AN: hello new and old to this little fic of mine, here is the next chapter
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]
If you asked Sirzechs Lucifer how he wanted to spend his Saturday night his answer would have been a little different from the current situation he found himself in. While the location and the people in it would have been in line with his answer the activity was most certainly not.
"I'm a failure of a mother." His beloved but currently distraught Wife said in a slurred voice that echoed inside their darkened bedroom.
"You are not a failure Fia" Sirzechs said comfortingly while holding the crying woman in his arms, any other day, holding his beautiful wife close to his chest while they rested on their bed would be the beginning of a wonderful night of marital passion. Even more so when you take into account how unrestrained his usually straitlaced wife was when she was drunk.
Tonight, however, was not going to be one of those lovely nights.
"He could have died Sirzechs" Grayfia wailed while looking him right in the eyes, her pretty red eyes brimming with tears. Seeing her like this broke his heart and made a part of him want to kick his son's ass for making her cry.
"He didn't and I keep telling you that Millicas is stronger than you give him credit for Fia it would have taken a lot more than a bunch of exorcists to kill our son even back then," Sirzechs said comfortingly, his fingers running through the unbound trends of her long silvery hair lovingly.
Even if he was confident in Millicas' strength, he was angry with his son for putting himself in dangerous situations. Not that he could truly blame his boy for being rebellious and reckless considering how overbearing and controlling Grayfia could be but there where better to show his rebellion than being careless.
The current Lucifer knew for a fact that if Millicas had asked either Souji or Enku to accompany him on his more reckless endeavours they would have happily done so while also hiding it from Grayfia without a second thought. They would have notified Sirzechs of the escapade afterwards but that was beside the point.
"He doesn't trust us" she cried as she buried her face into his chest her gorgeous figure flush against him.
Sirzechs was pretty sure that Millicas did trust them but he confessing his clandestine activities to them would be counterproductive for said clandestine activities.
Hell, a small part of him was tremendously proud that even with the number of watchers and spies that he and the family had watching over him, his son had managed to give them all the slip in such a way that until he was forced to reveal their existence no one had any idea about the 3 girls his son had recruit.
There was no guarantee that those 3 were the only potential members his son had scouted out under his family's watch.
"He does trust us; he just needed his own space to go out and find himself." Even if he believed what he was saying he mentally congratulated his past self for memorizing that new parent's guidebook back when his mother was pregnant with Rias, those cookie cutter phrases were great for moments like this.
"I could have done more Sirzechs, be more vigilant, this is all my fault." She said for the nth time tonight.
That was the main problem with his lovely wife and drinking, for all of the good times he had with her when she was drunk and in a romantic mood when she was depressed, she tended to go in circles not really listening to the conversation or even thinking what the problem was in the first place.
Knowing that by tomorrow morning she would be a lot more receptive to actually considering the reasons behind Millicas' recklessness, Sirzechs just kept comforting his wife very drunk and very naked till she fell asleep in their bed.
Covering their bodies with the sheaths the redhead promised himself that he would have a chat with his son soon, because even if he could protect himself and had reasons behind his actions, if Millicas had endangered himself once it wouldn't surprise Sirzechs if he did it more than once.
He was his son after all and Sirzechs had been going to more dangerous places than churches when he was Millicas' age.
If you ignored the cold climate and the fact that it was constructed on a floating island that, unknowingly to the general population that inhabited it, was powered by a divine relic the city of Atlas was a beautiful if monotonous place.
The monochromatic tones of blue that dominated the many buildings and towering skyscrapers that made the majority of the city structures only enhanced that monotonousness.
Making his way down the street with only Tarte at his side was not how he thought his Sunday would go but he wasn't complaining. New places to explore, Great sights and seeing his pretty maid dressed in a cute outfit made for a great way to spend an afternoon in Millicas' extremely biased opinion.
Choosing to be proactive with their Sunday the group had chosen to visit Remnant to check a couple of numbers on their to-do list.
