"So cute!!"
"...Now give me what I want."
"Of course."
At Ophis's words, Issei wore a slack, doting smile like a father hopelessly spoiled by his daughter and pulled another sugar-replenishment item from his pocket.
"What is this?"
"It's called chocolate. Here."
He unwrapped it and personally fed it to Ophis. Ophis promptly bit down on Issei's whole hand, and Issei, stunned by that terrifying bite force, broke into a blissful smile that made it seem like he could ascend to Valhalla right this instant and die with no regrets.
"!!"
"This is sweet too. Very sweet. Mm-mm-mm-mm."
Apparently hooked on the chocolate, Ophis snatched it away and gnawed on it like a squirrel. No matter how anyone looked at her, she seemed less like the Infinite Dragon God and more like a little kid.
"Ahh, so cute..."
Before he even realized it, Issei had dropped to his knees and was poking at Ophis's soft cheeks. Ophis didn't care at all and just kept chewing the chocolate. When she finished it, she said,
"Another one."
"Mm-hm, as many as you want."
He pulled out another one and held it out. Ophis tore into it in an instant and started gnawing away. Seeing that, Issei said,
"Ahh, it tastes even better if you suck on it."
"Suck on it?"
The proper way to eat chocolate was to let it melt in your mouth or suck on it! Following Issei's instructions, Ophis bit into it and slowly let it melt.
"!! This is delicious! I've never eaten anything like this before!"
Even if her emotions were lacking, her taste buds were rich enough; her cheeks flushed as she adorably sucked on the chocolate. And that was when Issei made his decision.
"All right. I'm raising her."
[Partner, what are you saying?]
"I said I'm raising her!!"
[...You do realize what's standing in front of you, don't you?]
Even Ddraig tried to stop him, saying that raising the Infinite Dragon God was something even Great Red couldn't do, but Issei refused to bend his will.
"No, I'm absolutely raising her! I'm not giving her to anyone!!"
[Partner, I think you're just being swayed by her looks. That one can change her appearance however she wants. Sometimes she looks like an old man, sometimes a man...]
"That doesn't matter!"
Even after Ddraig hit him with the facts, Issei cut him off and shouted back.
"Hey, Ddraig, do you know the saying 'if it tastes good, it doesn't matter'? "
[...What does that mean?]
"It means if it tastes good, it doesn't matter what the filling is! She's this cute, so there's no way she could be a guy!!"
It was self-hypnosis born from fierce denial of reality. One really had to suspect he was casting genjutsu on himself with every ounce of his power... But Issei didn't care about what came next at all.
"Ophis."
"??"
"If you come to my house, you can eat chocolate every day, and there's even sweeter stuff than this. What do you say?"
"Sweeter than this? Does such a thing exist?"
"Yeah, tons of it. Sweet things, savory things, delicious things."
"Mm. I'll go."
"That's right~ Good girl~"
Someone call the police, there's a pervert here! It was the kind of scene that would have drawn exactly that reaction. A little girl being lured into a pervert's house by food. But Issei didn't care in the slightest, and with a loose smile he took Ophis's hand and headed to the church. What he didn't know was what had happened while he'd been distracted by Ophis...
.
.
.
.
.
At the time Issei was meeting Ophis,
The church—the only one in the village, an old building that would collapse with the slightest shock—had somehow taken on the appearance of a castle. At a glance, it looked more like a fortress than a church; if not for the cross planted on top, it would have been mistaken entirely for a stronghold. And after long hours of labor, the three Fallen Angels had finally completed it. Wiping the sweat from their brows with towels around their necks, they looked at the castle they had built and smiled with satisfaction.
"Ahh, all that hard work was worth it."
"Yeah~, my body was aching at first, but now I feel refreshed~"
"This is all thanks to Lord Issei."
The male Fallen Angel, the loli Fallen Angel, and the busty Fallen Angel each gazed down from the air at the castle they had made and let out admiring sighs. Then from below—
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work~. Please have some nice cold watermelon that Mr. Issei brought~"
"Thank you, Sister Asia."
"Cold food after labor is the best~"
"Thank you, Lord Issei."
When Asia came carrying watermelon sliced into easy-to-eat pieces, the three of them descended with happy faces. And after they finished the watermelon they had earned as the price of their labor—somehow giving off a strong "exploitative boss and unpaid passion work" vibe—
"Hmm, so it's already finished."
"Miss Raynare."
The one who spoke was Raynare, who, unlike the other three, had shed her restraints and was free to move around. She admired the completed castle with a look of awe.
"That said, didn't you make it a little too big?"
"What are you talking about! We only stopped at this size because of Sister Asia's suggestion, but for Lord Issei, this is still far too small!"
"I see..."
At the male Fallen Angel's words, who had completely switched allegiance from Raynare to Issei, Raynare gave a faint bitter smile.
"He's going to be surprised when he sees this."
Since he only came and went with the Flying Thunder God Technique, he probably hadn't seen the castle after it was completed. If he came, she definitely wanted to show him.
"And then, under the moonlight, the two of us... hehehe."
Imagining all the things she'd do with Issei in the elegant atmosphere of moonlight, she blushed and twisted her legs together.
"All right, let's finish up!"
""Ooooh!""
At the male Fallen Angel's words, the three Fallen Angels pumped themselves up and hurried to finish the job. As they were spending their days so peacefully—more or less—an unwelcome visitor appeared. Namely,
"!? What the hell!? This thing! There wasn't anything like this before!?"
"...Isn't this more of a castle than a church?"
