Game of Monsters - 63 (Patreon)

Disclaimer: I don’t own Highschool DxD.

And I’m Feeling Good

“Hmmm,” a little blond girl hummed, eyes narrowed and lips pursed as she looked at Joshua. The man himself, meanwhile, sat opposite to her, raising an eyebrow in response. The expression of suspicion and annoyance intensified but he was undeterred. “You said you wouldn’t have other students,” Kunou accused eventually.

“I said that?” he asked then, blinking. It wasn’t really that he doubted the statement, but more that he didn’t remember it. All things considered, it seemed like a distinct possibility, really. The way the girl started mumbling things that weren’t actually words made him think she might have been lying and/or exaggerating. “Anyway, you are not dumb, Kunou, don’t act like you are.”

“Still, why do you want to go anyway? You don’t even like doing political stuff,” the blonde grumbled, angrily stabbing at the food on her plate. It was a little hurting, really, to see her do that. After all, they’d cooked the meal together. It was stupid to think like that, he knew, but he couldn’t help it.

“I don’t,” Joshua agreed with a deflated look. “Shed seems to think it’s a great idea though,” the man added, his eyes darting down towards the Charm that he carried with him all the time. The god remained silent at that moment, but he’d been downright giddy when the House of Water representative had asked for the favor, so Joshua had reluctantly agreed.

He’d still agreed on payment for that, but Shed better be appreciative anyway. This whole thing stunk of political shit and he really couldn’t be bothered with that. He hoped the whole thing wouldn’t turn into a mess, and if it did, that it wouldn’t be too bad. Wishful thinking, maybe, but a man could dream.

“Shed’s an idiot,” Kunou grumbled.

“Kunou!” Yasaka exclaimed, frowning at her daughter. To her credit, the youkai princess shrunk shamefully and apologized under her breath. “That’s a god you are insulting, one that’s likely paying attention. Please, refrain from insulting them, Kunou.”

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again,” Kunou mumbled, her downtrodden expression breaking Joshua’s heart. Fortunately, Shed didn’t seem to mind the slight at all, if he’d heard it. God, he really wished he’d have ignored the Egyptian god back then, but it was a little late already.

He was reluctant to tell the deity no though. After all, Shed had watched Joshua’s back for a while already and he’d always been helpful. Of all factions he’d met, he was probably the one that had helped him the most and asked for the least. Even Yasaka and the youkai had asked for quite a bit from him. Shed though? He’d only asked for him to do the youkai job in his name, something that he’d likely have had to do anyway but for someone else.

On top of that, the god was helping him a lot with his familiars, just by boosting his Bond skill, nevermind the other skills that had been affected after the blessing was updated.

“What’s all this truly about?” Yasaka asked then, raising an eyebrow at her daughter. The leader maintained her stare even as Kunou grew more and more uncomfortable under it. Joshua could respect that determination, from both of them. He’d probably have caved already if it was him that were making Kunou squirm like that, nevermind being in the receiving end of that judgmental look.

“I just… Don’t want him to go away again,” the girl whispered then, pushing her food around her plate with every word.

“Kunou, I’m not going away forever. I’ll probably not even be away for a full day,” Joshua explained, keenly aware of the intense look the girl gave him as soon as he started speaking. “I just have to be there for however long these… classes they want me to hold last. At most one or two hours each, three if I stay to answer questions and such. After that’s done, I’ll probably be teleporting here. Even if their place is on the other side of the world, that’s what teleportation spells are for.”

“So, you’ll still be here? You won’t leave and come back when the thing is done?” Kunou asked, eyes narrowed but nowhere near as upset as she’d been before. Joshua took that as a win, personally.

“No, Kunou, I’ll be here, I swear,” he promised, giving the girl a reassuring smile. “You won’t be getting rid of me that easily. Besides, we still have things to work through, right?”

