Disclaimer: Neither High School DXD nor Elder Scrolls belongs to me, all rights to their respective owners.
Chapter 42
Le Fay was sitting on a bench as she watched Edzard buy a couple of ice creams, one for him and one for her. As she looked at her friend, her mind was still trying to figure out what had happened. It had all started on the morning of that same day.
Flashback
The sound of metal colliding rang throughout the cave as Vali and one other person fought intensely. However, the sound of fighting ended as a powerful blow from a sword shattered Vali's armor.
Le Fay watched Vali gasping for breath as his Scale Mail disappeared in specks of white light. The half devil's body was completely covered in wounds and dirt. The Hakuryuukou had started this fight after a person arrived at the base, the reason was that person reproached him for his stupidity of wanting to fight against Edzard. The battle was short and throughout, Vali had been outmatched. No matter how much power he tried to steal, he always lost it, as his enemy destroyed Vali's power reserves with every attack he made.
"You're an idiot, right? Do you really think someone with dragon-type sacred gear like you can beat the one who is considered to be the ultimate dragon slayer? Mature, brat. Your power level isn't even close to being able to do anything to the Dovhakiin. He forced your grandfather to retreat without entering his dragon aspect. What do you think you could do? Someone who can't even beat him alone and is forming a group for it."
The person talking to Vali was a being with the appearance of a bipedal fox. His fur was gray in color, and he had several red tribal tattoos across his arms, chest, and abdomen. His eyes were dull gray, and he had some feathers tied at the end of a long tail, which was the way he styled his long hair. He was wearing a pair of baggy dark blue linen pants, which were narrowed at the calf by bandages. At his feet was a pair of black leather sandals. In his hands were two swords, which were very similar to a katana. The sword on the left had small lightning bolts all over the blade, while the one on the right exuded a small icy mist.
This being is called Zakir and according to him, he is a Lilmothiit. According to Zakir, he is the last of his race, which once shared the swamps of Black Marsh with the Argonians. The werefox had joined his group a few months ago. Furthermore, he was the source from which the group managed to learn about Nirm. He was their main source of information on, but he was not a very sociable person, as he usually used to disappear to do things by himself, in addition to the fact that he did not seem to trust anyone in the group, since he never mentioned anything about his past, to part of the aforementioned.
"If you want to fight the Dovahkiin, you have to increase your power. Train, because dark times are approaching." Zakir said with a frown as he sheathed his swords. Sheathing his weapons, the fox stopped looking at Vali and turning around, he started to retreat. However, he stopped abruptly as he walked past Le Fay. Seeing her, Zakir began to stare at her and then heaved a sigh.
Le Fay shivered a little, as Zakir's gaze was terrifying. When she was about to speak to him, the fox raised his hand and cast a spell on her.
The spell caused Le Fay's vision to go black for a few seconds. When her vision returned, she realized that she was in an alley. Confused by what was happening, the magician decided to get out of there. When she managed to get out, she saw the street and realized that she was in Japan, thanks to the kanji that were on all the nearby signs and shops. Knowing where she was, the magician left the alley and started walking down the street. While she was supposed to return to her team's temporary base, she decided against it right away, so she began to explore the city. After walking for several minutes, she reached a park and while she was walking calmly, she tripped and fell, but she never touched the ground, as she had been grabbed by someone.
"Excuse me, are you okay?" asked a worried voice.
Le Fay's eyes widened when she heard that voice, for she recognized the owner. Turning slowly and nervously, she saw her friend, who also began to widen his eyes in surprise at the sight of her.
End Flashback
After that meeting, Edzard took her to a bench, and they began to talk about trivial matters of no importance. After a few minutes chatting, an ice cream vendor passed by, drawing Le Fay's attention. Seeing this, Edzard went to buy the ice cream.
When he came back, Edzard gave Le Fay her ice cream and sat down next to her.
"So, Le fay. How is your brother?" Edzard asked as he licked his chocolate mint ice cream.
"E-e-eh…?" Le Fay asked in shock, stopping to eat her ice cream. Without thinking twice, she quickly lied. "W-what do you say, Edzard-sama?"
Edzard stopped eating his ice cream and began to stare at Le Fay, who flinched at the young dragon's gaze.
"You shouldn't lie, you're not very good at it." Edzard said with a smile on his face because he could see clearly because of the magician's lie. "I know Arthur is your brother. He smells very similar to you. Also, my wife told me what happened during my battle with Loki."
Hearing that, Le Fay lowered her eyes, as she was ashamed to have been caught lying. So, she decided to speak to try to explain herself. "I-I-I…"
"You don't need to explain. I understand why you do it, so don't worry. I just have a few questions about Vali's team. Do you think you can answer me?"
Le Fay looked at Edzard for a few seconds while her mind had a serious internal fight, because a part of her wants to tell Edzard, since he seemed to be a trustworthy person, but another part, she did not want to betray the trust of her teammates.
"Don't worry, I don't want to know where they are, I just want to know how they know about Nirm." Edzard said putting a reassuring smile on his face seeing Le Fay's mental dilemma.
"I see. I guess if I can answer that, Edzard-sama." Le Fay said after heaving a sigh.
Edzard heaved an annoyed sigh hearing Le Fay call him that, as he didn't like that honorific used in his name.
"Le Fay, can you stop using sama on my behalf please?" asked Edzard scratching the back of his neck.
"But that would be very disrespectful." Le Fay replied quickly.
"It may be, but it's awkward for me."
"I… okay, I'll stop calling you Edzard-sama. But what should I call you if I don't use an honorific?"
