Oh, heaven forbid Issei even listen to a word I said. I suppose I really, really shouldn't be surprised, but I was hoping Risa would have explained the situation already. Was a whole day really that much of a wait?
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Look, I need to talk to you about,"
"What did I say?"
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Poke. Poke. Poke.
"Issei, please stop."
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Why do want to explain later?"
"I swear, why can't you accept my answer already?"
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Ok, so how about during lunch?"
*Angry muttering in Engrish*
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Let it be said, that Issei was about as determined as he was perverted. Normally, my temper wouldn't be getting the best of me, but Issei was about ready to drive me up a wall. He just kept asking! Part of me could understand, but that didn't do much to calm me down. Hopefully, lunch would give me plenty of time to recharge.
I hit my face against the table with no regard for subtlety, as I watched Issei head my direction. Thankfully, his perverted friends weren't with him. So much for my peaceful lunch.
"Fine, you win," I grumbled, hoping my displeasure was clear. "I'll give you a Cliff Notes version."
"Cliff Notes?" Issei once again was speaking in perfect English, or at least I thought he was.
"It's," I wanted to explain it, but "It's irrelevant. Just give me a few seconds, alright?" I tapped the underside of the small lunch table, letting my weak vail spell do its work. Almost immediately, I could feel two sets of eyes on me. Saji was nearly on the other end of the lunchroom, talking to some of his peers, and Kiba, who had been swarmed by much of the female members of our class. I meet their gaze's, hoping to convey at least some of the situation. Issei blinked, as if seeing something for the first time.
"What was that?" his voice gave away his shock, and I sighed into the palm of my hand. I was so glad my spell also muffled noise.
"Not all magic is flashy," I got out between bites, trying to avoid piling the muffin into my mouth. "Often times, most of it isn't."
"Magic? But, that's impossible," he stammered, still in denial. I let out a groan.
"I saved you last night from a creature ripped straight out of the Abrahamic faith, using lightning bolts. You really don't have any right to say what's impossible and what isn't," I glared at him, somewhat annoyed. I would have been more surprised if he took me at face value, but there are only so many ways to explain what happened besides magic and being high.
"Look, you wanted to know, and right now, I don't have much a choice but throw you into the deep end," I tried my best from keeping my frustration from showing.
"What does that even mean?" the brunette looked at me, completely confused. To that, I grinned slightly.
"Wow, that translation thing is really bad at figures of speech," I was still grinning. "You do realize we've been having this entire conversation in English, right?"
"Eh?" Issei's surprise as it finally seemed to register was priceless. His eyes bulged, like some type of anime. "How?"
"Magic," I merely grinned enjoying this little moment. "Though it's not mine. You've been speaking pretty good English for the past week." I wasn't going to be the one explaining he became a devil. Really, having a conversation of, hey, you got stabbed by your girlfriend and were only saved due by being turned into a devil, wasn't one I wanted to have.
"So, if that wasn't a bad dream, does that mean Yuuma was one of those things too?" Issei looked actually depressed as he asked the question, eyes downcast, almost as if he was about to burst into tears at any moment. I blinked back in surprise, before wanting to smack myself. Of course, he was hurting! She approached him as the one thing he wanted more than anything and used that trust to stab him in the chest.
I took in a deep breath, and let go of my simmering anger. That wouldn't do anything to help. Part of me wanted to sugar coat it. Issei was in more pain than he was willing to let on, and no matter how much I disliked him, I didn't want to carve even more gouges into his emotions and physic. But in the long run, it wouldn't help either. Eventually, she was going to come back and finish what she started, and when that happened, lying to Issei would only make things worse.
"Yes," I finally said. "Yuuma is a fallen angel, like the one from last night." Issei's shoulders sagged, seemingly sapped of strength. I placed a hand on his shoulder, pretty much watching his self-esteem crumble like sand.
"Because she is afraid of you," I did my best to make my voice unreadable.
"Eh?" Issei looked up, eyes already stained with tears.
"There is something we have in common," I grinned, almost releasing my Scared Gear then and there. "We both have Scared Gears, artifacts given to us at birth. Mine is Divine Dividing, which allows me to divide someone's power in half every ten seconds, and add that strength to my own. Your's, I believe, is Boosted Gear, which allows you to double your power every ten seconds."