“Right,” Kunou replied, picking up more food with her fork and going silent as she started eating again. For a long moment, nobody spoke a word and Joshua thought that would be it for a bit. He was sure if Jeanne were around, she’d have made a comment about the family dinner and some other thing. Fortunately for him, she’d gone out to eat with Kuisha and Corianna.

He had no problem with a silent meal, really. Most of the time, back home with his parents, he’d get through them like that. They’d just sit together and eat while watching TV or something like that. Calm and relaxing, that’s how the meals went by. At most, there’d be some idle banter or something going on between his parents as Joshua sat there listening. His meals with Jeanne weren’t much different than that, really, mostly consisting of them telling each other how their day had gone.

Which is why he was a little surprised when Yasaka spoke out of nowhere. Although, to be fair, he only had a single example for a meal with the youkai pair. Considering that, Joshua didn’t think it was weird that he’d considered that one time an exception more than a rule.

“Did you ever get what you wanted with the locket done?” the leader asked curiously, making him and Kunou blink. “You mentioned something about that a while back but I never heard about it again.”

“Oh, right,” Joshua mumbled, realizing what she was talking about. One of his hands moved to his necklace and his thumb moved over the side facing away from him. “Yeah, I did it myself. I just needed to get a few imitations to test stuff and then did it on the original.”

“What was it, if you don’t mind me asking?” Yasaka asked, all the while Kunou followed the conversation with a very interested look. To be honest, Joshua was even more surprised by the fact that the mother seemed just as curious, really. It… clashed with the composed picture he had of her in his mind.

“Just a little something, mixing up a Storage Spell and a Switch Spell,” he started explaining, taking a bite from his meal to get himself some time to gather his thoughts. “The locket is small, so it’s good that I didn’t need all that much, really. Just, I wanted to add a few more pictures instead of just having the two.”

“Your parents, I’m guessing?” Yasaka asked, tilting her head. If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought that she knew where she was going with that. With her Life Sensing as high level as it probably was, he wouldn’t even be that surprised if she did, even when he hadn’t told anyone about it. Still, he liked to think he could keep secrets if he really needed to.

“Yeah, Sairaorg has been doing good work. He found several photographs already,” Joshua answered, keeping to himself the fact that just as many seemed to have been lost forever. The Bael devil had told him, after all, that if they hadn’t found something by then, then it was unlikely they would at all.

Joshua paused for a moment, considering if he truly wanted to add what was at the tip of his tongue. ‘Why am I even hesitating?’ he wondered to himself. Granted, it wasn’t a small thing, but…

“And a little something extra,” Joshua said, forcing a slight smile as he brought a hand to his locket once more. This time, he activated the function he’d added with a little circle engraved on the back of the pictures. The shine of the spell didn’t even reach outside, at least until he opened it a second later, when a faint light escaped before the magic was over. Pulling the necklace over his head, he set the heirloom on the table. “You can, um, check it, if you want,” he added, even more nervous now that he’d gotten to that point.

He didn’t think they’d react negatively but… Well, he still had some of that crippling social anxiety to deal with, he supposed. That, or he was just being negative. Both were equally as likely and he wouldn’t be surprised if it was both things at the same time either.

As it was, he forced himself to pass the locket towards Yasaka. It was a little late to back down already, he supposed. And he wasn’t truly ashamed of it or anything. ‘Stop overthinking already, goddamnit,’ Joshua cursed in his mind. Considering the reassuring smile Yasaka gave him, she probably was very aware of how he was struggling internally.

Still, he couldn’t quite stop himself from glancing towards the youkai leader to see how she reacted. Wishful thinking, he was sure. After all, Yasaka hardly reacted all that much to stuff. She’d always seem in control, or most of the time. And he was sure this would-

Well, it seemed he was wrong.

The woman’s eyes widened ever so slightly before she started looking between the locket, him and Kunou. Ultimately, he saw her expression grow to something that was more expectedly unreadable. However, it wasn’t the neutral, controlled unreadable he was used to. It was more that he couldn’t quite place the emotions she was showing, as if Yasaka herself was unsure of what she felt.

