Gaming Badly in DxD

-Zatren Fumigami-

‘’Thank you for welcoming us into your abode, Lady Yasaka.’’ I bowed politely upon entering and took off my shoes. ‘The least I expected was a political talk today…’

‘’Oh, please. Yasaka is just fine.’’ The lady giggled into her palm.

Now, away from meddling eyes, her finely crafted illusion dropped, revealing nine bushy and beautiful orange tails coming from her lower back and a pair of triangular fox ears with brown borders twitching on top of her head.

‘’Please do relax. I can feel the tension in your shoulders even from here. Consider this no more than a friendly talk, if you will.’’

Yet, as I followed behind the woman’s figure, idly noticing the home’s somewhat simple or downright empty décor, I chuckled drily. ‘’A friendly talk… with some interests mixed in, I assume?’’

As the paper door in front of Yasaka was swiped open, she turned, golden eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief.

‘’That depends, doesn’t it? I’ve heard my fair share of tales about a devil of your description making waves in the Underworld… But I digress. One can speak of more important matters while still holding a casual chat, don’t you think?’’ The soft, intentional purr of the woman’s voice sent a shiver down my spine as one of her tails seemed to extend, purposely flicking against my cheek as Yasaka stepped further into the room.

Yeah, not even getting busy with Koneko for a while was enough for me not to get seduced by other women. Much less so a certified milf.

Wait.

Koneko is pregnant…

‘Does that mean she’s a milf too?’ I frowned in thought. ‘Ah, whatever. If they didn’t want me seduced, they shouldn’t have let me alone in seducible range.’

It truly was their fault when you thought about it.

‘’Well, we’ll just have to see about that. Make it worth each other’s time, if you catch my drift.’’ I hummed as I stepped into the room. Adorned with a table and cushions, a small kitchenette that Yasaka had made a beeline for, and a series of slideable doors that spanned most of the wall in front of me, probably leading to a backyard. ‘’Though I’d admit, it has been a long time since I was the guest instead of the host.’’

As Yasaka walked, her tails matched the sway of her ample, motherly hips. The furry limbs seemed to move just enough to hint at the woman’s round behind.

When she placed her hand on the countertop and a small bit of fire came from her fingertips to fire up the stove, she turned around, obviously knowing I had been staring.

‘’Oh? Guess I’ll have to impress, then.’’ The foxish grin spreading across the kitsune’s face was enough to tempt a man. ‘’Please, sit down… I’ll be with you shortly~’’

Heavens above, this woman was hot.

-X-x-X-

-Rei-

The fox child guided us around the small compound. Mother and Mother’s Kin had been entertained enough with both my little sister and brother. In fact, I could see Mother’s body was relaxed, and she emitted Father’s smell quite potently, along with a spicy, sickeningly sweet aroma.

…I think Rias—the nice red-haired devil, and one of Father’s mates—would say ‘They thought they were slick, but everyone knows.’

I knew, indeed. However, I didn’t particularly care.

In any case, I was left sitting off to the side with the orange kit dressed in traditional clothing. Her ears were flat against her skull, and she looked… miffed.

‘’I don’t understand why Mother would want a reunion with… your father?’’ The orange fox asked, to which I offered a small nod. ‘’Right. Is your father… a known figure, perhaps?’’

‘’You’re struggling with your speech,’’ I noted, and immediately, the girl’s ears twitched, and her tail poofed up. ‘’Increased heartbeat… Why are you nervous?’’

‘’I-I’m not nervous!’’ She immediately denied it, turning her head away with a huff and crossed arms. ‘’I’m learning to be prim and proper just like mother, so—Wait. Why am I even telling you this? Just answer my question!’’

Closed posture, nose turned up, and a touch of arrogance and condescension when speaking to me… but not previously so with Mother.

Is she underestimating me because of our size difference?

‘How spoiled.’ I noted with a little frown. ‘…I shall make sure my siblings don’t turn out like this. It would be a shame to paint a bad picture of Mother and Father.’

