AN: hello new and old to this little fic of mine, here is the second chapter of the story for you guys to enjoy
Disclaimer: I don't own HighSchool DxD or any character from other sources that may make their way into this, and neither I own the Waifu catalogue.
[0000]
The unnatural light that illuminated the building's rooftop was nearly invisible to the humans making their way across the streets of Kuoh Town under the warm midday sun.
The strange feeling of the second teleportation circle Millicas had used to move them in town was still a little unsettling but not something she couldn't shake away easily.
Looking over the horizon, seeing all the people moving around enjoying their Sunday she couldn't help but let her mind wander while they made their way down to the backyard of the apartment building using their wings to slow down their descent.
Has it been 3 or maybe 4 years she wonders.
Even if the memories of her life were but a copy of a life inserted in the copy of a person they felt like her own.
They were how she was and made her the person she was today, flaws and all.
So, from her point of view, it has been so long since she returned to her home country. Since she was forced to join the Seraphix branch of Finis Chaldea, by the persecution of others.
She wondered if the tiny town she was born in existed in this world at all, if that were to be true could she go there?
If saw with her own eyes her old childhood house, would it still feel like a prison as she had waited for her sickness to finally kill her?
Or would it feel like returning home after a long pilgrimage, older and wiser for her time around the outside world?
Not like there was anything there to begin with. Even in her world, that old house had been empty for nearly a decade. But with any luck the Family headstone could still be found in the town's graveyard, if it even existed at all.
At the very least she decided, while walking around town at the side of her King she should make the trip to the mountainside town.
Even if they hadn't had the best relationship in her childhood years and even if she knew that if the grave existed it wouldn't be theirs, she would like to visit her parents.
She wanted to tell them about her life and her struggles after they died.
She wanted to let them know the woman she had grown into.
And maybe in time, meet the man that she would love for the rest of her days.
She would like that.
Kuoh town was your standard anime town. He could bet that even if the layout may differ slightly outside of important landmarks and places for the story you could walk down the street of the place and don't see many differences wherever you were in either Kuoh, Karakura, Namimori or any other town you would see at the start of your regular high school Shonen manga.
That being said the place was nice. Clean streets, friendly people, nice stores, etc.
A nice place to live in if you ignored the fact that it was a goddamn magnet for supernatural trouble and if you were a regular human, you weren't even an afterthought for the different creatures that inhabit the place.
Best case scenario they ignored you and you lived your life in ignorance.
Worst case you ended up murdered on your bed, eaten by a monstrosity, raped by some humanoid-like creature if you were lucky, ritualistically sacrificed by mad zealots, enslaved by demonic entities and a whole laundry list of other horrible fates that could befall you without your knowledge.
But Nice town if you could defend yourself from all the creepy crawlers that went bump in the night he reckons.
Now after an hour or two of walking around town Kiara and he were sitting down inside a traditional teahouse they had found a couple of blocks away from the long strip that made up Kuoh's shopping district.
The small hole-in-the-wall shop was sparsely filled with less than half a dozen patrons. Its cosy atmosphere and the good tea made it a perfect place for them to rest, wind down and chat while going over what they had found.
Opening her brand new pink Hello Kitty notebook, they had picked up from a supply store while checking out town. Kiara got ready to jolt down our thoughts. She was the world's sexiest sounding board in his humble opinion.
"We couldn't find anything inside the abandoned church that indicated it had been used recently nor did we find any signs of combat nor magical reconstruction of the structure itself." My pretty assistant began.
"Neither could we find any trace of the fallen around the town itself so we can assume they are not here at the moment." I continued.
"For now, let's work under that assumption, We can keep an eye on the church to see if they appear and it wasn't a complex thing but the bounded field I placed behind the altar's secret entrance should let us know if someone enters the hidden basement."
"So, we have some time before canon starts and a way to tell when the little birds try to make their cute little love nest of pain and sorrow." I take a sip of my tea enjoying its subtle taste before moving the conversation along.
"But we do have a one-week limit before I'm expected to start attending the academy so the question is what do we need to do before then? Do keep in mind that we can't just spend all that time inside our sweet home I need to be seen around town sometimes so whatever hidden watchers are there don't go running to Dad about me disappearing from town."
''How much time could you get away without being seen?'' She questioned me after thanking the waitress who brought us a plate of cookies.
''No more than a day I reckon, I have been known to move around different places in the human world'' Kiara noted down my estimated ''vanishing'' time frame in her pink notebook before continuing.
"The most indispensable thing would be to add more members to the peerage and decide on who and where are we gonna be doing our training." She wasn't wrong in her analysis.
