Chapter 134— Back From The Mountain
Chapter 134— Back from The Mountain
Issei
“Then, I’ll be going now,” Tannin-ossan said. “I’ll be attending the Maou-sponsored party as well. We’ll meet again there, Hyoudou Issei and Ddraig.”
We were in front of the Gremory main residence.
Tannin-ossan had dropped me off after flying back from the mountain, and even after days of being chased by him, riding on a real Dragon King’s back still felt amazing.
Terrifying too, sure, but also amazing.
And we had a party to go to that was being put on by the Maou.
It was the main social event before the first set of Rating Matches between the young Devils began.
“Thank you for dropping me off, Ossan! We will see you at the party!”
[I apologize for troubling you with my possessors training. We will meet again, Tannin.]
“It is no problem, Ddraig. I enjoyed teaching the boy.” Tannin-ossan said, giving an easy going response. “If you’d like, I can carry everyone in your peerage to the party as well. I’ll contact the Gremory family about it later if youd like.”
“Really? Would that be alright to ask if you?”
“It’s no problem. I will come by on the day of the party to take you there. I will contact the Gremory to let them know of the arrangements.”
Ossan was a really considerate dragon.
“Then, I’ll come by again tomorrow. Farewell.” Tannin-ossan said.
And just like that, he beat his wings and rose back into the sky.
I watched him go while waving, and only once he had fully disappeared did the truth of it settle in me.
It was over.
My training with Tannin-ossan was done.
Finally.
No more waking up on that mountain.
No more scrambling out of sleep because a Dragon was attacking me before breakfast.
No more sprinting through the wilderness while praying I didn’t die before I unlocked Balance Breaker.
No more fishing and searching for nuts and berries for meals.
I pray that I never have to endure training like that again.
Ddraig’s voice echoed in my head.
[He is a bit different than I remember. He’s much more relaxed now.]
“Yeah,” I said, still staring up at the sky for a second longer. “He’s scary, but… he’s really cool. As I thought, that’s what a real Dragon is like.”
[We are also Dragons, partner.]
“I know you are Ddraig, but it doesn’t feel like I’m that much different from before I met Buchou.” I replied.
[Give it time.]
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”
But it still felt different.
I let out a breath.
My whole body ached.
My jersey was ruined could barely even be called scraps of clothes.
My upper body was basically exposed because after days of surviving on a mountain, being chased, blasted, and nearly roasted alive, barely anything had survived.
And I could see a difference in my physique.
My chest had definitely gotten thicker.
The unnecessary fat was gone.
I could feel it.
That provee that I had gotten stronger while running my life and calling training.
But under it sat the same irritation as before.
I still hadn’t reached Balance Breaker.
That stung.
I was stronger.
I could tell that much easily enough.
But the actual goal of the training had still slipped through my fingers.
I failed my own goal of competing with Yuki-san after hearing from Azazel-sensei that she had a new ability to empower herself.
As I was standing there, sore and half-dressed and thinking bitter thoughts about Balance Breaker, a familiar voice called out:
“Ise-kun.”
I turned.
Yuuto-san was there.
She was dressed in her training clothes, which were in rough condition, and even at a glance I could tell her own training had been hard too.
She looked more worn down than elegant at first glance.
After that she just looked like a beautiful girl who had been training hard and somehow became more attractive for it.
Then her eyes moved over me.
My shoulders.
My chest.
My stomach.
And then, right in front of me, Yuuto-san blushed lightly.
“…You’ve gotten more fit,” she said.
For a second, my brain stopped.
“Eh?”
I had not expected that from her at all.
Yuuto-san looked away for half a beat, then back again, still pink.
She was trying to stay composed, but I could tell the compliment had slipped out more honestly than she had meant it to.
“I mean,” she said, and now she sounded even more embarrassed because she had to finish the thought, “I can tell that your training paid off. You look stronger than before.”
I felt my own face turn slightly pink.
