DISCLAIMER: DxD does not belong to me.


Hello everyone, Garith Gremory here!

At least, that's the name I go by nowadays...

It's the beach!

It's the sea!

It's the Sun!

It's beauties in swimsuits and Bikinis!

The romance of summer is finally upon us!

... That is what I wanted to say, at least. Unfortunately, despite the tropical scenario and typical beach paradise, the lingering feeling at the back of my head just doesn't go away. And the motive for that is very simple: summer vacation did not come to me as of yet.

The Sun? Not here yet, since it's still 4am. The sea? Dark as a hole, no reflection nor heat coming from it, no better than a bucket of iced water. The beauties in the swimsuits? Long gone, resting in their abodes since nobody dares go here at this early in the morning. Indeed, romance is dead as of now, as only two figures stand on the rough, coarse and irritating sandy grounds. It's not the time for summer, but time for training, apparently...

Unbelievable...

"Hippolyta, we're not in Themiskyra anymore~. I think we can spare a day or two for leisure~..." I whine, doing my 5,000th push-up on the sandy greek beach, the sweat dripping from me practically forming a shadow on the damp darkened floor. I feel some weight upon my back once again, and I gasp for air. A sigh and a indignant puff of breath.

"It's not because of that you shall neglect basic training, I demand. A healthy body resides a healthy soul and mind, as they say." And the princess of the amazons, Hippolyta, now the [QUEEN] of my new peerage, taps my derriere as she sits on my back to weight me down and turn this hellish training session even harder. I agreed to accompany her during her morning jogs and exercises, but now this is getting ridiculous. "Your performance last night was lackluster due to your stamina, I note. We should start as soon as possible for this pace to remain throughout the day and not lose any rythmn, I demand. Now, do more 4,000 rows and then we might eat at that 'hotel' stabilishment. At this pace, you'll be done by sunrise, I suppose."

"Right, right..." I sigh, taking a deep breath to restart another set of push-ups and get a bit stronger while at it. I know I can simply order her to knock it off and call it quits on this whole morning spartan routine, but I do need to prove to her I'm somehow reliable on those, plus, I'm gaining some more stats as I train with her, and after two weeks of nothing but eating, dancing and frolicking with cute amazons, I guess I can kill some time with it. But why did it have to be at 4am...?

*TING!*


[By doing morning exercises, your -STR-, -DEF-, -DEX- and -END- has increased!]

-STR: 270

-DEF: 252

-DEX: 703

-END: 280


"3,997... 3,998... 3,999 and... And! AND!... 4-kay push-ups!" I celebrate finally finishing that set by pushing my body off the ground and then pull myself standing, only to fall on my back, lifting a curtain of sand around me. Phew~! This is nothing compared to sparing with cousin Sairaorg, but somehow, restraining myself to do some simple training can be just as exhausting. I look up, and the sky shares both a dark and bright colouration, the starry black night and the magenta sunrise. Can't appreciate it much though, still trying to catch my breath. "Pheeew~... Haaaaah~... Sometimes I wonder why I still bother..."

"Well done, male. I guess we can end this session for now, I presume." I hear claps next to me, and there she was, the amazonian princess, who jumped away to land a few meters away from me on the nick of time.

From here, tired as hell, I can only praise my ingenious idea of wear for her: a two-piece white bikini with red floral patterns and a wrap skirt, a black flower on her hair. At first I thought a microbikini would work, but I guess the tropical feeling with that set is just as nice~! She said she'll fine with anything as long as is not taxing on her movements, typical amazonian, but I did the right choice, and she doesn't suspect of anything...

"Is there something on me, male, I wonder? Your stare is too intense for a simple sight." She crosses her arms, and a dumb smile spreads across my lips.

"Just... Appreciating the view, that's all." I shrug to myself, oogling all over my [QUEEN] from top to bottom. "Between you and the sunrise, I feel in doubt which is brighter, I think. Those morning trainings are a literal pain to go through, but if I can see my dearest [QUEEN] wearing a fresh swimwear at the morning, I think that's all worth it."

"Again with those hollow compliments? Their frequency might turn them dull in my presence, I suppose." She lowers herself to sit next to me, her body turned to the horizon at the distance, as the sun rises for another day.

"It's a family trait, what can you do about it?" I shrug. "Now that you're my servant, my [EVIL PIECE] above all else, the only thing that can make us closer is a ring. Gremories, eh, are weird like that. Besides, what's the point of having such a beauty next to me when I can't compliment her features every chance I get? You're beautiful and cute, plus strong and talented, what else can do I but to praise those?"

