Tale of Discovery

Chapter 227: Trouble ; Ride

"Haru," Sora's not-so-warm voice reaches my ears.

The club-room suddenly seems to have gotten a lot colder, as the club members stop chattering and look over at us with curious expressions on their faces.

Fortunately, I am Sora's brother, so I don't have to worry about any strange rumors spreading around once this calamity has passed by.

"Now, now, my dear sister," I say in the most soothing tone I can muster, "You shouldn't just jump to conclusions without hearing what the other side has to say."

As a response to my words, Sora gazes at me with a deadpanned look on her face, silently awaiting my 'explanation'.

Being the one closest to Sora as her brother and lover, I'm well aware of her personality and how she views my relationships with other girls.

To put it in simple terms, as long as she's certain that I won't be leaving her and prioritize her, Sora won't be all that dissatisfied with most of what I do.

Yet, here she is, witnessing another girl wearing a ring that's clearly the one I had been wearing before.

"You should know that the ring is not an ordinary one, right?" I question, to which Sora just nods her head once.

Before I can utter another word, I hear Nao say, "Wow, he already has put a ring on the new girl. Didn't even notice it before."

"He sure works wonders," Misa 'praises'.

A moment of silence passes as Sora squints her eyes at me.

Letting out a sigh, I conclude that a demonstration would be the best way to solve this issue.

As such, I create an illusory barrier around us, making it seem like we're all frozen in place.

Then, I turn to face Jeanne and say, "Pull your banner out."

With an unperturbed expression on her face, Jeanne pulls out her banner from the ring and holds it firmly.

Sora has always been quick-witted, so she figured out what's going as a look of realization appears on her face.

With the calamity passed, I nod my head while facing Jeanne as she nods back before storing the banner in the ring again.

The moment I dispel the illusory barrier, the club-room gets a little chaotic as the girls begin to chatter among themselves.

"Did you see that? They weren't moving just now!" a girl says disbelievingly.

"Yeah. It's like they glitched or something," another girl responds.

Their topics mostly revolved around that and how our positions had changed after the 'glitch'.

Shaking my head in exasperation, I face Sora and say, "Everything is fine now, right?"

Sora nods her head once with a small smile on her lips, seemingly satisfied knowing that there is no ulterior meaning to the ring.

"But," she suddenly says, "Why is the ring on that finger?"

Hearing her emphasis on the word 'that', I get what she's asking.

"Well, I wasn't paying much attention to that when I put it on for her."

"Put it on for her?" Sora repeats in a tone much colder than before.

Damn it. I should pay more attention to my words from now on.

---

Somehow, I managed to live. The only price I had to pay for my 'crime' was that I had to lock hands with Sora and walk out of the school like that.

So much for no strange rumors spreading...

Whatever. It's not like I will stop loving Sora because a few dozen mortals find it unbecoming.

"My Lord, what's that?" Jeanne asks for the fifth time while pointing at something on the other side of the tinted window.

Shifting my sight to where she's pointing, I find a pair of high schoolers riding bikes.

"That's called a bicycle," I explain, "It's a form of transportation that's commonly used in this era instead of cars."

Incidentally, her first inquiry about this world was regarding cars. For some reason, she seems to be interested in things related to transportation.

"Is it faster than a horse?" she asks.

I take a moment to deliberate on the matter before lightly patting her thigh and saying, "I'm sure that with your strength, you should be able to outdo a horse if you ride a bike."

At this moment, I feel a sting on my left arm, as if I was just stung by a mosquito.

Looking over, I find Sora who is pinching my arm with as much strength she can put into her fingers.

"What?" I say.

She doesn't say anything, but the displeasure in her eyes is apparent.

Letting out a sigh, I shake her hand off my arm before wrapping it around her slender embrace and pulling her closer to myself.

Nao and Misa who are sitting opposite us have an odd look on their face as they gawk at us.

"My Lord, why do I feel stronger and faster than before?" Jeanne asks after a while.

"Well, I'm not so sure about that myself. However, it could be related to the fact the reason you're here at the moment is that you are being supplied by my energy."

Confused, Jeanne looks at me as she waits for me to explain the meaning behind my words.

I cough to clear my throat before explaining, "Due to having taken on a physical body of a mortal, my powers have become very limited."

"Currently, I am able to make use of my Holy powers to guide people to the light. However, that's not all, as I can make use of my Destructive powers those who can't be guided."

Hearing this, a look of deliberation appears on Jeanne's face for a few seconds before she asks, "So, death is salvation for those who can't listen to The Lord?"

"In a sense, yes," I respond after careful thought, "Essentially, at this time and age, the only individuals that can't be guided are 'real' devils and other beings that deem themselves to be superior to other beings.

"You see, in this world, there are numerous powerful beings. Some of which pursue chaos and destruction. I aim to put an end to them through the help of my angels and companions. Perhaps, this is why you've become so powerful after I summoned you."

"After you had been summoned, you required some form of energy to keep you here. My energy."

Jeanne seems to understand what I'm getting as she falls into deep thought.

"That's quite the story," Nao remarks, "Just a few months ago, you were cheating in exams."

Hearing this, Sora raises her brows, while Misa laughs.

"That wasn't me," I simply say while shrugging my shoulders.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Misa asks once she's done laughing.

"Simply put, I had not awakened at the time."

"If that's the case, when did you awaken?" Misa continues to ask.

"During the time Nao and the weirdo were chasing me," I respond.

"What's with that," Misa says while laughing, "That sounds so cheesy."

"Whatever," I say, shifting my focus back to the curious Jeanne, hoping to shift the conversation away from myself, "Are you interested in riding a bike?"

As a response to my inquiry, she hastily nods her head as a glint of excitement shines in her amethyst-colored eyes.

"Alright, I will be sure to create one for you once I have recovered my energy," I state, to which she nods her head before looking out of the window again.

---3rd POV---

"Hey," a brown-haired man wearing glasses says, "Are we really going to be fighting Him?"

"What, are you afraid? The information we got from the pesky demons confirms that He is weakened. This will be easy," a black-haired man responds to him; the same man that Victor had seen earlier today.

"Hmph. If he's weakened, then the fight won't even be worth it," a bulky gray-haired man scoffs, "I doubt he even is the real the deal."

"Real deal or not," the black-haired man says, "We are required to defeat him if we don't want our plans to fall through. Besides, he has now become a great danger to humanity a Phantom."

Hearing his words, the two men nod their heads while the rest of the people in the room wordlessly gaze at him.