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"Think about it," Sona said calmly, folding her hands together.
"Issei is believed to be the wielder of Boosted Gear, and you demonstrated possession of a Longinus. Even if the devils dislike the idea, both of you represent a serious threat."
Her violet eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"And worse, from their perspective, you could become weapons used against them if another faction or even another pantheon reached you first."
I nodded slowly.
"And since the Fallen Angels had already discovered it, they were afraid others would soon follow."
Sona smiled when I finished her thought.
"Well, if you're still upset about how Rias handled Issei…"
Her smile widened mischievously.
"You're going to love this news."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Does this have something to do with why you were so cheerful earlier?"
"And why you wanted Gremory to 'feel it'?"
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, but her smile didn't disappear.
"You need to understand something."
She sighed dramatically.
"Even though Rias is one of my closest friends—someone I genuinely care about—she's been driving me insane for the past week."
I chuckled slightly.
"She kept reminding me that she was about to obtain two Longinus users for her Peerage."
Sona mimicked someone bragging, raising her voice slightly.
"Oh Sona, you were wrong to want the Perverted Trio expelled! Oh Sona, I was right to keep them!"
Her hands rose in front of her as if strangling something invisible.
"It reached a point where I wanted to choke that pretty throat of hers."
Her smile twitched slightly.
It looked… slightly terrifying.
"But then," she continued brightly, "I heard wonderful news this morning."
She leaned forward.
"I ran into Kiba on my way to training."
"And he told me what happened to Issei."
I frowned.
"What happened?"
"Did something go wrong during the resurrection?"
"Did they fail?"
"Oh no," Sona said, her grin widening.
"Nothing went wrong."
"Everything went perfectly according to plan."
She began counting on her fingers.
"The Fallen Angels killed Issei."
"Rias appeared at the last moment."
"And she resurrected him as a Pawn."
I frowned slightly.
"I still don't see why that makes you so happy."
Sona lifted a finger dramatically.
"Because the most important part comes next."
She leaned forward.
"Apparently the pain and shock of his injuries caused him to awaken his Sacred Gear before dying."
Understanding dawned immediately.
Ah.
That explained everything.
I suppressed a smile.
"He awakened his Sacred Gear."
Sona's glasses glinted in the sunlight.
"Yes."
"But it turns out…"
She paused for dramatic effect.
"That Sacred Gear wasn't Boosted Gear."
My smile nearly broke.
"Nor was it any other Longinus."
She leaned forward.
"It was Twice Critical."
I tried very hard not to laugh.
Rias had been completely certain that Issei possessed Boosted Gear.
The irony was painful.
Of course, Issei originally did possess it.
But not anymore.
Rias also didn't know that Hakuryuukou was already with Grigori.
So she assumed Issei had either Boosted Gear or Divine Dividing.
When I appeared using Ddraig's power, she believed Issei might be the White Dragon Emperor.
She had been so certain.
But instead…
Issei only awakened Twice Critical.
Apparently his body and mind were far weaker than I expected.
Sona burst into genuine laughter.
"A Pawn!"
She slapped the desk.
"Just a miserable Pawn!"
"It wasn't even a mutant Pawn."
"A completely normal one."
She leaned back dramatically.
"Which makes it even worse!"
"Twice Critical doubles a person's value."
"That means Issei's base strength isn't even worth half a Pawn!"
She laughed loudly.
"Oh Rias, my dear rival…"
"You can finally feel it."
She wiped imaginary tears.
"She bragged about obtaining a Longinus for so long."
"Only to end up with Twice Critical."
"And worse—she resurrected one of the Perverted Trio."
Sona spread her arms happily.
"I'm so grateful to that boy that I won't expel the other two."
"They'll serve as a reminder of this moment."
"Whenever I'm in a bad mood, I'll just look at them and remember this day."
She burst out laughing again.
I couldn't help joining her.
Honestly…
Considering that Issei possessed three Sacred Gears, resurrecting him with only one Pawn piece was impressive.
But still.
Disappointing.
Eventually Sona calmed down.
"Don't misunderstand."
"I do love Rias."
"But sometimes her luck with Peerage members is absurd."
She sighed.
"For the first time…"
"Just once…"
"Her luck failed her."
She grinned.
"And it finally made things fair."
She suddenly stood up.
"I really want to visit the Occult Research Club and laugh directly in her face."
And then she laughed again.
We both did.
For quite a while.
................................
Some Time Later
After leaving the Student Council room, I returned home.
Apparently Valerie had something important to show me.
