Chapter 203 — Father and Greetings

Issei

I was headed to the kitchen to get something to drink after seeing Yuki-san in her fox form. 

Everyone else had gone back upstairs to the top floor to talk, and I would join them after grabbing my drink.

Her fox body was smaller than it was supposed to be, according to Xenovia, and she did look too thin.

It was like she had been starved for a while.

But she should be getting better now, and even if she looked rough, this was a step up from what she said happened before.

I just wish that there was something I could do to help her.

I realized this wasn’t the sort of thing that I could beat up or talk through, but it sucked not being able to help.

Those thoughts were running through my head when I heard voices from the kitchen on the first floor. 

“Akeno, I’d like to talk for a moment.”

It was Baraqiel-san. 

I looked around the corner and saw Baraqiel-san and Akeno-san having an argument.

“Don’t say my name so casually,” Akeno-san said in a sharp, cold voice.

It was the same as when she had yelled at him for trying to grab her at the end of our date.

Her normal calm smile was missing from her face.

Instead, she was glaring at Baraqiel with a look of hatred.

Baraqiel replied in a hard tone of his own.

“Why did I find you in that part of town today? Are you in a relationship with that boy, the Sekiryuutei?”

I knew that I shouldn’t have dropped it, but the way he referred to me with open disdain was strange. 

It sounded like something more than being upset for finding us at love hotels.

“What I do in my life is none of your business. Why do you care?” Akeno-san said, narrowing her eyes.

“Because I’ve heard rumors about him. That he’s a shameless, lecherous dragon who uses women’s b-breasts as a power source in fights. And that he’s known as the Chichiryuutei because of this,” Baraqiel said with a scowl.

I blinked in confusion at what he said.

Buchou’s breasts indeed helped me teach Balance Breaker, but I don’t get power from breasts!

Who is starting these rumors like that?!

[…..Uuu. Partner, give me a break... How much more do you have to torture me…..]

Ddraig cried in my head.

I get that you're upset, but my reputation is going to get worse if people think I absorb power from breasts!

[My legacy… reduced to this…]

Ddriag sounded completely defeated. 

It’ll be alright, partner.

You’ll get through this!

“It was bad enough when I learned that your master, Rias Gremory, had a Kitsune servant in her peerage, but now I learn that you’re around the Sekiryuuti,” Baraqiel said.

I frowned. 

I got that I had a strange reputation, but what did Yuki-san have to do with this?

“…And why would it be an issue that Yuki is in our peerage?” Akeno asked in a challenging tone.

“Because of the kind of creatures that Kitsune are. They are liars, seducers, and manipulators. And the females are worse. I’m surprised Sirzechs allowed that Kitsune girl to be around his sister.”

“Her name is Yuki, and she’s nothing like what you said,” Akeno said, crossing her arms and scowling at him. 

“Then you’ve already been fooled by her. They are controlled by their nature and will take advantage of any trust you give them,” Baraqiel said, then sighed. “I am worried about you. That is why I’m upset. I’m worried that between that boy, the Sekiryuutei, and the Kitsune girl, Yuki, are being treated poorly or pushed to do…things that you shouldn’t with them.”

I had to force myself not to interrupt their conversation.

I didn’t care if he wasn’t a fan of me.

Yuki-san didn’t deserve to be talked about that way.

I could see the anger growing on Akeno-san’s face.

“Don’t you dare talk about either of them that way! Ise-kun may be lecherous, but he is kind and dependable. I can count on him and know that he will protect me. And Yuki-chan is nothing as you’ve said. She puts the rest of us ahead of herself too often and is willing to do anything for us. She’s a wonderful girl who's been given every reason to push everyone around her away, but chooses to trust us despite that,” Akeno-san nearly shouted, then let out a huff. “If you can’t see past rumors and your own bias, then I can't begin to think of doing something like forgiving you and letting you back into my life.”

“I know that you may think differently, but I’m saying these things as your father—“

“Don’t try to act like my parent! If you were my father, why didn’t you come find me when I was left alone? Why did you leave Kaa-sama to die alone when you were supposed to protect her?!”

Akeno-san cut him off with a shout.

Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes.

Baraqiel-san was silent in response to Akeno-san’s words.

Akeno-san glared at him, then her eyes shifted towards me.

“Ise-kun, how long were you listening?” She asked with a sigh.

“For most of it… my bad,” I said as I walked into the room, rubbing the back of my neck. 

Baraqiel-san scowled at me.

“Shameless! For a man to be eavesdropping on a private conversation! As I thought, you’re no good. The rumors about you must be true. I won’t let you play with my daughter as you please, Chichiryuutei!”

I didn’t know how to respond to that.

I felt like Azazel-sensei should have told him about me so that he knew that those strange rumors weren’t real.

