Chapter 37: A visit to the Gremory Household

Part 1

3rd Person POV

Putting down a large book, a boy sighed tiredly. Sitting at a table in a library-like room, the boy glanced at the only other person in the spacious room.

"I think we can take a break, initially I thought we would take a lot of more time to cover that content, but you learn pretty fast, Nora-kun." The figure spoke to the boy, Nora.

"The way you say it could be taken as you calling a word that starts with 'i' and it has the meaning of someone not being bright, Venelana-san." Nora muttered in an exhausted tone. "Also, how much did you plan to teach me in one lesson? If it wasn't because I read rather fast, I would probably be stuck here for days."

Shaking his head, Nora turned his head to two piles of books on the table. One large pile that exceeded his height with about 30 books, and one that barely had 2 books. He grimaced when he recalled that the smaller one was the one he had read so far.

"Ufufu, you can always stay for the night. It wouldn't be a problem, I am sure that Rias would be delighted too." Venelana muttered in a joking tone.

The boy's eyebrow twitched in response.

"You wouldn't have put all this content just for that, would you?" Nora asked.

The other party just giggled in response.

"Ah, whatever." Nora shrugged his shoulders. "That said, this is quite a big amount of knowledge you are planning to make me learn. I can understand manners since noble society can be fussy about it, but the customs... Isn't this too much? I don't think that I need to learn that much at once."

Shaking her head, Venelana stretched for a moment. Nora tried to move his head away, but he could not avoid directing his eyes at certain parts, such as the bountiful cleavage that her green dress could offer.

"What a devilish woman *gulp*." Nora whispered. "Don't look Nora-kun, turn your eyes away. Imagine Yasaka-san's, wait, that is not the point, is it?"

"Ara, are you interested in women's bodies at that age? I don't mind if you look, I am not going to feel bashful if a boy stares at me, although I don't know how to feel if my daughter's friend looks at me like that. It is a little troubling." Venelana jested. "About what you said before, I would say that you are wrong. Nora-kun, differently from reincarnated devils, people willfully judge you like an heir to a noble house as soon as you are thrown into the noble world. They will direct their judging eyes at you and they will look for anything that could be used for their advantage if they have to deal with you."

Venelana looked at Nora with gentle eyes.

"You should never let your guard down." Venelana commented.

"If you feel troubled then at least look a tiny bit troubled, don't grin." Nora retorted. "Why? I am not a pure blood devil."

"Murmur, you, who carries her abilities, are going to be considered her descendant. The Great King was a little blunt, but he said it too, remember?" Venelana shook her head. "However, you won't be received warmly due to your youkai heritage. Nora-kun, I am not sure why you accepted that man's offer, but you won't have it easy. Are you sure that you wish to carry that name? Many responsibilities will come along with it."

Directing a concerned gaze at the black-haired boy, Venelana asked.

"I don't care what kind of thing I have to go through. I will carry any kind of weight or responsibility, as long as he fulfills the end of the deal, I will be content." Nora spoke in a resolute tone. "Nonetheless, I can still complain if things are too harsh, right?"

Adding a little joke at the end, the boy wanted to avoid making the mood awkward.

"Sure, I don't mind listening to your troubles. I will be teaching you for a while, no, I will offer you advice whenever you need to regardless of your lessons." Venelana said.

Scratching his cheek awkwardly, Nora looked another way.

"Thanks, I know that you are going to great lengths to teach me." Nora spoke.

"I have some free time, that is all." Venelana muttered with a smile.

She kept stretching and using her own hands to rub her shoulder.

Nora hesitated for a moment, but he still decided to speak.

"I could help you with that if you want. It is nothing fancy compared to a Massage Parlor, but I have some knowledge about it." Nora pointed at the flaxen-haired woman.

"Oh, now that you mention it. There was someone who told me that you give the best massages, I never asked before but since you are offering me..." Venelana exclaimed. "Is it only my back or the perverted Nora is after something else too?"

With a teasing grin, Venelana pushed her chest up. Nora wanted to complain at the change Venelana when through, when she was teaching him, the flaxen-haired woman was incredibly strict, but now that they are taking a rest, she was acting pretty laid back.

"Miss, you offend me. I am a professional." Nora spoke using a mock-offended tone. "I am only going to help you with your shoulders. Being misunderstood is also something a man on the road to becoming the best massager so I can only bitterly accept it."

Dramatically acting, Nora stood up and had a troubled expression on his face.

With wide eyes, Venelana giggled at his terrible acting.

"Fufu, I see. Then, would Mister Massager like to start now?" Venelana inquired.

Stopping his act, the boy walked behind her.

She thought that it would be nice if her daughter would sometimes offer her the same as this boy had done. Parents wouldn't turn down that kind of offer from their children even if they are not that good at it. It was proof that they care about their parents well being. That said, her daughter will most likely suffer from the same problems in the future.

"Nora-kun, you can start whenever- ah~" Venelana had to cover her mouth mid-sentence to stop a certain sound from leaking.

It was a surprise for the flaxen-haired woman, to think she almost moaned. If her memory did not fail her, Yasaka only warned her about never asking that he does his best in the massage for some reason. Did that have something to do with the thing that just happened? How did Yasaka teach him?

"Is this strong ok? I could do better if you ask." Nora asked.

He had stopped his actions so Venelana had some time to think. However, curiosity got the better of her. It was all to find out how far did Yasaka go with her teachings.

"Try your best." Venelana muttered a little fearfully. "You know what, I don't- AHH~"

This time, she was not able to cover her mouth, and Nora did not give her any chance to rest.

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Seconds that felt like minutes, and minutes that felt like hours, or maybe they were regular minutes and hours, but some time later, Venelana was resting her body by leaning on the chair she was originally sitting. In the beginning, she did not use the back support and kept her back straight, but now, she was out of breath and covered with sweat as she rested her body on the chair, a faint satisfied smile on her face.

Nora was at one side nodding to himself as he muttered 'another happy customer, man, all that training paid off in a soft tone of voice.

Many things went through Venelana's head when she heard him muttering that, part of her wanted to admonish Yasaka for making him train until his skill was so polished and could cause certain reactions, but part of her could only acknowledge and be grateful for it, she did enjoy it after all.

Despite her conflicting thoughts, her mind could help but get an idea, and she decided to speak her mind.

"Nora-kun, you did a wonderful job, I feel like you took a few years of me." Venelana fixed her dress that had wrinkles in many places.

She thought that it was no good to look like that, thankfully, she had sent people away so Nora did not get distracted. The good point is that no one heard her shameful display and they won't look at her unladylike appearance.

