books.
While she could read one at a time after she got buried in a mountain of light novels and manga, she never went anywhere near a library or a bookstore.
Even when I wanted to check the local bookstores or libraries in various places, Latia quietly stood one block away from the bookstore with Alice, waiting for me to finish.
"I guess so."
After saying that, Latia hopped onto the bed and sat with me before summoning her phone from her dimensional storage.
Next, she started surfing through DeviTube.
DeviTube was, as the name suggested, a YouTube used by Devils, as it had all the functions of the original.
To prevent humans from accidentally ending up on DeviTube, it was only accessible through DeviNet, which worked fine in both the Underworld and the Human world.
For convenience's sake, it was also connected to the internet of the Human world, making it possible for users to access information from the internet as well.
The existence of DeviTube and DeviNet reminded me of something important.
Ajuka's naming skills were terrible.
"Hey, look. Diehauser Belilal won another Rating Game!"
I leaned towards my left, resting my head on Latia's shoulder while looking at her mobile screen.
"That guy is something else… His Clan Trait is a cheat, too."
"But he is good at using it, you know? I don't think anyone else could've gotten this far, even with the same clan trait as him."
"I never said he got to that point with only talent, though."
Talent mostly meant a better starting point for most individuals, but the things they could achieve highly depended on how well they utilised that talent.
Ding!*
The two of us watched as a notification panel popped up on Latia's phone, and from the other side of the room, I heard my phone ring, alerting me of a message.
"It's from grandmother."
"Since it's from her, we should've received the same message… Open it."
[The Bael Clan has organised a banquet for Young Devils to announce their new heir. Alice already knows the details, so she'll explain them to you. Be back on time, okay?]
"A banquet for the new heir, huh?"
That didn't come off as too much of a surprise, honestly.
Devils needed the smallest of reasons to throw a party.
"Does that mean they removed Sairaorg from the position of the heir?"
Latia's conclusion was pretty obvious.
Although we had never met Sairaorg in person, we knew about his situation thanks to Rias, who occasionally talked about him since they were cousins.
Well, I did meet him once, at least when we were both one year old.
At that time, my mother visited Misla Bael and introduced me to her, but that was only a one-time thing. After that meeting, she always went alone to meet her friend.
'Maybe it's because mother thinks I won't get along with Sairaorg?'
Considering how I mostly behaved in this life, that assumption didn't sound too far from my mother's thoughts.
After all, I called most 'talented' individuals trash, so running into a 'failure' like Sairaorg would be the worst-case scenario since he was her friend's son, but she was wrong about one thing.
The thing I ridiculed wasn't someone's strength or talents but incompetence to properly utilise the things they had, simply blaming something else for the setbacks they faced because of their actions.
There was no logic in pointing a finger at someone for things that were out of their control, which included their talents or bloodline abilities.
The only things that mattered were how someone utilised what they had or how they made up for the things they lacked.
"To be fair, Sairaorg didn't inherit the Power of Destruction, so it's not wrong to think that someone else took the title of the heir..."
After all, that was how the devil society worked.
"You're right. The Bael Clan is hell-bent on following the old traditions; there's no way they'd want someone without the [Power of Destruction] to be the heir..." Latia replied, moving her head towards the right, letting it rest above my head. "If I am not wrong, the new heir should be the second son of Lord Bael."
"There's no point in wondering about something we'll find out soon enough."
"That's true… But I wonder if Diodora would be joining us?"
Hmm. I thought about Latia's question for a while before denying it.
"Probably not."
"Why?"
"He doesn't attend social gatherings unless they require him to represent the Astaroth Clan's Heir, and even then, Lord Astaroth has to force him to attend…"
And currently, he was a bit too busy with his Holy Maiden hunt.
Last I heard, he was in Italy, where he 'recruited' his [Queen] a few weeks ago after turning her into a heretic for the church.
It was apparent that he'd need some time to break and rebuild her properly.
"I'm glad… That guy gives me a bad feeling, especially with those squinted eyes."
Latia made an unnecessarily long 'yuck' sound, showing her disgust.
"Why do you even hate him? It's not like he did anything to you. The one he points his fingers at is me."
"Yeah, but that's reason enough for me."
What a sweet little girl my niece was.
