Chapter 8: Contracted Magician

Chapter 8: Contracted Magician

"Now that I've settled my sister's hopeless love life," Takauji flew back over to Rias' desk from Kiba's shoulder where he was perched. "Let's discuss what you're Queen, I believe she's called? Requested me here to discuss."

Him and Akeno exchanged a glance, the raven-haired beauty finding his bird form to be strikingly difficult to resist petting.

He's adorable! I almost want to take him in as my Familiar!

"I think that would be for the best," Rias inhaled, recalling all the information Akeno had supplied her with regarding what she had learned about Takauji the day prior.

Not only was she looking at an exceptionally talented Mage, who had somehow learned to enhance and project objects, amongst numerous other abilities within a frighteningly short span of time—but she was looking at possibly the only living human with the Dark element.

There was a lot to gain, and also a lot to lose depending on how she handled their first official interaction together.

"Ashikaga-san, unlike Sona, I believe this is the first time we've ever properly talked with one another isn't it?" She began, swallowing her apprehension and maintaining her poise.

"You believe I'm going to be more partial to her because of that?" He didn't hesitate to get straight to the point, his facial expression shifting with what little control he had over his avian face.

But if one were to make an educated guess, he was probably doing the crow-equivalent of sneering at her.

"...I see you're not one to mince words."

"Don't worry Gremory-san, I can sympathize with your situation." If Murayama were here, she'd probably have a rather strong rebuttal. "You're face to face with the greatest mind to have ever existed, I can understand that you're eager to recruit me into your peerage."

"I didn't say—"

"Whether you say it aloud or not changes very little, the reason Himejima-san was at my house was the exact same as Shinra-san's wasn't it? It was a scouting mission, and now that you've ascertained my worth. You're here to move forward into the recruitment process."

He hopped over to the side of her desk, his talons clacking against the rich wooden surface until he was standing in front of a bowl of snacks.

He proceeded to toss a biscuit up with his beak, catching it in his mouth and swallowing it—making a slight mess of crumbs around him during the process.

"Well?" He looked at her, observing Rias' stunned silence. "Aren't you going to give me your pitch? Tell me why I should forgo remaining a human in favour of becoming a Devil under you, Rias Gremory."

It's like I'm talking to the male version of Sona… With an added touch of overbearing narcissism that is.

"In that case, let's talk about human limitation." She clasped her hands together, to which Takauji simply tilted his head to the left in response.

That's certainly an angle you could take, I won't comment on whether it's a good angle or not—but it's something.

"Has Akeno explained to you what the magic you're wielding really is?"

"According to her, one of the origins of human Magecraft is the Demonic Power that you Devils wield."

"Indeed, in other words—what you're wielding now is merely an imitation of our abilities. As they say, the copy is never better than the original."

"I can't say I'm a fan of that wording, Gremory-san." He narrowed his eyes, "I may not be that experienced as you are, but from what I've witnessed so far my Magecraft feels more like a derivative rather than an imitation. You use imagination to breathe life into your abilities do you not?"

"...Correct," she replied somewhat nervously, wondering if she had stepped on a landmine or not.

"I use calculations and equations, your abilities thrive off a lack of restriction, whereas mine are based on the opposite foundation. If human Magecraft is naught more than an imitation, then why are the laws regarding how they operate polar opposites of one another?"

A magnet had both a positive and negative side, yes they both existed on one magnet, but they didn't operate in the same manner as one another. The positive charge moved in a counterclockwise direction, whereas the negative was clockwise.

"Take this pencil for example," he picked one up from her pencil holder with his beak. "The eraser removes the lead markings from a piece of paper, whereas the lead implants them onto it. They are both a part of the pencil, yet their functions are not the same. Related, yet different."

He put the pencil down, planting his talon on the base of it.

"From my perspective, this pencil is our stage. We both are standing on it, but we do not perform the same dance as one another. I see potential for excellence on both sides, I care not for the pencil itself nor which side they favour—but rather who's wielding it."

While most in the room failed to keep up with what he was trying to say, Rias and Akeno appeared to grasp the cusp of what he was attempting to convey.

"Ashikaga-san, do you mean to say you believe Magecraft to be superior to our Demonic Power?"

He shook his head, "Not Magecraft. My Magecraft."

He firmly believed the pencil to be superior in his hands than it was in theirs, and now he made his belief clear to Kuoh's Two Great Ladies.

Everything Sona had told Rias about Takauji's arrogance hadn't just been to share her agenda, it was all true.

…I don't understand, how can someone from a belief like after only just awakening? That's something only someone who had been clashing with Devils for quite some time should care about.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that telling you the rest of the benefits of becoming a Devil would be pointless? Including the fact that you don't have to remain a subordinate forever?"

Akeno raised her hand, "I already explained the ranking part."

"Magic aside, I'm well aware that my physicality might be inferior to your species—however, I have not yet hit the ceiling of my capabilities. Casting my humanity aside before that point is extremely illogical, at least from my standpoint."

There was still so much for him to uncover, and with how much he had already accomplished since awakening—now definitely wasn't the time to stop exploring the possibilities that awaited him as a human.

She exhaled, "Then how about I make you an offer that doesn't require you to stop being a human?"

He let out an inquisitive hum, "I'm listening."

"Become my Contracted Magician instead."

"Contracted Magician?"

"It's an age-old tradition between Magicians and Devils, where we make pacts with one another for a certain period of time to exchange benefits. Of course, the benefits you'll receive won't be as bountiful as they would be if you joined my peerage."

He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her with all of his crow-like intensity.

"Elaborate," he said cautiously.

"There are three reasons why a Magician would make a pact with a Devil, first and foremost—is for protection."

"Protection from what?"

