Dio dreamed.
It was a dream about chaos at school. Some second course students locked the broadcast room to voice equal right. Dio could not see her face clearly but she felt familiar. In the end, she was captured by the student council.
"Tring! Wake up! Wake up!" His alarm sounded.
"It's morning already, huh…?" What about that dream? A glimpse of future? Or perhaps another history? He thought to himself. Sometimes, Dio would receive some dreams that became true. But more often than not, most of his dreams didn't come true.
Dio woke up and prepared to go to school.
At the school gate, he was greeted by a familiar face. It was Mibu Sayaka.
"Dio, morning."
"Yo, how are you?"
She smiled. "I am fine. Thanks for yesterday. Although, I think you went overboard."
"Well, situation demanded it."
"Of course. You would do better if you could. Anyway, thanks again for yesterday help. I was shocked when he suddenly used magic. However, I could defeat him even when he used magic."
"I believe you."
"Right…"
Sayaka looked down somehow.
"Anything wrong?"
"No, it's nothing you should be concerned about. It's just that my senpai has been absent since yesterday. No one can contact him either. I planned to visit his house after school."
Dio became curious. "Your senpai? Is he your boyfriend, perhaps?" Teased him.
"No, I don't have a boyfriend." She blushed and continue. "Tsukasa-senpai is the president of my club. He is a great swordsman, you know?"
Tsukasa? I see… collateral damage. He remembered the name. When he absorbed information from the one who tried to kidnap Sayaka, he heard of another Tsukasa. There was high chance that the guy mentioned was the president of the kendo club. Dio did not know the exact situation but he had a hunch that he was at the execution ground last night. Without much thought, Dio considered Tsukasa as dead. "You seemed to admire him, Sayaka."
"Maybe a little. I admired someone else though."
"Who?" Dio tilted his head.
"It's a secret." Sayaka winked her eyes and went away to catch up with her friends. She glanced back sometimes. Meanwhile, Dio was thinking about his collateral damage. Gerard had annihilated him in material, soul, and mind. There was no way Dio could know the truth. He was curious why a course two student like him was at that place. There could be some correlation with Sayaka's kidnapping but he would never know.
"Well, what's done is done. No use crying over some spilled milk."
Even at this point, he was remorseless.
He felt no regret from accidentally removing possibility innocent life.
All he needed to know was the mission done efficiently. Perhaps, he felt nothing because he was not close with Tsukasa. He did not even know the man personally.
He continued his journey to his classroom.
"Morning, Dio."
"Morning, Miyuki. You are early." Dio answered while putting his belonging on his desk. He brought a small backpack unlike most student who did not bring any at all.
Miyuki smiled sweetly. "I am always this early."
"As expected of a model student."
"You jest." She laughed melodiously while covering her little mouth. "Right, Dio. Do you have free time this afternoon?"
"Beside eating my lunch? Sure. What's up?"
"Me and Onii-sama want to ask you a few things about Germany. Is that okay with you? I mean, we have never had a proper talk about your country before. Why don't we have lunch together?"
"I want to join too."
"M-me too!"
Honoka and Shizuku raised their hand.
"Sure, I guess? There is not much to talk about though."
In the afternoon they met on the roof.
"Eh, is it fine to eat here?" Asked Leo. He kept looking at the door, afraid that some teacher would come and scold him.
They gathered on the roof at lunch. Originally, it was supposed to be just Dio, Miyuki, and Tatsuya but Mizuki, Erika, Shizuku, Honoka, and Leo wanted to join as well. Without realizing, they had become a circle of friends. Dio would probably spend the rest of his high school days with them.
"It's fine." Assured Miyuki. "It's not like this area is off-limit. Students don't come here often because this place is cold. Besides, our canteen is spacious enough as it is." She continued.
"Ah, I see..."
Leo nodded his head while grinning to himself.
"Leo, what food do you bring today?" Asked Dio while looking over at Leo's tray. He heard that Tatsuya wanted to eat at the roof. So, he bought his lunch at the canteen and rushed to the roof with the food tray.
"I bought udon curry. This is delicious. Have you tried one?"