"You are surely jesting, you usually look as beautiful and young as Yasaka-san." Nora commented while he avoided looking at her, a slight blush covered his face.

Venelana wanted to complain about the praise she received, she knows that he considers Yasaka extremely beautiful in his eyes, and receiving the praise of that level feels nice, but the way he said it hurts her pride as a woman a little. She might need to teach him the right way to give compliments to women from now on. That said, she wondered what was wrong with him, he blushed when seeing her body but he was so calm during the massages.

"You only get 50 points for that compliment, you should use other women as a base to praise someone. Nevertheless, thank you." Venelana said. "Say, Nora-kun. Are you not interested in opening a massage parlor? Your skills are above professional people already, if we collaborate, we could make a very successful business. I could help you get customers from nobles houses so it becomes something very exclusive and you can earn plenty of money. Of course, the details of our collaboration need to be discussed in more detail, but we are aware that I will be offering you a building in the Gremory Clan territory for you to work. What do you say?"

Nora only tilted his head after hearing this proposal.

"I don't mind, let's give it a go. However..." Nora muttered. "Are you nonchalantly proposing child labor?"

Venelana was not sure what kind of expression she had on her face when hearing that, but Nora later explained to her that it was one of the best 'speechless' expressions he had ever seen.

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The conversation was left to be continued at a later date, instead, they kept the lessons going until Venelana had to leave. Nora didn't ask, but he was able to hear Venelana muttering angrily to herself when she left 'that idiot husband, escaping from paperwork again'. She had received a message using communication magic. The boy tactfully decided to not comment, however, it was not because Venelana looked scary, or so he claimed.

Part 2

3rd Person POV

Two figures could be seen flying in the air, or rather, one larger figure was carrying another smaller one. They had silver hair and black hair respectively.

The larger figure had bat-like wings and was wearing a maid outfit while the smaller one was wearing a haori and hakama, a pair of cat ears and tail were growing out of him.

"Grayfia-san, I am enjoying the ride, but you said we were going to train. Y-you mentioned something about learning to fly, but you wouldn't drop me from this height, would you?" Nora muttered.

To prevent any unforeseen situation, he twirled his tails around the other figure's waist. Grayfia, who was being held like that, found it ticklish despite the layers of clothing separating her skin with the tails.

"Fufu, I wouldn't drop you from up here, I decided for a suitable place to train, and I thought that flying would be nice for a change of pace. I can teleport us there if you want though." Grayfia commented.

"Is that so? You are not kidding me? I will still not release my tails though. One must never be caught unprepared, although it is partly because it is enjoyable *cough*" Nora said. "Nonetheless, Grayfia-san, do you think that I can fly with my wings in that state? They are pretty beat up, and they do not respond to me either. From Ajuka-san's explanations, it could be a simple reaction that my body has and it is rejecting them, or vice versa."

In a concerned tone, he questioned a certain matter.

"Nora-kun, no matter what, they will respond to you eventually. Devils are a pretty instinctive race, demonic power is the type of energy to follow our wishes and desires to a certain degree. We just need to seek something with strong emotions." Grayfia explained. "Your case might be a unique one, but do not be discouraged. We will all help you to go through it. Since you have decided to become a devil, we will do our best so you can be a splendid one.

"...A devil huh." Nora muttered. "Grayfia-san, I recall that devils are supposed to do devil jobs. Do you have to do that too?"

Talking longer than usual to answer, Grayfia had even lowered her flying speed.

"You could say it is a way to raise your status, and it is mainly done by the younger generation and reincarnated devils nowadays. However, some older devils practice it. Devils have long lives and they get bored so sometimes doing these jobs entertain them." Grayfia replied. "I have no interest in fulfilling requests from strangers since I have a busy schedule every day. Even though, I did have my share of jobs when I was a teenager."

"What a shame. I wanted to have the opportunity to summon the mighty maid to do whatever I wanted." Nora muttered in a disappointed tone.

"Do you want to? I can let you have my magic summoning circles, but I will have you pay me the full price for anything you ask." Grayfia offered.

It was a simple offer born out of her weakness for Nora.

"W-wait a m-moment, stop, slow down a bit." Nora spoke in a flustered tone. "Are you for real? I was joking, you know?"

"I see, so you don't want to." Grayfia replied in a downcast tone.

"No! Gimme!" Nora instantly said.

Giggling at that, Grayfia thought he was rather honest with his desires. Thinking of paying him back for all the teasing she has received, she spoke.

"No, you did not seem very interested so you are just saying that now because you feel bad." Grayfia muttered. "Let's act like this conversation never happened."

Using a sulky tone, Grayfia did not need to be a Senjutsu user to feel that Nora was panicking.

"Ok, let's talk this over. Let's not be rash, alright?" Nora pleaded.

"Hmmm." Grayfia snorted.

Nora had the bad luck of not being able to see the smiled hanging on Grayfia's lip due to their position.

"You are playing with me... right?" Nora suddenly spoke in a composed tone.

The silver-haired woman had a bad feeling about what was to come, she had forgotten that he could tell her emotions to a certain extent with Senjutsu.

"So you are not going to even deny it huh." Nora muttered. "It must be nice, to bully a child huh."

His words touched a nerve in Grayfia, but before she could say anything-

"But, I am glad you are not angry or anything." Nora said. "Let's not apologize and make this awkward. However, I will still have what you offered."

Grayfia only smiled wryly, but she did not deny his words.

"Then, do have a suitable pay prepared, a devil of my caliber is hard to please during payment." Grayfia replied.

It was not planned but a moment later, both started to laugh.

They did not count the time they spend doing it, but Grayfia had covered quite some distance by flying when they finally calmed down.

"Say there, are you troubled because of your job? Is it hard?" Nora suddenly inquired.

"You want to know about my work? Why?" Grayfia asked in surprise.

"There is not much I know about you, even though you have always helped me. I thought that I should hear you out because that is what friends do... Urgh, did I get ahead of myself here?" Nora questioned in a concerned tone.

Grayfia was more surprised than anything. She did not get to hear that question before. She sometimes had to arrive at her house at late hours, and it was always empty. No one to receive her, or wait for her. Even when she had free days to have fun, she hardly spent them in her house. Preferring to hang out with her best friend Serafall, or spending some time with Venelana and Rias.

"I recall that you mentioned it a while ago, how you stopped doing devils job because you are busy." Nora turned his head back. "If Sirzechs-san is giving you too much to work, I can talk to him. I am sure I can convince Venelana-san to make him hire more people so you can have more free time, as for my chat with him, I can pay him with the pictures Shirone-chan took during Christmas, I am sure that as long as they are about his little sister, he will comply."