In the end, she settled for a smile, soft and beautiful. Joshua would almost call it moved. Yasaka didn’t say anything though, instead passing the locket to her daughter next to her.

The child reacted much like her mother, which Joshua was expecting a little more. It didn’t make the smile that he got afterwards any less of a joy. Really, it was just a photo, it wasn’t… He didn’t get to finish that thought though, because a split second later Kunou was already running around his dining table. In the blink of an eye, she had her arms wrapped around him and she did her best to squeeze the life out of him.

“I take it you like it?” Joshua asked, awkwardly moving so that he could hug her back.

“Idiot,” she mumbled, her words muffled against his clothes. “You are an idiot, dad,” she added then, showing no signs of letting go of him. With a smile on his face, he pulled her up to sit her on his lap.

Almost reluctantly, she let go of him, settling with just staying on her new seat as she pulled the locket and looked at it some more. Instead of the photos of Jeanne and his familiars, the two pictures were now one of his parents together and another of Kunou. When he’d first had that idea, Joshua had thought that he would be more reluctant to actually do it. It felt much more meaningful than just saying stuff, even with all the weight of their interactions so far.

For him, this one thing was as important as any piece of paperwork would ever get to be regarding to what Kunou meant to him now. Maybe he was taking a bit of a leap, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. Furthermore, considering the girl’s reaction, he knew he’d done the right thing. On top of all that, Yasaka didn’t seem to be against it at all, which was a definite plus too.

“Stupid dad,” Kunou mumbled, her eyes still fixated on the little item. Her words, however, broke the atmosphere the smallest bit, drawing a chuckle from him and a giggle from her mother. “Really, really stupid.”

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Joshua agreed with a nod, dutifully keeping the fact that the girl pressed herself against his chest to himself. As for Yasaka, for a split moment, she looked like she wanted to say something. In the end, she contented herself with looking at them fondly.

[}-o-{]

“Joshua, don’t you think you are taking things a little far?” Jeanne asked as he struggled to get air in his lungs. His arms spasmed, twitching while his fingers did their best to hold onto his daggers. His legs shook, fighting against the elements while feeling barely reached him from his own feet.

“Maybe a little,” he acknowledged with a weary nod. “It’s what I need to do though,” he added, taking a deep breath in through his nose as he regained his senses a little. “Not doing this would be a waste. What if I need one of these resistances in the future?” he asked, mentally calling for some screens to check.

[Cold Resistance – Lvl 4/100

Determines the user’s ability to withstand the cold.

Decreases the effectiveness of the cold against the user by 4%.]

[Heat Resistance - Lvl 4/100

Determines the user’s ability to withstand heat.

Decreases the effectiveness of heat against the user by 4%.]

[Electric Resistance - Lvl 4/100

Determines the user’s ability to withstand the electricity.

Decreases the effectiveness of electricity against the user by 4%.]

Once he’d opened that Pandora’s Box, Joshua couldn’t find the strength to close it. Training Poison Resistance had been one thing, since it was a very specific process of getting bitten by Morag. Those others though, had required other things and he’d been too lazy to really tackle them like he should have.

Now that he’d started though, he couldn’t stop. He’d started training with less clothes on, which was good enough to train Cold resistance since it was winter and there was snow all around. He’d also made Jeanne use swords that were covered in fire and electricity for the others.

It was… an ordeal to get through training, that was for sure. However, every time he got a level, it reminded him that it was all worth it. Besides, he knew that at the end of the session, he’d use liberal amounts of Minor Healing, maybe get acquainted with Healing Gratitude again if they pushed too much. After that, he’d be right as rain once more, ready to keep on going.

Joshua was aware that it was… a little extreme. He had no idea how Jeanne dealt with it, but he made sure to spoil her after every training session. To make up for it a little, if you will. He guessed that the fact that he was careful and always made sure to not overextend helped too.