"Both are Longinus class Scared Gears, having the potential to kill gods," I continued, almost fervent, "Most of the supernatural world views them as threats to remove, or beings to gain allegiance with."
This time, it was Issie's turn to have his jaw dropped to the floor. His mouth had gone completely slack-jawed, like a puppet without strings. Well, I did just tell him he had the potential of killing gods. My reaction at the time was the same. Well, except for more shouting.
I still don't think I made Issei feel better though. That I barely put a bandage on the wound and hoped it would be enough. A distraction, nothing more or less.
Issei seemed to stare at his arm, seemingly lost in thought.
"So why hasn't it activated?" Issei's question snapped me out of my own thoughts, and I felt my face fold into a frown.
"I don't know. I've had mine since I was young, and only have my experience to really go on," I shook my head. "I might try and see if we can activate it tonight if something doesn't come up unexpectedly." Again, Issei's eyes lit up, and I knew I succeeded in taking his mind off the fallen angel, at least for a bit.
"Oh, yeah. You mentioned something about 'my master' last night. What is that about?" Issei had suddenly thrown me for a loop, and I internally swore. Damn it, I did mention that last night.
"That's not exactly a question I'm at liberty to answer," my statement caused Issei to deflate visibly, like a balloon. "Look, all I can say is that it's complicated for me to go over in the next oh, four minutes or so, and even if it wasn't, it's kind of something I don't have the right to talk about anyway."
Thankfully, that explanation was accepted, so I didn't have to spitball the whole, several members of our school. Yeah, they aren't human, and you're one of them and you didn't know about it until just know.
Yeah, he thinks finding out he has the potential to kill gods was jaw-dropping, I could only imagine what was to come. Issei, you have no idea how crazy the world you've stepped into is.
Then again, did I really know what I was stepping into?
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Finally. The end of the day. Hopefully, I could find a way to get Issei's Sacred Gear activated. There was quite a bit to do in that regard. I still hoped it wouldn't take too long or, or.
Why was there the sound of faint screaming in the hallway? It only seemed to get louder. I felt a minor pinprick on the back of my mind. It didn't seem like a scream of panic or pain. No, it sounded, joyous?
The door swung open, creating a clearer path for the noise to travel, and every girl in the room added their voices. I clapped my hands over my ears to block out as much noise as I could. It didn't really work, but it gave me enough time to find the source of the shrieking. Kiba. Really shouldn't be surprised. Kiba was easily the most popular guy in school, if only due to the large female population being head over heels in love with him. Didn't know much about him personally, with him being in a different class. What little I did know came from my sister, things like that he didn't have a girlfriend.
Strange, if one looked at the rest of the school population, who seemed to be here only so they had less competition in getting a girlfriend. Less so, from what I've seen of him. He seemed a bit more like me, interested in other things rather than romance.
Though the look on Issei's face showed his clear dislike of Kiba, and I had to hold back a chuckle. Knowing the brown-haired pervert, he was likely jealous of all the attention Kiba got. Despite that Issei's lack of any luck was because Issei was a known peeper, and none besides his friend group really wanted to hang out with him.
Which after today I would be probably considered a part of. Joy. Oh well, it's not like I had much of a reputation at school anyway.
"I came here by the order of Rias Gremory-senpai," Kiba still had his trademark grin, and I had to resist muttering about how it was about damn time. Issei seemed to be shocked by the statement. Well, it wasn't going to be every day that one was called on by one of the Great Buetities. A dream come true for Issei, no doubt.
"Both of you, I would like you to follow me," Kiba's voice made my head turn. I nodded, realizing that Rias would like to know exactly what I had told Issei. Well, looks like I might be home a bit on the late side of things. I internally flicked my mental calendar, noting that everything except for a long-term assignment, but everything besides what had been assigned today was finished.
"No!" one of the girl's shouted, giving way to protests coming from every direction. The racket nearly made me bring my hands to my ears in an attempt to block out the shouting, but I knew it would do me little good. I'm pretty sure I heard someone call me a delinquent, while another talked about pairing of all things.
"Damn shippers," I couldn't stop myself from muttering under my breath. I passed between Issei's two friends, still grumbling. Really? Bringing porn videos to school? Talk about disgusting.
