Chapter 51: Tears and Nostalgia

The last memory she had of Japan was in flames. Now, walking through a lively and vibrant city, Shizue unintentionally shed tears.

She didn't want to be emotional, but inevitably, she recalled old memories, as well as the mother she loved so much...

...

Knowing something like this might happen, Zaydas had previously used a spell to divert their attention.

Although it didn't go so far as to make them completely blind to their presence, even if they saw them, they wouldn't spend more than two seconds looking in their direction.

"…I don't want to cry. I don't want to, but I just can't stop the tears from coming." Shizue forced a smile.

As Shizue shed tears, even without understanding why she was crying, Ravel and Asia showed their support.

"I don't know what happened, but it's okay now," Ravel said softly.

Asia rubbed her back, saying, "Are you hurting somewhere? I can use healing magic."

"Thank you." Shizue appreciated their kindness.

It was a short word of gratitude, but her feelings reached them properly.

"Look, an ice cream shop. How about we go there?" Zaydas pointed out, changing the subject.

Shizue looked at Zaydas gratefully.

Ravel easily agreed, and Asia did too.

At the ice cream shop, it was self-service.

"Wahh, wahh, how do I do this?" Asia looked confused and nervous.

"It's okay, Asia," Zaydas said. "It's actually easy. You just pick what you like and take it, either in a cone or a plastic cup."

"I-I see." Asia nodded. "I can do it!"

Seeing her act so cutely while trying to be brave over something like this even lifted Shizue's mood, making her smile a little.

It was precisely because Asia was like this that he wanted to bring her along. Seriously, it's hard to feel down with a girl like her around.

Even Ravel's somewhat reserved mannerisms helped Shizue relax a little.

By the way, when he explained it to Asia earlier, he was also indirectly explaining it to Shizue. After all, she had been summoned to TSSDK at a very young age and was deprived of many things due to the war—she had probably never been to an ice cream shop before.

After serving themselves and weighing their ice cream, they found a place to sit. It was a table with four chairs.

Each of them took a seat at a corner, with Ravel and Asia sitting closer to Zaydas and Shizue sitting across from him.

Ravel and Zaydas chose ice cream cones, while Asia and Shizue opted for plastic cups.

"Strawberry and chocolate?" Ravel looked at him.

"Mm, I like both," Zaydas said. "Though I also like other flavors."

Ravel chose only mango with strawberry syrup.

Asia, unsure of what to pick, had a variety of flavors with peanuts, chocolate sprinkles, and chocolate syrup.

Shizue got mint chocolate.

"Are you sure you only want that flavor?" Ravel asked.

"Yes, I am," Shizue replied with a small smile.

"So tasty~"

Looking at Asia and seeing her eat so happily, Ravel forgot everything and began enjoying her own ice cream.

The scene of the three of them smiling while savoring their ice cream was quite picturesque.

Zaydas inadvertently started eating his.

When he tasted it, he had to agree that it was good. However, he thought: 'How good would ice cream with golden fruits be?'

By the way, now that he thought about it, he still hadn't let Asia, Ravel, or even Grayfia try one of the golden fruits...

'I'll give them some when we return.'

...

After they left the ice cream shop, Ravel said, "Actually, I've always been curious about amusement parks in the human world."

Zaydas smiled slightly. He knew she wasn't telling the whole truth. He had accidentally overheard a conversation Ravel had with Asia, and it was actually Asia who had mentioned amusement parks when she saw one on television.

"How about we go to one right now?" Zaydas suggested.

"Really?" Asia asked quickly, obviously excited about the idea.

"Of course, if everyone is interested." He looked at Shizue, who nodded, and Ravel did the same.

"Then it's decided," Zaydas said. "Since it's a bit far, we can either walk or fly there."

"Isn't it risky to fly with so many humans around?" Asia asked.

"Don't worry. While you're in 'Devil mode,' people's perception of us tends to drop to almost zero. And I'll cast a spell to help us be even less noticeable," Zaydas explained.

"Hehe~" Sticking out her tongue, Asia said shyly, "Actually, I haven't flown yet, and I'm a little scared. The most I've done is lift off the ground a little."

Cute~

"Don't worry, I'm here." Zaydas's words exuded confidence.

Even Shizue, who felt the same as Asia since she was newly transformed into a Devil, sighed lightly, seeming relieved.