"Quite literally anything, it could be an attack from another Mage, maybe even a different Devil. The point is you'd have around the clock protection by me and my peerage that you could call upon whenever you needed it, it's always better to be safe than sorry isn't it?"

Having not encountered a single threat till date, he wasn't entirely sure how much value to give that. "Keep going."

"The second is information, research publications, techniques—or more precisely technique standards, and the knowledge us Devils have amassed will become accessible to you if you choose to accept. Moreover, it'll be much easier for you to acquire spellbook knowledge, and resources from Mage organizations through us—without having to become a member of them yourself."

She smiled before continuing her pitch, "And just for the record. It'll take years of service within those organizations for you to get access to upper-echelon knowledge. Whereas we can get it to you in an instant."

More spells… It's definitely not a bad thing no matter how I spin it.

"What else?" Despite having his interest piqued, he decided to remain impassive.

"There is the added bonus of public eminence from being contracted with a high-ranking Devil, but I doubt that's something you have any interest in since you're apparently not involved with any organizations."

She still had her doubts.

"I'll admit, the benefits do sound rather enticing. However, I've yet to hear what you're getting out of this—I doubt a deal like this would be completely one-sided."

She nodded, "In exchange, we would get access to the theory and knowledge regarding the spells and formulas you end up creating. And the achievements you make will also bolster our reputation in the Underworld."

"I see," he hopped off the table, abruptly transforming back into his human form much to Rias' surprise.

His MP was starting to run low after keeping his crow form active for an extended period of time.

"Being a Contracted Magician certainly does sound a lot more desirable than becoming a Devil, however, I plan on hearing what Sitri-san has to offer me before giving you an answer."

Akeno gave Rias the "I told you so" look.

"She'll probably offer you the same thing."

"Maybe, maybe not. That business is between me and her." He promptly left the clubroom, making his way towards his next meeting of the day.

Rias exhaled, reclining back into her chair and looking toward her Queen. "How do you think that went?"

"I wouldn't say it went badly," she tried her best to sound reassuring. "Unfortunately, I don't understand him as well as Sona does. So I can't say for sure how appealing your offer sounded to him."

"She really does have quite the home court advantage here doesn't she?" Rias chuckled dryly.

"Yes, that she does."

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Takauji slowly raised his hand up, preparing to knock on the door of the Student Council's room.

"Come in," but Sona's voice called out to him from the other end before he could do so. Earning a faint smile from her rival as he stepped inside.

"It's awfully bleak in comparison to Gremory-san's room," the very first thing he noticed upon observing the room, was that he and Sona were the only people inside. Not even Tsubaki was standing beside her like usual.

"My subordinates are out working, whether they're present for our conversation or not wouldn't change anything."

He wagged his finger at her, "Rias was too afraid to use that word in front of me, subordinates."

"That's because she wanted you to be as open to joining her peerage as possible. I, on the other hand, have absolutely no interest in welcoming you into my peerage whatsoever." She said while casually typing something on the laptop in front of her.

"You should take up a career as a saleswoman with that kind of charisma," he snickered. "But if you're uninterested in recruiting me into your peerage, then what did you want to talk to me about?"

She didn't give him a verbal response, simply pointed to a stack of papers on the table in the center of the room.

"What's this supposed to be?"

"A one month contract for you to be my Contracted Magician, I imagine Rias probably offered you the same thing after she realized that you weren't the type to join a peerage."

"She did."

"Then you already know what benefits it entails, you'll get the same treatment from me."

"And you're not going to explain why I should sign with you rather than her?"

Sona sighed, almost as if she was fed up in some capacity. Shutting the lid of her laptop and looking him dead in the eyes.

"The contract is the same between us, but not the contractor. We've known each other for three years now, you quite literally just met Rias a few minutes ago."

"I've known part of you for three years, I'm only just now uncovering this other side of you that you've kept hidden from me this whole time."

"And now you're being presented with the opportunity to delve into it as much as you want," she stood up from her desk, walking over and staring him down. "So sign the contract, if you really want to prove you're better than me. Then do it by directly performing on the same stage as me—either that, or you can go run to Rias and compete with me from the shadows. It would be fitting taking your element into account."

"You don't think I can work with Gremory-san?"

The fact that he even asked that question at all felt like a mockery to her.

"Obviously not."

"Well guess what?" He picked the stack of papers up, "You're right. Where do I sign?"

"There's a handprint on the last page, just inject a little bit of your Mana into it once you're done needlessly overanalyzing the terms of the contract."

"You know me so well."

He proceeded to do precisely that, flipping through the pages one by one to make sure there wasn't any fine print or underhanded play to be found.

"What happens after the contract expires?"

"It's simple, we renegotiate depending on how much progress you've made."

"Fair enough," after validating the contract, he put his hand on the outlined print and did as she asked, watching as the Sitri Clan's crest engraved itself onto the back of his right hand. "Try not to get left in the dust too early, that'd get boring for the both of us wouldn't it?"

"Sure, whatever you say."

"So, got any missions for me? Boss." He said with a clear amount of sarcasm.

"Not for now, just continue training for now. I'll have Tsubaki deliver some starting material from the Golden Dawn tomorrow morning."

Unfortunately for Rias, Sona and Takauji had come to an agreement in less than a quarter of the amount of time she had spent making her pitch.

Such was the difference in understanding of the upcoming Mage between the Sitri and Gremory Heiress.

"Cool."

━━━━

Probably the most chill contract signing between a Mage and Devil—ever. Speedrun type shit.

Unfortunately for Rias, she didn't have the right circumstances to recruit Taka unlike Sona. But it is what it is, maybe there'll be some kind of collaboration between them in the future. Who can say?

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