Those that cause ripples and those who watch over
3rd Person POV
"Jeez! How much work do they intend to throw at me!? At this rate, I won't be able to visit So-tan this weekend either!" Serafall complained.
Sitting in her office, the magical girl fan was not wearing her favorite costume but rather a formal dress used for work. After coming from a meeting, she had to work on the pile of papers on her desk. Accompanying her for a while after delivering some documents, Grayfia smiled wryly while standing in front of her friend's desk. Serafall would certainly throw a tantrum if work kept piling up nonstop.
"It is certainly quite a bit of work." Grayfia examined the papers. "Have you been, perhaps, skipping work to play around?"
After checking the date of one the documents, Grayfia narrowed her eyes at Serafall and the short woman averted her eyes and began whistling awkwardly.
Her gaze intensified and before Grayfia could say anything, Serafall broke under the pressure.
"I just postponed for a bit..." Serafall mumbled. "Those geezers are making poor little me work so much. I even had to cancel lunch with So-tan! Those monsters!"
Gritting her teeth, Serafall's demonic energy covered the room and it caused some of the objects to tremble under the pressure as they were too fragile to handle her powers.
"Your workload will increase if you destroy your office..." Grayfia sighed.
The pressure vanished like it was not there as soon as those words were said.
"Grayfia is a bully." Serafall pouted. "The only kind one is Nora-kun."
Snorting cutely, Serafall crossed her arms and turned away from her friend.
It was a minute reaction, but Grayfia's eyebrow twitched at that.
"Why is he... kind?" Grayfia asked.
"Well, he comes here sometimes when I call him and pats my head." Serafall began counting with her fingers. "He also brings me lunch sometimes... I get some massages when I am stressed. He helps me get pictures of So-tan, and they are even with her approval! He got me one of her in a magical girl's outfit!!!"
Serafall cheerily stood up and went towards a shelf ubicated behind her desk. After moving some books in a special sequence, a special compartment opened and Serafall pulled a stack of photos from a box titled 'So-tan'.
"I have her cosplaying into so many costumes, and he managed to do that! Isn't he amazing!?" Serafall proudly puffed her chest.
Face-palming, Grayfia decided that there was nothing wrong so she should-
"I also ask him to take care of my job while I put my head on his lap and he plays with my hair!" Serafall added.
"Wait just a minute!" Grayfia called out. "I just heard something outrageous."
Taking a deep breath, Grayfia glared at Serafall that had the face of someone who said something she should not.
"Serafall, you have not only been neglecting your duties, but you also are making him do your job...?" Grayfia muttered. "You are a Maou, and putting aside your custom of skipping work to see Sona, you have been letting that child take care of your duties...? Don't you know how many issues and problems you would be getting him and the devils if the Minister of Foreign Affairs makes a mistake...? We have signed an alliance with the Youkais, Fallen Angels, and Asgardian Gods under the wraps, and The Five Clans and Shinto Gods no longer have an antagonistic stance against us, at least nothing in the open. However, even though that has been mostly thanks to him, putting him in... your... job...?"
As she continued to speak, Grayfia soon furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and she repeated what she just said in her mind.
"On second thought, he might be more suited to this kind of job than you..." Grayfia spoke. "No, wait, that is not the point! He is still too young to take care of something of this magnitude, and even that line of thoughts is wrong, we cannot take advantage of him."
"Wasn't that a bit cruel of you!? I know that what he did is amazing, but my job isn't simply to interact with other mythologies in their home ground, I also have to host any visit they decide to schedule to our place." Serafall fumed cutely by shaking her fists in the air.
"Serafall!" Grayfia raised her voice.
Noticing that Grayfia was adamant about the topic, Serafall sighed.
"He is not a child anymore." Serafall said.
Gritting her teeth, Grayfia's demonic power began to overflow.
"If you are saying that because of Zekram's forced duties, I will get angry." Grayfia mumbled.
"I know about the jobs that he is being made to take by him, but I am not talking about that." Serafall shook her head. "Even if he is tasked with assassinations and he bloodies his hands, I would not stop considering him a child, you should be aware how much I treasure him as Sona's friend, and as my friend as well. I have many fond memories as well as some slightly embarrassing ones to just cold-hearted label him a monster or a convenient tool instead of treating him as a child."
