The Time of Isolation Hath Come

IV

Romani didn't really understand how he had been talked into going out for drinks with Azazel.

Well, that wasn't true.

He did understand how it happened, but it was more the ease at which he had been convinced, but maybe it was everything that happened and how open Azazel was in approaching him.

It felt a little different to their previous brief interactions.

"I've been coming around here a couple of times while I have been in Kuoh." The man spoke, sitting down at the table and raising a hand, Romani found that the sly smile on the face of the man brought him very little in the way of comfort.

Rather, it gave him a strong sense of foreboding.

"So you've been here a while then?"

"Like I said, every now and again…But yeah, it mostly started right around the time that Kokabiel started doing some…stuff."

Romani caught the slight hesitation in the words, he frowned a little at the man but didn't say anything. It did confirm that he was at least aware of what happened in regards to the Fallen Angel, though it didn't amount to much now. Everything sort of fell to the wayside in regards to the other guy who showed up later.

"...Don't suppose you could have helped earlier?"

Azazel offered a small grunt. "A fair question, but yeah…Not exactly. There is a lot of weight behind me even showing up and for me to arrive in Kuoh after one of my top guys decides to go rogue." bringing up a hand, he scratched at his beard. "Someone like me doesn't just walk in and fight one of my most prominent subordinates without turning some heads."

Politics, then?

Yikes, that sounded rather unpleasant to consider, but there was something else that stuck out to him. "Okay…but what about Penny?"

A faint chuckle from Azazel. "You can thank Leo for that, one phone call and I didn't even know she was in Kuoh until I'm getting a phone call from her about ten minutes later to tell me that not only is Kokabiel dead, but there is a thousand year old mage with animals in his body running amok."

He pointed to himself. "I thought she drunk-dialled me."

"So…she wasn't supposed to help?"

"Nah, not really." Azazel shook his head, the rather flippant tone initially put him on edge, at least until the man raised his hands in surrender. "But I am glad she did, goes a long way for cementing my approval of the peace talks if one of my other subordinates is helping, along with the Church and the Devils…But I did send some other guy to go and help out."

Romani blinked.

He did?

Then why hadn't he seen them?

"Really?"

Azazel made a small face of confusion at him. "The White Dragon Emperor? The Vanishing Dragon? The guy with silver armour?"

Romani blinked once more, then furrowed his brows a little. He did briefly recall someone mentioning something in regards to that. Something Issei had said about fated rivals or along those lines, it sounded dangerous and Azazel sent this guy out to help them? For one thing, Romani never saw them show up, and for another…

"So…You sent the White Dragon to help the Red Dragon…knowing those two have a blood feud going on?"

Azazel kept himself stone faced for a second, then gave a wry smile and a shrug of the shoulders. "When you put it like that, it sounds like a crappy idea. But I trusted the guy to hold himself back and, to be honest, the Red Dragon Emperor isn't strong enough for Albion to bother fighting at the moment. Those two typically wait until their hosts are as strong as they can get."

That still sounded a little risky to him, especially when it came to taking into account the life of Issei and the others, because he was sure they would not have stood aside and let them fight.

Rolling his jaw, he dropped his shoulders and rested his hand on his head.

This was giving him a headache the longer he thought about it, this sounded to be a lot more troublesome than he initially thought it was going to be. Pulling his hand down his face, he paused for a second and raised a brow at the man, suddenly aware of the location they were in. "So…should you really be talking about that stuff here?"

"Eh? Oh, just think of it like some sort of magic thing." Came the carefree reply of the man, accompanied by a casual wave of the hand. The focus of Azazel turned away from him and towards the menu in front of them, swiftly taking one into his hand and humming to himself. "The burgers in this place are to die for, you know?"

Romani flattened his expression.

"You're really going to bring up burgers at a time like-battered chicken wings?" He shifted his focus from the conversation the second he caught sight of the menu, his brows shot upwards as he looked through all of the dishes and noticed that some of the names were a bit familiar to him. Especially because it wasn't what he would usually expect from a Japanese restaurant. "Isn't this just-"

"An American diner, yeah." Azazel cut him short with a light hum. "They aren't nearly as fatty as the American originals, but they taste close enough to being good, great for when you want to just stuff yourself and not worry about the consequences…though there is another reason I stop by here from time to time."

And now the mischievous smile was back.

"Sorry for the wait, dear customer!"

He instinctively turned to the voice, then his words caught in his throat and he shifted his focus towards the man on the other side of the table, smiling to himself as if there was nothing wrong in the world, when there very much was. This right here, this was one of the things that was wrong in the world.

"...This is because you weren't invited to the wedding, isn't it?"

"Not sure what you're talking about." Azazel gave a casual hum as he turned his focus onto the waitress, who was wearing a short red and white frilly dress with twin tails and freckles. Quite frankly, Romani was certain there was some sort of copyright infringement going on here or some branding thing, but all of which paled in comparison to the fact the girl had arrived at his table on roller skates.

Now it made sense why Azazel loved this place.

"Now then, I shall have…Portion of onion rings, large strawberry milkshake and…oooh…flame grilled chicken sandwich. What about you, Roman?"

Romani rolled his eyes. "I'm a nurse, how can I go into school the next day and then tell kids to eat healthy?"

Azazel just shrugged. "Do as I say, not as I do."

…Well, it wasn't as if this would be the act that made him a hypocrite, he supposed.

He turned to the girl and smiled. "Beef burger and small coke with a side of chips, thank you."