With that, all four of them created a pair of wings. Normally, Zaydas didn't like using his Devil wings, but he did this time.

Asia and Shizue seemed curious when they saw Ravel's wings.

Ravel let out a small giggle, as if she already knew what they were thinking: "Fufufu. The wings of the Phenex Clan are a little different, you know? It has to do with our connection to the legendary Phoenix."

The wings of the Phenex Clan were cooler than the conventional Devil wings—or so Zaydas thought. That was precisely why he didn't like using his own wings.

"But I must say, Zaydas-sama's wings are impressive~" Ravel said cheerfully. "The same goes for Shizue-san."

While conventional Devil wings didn't look very impressive—being thin, almost skeletal, as if only the skeletal structure of the wing remained, in a mercury-black color—Zaydas's wings were thicker and longer, almost reaching two meters in length per wing. Shizue's were only slightly smaller.

As for Asia's wings, they were more within the standard.

'Have my wings changed this much?' Zaydas was a little surprised. After all, he didn't use his wings for flying: 'Not bad…'

Compared to the standardized skeletal wings, this version was a bit better.

Now that he thought about it, Shizue's wings had already seemed a little different. But at the time, he had more important things on his mind than to think about that.

Zaydas saw Asia looking at her wings and touching her lips, seeming thoughtful, but soon she smiled: "I like these wings."

Her sweet smile made Zaydas smile as well: "I see, I'm glad you like them."

...

After a few minutes of flying, they arrived in front of the amusement park. It only took longer because Asia had more difficulty flying. Although Shizue also struggled at first, she learned very quickly and was soon flying as if she had been doing it for years.

Landing in a quieter nearby street, they retracted their wings.

"Sorry, because of me it took us a while to get here." Asia said, then murmured softly, "Wah, wahhh, why am I always so clumsy?"

"Don't worry, it didn't take that long," Zaydas said.

"Yes, and thanks to you, we got to appreciate the beautiful cityscape," Shizue said sincerely.

"Shizue-san is right. Don't worry~" Ravel held onto Asia's arm, saying with a cheerful smile, "Shall we go?"

"Asia-chan... Did something happen to her before?" Shizue asked as she was left alone with Zaydas a few steps behind Ravel and Asia.

Shizue seemed quite interested in Asia.

"Well, yes." Zaydas summarized things for her as best as he could.

"I see..." Shizue asked, "Is this some kind of conspiracy?"

"Was it that obvious?" Zaydas said. "I believe so."

Touching her lip, Shizue said, "I feel like the Devil who was healed by Asia-chan is the most suspicious of all."

"I totally agree."

Even if he didn't know about the original plot, it was clear that the fact a Devil 'coincidentally' appeared injured in front of Asia and was then healed by her was suspicious.

Such a coincidence, mixed with the strange way Asia was abandoned despite being a Saint... only made this scenario even more suspicious.

Meanwhile, the person in question turned toward them while walking with Ravel ahead of them.

"Zaydas-san, Shizue-san! Isn't this nice? Hauu!" The blonde girl, Asia, tripped.

"Careful, Asia-c... san." Ravel helped Asia steady herself.

Ravel still wasn't used to calling Asia 'Asia-san,' since she initially thought they were the same age, but later found out she was a year younger.

"Thank you, Ravel-san." Asia thanked her, murmuring, "Waah, even now I keep tripping, I'm so clumsy..."

Shizue's eyes became gentler as she looked at Asia. Her adorable appearance made Shizue step forward, standing beside Asia and hugging her slightly.

"S-Shizue-san?" Asia was confused.

Snapping back to reality, Shizue stepped away, saying, "Sorry, for a moment, you reminded me of someone, and I just..."

"No, it's okay, it just surprised me." Asia opened her arms with a cute smile. "Here, you can hug me~"

With his smartphone on silent, Zaydas took pictures while hiding his presence as much as possible.

"Shizue-san, are you crying?" Asia could feel her shoulders trembling.

Shizue pulled away from her embrace, turning her gaze away from them, speaking with a slightly choked voice, "No, I'm not..."

Very softly, in a whisper, Shizue murmured, "Pi..."

...

Putting away his smartphone, Zaydas suddenly said, "My aunt and her Peerage just arrived, let's go."

"Rias-sama?" Ravel looked at him.

"Zaydas-san's aunt?" Asia murmured, a little nervous.

"Don't worry, Asia-san... Rias-sama is a very kind person." Ravel smiled at her.