"Of course. Germany has many Japanese restaurants, you know? Udon and ramen are my favorites."
"I know, right?! Noodle-based food is the best."
Dio high fived Leo.
"Guys really are different..."
"Erika, you don't like Udon?"
Dio was confused. How could anyone dislike this type of delicious food.
"It's delicious, I admit it but the smell of curry and meat stick to me like a glue."
"I never knew it is a problem."
Dio was shaken. How could a nice smell become a problem?
"Of course, it is a problem." Erika insisted. "Besides, it's mostly eaten by old men..." She whispered but Dio heard her as clear as day.
"So that is the actual problem."
"Ah, anyway, I don't really like curry udon that much."
"Erika is surprisingly delicate." Said Leo. "Not something I expected from a brute." He mocked with a smile.
"Leo, I am going to take your food if you don't finish it soon, you know?"
"Not good!"
Leo ate hurriedly. The others just laughed at their banter.
"Say, Dio. I am curious about your CAD—Heilig Bogen, right? If I may ask, what is the principle behind your CAD?"
Tatsuya finally said his piece. He wanted to know about Dio CAD. Everyone else looked at Dio curiously. Even the stoic Shizuku seemed very interested in this topic. Dio just discovered something about Tatsuya. It seemed that Tatsuya was genuinely interested in engineering, more specifically; CAD engineering. Dio thought of something...
"First thing first, you need to know the basic of thought based. Thought based CAD is like its name, CAD that can be controlled by thought alone. But how is that possible, right? The secret is using psion wave or any wave that can connect our thought into the device. The second part is to make the device translate our thought into activation sequence. The rest is the same as normal CAD. As for the framework of the psion wave connection... that's a secret."
Dio just explained the basic principle of his device, something that could be searched through the internet.
"I see. So, Rosen Magicraft has advanced so far..."
Tatsuya began to think. He understood that Dio was not eager to share his secret formula or perhaps Dio himself didn't understand. Dio sensed that and continue because he wanted to gain Tatsuya's trust.
"As far as I understand, my CAD used special parts called psicommu to decrypt my psion wave. If the wave is the correct one, then the psicommu will continue the process."
"Ah, so that's it... the key is in the crypto."
"Well, it's not as simple as it sounds but... yeah, I guess?"
"However, I spotted several weaknesses."
'Oh?"
"The problem is the speed. With that much of processing, the user's magic activation speed would decrease significantly than using a normal CAD. Am I correct?"
"Ah, I see."
"So that's it."
Everyone whispered their understanding.
Dio smiled. "Correct. The purpose of this CAD is not quick casting. At least, not at the moment. The purpose for this type of CAD is simply efficiency in multicasting." He explained. "If you use psion anyway..." Whispered Dio.
Tatsuya heard him but chose not to response. He knew that Dio held many secrets that could not be revealed. He was not a Japanese after all. No, even if he was Japanese, there was no way he would reveal his family secret just like that. Only someone dumb or crazy would do that. To Tatsuya, Dio was already crazy enough to reveal psicommu. It was something he never heard before. Either Dio was crazy or he was lying about that part. However, his theorem was sound.
"Eh, does that mean that you used that CAD during the entrance test?" Leo asked that random question but that actually made Tatsuya weary.
"Of course. I used mine for the free-format magic test. I used the school equipment for the rest of the test though."
"Ah, I just thought that your score could be better if you use a normal CAD."
Everyone nodded their head. They didn't know Dio test result but they assumed that it must be very high for him to be placed at Class 1-A.
Dio told them the truth. "No, it would be lower if I use other CAD."
"How so?" Asked Tatsuya.
"After all, Heilig Bogen was tailor made for me. It was made to bring out my best potential. Modern magic is just not my forte. I don't really know how I fare though, since the entrance score is supposed to be our personal secret."
Tatsuya remembered something. Dio said he needed masterful control of pushion to use Hirenkyaku. "Not good at modern magic? Even though you are placed at class 1-A? Does that mean you are good at traditional magic?"