"You can call me Ed, that's what all my friends and family call me." Edzard answered with a smile.
Le Fay's face flushed a little at the sight of Edzard's smile.
"Do you consider me your friend?!" Le Fay asked with a big smile on her face as the blush faded a bit.
"Of course, I do, otherwise I wouldn't have told you to call me Ed."
The smile on Le Fay's face widened.
"It's okay, Ed." Le Fay said as she looked at Edzard.
"You see, it's not that difficult, right?" Edzard said with a smile.
"Heh, heh, heh. If you're right." Le Fay responded with an amused giggle.
Le Fay's laughter was so contagious that Edzard began to laugh too.
"So, Le Fay. How do they know about Nirm?" Edzard asked once he stopped laughing.
Le Fay took a deep breath and began to tell Edzard about Zakir and his arrival in the team.
Edzard listened carefully to Le Fay's words, as each word was an important piece of information. His eyes widened in surprise upon learning of Zakir, for he never expected to hear of a Lilmothiit alive in this era, as they were considered a race of fables and legends, as there has never been any proof of their existence. Though, after thinking of the Lilmothiit's name, he had to hold his head, as he suffered from a severe migraine. This, of course, worried Le Fay, who asked if he was alright, to which the young dragon replied that he was alright and that it had only been a minor pain in his head.
After that, Edzard started to ask Le Fay some more questions. These seemed like they weren't meant to get information about Vali's team, or so the magician thought, as Edzard was using very tricky questions. The answers that Le Fay gave him were in fact small clues as to the intentions of each member of this Khaos Brigade group.
In the end, both continued talking for a while longer, until they finally finished eating their respective ice creams. After that, Edzard held out his hand to Le Fay and took her for a walk around the city. They were walking for a long time, until they passed by a restaurant, which they entered to eat. When they finished eating, Edzard and Le Fay walked away while chatting about trivial things.
"So, Kuroka-sama was sneezing nonstop when she thawed out." Le Fay said with a smile remembering how Kuroka was sick for days after being thawed out.
"He, he. I see. I guess cats don't like the cold." Edzard said with a smile as he imagined Kuroka sneezing and cursing at him, only to sneeze again.
"That's right. In fact, Kuroka-sama usually makes the water very hot when taking a shower." Le Fay said as she remembered how Kuroka loved baths with hot water.
Both friends continued their talks, laughing from time to time, as Edzard also began to tell Le Fay about some things from his daily life. Most of his stories focused on how he dealt with Marie's pranks, his lovers' hormonal problems, or the jobs the three factions give him.
As they crossed the park where Issei had been killed a while ago, Le Fay stopped abruptly. This action made Edzard stop as well and look at the magician in confusion.
"Ed. Can I ask you a favor?" Le Fay asked putting her hands on her back and looking at the ground as a blush appeared on her cheeks.
"Sure, as long as you don't ask for something as difficult as resurrecting a dead person." Edzard replied with amusement as he was confused to see Le Fay blush and look away.
Le Fay moved her hands and showed what she was hiding behind her back. "C-can you sign this book for me?"
Edzard blinked in confusion at first, but then put on a smile when he saw that the book Le Fay asked him to sign was the first of his published books. With a smile on his face, Edzard took the book and wrote something there with a magic quill, which was summoned with conjuration magic.
"Here." Edzard said returning the signed book to Le Fay.
Le Fay took the book and opened it excitedly, but her excitement faded when she saw that there was nothing. Looking up, she saw Edzard and pouted.
Edzard smiled with amusement at the pout on Le Fay's face. "He, he. Calm down, if there is something written, but it will be visible today at nightfall."
Edzard's answer made Le Fay look at the book in amazement, and then start thinking of a spell to make the writing visible at that moment. Unfortunately, as much as she tried, she couldn't do it. Realizing that, she gave up and put the book in a pocket of her cloak. "Thanks, Ed."
Edzard smiled and approaching her, slightly tousled her hair. This action ended up causing Le Fay to yell, which was a mix between feigned irritation and a lot of fun.
"Mou. Put my hair down, Ed." Le Fay said pouting, only to laugh happily afterwards.
Edzard laughed infected by the laughter of his friend.
Both friends laughed for a few minutes and then continued their small talk, which consisted of Le Fay telling him all the embarrassing things about Vali and his team. As night fell, Le Fay said goodbye and returned to her team's base.
When she arrived, she was bombarded with questions from both her brother and the rest of the team. Those questions vanished when she showed them some bags, which contained various foods, which Edzard had bought. After dinner, she went to her room and after changing her clothes, she opened the book and saw Edzard's signature appear on her book
To my dear friend Le Fay Pendragon,
I know we haven't known each other for a long time,
But I already consider you my friend,
So, if you ever need my help, don't hesitate to contact me.
With love, Edzard Cumberland Rolandson.
P.S. I hope you enjoyed the book and that you enjoy the next ones to come.
Le Fay smiled happily as she finished reading the note.
"I get why you didn't want me to read it there." Le Fay said with a smile as she brought the book to her chest and hugged it. "I will look forward to the next books. Above all, the one who talks about you."
Edzard was walking through the streets of Kuoh on a moonless night. It had already been two days since he had met Le Fay and more than a week since he had killed Loki.
'Ahhh... killing that goddamn god almost got me into some trouble. Fortunately, old Odin took it in stride and told me not to worry. And then there's Aryne, the wretch left without saying anything and she just left me a grimoire of levitation. Ahhh… who understands that woman. But at least the grimoire has been useful to me, now I can fly using magic without the need to go into my dragon aspect.' Edzard thought as he turned a corner. In doing so, he stopped abruptly, as he smelled a scent that he had smelled for the first time not long ago. So, observing his surroundings, his keen senses managed to detect the source of that scent.