“We can leave it here today though, I think,” Joshua added after a moment of consideration. Caving to her wish to stop usually helped, when he could do that though. He didn’t want her to think he’d stop doing it altogether, after all. As it was, he smiled tiredly at her sigh in relief.

“Good,” the teenager said, sagging as she let the swords in her hands disappear. Healing Gratitude formed in her grip a second later and he didn’t even try to protest as she approached him. His healing spells were coming along nicely, but they weren’t a particular focus of his.

He had lots of skills that he just… didn’t have the time to improve, he was realizing. Sure, he could have healed himself instead of letting Jeanne do it, and that’s what he would usually do. However, it wasn’t a massive amount of experience that’d go into the skills, really. And that was still much more than some of his other skills got. Revolver Mastery, Treatment and even Unarmed Combat Mastery, he just didn’t have the time to put into those.

Joshua tried to practice fighting without weapons, but with his sister being able to make those at will and his numerous Storage Spells being filled with daggers, it was difficult to see the point. Moreover, any time spent on those was time that he wasn’t putting into skills that interested him much more. Ward Magic, Dagger Mastery, Throwing Weapon Mastery, Meditation, Sensing, Illusion Magic, Neutral Magic and more… He had entirely too many skills to work on and his time was limited. It was inevitable that some of those would fall to the side and be all but forgotten.

He had to prioritize, much as it frustrated him to do so.

“So, I was thinking,” Jeanne started and Joshua could almost see where she was going already. “Could you put up one of your illusion shows for me and the girls?”

The girls being Kuisha and Corianna, possibly Koneko, since his sister seemed to have realized that the white haired devil got along very well with his familiars. He’d gotten used to Jeanne making a request involving them whenever she started with “I was thinking”. It’d usually be a shopping trip, or a meal with them, or some such thing. Joshua guessed that made sense. She finally had friends and family and she wanted both groups to get along together.

Jeanne was pushing it a little, but Joshua didn’t have the heart to point that out to her. It wasn’t like he didn’t like these meetings anyway. The devils were good enough company, really. He’d even go as far as saying they were good friends of his too, actually. Hell, Kuisha had literally been the first devil he’d met, also being one of the first friendships he’d made since… Well, after quite a while.

‘Man, relationships are hard,’ he thought to himself, growing uncomfortable, as he’d usually do when considering such things. It was why he tried not to, really, and just let things develop as they would.

“Sure, when and will they be staying for dinner?” he asked, pushing uneasy thoughts aside. “Who are “the girls” this time for that matter?”

“We’ll have to check for a time, but I’ll let you know. And it should be just Kuisha and Corianna,” Jeanne replied.

If he’d looked to the side then and there, Joshua might have noticed the thoughtful frown on his sister’s face.

[}-o-{]

Joshua sat in his library, eyes closed as he carefully inspected the information his wards whispered to him. He was half surprised that he hadn’t gotten a Ward Sensing skill or something of the sort. With how… deep the practice ran, he was sure it should count as its own ability, really, but that may be him and his love for the art. Regardless of idle thoughts, he was getting what he wanted and that was all that mattered at the moment.

Opening his eyes ever so slightly, Joshua looked down at his notes. Not nearly enough space was left on the sheet of paper that laid on his desk, he noted. With an absent motion, his hand rose to the side and snapped his fingers. A circle shone and new pages appeared next to the one he proceeded to write on, replacing a book that he’d set aside and didn’t think he’d use.

“Why use the Switching Spell instead of the Storage Spell?” the person sitting in front of him asked. He didn’t answer, and they didn’t repeat themselves. Instead, Joshua continued writing his new findings, pushing the question to the side with practiced ease. He didn’t want to forget anything he had noticed. Even then, he’d have to check several more times.

“I like having things I own physically there,” He replied, his answer short but not curt.

It was true enough. Even with a not so small number of circles for the Storage Spell, there was something more meaningful to having the things be around. It was why he kept most of his books in the library at the house in Kyoto. It was like the difference between having money in a bank account and having a bill in one’s hand. It felt more real or maybe it was the other that felt less real? Regardless, that was his opinion on the matter.