His concerned glance contained pure worry, although she was not sure how to react given the methods he mentioned.

"It is ok, my workload is manageable, although thank you for the offer." Grayfia patted the boy. "If he could stop escaping in the middle of work though..."

Shaking her head, Grayfia stealthy kept patting Nora, even taking care of rubbing his cat ears.

"Hmmm, you still need a rest." Nora pretended to not feel her hands. "Then, talk to me about your work, I still want to know about Grayfia-san."

The silver-haired woman decided to amuse the boy despite believing that it was going to be a boring talk.

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"Do all maids do so many great things or Grayfia-san is unique among maids?" Nora asked in an impressed tone. "You said that you had to track down an escapee from prison, and you chased him all over the city while making sure that no one found out about it? I might've underestimated what a maid is really about."

His gaze full of admiration was somewhat burdening and embarrassing. Despite her worries, Nora listened to her every word and did not interrupt, which made her somewhat happy. Parts of the story had made Rias sleepy when she told her tale to the girl so she was afraid that the boy would act the same way and be disappointed.

One moment though, his words-

"Nora-kun, I think you are having a huge misunderstanding. Maids are not usually tasked with jobs of that kind." Grayfia tried to explain.

They had arrived at their training location, a small flying island located in the territory of the Gremory Clan.

"As expected, I am still not aware of the full potential of maids." Nora muttered to himself while ignoring Grayfia.

The silver-haired woman decided to explain to him later to tone down his delusions, even if she forgets to do so, it probably won't change anything.

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Like she had seen the future, she actually forgot to correct the boy's misunderstanding, which would cause more chaos in the future, but it will be only then that Grayfia will look back and regret it.

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"Grayfia-san, you lied to me. I thought we were friends." Nora muttered in a sad tone.

"This is the best kind of training, I was taught this way too so you can certainly do the same." Grayfia replied.

They were both standing at the edge of the flying island.

"What kind of logic is that? Cats can't fly, you know?" Nora retorted.

"You are not a cat though. You are a Nekomata, and a devil as well." Grayfia shot down his nonsense. "I will help you get your wings out so stay still, hey, where are you putting your hands?"

Nora had clung onto Grayfia and he did not let her go no matter what she said.

"Grayfia-san, you want me to say those words aloud? Ecchi." Nora teased.

"Stop twisting my words and release me, we came here to train. If you do it now, I will not reproach you for those hands of yours."

Reluctantly, the boy released the woman.

"Grayfia-san is unexpectedly innocent, I only held your waist." Nora shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, I overstepped my boundaries again, didn't I? You must be put off by the way I act."

Looking down, the boy sighed.

"That is not true, I am glad that you are more open with me now. I like our current relationship, you know? That said, please don't tease me too much." Grayfia lifted the boy's chin and gently spoke. "Also, what do you mean with 'unexpectedly'? I am a pure maiden."

"S-sorry." Nora shyly muttered and lowered his head again. "Dangerous, is she not aware of her charms? She can be quite forward if she tries. Damn you, youthful body. Hormones are making it hard to keep my composture lately."

Whispering the last part, the boy covered his face with his hands.

Grayfia found enjoyable the shy appearance of the boy who always teased people, it was a rare event so she made sure to watch it from the beginning to the end.

"Nora-kun, don't you think I forgot about the training." Grayfia spoke with a smile hanging on her lips.

*Tsk*

Even while blushing, Nora clicked his tongue, but the silver-haired woman ignored that.

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"Usually, devils can spread their wings on their own, but your case is unique so I will help you do so." Grayfia explained.

Walking behind him and extending her left hand, a magic circle appeared on Nora's back. The result from that could be seen when a pair of unusual wings sprout out from the boy.

They did not have the bat-like characteristics of normal devil wings, but they rather looked like transparent crystals growing and forming a pair of wings on his back. The size of each wing was over two meters, and Grayfia concluded that it had to do with the fact that they used to belong to an adult.

Turning around, Nora looked at Grayfia.

"Huh? Is there something wrong?" Nora asked after the silver-haired woman remained silent for a while.

She couldn't deny that she stared at those wings for a longer time than necessary. They were flashy, but more than anything Grayfia inwardly praised their beauty. She didn't know if Lucifer had aimed at such a delicate design or it was a completely random result during the creation of the original Murmur, but these pair of wings could be considered a work of art.

"No, it is nothing." Grayfia shook her head. "You can't move them yet?"

"Nope, they are just there. I can not move them, or even restore them into a perfect state." Nora replied in disappointment.

Inwardly sighing, Grayfia found a shame that despite their beauty, they were in a pretty beat-up state. Over half of the right-wing was missing, and covered in cracks, and the left-wing also had some damages, a couple of holes could be seen in the middle of it. The original Murmur must've been in a pretty difficult battle before dying, given the damage her wings sustained. That said, Nora was the new owner, and he was told by the Great King that the wings had similar traits as the one from devils like the Phenex Clan, being able to be regenerated by supplying demonic power. However, it seemed that the boy couldn't do so for now.

"Maybe they need some sort of stimulus to trigger a reaction." Grayfia muttered in a hushed voice.

Before Nora was able to run away after being able to hear her, she caught him and walked to the edge of the island.

"We can talk about this! What do you want in exchange? I could make sweets for you one full day, imagine it, your personal confectioner!" Nora offered after trying to escape but failing to do so. "I will add one condition more, you can let my ears and tails all day as well. Isn't that enough for you?"

His words were enough to make the silver-haired woman hesitate. She loved his sweets because they had a nostalgic flavor, a similar taste flavor from someone she had not seen in years. She would like to deny that the right to let him for such a large window of time was not part of her hesitation, but it was not possible.

"I am sorry Nora-kun, I can't." Grayfia tearfully said.

"Wait, why are you crying? Are you being that torn about it? How much do you love sweets? Why if you love them so much don't you let me go?" Nora spoke.

The silver-haired woman couldn't tell him that the sweets were only about 50%, no, 40% of the reason. Those sinful ears and tails, why did Nora insist in keeping them so soft and pettable?

"Sorry." Grayfia apologized and dropped Nora off the island.

"Why is that everyone likes to use this methooooooood?" Nora muttered as he fell.

Waiting for some time, the silver-haired woman wanted to create a false sense of crisis for his survival instincts to kick in. However-

"You are cruel, no sweets for you next time." Nora sulkily said.

Grayfia was sad over his words, but she smiled, the boy had been able to... Wait.

