Chapter 216 — Friends and The Sleeping Dragon.

Yuki 

Irina gave me a strange look.

I tilted my head slightly in confusion.

She said she found me physically attractive, but that didn’t bother me.

As long as it was only that, and not romantic attraction, I didn’t mind.

“Because… because you might think it’s wrong or that I shouldn’t see you that way or-or, that I’m taking advantage of the fact that you didn’t know,” Irina said as her face turned red with embarrassment and shame.

“Irina-san, there is nothing wrong with being attracted to someone. And I know you're not the kind of person to do something strange, so it doesn’t bother me,” I said calmly. 

Irina searched my face for a moment, like she was trying to see if I really was bothered.

“Is it really alright? It’s not going to be an issue or make you act differently around me?” She asked cautiously.

I took a sip of the sports drink in my hand.

“You like Issei-san, right? You have a crush on him?” I asked.

Irina’s eyes widened as her face turned red again.

She looked like she was going to panic for a moment before she hesitantly nodded.

“Y-Yes, I do. I’ve liked Ise-kun for a long time. Why?”

“Well, you aren’t attracted to me in the same way, right?”

“No!” Irina quickly said, shaking her head. “No, I just find you physically attractive! You’re, uh, you’re very pretty, but I don’t really know you very well, and umm, yeah…”

I had to stop myself from grinning as Irina floundered.

“Since you don’t see me in a romantic light, I don’t see why either of us should act differently around the other.”

“You’re sure?” Irina asked cautiously. 

“I’m sure. Plenty of people see and meet others they find attractive, but liking their appearance is as far as it goes. I’m a Kitsune, so I’m used to the concept of alluring others. It’s something that I expect to happen occasionally.”

Irina tilted her head.

“What do you mean?”

“You know that due to their power, Dragons have a sort of attraction that draws people to them, right? That’s part of the reason that strong people approach Issei and part of why he’s surrounded by women. Kitsune have a somewhat similar trait. But where Dragons are more bold and direct with it, Kitsune are more subtle,” I explained.

Irina’s expression hardened slightly as she frowned and her eyes narrowed.

“Are you saying that Ise-kun manipulated me into liking him? I’ve had a crush on him since we were little, before his Sacred Gear awakened.”

I shook my head.

“No, I'm not saying that it makes you like him. It’s more like it makes someone notice him. Imagine that you’re at a supermarket looking at a display of fruit. They all look the same except for one that is slightly shinier and one that is an exotic, appealing color. The one that looks a different color is the Dragon. It grabs your attention easily.” I paused to take another sip of my drink. “The shiny one is the Kitsune. It causes you to take a second look and inspect it more closely to see if it really is shiny or you just imagined it. But in the end, they are the same fruit as the rest.”

Irina slowly nodded.

“So Ise-kun just catches people’s attention and then whatever opinion they form of him from then isn’t affected by that attraction? And you’re the same?”

I nodded.

“That's correct. Though I will point out that power is an attractive quality to people, especially non-humans. So Issei-san being the Sekiryuuti and having that power may be a reason someone likes him, but that depends on the person. But you said you liked him when he was a normal human boy, so that didn’t apply to you then. And that same attraction might be why you find me attractive. There are plenty of beautiful girls in the peerage, so me being a Kitsune might just have caught your attention. But since you’re interested in Issei-san, that’s all it was.”

Irina gave me a look that told me that she wasn’t entirely convinced.

I finished my drink and stood.

I gestured for her to follow me and started to walk back towards my training room.

“Irina-san. I want things to be fixed between us just like you do,” I said over my shoulder as I opened the door to the hallway. “I’m not bothered by anything you’ve told me, and I’m glad you’ve stopped avoiding me.”

Irina’s steps paused for a moment before she hurried to catch up and walk beside me in the hall. 

“I’m sorry for acting how I did. I.. I didn’t know what to do. I had thought that thinking about another girl that way was a sin. I panicked and decided that it was better to avoid you rather than face myself and what had happened.”

“What changed your mind?” I asked as I glanced at her.

“I talked to Asia-san, Yuuto-san, and Xenovia. They listened to my problems and concerns and helped me. They told me there was nothing wrong with how I felt and that I should talk to you about it. I also talked to Garbirel-sama, and she reassured me as well.”

“They’re good people and great friends. I’m glad you were able to figure things out,” I said as we arrived at the door to my training room.

I turned to Irina.

“So, do you think we can move past what happened and treat it as if it didn’t happen? After all, it didn't really change anything between us besides making things awkward for a while.”

Irina blushed faintly.

“I don’t know if I can forget what happened so easily. It was the first time I’d kissed another girl, and it was… I mean it shouldn’t have happened, but it wasn’t bad! I’m not saying you're bad at kissing, though! It was actually really nice—I mean it shouldn’t have happened, but—“

“Irina-san,” I said, cutting off her rambling.

She stopped mid-sentence and stared at me with a red face.