This was not fair.
This was the elegant, cool, knightly Yuuto-san.
And she was looking at my body and blushing.
I covered my chest on reflex.
“Y-Yuuto-san, mow I feel like I should have went straight to my room to change!”
That only made her blush deepen.
“I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable.”
“No, I know, but—!”
I didn’t know how to react to this different version of her.
Yuuto-san gave me a small, flustered smile. “It was a compliment.”
“I know it was!”
Why was I defending myself!?
Why did I sound like I was losing an argument with her right now?
She was the one to make it awkward first!
Before I could make the situation worse, another familiar voice cut in.
“Oh, Issei.”
At first I thought that it was a mummy walking towards us.
But it was defiantly Xenovia, and she was covered in bandages.
Not as badly as I had first thought, but enough that the calling her a mummy wasn’t too far off.
Both of her arms, one shoulder, half way down one leg and all of the other were wrapped in bandages.
There were even a few visible wraps peeking above the collar of her jersey.
She looked like she had trained, gotten hurt, wrapped it, and then kept training anyway.
Which, knowing Xenovia, was probably exactly what had happened.
“What happened to you!?” I asked.
Xenovia looked down at herself as if only just reminded she was bandaged.
“My training was volatile and caused me to become injured a few times. I was able to continue though after patching myself up each time.
So it was exactly how I thought.
“…You say that way too calmly.”
“That’s what happened. Is there another way to say it?”
“There definitely is! You look like a mummy!”
She frowned.
“That sounds rude.”
Yuuto-san gave the faintest laugh beside me.
The blush had not fully left her face yet, which did not help me recover at all.
Then another voice called out from the direction of the estate.
“Ise-san! Yuuto-san and Xenovia-san too!”
Asia came hurrying toward us.
She was wearing her nun garb.
The second she got close enough to really see me, she froze.
Then her face turned bright red.
“I-Ise-san! Please put something on!”
That was a little unfair.
She had seen me shirtless more than once by now.
Then again, maybe after mountain training, I looked a little too wild for casual decency.
“Sorry, sorry,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
“See, it wasn’t just me,” Yuuto-san pointed out.
“Is there something wrong with Issei’s lack of shirt?” Xenovia asked, tilting her head.
Before I could add anything else, I felt the atmosphere shift again.
“Ara, it seems everyone that left for their training has returned.”
I turned instantly.
Buchou.
Buchou was walking toward us, beautiful as ever, her crimson hair and green eyes making everything around her seem a little less real.
Just seeing her after all those days on the mountain hit me so hard I almost forgot about my sore legs.
“Buchou!”
I moved toward her without thinking.
“I wanted to see you!” I said.
She smiled, and there was real warmth in it.
It made me smile wider as she moved to me
Then Buchou looked me over, and her eyes widened just a little.
“Ise… you’ve changed, haven’t you? You look bigger.”
Before I could respond, she stepped in and embraced me.
I froze for a moment.
I had been too long without this.
Way too long.
The mountain had been miserable.
I had wrapped myself in leaves to sleep.
I hunted and cooked like some cave man.
I had been blasted awake by attacks.
And now Buchou was here, holding me close, smelling good, feeling even better, and I almost wanted to cry from relief and happiness.
“B-Buchou…”
If I died here, it would have been worth it.
“Asia, we told you to wait for us.” A voice said from the entrance.
I looked over and saw Yuki-san and Koneko-chan walking towards us.
I blinked and rubbed my eyes before looking at Koneko-chan again.
“Umm, Buchou?” I asked nervously. “I think my training with Tannin-ossan did something to my head. Because it looks like Koneko-chan has cat ears and a tail.”
Buchou chuckled and let go of me before looking over at Yuki-san and Koneko-chan as they arrived at the group.
“You’re not seeing things, Ise. Koneko-chan is a Nekomata, a cat demon Youkai,” Buchou explained. “Remember how Azazel-sensei mentioned that she needed to accept part of herself for her training, like Akeno needed to with her Fallen Angel half?”