"Is seriously?" Edzard asked with amusement and then walked over to a window sill of a nearby house. "Of all the costumes you could think of... do you choose a black cat?"
Any normal person who had passed through the place would think that Edzard was crazy, because he was talking to a black cat, which only cocked its head in response to what Edzard had asked.
Seeing that the cat didn't respond, Edzard thought about how to make it respond to him. So, after thinking for a few seconds, he decided to play a joke on her. "It seems that this cat wants to be a popsicle again."
As soon as the word «popsicle» was sounded, the cat jumped up and shone. With a blinding light, the cat began to grow and change shape. After two seconds, the cat transformed into Kuroka, who was giving Edzard an irritated look.
"Heh, looks like I found a stray cat." Edzard said mockingly, emphasizing the word stray.
"Ump." Kuroka said as she put her arms around her generous breast and looked away angrily.
Edzard smiled with amusement seeing her do this. However, he put the smile aside, as he didn't know why a wanted criminal like her was here. So, deciding that it would be best to talk in a more private place, he began to walk, and as he went, he motioned for the nekoshou to follow him. The criminal saw the signs and, turning back into a cat, she began to follow Edzard until they reached a clearing in the woods.
Leaning against a tree, Edzard looked at the cat, which returned to its humanoid form. "So Kuroka. What brings you here tonight?"
The cat began to look Edzard up and down and then smile and approach him, using short steps and emphasizing the movement of her hips. That way of walking made Edzard raise his eyebrow in confusion.
"You see, Edzard-san. I want to ask you a favor ~nya." Kuroka said once she was in front of Edzard.
At those words, Edzard just looked at her with a little confusion, because he didn't know what Kuroka would ask of him.
"You see, Edzard-san. I want to have a child of a dragon." Kuroka said in such a direct manner that it made Edzard blink in confusion and make a surprised face.
'What the hell?!' Edzard thought upon hearing Kuroka's request.
"Then, tell me Edzard-san. do you want to try it ~nya?" Kuroka asked as she reached for the top of her kimono and pulled it down a bit, exposing her breasts more.
'Not again. Please, this is like what happened with Xenovia.' Edzard thought as he recalled the meeting he had had with his wife's friend.
Flashback
Edzard was sitting in a room of the castle, which was accommodated to receive non-formal visits, that is, family and family friends. He was alone, because the rest of the girls were elsewhere, Asia was with Marie walking around Spain, Aika and Mittelt were shopping, Lint was visiting the Sigurd Institute and Valerie was accompanying Gasper while Rossweisse was finishing her papers to start teaching at the Kuoh Academy, while Ingvild finished seeing her enrollment in said academy.
"So, Xenovia. Asia told me that you want to talk to me about something." Edzard said as he took a sip of some tea the maids had brought him. "What do you need from me?"
Rias Peerage Knight looked at Edzard for a second before speaking.
"You see, Edzard. I want to ask you a favor."
"What kind of favor?" Edzard asked curiously before taking another sip of tea.
"I want you to give me a child." Xenovia replied directly.
Xenovia's reply made Edzard spit out the tea he was drinking.
"Cough, cough. Wait… can you repeat that, since I seem to have heard that you want me to impregnate you?"
Xenovia looked at Edzard and without any dissimulation or decorum nodded.
The way the former exorcist responded made Edzard look at her puzzled, because a normal person would surely be stammering, if they were a very shy person, or even blushing, but this girl did not show any of those reactions.
'What the hell? How can she possibly say something like that without stuttering? Does this girl have a bit of common sense?' Edzard thought, but a few seconds later he managed to return to normal and was therefore able to ask her the question. "Xenovia, why are you asking me to impregnate you? Are you aware of what you ask of me?"
Xenovia looked at Edzard and nodded, as she was aware of what she was asking of her friend's husband. After that short non-verbal reply, Xenovia started to tell Edzard the reason why she asked him for such a favor.
Hearing Xenovia's words, Edzard stared at her with a face that said, «Is that serious? », as the ex-exorcist's explanation was so clumsy that he didn't even understand how someone could think of it.
"Let's see, do you want me to give you a child because it is your new goal as a devil?" Edzard asked after analyzing what Xenovia had told him.
"In short, yes." Xenovia replied with conviction.
"But isn't it supposed that you had chosen Issei for that?" Edzard asked as he remembered how she had told him that she had initially planned for Issei to be the father for her child.
"That was my plan, but now there is someone else who can do it." Xenovia replied looking at Edzard. "And that person, unlike Issei, already has experience making children:"
Edzard put his hands to his temples because he began to have a headache. He didn't need to be a genius to know that it would be very difficult to make Xenovia stop trying to have a child with him. While the idea was somewhat strange, it was not something he was not used to, since before he met his wife, he had received a request from the very queen of Skyrim, Elisif. The queen had asked him to have a child with her, as she did not want to marry again. Of course, he rejected that proposal, not because it was strange, since there were times when some Skyrim women asked some men for help to have children. This type of situation occurred because some women did not want to tie themselves in a marriage.
Although Xenovia's request wasn't that rare, he wasn't interested in giving a child to a woman he didn't love. So, having remembered about Elisif, Edzard proceeded to refuse as politely as he could. Of course, her refusal fell on deaf ears, and he realized that she had not given up on her idea of having a child with him.
End Flashback
Edzard came back to reality and the first thing he saw was Kuroka's face just inches from his. The moment he realized that he tried to move, but he didn't move fast enough, and he felt Kuroka lick his right cheek.
