JACG Chapter 83 (Lucky) (Patreon)

Ever since my last comment, there was a tension between me and Rias. We would talk but she would gain a dazed look on her face every once and a while. Then there were moments where she would just look at me and fidget. There was a strange sense of conflict on her face, one moment she would have this dopey smile on her face the next she would harden her face as if scolding herself.

It would be baffling to me but even I got the sign at this point. She liked me and that thought threw me through a loop for a moment. I could not understand how I was able to get her to like me so quickly. It was not like I was trying to actively seduce her I was just trying to get closer to her. Then I thought about my actions since I met her.

I came to this world showing vulnerability to her then I showed interest in who she was not who Rias Gremory was, the final blow was when I promised to get her out of her arranged marriage. I was pressing all of the right buttons and I wanted to slap myself in the face for doing so. I knew who she was and I knew how she would react to certain things so I should have taken a step back. Rias was someone who could be seduced by a pervert who constantly wanted to see other people’s tits. I should have recognized that now I had to deal with the consequences of my actions.

I was honestly unsure about what to do next. Sure I wanted to get closer to her but I never meant to seduce her yet I managed to do so. I could not exactly accept her feelings as I was in a relationship at the moment. I was also planning on getting Rias to befriend Ashley and I had thrown a wench in the middle of that. If Ashley found out Rias liked me than there would be fire and brimstone. It was not like Rias could hide how she was feeling from Ashley. I was able to see she liked me and that meant she was obvious to the nth degree.

I looked over at the girl who was currently staring off into space with a concerned look on her face. She wore her heart on her sleeve and there was no changing that. She was clearly concerned about her own feelings as well. She knew that Ashley already had problems with her getting closer to me and while she was getting better this was not going to be helpful. I was tempted to ignore this little problem and hope things got better.

That was a stupid approach that would only lead to more heartbreak. I was just going to have to tell Ashley about this when I went back to my world. I would make it clear that I did not return Rias' affections and that the girl in question would not make a move anyway out of respect for Ashley. Well more like out of fear but it sounded better if I put it in a more pleasant expression.

It might hurt her a little bit but it was better if I was just honest about it. She has grown a lot over the years and while she was still likely to stab someone she was at least a bit more confident about our relationship. Out of the two of us, she was the one who was more comfortable in our relationship. I could only hope that it would stick that way.

I let out a long sigh that knocked Rias out of her concerned daze. She looked over at me in curiosity before she looked away quickly in a panic. While I was planning on telling Ashley I was not going to confront Rias about how she felt. 

The girl liked me and that was my fault there was no need to bring it up. She was clearly embarrassed about it and she wanted to not feel that way so she would try her best to hide her feelings. So as long as I did not bring it up she would not bring it up either. If I did bring it up it would throw another wrench into the mix and that was needless. If I brought her feelings to the surface it might even lead to her changing her approach. Which would only lead to artillery fire and declarations of war.

“I am going to have to go back to my world to start researching the potion,” I spoke out calmly with a polite smile on my face. She took in my statement and another pout emerged on her face. The pout quickly faded as she knew she should not be that upset about me leaving in this context. I was offering to get her the potion to get her out of marriage after all.

“You don’t have to rush it. My marriage with Riser is a long ways away and if they push it I could beat him up to get us more time.” Rias spoke out softly with another conflicted look on her face. She wanted what I was offering but she also wanted to spend more time with me. She was just not able to say the real reason.

“I should still get working on it. I would rather have everything solved instead of waiting for things to come to our door.” Again I spoke out with a polite smile on my face. Rias took in my words and seemed dejected about the idea. Then she brightened as she thought of something.

“It can wait a day or two Prince-san. You came here to practice using your Sacred Gear it would be a waste of points if you did not even try to use it.” She announced brightly which then led to her regretting her words almost immediately. I bit my lip at the situation in front of me. She was right I would be wasting points if I did not practice using my Sacred Gear. I had an abundance of points but there was no reason to waste them needlessly.

On the other hand, I wanted to bring some distance between us. I suppose things could wait. I really wanted to use Star Blaster Star Burster and this was probably my best shot at doing so. It was not like Rias could stay close to me as I practiced using the Sacred Gear.

