Tale of Discovery

Chapter 236: Worry ; Resolve

"You're not focused," Tiamat's dubious voice reaches my ears.

Breaking out of my stupor, I focus on Tiamat who is currently in a defensive stance.

"Usually, you would stop at nothing to take advantage of me, yet you are being very 'lenient' today."

Hearing her claim, a grin forms on my lips as I say, "Are you asking of me to stop sparing you?"

"No," she immediately responds, "I just want to know what could have made something like you so absentminded."

Something like me, huh? That's an odd way to call someone powerful.

Hold on, is Tiamat not aware?

"Tia, were you asleep for the whole day yesterday?"

"Not at all," she responds, "I was awake the whole time."

"Even when I was returning from the underworld after talking to Venelana?"

"Naturally."

"So, do you remember what occurred when I stepped through the gateway I created using Norse Magic?"

"Yes," she responds with a doubtful expression, "You appeared in your home."

She really doesn't know? Great. Now, I am even more concerned about the matter with Dominion.

No matter what, it would be plain retarded to not take such a matter seriously. Heck, it managed to contact me despite most likely being in a Platform separated from the Rift by the Mete.

Even if the contact was short and harmless, it doesn't change the fact that Dominion pulled it off, located me, and contacted me without Tia even knowing what happened despite her being with the whole time.

As such, my mind just won't settle down about this matter.

I thought that I would be able to shake my worries off by spending some time in the Familiar Space early morning, but even that doesn't help.

At the moment, the most I can hope for is that Dominion's powers are limited and aren't as ridiculous as I expect them to be.

"Hey," Tiamat calls out to me, interrupting my thoughts, "I don't understand what's bothering you, but I know that you should deal with it as soon as you can.

"The more powerful you are, the more your troubles concern everyone around you."

Tiamat's nostalgic tone suggests that she is giving me advice from experience. Nevertheless, what she said sounds rather logical.

An extreme example of this would be two beings capable of destroying planets battling against one another. Suppose one of them has a family of weaker beings living on a planet. The battle may very well end their existence even if the being himself wins the battle.

So, it would be better for me to settle the matter early while remaining cautious, lest I invite disaster upon myself.

"Thank you, Tia," I say after resolving my thoughts.

"Stop that. You're making me uncomfortable," Tia responds with narrowed eyes.

"Huh?"

"It's not like you to be nice, so stop that and go back to being your usual self."

This busty dragon

Letting out a small sigh, I straighten my posture before abruptly dashing toward her.

---

"We're done for today," I say while glancing at the panting Rias.

"Finally," she says before limply dropping on the ground.

Seeing her lying on the ground with her long red hair spread, I teasingly say, "Such behavior doesn't befit you, princess."

Probably knowing that I'm teasing her, Rias chuckles in between gasps before saying, "Does that even matter now?"

As a response to her question, I shrug my shoulders before moving over and crouching by her side.

Then, I slide my right arm under her head before lifting her body off the ground and closing the distance between our faces.

Already used to this by now, Rias closes her eyes as our lips make contact.

For the past hour, I've been training her much more intensely compared to before.

The reason for that is quite obvious. It's because of the upcoming war. Before starting our training, I asked her a few questions regarding her stance in the war.

At first, she was startled that I knew so much about the matter, but she soon after began describing her wish of playing an active role even if it meant fighting against other devils.

Her reasoning for that was because she believed the devils are being manipulated in a way that would ruin everything. Rias expressed her belief in me and way of handling trouble to the point of stating that the best outcome could only be reached if I take direct actions.

Realizing that I'm still kissing Rias, I separate our lips before looking into her blue eyes.

"Aren't you afraid that I will eradicate all devils?" I had asked her when we reached a consensus.

"No," she directly responded in a confident tone.

Well, she is right. Even if a great number of devils die during the war, complete annihilation is not likely and not favored.

After all, not all devils stand against me. If anything, I can rally the true powerhouses and control the general devil populace by having them follow my orders once the 'mastermind' behind this whole ordeal is dealt with.

Despite making it sound easy, the matter is much more complicated, and it's for that reason that I will be having my allies and underlings take part in this war.

Simply put, if I were to pull off something deemed impossible and beyond reason, there would be a lot of extra trouble that could follow. However, if I were to make use of others, my 'power' would balance out with my 'influence' which would effectively shut down most troublemakers.

"Your Holiness?" Rias, who is still in my arms, utters.

"Ah. I just got a little distracted," I say while beaming a smile.

Suddenly, a notion appears in my mind, causing the smile on lips to grow.

"Rias," I say while stroking her cheek with my left hand, "What if I told you that you could become an angel?"

As expected, a shocked look appears on Rias' face as she doubtfully stares at my face.

"What, you don't believe me?"

"I do," she responds after a few seconds in an uncertain tone, "But, what would become of my servants if that happens?"

"I'm not sure," I honestly respond, "Nevertheless, even if something unexpected occurs, I'm sure that I will be able to easily deal with it."

Rias takes a moment to deliberate on my words with a serious look on her face before she closes her eyes and says, "I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

Surely, there is more to her response than what she makes it seem to be the case.

"Well, you're right about that," I respond, "After all, you would have to sleep with me for that to happen in the first place."

"What?!" Rias exclaims as her face flushes in red, "Do you mean"

"Yes, princess, I meant sex."

"Why?!"

"Don't ask me," I respond with a complex look on my face, "Ask the version of me from a few thousand years ago."

A confused look appears on Rias' face, but I don't head it much attention as I lean forward once again to kiss her lips.

This time, I make use of my left hand to rub her exposed thigh, causing Rias' body to flinch slightly.

After a few minutes of passionate kissing, I detach our lips as I lean back and guide my left hand to her bosom.

I then proceed to unbutton her shirt before sliding my hand in and directly grasping the mound underneath her bra.

Then, I begin to play around with the soft flesh and gently squeezing the small cherry every few seconds.

As such, Rias' breathing becomes ragged once again, for a different reason than before.

After a short while, I stop fondling her breast and pull my hand out.

Soon after, Rias regains her clarity as she gets up and begins fixing her uniform.

"Next time, I will be training your mouth," I say after a few seconds of deliberation.

"My mouth?" Rias responds with a confused glint in her eyes.

"You'll see," I say with a smile before walking in the direction the rest are training at.

Despite giving it some thought, Rias doesn't seem to figure out what I meant as she soon follows me with a composed expression.