Now that we were certain that we had time the best thing we could do was fill some of the key positions in our peerage to maximize the growth of our retinue by building a solid base to start our training.
The place for that training could be decided later thou. I'm not willing to buy size expansions for the sweet home but I don't want our training spied upon.
"I still want to buy slightly used companions we can help them get a better home from wherever the company keeps them while saving credits in the long run so it's two birds with one stone."
"Yes and while I want that too Millicas, seeing as me helping them is one of the reasons you chose me as your first waifu. But I think we should get some other members first as the loyalty and camaraderie of the retinue would serve as a good support structure of confidants for the more damaged members to rely upon as they heal"
"I see your point love, but now that we know that the canon hasn't started yet we can do both, can we? We do have the time, it is only a matter of timing and order now."
"We can but is because we have the time that we don't need to rush ahead. Your idea to maximise our retinue growth is a little unorthodox but not without merit focusing on specific powersets that should be outside of our reach by their price point by template stacking them into lower tier waifus gets around both our limited credits and the out-of-world restrictions." The kind magus said.
"Well if we are going algo with that plan then I see the merit of waiting a bit on buying a T7 ally right now. We can wait till we start attending Kouh Academy at the very least.''
I conceded her point, we needed to take advantage of the time available to use before everything goes to shit in this town. Slow and steady wins the race as they said.
"Okay, right now it's you, me, our interdimensional hideaway and 134 credits burning a metaphorical hole in my pocket. 40 of those are gonna go to our chef and her template stacking that alongside your own Orihime Template will be the basis of our growth strategy.''
''Not counting any discounts you get for defences and adding 11 credits for martial talent sharing and the paper trail she would need that leaves us with 83 credits.''
I took a second to go over my device to check the options that I had in mind before letting Kiara see the screen.
''I checked the mission available and that mission can kickstart our credit farming by a lot, true I will need to use nearly all my leftover credits to make a couple of key purchases before going but that can easily be recovered with the 70 credits in the bonus objectives rewards alone.''
''that's not accounting for any targets you can get your hands on during the mission itself.'' She quickly agreed to my plan.
''Also I'm no saint but I can help the world greatly by selling the extra reward targets after the fact'' Having touched upon the possibility of taking an additional mission back home as one of our viable strategies I see Kiara running the numbers in her head.
''Counting the perks that you will need and assuming you are buying our next ally before you take on the mission, with the defence discounts that leave you with 35 credits.'' It was a lot less than I wanted to have in my back pocket but it was an investment for the future.
''Okay give me a second to buy everything before going back home, we can meet our new friend and maybe get a sparing match or two in so we can all grow accustomed to our templates before I leave for the mission.'' After Kiara returned the device I went about shopping.
5 seconds and 79 credits later, It would have been 99 but I was waiting till after I reincarnated my new companion as a devil before buying her future template, I was the proud owner of an interdimensional portal room and a super maid.
''Let's go back home and meet her shall we?'' before I could hear Kiara's reply the universe chose that moment to screw with my beautiful machinations because, of course, I couldn't run around Kuoh without something happening.
''Mi-Chan?'' I barely manage to stop a sigh from leavening my lips at hearing the question from across the café. There was only one person in my life that called me that.
Seeing Kiara's eyes move to the door behind me in surprise and amusement I turned around and accepted the reality of the situation.
Making their way across the coffee shop, obviously having just entered the store was a pair of beautiful ladies.
One long-haired voluptuous red-haired young woman made a beeline for our table disregarding the looks the other patrons were giving her.
She was accompanied by her equally ridiculous proportioned raven-haired best friend just behind her.
My Beloved Aunt/Honorary Big Sister an occasional bane of my existence Rias Gremory and her sadomasochist dominatrix of a queen Akeno Himejima.
I couldn't help but wonder if, had I bought the destiny defence would I have been saved from this stupid trope, of course, I ran into them in the middle of a random café the second I was getting ready to leave.
''Hey there Sis long time no seen.'' The look on her face and how her eyes shifted to my side let me know just how much use it would be to distract her with pleasantries. I have known her all my life and while I could tell that she was happy to see me, the wideness of her smile of it spelt troubles.
''Mi-Chan so good to see you here'' she didn't even wait for an invitation and sat down at the booth at my side forcing me to press myself against the wall, Akeno sent me a teasing smile and a greeting as she did the same beside Kiara, the sadistic Miko ready to enjoy the show unfolding before her.
''Who is your friend Mi-chan?'' not one word and she went right for the throat.
I would have preferred this to be done later but I didn't have any other option right now but to face the music and endure the upcoming interrogation at the hands of my otaku sister.
May as well take the opportunity to show off my lovely Lady. Looking at the other occupants of the shop I decided to take advantage of that.