Scribbling their order down, the girl grinned and then masterfully skated back the way she had come and through into the corner. Romani watched her leave with a bemused expression before he turned towards Azazel, narrowing his eyes slightly. "How the heck did you stumble across this place?"

"Oh, I had it built."

"...Huh?"

"Well, not me personally." Azazel chuckled and raised his hands as if trying to hold back applause. "But a couple of investatures with some guys and a couple of ideas that I liked and then they turned into a small chain in Japan. Not that anyone can really pin all of this on me, hence why it wasn't banned by the Devils."

That was a bit of a surprise for him to hear.

Not Azazel technically being responsible for this sort of place, that actually made a great deal of sense.

"Then can ban stuff being built?"

Looking at him in surprise, he watched them cringe a little before sucking in some air. "Yikes. You didn't know that, huh? Well, it's not something unique to Devils, mind you. We do the same thing with known associates of the Church and the Devils, just as they do the same. Mostly just a big business war between everyone. Why do you think there are so many chain restaurants next to one another?"

Romani hadn't thought about that before, it just seemed like a regular old business practice to him.

"Or why you can't walk down the street and see a McDonalds without spotting a Burger King?"

He stilled, staring at Azazel in disbelief. "...Are you saying that Satan owns Burger King?"

Azazel kept their cool smile for several seconds.

Then he spoke. "Nah, I'm messing with you. Had you going there for a minute though, didn't you?" he chuckled, pointing towards his pouting face. "Did you really think this was something out of an old sci-fi film or something? We don't own everything, but we have some connections here and there that work out and give us gifts like these."

Romani furrowed his brows a little. "Hang on…if you're so rich…then why was I always the one who had to pay your tab?"

"Because you are a kind and generous soul." Azazel replied back without missing a beat, smiling so perfectly it was akin to that of a Saint. Except for the fact that it was one hundred percent because Azazel was some sort of cheapskate, he refused to believe otherwise.

"Alright, seriously, it was because you kept offering." Azazel flatly continued, gesturing to himself. "Fallen. Angel. The hint is in the name, I'm not going to avoid taking advantage of the guy who is literally offering himself up. Really, this is your fault for having such loose purse strings…What were you always going on about? Levi-Tan?"

At the mention of the magical girl show, Romani winced a little and looked back at the table. "...I did meet her, recently."

"I heard." The stifled chuckle of Azazel told him exactly what he heard about, no doubt that Penemue had managed to tell him about the time he made a fool of himself in front of one of his idols. "So then…were you able to get an autograph from her?"

"...Yes."

"Did you hang it in a place of honour?"

"...Look, if you're just going to make fun of me-"

"No, no!" Azazel continued his chuckles with a guilt-free face "I'm happy that you managed to get so up and close with one of your idols, Roman. Though I imagine it was a bit of a shock to find out she was one of the Satans…and you now have her autograph hanging on your wall, definitely going to be worth a story or two."

With a shake of the head, the man pointed at him. "And you're in the same school as her sister as well? Who knew that you were so close to someone so famous. Coincidences really do happen, huh?"

Romani rolled his eyes at the antics of the man. "I mean, you laugh, but I think it's better that I find out my idol was actually Satan rather than a forty year old guy with a facecam, you know? At least this is a bit easier to swallow and makes me feel less embarrassed…I mean, she is technically a genuine magical girl!"

Another chuckle. "'Thank goodness my idol turned out to be Satan, I was worried there for a moment.' Never stop, Roman…but yes, I suppose you have managed to pick one of the few magical girls in the world who is an actual magical girl." the man waved a hand, then held up a thumb. "So, good on you…What are you waiting on now, Magi*Mari?"

"She would never betray me like that." Romani replied without even a single second of hesitation. "Never."

"Uh-huh…" The lack of confidence on the face of Azazel stung a little, but Romani could live with their doubt.

He knew, in his heart of hearts, that Magi*Mari was one of the few things in this world that would remain a constant in his life and would never surprise him.

Still, there was another thing that was a little odd to him, and he was thinking of this not just because of the fact that he wanted to veer away from the current topic. "I've noticed that there are a lot of western themed food places in Kuoh, because there's this place that Leo likes to go to, she took Asia there this one time and then there is this other burger shop that I took Asia to as well. Just seems a little odd that there are so many of them."

Azazel just raised a brow. "It's a big town for what it is, you'd probably find no shortage of japanese restaurants and all. Though, Asia, huh…The Twilight Healing girl." a complicated expression came over the face of the man, Romani quickly gathered why that would have been. "...She doing alright, is she?"

"...Fine." Romani answered slowly, watching the man for a couple of seconds before he replied. "I'm going to assume that you had no part of what happened."

With a faint chuckle, the man closed his eyes and leaned back. "No, I wasn't involved with something like that. Rather, I'm more interested in collecting Sacred Gears than I am with using them in such a way. Twilight Healing would have been something I took great value in, still…I should thank you for being so merciful, if it makes you feel better, my subordinate caught quite the earful when I found out what happened."

Romani was hesitant to ask, but given the recent company he found himself with, it would have been something worth asking. Rolling his lips inwards, he glanced to the closed eyes of the man and gathered his strength. "She's not dead, is she?"

"...Nope." Azazel answered after a moment. "She probably wished she was for a time, but when I got the full story of what happened and the role you played in sparing her life, I couldn't really just up and kill her after that. It would be a bit of an insult to you…" the man cracked open an eye, a glint of something in his gaze that Romani couldn't quite place. "And she told me some…interesting stuff."

