Chapter 22

Emiya's residence.

Three days later.

BOOM

A loud explosion rang out across the backyard of the residence. And dust covered a pretty decent portion of it.

- Romani-sensei! Can we get Archer-sensei back?! I'm going to die at this rate! - Issei shouted, landing far away from the dust cloud.

- But you've somehow survived these three days, right, skillful pervert-kun? - Without looking up, I replied and flipped the page of the manga.

BOOM

I broke away from reading the manga and glanced in the direction of the sound. In the place from where I heard Issei's voice, dust had risen again, and a large tree trunk was sticking out of its boundaries.

- Besides, the principle is the same. - I shrugged and went back to reading.

- I'd rather train with Archer-sensei than with Knight Netori! - He shrieked as the dust cleared. And a millimeter away from him, a tree half its length was stuck into the ground.

- Arrrrrrgh!" roared Lancelot in his Berserker form and rushed to the attack.

Well, I could tell that Issei's training was going very well. However, it was nothing supernatural. Yes, his speed, strength, and stamina had improved, but not enough to take out Riser's entourage alone. He's about three times stronger now than he was in canon in this arc. Plus...

- Boost! Boost! Boost!

He was able to break the ten second limit between boosts. Issei can now use Reinforcement three times without delay. It's not much, but it's something.

- Catch, Knight Netori! Dragon Shot! - he shouted and a beam of energy flew out of his gauntlet.

BOOM

- How about that!!!

He looked at the spot where it hit, but didn't find Lancelot there and started looking around. And he found him right above him.

- Arrrrrrgh!" Berserker roared and struck Issei. Well, almost hit him.

- Balance Breaker! Scaly Armor of the Boosted Gear! - he shouted, and a wave of energy threw Lancelot off - Now let's talk.

And Lancelot threw himself into the attack. They met fists and began to naturally punch each other's faces... Hehe. I feel like I'm watching an anime in real time.

Plus, he unlocked the Balance Breaker. And not for ten seconds like he did at Rias and Riser's wedding, but for thirty seconds. Yep, exactly three times stronger than his canonical self. And all this without any hand sacrifice to the dragon.

I watched them fight until, at some point, I noticed a flash of magic near me. Turning my head, my eyes saw that a magic circle with the seal of Gremory had appeared near the porch where I was sitting, and a second later, Akeno appeared in it with her usual polite smile on her face.

- Good afternoon, Romani-sensei," she greeted me and turned towards the sound of fighting and pointed at the red armor, "This is... Issei! H-he unlocked the Balance Breaker?! H-how?

Hehe. She made the right conclusions rather quickly. Although it's hard to go wrong here. Only the Boosted Gear has this coloring.

- As if my words would reveal the secrets of the universe to you," I shrugged and went back to reading the manga.

- But-but how is that possible?! - Akeno looked at me with her eyes wide open and her smile faded, "Just a week ago, he had just awakened his Sacred Gear! And Issei himself was just an ordinary schoolboy with meager mana reserves! How did you do that?!

Yeah... And this progress she considers impressive? I'm disappointed. Although... Considering Rias' 'training', one can understand Akeno's surprise.

From time to time, I looked at the rest of Rias' entourage. And all I found was a typical high school physical education class. Adjusted for race, of course. In the entire time they had been 'practicing' I hadn't seen any abrasions, scratches, or anything like that - just sweat-drenched clothes.

For this reason, I visited Nurarihyon in Kyoto, visiting his cafe, and voiced my displeasure at the whole thing. He laughed heartily and patted me on the shoulder, saying what else did I expect from young people. And I have to admit, he's right. Also, the ramen at his cafe was delicious. Uh-huh.

- I tried.

- You... sometimes you're insufferable," Akeno sighed tiredly.

- By the way, why did you visit my humble abode? - I inquired - To visit him again?

- No," she shook her head, "I came to pick him up.

- Hmm? Pick him up? His training isn't over yet.

- I apologize, Romani-sensei, but we need to prepare a strategy. And for that, we need all the members of the entourage.

BOOM

Akeno and I turned towards the sound, and saw Lancelot standing over an unconscious Issei in a small crater. Apparently thirty seconds had gone out and he had missed a beat. His head was bleeding and his clothes looked very tattered.

- Issei! - Akeno shrieked and, releasing her wings, flew towards him.