"You are not flying, are you?" Grayfia inquired with her head tilted.

He was just there, and on a closer look, his feet seemed to be touching something.

"Nora-kun has a secret or two, you can never know what kind of mysterious and wondrous technique I might've mastered. They do say that mysterious men are popular with women, so what do you think? Charmed?" Nora asked as he winked.

Using a merry tone, his words were nonsensical like most of the time.

*Clap clap*

Giving the boy applause, Grayfia wryly smiled.

"Unfortunately, if you say those words, it stops being so mysterious. Sorry, I did not fall for you." Grayfia retorted in a light tone.

"Awww, too bad then. I will have to work harder if I want to win your heart." Nora faked disappointment.

"Fufu, I am not an easy target so you better do your best, you hear me? If you do, I might fall completely." Grayfia jokingly advised.

After those words, they both burst into a laugh.

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It was a few hours later that Nora and Grayfia finished training. The silver-haired woman was very strict and made Nora go through the fall again, without using his technique to avoid the fall. The boy resigned to fate but Grayfia did not leave it only to his instincts to save himself, but she rather accompanied him in the fall. There was little advance if you looked at the whole picture, but taking into account that they did not respond at all, being able to reduce his falling speed was considered a great victory in the boy's eyes.

Done with training, Grayfia offered to take him on a stroll around the Underworld's capital to kill some time and relax after the training regimen.

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"How is it? It is a nice place, isn't it?" Grayfia asked.

The pair were standing in one of the Central Plaza's corners of the city and watching over the people coming and going through it.

"Yeah, I can see that." Nora absentmindedly commented.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Grayfia found his answer rather strange, with one look at the boy, she understood what happened. He was staring at a certain statue erected near them.

"Curious about it?" Grayfia inquired in a light-hearted tone.

The boy who was staring at the statue just nodded in response.

"There are statues about them erected in every corner of the plaza, one for every group. Many were against it, but those who wanted them were more so they were built at the end." Grayfia explained with a smile on her face.

In Nora's line of sight, the form of the statue called his attention for several reasons. Two figures were depicted on it. One was a man slightly taller than Grayfia standing with his back almost glued to the other figure, having very strange garments, with a long coat covering his body and a pair of chains surrounding him from his shoulders to his waist then to his back and forming an X, on his face, an unusual mask was there to hide his features so you couldn't guess his appearance under it. The other figure was a woman with long hair, wearing a slightly revealing dress that showed her tights and long boots that looked to be the ones used for fighting, the figure had a mask covering the face as well except for the mouth.

"You can find different ones at the other corners of the plaza, they each depict different people. These two are called The Songstress and The Reaper." Grayfia said with a fond smile.

Noticing her good mood, Nora let her indulge in it a bit longer before asking.

"He doesn't look like a reaper though. Also, why a reaper... Wouldn't the Songstress and her Knight sound better?" Nora questioned in a curious tone.

"He was rather... vicious when fighting so people did not consider him a Knight who protected the Songstress, but rather the Reaper who harvested her enemies' souls." Grayfia smiled wryly. "He disliked to be called a knight, thus people called him like that. After all, he referred to himself as Nameless, or rather, Nanashi. He never left his name, the same as that woman."

Nora stared at that statue for while longer before speaking.

"Were they your acquaintances? You speak as you met them in person before." Nora muttered.

"Hmm, they were. We had a slightly interesting relationship for a while, although I can only say that much." Grayfia put a finger on her lips as she winked playfully.

Nora smiled wryly at her playful actions. The silver-haired woman's expression looked brighter than usual now that the topic was about those people. He was extremely curious, but he still held back, for now, he thought that it was ok to leave it at that on this occasion since he could learn more about it later.

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They both continued to stroll around the city, taking a look at everything it had to offer.

"This street is a place where you can find clothing at good prices and they are made with great quality. That said, not everyone can afford it since they are not that cheap. Many of these stores are tasked to make clothing for Rating Games competitors so they are not the type to cut corners in quality, although there is a limit to what they can do given the absurd level of some individuals." Grayfia commented while guiding Nora.

"It looks slightly deserted though." Nora retorted. "Hmmm, if Grayfia-san recommends it... alright. Let's go on a shopping spree."

Before Grayfia finished registering Nora's words, the boy had entered the closest store. Left alone, the silver-haired woman blinked in a dumbfounded manner. This was not what she was planning when she brought him here, Grayfia only wanted to show him around.

"Hey! What are you doing? I can't help the fact that everyone else is here, but since Grayfia-san is present, I can buy you something after you try it out." Nora said.

With just his head out of the store, Nora called out. Grayfia was even more dumbfounded but gave up. The boy was usually doing things at his own pace so trying to stop him will only make him do it out of everyone's sight. The silver-haired woman thought that with her presence, he probably will choose a normal outfit, Shuri was not present so the disaster that happened at Urakyoto won't happen again.

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Grayfia would like to smack her 30 minutes-ago self, what was this?

"As expected of someone with such an outstanding appearance, they look good no matter what you dress them with. Grayfia-san, could try this sweater with this now?" Nora muttered.

The boy who handed her only one black sweater and a white short skirt, and Grayfia who had been trying whatever he wanted thought that it was time to put a stop to this.

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"Nora-kun, I think this is enough, you had your fun for now, and perhaps is time to go back." Grayfia suggested.

The boy who had a bright smile until now froze in place and his face turned into an apologetic smile.

"Haha, I see. Sorry about that, I think I went too far again huh. Of course, I did." Nora awkwardly scratched his cheek. "I have almost finished picking up things for everyone else, so if you could give me a minute to look for what I lack, I would be thankful. Eh, you can change back while I do it, I promise I won't take more of your time."

His words were different from what he would usually mutter, somehow they were said in a hurry and he avoided looking her in the eye. Not only that, he once again muttered something that Grayfia could not hear and ignore so before he turned around, she grabbed his shoulder. The boy jolted and did not turn his head back.

"Nora-kun, you must never say that again, I would never mind if you use my time, I wouldn't mind it so you shouldn't either. About going too far, it was never my intention to make you feel like that, although I would like it if you restrained yourself a tiny bit, I saw what you brought there, a bunny outfit is not something a boy your age should hand to a woman of my age. I am over 421- *cough* I am 21, yes, 21, so that makes my age practically double as you. I do not mind trying that, and please keep this a secret from Shuri, but I do like cosplaying so I am not going to get easily flustered. However, do keep in mind the word moderation, not everyone will do as you wish to." Grayfia gently muttered.

Despite that, the boy did not turn back. The silver-haired woman wondered if there was something else bothering him.