"Ummm… this really is the taste of a man~nya." Kuroka said as she put a finger to her mouth.
"That was kind of rude, you know." Edzard said as he reached for the spot where Kuroka had licked it.
"Ha, ha, ha." Kuroka laughed amused as she started looking at Edzard. "So, are you going to give me kittens?"
Edzard just looked at Kuroka as if she had two heads. "I do not think so. I don't usually do that with women I don't know. Also, don't you have Vali? I'm sure if you try you can make him fuck you."
The response that Edzard received was one he didn't expect, as he saw Kuroka pout. Just seeing that was enough for Edzard to understand that Kuroka had been rejected by Vali several times. However, before he could say anything to her, a magic circle appeared in her ear.
The magic circle shone for a few seconds while Kuroka had a conversation with Bikou, said conversation was heard by Edzard. The conversation was about Bikou telling Kuroka that he should be back soon. Those words made Edzard frown, as he wanted some answers that only Kuroka could give him. So, he started to think about how to get information from Kuroka. Unfortunately, he began to run out of time. Therefore, he began to think faster and managed to form a very crazy plan.
"Looks like I'll have to stop talking to you ~nya." Kuroka said making the communication circle disappear as she winked at Edzard. After those words, she began to conjure a teleportation circle. "Until next time ~nya!"
Seeing Kuroka start to disappear, Edzard began his plan. So, making use of great speed, he shouted. "TIID! KLO! UL!"
Seeing time stop, Edzard ran at high speed and managed to be in front of Kuroka and without wasting any time, he put a hand on her head and used magic to read the cat's memories. Unfortunately, the little amount of time he had meant that he could only see Kuroka's childhood, the birth of her sister, the death of her parents.
When the time returned to normal, Edzard could see how Kuroka was amazed to see him appear in front of her before disappearing.
Seeing that he was alone, Edzard started sorting through the memories he had seen of Kuroka. When he finished doing it, he realized something and without wasting time, he went to another place.
Edzard was walking down a street at a brisk pace. The speed with which he was going was similar to that used in the fast marches of the imperial legions. Turning a corner, he saw his fate for tonight.
Issei's house was still as he remembered it, just as big since the remodeling done by Rias's family.
'I still don't understand why they did it, but I live in a damn palace, so I better not complain.' Edzard thought as he reached the door. Touching it, he stood waiting to be attended to. After a few seconds, the door was opened by Miki Hyoudou.
"Oh. Hello Edzard-kun. Are you coming to see Issei?" Miki asked with a happy smile on her face when she saw Edzard.
"That's how it is. I have to talk about something with him. Are Rias and the rest of her club by any chance also here?"
"Yes, they are all together in the room upstairs." Miki asked as she let Edzard in. "Shall I tell them you've come?"
"Nope. Don't worry, I want it to be a surprise."
Miki nodded and went back to what she was doing before opening the door.
Edzard climbed the stairs to the second floor and began to walk through the halls of the house. As he passed through several rooms, he heard some screams of fighting and signs of struggle. A normal person would have thought there was a battle, but he dismissed that upon hearing Issei's perverted laugh.
'Ahhh… I don't understand how he is still single. Even though he already has some girls in love with him, he still doesn't dare to take the first step.' Edzard thought, confused because he couldn't understand why his friend still hadn't decided to take one of the girls as his girlfriend. Shrugging, he decided not to dwell on the matter any further. When he reached the door of the room where the screams came from, he took a deep breath and gently opened the door.
Opening the door, he saw Rias, Akeno, and Koneko glaring at each other as they prepared to attack each other with some pillows. This show was seen by Xenovia and Issei, being Draig's carrier who let out little perverted giggles, because the three girls who were about to fight had their clothes poorly arranged, which allowed their underwear to be seen.
"Could you kill each other some other time?"
Edzard's voice made everyone jump, causing the girls who were about to fight to look his way. Seeing him, everyone's face blushed slightly with embarrassment.
"H-how long have you been there?" Rias asked when she got over the shock of seeing Edzard there.
"Not long, I just got here." Edzard replied as he approached a completely unconscious Issei with blood running down his nose, this was because when he had spoken, Xenovia had become defensive and quickly turned around, hitting Issei with her elbow. The blow went straight to the right side of the devil's head, knocking it out on the spot.
Arriving at his unconscious friend, Edzard shook his head and proceeded to summon a small lightning bolt in his right hand, which was launched towards Issei. The lightning fulfilled its objective, as it woke up Issei quickly.
"Ahhh!" Issei yelled as he felt the lightning in his body. When he stood up, he looked around and finally frowned at Edzard. Even though he wasn't the smartest, he didn't need to think long to know that it was his friend who had woken him up. "Damn it, Ed! Why did you throw lightning at me?!"
"Because I wanted to get you up quickly." Edzard answered with a teasing smile on his face.
Edzard's words bothered Issei, but he wasn't stupid enough to try to hit him. So, taking a deep breath, the young devil managed to calm down.
Seeing that his friend wouldn't bother him for a while, Edzard sat up and stared at Rias.
"What brings you here tonight, Edzard-san?" Rias asked as she sat down on one of the sofas. Although her face showed confidence, that was only on the outside, because inside she was trembling with fear, because despite having spent some time, she was still a little scared by the total power of Edzard. And she was not the only one, because all her peerage was also terrified by Edzard's power. However, she and the rest knew that he would not harm them unless they made enemies first.
"I need to talk to your tower." Edzard said in a direct and serious way, since he had neither the time nor the desire to go around the bush.