Sighing, disappeared from the porch and appeared beside Berserker, and a bat appeared in my hand, with which I charged straight at his head. Lancelot staggered and fell, and the black haze covering his body slowly faded away, showing that he was now Saber again. And Akeno took Issei's hands in hers and began to check on his condition.

- Ddraig? How is he doing in there? - I asked, and the bat in my hand disappeared.

- Lancelot gave him a good beating. He's alive, but unconscious. - answered Ddraig.

- Good," I nodded and walked toward the porch.

- Okay?! - shrieked an exasperated Akeno - That's all you're going to say?! He could have died!

- But he didn't, did he? - Without slowing down or turning towards her, I replied - Don't fill your pretty head with that.

- P-pretty? - She whispered with excitement in her voice, but quickly recovered - That's not the problem, Sensei!

- Yeah, yeah. Just take it and go," I waved her off and looked at her as I sat back down in my seat, "Shoo.

She gave me a judgmental look and then sighed. A magic circle appeared beneath her, and the next moment Akeno and Issei were gone in a flash of light.

- Ah. Peace and quiet. - Relaxed, I murmured.

Japanese houses are beautiful. When you're alone and just looking ahead, sitting on the porch, their themes make you calm down and just be. I wasn't alone for long, however, as I felt a pair of arms possessively embrace me.

- Aaaaaaaaaa~~

I sighed. Tiamat was using me as a cuddle pillow again.

- Yeah... It's good to see you too.

- Aaaaaaaaaa~" she asked.

- 'Nothing,' I replied and closed my eyes, leaning fully on Tiamat behind me, 'Where were you three days ago? And the Ophis, for that matter.

- Aaaa~~

- It was just really unexpected that you decided to take a walk.

- Aaaaaaaaaa~

О? So they were visiting the Great Red? I see. I wondered, if she was his mother, why didn't he ever visit us like Ophis did? The Great Red has the concept of the Dream and couldn't help but know that Tiamat is here...

- So how did it go?

- Aaaaaaaa~'' she sang cheerfully, ''Aaaaaaaa~''

- Heh. - I grinned.

It turns out that the Great Red had avoided meeting her for a very funny reason, "Cool dragons shouldn't get snarky." So when Tiamat and Ophis appeared before him, he tried to run away. But with their combined efforts, they somehow caught him. According to Tiamat, she sat on his head and started stroking him, which made him emotional. Apparently, they had their own atmosphere.

Stop. As I recall, Great Red is the protector of this dimension, isn't he? So he knows that Trihexa isn't really Trihexa now, does he? Then why the hell isn't he doing anything about it? And Alaya was silent about that fact altogether when she dumped her joint on me.

- Aaaaaa~ - Tiamat stroked my head and started humming a soothing tune.

Okay. I guess I'll listen to her and sleep.

In fact, if it weren't for her Beast II urges to turn everyone into Lahmu, Tiamat would have given motherly love to every creature on the planet, and there would be no wars at all.

Yes, Tiamat is the best mom ever.

-0-

The next day.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself on the same porch I had fallen asleep on. Tiamat was sweetly slumbering, still holding me in her arms and resting her head on mine. I carefully released myself from the embrace and, creating an earth elemental, ordered it to carry Tiamat to her room.

Since the Ranking Game is in two days, I'll pay a visit to the Phenex clan. I'll have a chat with the actor, so to speak.

I took out a flyer and activated it. And after a few seconds, Ravel appeared in front of me with a welcoming smile on her face.

- Romani-sama! - She exclaimed happily - I'm so glad you decided to visit our estate. Brother will be happy to receive you.

- Oya? Riser has time to receive guests? - I raised an eyebrow, and then smirked-"Or is he not planning to train?

- You're right, Romani-sama," Ravel smiled, "Which is to be expected from someone who was vouched for by the Great Ancestor himself.

My eyebrow twitched.

Okay, this is getting annoying.

- You're so irritable, Romani," Goetia said snidely, "Maybe you should see a doctor. Oh, wait. You're a doctor. Then see yourself.

Are you kidding me, you bastard? I'll remind you of that.

- Mr. Romani, are you all right? - Ravel asked me worriedly.

- I'm fine, Ravel," I said, trying to smile, "Shall we go?

- Sure," she nodded and asked me to stand beside her. Which I did. And a magic circle appeared below us.

Well, let's see what the Phenex clan has in store.

And with those thoughts, we teleported to the manor.

-0-

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