Chapter 49: Lustful Thoughts:
"So…" I looked down at the content white haired Knight, who was contentedly snuggling into my chest, "I'll 'ruin' your sister? Care to explain why that excited you so much?"
The naked beauty snuggled into my chest deeper at that, studiously avoiding meeting my eyes, "No."
"Kasane…" I sighed, "As adorable as that is, it is not going to get you out of this. If you have any expectations or desires for our relationship, you need to tell me about them, if only to prevent avoidable misunderstandings."
"I don't really want to say it." She mumbled, her voice quiet.
"I won't force you then, if you are really against it." I hummed in response, wrapping her tighter in my embrace and just basking in the warmth of her body for a moment.
The silence filled the room after that, but it didn't feel uncomfortable. It was still early in the day, but a nap was feeling more and more appealing as I relaxed. Our first experience was brief, but with the extended time that this intimate moment had been afforded, Kasane revealed that she was surprisingly fond of cuddles.
She had barely let me go ever since we had finished having sex, instead latching onto me and treating me like a body pillow. I was certainly not complaining, there are a lot worse things to experience than the loving embrace of an attractive lady.
Eventually, Kasane started to whisper, her breath ghosting over the skin of my stomach, "I'm not a Randall."
I stayed silent, listening as my Knight started to open up, "Naomi's parents… they only agreed to adopt me due to my powers. I was never meant to actually be her sister, just her protection."
She took in a shaky breath, her tale continuing, "But Naomi… She is always difficult to predict. She accepted me wholeheartedly, treating me as her true sister almost as soon as we met. However… It was never real. Her family was still the Randalls, not me. Eventually… Eventually she would have had to choose between us."
I could feel tears dropping onto my chest, I hugged her tighter to me as she finished, "If it was between me and her family, I don't know what would have been worse. One way, I would have lost her, like I almost did… but the other, all her resources, all her connections, everything she was came from her family. Without that, It would have been horrible."
She tilted her head, kissing the skin beneath her face, "But I didn't lose her. Thanks to you. And if you want both of us? If you take both of us into your bed? We will be together forever. We will never have to separate."
"I see." My voice was expectant, knowing, '"But your reaction wasn't one of relief, or gratitude. It was of arousal, Kasane."
She tilted her head back away from me, but from the heat of her cheeks I could feel that she was blushing heavily.
"Kasane." She tensed, "Does the thought of me bedding your sister excite you?"
Her lack of denial was all the answer I needed.
"Am I weird?" Was the soft question that escaped her little fort of embarrassment.
"Not at all." I smirked, "In fact, let me prove it to you."
I used my grip on her shoulders to move her beneath me, her red face showing shock as I loomed over her. Gently opening her legs with my knee, sliding between them as her eyes widened.
"Who knew my little knight was so kinky?" I asked, causing her to blink.
"What…? Damocles! Again?!" Despite her disbelief, she was clearly not against the idea.
"Before I absolutely ruin Naomi, as you were so eager for me to do," I leaned down and whispered in her ear, her breathing speeding up as the excitement of the situation got to her, "I wish to practise on her beloved sister first."
Kasane moaned as I once more hilted myself inside her, having not fully recovered from our previous session. She certainly had no complaints about my plan.
"I'm sorry we've been so delayed in this, Rias." I spoke, causing the Gremory to nervously fidget, clearly unsure how to treat me with the revelations granted to her by her Ancestor.
"We thank you for your hospitality, Lord Sagan." She decided to default to formality, causing me to internally sigh, "My Peerage and I appreciate the time you have allowed us to use your grounds."
"Oho?" Her queen ruined her attempt by leaning on her shoulder, almost bucking the redhead under her weight, "What's this? Why so stiff, Rias-chan? Trouble in paradise?"
"Your King is overthinking things." I replied to her, before looking down at the tugging at my sleeves, "Yes, yes, Koneko. I have not forgotten."
Waving my hand, a warm tray of baked treats appeared, causing sparkles to appear in the little Neko's eyes. As she took a few of the chocolate temptations from the tray, I caused it to disappear into my storage once again.
"Don't look at me like that." I chided at her affronted look, "You know the deal. Do well in your training and you get the rest."
"Stingy." She clicked her tongue causing me to smile.
