chapter 18: Mittelt

BAM

In a tavern located in the new base of the fallen angels, a group of three women were discussing their situation... or at least, they were trying to.

"Damn it, I don't understand Kalawarna!!!" exclaimed Mittelt as she grabbed a new clay bottle, after violently throwing the previous one against the wall.

The cute voice she usually displayed in front of Sanguinius no longer existed because of the overflow of emotions she was expressing.

Her tone was frustrated, but anyone could see that she was angry with herself and not the target of this complaint.

"You should calm down first, at this rate there won't be any wine left," Kalawarna removed the wine from her friend's hands, before she could refill her glass.

"Why should I calm down? I was literally unable to do a cleanup mission against the demonic beast without anyone for 2 weeks and..."

Mittelt wanted to say more, but she managed to stop her words in time.

'And besides, it seems he doesn't see me that way...'

During their stay together at Sanguinius's base, he hadn't paid much attention to Mittelt outside of talking about magic or science.

He never noticed that Mittelt hadn't just followed him because of his leadership, but also under the influence of his appearance.

In the end, the crush slowly developed into something else.

'I love hearing him talk about his complicated things or seeing him give it his all during training and...'

Unconsciously, the little blonde fainted, her face red with drunkenness and embarrassment on the table, as she recalled her difficulties.

"I told you this guy has a bad influence on her."

Like Kalawarna, Raynare is a close friend of Mittelt.

The three became fallen for different reasons, but Raynare is not as 'innocent' a case as Mittelt and Kalawarna.

'This virgin just fell in love and she's making a big deal out of it.'

If she had nothing to do, she would have left long ago.

Unfortunately for her, the human world was still under reconstruction after the flood caused by the decision of the pantheon leaders.

"A bad influence? She's literally about to get another pair of wings."

Despite Mittelt's miserable emotional state, she always wanted to become useful to Sanguinius.

Especially when he got a new pair of wings, then left for an unknown place without taking her along.

After his departure, Mittelt realized harshly her weakness.

She was unable to complete even the "simple" missions that Sanguinius would take in the central building of Grigori.

She even had to ask for Raynare and Kalawarna's help to finish them, for fear of a penalty instead of contribution points offered by Azazel and the Grigori executives.

Finally, she decided to change things.

She used the "rudimentary" facilities of Sanguinius's base during these two weeks to improve herself.

The result is a quantity of mana and Holy Power superior to that of her two friends, and at the top among fallen angels with one pair of wings.

"Apart from her strength, she's clearly regressed hehe"

After this little joke with no real audience to appreciate it with her, Raynare drank a bit more before leaving the table.

"Where are you going?" Despite her friend's question, she continued her steps toward the exit without any sign of stopping.

"They've ruined the mood talking about a guy all day."

Tss

As she clicked her tongue and grumbled about the ruined day with friends...

pam

"Sorry, are you hurt?"

When she was about to leave the tavern, she suddenly found herself against the 'muscular' chest of a stranger before falling to the ground.

'Who is this bastard...'

Raynare was about to explode with anger, but she immediately refrained after seeing the number of wings on the back of the man in front of her.

"Are you okay?"

The man insisted further.

"Sorry, it's just the alcohol."

She immediately rushed away without looking behind her.

"She criticizes but she's unable to face the real person," Kalawarna couldn't help but comment on her friend's poor performance.

Unlike Kalawarna, who had already met him in person, Raynare only knew him through Mittelt's stories.

Thus, she didn't recognize him and preferred to move away because of the small incident.

"Still, I can understand her a little."

Despite her face keeping a cool appearance, Kalawarna had felt a bit intimidated by the aura emanating from Sanguinius.

It must be understood that she had already seen him a few times outside of their first meeting.

Yet, Sanguinius's rapid evolution hadn't ceased to surprise her each time.

If I had followed him that day, would I also have had a rapid gain in strength like Mittelt and him?

This question had come to her naturally.

"Hey! Kalawarna, I'm happy to see you."

"Too bad, it's not mutual."

She had crossed her arms under her abundant breasts, which is a gesture interpreted in psychology as creating a certain distance with a target.

However, Sanguinius hadn't discerned the subtle message sent by Kalawarna's unconscious.

His attention was occupied observing two abnormally large objects that defied logic.

'How does this thing hold without a bra... magic? Yet I don't sense any form of magic used on them.'

Fortunately, he hadn't been caught in his scientific observation.

Finally, he addressed the subject that had pushed him to find Kalawarna in the first place.

"I'm looking for Mittelt, have you seen her?"

The two people were standing at the entrance of the tavern, so Sanguinius hadn't spotted Mittelt inside.

Yet, she had recognized his voice despite her drunkenness and had begun to fix her clothes and cover the smell of alcohol by various means, hastily.

"I don't think she's..."

Like a good friend, Kalawarna tried to cover for Mittelt with a lie.

Yet...

Bam

In an alley nearby, Mittelt collapsed after hitting a trash can, causing a racket.

She had already concealed any sign of alcohol or drunkenness, but their effects persisted in her system.

That explained her clumsiness.

'Idiot, you forgot to sober up with Holy Power.'

Kalawarna wanted to grab her friend and teach her a lesson for the embarrassment she had just caused her.

She had literally been caught red-handed in a lie.

Fortunately for everyone, Sanguinius knew how to read the awkward atmosphere and offered to take care of bringing Mittelt back and to ignore Kalawarna's act.

"You better not do anything weird to her."

Kalawarna couldn't help but issue him a warning, despite the obvious difference in strength between them.

She had to at least do that for her friend.

"Do you really think I would take advantage of a tired girl?" he said while carrying Mittelt on his back, as she sported a face red with embarrassment.

She had already used Holy Power to sober up after the incident with the trash can, but she didn't hesitate to accept Sanguinius's offer to carry her.

'I would have preferred to be carried differently, but like this is not bad either.'

Instinctively, she took a whiff of Sanguinius's body odor.

An act that sent a shiver down the young man's spine.

"... You're right, it's even you who's in danger."

"Excuse me??!!"

"No nothing, forget it."

Feeling that she had potentially made a mistake, Kalawarna quickly fled without listening to Sanguinius behind her.