I nodded slowly, still staring at Koneko-chan.
“Well, this is what he was referring to. She was able to accept it and is slowly working on practicing her powers related to it. Yuki helped encourage her, and now she hasn’t been hiding her features anymore.”
“Aren’t her cat ears the cutest?” Asia asked looking at Koneko-chan excitedly. “I just want to pet her and give her head pats, but she won’t let me.”
She seemed to deflate slightly as she said that.
I was still stunned staring at the cat girl that had been hidden next to me for so long.
She looked adorable with her large white cat ears.
It made her look even more like a school mascot.
If she made a little cat noise or did one of those poses you saw in manga or cosplay events, I would die from the cuteness.
Koneko-chan glared at me.
“….what is it?” She asked
“I’m just surprised to realize that you’re a Youkai… is it true that you won’t let anyone touch your ears?” I asked hopefully.
Her reply came immediately.
“No. And especially not a perverted senpai.”
“I didn’t even do anything! I just wanted to touch them!” I said.
I was being unfairly accused.
Yuki-san gave Koneko-chan a questioning look.
“But what abo—“
“No.” Koneko-chan replied, cutting her off with and giving her a look.
Yuki-san raised her eyebrows at that.
Yuuto-san spoke before anyone could question Koneko-chan further..
“I’m glad you’re moving forward Koneko-chan. I’m proud of you.”
“… thank you, Yuuto-senpai.”
I realized that Xenovia had been quiet during the whole exchange.
I turned to her.
She was looking back and forth between Yuuto-san and Koneko-chan.
“Xenovia-san?” Asia asked after noticing the same thing I had.
“Are you also hiding supernatural ancestry, Yuuto?” Xenovia asked.
Yuuto-san blinked in confusion.
“What?”
“I’m curious about it now. Akeno is part Fallen Angel, Buchou is a Devil, Gasper is a Dhampir, Yuki is a Kitsune, and Issei is part Dragon. The only ones I know for sure were fully human before becoming a Devil are Issei, Asia, and me,” Xenovia explained. “So, are you part mythical creature, Yuuto?”
“That’s a good point Xenovia-san. You may be onto something,” Yuki-san said.
I looked at her in confusion while Xenovia nodded in agreement.
“Yuki-san, please don’t encourage Xenovia-san’s wild ideas,” Yuuto-san with an awkward smile. “I get that you’re annoyed with me, and I’m sorry for ignoring your request not to get involved, but Xenovia-san won’t drop this for a while if you convince her.”
“I don’t know what you mean, Yuuto-san,” Yuki-san said with a straight face. “I’m just agreeing with Xenovia-san’s idea that there may be something more we don’t know about.”
Xenovia was still nodding.
“Yuki understands.” She said.
“Buchou…” Yuuto-san weakly protested.
Buchou chuckled.
“That’s enough Yuki. And Xenovia, Yuuto was fully human before becoming a Devil.”
Xenovia didn’t look fully convinced but seemed to accept Buchou’s explanation, at least for now.
“Koneko-chan and I came due to Asia asking us to join her, but Azazel-sensei asked me to convey a message to everyone as well,” Yuki-san said. “He wants Xenovia-san, Yuuto-san, and Issei-san, to get cleaned up and changed. Then everyone is to gather in Issei-san’s room to report on our training.”
“Why was it always my room?” I asked.
Yuki-san just shrugged.
Whatever.
“Alright. Everyone, we will meet in Ise’s room shortly,” Buchou said.
There was a chorus of agreements and some nods.
The group broke apart after that.
I went to wash up and change, and the second hot water hit my skin I nearly groaned loud enough for the servants to hear me.
It was the first proper bath and change after mountain training, and I almost cried.
When I finally changed into clean clothes and returned to my room, everyone was already starting to gather.
This time it really was everyone.