"By the way, try to behave like a girl in the Bael territory... I don't want you to embarrass me in front of everyone."
Hearing that comment, Latia moved her head, hitting the top of my head with all her might.
Ouch.
"I am a girl. What do you mean I have to behave like one?"
"I was just being considerate. Since Diodora won't be there, you'll be the one representing the Astaroth Clan as the second in line for the position of heir."
"I'm pretty sure people would be more attentive to you. After all, it's the first time Satan Beelzebub's younger brother is attending an official banquet."
I had gone to a few parties with my parents, but none of them were of this scale, as most were private parties with only people whom my parents personally knew.
"I'm not the only one, though. Rias and Sona will be in a similar situation."
Contradictory to those nonchalant words, I could already feel the tiredness coming.
Latia and I started watching random Rating Games on DeviTube for a while.
Our attention diverted as the Astaroth Clan's Magic Circle appeared on the floor near our bed, and soon, Alice teleported inside.
"Did you get Lady Celis' message about the Bael Clan's banquet?"
We nodded, and she continued.
"I'll be accompanying you to the banquet as well."
"Our parents aren't coming?"
Latia tilted her head in confusion.
"It's a banquet for young devils. All youngsters will be accompanied by a single person from their clan to look after them, just in case someone causes trouble… It'd be troublesome if Azrail decided to beat a child his age to a pulp or opened his big mouth and insulted someone's entire lineage..."
Her remarks were so unnecessarily true that I had no choice but to defend myself. "Alice, who do you think I am?"
"About the banquet…" Ignoring those words, Alice summoned an invitation card from her dimensional storage. "It's like an introduction between the younger generations. The best way to describe it is as a practice of sorts."
"I see." Latia nodded.
"And since that is the case, we'll return to the Underworld tomorrow. If there's anything you wish to see here, better do it now."
"I don't." Latia shook her head, turning towards me. "What about you?"
"Well, I want to at least look around before leaving."
It didn't matter, to be honest.
I had marked the Kuoh Town with my Teleportation Mark, so coming here on a whim was possible.
"How about we go for a walk?"
"I don't wanna. Nothing is interesting in this town."
It looked like Latia wasn't interested in that idea.
"Then, how about you, Azrail?"
As Alice turned towards me, I pondered for a few seconds and asked.
"Is it okay to leave Latia alone here?"
Although our travels had been peaceful so far, there were always nutjobs who'd attack us when they realised we were Devils, even in public places.
And even though they ended up dead within three seconds because of Alice, it still concerned me to leave Latia by herself.
"I'm not a child!"
Latia attacked me with her elbow, which I stopped with my hand.
"It's not a problem, so don't worry."
Since Alice said so, there was no reason for me not to believe her.
"Then, let's go."
I got up from the bed and walked over to Alice's side, and soon, a Magic Circle appeared under our feet.
"Bring back some snacks, okay?"
Latia waved at us as we disappeared.
.
.
.
'For the main setting of this world, this town is pretty bland… And since the novel was called [High School DxD], the plot should begin at one of the high schools here.'
Alice and I walked through the streets of Kuoh, looking around.
"Ah, right, we have to visit Cleria Belial tomorrow before leaving… She must be expecting us."
"Expecting us? Did you inform her about our arrival, Alice?"
"I did the same with all the territories overseen by High-Class Devils, remember?"
"Hmm… Oh."
Looking at my palm, I summoned my mobile from the hotel room.
My mother would be mad if she got no reply to her text, so I decided to do that now, but before the face lock could work, I bumped into someone.
"Ouch! Did I just hit a wall?"
'That's a rude comment, brat...'
The boy who bumped into me fell over, but unsurprisingly, I didn't even budge.
The brown-haired boy looked up at me, confused and a bit surprised, but before he could say anything, we heard a loud voice coming from behind.
"Issei! Are you alright?"
Another boy with chestnut hair and violet eyes ran towards the fallen kid, but that didn't interest me as much as the name did.
'That's Issei?'
To think I'd run into the protagonist without even doing anything.
'Or maybe he's someone with the same name… Great Sage, analyse this kid's body.'
[Answer. Understood.]
I stared at the brown-haired boy, helping him get up before he bowed towards me.
"Sorry about that." After apologising, Issei grabbed the other kid's arm and walked away. "Let's go, Shidou."
