After meeting Hephaestus and getting drunk off her ass, Loki decided to head back to the Twilight Manor.

There, Loki saw Issei and Ais training.

At this very moment, Issei was touching Ais as he shows her the proper stance she needs to develop, but to Loki, it seemed like he was doing something inappropriate.

Even when drunk, Loki shook it off and realised it was only her drunkenness that was showing her something unsavoury.

However, just to make sure that nothing inappropriate was happening, Loki decided to spy on the two for a bit longer.

Right, as if she was going to be able to spy on Issei. He already felt her presence the moment she walked in.

Although you may think that him knowing of her presence would make him a bit mischievous, however, Issei didn't want to bother the already paranoid Goddess. It would just be a headache in the making.

Instead, Issei opted on training Ais properly.

Seeing nothing going on between Ais and Issei, Loki decided to leave them.

"Maybe Hephaestus is right," said Loki. She remembered the Goddess of Blacksmithing telling her that it was all in her head.

"I'm just being paranoid for no reason," said Loki.

However, Ais was staring at Issei intently. It is the first time that she felt her face heat up. The way Issei touched her hip made her tingle throughout her body. It felt nice. She didn't know why she was feeling this way.

…

Inside the dungeon, Issei-II was breathing heavily as he had to swim a long way to get away from the monster that was chasing him.

[Partner. This is just getting ridiculous!] said Ddraig. He shook his head inside the Sacred Gear. This was sadder than he had hoped for.

"Yeah I know it is getting ridiculous! It is why I'm trying to complete that lunatics mission for me!" said Issei-II. He didn't realise that Ddraig was talking about him.

[I mean you, you idiot! Why can't you learn to control yourself? It isn't that hard!] said Ddraig. He was getting frustrated with his partner. It was only for a moment, but Ddraig was thinking if he could make a deal with the other Issei on being separated from his current host.

"Come on, Ddraig! Why can't you just give me access to the Booted Gear?! I don't believe that the other version of myself would be able to find out," said Issei. It was then it happened.

A silhouette of Issei appeared.

"Oh, I very much will know if he does give you access without following my strict requirements," said Issei. Or at least his silhouette did.

"Just because I am not here by your side doesn't mean I don't have the means to know what is happening. Magic is a wonderous thing, is it not? So why did you think I wouldn't have a way of monitoring you?". Continued Issei.

Issei-II was now sweating bullets. He was sure there was going to be a punishment.

"For trying to force Ddraig to unlock the power of the Boosted Gear without meeting the requirements, from this moment on, the gravity around you would increase by tenfold! And also, you should be able to feel the other punishment next time," said Issei. The second punishment is worse than the first.

Issei-II then dropped to the ground as the gravity around him changed.

The silhouette of Issei then looked at Ddraig.

"For not giving in to his request, I will give you a gift," said Issei. Then a light enveloped Issei-II's left hand.

The light continued to glow until it was too bright to look at.

A few moments later, a miniature Ddraig can be seen floating.

[Ha-ha-ha! This is amazing! I may not have my original body, but this will do!] said Ddraig. He was free! He was truly glad that he did not listen to his partner.

"For now you can only freely manifest yourself for an hour but do well in monitoring your partner and I would increase its limit. If you can turn him into a gentleman that I can approve of, then I will make it so that you can manifest freely indefinitely," said Issei. It is just right to reward those that listen.

Issei's silhouette then disappears.

[Sucks to be you right now] said Ddraig. He can see his partner struggling to stand up. Truly, he was glad that he did not give in to his partner's pleas. The gift he got was great! Knowing that he could increase his free manifestation limit, there was no way that he would give in to his partner's request ever.

Truly, Issei-II is an unlucky man to have met his counterpart, Gacha Issei.

…

Issei was in bed with Serafall and Raynare hugging him. He smiled as he is now certain that Ddraig wouldn't give in to his partner's request.

Is he being sadistic towards his counterpart? Yup! He was not going to accept knowing that there was that kind of a sick person sharing his name and face.

"Say, Issei? What are you laughing at?" asked Serafall. She saw Issei smiling as he looked at the ceiling.

"Oh nothing," said Issei. He chuckled a bit.

"Ah! So you did something to make the experience of Issei-II worse, got it," said Raynare. She can tell that Issei was enjoying the torture training of his counterpart.

"You know, it would be easier to use the magic you used on Ddraig. That way, he would straighten out," said Serafall. She knows about the happened to Issei's Heavenly Dragon.

"I could, but I'm not planning to give him trauma. If you remember, it took Ddraig a while before he was able to deal with the trauma I caused," said Issei. It would sure be faster, but the lingering effect would be quite big. He may enjoy the physical suffering of Issei-II, but not the mental ones. That is a different story. The Physical could always be healed with magic, but the mind, not so much.

"Oh! I have a very important question," said Raynare. She smirked at Issei because she knew that Issei isn't trying to do this actively.

"Are you planning to make Ais one of our sisters?" asked Raynare. She was smirking.

Issei nearly choked on air after hearing what Raynare asked.

"I had no plans for that, but I can tell that she is developing something more than wanting to learn from me," said Issei. He was not stupid or dense.

"Oh! Then it is possible that she would be one of us! This is great!" said Raynare. She was already making a plan on gathering the others and strategising on a way to attack Issei in bed and win against him.

Raynare is more of a succubus than a Fallen Angel if Issei was being honest.

Then again, even so, she is Issei's Succubus of a Fallen Angel wife.

…

With Hephaestus, she was done with her preparation.

The Venue? Check.

Equipment? Check.

Materials? Check.

Guests? Check.

Unlocking of Arcanum? Check.

Now all that's left to do is inform Issei when the match between them is happening and where it is happening.

"Tsubaki. Tomorrow we meet Issei and his wives. We are going to inform him that everything has been settled and the match between us is a go," said Hephaestus. She seemed more excited about meeting Issei than the match itself.

Tsubaki was thinking about how her Goddess could not see that she was infatuated with Issei. It baffled her. She never thought that Hephaestus had this side of her.

"Understood, Hephaestus-sama. I'll write the letter and send it to Issei's current dwelling," said Tsubaki. She was about to leave and write the letter, but Hephaestus stopped her.

"There is no need for that. We are meeting him tomorrow, what would be the point of sending a formal letter when we can tell him about it in person? Besides, I don't see Issei as the formal type of guy. He is more of the spontaneous type," said Hephaestus. She was looking forward to meeting the man that was able to help her with the curse on her right eye.

Tsubaki nodded her head in understanding.

"By the way, Hephaestus-sama. I heard you speaking to Loki-sama earlier. What was that about if I may ask?" asked Tsubaki. She was curious since Loki left very drunk.

"She was just being paranoid. She believes that Issei was trying to steal Ais away from her. I told her it was just her imagination as I don't see Issei as that type of person. It was quite hilarious listening to her complaining," said Hephaestus. It was ridiculous, everything that Loki said. Not a single one was believable.

Tsubaki noted how Hephaestus was defending Issei and they weren't even dating! She thought just how infatuated her Goddess was towards Issei. She was afraid that if Issei rejected her she would fall into despair. She hoped that no such thing would happen.