Groaning, Grayfia's demonic power diminished as she calmed down somewhat. The two had been friends since a long time ago and they both knew each other almost as well as they knew themselves.
Serafall was certainly not the type to treat Nora differently because of what she mentioned.
"First, let me tell you this. I am not exploiting him." Serafall exclaimed. "He came into my office a few years back and begged me to take him under my wing. I thought he was joking, and multiple times passed off his words as some sort of joke. I was not taking him seriously at that time, and thinking back, I was being rude to him."
"…I never heard about that." Grayfia muttered with mixed feelings.
"He made me promise to never tell anyone." Serafall said. "That meanie, even Sona-tan was not allowed to know and I was unable to tell her when she asked me, it was heartbreaking."
Even though she wanted to roll her eyes at Serafall's nonsense, Grayfia kept her mouth shut and continued to listen.
"…I had to take him seriously when he banged his head on the floor with a dogeza." Serafall smiled bitterly. "I don't want to ever make him do that again…"
Sighing, Serafall could still vividly recall how it tightened her heart to see him like that. He must've been desperate to make her understand that he was serious and not joking.
"He wanted to learn how to effectively deal with my duties, not only to be able to deal with any diplomatic or political issue that the devil side throws at him, but he wanted to work for the youkai side as well. He desired to learn how to be a good mediator so he could fight against the differences between human and supernatural creatures, although he ended up using the skills somewhere else first." Serafall spoke with a little bit of pride in her tone. "You are also aware of how much he struggled while building a city in the territory granted to him in the name of Murmur, right? I saw him spending many nights studying nonstop to find solutions to the problems that many noble houses would create for him."
"That bastard Zekram, he threatened us with joining the boycotting side if we lent Nora-kun a hand." Grayfia angrily said.
"It was a test prepared by him to Nora-kun, he forbid anyone with close relationships with him at that point to lend a hand. He had to solve the land issues by himself and find reliable allies as he did so." Serafall said.
"…I can recall that. Why was it that only women offered to help him?" Grayfia muttered with some discomfort.
Shrugging her shoulders, Serafall was unsure what to say.
"It's Nora-kun, anything goes." Serafall said. "I think that he also has the approval of the husbands, and putting aside those that came with questionable ideas, Nora-kun was able to overcome the hurdles."
"I still don't like the idea of those ladies sticking close to him." Grayfia grumbled.
"That is an issue that we can't do much about. In public, they are married, but the truth is that their husbands are actually… well…" Serafall found it hard to say.
"Is there any reason to hide such a thing?" Grayfia mumbled.
"It is a matter of 'face' or pride in this case. Even if it is an open secret, coming out and making it public will tarnish the noble families' reputations. The husband will be frowned upon, but the woman will be treated harshly for her inability to pleasure her husband. That is why even though they might be forced to have children, they will not practice it often or other than necessary which takes us to Nora-kun's position." Serafall said. "Politically speaking, any connection that anyone can have with him will be welcomed. Not only he has the genes of the original Murmur and two other devils while being capable of using the three, but he also has the support of Zekram, and his friendship with So-tan and Rias-chan is not a secret, without mentioning the closeness he has to the Four Maous and even the Strongest Queen."
"Is it only because they are interested in the political value that they approached him?" Grayfia complained.
"Haha, not exactly. The husband and the houses behind the ladies do have what I said in mind and rather support those ladies, along with sending pretty heirs to try and seduce him, but those ladies were caught in the trap known as 'God Hands'." Serafall chuckled. "I don't think that you of all people can say that he can't tame people with his massages?"
Giving her friend a sly look, Serafall looked ready to make fun of Grayfia.
"…I am not sure what you are talking about." Grayfia looked away.
"Heh, is that so? Then, let's leave it at that." Serafall smiled meaningfully. "Besides, you cannot deny that his kind and gentle personality attracts a lot of people, not to mention his looks."
Scratching her head, Serafall began to check the drawers of her desk until she pulled a file and threw it at Grayfia.
Slightly surprised, Grayfia caught it after it almost slips her hand. Opening it after Serafall signaled her, Grayfia's eyebrow would twitch now and then.