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Really? You live in a world where every myth ever conceived by man is real, yet the existence of a fat man with a white beard wearing a red suit going around the world giving gifts to children is somehow outlandish?" I looked at Issei and Kabi like both of them had lost their minds. I didn't want to deal with the awkward silence anymore, so I struck up a conversation. Issei wasn't going to do it, and Kiba seemed much too polite to try and force him to talk.
Thankfully for the two of them, I didn't have any problem with completely ignoring Japan's standard of politeness. Issei's reaction to finding out that Santa was real was hysterical, though not really surprising. He hadn't gotten his mind wrapped around the idea of all myths being real. Kiba, on the other hand, seemed surprised, trying to argue something like that didn't exist. I wasn't sure why, but regardless of his reasoning, I found it illogical.
Of course, that may have been me just lacking skepticism, but I did have proof of his existence. But that was irrelevant, as I was certain we'd reached our destination. The building before us was quite old, shrouded in trees, seemingly isolated from the rest of campus. The old school building, I was certain I'd heard about it at some point. Despite its age, it seemed in good repair, with the wood free of rot or mold and the window's pristine.
"Buchou is here," Kiba also took notice of our location, as Issei stared at the building in wonder. It was a pretty grand old place, and going inside only confirmed that either had spells placed on it or that someone was taking good care of the place. No dust, nor insects, appeared to have taken any root in this place.
We stopped in front of one of the doors, one that had a plack placed on it. Occult Research Club, it read, and I almost stopped in my tracks. I couldn't decide whether the name was a bit too much on the nose, or it was simply a joke.
Kiba had just knocked on the door and announced our arrival, as I suddenly felt a buzz in my pocket. I reached in, pulling out my phone and frowning.
"Sorry, but I'm going to have to take this. It's my sister," I stated, slightly annoyed at the bad timing. Then again, I should have told her that I was going to this ahead of time. Kiba, thankfully nodded in understanding, leaving me outside the door frame.
"Yes?" I ask, hoping that my annoyance wasn't conveyed through the speaker. I didn't know whether it did or didn't, but her response only added to it.
"So, you and Issei, huh," her voice teased me, and I almost decided to hang up right then and there. But I didn't.
"So the rumor mill can't wait more than twenty-four hours," I sighed, resisting the urge to facepalm.
"You know how some people are. They leap at anything and devour it whether it was true or not. Especially when it gives them the feeling of revenge against a pervert and a delinquent," her comment almost made me pout.
"Really? Since when did I become the delinquent?" this time I let my displeasure be known, my voice somewhat harsh. She merely laughed back, as if I had told a bad joke.
"You mean the American loner who sits by himself every day wouldn't be seen as a delinquent?" I swear, I could tell she was sticking out her tongue at me. I let out a groan, somewhat tired by her antics.
"Look, I need to do something important. We can have this conversation later," I decided to swiftly to put an end to the conversation, and I could have felt the pout from where I stood.
"Ok. Love you!"
"Love you too," I muttered into the device, before ending the call and placing into my pocket. I lightly knocked on the door, and I heard Rias tell me to come in.
The room was full of the people I expected to be apart of Rias's peerage. Kiba, Aneko, the second of the two beauties, alongside a tiny girl who did not appear like she belonged in this school at all. Koneko, I believe. I remember my sister also talking about her, mostly about how cute she was.
Issei seemed to be enjoying himself, and it probably had something to do with two of the most popular girls in school being here. That and the shower. Why did this room even have a shower? I decided to spare my sanity the question a looked around the room. There were several chairs and couches, with each looking quite comfortable. But really drew my eye was the magic runes. On the ceiling, the walls, they were numerous, and I had no grasp of their function.
The true eye-popper was in the center of the room, fairly large magic circle, with enough room to fit several people. I had to stop myself from drooling. If that's what I thought it was, then I actually might see if I could find that old spellbook on teleportation.
"We, of the Occult Research Club, welcome you," Rias spoke, finally pulling my attention away from the circle. Issei seemed about ready to say some form of thank you, but she hadn't finished yet. "As a devil."
"EH!" Issei's reaction was priceless, looking to me, then to Rias, then back to me. His mouth hung open in complete and utter shock, eyes bulging. "You're talking about him, right?" he stammered out, causing me to chuckle a bit.