''Before that let us take care of something. Kiara if you could?'' I added a theatrical wave of my hand to my smiling request.
My dear bishop as quick-witted as she was attractive easily picked up my order. Having previous knowledge of her abilities I was kind of excited at seeing her magecraft in action for the first time.
The Magus took a deep breath and I could barely catch the soft glow of the magic circuits inside her mouth before she exhaled a translucent and imperceptible cloud. Her spell quickly dispersed, filling the room with a soft aroma reminiscent of strawberries.
I could see the effect taking place almost immediately as all the humans around us started smiling happily at the invisible scent that distracted them from our conversation.
The irony of Kiara having a pheromone-based magecraft was not lost to me.
Enjoying for a second the curious looks of wonder that Rias and Akeno were sporting at the sight of the unfamiliar spell cast by my mysterious companions I proceed to start the conversation.
''Well with that out of the way let's start with introductions Kiara this less attractive redhead is my big sister Rias Gremory and the lovely lady condemned to suffer her anime addiction is her queen Himejima Akeno.'' That earned me a well-earned punch in the shoulder from said otaku princess and the soft laughter from the Miko across her that stopped my introduction.
''And this beautiful Lady is Sesshouin Kiara, My Bishop,'' I didn't even try to hide the smile making its way across my face, already knowing what was coming. I turned to see Rias' eyes slowly widen in the realisation of what I just said.
''Wait, Your Bishop?! Congratulation Mi-chan!.'' It was a good thing Kiara had entranced the other customers as Rias barrelled into me, hugging me tightly to her chest as if trying to suffocate me with her enormous breasts. Not the first time she accidentally tried that in her excitement.
I returned the hug easily my left arm across her back pulled her closer I used it as leverage to move my head out of its pillowy prison before my right hand encircled her waist to properly return the hug. I may tease her a lot but I still love her dearly.
''Good thing Kiara distracted the patrons or some of them would think me some kind of Playboy surrounded by such beautiful girls only to have one of them shove my head into her gigantic tits'' She shoved me away with a cry of indignation and started the old and common argument about the breast being perfectly shaped, how I had horrible taste in woman, how I was so much cuter when I was younger and all that jazz.
She made it so easy.
''So Grayfia-sama finally relented and allowed you to get your evil pieces?'' Akeno asked me ignoring her king's regular rant with the practised ease of a patient mother listening to her child.
''That's a way to look at it, certainly nicer than I would have but technically correct.'' I could feel my smile twisting down slightly.
''Oh, truthfully? And how would you have put it Millicas-sama?'' Akeno's smile on the other hand twisted upwards.
Before I could give the teasing dominatrix a response Rias's hand covered my mouth, obviously knowing the choice word I would have about how overprotective mother was and exactly where dad had to look for his ball sack before finally putting his foot down and let me have my evil pieces instead of bending over like wet noodle at every one of his wife's demands in regards of the household.
Don't let the maid dress and power difference fool you, Mother was the one who wore the pants in the relationship. Ruling over her manor with an iron fist like an evil queen over her domain.
''You know Grayfia-nee and Nii-sama only worry about your safety Mi-chan'' Rias said calmly
''I don't doubt that for a second Sis but there is a difference between protecting your child and smothering them. I'm 17 years old and only got allowed to get my evil pieces yesterday, when the normal age for a pureblood devil is 12, hell You got them at 10 Rias, you can't tell me that it wasn't long overdue regardless of good intentions'' I said angrily.
I knew that my parent had good motives for their protectiveness and more likely than not universal calibration may have had a hand in me not getting them till the day before insertion but this was an old argument that wouldn't just disappear because I finally had my pieces, the chance to leave the house and enjoy my freedom.
''Well, you got them yesterday and you already got a bishop? Talk about being fast'' obviously trying to change the subject Akeno jumped at the chance to move the conversation along.
Looking at each of the ladies sharing the booth with me I gave them a confident smirk before answering, their reaction would be entertaining if nothing else.
''Remember all the times I would sneak out into the human world in the last 5 years? How much Mother complains about me recklessly acting out by disappearing for a couple of hours at a time after slipping past the maids?'' I said expectantly.
Realization flashed across the high school duo's eyes at my comment. Kiara, I could tell, was laughing her gorgeous heart-shaped ass off inside her head while trying hard not to show it in her face.
''You were already recruiting candidates before you had your pieces'' The look of fascination on Rias's face as she said this had me chuckling merrily.
Mind you I hadn't recruited anyone in those escapades.
Too concentrated on enjoying as much time as I could in the human world before one of Dad's peerage members tracked me down to drag my ass back to the underworld.