"What do you need from Koneko-chan?" Akeno asked looking at Edzard with narrowed eyes.
"I just need her to answer me something. And if necessary, that she lend me an object of hers for a few minutes." Edzard replied looking at Koneko.
The young Nekoshou looked at Edzard and her friends. Nodding, she approached the young dragon.
"What do you need to know, Edzard-sama?" Koneko asked in the best deadpan voice she could manage, although unfortunately for her, it was very visible that she was nervous.
"That hair clip you're wearing now, is it the one you used since you were a baby?" Edzard asked pointing to the hair clip in Koneko's hair.
Koneko widened her eyes at that question, for she didn't know how Edzard knew about it. However, she nodded in response to the question.
"I see. could you lend it to me for a few seconds?"
"What for?" Koneko asked with skepticism and doubt in her voice.
"I just want to confirm something." Edzard answered truthfully, because his only intention tonight was to remove the doubt of something he saw in Kuroka's mind. And it is that the information that Kuroka's memories gave him made him have a premonition that that hair clip was hiding something.
Koneko looked at Edzard and slowly unbuckled her hair clip. When she had the small object in hand, she handed it over to Edzard.
When he had the object in his hands, Edzard clasped both hands together and quickly used Auromancy to analyze the object.
'Shit... This is worse than I expected.' Edzard thought in shock as he saw something he never expected to see. And it is that he saw how he was the father of Koneko and Kuroka, who for Edzard was a real shit as a father and as a husband, since he could tell by his actions that he only wanted to fuck with the mother of the two cats. However, that wasn't what had surprised him, no, what had surprised him was that shit was researching how to artificially create Super Devils like Sirzechs.
"Ed?" Issei asked seeing Edzard flop down on the couch as he took a long sigh.
"Dammit. This is worse than he expected." Edzard said as he covered his face.
"What do you mean, Edzard?" Xenovia asked.
"Inside this fork there is important information about something." Edzard replied pointing to Koneko's hair clip, because thanks to Auromancy, he could see that in that hair clip there was a chip with very valuable information. "This is very important, so I will send what I found to the leaders of the three factions, but I will also send the hair clip to Ajuka. He will know what to do with this information."
"I see. I guess it's very important information, so you won't be able to share it with us, right?" Rias asked as she put a hand to her chin.
"That's right, but it's possible that your brother will tell you something after he knows what it is." Edzard said as he walked over to an open window. "Well, I'm leaving."
After those words, Edzard disappeared in a blink. The speed he used created a large crack in the floor and generated a draft that ended up messing up the entire room.
"AHHH! I really hate it when he does that!" Rias yelled in exasperation seeing the state of the room.
Edzard was sitting with his family and friends as they watched the "Oppai Dragon" show end.
'I really don't know how Issei has managed to become so popular among the children of the underworld. Although, if we see well, the program is somewhat funny.' Edzard thought with a smile when he saw how Issei said such corny phrases that he was even embarrassed.
When he finished thinking, Edzard's head turned slowly, as he felt a weight on his right shoulder. Fixing his gaze on that spot, he could see his wife, who had Marie sitting on her lap, lay her head on his shoulder. This action made Edzard smile, but then he had to look the other way again, as he felt someone doing the same thing, but on his left shoulder. Looking there, he could see Aika doing the same as Asia, but then he felt two people leaning on his thighs and looking down he saw Mittelt and Valerie leaning there.
'Ha, ha, ha. It seems that what we did last night has made them more affectionate than usual.' Edzard thought as he began to remember what had happened.
Flashback
The moon was shining as footsteps were heard in a corridor of Edzard's palace.
"Ahhh… sometimes I feel like I never should have left that house in the Druadach Mountains." Edzard said with a bit of regret in his voice as he walked towards his room. His steps were slow and heavy, since he had only slept two hours during the last days, since he spent a lot of time in the library researching the oldest documents and scrolls that he owned, since it was there that he hoped to have information to create a cure for the Coldharbour poison. So far, he hadn't been able to find anything despite having already searched almost all of his library, so he was running out of new research sources. Fortunately, he expected Aryne to deliver his letters to Valerica and Tolfdir.
And it is that Edzard had given Aryne several letters, which were destined for his friends and among all of them there were two very special letters. One for Valerica and Serana, while the other was for Tolfdir. In these letters there was a personal request for them to investigate something about the poison of Coldharbour and if there was any cure. In the letters he also indicated that, if they sent him any response, it should be sent with Aryne.
As he kept walking, Edzard was thinking about his family. And the fact is that the time he spent in the library was such that he had even neglected his lovers and his daughter a little.
"Ahhh… It seems like I'm becoming a bad lover and a bad father. But enough of that, tomorrow I will spend the day with my family." Edzard said with conviction as he began to plan where he would go with all of them for a walk.
When he got to his room, he went inside and tried to go to his bed to rest early. However, before he got there, he felt that he was surrounded. Looking around him, his eyes widened. And it is that his lovers wore police suits that consisted of blue blouses whose sleeves and necks were a shade darker than the rest of the blouse, black skirts so short that they allowed Edzard to see the lace underwear they wore each of them. Each of them had the complete kit with the tie, the boots, and the handcuffs on their belts.
"S-s-stop t-there." Asia stuttered with a big blush on her face as she raised a hand and stopped Edzard.
"You are under arrest for breach of duty." Aika said with a mischievous smile as she walked over and took Edzard's arms who wasn't resisting, as hid gaze was fixed on his lovers.
Edzard put on a smile as the girls began to lead him towards the bed. With a single push, he ended up crashing against the bed. With a smile he began to see how his lovers began to undress.