"Don't worry, I will accompany you as much as you like so do not be discouraged. It makes me happy that you take your time to buy gifts for everyone, I am sure that Rias will be delighted, the same could be said from her friend, and even the Nekomata sisters." Grayfia reassured. "Is it still difficult to look at me?"

Shyly turning his head, Nora quickly glanced at Grayfia before turning his head away.

"N-No, I am avoiding looking at you because the dress you had fell to the floor. I-In other words, you are showing your lingerie-clad self." Nora muttered.

Grayfia blinked her eyes and froze in place, she had been feeling a slight breeze, so that was the reason. To confirm the obvious, she looked down, and there it was, one of her favorites undergarments, fully black with laces and embroidered flowers on the borders, and it was not possible to ignore the thinness of the cloth.

"I knew that maids were the strongest, but I had been naive." Nora muttered in a low tone of voice. "They are even more amazing, and in so many different levels."

Grayfia thanked the Maou that the changing room for women and men were on different floors, pleaded to the Maou to make the boy stop saying incomprehensible things.

Without saying a word, Grayfia released Nora and obediently closed changing room's door, although, in an instant, she opened it again and extended her hand to grab Nora and pulled him inside.

"Grayfia-san!? These kinds of things need a proper order, at least take me to date first, I won't ask you to hold back that much, at least a coffee! Buy me at least a coffee before you unleash your inner desires- Ouch!" Nora started to speak nonsense but the silver-haired woman put a stop to that. "I am against violence-mugu!"

The boy was still trying to utter more gibberish so she unconsciously sealed his mouth and movements with her body.

"If you promise to stay quiet, I will do whatever cosplay you want, but you must remain silent until I tell you." Grayfia whispered.

Nora's movements came to a stop.

Sighing in relief, Grayfia hid both of their presences with a spell and kept absolute silence.

"How strange, I thought I saw Grayfia-sama just now."

"Me too, but I guess we were mistaken. It would've been nice if we could hang out in our free time, during work she is too strict, but when she is not working she becomes easier to talk to."

"It is a shame, but we can't just stay here. I heard about a discount on a store a few blocks ahead, we should hurry or we won't get anything good."

A pair of voices that couldn't be more familiar to Grayfia had a conversation and left, with that, the silver-haired woman could finally relax.

It would've been a disaster if they saw her in her compromising position and they were to gossip about it. If Shuri found out about it, the silver-haired woman wouldn't be able to work peacefully anymore.

"They are finally gone." Grayfia wiped the sweat on her forehead head with one hand.

"If they are gone, I think you can release me unless you really plan to unleash your inner desires. In that case, please be gentle." Nora commented.

Sweating coldly, she finally noticed what kind of even more compromising position she was in.

With their skins almost glued together, she had used one leg to keep his lower body in place while another hand kept the upper body glued to her. His head was just below her breast while he faced her way, and when he spotted it was kind of ticklish.

Ignoring his words, she silently released him. On another of those rare occasions, the boy avoided looking into her eyes, and he looked as red as he could be.

"Please forget what happened." Grayfia muttered with a little shame in her voice.

Despite being a kid, she did that kind of thing to someone else. A boy, who had the same age as the girl whom she considers a little sister, an acquaintance no less. She who wanted to be of help to him did not under any circumstances planned this.

"I will treasure this memory for the rest of my life, even if I die and get reincarnated ag- I mean, even I get reincarnated." Nora muttered in a tone full of conviction.

Grayfia was not sure if she should even consider wiping this memory off his head, but she decided against it. She would never harm him, Grayfia had decided that on that day. A good smack on the head wouldn't count as harming him, but correcting his behavior, or so she had been told before.

She furrowed her eyebrows at his words, she could've sworn that he was going to say something else, but he corrected himself.

"Let's just go home, please." Grayfia pleaded in a tired tone.

Her weariness is mainly a mental one, whenever she hangs up with Nora, she gets tired but for some reason, it did not bother her. It was a little shameful of her, but his way of acting was almost like someone of her age, and it made it easier to talk.

"Alright, I will go get what I am missing while you change back. Let's go to eat some ice cream before going back to the castle." Nora muttered in a gentle tone of voice before leaving the changing room.

Alone, she looked at the clothes he had brought her before chaos happened.

"Fufu, he has good taste. Whoever marries him in the future will be a lucky girl, he is quite considerate and he does not get tired while shopping. That said, I can only imagine that many women will be after him so that lucky someone will have headaches." Grayfia muttered as she picked up the outfit.

Putting over herself, she turned and looked at herself in the mirror.

"He will take a while, trying this out wouldn't hurt, would it?" Grayfia said as she wore the outfit. "It is still a mystery how he knows my exact size though".

Part 3

Grayfia's POV

"You didn't have to buy me all that, I am not at the same level as my employers, but I have amassed quite a bit of money." Grayfia muttered with a wry smile.

The pair had left the store some time ago and it was only after they had brought the ice creams that Nora handed her several bags of clothes, everything he made her try out.

"Consider it as the payment for the troubles I caused you today." Nora commented.

While they both sat together in a children's park, the pair were taking it easy as they enjoyed the treat.

"Nora..." Grayfia thought that he want to say that he was bothering her again but-

"I had fun, I really did. That is why; I will use that thing you said about doing anything I asked." Nora said in a serious tone.

His words had stopped Grayfia from speaking further, and she waited for what he was going to say. Nonetheless, she wanted to retort to the fact that she had only offered to cosplay in the outfit of his choice, like a maid outfit, or a maid outfit. The silver-haired woman who wore one for work every day wouldn't feel embarrassed by something like that.

"I want to hang out again if you have free time. I feel bad using your free time like that, but hanging out with you is something I enjoyed." Nora muttered with a smile.

The silver-haired woman could only smile wryly, she couldn't just go and say that she never said something about doing anything he asked now, could she?

"Sure, anytime." Grayfia replied in a happy tone.

"One day, I hope we can stand as equals, at that time, I hope you can grant another selfish wish of mine." Nora spoke in a low tone.

Curious about it, Grayfia patiently waited for him to talk. However, she noticed that he was blushing slightly. He wouldn't declare to her now, would he? Wasn't he interested in Yasaka? Could it be because of what happened earlier that he got mixed signals? He was entering a stage in his growth where those kinds of feelings are quite spontaneous so it wouldn't be strange if he fell for her after such chaotic events. She felt apologetic, but she had to turn him down. It would make things awkward if he confessed so she had to-

"Please, at that time, be my friend." Nora muttered.