While Ruby and Kiara visited the Rose Household on Patch Island for His bishop to start the process of healing Summer's body while also training with her Shun Shun Rikka, Millicas and Tarte were charged by their resident weaponsmith to procure as many Dust crystals of diverse cuts, quality and elements as they could get their hands on.
Knowing that because of Romans's string of robberies all over Vale before he was arrested, and unknown to the public but concerning for the authorities, his mysterious disappearance from Vale's police department's holding cells alongside his unnamed ally, the price of Dust in Vale had been inflated by the shortened supply the duo decided to simply teleport to the kingdom capital with the lowest Dust prices.
So, after arriving in Patch, a couple of long-distance teleportation circles and some flight later Millicas and Tarte found themselves walking into one of the biggest SDC stores in the city to procure the monstrous amount of dust that Ruby and Tarte wanted to play with in the newly established workshop/smithy they had made in their Sweet Home.
The hardest part of the transaction at the store was having to hypnotise the clerk to ignore the fact that Millicas had moved his newly purchased dozen industrial-grade crates of dust into their home by opening a portal by one of the warehouse walls and passing it off as Tarte's Semblance. Paying for the Dust had been the easy part of the transaction as thanks to his company device he could exchange his own currency for the lien used in remnant with no issue and the 50.000 dollars they racked up in their Dust shopping spree was merely a dip into his savings.
Truly being the rich son of Lucifer was a superpower in its own right.
Once they were done with their shopping, the couple decided to take in the sights and spend the rest of the day wandering around the city, making a proper date out of their trip ending up with them having lunch in one of the city's upscale restaurants.
It was then that their day was interrupted by an unexpected situation.
As they were chatting with each other while waiting for their dessert Millicas company device received a call from an unknown number. Sharing a curious look with his maid over the unexpected interruption the young Gremory answered the call.
"Hello?" Millicas said.
-"Hello Mister Gremory is good to hear from you again."- came a squeaky female voice that the devil found quite familiar. -"I hope I'm not interrupting something important."-
It took Millicas a second to remember where he had heard that voice before.
"Miss Yummi! It's been a while," He answered to the recruitment agent originally in charge of his contract. "Don´t worry you are not interrupting anything that I'm not willing to make up for later, what can I do for you?" Millicas asked while sending an apolitical look to Tarte and getting an understanding one in return.
They both knew that the company didn't do social calls.
-"I know it is on short notice but could we meet? It's better if I explain this in person."- Yummi said over the phone, sounding genuinely bothered with the situation.
With a grimace on his face, Millicas waved one of their waitresses over to ask for the check while answering the company agent.
"Sure thing, where do we meet each other?" he asked the cat on the other side of the phone.
-"I see from your file that you bought the Rainbow Bridge expansion, just go back to your Sweet Home and I can teleport there with your permission."- Yummi said.
"Then we will meet you there in a couple of minutes." With that said he ended the call.
Twenty minutes later Millicas and Tarte found themselves back in their living room with their sudden guest.
"Here you go Miss," Tarte said with a smile while setting a cup of tea meant for Yummi on the coffee table. Softly waving one of her white-tipped paws the floating cat levitated the steaming cup to her face with practised ease.
"Thank you, Tarte, the tea is excellently brewed," she complimented the smiling maid after taking a sip of the brew. Lowering his cup of tea while his knight sat down at his side Millicas addressed the recruitment agent.
"Not that I don't appreciate the visit Miss Yummi, but could you share with us the motive of this meeting?" He asked cordially.
Nodding at his question, the purple cat informed the pair of the reason for this visit. "The reason I came to talk to you is because of your contract with the mission department." She explained.
"Is there a problem with my performance?" Millicas asked surprised, considering that the cannon events hadn't even taken place yet, the redhead couldn't see where he could have messed up. He purposely made sure to follow the parameters set by the Grand mission for him.
"Oh not at all, it could be said that you are ahead of schedule all things considered." Yummi complimented the younger man before continuing. "Because your contract is with the mission department, it is expected that even while completing a grand mission you take on some side missions as the whole reason the department chose you as one of its contractors was to deal with the mission request backlog."