"How hopeless you are, I add. One day, this will cause a bigger downfall than its worth it, I fear." She adds with a sigh, her sandals kicking some of the sand as she adjusts herself on ground. We should've probably brought a towel to sit and lay on, my sleeveless hoodie is also so drenched in sweat, I feel like a ungrilled tonkatsu.

Once I can, I put myself sit next to her, and we observe the start of a new day firsthanded. What a sight, wish I had a poet to describe the wonder before my eyes. Red blood skies, golden sun, dark blue waters, and the sand below our feet, it's the little things, I suppose. Wish there were some cuties in bikinis nearby, but eh, the amazonian princess next to me will do for now.

"Wanna go window-shopping after breakfast?" I suggest, looking at the horizon. An idle question, but maybe we are allowed to do as we please once in a while. Wearing the same clothes for half a month, I need some refreshers. A side-glance from the corner of her eyes, and back to the rising sun. "I bought you some Louboutins and a Gucci bag, as I promised. Now, we can buy you some Gianfranco Ferré for both winter and summer and, as a bonus, I can buy you come Carolina Herrera for a few perfumes, or Aqua d'Parma, how about it?"

"Are you even speaking greek at this point male, I dread?"

"Well, fashion is a language by itself, you see." I counter her mean words with a blasé pose. "Like a great woman once said: 'Fashion is instant language', specially today when interpersonal contact is so quick. You're a princess after all, why don't dress you up like one?"

"..." A moment of silence, a glance elsewhere, and I see her pull a bit of her hair behind her ear, red spreading all over her pretty face. "Apologies, I say. As an amazonian, the intricacies behind 'fashion' and 'aesthetics' are lost in me, I admit. As long as it does not hinder my performance as a warrior and a hunter, I am willing to any wear. Anything else... Is useless and unimportant, I observe."

"Isn't that a good thing?" I wink at her, and now she shifts her entire attention to me. "Only people with peace of mind are able to indulge in the useless and unimportant. If you're not suffering from famine, you can enjoy the taste of food; if you're not in debt, you can buy all the Dungam and sweets you want; if you're not drowning, you can just be taken by the waves. To be able to enjoy things you don't need, I think it's a sign of mental composure."

"What in Ares' name you're talking about, male?" She inquires me, turning her eyes back to the sun, and soon enough, the daytime finally comes, and we bath at the aster king, the darkness from above finally vanishing as the skies become a clear blue.

"We shoudn't take life so seriously, and have some fun while it lasts." I admit with a chuckle. "Like in a video game, some people want the high score, some people want to pull a *SSR unit, some people want to show they're better than others and some people want to become the best player. I just want have fun, enjoy the gameplay, the graphics, the story; and if I just so happen to uncover a new secret ending, beat a super boss or get the high score, as long as I can have fun playing it, enjoy it, those are just an afterthought."

"..."

"...?"

"What's a video game?"

And my head falls for that remark. Whatever, we can talk about those philosophies later, I'm in no hurry. We still an eternity to talk about each other and learn a thing or two with those. For now, we should just enjoy the little things as for now...

The fresh breeze of the beach, the cold sand beneath our feet, the bright sun on the sky, the seagulls meowing, the calming clash of the waves. When you're fighting for your life to pay rent, one misstep and is a boot in the rectum, saving to buy food and clean clothes, dreading that every phone call is from family, you kinda lose sight of those small things in life. I still want to see the world, I want to build a great peerage and become a great king, but for now... I can indulge, I'm in no hurry...

"I shall kick you in the heart/Giving a small check on the corner of my eyes/A wink is given is return~/Ooh~, a full moon night..."

"Male, you're doing it again, I warn. Singing without a reason, I see." A small shaking in my stupor, and I turn back to the amazonian princess, observing me from the corner of her eyes. I smile at her, and continue to hum...

"My bad, I just... Felt like it." I shrug, eyes at the sun, nothing else but small lyrics. "Persuading me, how difficult/The thrilling sensation is all that I want/Cheeky jokes and tomfoolery are fine, to sway yesterday's pain~."

"..."

"Then, let's dance... Feeling the lonesome boogie-woogie high heel, let's enjoy it until the next dawn..."

Ah, who could've guessed... Life can be this fun.