"I am not sure how to feel that the first time I was asked to help arrange a marriage meeting… would be for him and not So-tan." Serafall sighed. "I had to raise the salary of my secretary after all the hard work she had to do to handle all this."
"It is only one file…" Grayfia doubtfully asked.
Her friend's words left Grayfia a little confused, the way she spoke compared to what she had seen in the file was rather exaggerated.
"This is the highest priority one, I have to talk to Nora-kun about it since he has to handle it personally." Serafall smiled bitterly. "There is a pile of files in the room beside this one, you will find the others neatly arranged there. From politics, merchants, and nobles, all there."
"…I am sorry, this was all caused by Venelana's business idea." Grayfia could not find any other words to say.
"Sometimes, I wonder if she is my secretary or Nora-kun's" Serafall mumbled with a faraway look.
"...I will pay the next time we go out." Grayfia said.
"Ah, ah, poor woman, she missed her marriage interview so many times…" Serafall lamented.
"I can ask Nora-kun to make an appointment for you when he opens the spa he is planning to build in his territory." Grayfia raised a white flag.
"Thanks?" Serafall grinned.
Sighing heavily, Grayfia could hardly blame her since they had been Nora's 'victims'.
"By the way, I understand that he gets along with Sirzechs and you, but the other two?" Grayfia inquired. "He gave a beating to the son of…"
"Have you forgotten the medicine he provided him with?" Serafall asked.
"Ah, the one to cure balding…" Grayfia understood immediately. "Then what about Ajuka?"
"Oh, that one is more complicated. Since Nora helped to make Azazel and Ajukas meet and talk about research materials, Ajukas is rather pleased to have a new friend in that area. Although Nora is also helping him meet some strange people I can't… actually recall much about for some reason." Serafall had a puzzled look. "I recall that I met them in person but my memory is a little… urgh, anyways. I heard that Nora got them all mixed up in all kinds of secret projects that fired up their souls. I am not sure about the Sacred Gear research, so I do not know anything else."
Face-palming, Grayfia felt like such a combination was bound to cause problems later on, but if the involved parties are happy, she cannot say too much about it.
"I, on the hand, have my reasons to have a very close relationship with him." Serafall pushed out her chest proudly.
Inwardly wondering if Serafall should continue to wear her magical girl outfit in public when even though she is wearing a much more conservative outfit at the moment, her body line sticks out. Grayfia would be completely ashamed to wear something like that in public, but above all, she believed it was not safe for children to see it too much.
"Isn't it because he spoils you? You already said it." Grayfia retorted. "I feel like you are taking advantage of him there…"
"Hmph, I am not forcing him." Serafall pouted. "You also have a bias there, and it is not the real reason."
"What real reason? No, wait, what do you mean with bias?" Grayfia furrowed her eyebrows.
Giving her friend a look, Serafall wondered if she should not tease her. The answer was obvious.
"Aren't you known as the biggest Nora Supremacist in the Underworld?" Serafall muttered. "Oh, keep this a secret, but I managed to convince him to join me in a show we will be making. He shall be my side kick and it will be a wonderful story that tells a tale of a young maiden (me) that gets granted powers by a mysterious cat (Nora-kun), a story of friendship, justice, and love!"
Standing up with a pair of dreamy eyes, Serafall excitedly told her friend something worth retorting.
"WAIT A MINUTE! What do you mean by 'you are known as the biggest Nora Supremacist in the Underworld', who said that? Have you been doing it…?" Grayfia exclaimed.
"Me? No, your actions speak for themselves since you would drop your duties if he asked you to. There was a bit of questioning regarding where your loyalty was but the worse was avoided after the government was told that you had a thing for Nora-kun." Serafall mumbled. "Wait, I was just telling you about a great secret and you just ignored it?"
"…Wait a minute, was it that why I got strange looks for a while and that woman from the devil government who has always been mean to me looked at me with some strange sense of closeness while she handed me a card so the 'three' of us could have a private party? I also got stared with friendly eyes by that ranker from the rating games and I never met her in person!" Grayfia said.