Though I believed the latter could do that just fine for himself… which was a bad thing, Mother reminded me.

‘’Father is popular, I think.’’ I shrugged, leaning against the tree. The answer, however, piqued the fox’s curiosity. ‘’Powerful devils surround him at all times. Father is strong. Very strong.’’

Kunou, if I remembered the fox’s name correctly, frowned. Her previous posture was now more guarded. ‘’…How strong?’’

Slowly, I turned my head, where I could sense Father’s presence along that fox-lady. Considering their closeness, I had no doubt that Father was doing his utmost to secure another mate—he always was, more often than not. Albeit the causes were not related to lust or the creation of kin, surprisingly enough.

Though I would need to get closer and take a whiff of the air to notice any great hormonal changes.

‘’Father is both devil and divine, and if I had to take a look at the essence of your progenitor…’’ I hummed, even opening the two other eyes below my main ones to notice the energy influx better. An action that took the spiritual fox by surprise and made her whisper something about spiders. ‘’Father is stronger. Overwhelmingly so. It wouldn’t even be a fight between them. I think it would be wiser to pair my Mother against yours if you wished for victory.’’

‘’HUH?!’’ The fox’s face contorted with anger. Then, noticing she had grabbed the attention of both Mother and her Kin, her face erupted into a blush as she settled down. ‘’That’s… pre… prenos…’’

‘’Preposterous?’’ I offered.

‘’Preposterous, yes! There’s no way your father is that strong unless he’s comparable to someone like…’’ The kit trailed off, eyes searching for something, until they landed on Mother with smugness. ‘’Unless you’re claiming your Father is as strong as the Devil’s Faction Leaders?’’

The smugness was wiped off Kunou’s face as I frowned. ‘Father… Could he take on that black-haired lady who pampers Jack a lot…?’

The mere act of thinking about it seemed to seed horror on the kit’s expression.

Suddenly, Kunou got up, a worried frown on her face as she made a beeline for the sliding doors that led inside the home.

‘’What are you doing?’’ I asked, following close behind.

‘’I’m checking on Mother,’’ Kunou stated with crossed arms. Yet, a single look at my face made the kit scowl. ‘’Drop that smug smile. Mother is one-hundred percent stronger than your Father! I just… wish to check on her. Yes, that’s it.’’

‘’Sure.’’ I smiled.

‘’…I’m being serious.’’ Kunou frowned.

‘’I believe you,’’ I reassured, not breaking eye contact.

‘’Then why do you keep smiling like that?!’’

‘’I don’t know what you’re talking about.’’

‘’Agh! You’re insufferable!’’ Kunou scowled, finally touching the sliding door and opening it wide enough to step through. ‘’Mother, are you—‘’

And the scene was exactly what I had thought.

‘’Quite accomplished at a young age, are you not, Zatren?’’

‘’I don’t brag to beautiful women, or, at least, I never had to, so I don’t see the point in it.’’

‘’Fufu… But that could be called bragging in and of itself, could it not?’’

Kunou’s Mother, much taller than her kit and with many tails to account for, but with the same orange shade to her hair and fur, was sitting right next to Father, who was chatting up to the woman with a confident, friendly smile

Both were sharing some tea and pastries, something I would quickly inform Mother about, as she would no doubt enjoy the consumption of the sweet treats.

But that wasn’t what made Kunou freeze, tail poofing up and face falling into incredulity.

It was the fact that the tall fox lady had one of her tails around Father’s waist, an action that Father noticed and just welcomed. She looked him straight in the eye while he talked, clinging to his every word with either amusement or vain interest.

Also, the room smelled slightly spicy and sweet. Not strong enough for them to have mated yet, but they were certainly sizing each other up.

Our interference—or specifically, the kit’s meddlesome worry—seemed to have interrupted the mating ritual, however. As the tall fox pulled back from Father’s side with a warm, beautiful smile, she looked at her daughter.