"...huh?" Grayfia unconsciously uttered.

Thinking that perhaps she did not register the words properly the first time, Grayfia went back to that memory in her head and reproduced it a couple of times, but the result was always the same.

"Really, how embarrassing. How can anime characters say phrases like those in a straightforward manner? Eh, Grayfia-san? What happened? Your face is all red." Nora inquired with his head tilted.

The silver-haired woman thanked the Maou for not speaking before him, if she had done it, it would've been embarrassing, but only to her. When she was with Nora her pace always got messed up as she imagined.

"*Sigh* Nothing, never mind." Grayfia replied. "Nora-kun, aren't we friends already? I am hurt; I thought you knew that already."

Grayfia playfully complained.

"It is not like that, we are, but we are not." Nora muttered. "I want you to treat me as a friend and get along with me for another reason other than guilt. I don't think you have anything to blame yourself for, but I feel somewhat complicated when I think about how you are so kind to me because of that."

Not his usual nonchalant self, Nora looked serious. His words left Grayfia tongue-tied.

"I know about it, and it has been a while since I learned about it as well. I couldn't help but wonder why someone as amazing as you would tolerate so many things I do or say. I can't deny that it might be partly due to your kind disposition, and the fact that you feel thankful for helping Rias-chan back then might have something to do as well. Nevertheless, Grayfia-san, you... feel guilty for giving Kaa-san that information before she disappeared, right?"

Frozen in place, Grayfia began to sweat coldly.

"Nora-kun, you, no, since when...? I-I..." Grayfia couldn't find any words to say

"I know about it since the beginning, but I was waiting for Grayfia-san to tell me. However, you never told me." Nora's eyes did not look friendly anymore. "Why? I had the right to know about it, you caused everything I went through. Because of you, I was taken to that hellish place and had my body being cut open over and over, do you have any idea how many times I was taken to an operation table to get experimented on by that maniac? You probably do, and you think that you can compensate it by acting kindly, right?"

"No, it is not an act, I like Nora-" Grayfia tried to speak but closed her mouth shut.

"Shut up, why would you like me? Are you trying to Goodwin? You only care about easing that guilt, you don't care about me." Nora muttered coldly.

At some point, the vibrant people going left and right around the park were no more, the sky was darkening and it seemed that only Nora and she were around the vicinity.

"That is not true, I-I am your friend, I will lend you a hand whenever you ask me to, even... even if I have to abandon my work. Isn't that enough?" Grayfia raised her voice she said that.

Her thoughts were getting messy and she noticed that her words were not what she should've said.

Snorting at that, Nora gave her a cold look.

"See? You only care about your self-satisfaction, to prove that you are not a bad person. This is not about me, but about you." Nora sneered.

His figure was starting to look blurry and dark, was it due to the lack of any source of light around them, or maybe it was because she was feeling dizzy.

"No, no, no! It is not like that, you are wrong, you are wrong." Grayfia stood up and denied everything in a sad tone of voice.

However, Nora did not seem to hear her as he looked at her coldly and indifferently.

Why? Why? Why?

"Grayfia-san!"

A familiar voice called out to her when everything around her started to look bleak.

Different from the cold voice from Nora in from of her, she could feel the concern it carried for her.

"Wake up, Grayfia-san! If you don't wake up, I will take another look at that wonderful underwear again, and not a simple peek, but a full examination. *Sigh* Hey, I am worried here, please wake up sleepy head!"

It finally came to her, this was a dream. When she wakes up, she will thank him for waking her from this nightmare, and she wakes up fast, she was not sure if he was joking or not.

...

...

...

Opening her eyelids, Grayfia found herself lying down. The first thing she noticed was the darkened sky, and that put her on guard, she wondered if she was still in the dream but she relaxed when she saw Nora's concerned face. However, it never hurts to make sure of something.

"...Are we friends?" Grayfia muttered in a low tone of voice.

Nora blinked in response but he later gave her a uselessly refreshing smile.

"Always." Nora said.

Inwardly sighing, Grayfia completely relaxed, finally noticing that she was lying on Nora's lap. The boy was gently combing her hair, and for the looks of it, he was using Ki. That would explain why she suddenly felt at ease.

"You looked uncomfortable so I woke you up". Nora explained.

Grayfia was thankful for his actions, but she couldn't help but ask.

"Did you take a peek at my undergarments?" Grayfia inquired with mock-anger.

"W-What are you talking about? Nora-kun is a good kid, he would never do, I mean, even consider saying something so outrageous." Nora nervously replied.

Covering her mouth, Grayfia giggled at that.

"Too bad, you lost your chance to 'examine' me now that I am awake." Grayfia playfully said.

"Glad you are having fun, at least you look good enough to joke around." Nora shrugged his shoulders but did not deny her words. "You fell asleep after finishing your ice cream, but a while back you started to toss around in your sleep. Are you ok?"

Closing her eyes because she found the movements of his hands ticklish, Grayfia decided to briefly talk about it.

"I had a bad dream, a terrible dream, I guess that is what bothered me. I am ok now, thanks to you." Grayfia raised her right hand and lightly ruffled Nora's hair. "Nora-kun... if I had a secret, and I did not tell you about it because I was afraid of your reaction, would you be angry after you learned about it? Especially if it were something I felt guilty about it."

"That came out of the blue, you are keeping something secret from me? Ahhhhh." Nora gasped in realization. "Could it be about what happened today? I had my suspicions but I did not expect Grayfia-san to have such a fervent a feelings for me- Ouch!"

Grayfia flicked his forehead before he said any more nonsensical stuff, although she was half-amused by his words. He surely goes at his own pace.

"*Sigh* Grayfia-san is such a bully." Nora complained. "I don't the details so I can't reply with full security. However, I know that Grayfia-san is kind and gentle, and you are will probably blame yourself for something that you should not. Nonetheless, I believe that you are looking after me and your intentions are good."

Without a hint of hesitation, the boy said that.

"You only say that because you don't know what I am hiding." Grayfia turned her head to one side.

Using his body to basically cover her face, she did not want to be stared at after saying that.

"Grayfia-san, that is one dangerous position to take. I might be a child, but I am still a male." Nora tapped her cheek. "What is that thing you are afraid of?"

"I won't say." Grayfia said.

The silver-haired woman heard a long sigh coming from Nora, and the boy remained silent before talking again.

"I see." Nora muttered in a low voice. "I can't force you to talk, but I will tell you this. Kaa-san decided to do that on her own. Even if you feel like you caused that, you have no reason to blame yourself."

