Chapter 85: Intrusion
"Well, hello, kiddies~"
Not expecting to enter the club room and find Azazel seated at her desk, a frown marred Rias's face as she asked, "Governor-General Azazel? What are you doing here...?" while making way for Vahn, Koneko, and Xenovia to enter after her.
"Alright, let's not get too riled up," hummed Azazel, leaning his cheek onto the knuckles of his right hand as he revealed, "After a lengthy discussion with Michael and your wise and powerful older brother, it was determined that I would become the Advisor of the ORC. To make a long story short, I'm here to keep various factions in check while utilizing my knowledge of Sacred Gears to strengthen your forces. Furthermore..."
Looking at Vahn, Azazel's smile broadened as he appended, "I have been tasked to help you develop and understand your powers. You don't have to accept my help or divulge your secrets to me if you don't want to, but the general consensus among the leaders is that you would benefit from the guidance of someone experienced with humans, supernatural entities, magical items, and extra-dimensional planes and phenomenon."
"Is this really necessary...?" questioned Vahn, sporting a slight frown as he contended, "I'm not saying I can't use guidance, and it's true that we could benefit from having our strength increased, but taking on the role of our Advisor without consulting us feels like an overstep and an invasion of our privacy..."
"Right. I see what you're saying," conceded Azazel, nodding. "But my role as your Advisor is just a pretense. I won't be assigning you responsibilities or ordering you around. Just think of me as an extra brain you can pick or bounce ideas off. You and your crimson-haired fiancee here still have the final say in all matters concerning the ORC directly."
"Then I would appreciate it if you got out of my seat," said Rias, adopting a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Yes, ma'am~" hummed Azazel, closing his eyes, shaking his head, and raising his hands in mock surrender before getting up from Rias's desk and performing short-range teleportation to relocate to the leftmost sofa, sitting with his right ankle resting atop his left knee.
With Rias moving to her desk, followed closely by Akeno, Vahn sat on the sofa opposite Azazel with Koneko and Xenovia sitting on each side of him, his gaze drawn to the former Angel's left arm as he tilted his head slightly and asked, "Were you not able to heal your arm...?"