With the Sun fully risen, and I can finally feel my legs and arms, I decided to walk a bit around the beach, hearing the clash of the waves, feeling the cool breeze on my face and burying my barefeet on the soft sand, being followed by the amazonian princess, killing some time before breakfast. Isn't this just the best? An idle walk to nowhere, followed by a beauty, in a paradise under the sun... So idle, I trip a bit and fall on the ground, my [MIGRAINE] acting up once again under the hot sun. I stand up, dust myself a little and try to block the rays with a hand over my eyes, with varying results. I see a port with a lighthouse at the distance, a shot out of a postal card, and smile.

"Hey Hippolyta, look! A lighthouse! It's my first time seeing one!" I say, looking and pointing at the massive cilindrical construction by the port. Her uninterested stare turns to it, and she blinks a few times, adjusting the flower on her head. "Let's take a selfie with it! Gonna post it on Devinstagram and gets tons of likes!"

"I think I'll start carrying a dictionary to understand a fraction of your words, male." She sighs, clearly tired of hearing all that modern lingo, but not losing any of her curiosity as she approaches me to take a glance at my phone, which I pull from my shorts. "Oh, the glowing slate, I see. What are you going to do with it, I wonder? Besides hearing songs or watch something hilarious?"

"Take pictures, of course." I said, pointing the camera at her to take a snap from her figure. She blinks in surprise after a small spark from my phone, and blinking a few times, she comes closer to see her picture on the screen.

"Baffling, I admit. So many functions in such a small device, I marvel. Perhaps I should get myself one of those, I consider." She blinks, with me saving her pretty and fresh picture as my front screen. Good idea, by the way; magic is useful and all, but with all modern technology can provide us at the touch of a screen, it'll be foolish to not take advantage of something like that.

"I can buy you a smartphone later. I'll also buy a cover matching mine so that every knows we're together." I smile, and as always, my attempts at flirting fall flat regarding the amazonian princess. I wonder whcih level of [PLAYBOY] I need to reach to court this dense girl.

Oh well. Photo taken, and Devinstagram updated, I put my phone back at my pocket and decided to walk around the port now. The soft ground now becomes rock solid, and splashes of water reach higher this time, some even reaching me. In the end, I reach the edge of the white-marble port to look at the massive, imposing lighthouse, which had no light for now because. A sigh of amazement escapes my lips, to think I could only see those on postal cards, now feeling it firsthanded...

"Everything seems to amaze you, male." Observes Hippolyta, approaching me with a serious gaze and adjusting her skirt and flower against the winds. "What kind of sheltered life you must've been living all this time, I dread. Even yours truly, an amazon from the isolated Themiskyra, feels neutral to all those new sights, I admit. For someone from the outside world to react like that..."

"Oh nothing, it's just... Seeing how vast and colourful this world is... It's just..." I force a smile, some stinging from my eyes as tears fall down. Yes, this world is more than that dull little rented apartment, more than a silent train, more than a cubicle in a deadend company. I know it's nothing special, but there is just something so... Overwhelming about seeing them live like that. "Sorry, but like, ain't that exciting? I feel like I'm in a film, a good one at that, too!"

"First, this video game thing, now you see yourself in a 'film', I observe? Please, make up your mind regarding the scenario, male." She says with a sigh, coming to the edge of the port to support herself on the handguards and take a glance at the horizon just like me, pulling her hair to behind her ear. "But it is indeed a pleasant view, I suppose. The breeze and scent of the fresh beach complements it nicely, I add."

"Right, right?" I smile, shielding my eyesight from the sunrays from above without taking it off the view. "The only thing that is missing is a background music, some good score to cover the remaining sense and make this a full-blown cinematic-like experience. Yes, indeed, all that is missing is a song~..."

"Male, with all due respect, if you start singing without reason again, I might turn violent, no kidding." And as the song gathers inside my mouth, it abruptly stops once the amazonian princess threatens me for the first time. I shut myself up and shrug now, not because I'm afraid of her, but if she's uncomfortable by my singing, then no reason to push her buttons.

"You're no fun." I stick my tongue out for her joykilling tendencies, returning to face the ocean and enjoy all that is left from this moment.

Whatever, it is not the lack of BGM that will ruin this whole experience. I can just enjoy nature's own background OST; like the clash of the waves, the soft whispers of costal breezes, the meowing of the seagulls, the droplets of the sea reaching the port and the cries for help of a damsel in distress...

'After her! We shall not forgive of her offences against our kin...!'

'N-No, please! Leave me alone!'

'How dare you! We're gonna make sushi out of you, hahahah!'

'Noooo~! Please someone save me~!'

Ah, nature and its wonders...

...