‘Now that I think about it… It’s the same as Father’s smile.’ I tilted my head, looking at him. ‘Good for Kunou.’

‘’What is it, little kit?’’ The lady asked with a foxy grin, looking between her daughter and me. ‘’Do you and your new friend need something? Are you hungry?’’

Father, however, noticed the posture of the little kit and my smile immediately, offering a smug one of his own.

‘’Are you behaving, Rei?’’ He asked, to which I nodded fervently. ‘’Hmmm… Is my daughter teasing you too much, little Kunou?’’

Ah… asking my victim instead of immediately believing me… Father, why have you forsaken me so?

‘’I-I’m not little!’’ The girl shrieked, pointing an accusatory finger at him. ‘’A-and don’t you think you’re a little too close? I swear if you try to disrespect my Mother, I’ll—‘’

‘’Kunou, that’s quite enough.’’ Yasaka chided with a warm smile, causing her daughter to falter and her ears to flatten. ‘’Mother can take care of herself, alright? Besides, these are our guests, and it would be improper to speak to them in such a crass manner…’’

Realization fell into the kit almost immediately. Her tail hid between her legs, and she looked down. Before I could speak to try and cheer up the kit, however. Father walked up to her and crouched down.

‘’Now, now… No need for that.’’ With a gentle smile, he patted the fox’s head, which made her go ramrod still, with wide, unbelieving eyes. ‘’She’s just very protective of her Mama, I can tell, but don’t worry, I promise to do no wrong. Here, how about these?’’

In less than a blink, two hand-sized bags filled with cookies appeared out of thin air. He placed one in Kunou’s hands and another in mine before giving a pat on each’s head. ‘’Go and share with everyone outside, alright? You wouldn’t want to bore yourself to death with adult talk.’’

Most of the adult talk was, indeed, very boring. Except when Father was being himself, of course.

Kunou hesitated; her tail and ears seemed to twitch uncontrollably. She side-glanced her mother, who just nodded with a smile, before she huffed, hands tightening around the cookie bag. ‘’…Fine, but you better not put your hands around my Mother!’’

‘’Suuuuuure~’’ Father waved the comment off as the kit ran, her tail swishing happily as she popped one of the cookies into her mouth.

I stared at Father’s eyes as he merely tilted his head. Smugly, I also popped one of the cookies into my mouth. ‘’Father is a very bad liar…’’ I pointed out before turning around and following behind my victim—er… My new friend.

Father laughed behind me. And it wasn’t without reason. In fact, I think Father would try his utmost to secure Kunou’s mother as his mate, considering how easily he took to the woman’s daughter.

Father is just like that. Not even all of his mates combined could stop him from acquiring more and more people to spoil…

-X-x-X-

-Zatren Fumigami-

‘’You know, I’m all up for a little fun, but teasing your daughter like that is just cruel.’’ I chuckled, closing the slideable door and turning around to face the Kitsune. ‘’Poor thing… She thought I was going to steal her beautiful mother away.’’

‘’Oh, and you weren’t?’’ Yasaka hummed, resting her face on one hand while batting her eyelashes my way. ‘’What a way to disillusion an old lady… And just as you showed me how great a fit you could be to parent my little kit~’’

‘’Assuming much?’’ I teased, sitting back down at her side, noticing that her fluffy tails coiled around us but without touching. ‘’Beautiful, you are, Yasaka. But I don’t just chase pretty faces. Taking care of another kid with many in the way is a great responsibility.’’

If there’s something I would hate myself for, it's if I let any of my kids feel lonely or let them think that I don’t care about them.

‘’And that just gives you more points in my book.’’ The Kitsune chuckled, her free hand tapping and tracing a line from my shoulder to my hand. For a moment, I locked eyes with the Kitsune and could catch a hint of interest beyond the woman’s harmless teasing, but it was soon gone as she smiled widely. ‘’Lost in my eyes, are you? You know what they say… Don’t get too close to the sun now, little Icarus.’’