"There is a rumor that they like young-looking boys, but since they only get approached by no-good men, they had mostly given up on romance." Serafall explained.
"ARGH!" Grayfia felt like going rampant.
"It was not my fault. That said, I think it is not a good time to tell you that you need to meet the people on the files…" Serafall looked away.
Having an ominous feeling, Grayfia glared at Serafall.
"Nora-kun has to meet them first, but you also have to give your approval…" Serafall carefully said.
When she saw Grayfia marching her way with a pair of burning eyes, Serafall gulped nervously and-
"It was all Sirzechs-chan's fault! He was the first one to mention something about… then Zekram went and acknowledged it as a fact and things could not be stopped anymore." Serafall spilled the beans.
"All that while I was not here back then!?" Grayfia inquired.
"There were rumors about one time you took him to a lingerie shop when he was younger and how your relationship dates back then." Serafall tried to divert the agro.
"That idiot maid Kouhai, and Sirzechs!!!" Grayfia immediately teleported away enraged.
Wiping the nonexistent cold sweat from her forehead, Serafall sunk onto her seat.
"Thankfully, she did not ask about what were the other things Nora-kun was helping me with." Serafall sighed. "He left Artoria in Britain after their last visit and from the letters I received from the Pendragon family, Nora must've done a good job there since they have finally agreed to meet."
Pulling an envelope hidden (buried) in the pile of papers on her desk, Serafall went over the main details written in the letter inside, and putting aside the bill from damage Nora caused she found stored as well, there was a positive feeling and goodwill judging from the way everything was written. Taking Artoria who had a connection to the Pendragon family with him was an interesting choice, but it worked well so Serafall had to praise him when he visits her next.
"The problem is that they are unable to reach them anymore huh." Serafall furrowed her eyebrows.
The Fae, considered to be part of the fairy family had their roots in those lands, but years ago they cut their connection with the outside world. Not much is known about their reasons to do it other than the attack that multiple mythologies suffered from the cultists.
"Even if I go, they raised their vigilance to the max so I could not meet them…" Serafall sighed downheartedly. "I think it is a little rude to not open the door to a magical girl..."
Briefly recalling the intricate barrier used to keep intruders away gave Serafall a headache. Forget passing the guards to speak with their leader directly, she cannot even force her way in.
"Although Nora-kun said is close to reaching an agreement with one of the guards, I wonder if he managed to win over one of the weakest guards with his sweet tongue." Serafall giggled. "As long as he does not choose to antagonize any of the special guards I saw that day, he should be fine. Thinking about it, I wonder what a dragon like her is doing in their land…"
Part 2
3rd Person POV
A landscape devoid of life surrounded her. Silence ruled around her as she calmly strode among the empty buildings. Completely white in color and with a unique design, they would make a regular person question the origins of their architecture.
The female figure striding peacefully was not very tall, reaching about 160 cm in height. She had long dark brown hair almost reaching her ankles and with pair of pale blue eyes. Her garments consisted of a white haori over a pink kimono both with flower patterns. Her stance was as graceful as it was breathtaking, but one could not help but feel a tinge of sorrow when they laid their eyes on her.
Destroyed vehicles as unique as the buildings could be seen lying around, however, they did not pick her interest. She did not bother to look anything else as she walked with her eyes closed, deep in thought.
It was not until she was close to a strange device about her height composed of a large blue crystal floating in the middle of a round platform about 10 cm tall and 3 meters wide. Intricate symbols were carved on the platform and lines that looked like circuits connected the symbols with each other. Devoid of light, the crystal lit up from dark blue to pale blue when she stepped on the platform.
Tilting her head, she extended her hand as she seemed to briefly hesitate as she seemed to feel something odd among the silent city before ultimately nodding to herself, and with a gesture of her hand, it activated causing her figure to vanish.
After being teleported away, she arrived to a grand palace-like building fully white. The walls were covered by different symbols of the same origin as the platform before, but they were already glowing in pale light before the woman left a platform she had appeared on.
"I am still not sure why you take a stroll when there is nothing interesting in the city."
