Tale of Discovery

Chapter 220: Playful ; Worries

"Koneko!" I exclaim immediately upon exiting the Arena and appearing in the club-room.

The nekoshou within my arms flinches as she looks over at me with an odd glint in her eyes.

"Sorry," I say, realizing that my actions may seem somewhat odd, "It's just that I didn't have much time to interact with you, so I missed you."

Hearing my words, Koneko's ears twitch a little before she nuzzles her cheek against my chest.

Oh, right. Apart from the angels, those I left behind in the Arena won't be able to leave as I have yet to assign the authority for that to any of the devils.

Perhaps, I could use this as an excuse to grant 'Rias' a temporary reward for her improvement.

Setting Koneko down, I peer into her eyes for a few seconds before lowering my head and pressing my lips against hers.

This time, Koneko is much more startled as her body tenses up.

Separating my lips from hers, I adopt a slightly apologetic look on my face before saying, "Could you wait here for a moment? I need to do something."

Koneko understandably nods her head before walking over to one of the sofas in the room and lying down on it.

"I won't be gone for a long time, promise," I say before immediately entering the Arena again.

Immediately upon entering, a few pairs of eyes settle on me. Looking over at them, I realize that my angels have already left the Arena, leaving Rias and her peerage behind.

"Your Holiness?" Akeno, who is the closest to me, voices.

"There was something that needed to be done," I respond before walking over to Rias, who is looking at me with curiosity all over her face.

"Rias Gremory," I proclaim once I'm close enough, "I hereby declare you as a gatekeeper of this world. You shall be granted the ability to leave and enter at will, as well as the ability to bring others inside."

"AI, grant the authority," I mutter under my breath.

{Affirmative.}

"I trust that you wouldn't misuse this ability."

Realizing something, Rias gets down on one knee and says, "Your Holiness's kindliness is boundless."

Nodding my head once, I state, "Rise. To make use of your ability, all you have to do is invoke 'Arena'. I will leave the specifics to you."

Having said what needed to be said, I immediately exit the Arena and walk over to the sofa that Koneko is lying on.

She seems to have already sensed my arrival, as her tail sways sideways in a manner that I can only think of as 'anticipatory'.

I issue a light chuckle before placing my palm over her back and gently rub her back.

Koneko's tail curls up a little as an aura of happiness exudes from her.

After a few seconds, I stop and say, "We should get going now. The rest are waiting for us."

For a moment, Koneko's ears droop before they jerk up once more as she swiftly gets off the sofa and stands in front of me while looking into my eyes with expectation apparent on her face.

Aware of what she desires, I lean forth and kiss her small lips once again, this time much more passionately.

The next thing I know, Koneko's petite body is pressed against mine with my arms wrapped around her back as we continue to kiss.

Realization suddenly hits me, causing me to cast an Illusion to render us imperceptible, before the next moment, true to my concern, Rias and the rest appear in the club-room.

Their arrival startled Koneko just enough for her to open her mouth in shock. As such, I ignore their presence and directly insert my tongue inside Koneko's mouth.

As a response to this, Koneko's body weakens as she completely loses herself in the affectionate kiss.

Naturally, the one having the most fun is none other than me. Holding her soft and warm body, I continue to play around with her small tongue while patting her back.

"His Holiness is unimaginably powerful," Rias' voice suddenly reaches my ears piquing my curiosity.

As they are unaware of our presence, I stop kissing Koneko before guiding her to the sofa she was lying on and taking a seat while pulling her onto my lap.

In this position, I hold her Koneko's hands while setting my chin on her soft hair in between her ears.

"I believe that even Lord Sirzechs would be unable to harm him," Akeno adds while taking a seat on the sofa opposite ours.

Kiba doesn't sit anywhere but listens to the conversation with curiosity apparent in his eyes.

"Even though I don't exactly know the extent of my brother's powers, I'm sure that he wouldn't be able to pull off what His Holiness did today."

"Are you talking about how that city in His Holiness's world was mostly destroyed?"

"Yes," Rias responds solemnly while deliberating on something.

"I can only imagine what ability or item His Holiness must've used to cause so much destruction in a few seconds."

"That's the problem," Rias interjects with a serene look in her eyes, "What we witnessed was nothing other than a part of His Holiness's raw power."

"What?!" Kiba, who has been silent, exclaims with widened eyes, while Akeno has an expression of disbelief on her face.

"Are you sure about that?" Akeno asks after a dozen or so seconds.

"Yes," Rias immediately replies, "I saw it with my own eyes. His Holiness simply punched the ground and nothing else."

"That's absurd. Has God always been so powerful?"

"I wouldn't know," Rias responds while closing her eyes and shaking her head, "But, I do know that what His Holiness did wasn't even remotely close to what he is like when he gets serious."

"No way. This..." Akeno says as a look of absolute shock appears on her face.

Well, Rias is right. If I made use of Ittou Shura, the amount of damage I could dispense would simply be insane.

"Now, the real issue is that some devil clans are preparing to face His Holiness in war. What do you think will be the outcome?"

"Total annihilation of the devils," Akeno immediately responds.

"Exactly. The Four Satans, including my brother, know about this, yet they're not making any real effort in stopping this."

"President," Kiba interjects, "Do you think that they have found a method to fight against God?"

As a response to this, Rias shakes her head and says, "I can't make any assumptions yet. My father has asked for my presence during tonight's dinner. Perhaps, he will tell me about what's going on."

"And?" Akeno says while squinting her eyes, "What will you do with the information?"

"Relay them to His Holiness," Rias replies without any hesitation, pleasantly surprising me.

I'm not the only that's startled by her words, as both Akeno and Kiba are both looking at Rias with an intrigued expression.

"If Lord Zeoticus and Lord Sirzechs are a part of whatever is going on, you will be directly antagonizing them with that. Would you still be willing to do it?"

"Yes," Rias responds, "This matter is a sensitive one. One wrong step and the devil race could be brought to the brink of extinction."

Silence ensues in the room as the atmosphere tenses up.

Well, Rias' thoughts are both correct and wrong at the same time. Simply put, the only reason she thinks this would happen is because of the act I put on when they faced my angels in the arena for the first time.

My act of arrogance and pridefulness seemed to have seeped into her mind and left quite an impression on her.

Even if she knows that what happened back then was abnormal, she will be unable to shake off the feeling of dread that I gave them at the time.

Naturally, she will realize the truth of the matter in due time, so there isn't a need to rush anything. After all, her 'image' of me at the moment will bring me more benefits than anything else.

Anyway, I believe it's about time that I headed to where Sora and the rest usually wait for me. I've already been delayed by a few minutes, so I better hurry up.

As such, I slowly get up from the sofa to prevent those present from noticing me before activating Time-Stop and swiftly making my way over to the Kendo club-room.

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Important: Read the Author's Thoughts.