Even Azazel-sensei.
It was good to see everyone again.
This was the first time in nearly three weeks that all of us had gathered together properly like this since Azazel-sensei had split everyone into different training plans.
It made it feel much sweeter that the peerage was together again.
Even so, there was also a little tension in the air that I couldn’t fully place.
Akeno-san looked as composed and beautiful as always, but I could feel there was more under that, and Buchou seemed just a little too careful at moments when I looked at her.
I took my place and the meeting started.
Buchou gave a short report first on her [King]-focused training and preparing for the Rating Game.
Akeno-san spoke after her in her usual elegant way, giving only a brief summary and very obviously not saying everything about her training with her fallen Angel powers.
Koneko-chan gave a compact report about close combat training and her Senjutsu training.
She had said she had focused on her Ki manipulation and Toukai.
Asia explained her healing-focused training, and her progress with her ranged healing technique.
Yuuto-san reported on her sword work and Balance Breaker refinement.
Xenovia spoke about her holy sword training.
Gasper gave his own summary of his ‘hikikomori escape plan’ progress.
Then it was my turn.
I told them the truth.
“My training sucked.”
That got a few smiles and chuckles.
They didn’t understand that I wasn’t just complaining.
“Tannin-ossan spent days chasing me across the mountain while I ran away and tried not to die. I had to eat fish I caught and sleep in trees or in caves.” I pointed accusingly at Azazel-sensei. “Why was I the only one living like prey in the wilderness!? Yuuto-san and Xenovia got to stay in a cottage and a villa while they trained! What’s with my situation?!”
Azazel-sensei grinned. “Because you were the one training for a Balance Breaker.”
“That doesn’t explain why I had to live like a wild animal!”
Azazel-sensei laughed. “Actually I thought that you would give up and come back halfway through it. I made a back up training plan for you when you did. But good job toughing it out.
“You’re telling me I could have left that mountain at any time?! All of that suffering was for nothing?”
I couldn’t believe it.
I had been hunted by a massive Dragon when instead I could have come back to Buchou’s palatial home and slept in a massive, comfortable bed while being waited on by servants.
Akeno-san covered her smile.
Yuuto-san looked sympathetic but also a little amused.
Asia looked worried for me.
Buchou’s expression softened painfully.
Azazel-sensei only shrugged. “I was pleasantly surprised. You really are resilient.”
“I could have died! Tannin-ossan didn’t hold back when he sent fire at me! He just mocked me when I protested! There were some days I didn’t eat and barely slept!”
The whole thing came out more emotionally than I meant it to.
I felt like I would be traumatized if I got lost on another mountain.
Buchou opened her arms immediately and brought me into a hug.
“I wanted to see Buchou so badly…” I half-whined into her as she held me. “And I could have just come back at any time…”
Buchou gently stroked my hair.
There were no words for how healing Buchou’s chest was.
Azazel-sensei, thankfully, let it happen for a moment before speaking again.
“Even so, your physical ability has improved quite a bit. With this, the time when you can wear the armor in Balance Breaker will be more substantial.” Then he added, much more bluntly, “But you still didn’t attain the Balance Breaker itself.”
That brought my mood down immediately.
I pulled back from Buchou and let out a sigh.
“No,” I admitted. “I didn’t.”
Azazel-sensei didn’t seem disappointed.
“Well, that possibility was always within my expectations. It’s not something you attain just because you train hard for a few days. You needed pressure, change, and a proper trigger.” He leaned back. “If there had been another month…”
“No!”
I cried out immediately.
Absolutely not.
If Azazel-sensei told me I had to go live on that mountain again for another month, I would run away.
The room relaxed just a little at that, and Buchou gently ran her hand over my hair once more.
Then I looked around and realized one report was still missing.
I turned toward the pale fox seated quietly with the others.
“What about Yuki-san’s training?”
Buchou sighed.
“Well that’s a bit more complicated.”