A cheery female voice called out to her and as soon as the woman glanced in that direction, she caught the appearance of the speaker. She was 167 cm tall, had short blond hair styled in hair intakes that reached her shoulders with a pair of ruby-red eyes, her theme of clothing seemed out of place with anything related to the buildings of that location, a white sweater with turtle neck, a blue skirt over black pantyhose. She had a curvy and well-balanced figure, and her steps as she strode were graceful and did not look forced, proof of her upbringing in an aristocratic environment.
"It is simply boring to stay indoors all the time."
Replying as such to the blonde lady, she smiled.
"Is it ok for the princess to leave just like that?"
Chuckling slightly, the blonde-haired lady joked.
"Is it ok to call me princess when I am the last remaining of my kind? Besides, aren't you in a similar position?"
"No, I faked my death long ago to avoid such a burdensome position."
"Is that so? Many people would be thrilled to govern over the vampire race as their Queen."
Giggling, the blonde-haired lady did not too keen on continuing the topic so she diverted it by pointing at the top of another woman's head.
"Why have you hidden those?"
"It is lonely in here, if they are out, my hearing just gets better, but I still won't be able to hear anything at all."
Moving her hand on top of her head, the brown-haired one explained.
"It is still odd for the Lunarian Princess, a bunny of the moon, to hide her bunny ears."
Smiling wryly at the longing in the blonde-haired woman's tone, and the way she squeezed her hands in the air.
"You lost your chance, I did keep them out the other time I got visitors."
"Huh? You got visitors? Here, on the moon?"
A little shocked, the blonde-haired one pointed at the sky, devoid of light, you could only observe sheer darkness along with stars. In the distance, a blue planet with patches of land could be seen almost shining.
"You are well aware of the teleportation platforms that were installed when the Lunarians went to war with the youkais, right?"
"I thought they were destroyed…"
"No, just like the one you use to come here, there is one located in an extremely hard-to-reach place in Urakyoto."
Holding her chin thoughtfully, the blonde-haired woman pondered for a moment.
"…Did the leader of the youkais come to look for your help in anything?"
Shaking her head, the brown-haired woman denied it.
"The current leader is not aware of the existence of the platform. The previous leader never informed her, only 'he' knew."
Scratching her head, the blonde-haired woman looked confused.
"He came once a few years ago, were you referring to him?"
"No, after his words back then, he has not appeared again."
Looking slightly disappointed, the blonde-haired woman did not say anything.
"The visitors were a group led by a certain nekomata. He was helping a certain bunny youkai to understand her roots, or so he explained."
With an amused expression, the brown-haired woman giggled.
"Eh? I missed that event…?"
Looking as disappointed or even more than before, the blonde-haired woman slumped her shoulders.
"Haha, it was very much like him to appear when one of the machines went out of control."
"If it was him, I would not be surprised if all the dormant security system was activated all at once and started to attack him."
"I remain here to disable it every time it repairs itself."
Smiling wryly, the brown-haired woman exclaimed.
"If we destroyed the core, it would stop completely."
Tightening her fists, the blonde-haired woman suggested.
"You know that it will cause the only thing that keeps this place hidden from prying eyes to stop working. Until he can find that place, I have to remain here to protect all the technology and materials that will become the necessary weapons."
Looking slightly dissatisfied, the blonde-haired woman did not continue to propose destruction. Sighing, she looked at the brown-haired woman with pity.
"Because of that, you have to stay here alone…"
"I requested that myself. Any old youkai that survived that war would oppose my presence on earth, and the royal family is not very fond of me either so staying in Japan was not possible back then."
Explaining as one would do to a child, the brown-haired woman said.
"I am not alone anymore though, he does come here now and then to bring me all kinds of food and necessary tools to live comfortably."
Smiling fondly, the brown-haired woman showed off her kimono.
With the corner of her lip twitching, the blonde-haired woman looked slightly jealous.
"It is kind of unfair that you get stuff from the cat…"
Not bothering with the subject anymore, the blonde-haired woman put on a serious expression.
"If he appeared here already, does that mean that the time for that to happen is close?"
Looking slightly worried, the brown-haired woman nodded.
"If the descent of the Outer God is not stopped, all the terrors that were sealed in ancient times will get released and there will be no way to stop them if they escape their cage."
"Do you think we will be able to stop it?"