“It’s alright. I just meant we don’t have to let it affect us anymore.”

 She nodded.

“Okay. I can do that. But… But I’d like to spend time together with you,” Irina said cautiously. “To get to know each other and to be a better friend. We hadn’t had a real chance to get to know each other before that happened and made everything weird. So I’d like to spend time with you. If you’re alright with that.”

She gave me a nervous smile after finishing.

I watched her for a moment before glancing at the door next to me.

“Would you like to train with me?”

Irina blinked.

“Now?”

I nodded.

“I was going to get back to training, and I’ll probably be at it for a few more hours.”

Irina’s face brightened.

“Yes! That sounds great! We can spar, work on teamwork, and get to know each other better! Xenovia does say that fighting someone is the best way to learn about them,” Irina said while nodding.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Xenovia isn’t wrong, but that might also be an excuse for her to fight people.”

I opened the door and stepped inside.

“Come on. I’ll need to clean up from my earlier training, and then we can get started.”

Irina

I felt lighter as I walked into the training room after Yuki-san.

“I’ll help!” I said cheerfully. “I’ll start moving some of the used dummies out of the way.”

Our talk went much better than I had anticipated, and Yuki-san had agreed to spend time with me.

I was looking forward to getting to know her better.

Xenovia and Asia-san were the ones I was closest to besides Ise-kun, and they both were good friends with Yuki-san.

Maybe the four of us could do something together sometime…

But something was bothering me.

There was something off about our conversation just now.

Yuki-san wasn’t bothered that I found her attractive, but she seemed very focused on it not being a romantic attraction.

Normally that would make sense since I liked Ise-kun, but she almost seemed like she was pushing me to look at it that way.

Like I shouldn’t have any romantic attraction to her.

I mulled over our conversation as I moved the broken dummies out of the way.

I wasn’t sure if I was reading too much into it.

All I knew was that it bothered me for some reason.

That and that I had almost told Yuki-san that I had enjoyed kissing her despite the circumstances.

It wasn’t my first kiss, but I doubt I’d be able to forget it for multiple reasons.

But as Yuki-san said, it didn’t matter.

I like Ise-kun, and this didn’t change anything.

“Alright, are you ready, Irina-san?” Yuki-san asked as she walked into the middle of the room.

I nodded.

“Yeah! Let’s start with a spar! It’ll be fun, and we can figure out what else to do after we see each other fight up close.”

Yuki-san nodded.

“Let’s get started then.”

Yuki

The next morning, our peerage and Irina were sitting at the dining table to have breakfast as Issei was explaining his meeting with Midgardsormr last night. 

Apparently, things had gone well, and we had a new plan.

“So after Azazel-sensei and Baraqiel-san came back to the meeting room, Saji, Vali, and I went with Sensei to the teleportation circle room,” Issei said as he ate the food Asia and Rias had prepared. “We teleported to one of the spaces they use for Rating Games. It was white with nothing around us besides the teleportation circle.”

“That makes sense,” Yuuto chimed in. “Midgardsormr is massive, and even if you were just summoning its consciousness, you would need space for it. Also, if something went wrong with them, it would be contained.”

“I hadn't really thought about that,” Issei said with a frown. “Anyway, Tannin-ossan was waiting for us there. Saji got nervous around him and yelled at me for calling him Ossan because he’s an Ultimate-class Devil, but it’s just Tannin-ossan, so I didn’t really get it. I get that Tannin-ossan is pretty great, but Saji just worries too much.” Issei said dismissively.

“I think your view of things might be a bit skewed, Issei-san,” I commented. “We tend to interact with important and powerful people fairly often. Our club advisor is the head of the Grigori, we are bodyguards for the chief god of Valhalla, we frequently see and speak with two of the four Maou, and we have met and spoken with the Archangel of Heaven. Just to name a few.”

Issei blinked.

“I guess you’re right, Yuki-san. But they just feel like normal people most of the time,” Issei replied while scratching his head.

“While there are times you could be more formal, I think you shouldn’t change, Ise,” Rias said as she sipped some tea.

“Thanks, Buchou!” Issei replied with a grin.

Rias wasn’t wrong. 

So far, every important person Issei had met seemed to like his straightforward and honest nature.

“So, after that, Tannin-ossan warned Vali that he was keeping an eye on him,” Issei said, continuing his story. “Sensei told Ossan not to worry about him and to get ready to summon Mido-whatever. Sensei said that with the Two Heavenly Dragons present, he would have to appear whether he wanted to or not. But now Sensei completed the magic circle. We each stood at specific symbols on it that represented the Dragon Kings and Two Heavenly Dragons.”

“So you were summoning a Dragon King and had Fafnir and Vitra with you from Azazel-sensei’s artificial Sacred Gear and Saji-san’s Sacred Gear. But who are the other two Dragon Kings?” Asia asked.

“Ddraig mentioned that last night. They’re Tiamat and Yu-long,” Issei replied.

“I wonder if we will meet them at some point?” Xenovia murmured.