It was a question that could be interpreted as rude to a modern magician. A magic formula was personal secret. They would be in danger if their secret were exposed to another magician. But Dio did not care about something like that. He never considered himself as a real magician to begin with.
"Not really."
Dio just smiled mysteriously but Tatsuya understood his meaning. Under the modern system, magic could be categorized into three school; modern magic, traditional magic, and supernatural power. Modern magic used psion to change eidos, traditional magic used pushion to change eidos, while supernatural power was anything else that didn't fall into either category. Since Dio denied his mastery in either modern magic or traditional magic, there was high possibility he fell into the last category.
"Eh? I don't get it. Does that mean you're not good at magic?"
Leo asked innocently.
Dio laughed and answered him honestly. "I considered myself as a supernatural power user. Whether I am good or not at the other category is for you all to decide."
"Ah, I see." Leo clapped his hand. "What about your friend in Germany? What kind of magic are they generally good at?"
Dio put his hand on his chin and looked to the sky. "Generally? I would say the same as here. Most of them used modern magic but there are many exceptions. Nonetheless, we do not insult other students for being placed in another curriculum. I know a minority of people who would but not the majority of it. We are like pro right or something..."
"Doesn't sound you really care." Said Tatsuya.
"Probably not... I have bigger problem to solve."
"We are too young for something like that..." Whispered Honoka. Shizuku who sat beside her nodded her head in silence.
"Okay, into another topic." Erika interrupted everyone. "I know you had been asked about this so many times but what magic did you use during your fight with Kirihara-senpai?"
Everyone looked at Dio with serious face, especially Leo. His eyes were shining.
"I used Data Fortification and natural hardening with pushion."
"H-how do you do that...?" Asked Leo excitedly.
Dio wasn't afraid to reveal this power. "This technique is called Blut Vene." Dio raised his left hand and showed them the power. Only Mizuki looked amazed because only her could see it. The vein inside his left hand enlarged and emitted blue light of reishi or pushion. "The effect is pretty much the same with Data Fortification but localized and more efficient."
"C-can I learn this power?" Asked Leo again.
"Everyone has chance to learn it but mastering it is entirely different problem."
"That's not really a good answer."
"Well, can you learn painting? Or maybe learn music? We can learn modern magic, right? What about--"
"Alright, alright, I get it. It depends on the person."
"Correct."
"Ugh..." He looked visibly disappointed. "Even though it's so cool."
"Hahaha. I know, right? Just like Hirenkyaku."
"So, if I can learn Hirenkyaku, does that mean I can learn Blut Vene as well?"
Erika interrupted Leo with her question.
"Of course... is what I wanted to say but the two are entirely different technique. So, it will depend on yourself." Maybe this is a good thing. I can nurture another seed. "Leo, do you want to learn? I will teach you the basic. See if you can use it. From the look of it, you seems proficient in Data Fortification."
"Osu! You're damn right I am good at that particular magic. Is there any better magic than duking it with your opponent?"
"Hahaha." Dio and the other laughed. They understood Leo's personality in that instant, a kind muscle-brain.
"Dio, teach me later, okay!"
"You got it, I will tell you the time later."
"Say, Dio, are you not afraid of revealing your power?" Asked Tatsuya. That question made everyone silent. They looked guilty because they probed to much.
"Of course not. We... are friend, aren't we?"
"Of course, we are! Right, Shizuku?"
Shizuku nodded her head. "Yes. Friend."
Everyone also voiced their agreement.
Yay, friendship level up! Or that's how I feel…
They hang out until the next class began.
On Saturday morning, Dio woke up as usual. He received reports from many of his agents. They sent him conventional paper that was easy to burn. Only someone who could see reishi would be able to see the content. However, seeing alone was not enough, he also needed to understand reishi and translate the content as information. It supposed to be foolproof. Even if it was not, Dio would know there was someone special out there.
He made his bed and looked at the clock.
"Right, I promised to go to Erika's dojo."
He took his phone and saw a message from Erika. Sis, it's five sharp in the morning. He opened the message to see that it was a reminder for their meet up. Dio replied with, "Got it, chief," plus some emoticon.