But Azazel-sensei might have thought it would be funny to mess with Baraqiel by saying they were true!

He definitely would have done something like that!

“I won’t allow you to see each other!” Baraqiel-san shouted as his hands sparked with holy light.

Akeno-san put herself between us instantly.

“Don’t you dare! Ise-kun is someone who is very important to me. I want you to leave. Now! You are not my father!” Akeno-san screamed.

The holy light on Baraqiel-san’s hands faded away.

He watched Akeno-san quietly for a moment.

“...Sorry.”

After apologizing, he turned to leave.

His retreating figure seemed lonely as he left.

“I'm sorry, Akeno-san. I—-“

She hugged me tightly, cutting me off.

“It’s not your fault, Ise-kun,” she said. “Just let me hold you for a moment.”

I held her back as I stared at the door Baraqiel had left through.

Yuki

After we finished going over the details Azazel-sensei left us regarding our role as Odin-sama’s guards, I figured we would be done for the day.

But Rias brought up another topic.

“Before we go, the last thing to talk about is the meet-and-greet event in the Underworld tomorrow. My family is sponsoring an Oppai Dragon event where people will be able to meet with us as the characters the show is based on. And we will all be going.”

“Is it necessary for all of us to go? Only you, Issei-san, and Yuuto-san need to go since you have characters in the show,” I said.

Besides Issei being the main hero, the Oppai Dragon, Rias was a heroine called the Switch Princess, and Yuuto was the main villain called Darkness Knight Fang.

“Well, that's not entirely true. Another character was created for one of us,” Rias said hesitantly.

I raised an eyebrow at her tone.

“Was it Asia or Xenovia?” I asked. “The Levia-tan film we were in came out not long ago, so I’d imagine either of them would be quite popular as a second heroine or second villain.”

“It is related to that film you were all in, but no, it’s not Xenovia or Asia. It’s, um... you, Yuki.”

I stared at her, waiting for her to explain or tell me she was kidding.

She quietly stared back, looking more awkward with each passing second.

“You’re telling me that the new character in the Oppai Dragon show is me?” I asked coldly.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Well, you’ve become rather popular from your role as a villain in Serafall-sama’s film. Because of that, Serafall-sama requested to have you work with her regularly. I didn’t have a good enough reason to refuse her, so after speaking with Onii-sama, I told Serafall-sama that you would be busy, as you would have a character in the Oppai Dragon show,” Rias explained.

I closed my eyes as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

I want nothing to do with either option, but knowing Serafall-sama, being a part of the show with Issei, Yuuto, and Rias was likely my only way to not become a magical girl in a Levia-tan show.

But at the same time, I was now a member of the Oppai dragon cast.

“I am not happy with this. So what is my role going to be?” I asked.

“Like Yuuto, you’ll be playing a similar character to the one you did in the Levia-ran film. You’ll be Yuuto's partner villain, Darkness Witch Talon. Yuuto will still be the main villain, and you will be more of a side character,” Rias said.

“…Does that mean that Yuki-senpai will be wearing the costume that Serafall-sama had made for her?” Koneko asked from my lap.

Rias nodded.

“It was rather popular from the film, so it was decided to keep the same costume, like how Yuuto had a better-quality version of her costume armor made.”

I let out another sigh.

Though the costume was high quality, it was rather revealing and fit too tightly.

“Could I get a different costume made?” I asked.

“No,” Koneko said rather quickly.

I gave her a look, but she looked away.

“I’m sorry, Yuki, but Koneko is right. With the event being tomorrow, we won’t have time to make any changes,” Rias said with a sympathetic smile.

“Well, I think you’ll be rather popular, Yuki-chan. After all, I know I enjoyed seeing your costume when the film came out,” Akeno said with a grin.

That was the first thing she had said after arriving at the VIP room after everyone else, alongside Issei.

Even though she was smiling and trying to act like usual, I could see the strain behind her smile.

And when she and Issei had shown up, she had looked distracted, and he looked concerned.

I could only assume that it had something to do with her father.

Especially since he was missing when we arrived back on the top floor.

“I’d rather not be popular. Especially if that means I’d have to be more involved with this than the bare minimum,” I said.

“It’ll be fun, Yuki-san. Especially since you’ll get to meet the kids that watch the show and make their day,” Issei said.

I’m sure that the children who watched the show

I looked at Rias.

“Is there anything else we need to discuss, or was that all?”

“No, that was all. I know you're annoyed, Yuki, but at least your character isn’t ridiculous like mine is,” Rias said. 

That was fair and did make me feel marginally better about it.

Everyone began to chat or move to leave the room.

I noticed Akeno leaving on her own and moved to speak to her before she could.

“Akeno-san.”