“Hm, I see,” Serafall mumbled, a childishly thoughtful expression on her face as she rested her chin on both of her palms. Contrary to what one would expect, she wasn’t so bad to have around while he worked, which was a small blessing in and of itself. She remained quiet while he read the wards’ information. She spoke softly whenever he wasn’t, and never pressed the issue if he didn’t answer right away.

It seemed that Kunou hadn’t been the only one to learn the rules.

“Would it be annoying if I asked how it’s going along?” the Satan asked after a moment and a few paragraphs of text. Joshua considered the question for a moment before answering, mainly because he was also checking what he’d already written.

“Normally it isn’t. If it is, I’ll tell you,” he answered, nodding to himself as he noticed a connection with what he’d written, a few sentences from previous notes and some things he’d still left to pen down. “And it’s… going, I guess. It’s difficult to tell. Sometimes it’s like I’m almost there, others I feel like I’ll never get it.”

His eyes strayed then, moving to the little stand holding a vial. A piece of glass the size of his thumb and filled with crimson liquid. The Phoenix Tears were, if nothing else, awe inspiring in their complexity. To think that what was just a gulp of something could be so intricate. Everytime he inspected them with his carefully crafted wards he found new information, he found new depths to them.

It was amazing.

It was also incredibly frustrating, however.

Joshua sighed, deflating on his seat. He was fairly sure that he’d written everything. He’d check a few more times, but at most he’d add a paragraph or two, if his experience with the research method told him anything. Granted, there had been that one time he’d been surprised by a little detail that had added quite a bit, but it was probably more of an exceptional thing.

After that, he’d have to go over his wards and tinker with them until he had a new set to inspect the miraculous substance with. Rinse and repeat. It was fascinating, but it was also tiresome. He’d have been much less… aggravated with the whole thing if he wasn’t on a time crunch.

Taking a deep breath in, he prepared himself to dive back into the wards’ whispers.

“You know, Sirzechs is doing his best to keep Ajuka on a leash so that he doesn’t come here to pester you about your research and such,” Serafall told him and he tilted his head. He was sure it’d been evident that he was about to start focusing once more, so it was weird that the Satan had chosen that moment to speak. “I think it’s his way to repay you a bit while he thinks up something else.”

“Well, tell him that I certainly appreciate it,” Joshua replied wryly. The last thing he wanted was to have his wards breached once more. He’d admit that he still felt bitter about that whole mess. If Ajuka could so easily make his way to his home, could someone else? Were his defenses still so poor?

He was also fairly sure that having the Satan anywhere near his research was probably bad. As far as Joshua knew, they needed to make it as evident as possible that he hadn’t had help with the whole thing. Otherwise, the devils would probably accuse the Satans of something, he was sure.

“I’ll tell him,” Serafall said, beaming at him for a moment. “Say, do you think we could go somewhere after you are done? I have stuff to do but I’d really like to put it off for a bit. Diplomatic meetings are so boring,” she added, pouting at the end.

Joshua simply tilted his head.

“And you can’t push it for another moment normally because…”

“People get offended when you tell them that you don’t want to meet them!” Serafall told him, like he was a particularly slow guy. “But if I tell them that I was meeting this super important magician and the business went on for a little longer than usual, well…”

“So, I’m your excuse, huh?” He noted with a slight smile before chuckling. “Yeah, guess we can go somewhere to relax. I certainly feel like I need that myself.”

“Yay~! You are the best, Joshua!” she cheered, while he shook his head.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

I like how this chapter turned out. It’s not amazing or anything, but it still leaves me with a feeling that it’s good. Considering how often I become a nervous wreck about chapters, that’s nice, I gotta say.

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Considering current times, do you care about football/soccer? I’m not a fan, honestly, and it seems like the more I watch it, the less I like it.

See you.