Understanding that he wasn't in any trouble Millicas relaxed slightly while listening to Yummi´s explanation. "The fact that you chose to take on that mission in Remnant out of your own volition made some of my superiors quite happy with the projected results of your continued performance." She explained.
"That being said there is a clause in your contract that lets us request you to complete specific missions that the mission department feels are between your capabilities, mind you as long as you complete the Grand Mission and a minimum of 6 other missions during the time frame you have to complete The True Gremory! Mission you would be fulfilling your part of the contract."
"So, I can choose to not accept this requested mission and as long as I complete 5 other side missions in the next 12 months I will not be in trouble?" Millicas asked for clarification's sake, even if his gut told him that refusing the first side mission proposed by the mission department was not in his best interest.
"That is correct, as long as you at least consider the department´s requested missions and you fulfil your quota you are free to do as you please" Giving her contractor a second to consider his options Yummi took a sip of tea after her explanation.
Keeping in mind the canon timeline of his home dimension hadn't begun yet, even if most of his planes and preparations were time sensitive Millicas couldn't see a reason to at least not hear the mission parameters before he made his choice, add to that the fact that according to Yummi the mission should be between his capabilities to complete and from his point of view the worst case scenario was either the proposed mission would take considerable time to complete or it would be something that Millicas didn't want to do.
"Okay then Miss Yummi, what is the mission?" with a nod to acknowledge his question the cat used its magic to levitate Millicas' device from the table and manipulated it with her paw before floating it to the Contractor. She saw him going over the parameters of the mission before he lowered the device to look at her with a surprised expression.
"You can't be serious!" Millicas finally asked after reading the mission. Surprised at her Master's reaction Tarte moved to his side and read the mission description over his shoulder.
{Mission Department Agent Guidance.
Generic Mission Scope: Quick
The Mission department requires capable contractors to deal with the enormous backlog of uncompleted missions requested by the company clientele. Sadly the new agent initiative to make contractors complete this backlog has seen a little bump on the road. From the initial batch of contractors, many had already failed without success. As one of the Agent initiative's more established prospects, we ask you to help increase the future effectiveness of your fellow agents by giving them a guiding hand.
Conditions:
Assess the abilities of a new lower-tiered agent than you and their chances to complete their current mission.
Advise them on ways to increase the success chances of their current mission.
If needed help them adjust their build to better increase both the mission success chances and their long-term survivability.
Help them choose their first quick mission and advise them on different ways to complete it.
Reward [Credits]: 20
Additional objectives:
Objective 1: Lend them assistance to complete their Quick Mission by joining them on the mission.
Reward [Companions]: Tier 4 or less Companion ticket of the setting the quick mission takes place in.
Objective 2: Use your credits to pay for any additional resources you feel they need to improve their effectiveness as an agent.
Reward [Other]: You will get 20% of any credits the agents make until your investment is returned with a 50% interest.
Objective 3: The agent completes their quick mission successfully.
Reward [Credits]: 10.
Objective 4: Repeat this mission at least 5 times and have all of your assisted agents succeed on their quick missions
Reward [Other]: Mission Department Promotion to Senior Agent Status.}
"Are you opposed to taking this mission?" Yummi asked.
"I have no problem with the mission itself," Millicas answered honestly. "My only issue is that I have been a contractor for a week, but this mission seems to be meant for more successful and established contractors."
"As you may remember from our first conversation," Yummi explained patiently. "The mission agent initiative is meant to train and employ a set of contractors as special agents to complete missions on behalf of our clients." Seeing Millicas nod at her reminder she continued.
"What you don't know is that when I mentioned that this was a new initiative, I was being literal. You, Millicas, are part of the first 5 contractors corresponding to the initial test set for the initiative that was granted the position of Mission Agents." Seeing by his understanding expression that the younger man was beginning to realize where she was going with this explanation Yummi revealed the most important detail.