Using a gentle voice, Nora calmly spoke. It made Grayfia freeze in place again, but she bit her lips to regain her bearings. In the dream, she remained silent, but she wouldn't do that this time. Even if she was scared of the outcome, she must face this.

"Nora-kun, I-" Grayfia turned her head and tried to talk to Nora but signaled her to stop.

Remembering what happened in the dream, she did as he gestured her to.

"I told you, it was her choice." Nora stared straight into her eyes. "You can't blame yourself, you know? I don't think you are responsible for her actions so it is not something you should mind."

"Nora-kun, I was the one who gave her the information about that man. It was me who caused you to go and look for her, and it was because of that... You got caught and got experimented on. I caused that!" Grayfia lamented.

"I went to look for Kaa-san against Yasaka-san's wishes; it had nothing to do with you. It was not something nice to get caught and being put through that, but it wasn't like everything was something bad, you know? I managed to meet those girls and give them a place that I hope they can call home." Nora spoke.

Grayfia originally thought that he would blame her or accuse her, but he just smiled at her. She couldn't understand why, he had all the right to do so but he chose not to.

"You look surprised." Nora smiled wryly. "Did you really expect me to point a finger at you and blame you for my misfortunes?"

Grayfia had a feeling that he would get angry if she gave a positive reply.

"The one who did the experiments was Naberius, he is the one who deserves my anger, and Kaa-san's disciple was the one who made her leave so he is the target of my hatred, although Kaa-san is also guilty of being foolish. Not the silly maid who tries to awkwardly do her best to help me." Nora muttered. "Keep this in mind, I hold no grudge against you, and we are friends so from now on, if you wish to lend me a hand, do it because we are friends, not because of some self-imposed obligation. I might be weak, and my strength may seem worthless in your eyes, but I will do my best to help you no matter what."

The silver-haired woman didn't know what to say, this was totally different from what she always imagined would happen. She planned to confess about her actions when she had found Saya as atonement, but this child already knew, and from the looks of it, he was aware of it for quite some time. Her expectations were getting yelled at and being told that he hated her and she even pictured getting hit, her mind had always considered that to be the course of actions he would take.

"How troubling, your face looks like you are thinking nonsense. How about we eat some ice cream to fix your mood?" Nora muttered.

It was an interesting offer but-

"I am not a child you cannot fix my mood that easily." Grayfia replied in a sour mood.

Scratching his head, Nora had an awkward smile on his face.

"You are right, Grayfia-san is a young woman with a glamorous charm and adult tastes. If you allow me, my lady, I would like to invite you to drink a glass of juice." Nora winked playfully and spoke straightforwardly.

Grayfia could not help but giggle at his attempt to act like a regular guy flirting with her.

"I usually turn down such attempts to flirt with me but…" Grayfia reluctantly rose from his lap. "I feel a bit thirsty; I want a grape juice if you don't mind."

"Oh my, I am honored that you considered my offer." Nora stood up and he tidied up his clothes. "Sure, my treat."

That said, they both left the park. It was difficult to notice, but they were walking with lighter steps than before like a weight was taken from their shoulders.

Part 4

Rias's POV

She had been busy the whole day, and Nora also had different things to take care of so they could not spend much time together, but now Rias could play with Nora.

Grayfia had brought Nora to the Gremory castle quite late, but he would still spend the night with them so she had quickly a room arranged for him. She did not forget to take some of her stuff so they could play; among those were her chessboard, and favorite books, mangas, and anime. She hoped to talk a lot with him.

…

…

…

"I won this time so that makes it a tie." Rias muttered in a proud tone.

As soon as he arrived, she invited the boy to a match of chess and he accepted. It made her happy when he mentioned that he owned her one game, she did not think he would remember. In the first match, she was beaten but she managed to turn things around in the second match.

"You have gotten much better at chess; soon I won't be your match." Nora spoke with a wry smile.

She did not like the way he spoke, she hoped to keep playing in the future, and Sona and he were the people she imagined herself playing against.

"Then when I get better and you no longer win, I will keep playing with you until your skills get better." Rias pouted.

Opening his eyes wide, Nora did not side anything until he started to laugh.

"Haha, I guess that at that time I will have to rely on you. At that time I might have to call you Sensei." The boy shook his head while still laughing.

Rias thought that it wouldn't be bad to get called as such.

"How did it go? Okaa-sama was teaching you a lot of things, right?" Rias asked.

They were both putting the pieces back in place so she decided to engage in some idle chatting. She was also curious about it. She heard that he was going to enter the devil world, and for that reason, he was being instructed by her mother. A noble's way of life might be too much for some people so she wanted to give him a piece of advice as his sempai as a noble.

"No comment." Nora spoke in a dry tone.

Rias sweated coldly, her mother had gone overboard again.

"Do you dislike devils?" Rias asked.

She usually would question such a thing, but she was there at the time he spoke with the Great King, and she was not a fool. The boy was happy to live a simple life as a youkai and now he had to suddenly become a noble? It was obvious that he was forced to do so. If you add the harsh noble lessons, it would be strange for him to find them dislikable.

"Pfft, where did that come from?" Nora questioned back.

Doing his best to hold back his laughter, he spoke to Rias, and it made her mad, she was worried about him after all.

"Ah, don't put that face. I get it, I get." The boy raised his hands in defeat. "You think I would dislike you? Dislike Sona-chan? Not a chance. It is certainly different than my usual lifestyle, there are many things to learn and it can be tiresome. However, I decided to do this. I will follow through it now that I decided to do so."

In a composed tone, he stared straight into her eyes and said that. Smiling, he patted her head.

"Thanks for worrying about me." Nora spoke. "Now then, what do you want to do? I think it is a little late to play another match."

Rias thought he was a little cruel for stopping patting her head so quickly, but she was at least glad that he did not have bitter feelings about her kin. Although she did not dare to touch the topic about the year he disappeared because it will be bad if he remembers those times.

Thinking for a moment, she went to look for one of the books from the pile she had arranged in Nora's room. Pulling one from the pile, she handed one to him.

"Can you read it to me?" Rias asked.

"You are being spoiled huh, I guess I got no choice, what do we have here… eh? No no no, from all the books she could've chosen, why did she take this one? Is this harassment?" Nora muttered in a low tone.

Rias wondered what nonsense he was muttering now, he wouldn't back down and tell her he won't read anything now, would he?

It was when she put on a sad expression that Nora noticed her and he sighed helplessly.

"Alright, I will do it, don't use those watery eyes on me. If your Onii-sama were to enter that door and saw us, he would go nightmare mode on me, I don't want him to misunderstand I was bullying you." Nora took the book and sighed.