But it was the perfect time for the paper trail perk to be used as an excuse for how Kiara and I knew each other and most likely the same excuse that would be used for anyone I buy the perk for in the future.
''That's right, I have known Kiara for some years now and managed to talk my dear doctor into joining me. Now that I have a peerage, she can move here with me from Tokyo. I need to talk to Grampa about getting her a job in the academy now that I think about it.'' I explain to them.
''You are moving here as well Mi-chan, why no one told me before now?'' I could hear the indignation underlying in Rias' tone.
''Well I was supposed to let you and Sona know that I will be joining you guys at the academy next week and I was going to visit you today but I kind of crashed last night after all the excitement of moving and getting my evil pieces then the first thing I did this morning went to resurrect Kiara as soon as I woke up and… you get the idea.'' I placated her.
A cough from Akeno distracted Rias from our conversation her not-so-subtle nod to her side reminded my sister that in the excitement of the moment and our usual hijinks, she hadn't even greeted my new bishop.
''Oh Satan, please forgive me Sesshouin-san I didn't realize I had been so rude as not to greet you but I was so happy for Mi-chan after so long that it slipped my mind.'' She blushed in embarrassment while forcibly not looking at her queen hiding her giggles behind one of her hands.
''Please don't worry Gremory-san I was more than happy to see you interact with each other, it is obvious how much you care for each other.'' My saint readily forgave my sister.
''You are a Doctor Sesshouin-san?'' Akeno asked after we all had properly greeted each other and they had requested some tea from the waitress, the effects of Kiara's spell already having faded away.
''Yes a Psychologist to be precise, I graduated 3 years ago from Tokyo-U and have been practising in Tokyo proper ever since.'' The magus readily spews the lies that her paper trail would confirm if the girls or someone else made a background check.
''That's amazing you look so young but you already graduated from one of the more prestigious universities in the world''
''How did the two of you meet?'' while Akeno may be interested in being polite while she fished for information on Rias had no such proclivities. Regrettably, for my wanna-be interrogator of a sister's thirst for blackmail, we had things to do other than let the interrogation continue.
I made a motion as if I noticed something and took my device from my jacket before looking at it.
''Sorry to cut this short Sis but I need to go pick up my future Knight and then help her and Kiara move their things to their new apartment I also need to check on my other candidates so if you could let Sona know about me living here that would be great.'' I tried to sound apologetic.
''how many pieces have you already gathered?'' Rias sounded more like she was asking me how many girls I slept around with under Mother's notice than peerage members recruited.
''I have many candidates but Kiara is the only one I have Reincarnated so far, apart from her, my knight already accepted years ago the others I haven't asked yet but I reckon I should have at least 3 members in total by the end of the week maybe 4,'' I said easily.
''Okay I will let Sona know and also let her know about new students joining but I want to properly meet all the members of your peerage as soon as possible.'' She was suspecting me of some kind of mischief I could tell by her tone, at least let me sleep with them before you accused me of the fact.
''Sure, I will be running around all week getting things done but I will visit the unnecessary big building you call a clubhouse Saturday after classes and show my little band of misfits off,'' I said agreeing quickly while trying to detract her.
''The occult club building is not that big Mi-chan'' she said with a pout. Great it worked now for the coup de grâce.
''Sona is happy with just her modest student council room but you insisted you need all the old school building for yourself'' That comment got her angry, she looked like the world's angriest puppy.
''Why do you always take Sona's side I'm your sister you should side with me.'' I could only laugh out loud at her complaining.
''Millicas!''
She was always such a treat.
After saying our goodbyes sometime later Kiara and I teleported to the forest outside of town before making use of a conveniently placed hidden portal to access our sweet home.
The moment we entered the house properly I was greeted with soft feminine humming coming from the kitchen and the sight of the recently cleaned living room sparkling after being organized. the mess we had left before going to town was long gone.
''Welcome Home Master.'' Turning my eyes to the kitchen's connecting door I came across the origin of that angelic voice.
Her Blonde hair was styled in twin tails and her greenish-yellow eyes shone with adoration looking at me. She was dressed in a yellow maid dress with a white apron and green details that showed off her well-endowed figure, her bosom practically presented for me to enjoy by the open top of her dress when my new maid gave me an elegant curtsy as part of her greeting.
''We are home, Tarte.'' Closing the door behind me after Kiara had made her way in I moved over to greet my new companion.
''My Name is Millicas Gremory I will be in your care from now on'' I told her softly.
''It's a pleasure meeting you Master I will serve you loyally from now on Please make use of me as you see fit'' Tarte replied joyously.