He got up, prepared his own breakfast (oatmeal and milk), showered, and changed to a yukata, traditional Japanese dress he bought in a whim. He thought it fit the theme, dojo was traditional and so was hakama. He looked like a captain from bleach.
"Hahaha…" He laughed after realizing that it was quite ironic. A quincy in a captain dress. "But the drip though…" Dio admired himself in the mirror.
After he was ready, Dio walked to the designated place on his virtual map. He could see the dojo very clearly on his phone. Thirty minutes later, he arrived in front of a huge dojo.
"No, this place is really huge. You could build an apartment and get much more money than a dojo." Dio lamented at the Chiba clan's decision. He messaged Erika to tell her he had arrived and not a moment too soon, Erika greeted him.
"Dio, did you wait long—hahaha, what's with your dress?" Erika laughed the moment he realized what Dio was wearing. Erika herself wore a casual sleeveless red shirt and a pair of denim shorts. She looked comfy.
"Eh, this is cool!" Dio felt proud instead.
"Sure, I concede." Even so, Erika kept smiling. "C'mon. Come inside. There are a few people though. This dojo is never empty."
"No problem."
Dio walked inside to see a traditional Japanese lawn. The grass was cut to a specific size and the tree was beautiful. That place gave him a serene, peaceful feeling. "So beautiful…" He said, admiring the scenery. "This is culture." Dio said again.
Erika just shook her head while smiling.
A man, taller and bigger than Erika came and pointed at Dio. He was visibly shaking. "Aneue! Wh-who is this guy? Don't tell me, he is your boyfriend?! I thought it was suspicious when you kept looking at your phone during training, so, it turns out—"
"Like hell he is!" Erika immediately reprimanded him. "He is my friend from school. He is going to teach me his combat technique. So, don't disturb us, okay?"
"What? You sure it's not the other way around?"
The man sounded skeptical.
"Dio is good at fighting."
"No, I'm not that—"
Dio voice was cut by the man. "Hoo? What about we prove it?" He asked, pointing at the dojo behind him.
"C'mon, Todo, don't be like that."
Dio kind of understood the situation. Either Todo wanted to test him or he wanted to embarrass him in front of Erika. Dio disliked fighting. That was why he left the fighting to his subordinate. But he did not have time to jog this morning, so he needed another form of exercise.
"It's okay. Let's do it. What kind of exercise are we going to do?"
"Exercise, huh…? Well, whatever. What about kenjutsu? Ah, right, you don't know how to use a sword—"
"I can use a sword. Not my forte, but I digress."
"Eh? You know swordsmanship?"
Both of them looked surprised but Erika looked surprised the most. This information was new to her as well. He know how to use a sword? Not his forte? What?
"Hoho? You want to impress the young lady? We will see about that." He rubbed his chin, teasing Dio. Despite his words, Dio did not feel Todo was a bad guy. He just wanted to tease him, that was all. He guessed that Todo was the mischievous kind of guy.
"Yeah, yeah…" Was Dio only response.
Erika walked beside Dio when they went to the dojo.
"Are you sure about this? Todo might not be the strongest student at the dojo but he is quite good compared to many."
Dio smiled. "No problem. I missed my morning jog so this should compensate somehow."
"You are not joking right? You really know how to use a sword right? In combat, I mean."
Dio put both of his hands in front of his chests. "Oh ho? I am being underestimated it seems…"
"No it's not like that—"
"Young lady's boyfriend, we have arrived."
"He is not my boyfriend." Erika stomped her feet. She was blushing. She looked like a red chili paper.
"Now, now. I know you love your boyfriend but please don't share my secret technique with him. This is man to man duel."
"Todo, I will deal with you later…" Erika said, gritting her teeth in embarrassment.
They arrived inside the dojo. Some people were practicing their sword. All of them were Chiba dojo's students. Dio heard some rumor from the internet that half of police and military personnel trained at Chiba's dojo. Chiba's style was said to be the most effective and efficient close combat magic system. Dio himself was impressed.
"Everyone, please listen for a while."
Todo clapped his hands loudly. Everyone stopped their training and looked at him.
"What's wrong?"