Interesting stuff?

Well, as long as she wasn't dead.

With a hum and a nod of the head, he relaxed a little.

"Huh, you really are relieved that she's not dead, aren't you?" The verbal prod from the Fallen Angel was met with a frown, the man did not even so much as blink at Romani's obvious discomfort. "I'm not saying that as an insult, rather I'm just surprised. Most people would have been rather eager for revenge, especially after what happened to you."

Revenge, huh.

"...I'm not that sort of guy."

"Course you're not." Another chuckle. "You're too soft to wish death upon someone, even after they do some heinous shit to you or those you care about. Not that I'm really going to call you out on that. To each their own, and all that. I've seen guys on the opposite end of the spectrum who would kill over the slightest infraction."

Drumming his hands on the table, Azazel rolled his lips and frowned. "Me…I'm old man. I'm old and I'm just tired of people dying. I'm tired of watching my friends die, or watching my people suffer…I knew Kokabiel since the day he was created by Father, knew him when he fell and knew him during the War."

Romani could see it in the eyes of Azazel. "Sorry for your loss."

A snort from the man, followed by a shake of the head. "Wasn't much of a loss, he was a massive asshole. He would have looked at you as if you were some sort of bottom feeding scum. In fact, the whole reason he was in this town in the first place was to restart the great war because…" he trailed off, glancing away. "...Well, he had his reasons. I won't bore you with them."

With a grimace swiftly forming on his lips, Romani found himself torn between being somewhat thankful that the guy had failed and was dead, but also expressing some sort of condolence over the fact that they had been a long time ally of Azazel. They never said he wasn't their friend and if they all came from the same place.

"He was your brother, right?"

Azazel blinked, then softened his features. "...Yeah, you'd probably call them that. All brothers and sisters, but it's a bit different for us than for humans…Still…Thanks for the condolences."

Like that, the sorrowful aura around the man vanished into nothing, they leaned forwards with a bright smile. "So then, Penemue told me that Asia was staying with you? Finally putting on the big boy pants and becoming a dad now, are you? And to the exiled Saint as well? Bet it was Leona, huh? Just saw the little Italian nun and said 'I'll take her.'"

Romani folded his arms. "We didn't pick her out at a shop and please don't call her a Saint."

"Oh?" Azazel smiled as if they knew something he didn't. "Well, she is a Devil."

"She's a kid who can help people, that doesn't make her a Saint, that just makes her a good person with basic decency." It just clicked with him, Asia didn't seek praise for her actions, she just did them because they were the right thing to do in her mind. She had the power, so why would she not use it. "None of these insane expectations on her shoulders or demands for anything…She's just fine the way she is."

A long stare was the swift response, then a slow nod of the head. "Insane expectations, huh…Yeah, I can see that. Suffice to say that one brat I've got working under me is a bit of a menace at times. Well, he's got his reasons at the end of the day. Can't say that I don't understand them, but I wish he would just cool his jets."

Something about that felt rather familiar to Romani, or the way they were wording it. "Sounds like a rebellious phase to me."

Azazel snorted loudly, holding a hand over his face and soon covering it while he laughed into his palm. Romani leaned back, raising a brow at the display while pondering what exactly he had said wrong there. Unless they were talking about some centuries old Fallen Angel or something, in which case they were probably a little bit past a rebellious phase, but he could blame Azazel for being so misleading.

"Rebellious phase, huh? Hehehe, yeah…Sounds about right." Letting out a breath, the man rubbed his beard a couple of times with a thoughtful look on his face, one mixed with just a bit of mirth. "Probably fitting and all, those guys never liked being tied down to anyone for any reason. That and they have a longstanding tradition of going against the expected norm so…Yeah, fair enough."

"That sounds rough."

"Hmph, no kidding." Azazel rubbed his chin for a couple of seconds. "...So…what's this I hear about dragon shooting?"

Romani dropped his head into his hands.

"I'm joking, I already heard that it's some sort of split personality or something like that. Which, it isn't unheard of…depending on the reincarnation."

He paused, raising his head back up and catching the hesitance in the gaze of Azazel.

"Some of those Heroic Reincarnations are playing with some powerful souls, we're talking the strongest human beings to ever walk the planet and who could give the Gods a run for their money in some aspects. That's not even a boast…I remember Fionn, I remember when he threw that mass into the ocean and made a whole damn island. That was some freaky shit…Heracles needs no introduction."

Romani made a face, "What?"

"I'm obviously not saying you're the reincarnation of Heracles." He swiftly raised his hands. "You could just as easily be some sort of super rare sacred gear wielder as well. It wouldn't surprise me in the least…but yeah, I'm something of an expert on those Sacred Gears, so if you wanted someone to help you look into them-"

"I'm good." Romani leaned a bit away from them. It wasn't that he didn't trust the man, it was that this was precisely what he had been warned about by Akeno. He had little interest in making things complicated between himself and the students at the school. "I get the feeling it would only make trouble and, no offence, but I like working at Kuoh."

Azazel raised his hands in surrender. "To each their own, I'm not in the mood of forcing you for anything…That aside, you probably have a talent in magic."

A talent?

Well, he doubted that at the moment.

"I mean…I can make sparkles." He brought up his hand, swinging a finger around and manifesting the glitter once more.