“I would hate to waste my trip. So you win I’ll stay a bit longer Rias-san. I’m not sure why you want me to postpone this as it’s in your best interest.” I spoke out blandly bringing up her strange actions. She flinched and shot me a wobbly smile. I rolled my eyes at the sight internally. If she was going to try to keep me here I was going to prod her for my own amusement. As long as I feigned ignorance she would not know that I knew.

“The whole reason you came here was to learn and improve yourself Prince-san. I would hate it if you changed your plans just to help me.” Rias shot out quickly with embarrassment clear on her face. Although a blush did emerge on her face as she spoke the last part. Why did she have to be so easy to seduce? If she was not we could have had a pleasant talk and bonded better.

Now I was going to hold her at arm's length so things did not get worse.

“That’s nice of you Rias-san. You really are a good person.” I spoke out calmly. I assigned her a good person card firmly putting her in the friend zone. Rias was clearly not used to that card being a bad sign as she looked pleased at the compliment. 

“I’m just trying to be helpful Prince-san.” Rias spoke out with a blush on her face. She seemed like she was starting to feel less and less conflicted about her emotions. That sight told me that I should probably rush this situation.

“Whatever you say Rias-san. Let’s get started with that practice lead the way.” I spoke out with excitement clear on my face. That way she would not be able to postpone this any longer. She wore another pout on her face as I rushed the conversation but she nodded anyway.

She started to lead out of the room. The place that she was residing in might as well be a mansion. I knew that she came from a noble family so having such a large home was to be expected. While the house was impressive to me I knew that the mansion they had in the underworld would blow this place out of the water.

As we walked along the corridors of her mansion Rias would chatter about anything that came to her mind. I listened and pipped in but tried my best to not engage too much. It did not seem to deter her words.  

I wished we could have just teleported to wherever she was leading me but that was clearly not happening. God, how do people deal with such massive amounts of space? I was feeling bored just walking along these extravagant halls.

Something happened that broke the non-stop chatter coming from Rias. One of the many doors in the hall opened. I was not expecting anyone else to be here but that was a stupid assumption to make. This was Rias’ home and I knew there was going to be certain people here.

The girl I knew to be Akeno walked out of the room she was in with a curious look on her face. Again she was something that would have people salivating at the sight of. Devils really were far too good looking for their own good. She had a pair of tits that were even larger than Rias but they were not a perky. I looked away quickly from her. 

The last thing I needed was for Akeno to find me ogling her. It was not even about her being slighted at me doing so. No, I was sure that this seductress before me would be happy to have me ogling her.

“Oh my, who is this Rias?” Akeno questioned with an amused look flashing in her eyes. 

“Um, This is a friend of mine. I’m just taking him to the training room.” Rias spoke out as she avoided saying anything that really mattered. She was clearly deflecting and even a toddler could see that. The amused look in Akeno’s eyes grew even brighter and I was not feeling all too well about that. 

“What’s the hurry Rias? I just brew a nice pot of tea. We all can sit down and chat for a little while you introduce me to your friend.” Akeno spoke out teasingly. She also shot me a look that screamed she wanted me. I scoffed internally as I knew she was all talk and no bite. I was not going to fall for her petty tactics.

“Well, he is in a bit of a hurry Akeno. He has something important to do after this.” Rias spoke out quickly with an embarrassed look on her face. Then she looked over at me shyly which was probably the worst thing she could have done in this situation. Akeno noticed the look immediately and the amused look in her eyes intensified. She also shot me a far more interested look.

“That’s such a shame. I would have loved to get to know you Mr.?” Akeno questioned leadingly with bedroom eyes clear on her face. The sight caused Rias to wear a pout on her face. She was clearly not happy with Akeno trying to seduce me and she knew she could not even bring up the reason why.

“Severus Prince. I’m sorry that I was not able to entertain you today. I’m sure we will eventually have time to chat. Rias is a good friend of mine after all.” I spoke out blandly while I emphasized the word friend. The whole context seemed to shoot over Rias’ head but Akeno seemed to get my meaning.