"Who is that guy?"
"Why does Erika-chan looks shy?"
"What? Now that you mentioned it. She looks like a maiden in love."
They started whispering among themselves. Of course, Erika could hear what they were saying. Her head looked like a tomato that was about to explode. She is evolving! Dio thought.
"This boy is Miss Erika's boyfriend. His name is—" He turned to Dio and whisper. "Boy, what's your name again? I'm trying to help you here."
"Ah, my name is Dio Rosen. Nice to meet you." Dio introduced himself. He made a ninety degree bow.
"Oh, nice to meet you too—wrong! This no time for that." He stopped, and took a deep breathe. "He is Dio Rosen. He challenged me to a duel to get our approval."
"Hoo!"
"This is big news."
Everyone looked at Dio. Some nodded but everyone looked at him with judging eyes.
"Erika is famous." Whispered Dio.
"No, Dio, please don't say anything. This is embarrassing." She said. She covered her eyes with her hand.
Todo walked to the center of the dojo. Everyone made space for them.
"Go ahead and pick your weapon. I will use this one." He took a wooden katana from his friend and immediately readied himself. He stretched his legs and lowered his body, he held his katana straight in front of his body, right at the center of his gravity. From his stance alone, Dio could tell that Todo was an expert. "I am waiting." He said but his face looked dead serious. He was different from the teasing man from before. It was clearly a challenge. At the moment, he looked like a warrior.
Dio accepted his challenge.
"Erika, can I borrow your wooden katana?"
"A katana...? I thought westerner--"
"It's fine. Trust me." He smiled to reassured Erika.
"Okay. What about protection? Need body armor?"
"I don't think that would help in a magic combat..."
"Right."
Erika grabbed a katana from a man who looked a lot similar to her in style, and gave the katana to Dio. Dio spun the katana and walked to the opposite side of Todo. He also prepared his stance. He stood straight and raised his right arm exactly ninety degrees to his right with his katana pointing downward. Everyone was confused with Dio's stance. They had never seen that kind of stance before. How did he intend to utilize his stance anyway? However, his opponent—Todo looked intimidated for some reason. Perhaps Todo himself didn't realize it but his hands were shaking the moment Dio took that stance. Erika herself was in awe. Todo might look like a warrior but Dio looked like a sword god if one ever existed. A man with spiky but messy hair walked over to the sideline.
"The rules are simple." He said. "Five hit to the body are all you needed to win. Now, no need to get over-violence. Let's keep this fair and square. Magic is allowed but no lethal magic, especially B-Rank and above. I have the right to interfere if something bad happens. Wait, what about your CAD?" Asked the man to Dio.
"No need." Replied Dio calmly.
Everyone thought Dio was very arrogant and hoped that Todo would beat the shit out of the guy.
The man just nodded without questioning Dio's reason. "Are you ready?"
Dio and Todo nodded their head.
"Begin!" The man said again.
Todo was the first to attack. In truth, he challenged Dio, so he had to attack first according to the custom. Todo touched his bracelet-shaped CAD and activated his magic. It was Self-Acceleration, a simple Movement-Type magic to accelerate the speed of something, in this case; Todo. He moved quickly to Dio's side and raised his wooden katana. His footwork was excellent if you compared it to the average swordsman. He managed to step forward while retaining his aggressive stance. In the middle of his run, he activated another magic. This time, it was Data Fortification to enhance his wooden katana to be stronger than a steel. When every piece was in place, Todo swung his wooden katana downward. This is the first hit. He thought proudly.
Bang!
"What?!"
Todo was surprised. So was everyone around them. Todo was so fast and Dio didn't move until the last second. How could he still react to Todo's attack? The most confusing part was Dio didn't even use any magic. His wooden katana did not meet Dio's body but his wooden katana instead. Dio raised his weapon horizontally above his head. He still hadn't move from his place. His eyes didn't even look at Todo. He looked downward as if thinking about something.
Todo pulled his wooden katana and made another attack.
