Tale of Discovery

"Asia, you may go back now," I say to her neutrally.

Bowing slightly Asia affirms my order before heading back to the kendo club.

Now then, time to play the waiting game.

Using Creation, I produce a futon on the ground, then lay Kristina on it.

--

After about ten minutes or so, the unconscious girl begins to gradually open her eyes.

Kirstina gets up from the futon and looks around with a confused expression before setting her eyes on me.

Seeing the confusion change to a look of awe rather than fear, I release a sigh of relief before saying to her in a calm tone,

"You know, I'm not going to have you work for me for free. Make a wish that would affect none other than your own life, and I shall grant it."

Kristina's eyes widen from my statement, before her complexion changes to that of deliberation as she lowers her head and, I assume, think of her wish.

"My best friend talked about a French dessert she ate recently... The way she described it made me want to try it. Can I have that?", she says after some time.

"Of course," I reply with a smile, "What is its name?"

"Uhm... I think it was Canele."

Using Creation, I come across a wide number of the sweets she named, and after a few seconds, I find one that looks and smells genuinely good.

Upon seeing a tray of Canele appear out of thin air, Kristina is a little shocked but regains her composure quickly.

It seems like she's used to my existence now.

Looking at her take one of the sweet on the tray and happily eating it, I find myself unconsciously reaching out to pat her head.

This feels... weird. It's almost like the girl is my daughter or something.

Kristina doesn't seem to mind my actions as she continues to enjoy the sweets offered to her.

Suddenly, I feel meager turbulence of the energies within my body. Sensing it, I can tell that it has no harm, but now the question is... what caused it?

My connection with the Angels? No, they would've told me quickly if something was wrong, and the turbulence feels different.

Leaving that aside, I at Kristina and say,

"You will work for me, right?"

Her arm that was about to place another sweet into her mouth comes to a halt mid-way as she looks at me for a few seconds before nodding her head.

"If your parents need some convincing, you can just give me a call," I state before giving her my phone number.

Destroying the futon and chair, I return to the kendo club to where the girls are at.

---

"So, how was your day?" I ask the girls once we've all begun eating our dinner.

Ayumi immediately exclaims cheerfully,

"Ayu made a looot of friends! And, the teachers were really nice to Ayu!"

Using Telekinesis, I prevent her plate from falling to the ground before saying,

"It's good that you're having fun, but don't let it get in the way of your studies, alright?"

Ayumi nods her head a little too energetically before replying,

"Ayu knows! Don't worry, Brother Yu!"

Nodding my head once, I turn my head to look at Nao and wait for her to say something regarding her day.

"It was fine. The students in the school are rather friendly. And I've yet to come across idol-fanatics, so that's a plus," she says after a while.

"Mhm. You didn't have a lot of friends back there, so I hope you can make more over here. However, let's put that aside, as I want to know what you think of the learning lessons.

"In your original world, you were a first-year student, however, here you are a second year. A one year difference may not seem like much, but it is, so I want to know if you're having any trouble with your studies."

Nao thinks for a few seconds before replying,

"As you said, it was certainly difficult. Especially when the learning materials are somewhat different. Nevertheless, I should be fine after a week of going over it."

"If any of you guys need any help in your studies, you can always refer to me," I declare.

"Me as well," Sora adds.

"Then I will have you guys explain everything to me because I understood nothing from that failure-of-a-teacher," Misa complains.

I kind of feel sorry for our teacher. Yes, the explanation given to us isn't all that clear as you'd expect it to be, but calling them a failure...

What a good girl.

Now that I've gotten that dealt with,

"Akame," I say to the quiet teenager who has been silently chewing on her food, "Are you used to living here, now?"

As expected, she doesn't respond to my inquiry before she finishes her food.

"It's peaceful," she mutters.

Isn't that a curious response? Makes me wonder what kind of world she comes from. So far, I can tell that it's a war-infested one.

Also, from the looks of it, there are some really interesting pieces of equipment over there. She hasn't said much herself, but I can tell that the sword she's holding is no ordinary sword.

I'll try to get some more information out of her later when we're alone.

"Ravel, what about you? Do you have any problems?"

As if she was waiting for me this moment, she replies almost instantly,

"Not at all! Everyone here is nice."

Looking at the beaming Devil, a smile covers my face as I say,

"That's good and all, but I'm sure you feel bored when everyone is at school, right?"

Ravel doesn't reply, however, I can tell that I've struck a chord based on her reaction.

"I've been planning some things recently," I declare,

"Firstly, I will have Ravel and my Angels apart from Asia transfer over to my school."