I clasped the hand near my arm and gave it a gentle squeeze before letting it go. ‘’I think I’ll take a rain check on that, Yasaka… For now, how about you tell me the real reason for this little invite of yours?’’

‘’Was I too obvious?’’ The woman smiled innocently, clasping her chest. ‘’Is this trickster fox running out of fuel, perhaps?’’

‘’Ha! If anything, I’d say you were the right amount of obvious on purpose.’’ I praised, taking a pastry from the table and eating it in one bite. ‘’It’s always best to lure by what the other wants, isn’t it? A nice, comfy home, and a private talk with plenty of physical contact with a gorgeous fox, who, coincidentally enough, is also a mother, so our kids can play around while the grown-ups talk.’’

That wasn’t to say I did not let myself be ensnared by the Kitsune. After all, what’s wrong with a bit of fooling around?

‘’My, now I feel exposed…’’ Yasaka pouted, an expression out of character for the seductress role she was playing, but it made her look quite adorable. ‘’The truth, then. I could already tell with a mere whiff that your body has the smell and essence of death, which is so very distinctive around my lands… Izanami-no-Mikoto. You hold her favor, yes?’’

‘’Ohhh, God stuff.’’ I grinned, but nodded nonetheless. ‘’I do know her. We even have cute names for each other.’’

Yasaka raised a skeptical eyebrow, but there was no better evidence than Death telling on herself as her parchment shot out of my pocket and started delivering her message.

‘’It is no mere nickname. It is the title you and I bear, Abundance. Though if you wish to find it endearing, that is your choice to take.’’

‘’Uh-huh.’’ Under my scrutinizing gaze, the paper folded slightly, as if it were shy. With a chuckle, I turned to Yasaka and shrugged. ‘’But yes, we know of each other, and I have visited her grave. Why?’’

Yasaka cleared her throat, trying not to let her amusement show outwardly.

‘’I have… a proposal. As you may or may not know, the Five Principal Clans always had the ‘touch’ of the Shinto. Their blessing, if you will.’’ Immediately, the Kitsune’s expression soured, her mouth covered by her sleeve. ‘’However, some of them believe this gives them the right to exorcise at will. Evil spirits, I can understand, for they do not represent every Youkai…. but well-meaning spirits? Their eldest members treat each and every one the same. In fact, they do so with the rest of the supernatural world as well.’’

Any joy I may have gotten out of this conversation immediately soured as two people came to mind. First was Akeno, whose mother I knew was killed by her own Clan, even going as far as hunting down her daughter before Rias found her.

The other was Tsubaki, who was banished from the clan for possessing a Sacred Gear: Mirror Alice. And, although her fate was much kinder than Akeno’s, it was bad that it happened in the first place, nonetheless.

Surprisingly enough, Izanami had words to share in the matter.

‘’My children have always refused to meddle with spirits due to their highly sporadic nature. As such, they favored humanity, who, while having some of the same qualities, were not dictated by their birth, but by their environment.’’

‘’And their thoughts haven’t changed even now?’’ I asked, frowning. ‘’Because from what I hear, the roles seem reversed in what these clans are concerned.’’

‘’I know there are some who turned and now covet the spirits. In fact, this Kitsune… she has been touched by one of them. But for most of the Shinto, they have probably not interfered since the placing of this blessing for thousands of years.’’

Lazy fucks, got it.

However, her words made me raise a curious eyebrow at Yasaka, who merely gave an ample smile.

‘’She is right, I am a sort of pseudo-shrine maiden of one Inari Okami… but before we derail this conversation any further, my proposal is for you to become a Deity for my people.’’ The words made my eyes widen and made the greedy part of my being rear its head. ‘’They defer to me, as their leader, when trouble arises, and that is fine. But we, Youkai, are many, and as much as it saddens me, I am not able to calm them spiritually or religiously if they so wish. And even if I could…’’

With a sigh, the woman’s ears flattened against her skull. Her tails drooped and remained on the floor. Yasaka, it seemed, had a big heart below those mischief-filled layers.