But every time he attacked, Dio would response with his wooden katana in the last second without moving from his original place. The gap in their ability was too clear. There was no way Todo would win this duel. Even he himself knew that much but refused to give up. In front of a great foe, he chose to fight instead of surrendering. Dio respected his attitude. So, he needed to reward Todo with a proper gift--
Absolute destruction.
At least, that what he thought.
But that was going to far. Not to mention, this was merely an exercise. It was a good thing that Dio was good at holding back.
Time to end this...
With that in mind, Dio started his counterattack. Dio covered his wooden katana with Data Fortification as well. He waited until Todo attacked again and made his counterattack. First, he parried Todo strike, and with a fluid movement, swung at Todo's chests horizontally. That attack was weak for a sword's strike. Dio changed the intensity of his Data Fortification mid battle without the help of CAD. Data Fortification was one of the easiest magic to use in general. A proficient magician was able to activate Data Fortification without the help of CAD. Of course, the power of the magic depended on the user.
"That's one." He said calmly.
"I—"
Dio used Hirenkyaku and hit Todo three times without Todo being able to do anything.
"Kuh!" Todo was pushed back a bit.
He gripped his wooden katana tightly and made his last stand. "Haa--!" He shouted with all his might and swung his wooden katana at Dio. Then, he went blank.
Some times later—ten minutes later in real time, Todo woke up. He was still confused. He held his head in pain. He felt very dizzy, as if his head was stung by a needle.
"Todo! You wake up!"
"Todo my bro, you did good."
Everyone rejoiced.
"W-what happened—" At the same time Todo asked that question, memory flew through him. He remembered his last moment. He made a final strike with the strongest Data Fortification he could muster. Dio stood firm without moving. When the time was right, Dio swung at Todo shattering Todo's wooden katana and knocked him out.
"Dio Rosen… he is strong." That was all Todo needed to say. No other explanation was necessary.
Todo was actually an elite squad captain of the police force. His main duty was to fight criminal and extremist that refused to be reasoned with. Close combat magic was a primary requirement of his squad. Granted, he did not use lethal magic nor had the best equipment but so was Dio. He expected everyone in that room to lose again Dio even of they fought together, all at once.
"Are you okay?"
A questioning voice could be heard behind Todo. There, Dio extended his right hand to help Todo stood up. Todo smiled and took that hand.
"Woo-ho!"
"This is nice."
Everyone cheered at their action.
"You are really strong. I acknowledge you as lady Erika's boyfriend."
"As I said, I am not her boyfriend."
"Would be a lot of cooler if you do."
"Hahaha." Dio laughed happily. "I am honored if you think so."
"Well, I will leave it to both of you then. Also, we, the Kanto Prefecture Police Department will wait for your admission."
"… Thanks." That was all Dio could say.
"Leave him alone, Todo. Dio won't be in Japan for long." Erika said, separating the two.
"What do you mean?"
"Does the name Rosen alien to you?"
Todo looked down to think. "Rosen, Rosen… Ah! That Rosen? You are from Germany?!"
"Yes, I am." Dio nodded his head.
"But, but…"
Todo was in shock. He thought Dio was a Japanese person. But he is so strong! What a shame…
"Dio, let's go to the courtyard."
"Eh? Sure."
He just went with the flow as usual.
They walked past everyone who now looked at Dio with respect, awe, and perhaps—fear.
"I guess we won't be bothered here."
"Your place sure is big, Erika." Her house was very spacious. Her courtyard rivaled that of their school. Dio looked around and found many traditional Japanese tools and decoration. You could say that her family was old fashioned.
"I'm sure yours is bigger."
"Surprisingly, not really."
"…" Dio expected Erika to be surprised at his remarks but turned out Erika was thinking about something more important to her. "What was that sword art? How can you move like that? Where did you learn it? Can your whole family use it?"
Erika was unexpectedly competitive.
"Erika, let's calm down, okay?"
"But, but—haah… okay, I am perfectly calm. Now, explain!"
"My teacher, Soul King—sounds ridiculous, I know. Anyway, he taught me everything I know but he was not in this world. So, nope, not a family secret."
"I see. It sounds ridiculous, yeah but I have no reason to doubt you. Say, Dio, how strong are you exactly?" I feel that Dio is telling the truth but not the whole truth.