"If you want them now, you should offer something in return. Do you have anything I would be interested in?"
She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from me, "Pervert."
"It says more about you, that that was the first place your mind turned to." My teasing was rewarded with a blush.
Rias, seeing me act as if nothing had changed to her Peerage took in a deep breath, "I apologise, Lord Sagan, but-"
"Damocles." I spoke, staring at her seriously, "You are still a friend, Rias. My friend. I will not let titles change that."
"...Damocles. I'm sorry, with everything that's been happening… I was just a bit anxious. I'm sorry to do this so soon, but would you mind if we have an extra with us today?" She visibly relaxed, but still seemed a bit awkward.
"I understand. I guess this extra guest would be Runeas?" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, the teleport circle lit up again, the aforementioned bratty Devil appearing behind Rias' Peerage.
"Runey is here!" She cheered, before taking in the looks she was receiving.
She placed her index finger on her lips teasingly, "What's this? Was I a bit too early?"
"You are welcome to oversee today's training, Ancestor Runeas." I spoke to her, attempting to channel my most stuffy and overly formal impression.
Akeno giggled while Runeas pouted at me, "Damocles! I've told you that you can call me Runey!"
"I will keep that in mind, Ancestor Runeas." I spoke, in complete seriousness.
Inwardly, I felt a vicious rush of satisfaction run through me at her annoyed pout at my response.
Dropping my act, I turned to Rias and smiled, "It's not a problem Rias. Do you have anything specific you wish to cover today, or will we be doing the standard solo training?"
"The usual will be fine Damocles." She finally relaxed fully, smiling prettily at me, "Thank you."
"You are most welcome."
Runeas was right to come to this occasion. Watching how the Sagan effortlessly juggled Rias' Peerage's needs and personalities as if he were their King, it spoke to a level of familiarity and social manipulation that was truly impressive for one so young.
Looking at the 'training' occurring between the two Knights, she even commended him on identifying the one he had to spend the least effort on. Akeno held Rias' ear, her most trusted confidante. Remaining in her good graces was smart. The entire peerage doted on Koneko, the little rascal having the entire group wrapped around her gluttonous finger. Making sure she was fond of him engendered a large amount of goodwill from the rest of them.
As for Kiba? Well, he could safely be ignored. The boy was a lost sheep, he would go with the majority even if he personally disagreed. The Sagan had been quite sly indeed, subverting the loyalties of all of Rias' companions alongside her, such that the girl was most assuredly caught quite firmly in his web.
She could be broken out of it, of course, but being trapped like this did confer numerous benefits. The leash was long and the whip had not been used once. Besides, with what she was planning, the Sagan's actions could be beneficial to the Gremory's standing in the future.
Still, Kiba's infatuation with the Knight of the Sagan is certain to be destined for tragedy. It was a cruel irony, she thought with a grin, that the one most suited to teaching him despised him so thoroughly. Ah, unrequited puppy love was just so deliciously bitter. Still, what fascinated her most about what she could see occurring in front of her, was what the Sagan was currently teaching her descendant.
Rather than shoot out the overpowering, devastating torrents of Destruction that her brother favoured, the Sagan had instead seemingly encouraged her to focus on another aspect. It was smart, the girl dreamed of becoming a Rating Game Champion, she was unlikely to do so if she merely imitated another.
No, instead of power, her little Ria-tan had been trained extensively in speed. She condensed her Destruction into spinning black-red balls of energy, that whistled through the air at dazzling speeds and expanded upon contact with her target. She had spent quite a while trying to identify the reasoning behind teaching her in this way, but Runeas though she had it figured out.
The speed made up for the lack of raw power, which could be added in any way. The spin made the magic 'feel' more accurate and move faster, but didn't actually serve a proper mechanical purpose. Still, that in itself was its purpose. Devil Magic worked on imagination, their powers and abilities working the way they thought it should work. In theory, if a Devil was insane enough to have absolute confidence in their own conclusions, they could accomplish anything with convoluted enough reasoning.
It was only the older generation that knew this principle applied to their Powers from Blood as well, not just their normal magic. For Damocles to have figured that out at such a young age… Or, perhaps, he had been told? That struck her as unlikely, as the interference in their Powers in such a way could go dangerously wrong.