Azazel straightened and stared with slightly furrowed brows for a couple of seconds as the sparkles faced away. "Visualising magical energy in the air like that? Well…It's basically just like taking a flashlight and pointing at dust in the air, so…Meh." a shrug of the shoulders and a wry expression. "Keep at it. Maybe one day you'll be able to coat your whole body in glitter as well."

Romani flattened his face. "You know, I was really excited about that and so far the only person who's actually been impressed is Asia. Now I'm starting to think she was just saying that to try and spare my feelings."

"...Kids are like that."

"See, now that doesn't help me either." Romani slumped, shaking his head. "Well…I can't say I expected myself to be passing with flying colours. I'm mostly just getting by with the notes Leo made for me, it's probably because she's so good that I'm making as much progress as I actually am."

"Well, your wife is built differently from most other mages. Being the reincarnation of Leonardo Da Vinci does help."

"...Huh?"

Azazel paused for a second, then raised a brow. "You…Her last name was Da Vinci when you met her and this has only just clicked with you now?"

Romani continued to stare in absolute bafflement, then threw up his arms. "No wonder she's so great at everything!"

Somehow that was one of the least surprising things he had ever actually heard since all of this had started. He did not even know how that was possible either, then again, her name was Leona Da Vinci when they first met, but at the time he really had just assumed that it was just her leaning heavily into her creative roots and being Italian.

Wait…she couldn't have been born with the surname of Da Vinci, that would be weird…

…That meant she had actually changed her surname prior to meeting him, so he was probably half right with that.

Azazel scratched the side of his cheek, a reflective look on his face. "Maybe it's just me, I've been dealing with these sorts of things for much longer than you have, so I guess it hit a point for me where I'm more surprised with people not in the know than are in the know…Eh, whatever."

A shrug of the shoulders and the expression vanished, replaced by the same carefree smile the man had been wearing prior to everything else.

Romani briefly wanted to discuss the topic further, though he did catch himself a bit before he could ask any questions. It would probably be better if he actually spoke with Leona about that sort of thing directly, if he was ever going to speak about it at all. It didn't really make her seem any less amazing, all things considered…so what did it actually change?

Not a lot, if he was being honest with himself.

"I'm sorry, Mexico?"

Wodime nodded his head, wearing a rather excited look on his face. "I did indeed, a rather short trip that lasted only a week, but I must confess that it is definitely worth a visit if you are ever so inclined to do so."

Leona wouldn't say she was into going that far out, she had heard that there was something weird going on with the mana in the south American region, but no one ever really said anything specific on it, more than that, she was a little surprised that he had even gone to Mexico for a holiday in the first place.

"Well, I'm certainly glad you were able to enjoy yourself."

"Thank you." Another polite nod of the head, the blonde tipped his mug back for another drink before lowering it down. "Though I was quite surprised with how little influence the three factions had, throughout my entire journey I saw neither horn nor feather of an Angel or a Devil. It would seem as though the rumours regarding the isolation of the South American deities were not without weight."

Leona just shrugged. "When you're a God of an entire domain and have the backing of well over a dozen others, you tend to be able to get away with doing what you want. But if you were going to visit somewhere, why wasn't it something like Brazil? That's normally one of the more popular tourist spots, isn't it?"

"Admittedly true, but Mexico city had quite a few sights of its own to share with me." Wodime remarked, waving his hand and chuckling. "It was a pleasant distraction from the work that had occupied me until now, but I'll try not to spend all of my time boasting about it. I was able to catch a brief glimpse at a certain Rating Game as it aired."

Raising an amused eyebrow, she leaned forwards and propped her chin up with her fist. "You know those are only really supposed to be viewed in the Underworld, yes?"

"Yo-ho." Wodime replied with an utterly deadpan face.

"..."

"...Was my pirate impression not suitable enough?" A look of frustration flickered across his face, soon washed away by thoughtfulness as Wodime placed a hand on his chin and stroked it. "I would have thought it was obvious…Hmmm. Perhaps it requires work."

Leona slowly leaned back and shook her head. "No, I knew what you said, but I was so surprised that I thought you were trying to disguise a cough." a snort later, she rolled her eyes. "I never knew you to make such jokes."

"Yes, well, I had recently been inspired by your husband that it was a good method of facilitating a better relationship with my workplace peers."

"...He's my husband."

"Yes, I am aware of this."

"...I'm not sharing him."

Wodime looked at her in confusion "I…was not asking you to do so?"

She sighed, clearly he didn't quite grasp what she meant but that was fine in itself. That also meant that there was no danger, even if Romani did swing that way in the first place. "Well, that aside, I'm certain that it made for a rather interesting viewing. Though I take it that you were quick to determine who supplies the Gremory peerage, weren't you?"

A nod of the head. "Having been acquainted with your techniques in the past, I could recognise the flair for the dramatic. Showboating, I believe it is called."

"Presentation is half the battle."

"Of course." The smooth reply was accompanied with an equally cool smile. "Why would I ever claim differently? On that matter, I was rather impressed with the ingenuity of the Red Dragon Emperor. His capacity for stripping clothes as swiftly as he did…Especially given that he was only recently reincarnated."

Leona hummed. "You found out about that fairly quickly."

"I am not so distant from the activities of Devils, and it was hardly as though it was much of a secret between them. Though I will admit the precise time is not something I am partial to, all I know is that he is less than a year into his role - I would wager two months maximum at best - and with no prior experience in the mystic side of things."

She chuckled for a moment before gesturing to him. "Is this the part where you produce a pipe and say that those deductions were simply elementary?"