Signaling Rias to take a spot on the bed, he went and grabbed one pillow before he made himself comfortable. Quickly following his lead, Rias went and took another pillow and lay beside him to hear the tale.

"…This in my room though, ah, never mind." Nora retorted. "A treasure hunting adventure, written by Kuroneko."

It was many years ago that Rias found herself reading this book for the first time, she somehow got hooked on it despite the simple title.

"Chapter one, A journey that starts with a treasure map… falling on top of your head." Nora continued reading, but a slight blush covered his face.

The crimson-haired girl was curious why Nora was acting like that, but she decided to ask when he finished reading. She hardly got the chance to be with this childhood friend of hers, and while she had managed to ask Sona to read books for her, the girl hardly did it nowadays. It had something to do with the fact that they bet in one game of the other's party choice to decide who will read a book to the other. That cheeky Sona has gotten better at chess lately so she always chooses chess, making Rias read her a book when she beats her. Rias felt a little irritated at that.

"Ouch, please have mercy, seriously. I will even mimic everyone's voices, but the tail, please go easy on the tail." Nora pleaded.

Reacting to the slightly pitiful voice, Rias found herself tilting her head at the boy's words, but she soon noticed the soft feeling on her hand, a hand that she was tightening into a fist… with Nora's tail inside.

She felt bad so she immediately released the tail.

"Sorry, I was distracted for a moment." Rias apologized.

Feeling guilty, she received the resentful glare from the boy who was hugging his tail and patting it gently.

"You know, youkais, in general, have sensitive parts. You can't just go aiming at those places, ok? It requires arduous training to get rid of such a weakness… although I have no idea how to do so. I wonder, how do I make you peerless?" Nora muttered with a pondering look while staring at his tail.

Feeling a little worried about his warnings at the beginning, Rias thought that he would be angry, but since he started speaking nonsense again she could tell that he was not that angry. No, maybe he will be wary of her since she knows his weakness? Then-

"Don't worry, I will tell you all about my sensitive parts (weaknesses)" Rias said in a cheery tone.

*COUGH* *COUGH*

After she said that, Nora started choking and coughing nonstop with reddened cheeks. Concerned, Rias helped him to calm down.

"Do you *cough* have any* cough* *cough* idea what you *cough* just said?" Nora asked while coughing.

He used an unusually serious tone so Rias who was not sure what he meant got curious.

"No, did I say something wrong? Did I say something strange? Tell me." Rias inquired.

In response, Nora covered his face with both hands.

"Please ask your dear mother about it, and why you cannot say that. Especially, you must not say this to any random guy… maybe someone you like, no no, don't give her any strange knowledge. Let her mother deal with this." Nora muttered before lowering his hands. "Now then, now that the topic has been dealt with, I will continue reading."

As he said, Nora did not mention anything else about the topic. Rias was rather curious so she inwardly vowed to ask her mother. Perhaps she would even answer her questions about her weaknesses, and then she will inform Nora so they can be both on equal ground.

Such a decision will bring a lot of headaches to Venelana and Nora, but Rias did not consider it at this point in time. It will be until much later that both of them will talk to her about it, and in the next years she will understand how reckless she was at vowing that.

…

…

…

"Guh!" Rias groaned.

Even though she was not thrown down harshly, the action was still abrupt and it took by surprise.

"Nora-chan, you bully…" Rias complained.

"Me? A bully? Who was the one who proposed to have a mock battle? Not to mention, as soon as the battle started, you flew high in the sky. You know I can't fly yet!" Nora retorted.

Standing beside her, he offered a hand to help her stand up. She took his hand but Rias still puffed her cheeks in a pout.

"You still reached me easily; you came jumping in the air, which is unfair." Rias said. "Even though I just wanted to show you the fruits of my training…"

In a downcast tone, Rias kicked a pebble away.

They had gone to a spacious area used sometimes for practice and training, close to the Gremory's Castle.

"You are doing just fine, my arrows were all destroyed thanks to your Power of Destruction, my Kashas and Youjutsu spells were the same. If you also had beaten me in my physical prowess I would cry. Even now, I am feeling a bit complicated. I am proud that my dear friend got stronger, but I am disappointed at my firepower in spells. If I charge my techniques, it might be different, but I have been focusing too much on body training and have neglected to train in spell casting." Nora spoke.

Gently patting her head, he shared his thoughts. Rias enjoyed his headpat so she listened quietly.

"I need to train harder, I am still too weak." Nora said with a wry smile.

He looked a bit sad so Rias-

"Nora-chan is doing fine! You are plenty strong, in fact, I wanted Nora-chan to train together with me! I want to be like you! If we train together, I will teach you what I know about magic, and you help me train my body! If I become strong, I-" Rias stopped midway through her sentence.

She couldn't tell her dear friend what was weighing on her mind. She had a feeling that he would solve her problem if she said it, but… she wanted to be like him. Someone strong, someone who will protect those close to her. Rias wanted to grow into someone he can rely on.

"Jeez, I think you need to choose your words more wisely, ecchi." Nora teased. "Is there something bothering you? You are being quite motivated about training. If you got any problems, tell me, this Onii-san will help you out."

Smiling wryly, Rias thought about his words. She could not tell him.

"I want to be equal to you, I don't want to be left behind, someday, I want to be able to protect you as you did to me." Rias told a white lie.

It was not completely false because she also wanted to do that, however, it was not the main problem.

"Is it about your engagement?" Nora spoke in a serious tone. "If you feel troubled by it, I could go and give that guy a beating. I might get in trouble, but this Nora has a plot armor called Zekram. I doubt I will get punished badly. Ah, if you wish, I could go for a peaceful approach and ask Zekram to intervene. He might get a few misunderstandings and think I want to marry you, but as long as you are free of worries… that is a small price to pay." Nora confidently said. "Don't worry though, I don't plan to force you to marry me. Feel free to act freely, you will be able to marry whoever you like. Ah… I might an earful from Venelana-san, what to do, that seems scary."

His scared expression from getting scolded by her mother brought a smile to her face, Nora was more afraid of her mother than to go and fight the Phenex. He was truly amusing, and a precious friend. However, she cannot do that.

"No, let me be the one to solve this." Rias muttered in a resolute tone.

Scratching his head, Nora looked troubled but he sighed with a defeated expression.

"Alright, do what you want. I will support you the best I can. Let me take up on your offer, let's train together. I will make sure you become strong, there will be rigorous training so prepare yourself." Nora smiled.

Somehow, his words sent a chill down her spine, but she was happy nonetheless.

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