Irina and Xenovia had returned to the church, the only foothold in the village and their old residence, and when they saw beings doing something in the air—
"Fallen Angels!?"
"Why are Fallen Angels at a church!?"
They were horrified by the three Fallen Angels flying around the castle and immediately drew their holy swords. Then—
"Why are you bastards in a church!?"
"Exorcists of the Church?!"
As Xenovia leaped into the air and swung her holy sword at the male Fallen Angel, the Fallen Angel was startled and, with no time to prepare,
"Kyaaah!"
was cut down by the holy sword and fell to the ground. Then—
"!! You bastard!"
"Dogs of the Church!"
With one of their comrades suddenly struck down by an exorcist, the remaining two angrily rushed at Xenovia, who was still airborne, but—
"Salvation for evil Fallen Angels! Amen!"
From the ground, Irina's sword was thrown and pierced straight through the male Fallen Angel's body, sending him crashing down as well. Then the loli Fallen Angel—
"Eek! R-Raynare, help me!"
Realizing the enemy was beyond what she could handle, she hurried to seek help from Raynare, but—
"I won't let you!"
She became prey to Xenovia's holy sword just the same and fell to the floor, bleeding. Then—
"Eh? Everyone!?"
Asia, who had stepped outside for a moment to check on things, saw the carnage and hurried over to the three of them. As she activated her Sacred Gear—
"A Sacred Gear?"
"It's [Twilight Healing]!?"
—it entered the sight of Xenovia, who had landed inside the church, and Irina, who had already come in. In an instant, the two of them recognized the identity of the being healing the Fallen Angels before their eyes.
"To think we'd find a heretical witch in a place like this. We're lucky."
"Eh?"
With the Church's heretical witch standing before her, the devout Xenovia pointed her holy sword at Asia.
"Y-You people are...?"
"We are exorcists of the Church. In the name of God, we shall execute the heretical witch."
"...Kyaa. Mr. Issei!"
As Xenovia raised her holy sword high, Asia was about to become its prey without even a chance to do anything. Just as it was about to come down—
"Asia!"
Raynare flew in and shielded Asia, and Xenovia's holy sword shattered nothing but the floor. Then—
"There was still one left!"
"So you're the Fallen Angels who stole the holy swords! Then hurry up and tell us where the holy swords are. We'll show you mercy in the name of the Lord."
Knowing only that the ones who stole the holy swords were connected to Fallen Angels, Xenovia and Irina suspected the Raynares before them. But Raynare had no idea what they were talking about.
"Hah? Who cares about holy swords! That has nothing to do with us!"
"Don't play innocent!!"
Raynare told the truth, but Xenovia's sword was already aimed at her. Raynare spread her wings and barely dodged into the air as Xenovia rushed in.
"These girls are strong."
For Raynare, classified as a low-ranking Fallen Angel, dealing with exorcists wielding holy swords was a tough ask. On top of that, she had to protect the three injured Fallen Angels and Asia as well. It was a true dilemma.
"Issei... where are you, you idiot..."
All she could do was hope Issei would notice soon, but unfortunately Issei was completely distracted by Ophis and hadn't noticed a thing. There was no hope for Raynare. But—
"No, there's still a chance!"
Only Raynare and humans could pass through the barrier Issei had set up. He had probably cast it while thinking he only needed to watch out for Devils, Fallen Angels, and other races. But if they destroyed the barrier, Issei would notice and come here immediately. So—
"Haaahhh!!"
She drew out every ounce of her magical power and aimed at the barrier's core.
"Where do you think you're aiming!?"
Enraged, Xenovia charged at Raynare, who was aiming somewhere completely different.
"Issei! Hurry and come!"
At the same time she shouted, Raynare's magical power was fired—and in that instant,
"Kyaaah!"
Xenovia's holy sword struck Raynare. Raynare deliberately took the slash across her back to protect Asia, then fell while holding Asia in her arms. At the same time, Raynare's attack struck the barrier's core perfectly.
Crash
With the core hit, the transparent membrane covering the church's air shattered. Raynare thought she had finally succeeded, and hope lit her face, but—
"You broke your own barrier. What are you plotting?"
"...."
Now that Issei would be here any moment, the exorcists before her were as good as finished. Thinking that,
"You're done for now. You picked the wrong people to mess with."
"I was wondering what you were talking about, but it looks like you're the one who picked the wrong opponent."
Dragging a huge holy sword along the floor, Xenovia approached and then raised it high.
"Tell me where you hid the holy swords."
"....."
As time passed and Issei still didn't come, Raynare grew flustered. Xenovia asked the question as if granting her final mercy.
"I don't know anything like that!"
"...Still denying it! Then pay for your sins with your life, Fallen Angel!"
At last the great sword swung down toward Raynare—
"Please stop!"
Asia spread her arms in front of Xenovia and shouted. Xenovia's blade stopped, but—
"What are you doing, heretical witch?"
"Miss Raynare isn't a bad person! If you're going to kill anyone, kill only me!"
Gathering her courage, Asia blocked Xenovia's path, trying to protect Raynare, who had been gravely injured while shielding her. But Xenovia's faith was too deep to forgive heresy and betrayal.
"As if I'd listen to the demands of a heretical witch!"
In the end, Xenovia's great sword turned toward Asia, and at that moment—
"Oh my, oh my. So you were hiding here, Raynare."
A chilling voice drifted down from the air. Raynare, of course, and Xenovia and Irina all turned their eyes there, and there, with five pairs of black wings, stood—
"K-Kokabiel...-sama?"
The Fallen Angel executive who had been searching for the traitor Raynare for quite some time, and who collected holy swords for amusement.
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