"Wait, what?!" Sora suddenly interrupts me, "Did you just call Asia an Angel, or did I mishear you?"

Sensing the dark aura being released by some of the girls present, I wave my hand in front of me to calm them down before saying,

"Yesterday night, I converted her to an Angel of her own volition."

Everyone immediately looks at Asia who's trying to bury face into her hands. Seeing that this matter is troubling her I say with a frown,

"Don't trouble her. I'll explain everything later."

Having them shift their attention back to me once again, I continue with what I wanted to say earlier,

"Once they've transferred over, I'll establish a new club and form a base of operations at the academy.

"As for the mansion here, it requires some changes. The most important change is in its defenses. In that regard, the mansion is extremely vulnerable to the point that it can't withstand a single strike from a Devil.

"So, this is where Yuno's power comes into play. Based on what I know about her powers, she can form various kinds of 'seals'. I'm sure there are seals for protection, right Yuno?"

In response to my question, Yuno smiles and replies with confidence,

"Of course, leave it to me!"

Alright, my girl, Yuno got the spirit.

I continue with my explanation,

"Once we've got that dealt with, we're going to need some maids to take care of the mansion and help in cooking. For that part, you may refer to them to further increase your skills in cooking, Sora.

"That's it. Does anyone have any questions?"

Silence ensues as the girls look at each other whisper some things to each other before they all look at me silently.

"I take this as a no."

---

An hour after dinner, Yuno and I are both sitting in front of each other, discussing her powers.

Firstly she can form a maximum of 25 Sigilla before she needs to recover her energy. Naturally, if she uses Sigilla that are beyond her powers, it will suck more energy out, and may even harm her doing the process.

Secondly, she needs to be in physical contact with something to form a Sillgilum on it, be they living or non-living. After asking her about it, the only exception to that is if she uses an attack or defensive Sigilla.

Thirdly, Sigilla fall under three categories: One-Use, Temporary, and Permanent.

During our small skirmish, Yuno made use of a lot of Temporary Sigilla, which were mostly buff-ups.

As for the "disintegration beam" that she used, it was a One-Use Sigillum.

Curiously, that was the very same thing that Legion used in Project Charlotte. Regarding the liquid I saw, it was nothing more than a cover for the Sigilla.

This made me question why was it that when I used my Holy Slash, it activated as a "bomb", however, Yuno had no definite response.

She said she believes that the powers of our Codes reacted and caused it, and nothing more than that.

Just like that, the general explanation of her powers came to an end. And so, Yuno began using her Sigilla to form barriers and defenses for the mansion.

Weirdly, I felt some kind of connection to her whenever she was forming a Sigillum to the point that I believe I'm able to replicate it if I try.

So, I did.

Raising my finger, I circulate energy that I didn't know existed within me, before focusing it on the tip of my finger.

The next moment, a grey light shines from where I've concentrated the energy which attracts Yuno's attention.

"This..." she mutters with shock apparent on her face.

As I expected, it's the same energy that Yuno uses for her Sigilla, albeit much weaker. I ask Yuno to show me the method of forming any of her Sigillum.

Yuno thinks for a few moments before settling on something.

Following her instructions, I create a Sigillum that's supposed to form a barrier like the one she used in the skirmish.

While I'm creating it, I feel like I'm partially tapping into the Network, even though it's my own energy that's being used.

Once the process finally over, I check how much energy is left: 15%

That took a lot more energy than I expected. Hopefully, that's not going to be the case with other kinds of Sigilla.

I immediately activate the Sigillum and the next moment, I'm surrounded by a weaker version of the barrier used by Yuno.

Wishing for it to go away, the barrier dissolves into nothingness.

As I have other plans for making use of my energy, I take a short nap on the sofa while Yuno continues to fortify the mansion.

--

Waking up, I check the status of my energy:

92%

Okay, hopefully, this is enough for what I have in mind.

Thinking about my past life, there were several books that had something interesting in them. An artifact of sorts.

Focusing all of my energy on Creation, I think of that very same artifact.

The energy-drainage rate is insane, as I can feel my body getting weaker at an incredulous speed.

The next moment a light covers the room before it focuses at one point, taking the form of a small object slowly floating down in the air.

Grabbing it, I begin observing the object curiously.

It's a ring. A special kind of ring.

Getting on my feet, I look at the sofa that I was lying on a few seconds ago, and use my imagination before waving my hand.

The next moment, purple energy covers the whole sofa before the whole thing disappears into the ring.