“…Probably,” Koneko replied from the seat beside me as she ate some fruit.

“Then the magic circle glowed, but nothing appeared at first. I thought that Sensei had failed until I looked up and saw a massive Dragon!” Issei said, spreading his arms wide for emphasis. “Seriously! Mido-whatever was bigger than Great Red! It was long, with a body like a snake, and Ossan mentioned that it was five or six times the mass of Great Red! And it was sleeping when it first appeared!”

“Well, Midgardsormr’s legend says that he sleeps at the bottom of the ocean and will only wake when the world is ending,” Yuuto commented.

“Yeah, Sensei mentioned something like that. So after Tannin-ossan woke Midgar-something up, he asked if it was the end of the world. But when Ossan said no, he fell back asleep! Tannin-ossan got mad, woke him up again, and asked about his father and brothers, Loki and Fenrir. Before he did, Sensei had to explain that even though we’re the current possessors of Albion and Ddraig, Vali and I weren’t fighting. Then he told us about Fenrir and Loki, whom he called Wanwan and Daddy.”

“Wait. He calls them Wanwan and Daddy?” Irina said with a giggle.

Issei shrugged.

“Yeah, I didn’t get it, but he seemed kinda weird. I mean, he sleeps constantly and lives alone at the bottom of the ocean, so I guess it makes sense that he is strange. And with how big he is, Fenrir would be like a little dog to him. But anyways, he told us that Fenrir’s weakness is that the magic chain Gleipnir, which was made by the Dwarves, could capture him. But in case Loki had enhanced Fenrir’s power, we would need to visit some Elves in the Norse world to enhance the magic in the chain. He gave Sensei the location of where to find the Elves.”

“S-So are all Dwarves and Elves in the Norse world?” Gasper-kun asked.

“Apparently most of them are, but some of them are still hidden in the human world. Or at least that’s what Sensei said,” Issei replied.

“Maybe we could try and visit them sometime? I’d like to meet an Elf,” Asia said. 

“When we have time, we can ask Azazel to take us to visit the Elves and Dwarves, Asia,” Rias said.

“Thank you, Rias-onee-sama!”

Issei smiled at the two of them for a moment before continuing his story. 

“Ossan asked about how to defeat Loki, and Midgard-something said that we should use Mjölnir to defeat him. Sensei wondered if Odin would let us borrow it, but Vali mentioned that only a god could wield it, so that we couldn’t use it. Thankfully, Midgard-something said that the Elves and Dwarves had a replica of it that we could use. After that, we teleported home, and Sensei left to make plans. He said he wanted to talk about it with us after we ate breakfast.”

Rias nodded. 

“So, we will use the magic chain Gleipnir to defeat Fenrir and a replica of Mjölnir to defeat Loki. As long as we can gather those two powerful weapons, we should be able to defeat Loki,” Rias said, then frowned. “But Loki will likely have something planned for our upcoming fight. Whatever it is, we will have to go against him without an idea of what he has up his sleeve.”

“There is only so much we can plan for, Buchou,” I said. “But with this we have a way to win.”

“…Yuki-senpai is right. Even if Fenrir is terrifying, we can beat them.”

There were a few cheers and nods around the table.

I looked over to Akeno.

She had been silent throughout breakfast.

She was still listening to the conversations but seemed withdrawn.

Once Odin-sama left, Baraqiel-san would most likely leave as well.

Hopefully, then she would return to her normal self.

She noticed my gaze and looked at me.

I smiled at her, and she sent me a small tired smile back.

“Yuki-senpai?” Koneko called my name as she stood up from her seat.

I nodded and scooted my chair back from the table.

Koneko sat on my lap and offered me a piece of fruit.

“…How was your training last night? It was pretty late when you got back to your room.”

I took a piece of a strawberry.

“It was good but interesting. Irina-san visited me and ended up joining me for training.”

Koneko raised an eyebrow.

“She wanted to talk and clear things up between us about what happened when we tested my ability. The talk went well, and she said she wanted to spend time together, so I invited her to train with me.”

Koneko looked at Irina, who was talking to Asia, Issei, and Xenovia before looking back at me.

“Well, it’s good that everything worked out. Is she going to be joining your training regularly now?”

“I don’t think so.”

Koneko hummed in acknowledgment as she looked back at Irina.

She looked slightly tired from training late last night but otherwise seemed like her normal, bright self.

Rias stood from her seat at the head of the table.

“Everyone, we will head down to the meeting hall to go over our plans for our confrontation against Loki with Azazel and Vali’s team. We will need to be fully prepared for the day of the meeting. I won’t allow any of you to be hurt during this fight. I am not going to lose any of my precious servants,” Rias said as she looked around the table.

Her eyes stopped on me when she mentioned getting hurt.

Koneko also stared at me from my lap.

I couldn’t make any promises, so I ignored the pointed looks.

After looking over all of us, Rias nodded.

“Let’s go.”

”Yes, Buchou!”