"I-I see." Even after hearing that, Asia still had trouble meeting new people, especially if they were close to Zaydas.

Shizue took this chance to pull a handkerchief from her pocket.

Zaydas approached her, whispering in her ear as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's going to be okay. She doesn't blame you."

Shizue didn't respond. She looked at him in silence before averting her gaze. "Thank you."

Zaydas smiled at her.

"Zay-kun, we're here~"

Looking ahead, seeing Rias and the rest, he approached.

"Zay-nii!" Almost like a cannonball, Gasper, who was wearing a long yellow dress with floral details, jumped straight into his stomach. Rubbing his head against Zaydas's belly, Gasper said, "I missed you~"

"Haha, good morning, Gasper-kun, how have you been?" Zaydas asked.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"Ara ara, ufufu. Zaydas-sama, who are these two beautiful girls? You're making me jealous~" Akeno pretended to be hurt while her voice was incredibly seductive.

Gasper, who had pulled away from the hug, held Zaydas's hand, looking timidly at the two girls. He had already met Ravel, so he was fine with her, but... he was still shy around strangers.

"Mm, this is Akeno, the queen of my aunt, Rias-nee," Zaydas said. "And also my lover, who is expecting my child."

Before anyone could interrupt him out of shock, he continued, "Rias-nee, these people are Shizue and Asia. They are part of my Peerage."

"L-Lover and... e-expecting a child with Zaydas-san?" Asia looked like she was about to faint.

Ravel supported her so she wouldn't fall, but who would support her as well?

Shizue looked at Akeno without much reaction, raising an eyebrow, seeming skeptical.

Placing a hand on her forehead, Rias sighed. "Seriously, are you really going to say something like that? Don't worry, it's all a lie!"

"Ara? How can you say that, Rias?" Akeno, having snapped back to reality, pretended to be offended, rubbing her belly. "The child of Zaydas-sama and me is real~!"

"Seriously?" For a moment, Rias almost believed it, but she quickly shook her head. "No, you're trying to trick me, and you didn't even have time to do something like that, did you?"

"Ufufu, so innocent, Rias. Of course, we had time, right?" She winked at Zaydas.

"Yes, there's no way to hide it anymore. Although the baby is still forming in Akeno's belly, soon it will be too obvious to conceal," Zaydas said, looking quite serious.

"A child of Zay-nii and Akeno-san?" Gasper looked at the two and exclaimed happily, "I'm sure it will be a very beautiful baby~!"

"You think so too, Gasper-kun?" Akeno seemed immersed in a beautiful dream as she placed her hands on her cheeks. "I hope they inherit my eyes and Zaydas-sama's hair… But it would also be wonderful if they inherited his eyes. What should I do?"

"That's enough, enough! You two are confusing them, and look, that little girl over there is about to faint. Even your fiancée, Zay-kun!" Rias spoke sternly.

Realizing this, Zaydas chuckled a bit and explained, "Haha, sorry, girls, this was all just a joke between Akeno and me."

"So it was all just a joke to you, a love adventure, Zaydas-sama?" She rubbed her belly, saying, "Ahh, life is cruel, but don't worry, I will raise our child alone~!"

"Akeno, seriously..." Rias sighed, exhausted.

Sticking out her tongue, seeing that she couldn't take it any further, Akeno smiled and struck a perfect pose as she bowed. "I am Akeno Himejima. It's a pleasure to meet you both~"

Shizue said, "Likewise."

"I-I... so it was a lie?" Asia was still dazed, murmuring softly, as she was the most innocent and had easily believed what he and Akeno had said.

Then, she closed her eyes and bowed forward. "The pleasure is all mine!" As she did so, her blonde hair fell entirely over her face, and when she straightened up, her face was completely covered by her own hair.

"W-Who turned off the lights?" she murmured, quickly becoming embarrassed upon realizing it was just her hair.

'So cute~' was what several of them seemed to be thinking at that moment.

After the ice was broken, one by one, they introduced themselves.

Whether they liked it or not, Akeno and Zaydas's little theatrical scene had broken any kind of tension between them, making them feel more at ease in each other's presence.

Even Gasper was less shy around Shizue and Asia due to their gentle nature.

───────────

Read up to chapter 83 on Patreon. At least two chapters will be updated daily, with one free chapter every day.

P-atreon.com/Zaydas

Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.