‘’I… won’t be opposed to.’’ I declared, causing Yasaka’s eyes to intensely focus on mine. To which I raised three fingers. ‘’However, as my nature declares, I must take tribute. I am a God of Abundance, Beauty, and Devilkind—and while under the holy element, Youkai and Devils are treated as Fiends, I don’t think you could help with the latter.’’

Suddenly, the air in the room felt heavy.

With a click of Yasaka’s fingers, blue foxfire erupted from the table, leaving behind a small object covered in seal-carved cloth. With just its presence alone, I could tell it held quite a bit of divine power.

[Pendants of Beauty.]

A pair of sunfire ear pendants infused with magical power. It is said that whoever wears these is to be the most charming among common men and women, with a silver tongue akin to that of a Kitsune.

This object counts as one of Tiamat’s Treasures.

At some point, I really had to ask what the fuck did Ddraig need all of these for, considering he’s the one who lost Tiamat’s many treasures.

However, as if the quest item was somehow not enough to convince me, a pair of soft, fleshy mounds pressed against my side. I looked up, staring into Yasaka’s golden eyes as her grin stretched wide. Her hand went from my arm to my chest, nails softly digging into me but not with enough force to tear my shirt.

‘’Of course, this only fulfills one Domain of yours, right…?’’ Yasaka’s tone had gone into a downright seductive purr. Her soft, hot breath clung to my ear with every word. ‘’I believe Lady Inari won’t mind if I become your proper Shrine Maiden… If that position isn’t occupied, of course~?’’

‘’It isn’t,’’ I confirmed, one of my arms wrapping around the Kitsune’s waist, which she took as an invitation to wrap her soft tails around the limb and give a gentle squeeze. ‘’And I’ll say, I could do much, much worse than a woman such as you for the role, Yasaka.’’

‘’How flattering—Hmmn~’’ Yasaka’s eyes focused on the hand currently giving her waist a small, tentative squeeze, causing a little laugh to escape past her lips. ‘’That would mean I also need to bring tribute to you as I do Lady Inari. Though I feel yours is much more… physical, hm?’’

‘’It may be,’’ I whispered, giving a sly smile. ‘’But lying is not my forte. So, I’ll say your tribute only needs to be abundant, not specifically meaningful, if you do not wish it to be.’’

‘’My, how generous.’’ Our faces were practically inches apart as Yasaka matched my hushed, heated tone. ‘’Then… do we have a deal?’’

I grinned, my eyes darting to her lips before tilting my head in curiosity. A knowing look appeared on the Kitsune’s face. ‘’I don’t know… do we?’’

One simple gesture was followed right after by our lips pressing together. The kiss wasn’t passionate or heated as our situation may allude to, as this wasn’t a lover’s reunion. It was a fleeting feeling of comfort mixed with mutual transaction, I’d say.

But fuck if I didn’t enjoy having a hot, tall, Kitsune milf currently trying to eat my face. Yasaka’s lips were rosy for a reason, as I tasted a little bit of strawberry where our lips connected. She didn’t hesitate to press her hand against my chest, as I didn’t hesitate to get a feel for her hips. If anything, it was mere appreciation of each other’s bodies. Deity and Follower, as our deal was made.

Of course, the ‘transaction’ couldn’t last forever.

Swish. Clack!

‘’I TOLD YOU TO GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY MOTHER!’’ Kunou screeched, tail puffed up as she glared from the door.

‘’Fufufu, I think we’ve been found out… Lord Zatren.’’ And, of course, Yasaka only threw kindling on the fire. Hiding behind a sheepish smile while still clinging to me like a tick.

Behind the adorable and angry kit, however, was my soon-to-be wife, who merely looked between us before raising an unimpressed eyebrow.

‘’…To be fair, you did leave me unsupervised.’’ I raised my hands, palms to her, with a sheepish expression.

‘’I am not mad. I am mildly disappointed.’’ Koneko stated, and her eyes immediately darted to the table. In a swipe of lightning-fast proportions, all the pastries were now in her hands. ‘’And I shall take these as compensation.’’