"From that initial group 2 agents have died during their first week of timeline insertion." She said with a cold tone of voice that didn't sound right in her squeaky voice. "Of the remaining agents one is considered disabled and marked as 'Bad Ended' by the company's observation division, while the other agent is a non-combatant supporting character in a DR1 world."
Hearing the situation of his fellow mission agents Millicas could see not only why he had been asked to complete this particular mission but also why the mission existed in the first place.
"In comparison to them, you are a combat-capable T6 contractor solidly established in a DR6 World with a completed quick mission under your belt already," Yummi said with pride in her recruited agent. "Simply put you are our best agent for this mission."
"Okay, say I accept the mission. How does it work? do I give the new agent a call or do I visit them?" Millicas asked. All things considered; he was pretty sure he would accept the mission but it couldn't hurt to hear all the details before he said yes.
"Using the data gathered from the first group, the mission department is already in the process of selecting the next members to join the initiative." As she said this, she waved her paw over the table, making 3 manila folders appear in front of her.
"If you say yes, I will give you access to the builds and selected grand missions of the 3 agents already part of the next batch that qualify as targets for your mission, you have until next Friday to go over the data and choose which of the agents you want to help."
"How do I choose the agent?" after getting permission from Yummi, Millicas reached for one of the folders before giving the contents a cursory glance before moving to the next one. "Also, do I need to choose only one or I can help them all? The Guidance mission had a repeatable additional objective."
"It would be ideal if you chose to help them all but I need to inform you that completing the same mission multiple times does not count for your total mission quota," Yummi said while observing Millicas going over the builds one after the other before passing the folder to Tarte so she could read them as well. From his exasperated expression, he didn't look impressed with his fellow agents.
"As for a criterion to choose? That is 100% up to you but I would recommend you choose either the one you feel needs more help or the one you see more promise in, sadly I cannot share their psychological profile with you to help you choose so you will have to trust your guts."
Having gone over all the available details of the mission and his possible targets Millicas finally gave the floating cat a proper answer. "Very well I accept the mission".
"That's great!" Yummi said happily with a wide smile. "I will see you next Friday after you return from school for your choice on which of your junior agents you are going to help oversee."
As the early morning sun illuminated the streets of Kuoh a trio of young devils made their way to the renowned Kuoh Academy while comfortably chatting about the events of the previous day.
"And then Lady Yummi simply left our home." Tarte related to her fellow servant walking by the blond maid's side.
"I'm still hung up on the Talking Cat bit, we don't have those in Remnant." Seeing her new friend irritated at the department representative Ruby attempted to distract Tarte.
"Funny thing about that Ruby, there is at least one talking cat in Remnant that I know of," Millicas said to the redheaded girl walking between the maid and her master.
"Millicas that's racist!". The red-haired Pawn said indignantly.
The screen of the three teens walking down the streets was unreal in its normality when you considered the fact that they were devils and not your average run-of-the-mill students. Dressed in the Kuoh academy uniform they would have been only another set of friends going to class together to the eyes of any bystander if not for their colourful hairs that set them apart from the regular Japanese teenager.
Even if they weren't listening to their strange conversation or Millicas' attempt to explain over his laughter why he wasn't commenting on the Faunus race to the angry Huntress-in-training the trio gathered the attention of the other students communing on the same street to the Academy.
"I have never seen them before."
"Look at the legs on the redhead, thank god for short skirts"
"Do you think one of them is his girlfriend?"
"We are getting more pretty girls? this school is the best!"
"Is it just me or does that pretty boy look like Gremory-Sempai?"
Millicas absentmindedly took advantage of his supernatural hearing to take stock of the different conversations around him while Ruby and Tarte talked about yesterday's dilemma. Whereas a part of him was interested in the students of Kuoh Academy and the upcoming time he and his companions would spend at the school he couldn't help but let his future mission distract him.
After Yummi had left their Sweet Home, he had spent the rest of the day reading the information of his fellow agents. Going over their build decisions and chosen worlds he could already tell that any of them would be a good choice for his mission, the problem however was in choosing how to help first.
After some consideration, he decided to help all 3 of them even if that wouldn't add to his quota.