"I have been doing my best to put weapons we could use against it in shape, but I am afraid I was never part of the research team or had something to do with them. Their notes are lost; they destroyed them before dying so no one could take control of this place."
Shrugging her shoulders, the blonde-haired woman did not seem to have much to say.
"Should you not go to Earth then?"
Shaking her head, the brown-haired woman said nothing else so the blonde-haired woman did not pursue the topic.
"Actually, I have a few snacks a tea that he brought the last time he came. Would you like to have a small tea party?"
At those words, the blonde-haired woman turned eager as she grabbed the hand of the brown-haired woman with a pair of glistening eyes.
"Please lead the way."
Giggling, the brown-haired woman put her worries away to chat with her friend.
Part 3
3rd Person POV
Located deep in the Land of Shadows, a unique building far from the reach of a certain cat, large pieces of crystal were towering inside an ancient-looking chamber made of tone.
Looking slightly confused, Scathach held her chin as she stared at two of the crystals with cracks in them.
"Hmmm, they should not be able to break on their own, or so I was told, but looking at it now…" Scathach mumbled.
The cracks were spreading as she idly stared, but Scathach did not try to interfere with it.
"No, wait, they did malfunction several times so it has nothing to do with those encased inside." Scathach nodded to herself.
The cracks continued until the crystal shattered, and two figures emerged. They looked a little out of it since they took a moment to understand their situation.
The first one to react was a female figure clad in a set of armor including a headpiece, faulds, gauntlets, plackart over a skirt, and a pair of black thigh-highs below that. She was about 160 cm tall, had blonde hair in a long braid, and her purple eyes gave her a strong-willed look. Nonetheless, her gentle expression made it difficult for others to feel intimidated by her despite her wondrous beauty and holy air.
"…Did it fail again?"
"Yes, I believe it did." Scathach replied.
Directing a worried look to one of the crystals, the figure turned towards Scathach.
"It is not that he is exhausted from maintaining the crystals for so long. I doubt that he could ever get exhausted no matter what he does." Scathach said. "However, your awakening time is not as far as he had described once, instead of waking him up, you have the option of roaming the world. That is what he said before encasing himself in that crystal again. What will you do, Saintess?"
"I believe this is also the Lord's will." The saintess placed both hands together and offered a small prayer.
"Is that so?" Scathach did not say anything else regarding her decision, instead, she pointed at the other figure. "What about that one?"
Wearing a white dress with a black hat on top of her head, the woman was over 166 cm tall and had a rather voluptuous figure. She had light brown hair that reached her shoulders and a small braid hanging on the left side of her face. Her green eyes looked visibly troubled as she kept opening and closing her mouth without saying a word.
"Just give her some time, she might not look like it, but she is among the toughest of us." The saintess smiled wryly.
"Hooo?" Scathach had a predatory smile on her face. "I heard that sometimes a little shock can help people like her to snap out of it."
Paling immediately, the saintess put herself between the two.
"I said toughest, but it was not about her ability to fight." The saintess muttered in hurry, already aware of what went through the goddess' mind.
The battle lust that began to build on Scathach vanished as soon as it appeared as she clicked her tongue.
"I see." Scathach lamented.
Sighing in relief, the saintess wiped the nonexistent sweat on her forehead.
"Do you have a place in mind?" Scathach changed the subject.
"We should secure proper clothing, and after that, I plan to head to my homeland, no, our homeland." The saintess looked at the still panicking figure. "I want to see how much has France changed over the years."
Nodding slightly disinterested, Scathach pulled a pouch from her space storage and handed it to the saintess.
"Money, documents, and other necessary tools for you to fit into today's society were prepared by him in case any of you were to awake before him." Scathach explained. "Oh, this is not something he asked you to do, but would you mind heading towards Britain? I heard that the user of a certain lance was finally selected and I would very much like to know who that is… to ask for a duel."
Sweating coldly, the saintess did not dare to say anything about the topic, not giving a clue to what crossed her mind and above all, not glance in a certain direction.
Author's Notes
Before anyone asks, Serafall only sees him as a friend for now. Ok? For now.
There are new characters that I wonder if you can guess who they are. The last ones have ones that must be easy to guess in my opinion.