"About that," I rubbed my head in a sheepish manner. "I'm pretty sure I'm the only human in the room." Issei's response was to sit down, appearing shocked. I ultimately sat next to him, seeing as the other seats were being rapidly filled.
"James is correct. We ourselves are also devils," Rias stated, and I could hear the hamster wheel inside Issei's brain making the rounds. However, after my talk about the fallen angels from earlier today, and Santa, he seemed to believe what most would consider an outlandish claim.
"I've spoken to him about the Fallen Angels and why might be after us," I said, hoping to point the conversation in the proper direction. Rias nodded as I suddenly felt Issei's gaze turn to me.
"Wait, really?" Issei stared at me. "I don't remember you getting a girlfriend."
"I didn't. She decided to try and take my family hostage," I had to stop myself from growling it out. That event was a bit of a sore spot at the moment. "The one that attacked Issei said her name is Mittelt, and thinks I killed her."
Rias frowned at my revelation, seemingly lost in thought.
"Did you?" Issei asked, almost out of shock.
"If the spell made direct contact, then that's the most likely outcome. Even a glancing blow would prove crippling," I shrugged. "Not my intention, but if it keeps my family safe."
"Fallen Angels have been at war with Devil's since ancient times. We've been fighting for possession of the Underworld, which is called Hell in the human world. Each side controls one half of the planet. Us Devils form pacts with humans, and receive their sacrifices and feed their strength. Fallen Angels, on the other hand, manipulate humans into killing Devils. Because of this, God ordered his Angel's to kill both races. The three factions and their war that has been going on since ancient times," as Rias spoke, I could tell Albion was feeling a little bit nostalgic.
"Those were the days," I could tell the dragon was grinning, or whatever it was that passed off as grinning for a dragon. "When not even God could stand before Draig and me without aid."
Issei, on the other hand, seemed to be processing the story in its entirety. It was a lot to take in, especially for a teenager who never had to experience something like that before. Issei seemed to be lost in thought.
"Does he know about her?" I watched Rias mouth. I nodded, before coming to a realization. Issei didn't ask why he was still alive. He wasn't aware that he died! I mouthed back, hoping she got what I was saying. I think she did. I just hoped she'd break it to him gently. The shock of actually dying and being brought back might be a bit much for Issei right now.
"As you already know, Amano Yuuma is a Fallen Angel," Rias spoke once again, seeming to draw Issei from his thoughts. I saw something flashed across his face briefly, only adding to my concern. I don't think I've actually seen Issei angry before, now that I thought about it.
That made me frown. While Issei had begun to give the impression of passionate, but ultimately pretty chill, the fact I'd been in school for months and had yet to see true anger from him. Then again, that may just be Japanese politeness at work, seeing as there were no cases, maybe besides Sona, who really didn't count, and the pervert trio's victims, who gave the three exactly what they deserved.
"This Fallen Angel approached you with a goal in mind. After she accomplished it, she destroyed as much evidence as possible," Rias continued, her eyes locked straightforward, a look of seriousness written on her face.
"Goal?" Issei didn't seem to be taking the string of revelations well, seeming close to panic.
"Yes. To kill you."
The world stilled. I winced, preparing for the freak out that was sure to be coming.
"What!" Issei's shout took me off guard. My attempt at preparation honestly worked against me, causing my tight muscle's to uncoil, nearly causing me to jump straight off the coach. "But I'm still alive! How does that work?"
"You called me when you were on the verge of death. I was summoned through this paper," Rias explained, holding out a small leaflet. My eyes flickered between the rune placed on the piece of paper to the circle of the center of the room. I felt my eyes widen in shock. It didn't take a genius to figure out they were connected.
"This magic circle used to summon us, Devils. Not many people who draw this circle to summon us, so we hand out leaflets to those who might summon Devils. One of our familiars was disguised as a human and was handing them out at the business district, which is where you got yours," Rias went on, explaining what happened in detail. Issei likely knew part of what happened, but I didn't. "After you were attacked by the Fallen Angel, you wished hard enough to summon me. When you summoned me, I knew that you were a Scared Gear user and that you were attacked by a Fallen Angel. However, you were on the brink of death. Even though humans don't have the same weakness to light Devil's do, being impaled by a light spear is still lethal."