"It depends on your perspective of strong. What do you think? How strong am I? How strong are you? From my perspective, you are strong, Erika. You stood up when Morisaki was mocking your friend."
"…"
Erika was silent.
"Hmph, you're really good at talking back." She whispered in defeat.
"Hehe…"
"Now, teach me Hirenkyaku!"
"Got it, chief."
He spent the afternoon teaching Erika how to use Hirenkyaku. But of course, Erika could not do it. She couldn't even do the basic technique of Hirenkyaku, which was flowing reishi—pushion under her feet to surf instead of walking. Let the reishi carried her body. She couldn't manipulate pushion in the first place. All magician couldn't manipulate pushion or psion directly. That was why they used activation sequence, formula to force psion to move to change eidos.
However, there was a way to this problem.
Dio could share his power with her—
And he did.
Even then, it would take a long time to master it.
In the evening, Dio immediately went to the restaurant where he was supposed to meet Mayumi. He still wore his white yukata. Dio looked more Japanese than Japanese people around him, excluding his blonde hair of course.
He met Mayumi at the entrance.
"Dio, here." She waved her hand.
Mayumi looked gorgeous. She wore a black dress that emphasized her curvy body. Her snow white skin was a beautiful sight. Even though she was a high school student, Mayumi had the body of an adult woman. Any dress seemed appropriate for her. She carried a black branded purse to match her outlook.
"Wow, you look…"
Mayumi closed in her face to Dio. "Look what…?" She asked in a seductive voice.
"Lovely." Dio said without feeling embarrassed.
"Hm, you seem used to this. No fun…"
She whispered in a very small voice. She was deliberately teasing Dio to make him look flustered. However, it was not effective. At first, she suspected Dio to be gay but he sometimes glanced at her well endowed breasts. That alone made her smile like a little child.
"Did you wait for long?" Asked Dio. He wanted to find topic to talk.
"Nope, we just arrived as well. My dad is already inside." Answered Mayumi. She pointed the restaurant with her thumb. "So, let's go?"
"Sure."
They walked side by side inside.
"By the way, do you have any cheat sheet for answering your dad's question?"
"Pfft—hahaha." She laughed melodiously. "Unfortunately, you are on your own. But you have studied, right?"
"Yeah, I am the type of guy who procrastinate."
"Let's hope it works."
"Yeah…"
"By the way, why do you wear a yukata?"
"…"
"…"
They entered the high-class restaurant. Everything inside was shiny it could blind someone's eyes. After a while, they arrived at a private room reserved by Saegusa Kouichi, Mayumi's father. This room was definitely not cheap. It was a western-style room. There were many expensive decorations everywhere. In the middle of the room was a long table fit for eight people but only Kouichi sat there. He sat at the end of the table to imply his position as the head of the Saegusa Clan. He looked like someone from a certain movie Dio watched before his reincarnation. He looked like Neo from The Matrix but Japanese. Saegusa Kouichi wore a black suit with buttoned neck and a pair of black shade glasses. He looked… proper—like a normal businessman.
"Welcome. You must be Dio Rosen. Please sit down." He said with a tone of authority. Kouichi pointed at the seat in front of him with his hand.
"Thank you." Dio said innocently.
He sat down in front of Kouichi while Mayumi sat near her father. The moment Dio sat down, the foods were immediately served. It was a full course menu. Dio understood that this was some kind of test, to test his personality. His father did this a lot as well. The fastest way to know someone was to invite them to a dinner.
Dio was a guest. He waited until Kouichi ate his first bite. Mayumi also did the same. He waited for her father to eat. But before that, they placed their napkin on their lap.
"Thank you for accepting my invitation."
"No problem."
"Apologize for not introducing myself. My name is Saegusa Kouichi, Mayumi is my beloved daughter. She is sometimes troublesome but please be her friend."
"Hahaha, not at all. We are friend."