‘’Entirely fair.’’ I nodded wisely. ‘’Love you too, Koneko.’’

‘’Hm.’’ She nodded, giving a peace sign before going past the still-flabbergasted Kunou and exiting back into the backyard. ‘’Try not to choke on the fox’s tongue. We still have that thing later tonight, Senpai.’’

‘’You have quite the interesting wife, Zatren,’’ Yasaka commented with a giggle.

‘’You tell me. I would die for that woman.’’ I laughed.

-X-x-X-

The occult research club was silent with some degree of nervousness. I would guess that fighting our second—first, for one cute Dhampir—Rating Game would cause some degree of unrest.

‘’My, such long faces.’’ I huffed, lying further into the couch. ‘’You guys even get to show off, so you could at least look a little happier?’’

‘’I don’t know what you’re talking about, Zatren.’’ Akeno raised a hand to her mouth, her violet eyes looking ahead with excitement. ‘’You cannot feel my eagerness just spilling? How sad~’’

‘’You don’t count. You actually enjoy torture, Akeno.’’ I deadpanned, causing a certain blonde in the room to snort.

‘’How cruel…’’ The woman pouted, but her smile returned a second later. ‘’Though, indeed, we won’t be able to rely on Zatren’s… maneuvers to carry us through the game. It’s almost exciting.’’

‘’I’m all pumped up!’’ Sachi howled, fire burning in her eyes and fist high in the air as Asia laughed nervously at her side. ‘’We’ll get to show the boss who’s… boss… No, wait—‘’

Never change, Sachi.

Rias, our leader, who had been staring at a wall with a thoughtful expression on her face, took a deep sigh and turned to me with a frown.

‘’What?’’ I tilted my head.

‘’Nothing.’’ She shook her head, approaching with slow steps and flickering my ear once she was in range. ‘’It just seems my dear family tries more to impress you than me, and I am the King, you know? Though… I probably sin of the same.’’

I blinked and slowly turned my head around the room.

Asia, while not showing it as much as Sachi, still held a determined glow in her eyes. She clung to her staff with tight hands, and her posture was stone-rigid, like a tense spring.

Akeno tried to hide it under that sadistic face of hers, but her fingers were twitching with arcs of holy lightning, causing her tied hair to frizz from time to time.

Kiba merely offered a sheepish smile. He already had two swords drawn. One with the element of Darkness, and the other with Light. They were basic, useful swords, but they showed the anticipation in the blonde Knight’s body.

Gasper had kept to herself. Something that a week or so ago would have been seen as normal, now was weird, as the Dhampir had gotten less shy by the day. But today, the day of her first rating game, the nerve-wracking pressure made her stay seated near a corner while she silently hyped herself up.

Lastly, Koneko… did not change at all. Of everyone in the room, I could tell she was the least worried as she stayed close to my side, looking from time to time at the ring in her hand. The news of our future engagement was obviously shared between our friends, and it seemed the Nekoshou was much more nervous about that event than this fight.

‘’You guys…’’ I sighed. ‘’You’re too nervous. Even if I’m on the backlines, you’re all more than enough to slam-dunk the Aza-thot heir—‘’

‘’Astaroth.’’ Rias corrected with an amused smile.

‘’That’s what I said, though?’’ I rolled my eyes with a grin. ‘’Anyway. All of you fought a Cadre not long ago. This is nothing, so let’s go out there and kick that larper’s ass!’’

With a little push from my voice, infused with a little bit of Harmony in Words, the tension in the room dissipated, and just in time too.

‘’The Rating Game between the Heir of Gremory and the Heir of Astaroth will soon commence. Participants, be ready to ‘jump’.’’ The voice of Ayuka cut through the room as a magic circle appeared below us.

In a flash, we were teleported to another location.

And I blinked, then rubbed my eyes to see if I was dreaming or not.