Akeno looked between me and Rias with clear amusement on her face. She now knew that Rias liked me and that I was very much not returning the affection. The situation had her twitching her lips as she tried to hold back some laughter.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Prince-san. Any friend of Rias is a friend of mine.” Akeno spoke out with amusement dancing in her eyes. She also spoke out the word friend in a throaty way that sent shivers down my spine. This girl was not going to give up on her game even if I made it clear I wanted no part in it.

The fact that I wanted no part in her game probably caused her to be more interested. I knew that was the case but I still had to do it. Sure if I played along she would lose interest but that would mean me showing interest in her. That would tell Rias my relationship was not as stable as she thought and that she would have a chance. It would be a bomb that I wanted to not touch.

Akeno walked away from the two of us shaking her hips as she walked away. I looked away quickly as I knew she would just get worse if she caught me looking. Rias was looking at the byplay with a pout on her face.

“We should get to the training room now. “ Rias announced sourly. I rolled my eyes when she was not looking. It was not my fault that her queen had a penchant for seducing people. That was something she would have to take up with her friend. 

The rest of the journey passed rather quickly. Rias still speaking about what ever came to her mind but she was rather sullen after Akeno. She was clearly sulking and I could not bring myself to change that fact. I did not want to lead this girl on when I knew that it would only end badly. 

Eventually, we ended up in a room that reminded me of the training room Ichigo used when he first became a shinigami. A vast rocky room that looked like it actually outside. For a place that was used for practice, it did not look that damaged but I knew the reason why. 

This place was enchanted to contain any and all energies inside of the room. It had a certain threshold but it was based off of someone ridiculously powerful. Beyond the containing function, the room was also programmed to repair anything that happened there. The enchantments were rather minor and I could do similar things already but the room was still a miracle. Not because of how it was enchanted but the sheer power that was fueling it.

If the leylines that powered Hogwarts were a lake then the power lying here was like an ocean. I could tell that the power came from a person and not a leyline like Hogwarts. Which meant someone had the power equal to thousands of leylines. I knew who made these enchantments but the sight really brought into question how powerful the guy was. 

The amount of power behind him was frankly scary. If I had a tenth of his reserves I would be able to do some frankly ridiculous things.

“I know it does not look like much but this room should be capable of taking whatever you deal Prince-san.” Rias spoke out taking my sudden silence as disappointment in the room. She probably thought that the room was not that impressive to look at.

“I can see that Rias-san. Whoever made this place must be ridiculously powerful.” I let out as I continued examining the sheer power rolling from the room. I was still having problems imagining someone having that much power behind them. I guess in a world where infinity was a loli dragon you needed to be equally ridiculous to make it in the top ten.

“Yeah, my brother is a bit much.” She spoke out embarrassedly but with a hint of pride on her face. I felt like she was showing off but having a brother like that was really worth bragging about.

“ I think that would be an understatement Rias-san.” I spoke out blandly as she puffed up at my words. 

“ I guess you are right, but with the Chat Group behind us we will eventually meet the heights of my brother.” She spoke out with determination blooming in her eyes. I let a small smile bloom on my face at the sight. She was right the limits of our power were removed thanks to the Chat Group. We would eventually dwarf even her brother even if that goal sounded ridiculous in the face of a sloppy spell casted from that behemoth.

“That’s the spirit as soon as I start blowing up planets I might be able to make your brother take a step back,” I spoke out teasingly. The guy really was powerful to a dumb degree. Even if I could blow up planets her brother would still wipe the floor with me ten out of ten times. Rias took in my words and wore another pout on her face. She knew I was right but that did not mean she was happy about me putting us down.

“I can already enter a state similar to my brother. So it’s not that far away.” She spoke out sullenly. I flinched as I took in her words I was lucky that she did not see that flich. What the hell did she mean? From what I knew about Rias she was not capable of even being compared to Sirzechs. Now she was standing here claiming she was capable of entering a state similar to that beast.

That ability must have come from the Chat Group which meant she got something truly ridiculous in the newbie gift. She really was lucky that was clear for anyone to see. Wait a minute.