Kouichi smiled. Perhaps he was delighted that Dio considered her daughter as an ally although with only a weak bond as friend. Dio knew of him from many sources. He was famous, not as a great magician but as a politician. The Saegusa family raised to their power through their connection. Sure, they were talented at magic. No one in Japan doubted that but there were many stronger clans in Japan who could take their position. Not only as a sly politician, Saegusa Kouichi was also known as a cutthroat businessman. Man got to do what man got to do. The question is for what? Is it for greed alone or does he have another objective in mind?
"I thank you for that. Well then, let's enjoy our food." He grabbed his spoon and fork, and started eating. Mayumi and Dio followed. As a member of the Rosen family, of course Dio knew royal etiquette despite not liking it. The proper etiquette was, most of the time necessary to gain friend in high castle.
The menus were sausage, pork, and other fancy foods.
Dio ate gracefully for once.
"So, I heard you defeated my daughter in magic combat. Is that true?"
Mayumi stopped her spoon for a moment.
"Yes, that is true. She is very strong but I managed to defeat her."
"I see. You yourself should be very strong then." Kouichi probed Dio.
"It depends on your definition of strong." He said his usual line to that cliché question.
"What about in your definition of strong...?" He asked calmly.
"I am the strongest."
Kouichi looked at Dio eyes only to find himself overwhelmed by his aura. It was as if he was staring at a beast king, someone who did not care about fact and feeling. Kouichi was... intimidated. That confident alone made Kouichi rethink of his plan to use force if necessary. Meanwhile, Mayumi was impressed. She never met someone who could talk to her father on equal ground other than patriarchs from the Ten Master Clan. They spent the rest of the dinner quietly. Kouichi thought the time was not right to probe Dio anymore. He cancelled his original plan to asked questions about Rosen Magicraft. He too, wanted to enter the CAD manufacturing circle. Kouichi knew the true owner of FLT, a CAD manufacturer in Japan. It was owned by the Yotsuba clan, his bitter rival. If he somehow could make the Rosen family forget their old grudge with a certain someone in Japan, Rosen Magicraft would dominate the Japanese market once more and crushed FLT.
After everyone finished their food, Kouichi placed his cutlery on the table. Dio and Mayumi followed suit even though there were some foods left on Mayumi's plate. They also folded their napkin and put it on their left side.
"Thank you again for coming tonight."
"No problem again. I am honored." Dio said his flattery.
"Yes, please be kind to my daughter. She is in her rebellious phase."
"Dad, what are you saying...?" Asked Mayumi in a whispering voice.
Dio just smiled and nodded once.
"I will leave first then. I have another business to attend."
"Wha--"
Mayumi wanted to ask but then realized his father intention. He was impressed with Dio, and he wanted her to be his suitor. Something that Mayumi did not fully disagree with.
"Is there any problem?" Asked Kouichi to Mayumi in a concerned but intimidating tone.
"No, nothing. I am just surprised that you are still busy."
"Hahaha, this is the adult world. I hope both of you can be better than me. Then, farewell. Please don't reject my dinner invitation in the future, okay?" He looked at Dio while smiling.
"We will see..." He said.
Then, Kouichi really left both of them.
"Haah..." Mayumi sighed loudly and slumped onto her chair. "That was so nerve-wracking." She continued.
Dio smile and teased her. "So, did I pass?"
Mayumi looked at his eyes. "Hmm, I think you barely pass but you need to study more."
"Hahaha."
"Hahaha."
They both laughed at the same time.
"So, what are we going to do for the rest of the day?"
Mayumi seductively said, "What do you think? I am free until Monday..." To begin with, she was beautiful, and her dress made her look alluring tonight. Her fashion was on the spot to invite a young adolescent boy to spend the night together. "Just kidding!" She said again.
"Hahaha." Luckily, I don't have to reject her.
"So, I am going to Mari's place. It's not far from here. Don't worry about me, okay? I can walk on my own. I am a great magician after all."
"Are you sure?"
She hesitated for a moment. "Of course, I am sure."
"I see. I will be going home then. Thanks for the dinner. I enjoyed it."
"No problem. See you at school."
Miyuki waved a goodbye and left Dio alone.
I guess I will go home and read a light novel.
With that in mind he went home.