'Looks like I won't sleep again. But this will be fun.' Edzard thought as his blood began to circulate faster.
As the girls approached their lover, Aika and Mittelt looked at the door they had left slightly open. A smile appeared on their faces as they felt the arrival of their occasional spies, which had increased from one to three in recent days. Looking at each other, they both licked their lips and followed their friends to have fun tonight.
End Flashback
Remembering everything they did that night made Edzard's body start to get excited, especially a certain lower part. Fortunately, he managed to contain himself enough to avoid a small misunderstanding, since he was not alone with his family in the hall, since Rossweisse, Lint, Ingvild and his servants were also there. His friends were in another chair watching the program, but he noticed that every so often they watched him and his lovers. Every time they did, he noticed that they frowned and muttered under their breath. Unfortunately, the volume of the TV prevented him from hearing what they were saying.
"Hey Ed." Asia called her husband.
Edzard stopped watching TV and saw his wife. "Yes, whats up?"
"What did you talk about with Azazel-san and the rest yesterday?"
Edzard blinked and then remembered that he had spoken with the three faction leaders before their fun time with his lovers. Putting a hand to his chin, Edzard began to tell her what they talked about.
Flashback
Edzard was sitting on one of the sofas in his study and in front of him there were some magical projections, as he was in a meeting with Azazel and Sirzechs.
"So, this is very troublesome, right?" Edzard asked looking at the magical projection that showed Sirzechs.
"You have no idea. That research is too dangerous to let exist. So, after a long meeting with Ajuka, Serafall and Falbium, it has been decided to completely destroy the investigation."
"I see. That calms me down a bit." Edzard said, straightening up on the sofa. The uneasiness he had felt originated in the concern that he had that investigation reaching the hands of some Daedric prince, but with the news that Sirzechs gave him, that uneasiness vanished.
"Ed is right. It is better to destroy that, because if the information falls into the hands of the Khaos Brigade, we would be in serious trouble." Azazel said through his magical projection.
"You are right, Azazel." Sirzechs said.
End Flashback
"And that was what we talked about." Edzard said.
"I see. Although it seems you didn't mention to them that the information was obtained from Kuroka-san mind." Asia said realizing that her husband had not mentioned any of that.
"That's right, I didn't mention it. Even when Sirzechs asked me about it, I told him that I got it by doing Auromancy on an item he had found lying around." Edzard said as he looked his wife in the eye. "Although Kuroka is a criminal. I think I can at least keep her family's involvement in this a secret."
Asia blinked for a few seconds and then put on a smile, as she understood why he did it.
'It seems that Ed doesn't want Koneko-chan to suffer because of what her family did. She already has a lot on her plate with her sister's thing.' Thought Asia as she stroked her daughter's hair, who she watched amused as Issei acted on television.
After that little talk, they both continued to watch television as if nothing had happened. When Issei's program ended, the screen went black and a few seconds later the logo of a Grigori company appeared, which specialized in audiovisual work.
Seeing what was happening, almost everyone present looked at the screen confused, because they did not know what was happening.
"What's going on?" Aika asked looking strangely at the screen.
"Don't know." Mittelt answered, who also looked at the screen strangely, because she did not know anything about what was happening.
The rest of the girls, including Marie, were also confused. The only ones who weren't confused about what was going on were Edzard and Asia.
"Looks like it's time." Edzard said in a tired voice as he leaned back on the couch.
Asia looked at her husband and giggled seeing him so down.
"Come on, Ed. Cheer up, it's going to be great." Asia said with a smile on her face.
"I hope so, otherwise I will kill Azazel."
The rest of the room looked at the conversation without understanding what was happening. However, before they said anything, Asia told them to look at the screen, as they would find out what was going on there. So, heeding her, they all looked at the screen and when they did, they saw an image appear on the screen.
The scene began with a snow-covered hill, where two silhouettes could be seen on its summit.
"What are you looking for, child?" Said the voice of an old man, whose face was not visible, since only his chest was shown, which was covered by silver armor.
"A place to call home." A young black-haired man answered, who had his back turned, showing only a ragged brown cloak.
Afterwards, the images began to change rapidly and showed a black dragon roaring and then two flags, one with a diamond-shaped black dragon on a red background and the other a blue bear on a lighter blue background.
"In a time of chaos, the sons of a nation shed their own blood. While they are ignorant of the danger that lies in wait for them." Asia's voice said as a big battle appeared on the screen where there were two sides, one with red clothes and the other with blue clothes. Soldiers on both sides were killing each other mercilessly.
In a large hall of what appeared to be a castle two people could be seen talking. One of those people was a woman and the other a young man.
"It's nice to meet you, Mi thane." The dark-haired woman said as she put on a smile. Said woman wore steel armor.
A training field began to be seen, which was surrounded by a wall on which several people could be seen leaning while passing bags of money. And in the middle, in the training arena, a man could be seen approaching a young man.
"It doesn't matter what you've done. Now you are a puppy to us. So, take my sword to Eorlund for sharpening. And be careful, as it is likely to be worth more than what you have as possessions." Said the man, who had short black hair and gray eyes as he handed the young man a sword.
A young man could be seen leaning against the outer wall of what appeared to be a castle on the side of a snowy mountain.
"I finally understood your words, father." The young man said as his hair shadowed his face. Raising his head, his hair was blown by the wind, allowing him to see that he was a thirteen-year-old version of Edzard. "I-I... I don't want to lose anything anymore!"
"The beginning of the path of the young man who became one of the greatest heroes of his world." Asia said while on the screen Edzard could be seen running towards a group of bandits and starting to kill them one by one.