She stopped and turned to me, her usual smile back in place.

“Yes, Yuki-chan?”

“I know seeing him again couldn’t have been easy. If you want to talk, we can,” I offered.

Her smile fell before she let out a sigh.

“Thank you, Yuki-chan. But right now I’d rather be by myself for a while.”

I nodded.

“I understand. We are all here for you. If it gets too hard, you can lean on any of us.”

Akeno paused for a moment. 

“Should I forgive him? Do I need to give him a chance?”

“You don’t owe Baraqiel-san anything, so if you choose to give him a chance, it should be because you want to, not because you think you need to. That’s what I think. As for whether or not you forgive him, that is something only you can decide, Akeno-san,” I said with a wry smile. “But whatever you choose, you’ll have us.”

She smiled softly at me.

“Thank you, Yuki-chan. I want to think for a bit. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I nodded.

She turned and left the room.

Koneko walked over and stood at my side.

“…Akeno-senpai is going through a lot right now.”

“She is. But she has people who care about her and will support her,” I replied.

Koneko nodded.

“…We should go take a nap before dinner. You said you were exhausted.”

“That does sound good. I could use some rest to recover so that I can train later tonight,” I said as the two of us started walking out of the room. 

“I’m joining your training tonight.”

“You’re more than welcome, but I’m not going to be pushing myself less because you’re there.”

She shot me a halfhearted glare.

“…Fine… But I get to be the big spoon during our nap.”

“Why do you assume we would be cuddling?”

“…Big spoon.”

I let out a soft chuckle as we reached the stairs.

“Fine, you can be the big spoon.”

Koneko nodded as we began walking down the stairs.

“Good,” she murmured.

The next morning, after breakfast, we made our way to the magic circle in the basement of the house.

We were going to teleport into the Gremory territory in the Underworld for the meet-and-greet event. 

Apparently, last night there was a new episode of the Oppai Dragon show that premiered and had my character in it.

It was done to increase interest in the event by showcasing a new character in the show. 

To me, it meant that I would be getting much more attention than I wanted.

I adjusted my costume as we waited for the magic circle to activate.

Yuuto, Rias, and I were already in our costumes for the event.

Rias had said to get changed as we were going to be greeting fans shortly after we arrived.

So I was to wear my somewhat revealing witch costume, Yuuto was wearing her form-fitting, leotard-like armor, and Rias was wearing a fancy-looking ballroom dress.

I glared lightly at Issei.

He was still dressed in plain clothes, as he could just summon his Scale Mail once we arrived.

Koneko noticed the look I was giving him and tilted her head slightly.

“…Did Issei-senpai do something? Should I hit him?”

“No, I’m just annoyed to be wearing this again,” I replied.

“I think it looks good on you, senpai.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Thank you, Koneko-chan, but that’s not the point. I’d rather not be in it at all. But my options were this or either have my own show Serafall-sama made, or be Serafall-sama’s sidekick on her own show. And this was the option that would require the least effort from me. And it’s still rather troublesome.”

“…With Serafall-sama involved, you didn’t have many choices. But you would have made a good magical girl,” Koneko said with a small grin.

I gave her an unimpressed look.

Rias clapped her hands to draw everyone’s attention before I could reply.

“Alright, is everyone ready to go?” Rias asked.

Everyone replied affirmatively and Rias nodded.

“Then let’s go.”

The magic circle began to glow and after a moment we were enveloped in light.

After the light faded we were appeared in what looked like a break room.

There were a few staff members waiting for us already.

A familiar person stepped forward. 

“Rias-sama. Good, you’re already in costume. You, Issei-sama, Yuki-sama, and Yuuto-san need to head to the main stage right away,” Ravel-san said as she glanced down at a clipboard and flipped through the pages.

She had glanced up from it at Issei and Rias when she approached.

“Ravel? You’re working at this event?” Issei asked.

“Y-Yes, it’s part of my training to be able to support my future King! It’s not like I…” Ravel-san trailed off as she finally noticed my costume.

Her face started to turn pink.

“Is everything alright, Ravel-san?”

She straightened up.

“Y-Yes! I was just surprised that you are wearing the rather mature outfit you wore in Serafall-sama’s movie! That’s all!” She quickly said. “I read that you would be a character greeting people today, but I didn’t know what your character would look like. I didn’t get a chance to see last night's episode with your character's debut."

“Well I didn’t really have a say in the matter,” I murmured. 

“I-I see! Well, all of you need to quickly get to the main stage. The event will be starting in a few minutes!”

We were then ushered out of the room while the members of our group who didn’t have to go on stage stayed behind.

Issei summoned his armor as we neared the stages back entrance.

I could hear the murmur of the crowd through the doors already.

I let out a sigh.

This was going to be a long day