She was lucky I knew that from the anime and the words she said herself. She said that luck was a Gremory clan trait. Which meant she had ties to luck as a concept. Fuck, it was not just that Rias was easy to seduce my own abilities came into effect here. Fortune’s Beloved said clearly that I was able to increase affection with those with ties to luck quickly.

Which meant Rias was doomed to fall for me the moment she joined the Chat Group. I knew the Chat Group selection was fairly biased towards me because of my luck but this really took the cake. From the very moment I joined my luck was already setting me up to get in a relationship with her. 

I could understand why that was for the most part. My relationship with Lily was doing nothing but harm to me. So my luck was setting me up with a red-head that would treat me differently. I would applaud it for its foresight if it was not screwing me over right now. The person I got into a relationship with was not Rias it was Ashley. So the small setup before has become a stumbling block for me now.

I was wondering why this has come to pass. If I was really thinking about it Rias and Ashley both had traits that would have led me away from Lily. Ashley’s fervent need for affection and her degraded moral compass meant I would have felt an instant connection with the lonely girl. Rias’ kind nature and her need to help those in pain would have led me to fall for her eventually. Both of them were set up in a way that I would find them enthralling.

Hell, even Pyrrha was someone who could have led me away from Lily. Her looks were even closer to Lily than Rias was. Her unyielding sprite would have inspired me and her desperate need for someone to be there for her would ring a far too familiar tone. 

The only person that did not fit the mold was Izumi….At least I hope to god that he did not fit the mold. I did not want to think about the implication of what him being in the group meant considering my luck. Even as I dread it I could see that Izumi and I could have bonded over our otaku tendencies. I just hoped that my luck was trying to provide me with a friend that I could bond with. I did not want to think about what the other option would be.

I took a step back as I thought over what had transpired. While my luck was setting me up to drop Lily it did not lead me to a perfect relationship with any of the members. Izumi and my relationship could best be described as tolerant, Pyrrha hated me for the longest time but she has calmed down for the most part and things looked promising. Rias was only falling for me now instead of much earlier. Ashley was the one that I had the best relationship with and that was because I actively reached out a hand to the desperate girl.

So why was it that way? My luck was more than capable of making sure that my relationship with the Chat Group would be perfect. It only took me a moment to understand the reality of the situation. While my luck set me up with people that I would click with it took no further actions because that would not be what I wanted. I wanted people to like me for me, not for the lucky accidents that would have them rushing closer to me. In order for my relationship to warm up with the Chat Group I was the one that needed to take the first step.

That was why things have turned out like they have. I did not reach out to the other members so our relationship either stagnated or degraded. It made a certain amount of sense to me.

“Are you okay Prince-san?” Rias questioned me with a concerned look on her face. I had been standing with a dazed look on my face while I pieced this together. I was used to monologuing in my own mind but this time I was piecing several memories over to understand everything. So I took a rather long time this time.

“I’m alright Rias-san. I was just shocked that you would be capable of doing something similar to the person who made this room.” I spoke out softly as I looked at the girl before me in a slightly better light. I could not blame her for falling for me as that was always going to happen. I was still not comfortable with it happening but I was no longer as upset about it.

“Oh, I never thought I would be able to do what my brother could. The Chat was really generous when it gave me the newbie gift.” She spoke out with an embarrassed look as she took in my words. She was bragging before but there was not really any real thought behind the bragging before.

“The Chat Group had been rather generous to us.” Again I spoke out softly as I thought it over. The Chat Group -provided me with people that would really end up bonding with me. I may have made a mistake earlier by not reaching out and prying but I would change that now. I was not going to try to complete the cycle and get Pyrrha falling for me as well but I was sure I was capable of being good friends with everyone.

As Rias gained another dazed look I let out a sad sigh. I can’t blame her for feeling the way she does but I was going to have to deal with it. It was going to be a long talk but at least it was not one that needed to happen right now.

“Alright let’s see how much punishment this room can take.” I spoke out with a cocky smile on my face. I then summoned my Sacred Gear with a flash. Rias was looking at the Gear with interest as she had never seen this one before. It was time to introduce her world to a new Longnius.