"Male, there is a woman down under being chased by merfolks, I inform." And Hippolyta snaps me from my trance to inform me of what was going on. Oh, so that's not the usual delusion of mine, there is indeed someone in a need for help! I open my eyes to look down and, yes, there was a mermaid being followed by three merfolks on the shallow waters! "It seems that they are angry at her, why is that, I wonder?"

"Maybe we should help?" I point at the scene unfolding, seeing the mermaid girl being chased and then cornered by three reverse merfolks; as in, they have their lower-half of humans but the rest is fish. Things got a bit tight for the former, and it might turn ugly soon. Hippolyta blinks, and scratches the back of her ear.

"Be free to do as you want." She points out, and with a smile, I jump from the port to land on some rocks and skip my way to where the merfolks were harassing the mermaid. Unfolding my wings to ease my falling and control my flight, I land right in between the three merfolks and the girl, turning to them in a way to make them stop.

"Never fear, for Garith is here!" I declare, and from angry, the three merfolks stop and gasp in surprise, their already derpy fish stares getting wider with my presentation. I got their attention, and now time to know what's happening. "Hello everyone, Garith Gremory here! At least, that's the name I go by nowadays...That aside, I couldn't help but to notice that you merfolks seem to be harassing this mermaid lady. Any reason for that? Depending on your answer, I might go eas-..."

"Do not interfere, man of the land! We shall...!"

"Please, don't interrupt me."

"..."

"..."

"Sorry."

"Good, we're not savages. Let me finish my lines, then you can speak; that's the least you all can do." I cross my arms, satisfied as the merfolks lower their heads, ashamed of their rude slip. Good, at least etiquette is not dead yet. I cough to clean my throat. "But anyway, please explain why you folks are harassing this mermaid girl. Depending on your reasoning, I might go easy on you all. Or else."

"The problem is, mister man of the land, this girl is not a real mermaid!" The merfolk in the center, I assume its the leader of the trio, steps forward and points one of his fins towards the girl behind me. I give her a small glance from behind, and she'd have fooled me, since she got the fish tail, pointy ears like knives and everything, even her hair has a emerald glow to it. "She appears to be one of our kin, but she's a different being altogether, a devil! What she's doing is clearly fishface, and it's extremely offensive for us, the merfolk! Therefore, we shall lynch her as punishment for clear cultural appropriation!"

"..." Whoa, we got stuff like this in the supernatural world too? I guess everybody got their own share of cultural problems. I was dumbfounded for a few seconds in order to process this entire situation, and with a shake of my head, I open an inviting smile in order to ease the tension a bit. "Right. I dunno much about stuff like this, but I think lynching someone for something like that is not the answer. How about we calm down and talk things out, without violence?"

"How about you get the hell out our way and mind your own business, man of the land?!" But the leader of the trio spits at me, splashing some water on me with his human foot. "Unless you want a taste of what us, the merpeople, can do to your terrestrial ass if you continue to be a nuisance!"

"Sorry, but I just can't be idle in the face of something like that. It's a family trait, what can you do?" I shrug to them and to myself, and soon adopt a fighting stance against those three merfolks. My gaze turns upwards, and I take a glance on their stats.

[MERFOLK ANTONIO/ LVL. 27]

[MERFOLK CARLOS/LVL. 29]

[MERFOLK JOBIM/LVL. 33]

All of them low-leveled, weaker than I am, but if I'm not careful, since it's a 3-on-1, it might become troublesome. I crack my neck a few times and then focus my attention on them. Heaven or hell, let's rock.

"If you wish to engage, then bring it on!"

"Gladly! Boys, rattle him up!"

*SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!*

"Hah...?"

*SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!*

"..."

"Hah! How about this, man of ther land?! The special ability of us, merfolk! The [SPLASH] technique!" And the I can only stay silent as the three merfolks, instead of charging at me, decided to lay on the shallow waters and spaz out like literal fish out of the water. They jump, they twitch, they contort as in a frenzy, but the best they can do against me is splash some salty water on me. "Fear of the wrath of the kingdom of the oceans, and tremble against our collective offense! I bet you regret messing with us now, huh?! Well, I won't hear any apologies now! Taste the power of our [SPLASH] move! Taste it and despair!"

*SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!*

"..."

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAH~! I HOPE YOU HAVE PREPARED YOUR TESTAMENT, FOR TODAY YOU SLEEP WITH THE FISHES! MWAHAHAHAHAHAH~!"

*SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!*

"..."

"MWAHAHAHAHAHA-...!"