"Well, I would hardly wish to smoke in your house." Wodime replied without missing a beat. "But back to the matter at hand, I suspected that you played a small role in that matter of spell."

Well, she could hardly fault him for that assumption.

It was indeed the sort of spell that she would have created for some reason or another, though she very much doubted that Issei understood quite what he had created when he concocted his 'Dress Break' spell and the potential it came with.

Nonetheless, she was always happy to see inspiration lead to creative products and you could hardly get more creative than snapping your fingers and shredding someone's clothes. Not only was it a good distraction, but it also removed any sort of mystic code from play, even more so if it could be used to strip a user of their armour.

"I am sensing a but coming."

"Yes…I figured that it wasn't quite your style to do something like that. Selling to them is one thing, but teaching them spells is quite another. As I recall, your business does not trade in tutorship."

"...Well, you're right there." She grinned. "It seems as though Issei is just a tiny bit of a stumbling genius…Alright, maybe not a genius but they have flashes of brilliance."

Wodime merely hummed. "Indeed…" then he frowned rather lightly and glanced past her. "Though, forgive me for asking, but is Romani normally this late home? When you said he would return soon I expected something within the next ten or so minutes…and if my estimation is current, it has been nearly half an hour."

"I'm becoming rather concerned with your obsession regarding my husband."

She joked with a smile, but beneath it lay a touch of truth.

She was getting a little troubled with the fact they were so determined to linger around here for Romani, while it might well be the truth that Wodime was simply here to give some thanks and then leave, the timing of the event was much too coincidental for her liking.

Adding onto that Romani not coming home when she expected him to, Leona was starting to get a little worried about him.

Her ears strained not a second later, a faint jolt ran through her system as her bounded field detected the arrival of an individual. One that she most certainly remembered. She gave a polite smile to Wodime while slowly rising up from her seated position, raising a single finger towards him. "If you will excuse me for just one second…There is someone I need to have some strong words with."

Wodime looked at her oddly for a moment, but nonetheless, he nodded his head up and down.

Turning away from the table, she flattened her features and moved across the house with rather swift steps. The second she was upon the door, she pulled it open and stared right past her husband and towards the smiling man who was standing next to them. Who naturally had the nerve to shoot her a playful smile and raise their hand in greeting.

"Hey! There's our resident genius."

Flattery would have been welcome in any other instance, though right now it didn't change much.

Folding her arms, she gave them an unimpressed look, rapidly tapping her foot on the ground. Eyes danced from Romani and to the man he was walking with, it seemed as though her husband had the good sense to look slightly awkward about everything.

"...Romani. Can you do me a favour for a second." He perked up a little. "Can you reach into your left pocket and pull out what is inside of it?"

The man flinched, then did as he was asked and slowly retrieved his phone and glanced at it for a couple of seconds. Eventually he made a small abashed noise, his other hand moved up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well…uhm…you see…the thing is that…er…I forgot."

Romani slumped his shoulders.

She sighed, finding it rather difficult to be annoyed with him even when she really should have been. Especially given that this was precisely the sort of situation where one did give out some heads up. Moving her hand up, she pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head from side to side. "A text, Romani…just one text…"

"...Sorry."

"Ah, she's mad Roman." A wry chuckle from the other man, she lowered her hand and switched her gaze onto him. "Yikes, there is it. Hello."

"And you." Narrowing her eyes on the person, she moved her hands to her hips and leaned forwards slightly. "Any reason that you decided to abduct my husband for an evening, capro espiatorio?"

Romani flinched a little before he gave a light frown towards her. "That's a little bit extreme, isn't it?"

"Ah, it's cool." Azazel strode forwards, patting Romani on the back twice while maintaining his casual smile. "It is basically what my other name is, but that-wait, since when did you speak Italian?"

"Oh, I learned it in secret to surprise Leo."

"Oh-ho!" The man grinned like a shark, cupping his chin and leaning forwards. "And how well did it work out? I bet you must have managed to score a win against her that time, eh? Damn. Now that is something I would have paid real money to see…did you get a photo? Because I will give you money to have her flabbergasted face."

She rolled her eyes at his antics. "How sad that it was over the phone and he didn't get a photo."

"That's a shame." Azazel sighed, throwing his head back. "Guess it really is an end to the age of Miracles, huh?"

"Please don't start talking about it like that." Romani all but begged with an embarrassed face. "You're making it sound like I'm some sort of tool to be used to make Leo get flustered just so you can point and laugh."

"...You never saw the faces she was making when we teased her about bringing you home."

"Ahem." Coughing loudly, she looked sharply between the two of them for a couple of seconds before she jerked her head behind her. "Come inside, Roman. There is someone who has been dying to speak with you."

A look of surprise. "Really?" He turned to Azazel and waved his hand. "Ah, see you later, Az. Thanks for the meal by the way. It was nice catching up with you."

"Same here." Azazel nodded back to the man. "Loved the lightshow, by the way. I bet it will go over great with Levi-tan if you ever see her." the man snickered, Romani ducked his head down to try and hide his rapidly reddening cheeks and picked up his pace, shooting past her and into the house.

Leona didn't take her eyes off Azazel for even a moment, taking a single step forwards and watching him. "...You tried to recruit him, didn't you?"

"Immediately into the accusations?" The man gestured to himself. "You practically hoodwinked my secretary with a single phone call. I should be the one getting a bit agitated, you know? Well, not like it didn't give me some big news. Especially since…Well, enough about that. Yes, I asked, and he said no. He's very happy where he is and I don't see a need to push him."