The scene then changed and Edzard was seen fighting a dragon, shooting arrows as he ran across a vast plain of hills, avoiding the dragon's fire breath as he ran. The scene changed again and this time it showed Edzard walking towards a ruined temple, while behind him there were several corpses piled on top of each other, these corpses had very worn armor.
There was a room full of people whose eyes shone like coals.
"Accept my blood and you will walk like a wolf among lambs." Said a being similar to a gray humanoid bat.
"I'm sorry, but I don't want to be a vampire." Edzard said firmly.
Several platforms made of stone could be seen floating in a great green sea.
"Ahh. I smell it, you also have dragon blood." A masked man said as he looked at a kneeling Edzard.
You could see the great hall of a palace, which was decorated with the blue flags from the beginning of the video. In this hall, two people could be seen, one in front of the other. One of them was Edzard and the other was a man in his forties or older, who had long blond hair, decorated with some braids. Also, he had a lock beard on his face.
"Looks like I'm softer than I thought." Edzard said as he tightened his grip on both of his weapons and moved towards the other person. "Let's prevent more people from dying, Ulfric. So, let's end this the old-fashioned way, a duel between you and me. No magic, no thu'um, just weapons."
Edzard could be seen kneeling in front of a wooden block before a leg force him to lower his head onto said block.
A stocky man dressed in black with a hood that hid his face raised a massive axe.
"And it was on that day, where it all began." Asia's voice said before the screen went black.
The room was completely silent.
Edzard had a big blush of embarrassment, as Aika, Ingvild, Lint, Mittelt, Rossweisse and Valerie were staring at him.
"E-E-Ed… What was that that just happened on TV?!" Aika yelled as she looked at her lover.
Edzard averted his face before answering. "It was… it was a trailer for a TV series that Azazel is doing."
Edzard's answer made everyone's doubts increase.
"Wait, are they going to make a TV series out of what seems to be your past?" Lint asked as she kept trying to process what she had seen.
"That's how it is." Edzard replied with a tired voice.
"But... Where is your desire to keep your past a secret?" Mittelt asked as she pouted and frowned in annoyance.
"Mittelt is right, Ed. You told them about your past, but you never told us anything." Valerie said with sadness in her voice. "D-do you not trust us?"
The rest of the girls, including Asia also gave a sad look, which they focused solely on Edzard with the sole purpose of making him consume guilt and tell them everything about his past.
'Aghhh. Damn, don't think I'll fall for old tricks like that. I have survived many battles. I have killed thousands of different beings. I have done unimaginable things. So, don't think you guys would break me with something like that.' Edzard thought as he used his willpower to not give in to guilt.
The battle of wills lasted several minutes, and, in the end, the girls had to give up when they saw that Edzard did not give in. Despite their defeat, the girls achieved a small victory, as Edzard told them what had happened and how Azazel knew about some fragments of his past. This explanation managed to calm the girls enough that they forgot to ask Edzard more about his past.
After that, they all went to sleep while leaving Edzard alone, because he was going to meet with Azazel, Michael and Sirzechs to talk about something very important. So, when Akatosh's last son no longer saw his lovers, he walked to his study and once he was there, he sat down on the sofa. Already feeling comfortable, Edzard took an artifact from his pocket, which was a silver disc with several gems on it. So, by pressing a button on the side of the disk, the gems began to glow and a second later they showed the projections of Azazel, Michael and Sirzechs.
"Well, we started?" Edzard asked as soon as he saw the projections.
"Hey, at least tell us good night, Ed-chan." Azazel said mockingly.
Edzard just looked at the leader of the Fallen with annoyance.
"Oh... I see, you're upset about the trailer, right?" Azazel asked rhetorically as a smile appeared on his face.
At Azazel's question, Edzard only deigned to sigh.
"I don't know why you're so upset. The trailer was a resounding success. And it has managed to win very good expectations among all factions. In fact, there are already several Deviltube channels that have re-uploaded the video and the comments are positive."
"Azazel is right, Edzard-kun. In fact, even I am excited to see the series." Sirzechs said with a smile. "Although, the final scene where it comes out that they are going to behead you confuses me a lot."
"Me too, although knowing your reluctance to talk about your past, I'll have to wait to see the series." Michael said looking at Edzard.
Edzard only put a hand to his face, not wanting to hear more about the series.
"Looks like Edzard-dono is getting impatient. So, let's talk about what we've come to talk about." Michael said seeing Edzard's discomfort.
The other two leaders nodded.
"Okay, first things first. How are we doing with the formation of the anti-Daedra teams?" Edzard asked.
"I have already formed a few, in fact, I think you know a team. The team consists of Tobio Ikuse and his group." Azazel said.
"I see. So, Akeno's cousin's group." Edzard said as he remembered the bartender who ran the bar where he lately escaped to drink a little alone.
"Yes. He and his group are one of the most capable among all the agents of the Grigori."
"Good. That makes us have a few more groups." Edzard said before looking at Michael.
"Heaven has also formed some groups, one of them is made up of almost all the reincarnated angels. The other groups are made up of mid to high level angels." Michael replied.
Following Michael's words, Edzard looked at Sirzechs.
"I have formed a few groups, mostly made up of High-class Devils and Ultimate-class Devils. Although, I also want to make a request of you, Edzard-kun."
Edzard looked at Sirzechs and nodded, because he didn't think that what he asked of him would be something unreasonable.
"What do you think of sending the young devils into this?"
Edzard blinked in confusion for a few seconds, but then put his hand to his chin. A part of him wanted to call Sirzechs an idiot for trying to send green brats into a fight like this, but then he remembered that both Sona's and Rias' peerages were unlucky enough to be in the place where daedras appeared. So, after a few minutes, he nodded.