As proven multiple times, when her Descendant attempted to utilise her Destruction in new and convoluted ways, occasionally losing control of the balls of doom too soon. Before they could destabilise, they were winked out of existence by the Sagan's binding. Indeed, that seemed like an incredibly effective way to contain the fallout of any mistakes.
Runeas leaned forwards, watching Damocles as he discussed the latest attempt with Rias, controlling dozens of the little balls at once in a spread. He was training her and her Peerage. He was training them very well, in fact. They were miles ahead of what they would have been without this instruction.
Even to her eyes, she could find no signs of sabotage or incorrect advice. So, that begged the question, what did he get out of this? There were many possible options, of course, but not much evidence for any of them.
Training against the Power of Destruction? Unlikely, his own Power was pretty binary in what it allowed him to accomplish. Did he need Rias herself for something she knew or possessed? She did have the Forbidden Balor View in her little Bishop, but kidnapping would be so much easier than this charade. Besides, Gaspar had met the Sagan Lord before, but did not attend these meetings due to his extreme Agoraphobia. Rias had no infernal, dark secrets either, certainly none that she had uncovered.
Did he need a Rating Game Champion? For what? The Rating Games themselves were a side show at best, bread and circuses to distract the population while the real power brokers moved in the shadows.
That just left Rias herself. The Sagan desired her for some reason. One didn't wade into another House's betrothal contract without extreme cause, Oh, there was no mistaking that this was exactly what this training represented. Rias being strong enough to crush her future husband would make the contract untenable, with her vocal and frequent rage against the arrangement.
Not to mention said husband's complete, total and most importantly public disinterest in his betrothed. A behaviour that only emerged after the Phenex went into business with the Sagan.
Questions upon questions, little in the way of answers. She would keep an eye out as to this Devil's motivations, but at the moment she just had not gathered enough information to make any decent guesses.
What information she had gathered, however, painted a very interesting picture. Damocles Sagan was dangerous. It sounded like she was stating the obvious, but it really was not. She could see why the New Satans were so useless in handling the boy. He had connections with Tiamat, with the Yokai, a strong Peerage and now this new Goddess, Ranni. But more than any of that, even with all that removed, Damocles himself was dangerous.
He was stronger than he should be. This rate of growth was absurd. The him from the fight against Astaroth two years ago? She would have laughed him to defeat. The one standing before her now? She was unsure if she could beat him. That was coming from her, an Ancestor, one of the oldest Devils in existence.
Looking at the boy, she saw another boy, so very similar in that way, one with flaming red hair and a bright hopeful grin. But Damocles was nothing like that boy in temperament. He was shrewd, charismatic and most damningly, cunning.
She heard the theory that ridiculous Serafall espoused, that the Sagan had been aided from the shadows the moment he woke, coached to his current position by his Queen. Serafall was wrong. Damocles himself was the mastermind behind the Sagan's rise. The way he interacted with Rias and her peerage, the thought behind his actions, the consideration taken to his public image… The New Satans had their pride. She could see why they could not accept being challenged by a child.
But they forget, that is what they did. To be fair, they were decades older than Damocles when they did so, but that was but a heartbeat to their kind. None of them looked too close, none of them approached the Sagan and got to know him. She was certain if they did so, they would discover what she did.
A prodigy.
An all rounder too. Power, charisma, political acumen, calculation, ruthlessness? It was almost as if someone knew all her buttons and crafted Damocles specifically to press each of them.
Lust at the undiscovered gem she had found aside, she was very aware of the dangerous knowledge of his lineage that she carried with her. Knowledge that will come to light sooner or later and if she wanted to stay in his good graces, knowledge that it would behoove her to share quickly.
Still, there was time for her to continue her deliberations. She knew that was the responsible course of action, but she was tempted to go with one of her first plans, working with the Sagan to reclaim his birthright, the Throne of Hell. She would freely admit that attraction was influencing her thoughts, after all competence was just so sexy, especially if it was working in your interests.
She was a Devil, first and foremost. She should follow her desires.
Before she decided completely however, she would need to unfortunately consider the matter carefully. Once she committed, there would be no backing out. In either opposing this rising force or working with it, the same two outcomes were assured.
Victory, or Death.