She blinked.

That seemed…easy.

Too easy.

Azazel was many things but he never gave up on something that interested him after only a single attempt.

Which meant he knew something that she didn't know and that was why he was so willing to let the matter slide.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "...I would much rather you not try and make him any sort of offers or deals in the future without me being present."

"You don't trust him?"

"It's not him I distrust."

"Ouch. That hurts."

"You know it's earned." She rolled her eyes at his faux pain, they both knew what he was like. Slippery like an eel. "You just happen to show up here and now? No, you've probably been here since that whole deal with Kokabiel, haven't you?"

Azazel said nothing, but the smile he wore on his face was admission enough for her.

"Try not to cause trouble while you're here. I might not be a shoot on sight with Grigori, but I doubt the Devils are quite so restrained. Especially given what recently happened, you'd likely have both Satans down here within the blink of an eye the second either of those girls caught wind of you."

A snort. "I don't doubt that. Heck, you'd probably have Michael down here as well…but that's a story for another time. I don't plan on being around here for too long, just checking up on Roman."

There was a small pause, then he gestured to himself. "We both know I had to at least make one offer."

"Yes, yes. I know."

"Though it was probably for the best that he said no." The smile on Azazel's face quickly vanished, replaced with a slightly strained wince. "I don't think it's the sort of work environment he'd do well in at his current level and some of his peers would be more than a little…yeah. Well. I have got places to be and a meeting to make it to. Good to see you, Leo. Till we meet again."

She raised a brow at him but said nothing, Azazel took a couple of steps away from her before he virtually vanished before her eyes.

As expected with that guy.

Always up to something.

Speaking of, she probably should let the others know that she did actually see Azazel walking around the town. This was hardly the sort of thing she could keep to herself, but she doubted they would be surprised why he was here.

Especially given who he met with.

Speaking of, she should probably see if Wodime had tried to seduce her husband yet.

Romani had expected a much stronger reaction from Leona when he eventually made it home.

Though, admittedly, he was pretty sure he deserved some sort of telling off due to the fact he hadn't left her a message, nor had he actually told her who he was with until they were right in front of the house. It wasn't that he was stupid, he knew how it would have looked to anyone who was in the know about all these things.

It was probably troublesome if he was spotted with someone like Azazel.

But…well…he didn't regret doing it.

All of which brought him into the point where he wandered past his wife - who was doubtless going to have some stern words with the Fallen Angel - and into the house where he apparently had some guests waiting for him.

It was probably going to be Issei or someone else from the school.

Though quite why they would be here was something he wasn't entirely sure-

"Ah, good evening, Romani."

He blinked at the formal introduction, then straightened himself and blinked once more in surprise as he was greeted not by Issei or any of the other Devils from school, but instead by someone he hadn't expected to meet again for a while.

"Wodime?"

The blonde smiled rather genially. "I apologise if it seemed abrupt, but the chance arose for me to return to Kuoh and I took the chance. I had business to speak with you…I trust I am not intruding?"

He quickly shook his head. "No, I was just expecting someone else when Leo said there was someone wanting to speak with me…But that's nothing against you or anything." With a quick smile, he carried on into the room and lowered himself down onto the sofa. "How have you been anyway?"

"Interesting times." Wodime replied after a short moment, a thoughtful look came upon him next. "Truth be told, I am in rather good spirits. Suffice to say that I am having something of a pleasant few days where many things have gone as I wished them to…But I did hear some troubling things regarding Kuoh in general."

Romani suppressed a wince, but clearly didn't manage it all that well judging by the faint faint cringe on the face of Wodime.

The blonde quickly raised his hands. "I do not mean to drag up unpleasant memories, that would be rather far from my mind right now. I am simply happy to learn that you are alive and well. At least I get the chance to thank you for your advice the last time I was here."

Advice?

Ah, yes.

Romani leaned forwards, smiling a bit wider. "That's good to hear. I was a bit concerned that my advice wouldn't be all that good, but I'm happy that you got something from it…Seems to be something I'm giving out a lot as of late."

Wodime raised a brow. "Forgive me if I am misinterpreting, but you sound concerned about that. I would have thought being seen as a beacon of solid advice would be something of a badge of honour."

He released a mirthless snort. "Not when I barely have an idea what I'm talking about. I'm not sure what they see in me that makes them all come and talk to me for advice or help…I feel like I almost caused more harm than good one time as well."

For whatever reason, Romani found that Wodime was staring at him with some level of empathetic understanding. Though it didn't last long before the blonde shook his head and took a seat on the chair beside the sofa. "Well, that aside, I put your advice into practice and found that I had…mixed results."

Romani just stared at him for a couple of seconds.

This felt rather awkward.

He was getting thanked for mixed results? Just how bad was this guys expectations of how things would work out for him?

"Uhm…"

"Do not misunderstand, I had expected it to have a gradual effect." Wodime hastily added on, waving his hand while wearing a polite smile. "But the truth of the matter was, some of the results were much faster than others. I believe that myself and one of my office peers have become closer through a recent activity."

Oh? That sounded good.

"That's nice." Romani replied, smiling a bit more comfortably. "Though you talked about someone a bit younger than you last time, right?"

"Ah…yes…" Wodime looked somewhat fidgety. "Suffice to say that progress on that front was a bit more slow going. Both she and another, I feel as though they have too great an expectation of me. As though I am enacting some master plan that even I do not know."