"Azrail, are you alright? You look surprised?"
Alice leaned forward, looking at me.
"I'm fine, don't worry."
'So, Great Sage?'
[Answer. A Sacred Gear in the shape of a green orb was found inside Issei's left arm.]
Green orb.
There was no mistaking it.
That was the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet and one of the Thirteen Longinus—Boosted Gear.
'So that's the current Red Dragon Emperor, huh? It certainly wasn't what I expected, but it makes sense..'
That kid's Magic Power and Potential was rock bottom, even by a human's standard.
One could pick up the most random person in the human race, and Issei would be below that in those categories.
'It fits perfectly with the average shonen troupe about how a super average protagonist reaches the top of the world...'
However, if that were the case, Issei's arch-rival, the White Dragon Emperor, should be someone with immense talent.
'Great Sage, what are the chances of him awakening his Sacred Gear?'
[Answer. Currently zero. And around 12% after experiencing an extremely traumatic event during his mid-teens. The percentage can rise to 80% if he becomes a Reincarnated Devil.]
'That's some severe lack of talent. How did the Biblical God's system even grant that kid a Longinus?'
The only answer that came to mind was 'plot.'
While I was chatting with Great Sage, Alice turned towards the alley next to us.
"Are you sure it's wise to play sneaky? I can kill you both before you even pull that Holy Sword out of its storage… Not like that sword would change anything, though I'll be mad if Azrail were to come in contact with the Holy Aura from that thing..."
After a few seconds, two men appeared from that alley, looking at us, or Alice, with stern expressions.
It seemed like they were salty about being discovered.
'A shame I can't see a Holy Sword in action, but well, finding the protagonist is enough for now…'
"Who are you?"
The one who spoke was a man with light brown hair.
"I haven't visited the Human world in half a century, and no one remembers me anymore… Even Devils have feelings, you know?"
"What are you—?!"
Before the black-haired man could finish his words, a Magic Circle appeared between us, separating the two groups.
'That's the Belial Clan's Magic Circle...'
Through that Magic Circle, a beautiful young woman with long, grey hair teleported between us.
The moment he saw her, the brown-haired man's expression worsened, but on the other hand, the black-haired man brightened up a lot.
"Lady Alice, is there a need to be so overbearing in someone else's territory? We don't want to start a fight with the Church now, do we?"
The woman, who looked like someone in her late teens, turned towards me and introduced herself with a smile.
"You must be Azrail, right? My name is Cleria Belial, the overseer of this town. A pleasure to meet you."
"The feeling is mutual."
Since she already knew who I was, there was no need for a proper introduction. Not in this situation, at least.
Cleria smiled at me once and turned towards the brown-haired man.
"Mr Shidou, why must you be rude to my guests?"
The brown-haired man, Shidou, didn't even hide his annoyance when he looked at Cleria.
'Something's fishy here...'
If they were exorcists who lived in this town and knew Cleria, there shouldn't be such hostility between them unless they were hardcore believers who had already gone nuts.
But if that were the case, the Church wouldn't appoint such nutjobs the representatives of a town.
Something was strange, and what made it even more interesting was the interaction between Cleria and the black-haired man.
Although they never talked in front of us, the frequent glances they were giving each other were amusing to watch.
'Looks like Alice noticed it as well… A love story between a High-Class Devil and an exorcist. Could it be related to the plot of DxD? What's your opinion, Great Sage…'
[Answer. That is highly unlikely. From the timeline and the current relations between the Devils and the Church, they would likely end up as a tragic dead couple in a few years, even before Master turns 18.]
'Hmm.'
"We're going back, Masaomi!"
"Yes, sir!"
Shidou dragged Masaomi back with him, and the latter gave one last glance to Cleria before leaving.
"I apologise for the inconvenience. Things here have been pretty rough lately." Cleria looked at us with an apologetic look. "I hope you don't mind them."
Honestly, she sounded like a married woman trying to defend her in-laws in front of her family, which just confirmed my suspicion.
"We don't mind. So please, feel at ease."
Before Alice could say anything, I decided to end that discussion.
It wasn't like Cleria would spill the beans even if we asked something now.
"Thank you for understanding."
The three of us talked for a while before Cleria left, and before leaving, she invited us for dinner, something we had no reason to decline.
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