*GARITH USES EXPLOSIVE MAGIC.*

*IT'S SUPER-AFFECTIVE*

*ANTONIO, CARLOS AND JOBIM ARE BLOWN AWAY AND FAINTED!*

...

Unbelievable.

"Well, that takes care of them, at least for now." I laugh to myself, waving my hand to get rid of the fumes coming from a recently-charged explosion, seeing those three troublemaking merfolks now float a few meters away into the ocean. Things a bit calmer now, so maybe I can change some ideas with the mermaid on my reach. I turn to her and make the best face I can muster. "Now, about you. Hello, miss Mermaid. How's it going? Mind explaining what this mess is all ab-...?"

"L-Lord Garith...?"

"Hm~...?" I stop on my tracks as I take a closer look at the lady in front of me. At first glance, she dcoes look like a mermaid, fishtail and all, but under closer inspection, I can sense from her that she is indeed from a kin closer to my own. Also, behind her rare emerald hair and fain complexion, I see a familiar face. Oh my, didn't expect her to be around these lands! "Oh, miss Lilitifa! Long time no see!"

Yes, indeed. The adrenaline and my attempts to ease the situation against the merfolk must've blindsided me for a bit, because now that she has my full attention, not only I can sense she's not a mermaid but a devil, but I recognize the figure standing in front of me: Lilitifa Vepar, an old acquaintance of Rias and the heiress of the extinct Vepar clan of devils. Seeing me, the Vepar girl blinks her aquamarine eyes a few times and flinches as I approach her.

"Hello, miss Lilitifa! How's it going? It has been a while, n-...?" I reach a hand for her and she flinches, but before I could touch her, I pull it back to take a few steps back. Oh right, there's something between us that... Makes touching her a big no-no. "Oops, sorry. The restraining order is still up, right? Almost forgot about that."

"U-Uh... Hm... Yeah." She calms down and a pink hue spreads on her fair cheeks. "I-I mean... Since you saved me... I guess we can forget about 'that'... Just... Just be mindful with your words from here on."

"Ahahahahah. Of course."

"Male, what's is happening, I ask." A voice comes from above, and landing a few feet away from me comes my [QUEEN] and partner, Hippolyta, her sandals hanging from her shoulder as she walks towards us. One glance at me, then to miss Lilitifa, and then back to me. She aches a brow. "It seems that you bumped yourself into another problem, is it? Who this suppose to be, I wonder."

"Oh right, that's an old acquaintance of my clan. Lilitifa Vepar is her name." I present the devil to the princess, and then present the princess to the heiress. "And miss Lilitifa, this gorgeous young lady of regal aura and perfect is stance is my dear, adored, cute [QUEEN] and my first [EVIL PIECE], Hippolyta."

"Useless compliments aside, it's a pleasure to meet you, I suppose."

"H-Hm, likewise."

"Now that presentations are over, is there a reason for you to be around these lands, causing all this ruckus?" I turn to the mermaid devil, who pulls herself on a flat surface of a rock to better adjust her height and face us in a better position.

"I-I didn't cause ruckus because I wanted to." She pouts silently, and I wave my hands up to ease her little episode. One, two seconds to recollect herself, and she sighs miserably, turning an ashamed gaze elsewhere. "But, to answer your question, well... It's a long story, but there might be something around these greek lands thast might help my clan back from extinction... But it seems to be harder than expected..."

"Hohoh...?" A musing laugh escapes my lips to her initial words. I grow interested in that as well...

I guess I can spare some time for a side-quest after a boss fight.


ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKED:

-[MY DRESS-UP DEVILING]: Customize your [EVIL PIECE] for the first time.

-[WINNING FOR ONCE FEELS PRETTY GOOD, NO?]: Defeat an enemy with [AQUATIC] attributes.


And that's a wrap for the newest chapter I guess.

Hello, DXd fandom, Houki Minami is back with GxG after a small hiatus to write a possible new arc for this story. Like always, trying to come up with things that, at the same time, can interfere and not bother much with canon, so why not pull some characters for the short and extra stories to mess around, eh?

Truth be told, I always wanted to write about Lilitifa somehow since, well, I always had a thing for cute mermaids, and with a rocky backstory between her and Garith, I guess we can have some fun and development for the MC, who seems to rub people the wrong way. Oh well, there is still some time for him to develop, after all. BTW, the song that Garith is singing is real, called "Boogie-woogie lonesome high heel" bt Imai Miki. Another song close to my heart. Hahahah.

That aside, I thank all those who read up to this point, don't forget to R-and-R and have a nice day and stay safe, even more with all the things that have been happening. Greetings from Houki Minami.