That sounded a bit awkward if anything else.

"Though, as with the previous person I mentioned, the youngest of the two was present for the activity as well. I believe that - while she still holds a great deal of respect for me - it is no longer as detached as it was."

Good progress.

"And…uhm…"

Now Wodime looked a bit abashed, bringing his hand up and scratching the side of his neck. "There has been a recent individual who had come into my life who has…well, suffice to say she does not read the room and does as she wishes while trying to lighten everyones spirits. Though I do not believe-"

Wodime was cut off when his phone started to vibrate, the man winced a bit and then went for his pocket, quickly pulling out a small…

Romani blinked as the rectangle lit up and a screen formed right in front of him.

What the heck?

When did this become a sci-fi movie?

"Ah, sorry about this." Wodime looked at him apologetically. "Is something the matter, El?"

Romani diverted his attention to the screen where a rather…well, he would say she was objectively attractive, woman was present on the other side. Light hair and bright eyes, he immediately noticed the small piercing under her bottom lip, he leaned forwards a little and glanced between the two of them a couple of times.

"Si!" Came the rather thick accent - it sounded Spanish - from the other side. "I heard that you went off all by yourself to visit friends and didn't bring your hermana mayor along with you! I wanted to meet some of your new friends as well!"

Romani rolled his lips inwards to avoid directly laughing.

But he could see the immediate issue.

Moving forwards slightly, he leaned in from the side and glanced towards the woman, her eyes immediately darted towards him and virtually glowed, leaning forwards so that all that was visible were her eyes as they locked onto his own.

She certainly had a presence about her.

It was like she was in the room, even now.

"Oh! Is that one of them now!? Hola, nuevo amigo!~" Came the rather vibrant greeting from the other side.

Yikes, she was probably the second most extroverted person he had ever met.

No wonder Wodime talked about her.

Romani briefly blinked, then realised he hadn't introduced himself, raising his hand and waving to the woman a couple of times in greeting. "Hello, miss. Nice to meet you-"

"He's so polite! ¡Sello de aprobación de la hermana mayor!"

He had no idea what she just said, but it sounded very nice.

Raising a thumb, he spied Wodime making a somewhat strained but still amused expression on his face. The blonde opted to speak up. "I am glad you approve of him, though I am still in the middle of a conversation…But yes. This is Romani Archaman and-"

"And I'm his wife!"

A new voice interjected, both Romani and Wodime jolted slightly as a new head fell between the three of them. Leona leaned over the chair and looked right towards the screen, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly before giving an approving hum. "Is this long distance mage craft viewing? I like it! Molto bene!~"

Romani chuckled. "Now she'll be up all night trying to make her own one."

Judging by the twinkle in her eyes, he hit right on the money and he could tell that come the morning, she would probably drag him down just for a test run of it. Not that he could say he had a problem, it was really quite cool.

"In the meantime! Wodime!" Leona leaned forwards even further and looked the blonde near dead in the eye from her angle. "Who is this ragazza meravigliosamente esotica!~"

Romani palmed his face and leaned away.

Sure enough, the reply came rather quickly.

"Oh Dios mio! Hermana mayor will get all flushed if such a niña bonita calls her beautiful! Romani! Is this woman your wife! Oh! You're so lucky! Another sello de aprobación de la hermana mayor!"

He didn't even know what one meant and now he was getting another one?

It sounded good, but he was practically watching his wife flirt with another woman right in front of him…which was actually par for the course. Not that anything would come of it, judging by the expression on Wodime's face, she was just doing this to tease him.

"So, Kirschtaria! How did you meet this-oh-ho-ho! A trip to Mexico, eh?" Leona grinned like a shark, leaning forwards and poking the blonde in the shoulder several times. "Got some souvenirs, you said? I can see that!"

"Ah, have you been boasting about me, Wodime? That's alright! Big sister would boast about you as well!"

Romani lowered his head into his hands, muffling his laughter as best he could.

"Charming as this is…" Wodime sounded rather tired, but still rather pleased. "You know why you couldn't come along, El. But I do hope you will get the chance to meet them in person…In the meantime, I hope you have a pleasant evening."

"You as well! ¡Hasta la proxima vez!"

The screen cut off, Wodime exhaled and placed it back into his pocket before shooting a rather pointed look towards Leona. "I hope you appreciate that I shall be grilled for details without end now…"

"You get to spend time with a beautiful woman talking about another beautiful woman?" Leona raised a brow and leaned back, moving around the chair before she sat herself down next to Romani and leaned forwards, placing a fist against her chin. "How terrible."

The completely flat tone of voice in her words indicated she didn't feel bad at all.

Romani brought his head back up, briefly rolling his eyes before he looked to Wodime. "Yes, she seems very…enthusiastic."

"Without a doubt." Wodime replied without missing a beat, but the smile on his face remained. "That aside, I admit that I am…rather concerned about how I would go about getting her and my other peers to intermingle with one another. In the first place, Kadoc - if you remember - is hardly one for that sort of individual. Rather, he spends as much time as he can by himself."

Romani nodded his head. "Yeah, that would be a problem…"

"Just let her loose on him until he eventually gives up resisting."

He blinked, both he and Wodime turned to Leona as she cleaned her fingernails. "That is the proper way to go about having an introvert inducted into the ways of being an extrovert. In the first place, isn't that how you were able to get Kadoc under your wing in the first place? I remember him spending a lot of time by himself."