When I arrived, everyone was gathered in the garden.
"Finally," Mordred said, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Sorry for the delay."
I looked around.
"You said you had something amazing to show me?"
Asia nodded eagerly.
"Well…"
She clasped her hands together nervously.
"We were worried about your weakness to dragon-slaying weapons."
"Especially you and Sebas."
"So we tried fixing it."
She turned toward Enkidu.
"Can you show him?"
Enkidu nodded.
A flash of light appeared.
A curved blade materialized in his palm.
The moment I saw it, my eyebrow twitched violently.
"So… someone's backside is tightening just by looking at that sword?"
Enkidu blinked.
He clearly didn't understand my description.
"This is a dragon-slayer sword I can create," he explained calmly.
"Normally this weapon could easily injure any of us."
"Especially you and Sebas."
"Right?"
"Yes…"
Valerie suddenly giggled.
"Well look what I did~!"
Before I could react—
Mordred grabbed the sword.
She swung it directly at Sebas's torso.
CLANG.
The blade bounced off his body.
Sebas didn't even blink.
Enkidu calmly dismissed the sword.
I stared.
"…That's it?"
Valerie proudly gave a peace sign.
"Yep!"
She puffed out her chest proudly.
"I finally learned how to modify things using my Sacred Gear!"
"Simple changes for now—like removing obvious weaknesses."
"But I think I can improve more!"
I blinked.
She had altered our bodies at a fundamental level.
In only a few weeks.
I spent ten years reaching my current level.
The power scaling in this world was ridiculous.
Still—
I smiled.
"That's incredible."
"Think you could do me next?"
Valerie nodded enthusiastically.
"Of course!"
She stepped closer and placed her hands on my chest.
Her eyes closed.
She began murmuring softly.
Almost like a trance.
Then—
Cold.
Extremely cold.
It felt like someone stuffed ice directly into my heart.
My teeth started chattering.
Sebas looked confused.
Apparently he hadn't experienced that.
Finally Valerie finished.
She opened her eyes.
"Okay!"
"You're completely immune to dragon-slayer weapons now!"
"Enkidu?"
Before I could protest—
Enkidu swung the blade again.
CLANG.
The sword bounced off my arm.
Only a dull impact remained.
"Well I'll be…"
I patted Valerie's head.
"That's amazing work."
"You've all made huge progress."
Before I could finish—
GRRRRRRRRRRRR.
Everyone froze.
We slowly turned toward Valerie.
Her face turned bright red.
"…Using my Sacred Gear made me a little hungry."
Everyone burst out laughing.
Valerie pouted adorably.
"Well!"
She crossed her arms.
"Does anyone want steak, potatoes, and salad?"
Enkidu perked up immediately.
"Ooh! Can we?!"
Valerie looked horrified.
"No!"
"We're having something else today!"
Mordred raised her fist enthusiastically.
"Let's make hamburgers!"
An argument immediately broke out.
I walked over to Asia.
She watched the debate with a confused expression.
"What about you, Asia?"
"Any requests for the chef?"
She jumped.
"O-Oh!"
"Well…"
"I've never eaten steak before…"
"So I don't know if I'd like it."
I laughed.
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"Then tonight I'll make something special just for you."
"How about a little bit of everything?"
Her eyes widened.
"N-No! I couldn't!"
"Everyone has their own preferences—"
I laughed again.
"Asia."
"We have a huge kitchen."
"And a huge freezer."
"I can cook three meals easily."
She blinked.
Then blushed softly.
"O-Oh… right…"
"I forgot."
I smiled warmly.
"Don't worry."
"Tonight we're having a feast."
................................
Later That Night
After dinner and cleaning the dishes, I stretched my back.
Finally.
Time to rest.
"Um… Gilgamesh?"
Valerie peeked around the kitchen doorway.
"Can we talk?"
"…Privately?"
I nodded.
"Sure."
"I'll be in the living room."
She hurried away.
I followed shortly afterward.
Valerie stood nervously near the fireplace.
Shifting from one foot to the other.
Then I noticed what she was wearing.
A delicate white dress.
Lace.
Soft fabric.
Elegant stockings.
My brain momentarily shut down.
Not the best time for a serious conversation.
Most of my blood had apparently relocated elsewhere.
Focus.
I forced my brain to restart.
"Something wrong?"
She hesitated.
Then asked quietly—
"Gilgamesh…"
"This might sound like a strange question…"
She looked straight at me.
"Are you… actually from this plane of existence?"
…
…
…
God damn it.