Edzard's response astonished Azazel and Michael, as they knew that he was always against sending rookies into these types of fights, but it was the Fallen who managed to understand Sirzechs' plan.
"I see. You plan to give them field experience like that, right, Sirzechs?" Azazel asked with a smile.
"That's right. Also, both Rias and Sona always end up getting involved with the Daedras. So, making them part of the defense will make them grow and become more powerful for the inevitable final battle."
They all agreed, knowing that when the final battle came, the Daedras would attack with everything, and it would take everyone's power to defend this world.
"Well with that matter settled, I think we could end this little meeting, right?" asked Edzard, who was looking forward to going to sleep.
"I guess so, but before you go, I want to ask you a favor, Edzard-kun." Sirzechs said, gaining Edzard's attention. "Could you accompany me to the Gremory castle in a few days? There is someone who wants to meet you."
After that question, Sirzechs mentioned the date and Edzard began to remember if he had anything planned for that day. Realizing yes, he told Sirzechs that he would have to postpone it for a few days after the date he had mentioned earlier.
Sheogorath could be seen walking through the corridors of a place whose walls seemed to be made of books. The steps of the prince of madness were happy because he had seen the trailer for the series about the past of his descendant.
'Ahhh. Poor Ed, he must be squirming to know who was the person who gave the shards of his diary to the raven boss.' Sheogorath thought with amusement. Although, the fun fizzled out when he saw who he had come to find.
"Ohh. You are still the same as always, Mora." Sheogorath said as he leaned on his staff and looked at the mass of tentacles that was the Prince of Knowledge.
Mora turned and showing that his form had hundreds of eyes, he began to see Sheogorath.
"What do you want here, prince of madness?" Mora asked as he turned from Sheogorath and returned his gaze to his own business.
"Nothing important, just knowing what you've been doing." Sheogorath said as he stopped leaning back and started waving his staff playfully. "Ohh. And of course, to know if you are still upset about losing Ed."
Unfortunately for the prince of madness, Mora didn't answer him at all.
"Hey! Do not be rude!" Sheogorath yelled, already beginning to get angry at Mora's attitude.
The prince of madness kept screaming several times for several minutes, but finally gave up and left, leaving Mora to ponder in silence again. The Prince of Knowledge had been upset when Edzard had managed to escape from his clutches, but he had calmed down a lot when he saw that he had opened the door to a new world, which had knowledge unknown to him. So, taking advantage of the havoc caused by Bal and Dagon, he began to send his influence towards these mortals. He initially dedicated himself to influencing the most educated people in that world, easily obtaining new knowledge.
In fact, something that had greatly amazed Mora was the ease with which these mortals accepted the deals, since it hadn't taken long to make them give up vast amounts of knowledge for a few bars of gold. Unfortunately, they had already outgrown his usefulness, so without a second thought, he ended up taking everything their minds possessed, leaving them in a vegetative state.
Having already gained a lot of worldly knowledge, Mora had started searching for a source to gain knowledge about the supernatural beings of that world. He was searching for what for many mortals were hours, but for someone like him it was only moments. He had probed the minds of hundreds of supernatural beings, but none met his requirements to be someone worthy of even being a Champion candidate. However, when he was about to give up, he saw her.
His hundreds of eyes widened in slight shock at the sight of that person, for she did not appear to be more than sixteen years old. The short blonde hair she wore reminded Mora of a certain Dovahkiin's wife, but unlike that girl, this one had blue eyes. The girl's eyes showed amusement and kindness, but also something else. What those eyes showed was something she had always seen in Edzard's eyes, and that was… hunger, but not hunger for food, but hunger for knowledge.
Feeling curious to see those kinds of eyes in that girl, Mora began to delve into her destiny and what he found made him start to squirm with happiness. And it is that, he could not believe what he saw. That girl, more precisely her destiny, had been completely changed, and the reason for that change was his former Champion.
"The ironies of the world are truly amazing, Dovahkiin." Mora said with amusement. "As thanks for allowing me to expand my library to this scale, I will not take this girl's mind or life with me when she is no longer useful to me."
After those words, Mora began to enter the dreams of that girl to offer her a deal. A deal she couldn't refuse, for he had much of what she craved… knowledge, both magical and of her destiny.
Author's note:
To those who have made it this far, Thanks for reading. Because being honest, I don't know how to write much in English and I'm relying on Google translators and the dictionaries that come with office 2019.
And we finish this chapter and as we see, the Grigori will get a lot of money, now with the small fragments of Edzard's past. Also, it looks like Xenovia and Kuroka want to squeeze Edzard XD.
As for who is the person Hermaeus Mora is planning to make a deal with, well, I think I've already given enough clues for them to know her identity. XD
Now, before closing, two paragraphs from one of the future chapters:
"D-don't s-sing v-victory, D-Dovhakiin. The birds h-have flown, the w-wolves are howling, and the hunt is soon on." Said between gurgling blood the hunter. "The moon will be stained with blood and our lord will grant a great prize to whoever brings him the indicated prey. You know it's coming…"
The words of that man disconcerted many, but not Edzard, who upon understanding his meaning only clenched his teeth and fists in anger... a new Wild Hunt is about to begin.
Can you guess which Daedric prince is involved here? XD
Well, I apologize for any misspelling. Do not forget to leave a review if you liked the chapter or if there is something that needs to be improved or if you have any questions about the story. Also, if you want to chat by PM, you can also send one. With nothing more to say, until the next chapter.