"Leona, I do not believe you appreciate just how great your reputation was." Wodime replied slowly. "Given that you remained the definition for success until the Vice-Director started her tenure at the Clocktower…and she is a force unto nature itself. Setting aside the Aozaki sisters and their own…peculiarities."

Romani frowned a little at that last bit.

He said peculiarities in much the same way someone would talk about a car crash.

"Clocktower aside." Leona waved a hand. "If I had known that you got my husband to try and make friends for you, I would have been a bit less suspicious."

"...Why would you be suspicious?" Wodime looked at her oddly for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I will not pry further. Rather, I should be on my way before El gets an idea to come and greet us all herself…regardless of what her coming here would do. A veritable typhoon of personality indeed. Especially with Kuoh in the state it is in right now."

"...She sounds important." Leona idly comment, Romani nodded along with her words.

A teeter of the head from Wodime. "I won't deny she has some influence, but that's not nearly as much as you would expect. She's more of a celebrity and I doubt it would do much for her public image."

Romani muttered. "Tell me about it…I just found out that literal Satan was one of my idols…I've got her autograph now."

"Oh, Miracle girl Levi-tan." Wodime rattled off without missing a beat, collecting his coat and briefly turning to them.

Romani stared in amazement.

"Ah, just to be clear, it isn't that I have watched it. Rather…It is impossible to avoid hearing about it if you know anything about Devils. Suffice to say that there were very few who are not surprised to learn about it."

With a smile, Wodime stepped towards the door. "I shall let myself out-"

"Oh, hang on a second." Romani quickly stood up, it would be a shame if they couldn't talk over distances.

Quickly stumbling towards one of the drawers and rooting through until he found a pen and paper, scrawling his number down upon one of the corners and tearing it off. With that done, he approached the blonde and handed it to him, smiling as he did so. "Just in case you need some more advice or something…Or want to trade jokes."

A single blink.

Then the blonde smiled and took the number. "That sounds rather pleasant, Roman. Until we speak again. Farewell."

They made a swift departure after that.

Romani smiled, nodding his head up and down before he turned towards Leona…who was looking at him rather oddly. "...I don't have a lot of human friends my age."

A short snort and a roll of the eyes. "Well, you two seem to get along quite well. So I shall hardly hold it against you…Still, I will need to talk to you about-"

"Ah, before you do that."

Because he knew what she was going to talk about was definitely going to be the fact he met with Azazel while shopping.

Reaching into his pocket, he swiftly brought out the small tub of slightly more expensive than average coffee.

"I decided we should have a treat."

His wife stared back at him for several seconds, then a small chuckle escaped her that gradually shifted into a proper laugh. She eventually leaned back, wiping away a tear from her eye as she stepped up and moved towards him, still laughing as she took the coffee jar from him.

"Oh Roman…Only you would treat yourself to even better coffee…But that's still a very thoughtful thing you did. Especially because I know how much you like the cheaper stuff…"

He knew it would not last.

Which was why he needed something else.

"Also I can now do this!"

He clapped his hands together, then stepped backwards and pulled them aside. As he did so, the light was dragged between his fingers, golden sparkles glittering through the space between his palms, instantly drawing the eyes of Leona who blinked twice, looking rather captivated by the sight.

He felt a bit lighter at seeing her reaction.

At least he got to impress the most important person of all.

"Pretty cool, right? I was working on it all morning-"

"Morning?" Leona replied back with a subdued tone of voice, furrowing her brows rather tightly. "But…I…you only started reading it yesterday…how?"

He shrugged. "Your instructions were pretty clear."

The display kept itself active for a couple of moments, then he slowly closed his hands together and cut it off. Jerking Leona from her apparent reverie of his small trick, now looking at him once more as if appraising him all over again. Though he wasn't quite sure what that look was supposed to mean.

"I mean, it just made sense to think of it like water vapour and then imagine it being covered in ice. So it's just easier to see." Romani shrugged his shoulders, lowering his hands back down towards his sides. Then winced for a second as he realised that he had also inadvertently admitted to practising during the day when he was supposed to be working.

He really hoped she didn't pick up on that bit.

Leona, thankfully, remained silent and apparently missed his little slip. Her hand came up and cupped her chin, eyes narrowed a touch further before a small hum escaped her. "It looks like…Well, I suppose there might be a bit of talent after all. People don't normally pick up on that sort of thing as quickly as you do…"

Romani blinked.

Really?

That sounded a bit surprising, it just made common sense for him.

…Was he somehow a secret genius?

"Well…You are the one who wrote the instructions for me." He pointed out, which seemed to be the much more reasonable answer in his mind. "Wouldn't it make sense that I would pick it up quickly if you were teaching me? Wodime did say that you were some sort of prodigy when you were at magic school."

His wife didn't reply immediately, but she did slowly nod her head up and down then grunt in acknowledgement. "Good point, well made. Though most don't visualise their magic as literally as you did…Mainly because it's actually a little bit wasteful to burn through magical energy before you put it into a spell…"

She trailed off, he felt a wry smile come upon his lips.

There was the little grey cloud in the otherwise blue sky.

It was actually a bit of a relief to be told something like that.

"But at least you're on the right track." Leona continued on, clapping her hands together. "In the meantime, I'll need to speak with some people about some things happening…Actually, I'll need to talk with you about it as well. Could be trouble but I doubt it will really be too much of an issue…probably…Maybe….Hopefully."

"...This is getting progressively worse."

"It will be fine!~"

He really didn't feel comforted in the least!