Excited shouting broke through the silence. Thousands upon thousands of ‘spectators’ were present, who in reality were no more than constructs made for this arena specifically.

And what an arena it was.

Walls surrounded us on all sides with two massive doors serving as the only way of exit, and considering the solid ground beneath our feet, the cheering on the bleachers, and the marble walls so finely crafted… This could be nothing else than a coliseum.

A second later, Diodora, along with his peerage, appeared on the other end.

Immediately, I knew something was off. The magic in the air… The demonic power coming from the Heir was way too potent.

‘’Stinks of Dragon…’’ Koneko whispered with a frown, and I could only nod in agreement.

‘’Uh? Wait, but I took a shower!’’ Sachi panickedly sniffed below her armpit, a puzzled expression on her face.

‘’As you may already know, Official Rating Games come with a myriad of variations, and this one is no different,’’ Ayuka stated through her magic circles.

Suddenly, a massive wheel appeared in the sky with different, obscured sentences, and without so much as a prompt, it started spinning wildly.

‘’And… the one you shall play is…’’ The wheel started slowing down until it came to an abrupt halt. ‘’A Dice Figure Game.’’

With a determined frown, Rias stepped forward. Diodora, too, walked in our direction, both meeting in the middle. Yet, the man’s eyes seemed a bit too out of it for my liking.

Still, I was curious, slowly turning my head to Akeno. ‘’…The fuck’s that?’’

The half-fallen shook her head in amusement, turning to me with a little smile. ‘’In this specific Rating Game, there are three rounds. Both Kings roll a six-sided die each. Then, their added points are what determine the ‘value’ of the pieces they’re able to send each round.’’

‘’So… If Lady Rias rolled a three, and so did the opposing King…’’ Asia tilted her head, looking between our participants. ‘’Then Lady Rias would only be able to send a Rook, her only Pawn, Yuuto and me, or Gasper?’’

‘’Exactly.’’ Akeno nodded. ‘’Each piece uses its intended value except for the King, which needs ten points to be ‘deployed’. However, the same rules of a Rating Game apply. If the King is left in ‘checkmate’, the match goes to the other team.’’

‘’Wait… isn’t Gasper also a Bishop? Wouldn’t she be able to accompany Kiba or Asia?’’ Sachi asked with a raised hand.

I shook my head. ‘’Nah, Gasper is a special little cookie, and hers is a Mutated Bishop, meaning that it’s worth twice as much.’’

‘’E-eh?’’ My words made the Dhampir turn her head to me with a little blush. I sent her a flying smooch, which only made her shier. ‘’…Uhhhh.’’

It seemed the adorable blonde was still a bit shaken after our date night, and I couldn’t really fault her for that. In fact, I should do something nice for her as compensation.

Turning back to the two Kings, Rias seemed to be trying to tell something to Diodora, but the man dressed in a white, fluffy jacket could only hold a tight, well-meaning smile that just screamed fake.

A second later, a set of dice appeared. A red one fell in Rias’ palm, and another blue one did so on Diodora’s. Without much fanfare, the man threw first. The die hit the ground and rolled, particles of cyan lightning coming off it with each little bounce.

Two dots greeted the sky, causing the man’s smile to twitch.

It was Rias’ turn, and she threw the dice with confidence. Yet, the moment the magical construct left her hand, I felt something pull at my chest. With a frown and some degree of understanding, I let it flow from my body and into the dice as it hit the ground—

A memory cut through my mind.

‘’Get blessed!’’ I announced with a barely contained laugh while patting Rias and Sona’s heads.

‘Ah… that.’

Just as the reminder of the two devils I’d blessed that day ended, the dice finished skipping, and the result did not surprise me at all.

Six dots, the highest possible result. Which meant that the point limit in the first round was eight for both sides.

‘Learning something new about my powers every day is truly a joy.’ I chuckled, though the action went unnoticed, because my friends already knew I was a schizo little shit.

-X-x-X-

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Author's Note:

Rei is learning some bad habits from her father, 'nough said.

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