The main reason for this decision was that at the very least adding their worlds to his Rainbow Bridge database would be beneficial in the long run for the young Gremory. Moreover, if he ended up liking anyone of the junior agents he could make a deal with them for future cooperation even after the initial mission was done.
Considering the difficulty of some of their chosen worlds he would reckon that at the very least one of them would agree to a contract with him even if only to have Millicas on speed dial for some emergency aid in case they mess up somehow.
Add to that the possibility of accessing each other's world's unique resources without the need to invest in specific base-building perks, companions or dealing with random contractors while using a Green Eye Orb to access the company-regulated neutral grounds and Millicas could see the long-term benefits of this agreement.
While he considered those future endeavours the flow of students that the Gremory Trio had followed from the closest train station finally reached its destination.
Seeing the open gateway that marked the entrance to their new school the son of the current Lucifer would have taken the time to enjoy the sight of the grand academy campus before him if he wasn't distracted by a pair of girls standing by the gate.
A duo of contrasting glasses-wearing girls was inspecting the student entering the academy with a sharp focus.
One of them had long gleaming black hair that reached the back of her knees, a pair of semi-rimmed blue glasses framed her heterochromatic eyes, and the tight and short academy uniform she wore perfectly showed off her tall and curvaceous figure.
The other one, shorter than her companion, had lustrous black hair styled in a short bob cut that reached her shoulders, the pair of red framed glasses she used couldn't hide her shining amethyst-coloured eyes from view the crimson skirt of her uniform flared slightly, perfectly accentuating her curvy hips and beautiful legs.
At the sight of the president and vice president of the student council, Millicas sped up slightly to approach them knowing that they were expecting him and the girls to finalise their registry into the academy. On the back of his head, the red-haired king couldn't help but feel excitement at the fun they would have in the coming days.
[0000]
[Build as of Current Chapter]
Starting World: High School DxD [Standard]
Starting budget 365
Intensity [6.25]
Legacy Difficulty 0
Mode
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]
Stay in touchᵈˡᶜ -5 [220]
Armoryᵈˡᶜ -10 [210]
Talents
Body Tune-Up -5 [205]
Soul -10 [195]
Martial -10 [185]
Communication -10 [175]
Template Stacking I x4 [Ruby Rose has Hephaestus/Hephaistos (Danmachi), Sesshouin Kiara (Saint) has Inoue Orihime (Bleach), Tarte has Scáthach (Nasuverse), You as Millicas Gremory has Beerus (Dragonball)] -80 [95]
Talent Sharing x3 [Soul Talent, Martial Talent, Covert Talent] -30 [65]
Covert -10 [55]
Added Potential x4 [Ruby Rose has Sacred Gear (DxD), Sesshouin Kiara (Saint) has Aura (RWBY), Tarte has Aura (RWBY), You as Millicas Gremory has Aura (RWBY)] -20 [35]
Defenses
Body -5 [30]
Information -25 [5]
Defenses discounted for retinue members +22 [27]
Misc Perks
Universal Calibration -10 [17]
Exit Stage Left -5 [12]
We Will Meet Again -15 [-3]
Psychic Paper -5 [-8]
Generic Waifu Perks
Open Rollsᵈˡᶜ -5 [-13]
Paper Trail x4 [Sesshouin Kiara (Saint), Tarte, You as Millicas Gremory, Ruby Rose] -4 [-17]
Native Mergerᵈˡᶜ[Summer Rose] -10 [-27]
Companions bought -35 [-62]
Sesshouin Kiara (Saint)(T5)[buy] from Nasuverse
Tarte(T6)[buy] from The World's Finest Assassin
Summer Rose(T4)[used]{Familiar} from RWBY
Companions captured +36; sold +8 [-18]
Ruby Rose(T6) from RWBY
Roman Torchwick(T5) from RWBY -SOLD
Cinder Fall(T5) from RWBY -SOLD
Mission Rewards +70 [52]:
Smaller, More Honest Soul... in RWBY
Other [Ruby Rose]; Credits [20]; Credits [50];