"So, I decided to save your life," Rias stood at her declaration, "That is why you're alive as a Devil. Ise, you were reborn as a Devil of mine Rias Gremory's servant!"
I watched as wings snapped from their backs, long and bat-like. More than imposing, seeing as it was my first time seeing them.
"You may want to move," Albion spoke, causing me to look around. Why? It wasn't like anything was going to happen. They were just showing off their wings as little extra proof. The same snapping noise that accompanied that of Rias's peerage was what alerted me to what was happening. I grabbed the top of the couch, legs, and arms working in unision to yank my body out the way of Issei's wings. His look of shock confirmed that he hadn't done it on purpose.
"Let us introduce everyone anew," Rias nodded to Kiba on her right.
"My name is Kiba Yuuto. As you already know, I'm a second year, just like both of you," Kiba's voice was once again full of calm and politeness. "I am a Devil. It's nice to meet the two of you."
"First year. Toujou Koneko. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm a Devil too," Koneko spoke very slowly, and I couldn't tell whether she was being shy or something else entirely.
"My name is Himejima Akeno, and I'm a third year. I'm also the vice-president of the Occult Research Club. It's nice to meet you. Even though I'm like this, I'm also a Devil," her chuckle, or what I thought was a chuckle, the sound of Ufufu, nearly sent chills down my spine. Rias sent me a look, effectively telling me I was up next.
"James Baker, second year." I bowed slightly, much like the others in the room had. "Human magician, currently employed. It is nice to meet you as well."
"And I'm their master as well as being a Devil from the House of Gremory, Rias Gremory. My house holds the rank of Duke. Let's get alone from now on."
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Are you sure it's wise to release Issei's Sacred Gear out in the open like this?" I asked as the members of the Occult Research Club had arrived at one of the small sports fields that wasn't in use.
"There are spells that keep those without magic away from here, and other's that will repair any damage caused when we leave," Rias explained. "I assure you, it's perfect for our needs."
"Ok Issei, stand directly across from me," I shouted, as the brown-haired pervert got into position. Rias told me there were a few ways to awaken a Sacred Gear, and in our situation, only two were going to work. Induce enough stress on the host so it wakes up as a self-defense mechanism, more just brute force it awake. Really, only the later was available for me. Issei had already been attacked twice and killed once. That should have done the trick, but no, of course, it hadn't.
"Ok, now, raise your left hand, palm facing the ground," Issei did as instructed, raising his left hand. "Now, imagine the most powerful being you can think of, and take the most iconic stance you can think of them in."
"Ideally, it'll work something like this," I punched my open palm with a loud crack, releasing Divine Dividing in all its glory. While I didn't need a handicap in getting it out, I hoped a demonstration would help speed things along.
"Strongest being," I heard Issei mutter, taking a familiar stance. Oh, Goku and his Kamehameha attack. Well, I do suppose there are few things more iconic than that. Let alone from someone that powerful, fictional or not. And it seemed to be working, as faint energy began to glow on his arm.
"Now, you must perform the attack. Put as much power behind it as you can. Your wants and desires. Otherwise, your Scared Gear won't activate," I said, as I watched Issei realize he'd have to actually do the whole Kamehameha motion.
"Kamehameha!" Issei declared, performing the attack in a very convincing manner. Light began to pour out of his left hand, covering his entire hand in a green glow. Issei started shouting in swift order, freaking out. I hoped Rias was right about the warding, because Issei was creating quite the fuss, and I wasn't sure how I'd explain what was happening anyway.
I twitched, feeling a slight pulse from within my Sacred Gear as the light from Issei's grew ever brighter, eventually reaching the point where I had to cover my eyes. Finally, the light began to die, allowing everyone to finally see it. Rather than simply covering his left hand, the Sacred Gear covered everything below the shoulder, creating what looked like a thick limb of dragon scale.
His fingers now ended like talons, with a green jewel resting at the back of his hand. Issei stared at it with wonder, and I was impressed. The flare of my own Sacred Gear hadn't escaped my attention. Was it going to be an incomplete awakening, and Albion merely brought it fully to surface somehow?