Knowing her story and personality I wasn't surprised by her submission and the eagerness in her bearing.
The company binding that connected her to me must have simply transferred all the feelings her baseline template had for her original master Lugh Tuatha Dé to me.
In some way, it felt odd to see the love in her greenish eyes as she looked at me. This was our first meeting and I hadn't done anything to deserve devotion yet.
I could see the affection that Kiara had for me as well, and how quickly it was growing.
It just so happened that Tarte loved me from the get-go instead of quickly falling in love with me by the guidance of the stamp.
I will just show them and any future girl in my retinue as much affection as I can while also taking care of them and letting things develop with time. We will be together for a long time hopefully.
Kiara and I spent the next hour explaining the cliff notes version of our situation and plans to Tarte.
We couldn't even finish going over the intrinsicality of the peerage system when my new Super Maid jumped at the chance to serve me as one of my evil pieces.
One Detection spell and a ritual later Tarte joined me as my first knight.
I was pleasingly surprised that the peerage system didn't realize the potential of the skills the lovely assassin had which where the reason that made me choose Tarte in the first place.
By the time we were done with the explanation, we had moved to the kitchen to wait as Tarte prepared lunch for the three of us.
''Think it will work?'' Kiara asks the blond maid from her seat at the kitchen table.
''Yes, Master's idea is not something I have tried before but with my original skill and the powers he gifted me I believe I can do it, I will need practice to reach the maximum potential but even now this should be good enough.'' Responded my Knight.
The primary Skill in question that made me choose Tarte as our Chef was named [Possibility Egg].
As the name implies it's a skill that changes into another skill depending on the nature and needs of the user, ranging from S-Rank to B-Rank in the ranking system from her original world.
The broken nature of the skills adaptability was in theory more than enough for my plan but thanks to the template stacking of Scáthach she now possessed I hoped that it would reach new heights when used in combination with the Wisdom of Dún Scáith skill.
While she was cooking I could see Tarte's magical energy leave her slim body with each of the motions she took while cooking and I could appreciate how that same energy twisted around her utensils before being infused into the ingredients as she prepared our meal.
Soon enough three decadently precented servings of Blanquette de Veau were placed on the table. The delicious meal was one of the greatest things I had ever tasted, certainly fit for even the most gluttonous of devil nobles and well beyond anything I could do before Faerie Feast.
But the important part was not the scrupulous taste but the effects of the dish.
I could feel my body empowered by the supernaturally enhanced nutrients of the dish. From my blood to my muscles every inch of my body was charged by her medical concoction.
I looked at my maid with a beaming smile.
''This should be it, Tarte, what are the skill effects proper?'' With a radiant smile that oozed pride, Tarte answered my question.
''B Rank: [Food Augmentation] This skill allows me to enhance the nutritional capability of any dish I make, increasing the physical and magical growth rate up to 5 times of anyone that eats them for up to 6 hours after ingestion.'' She recited to me.
Yes, this will do nicely.
[0000]
[Build as of chapter 2]
Starting World: High School DxD [Standard]
Starting budget 365
Difficulty [6.25]
Legacy Difficulty 0
Intensity
Me and My Girlfriend(s)(PvE) +0 [365]
You as Millicas Gremory (Substitute) of T6 -20 [345]
Bindings
Company Stamp free [345]
Lures
Sticky Fingers -5 [340]
Faerie Feast -10 [330]
Zenryoku Zenkai -20 [310]
Home Perks
Pocket Space -5 [305]
Pocket Apartment x2 -20 [285]
Sweet Home -20 [265]
Home Securityᵈˡᶜ free [265]
All Roads Lead to Home -10 [255]
Rainbow Bridge -30 [225]
Talents
Body Tune-Up -5 [220]
Soul -10 [210]
Martial -10 [200]
Communication -10 [190]
Template Stacking I x3 [Sesshouin Kiara (Saint) has Inoue Orihime (Bleach), Tarte has Scáthach (Nasuverse), You as Millicas Gremory has Beerus (Dragonball)] -60 [130]
Talent Sharing x2 [Soul Talent, Martial Talent] -20 [110]
Defenses
Body -5 [105]
Information -25 [80]
Defenses discounted for retinue members +22 [102]
Misc Perks
Universal Calibration -10 [92]
Exit Stage Left -5 [87]
We Will Meet Again -15 [72]
Generic Waifu Perks
Open Rollsᵈˡᶜ -5 [67]
Paper Trail x2 [Sesshouin Kiara (Saint), Tarte] -2 [65]
Companions bought -30 [35]
Sesshouin Kiara (Saint)(T5)[buy] from Nasuverse
Tarte(T6)[buy] from The World's Finest Assassin