"Boosted Gear. At long last," Albion broke through my thoughts, causing me to internally frown.
"Albion, please don't tell me you had something to do with that," I shot back, somewhat concerned. I almost felt his frown back.
"No. Not actually, at any rate. This is the first time either of us has been near the other's awakening," Albion seemed as confused as I was, now that I actually pointed out what had happened. "It's possible our presence is what caused Issei's gear to fully awaken when it normally would have awoken partially."
"How do you use this thing?" Issei wasted no time, and I had to chuckle to myself. That question made me feel nostalgic, I remember asking that to my parents, and my sister asking that to me. I wasn't the only one. I swore I heard Akeno chuckle as well, possibly out of amusement.
"Slow down, will you. I don't think you want to go home and explain how you got that to your parents," I let out a laugh, one that I didn't know I'd been holding back on. Issei, looked somewhat dejected, almost like he got a question wrong on a test, or something similar. Or he was embarrassed about having to do a Kamehameha whenever he wanted to use his Sacred Gear.
"Relax. Now that Boosted Gear is activated, switching between active and resting states is easy. Close your eyes, and focus on what your hand looked like before." Issei did as instructed, closing his eyes. As he exhaled, Boosted Gear vanished from sight.
"Good. You can now open your eyes." Issei wiggled his fingers, looking at them with the intensity of one trying to decipher some type of magic trick. It reappeared just as suddenly, leaving Issei laughing himself.
"I'll leave you to it, then," Rias spoke, as I noticed the other members of the club had vacated the area, likely to do whatever tasks they needed to perform. "Though I will need to borrow him tomorrow to explain some of the finer points about being a Devil."
"Of course, senpai," I bowed, as Rias chuckled.
"Please, Rias is just fine," I was corrected, nodding, marking it away in my mind. Issei himself had bowed practically all the way to the ground. Rias let out another brief laugh at our antics, before walking back to the clubhouse building.
"Shall we begin?" I asked, Issei taking a few moments to physically respond.
"Right!" Issei's declaration was full of the vigor I'd begun to associate with him. Well, at least he was enthusiastic about all this.
"To activate your Sacred Gear, simply say boost. It'll do the rest," I started, watching Issei with ammusment.
"Boost!" Issei shouted, rising the gauntlet high into the air.
'Boost!' Boosted Gear echoed, emerald jewel flaring brightly. Issei certainly didn't look or feel different.
I spared a quick glance at my phone. Well, there was another hour left before my sister's archery practice ends. I suppose that was enough time to see if he actually increased anything.
"Ok, let's start by running back and forth from over there," I pointed toward the other end of the field, "We run there and back until we can't anymore." Even as I had just begun my to hit my jogging pace, Issei was close to halfway up the field, leaving me behind in a cloud of dust.
Good. Let's see how long he can keep that up.
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Rias had left her familiar in the area to keep an eye on the two, watching as James trained the youngest member of her peerage. Normally, she would be smiling. After all, Issei did possess Boosted Gear, just like she had thought, and even better, she had procured the services of a teacher. But as she walked away, a troubled crease had wormed its way onto her face.
But things weren't adding up. During the past week, she had used her familiar to keep an eye on both Issei and James, mostly Issei, and she knew nothing about another Fallen Angel making an attempt on his life. Rias had been alerted when James suddenly left his house an hour before nightfall, seemingly in a panic for no discernible reason. It would make sense that the event occurred sometime between then and when he returned, an hour and a half later.
That lead to a rather troubling question. How did James know about the attack on Issei's life, before it had even occurred? Sure, it could be just a coincidence, but his actions put that into doubt. Being in contact with the Grigori was absurd as it was unlikely, not to mention they would have noticed such an event.
Plus, James was a terrible liar. He would have already given away such information by now. In fact, the only thing Rias was sure he lied about was that his family was unaware of the supernatural. But she and Sona had been willing to let that slide. From what he had told them, his Sacred Gear had been active for nearly ten years, meaning it awakened when he was seven. For it to be active at such an age, it was unlikely that he had kept it a secret, or knew the importance of doing so. Unfortunate, but things had worked out so far.
While not unheard of, awakening a Scared Gear by that age was impressive. Especially for a human of a non-magical bloodline.
But for now, she needed to prepare.
