On the ground, Kisuke was taking a break while waiting for Ex, who had his face planted in the dirt, to recover his stamina. He saw that the four ladies who had come down, instead of looking for them, had started flying all around. "They sure are making a fuss."
Ex turned and laid on his back while catching his breath. "Helm nee-san is with them... She probably saw something amazing and is freaking out."
"Helm?" Kisuke asked. "Do you mean Helmwige, Hyoudou Issei and Rossweisse's daughter?"
Ex sat up and managed to calm his heart down. He nodded and replied while looking up at her sisters, "Yes. She inherited Rossweisse kaa-san's talent for Magic Research. She can even copy basic to intermediate-level Magic with just a glance."
It was only when Ex finally heard what they were talking about that his jaw dropped and he understood their panic. "...Am I hearing them correctly? The barrier surrounding this place is on the level of the Isolation Field Barrier?"
"Of course not." Kisuke stood up and immediately denied it. "The Isolation Field Barrier couldn't last Trihexa's attacks, and if not for those who're sealed with it, it would collapse within a few days. This isn't that weak."
Ex could only watch Kisuke in shock as he went into the temporary lodging he had built to receive guests. 'He's joking, right?'
[No. Knowing him, he's probably even underselling it.] Great Red's deep voice resounded inside his head.
The past week, Great Red, now taking the name Flanna, had become very chatty compared to before, and Ex didn't know how he should react. But overall, he thought this was a good trend because he could finally figure out what was on his mind, and it had been helpful with the training he'd been undergoing that couldn't be shown to any outsiders.
Ex swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked nervously, 'Just who is this guy?'
[All I can say is that he's someone you can trust. As for anything specific, it's not the right time. Just make sure that nobody else knows that I know him.]
At this moment, he felt his sisters approaching and looked up once again. He saw that they all had serious expressions, and that was understandable if they thought the barrier was indeed on the same level as the one that sealed most of the Draconic Deus' military power.
Ex stood up and greeted them the moment they landed. "Hey, Tina, Shiro, Kuro, and Helm nee-san. What's with the long faces? Is something going on?" He tried his best to appear normal.
"Ex, are you aware of it?" Helmwige directly asked him.
"I heard your conversation earlier... This is the first time I'm hearing about it too. Were those accurate?"
"I can't say for certain until I have the proper equipment to measure things out." She then looked around and saw the simple log house. "Is the owner inside?"
As soon as Ex nodded, Helmwige started walking toward that direction, and his heart started palpitating from nervousness. He knew how passionate Helmwige could be when it came to Magic, especially the unique ones, but he had a feeling that it would be a disaster if he didn't reign her in now.
Ex hurriedly grabbed Helmwige's hand to stop her from proceeding and said hurriedly, "Hold on, Helm nee-san. Are you planning to confront him?"
"Obviously. I have to get answers," Helmwige answered as if it were a matter of fact.
Ex's bad premonition was correct, and he tried reasoning with her. "Please stop. From your tone, it sounds like you're about to interrogate him."
Robertina also noticed how excited Helmwige had become and immediately backed her older brother up by grabbing her other free hand. "Please calm down, Helm nee-san. We're here to negotiate, remember? It's not our place to ask him questions about this place."
Thankfully, Helmwige also recognized her state and took a few deep breaths.
.
.
.
Kisuke had been behind the door all this time, listening in to their conversation. 'They sure are a bit too excitable.'
[It's your bait that made them too excitable. Can't you just mask the inner workings of your barrier?]
'Where's the fun in that? Besides, they won't tell anyone else as long as they are wary of the imaginary group behind me. That's the weakness of their education.' Kisuke was reminded of the time when Rias and Sona took on Kokabiel on their own, and it would seem that these young ones also had the same problem as them back then, trying to be independent and prove their worth. Their arrogance and ignorance were appalling, but Kisuke could easily attribute those to their inexperience, and this could be a good learning experience for this generation.
'I just need one more thing to tie them up. Phenex-san's daughter worries me, but it looks like she holds her thoughts back when it comes to her older siblings.'
Benihime caught Kisuke's brief flashback and asked, [Speaking of Sona, what do you think about her?]
Naturally, Sona's name had also come up multiple times during their investigation. "What can I say except... Truly unfortunate."
[There's something else, right? Tiamat and I noticed that you had a weird expression when browsing through the records.]
Kisuke was silent for a moment before sighing and answering, "No corpses were recovered, so I have a feeling that those girls aren't dead yet..."
[When you say it like that, that doesn't sound like good news.]
"Because it isn't." Kisuke didn't elaborate further. "...And one of these days, I might need to come in contact with her."
[Hmmm? How come? Isn't that too risky for you?]
"It's risky, but remember, Dylan-san was afflicted by the sleep disease in this world and was not cured."
[What does... Oh... I see.] Benihime wondered why Kisuke needed to assume the risk for that when she remembered that the sleep disease was a severe imbalance of the physical body and soul that even experts of Senjutsu couldn't do anything about. But if it was about the soul, surely the Etouldes, who had various abilities that affect souls directly, would be taking advantage of this opportunity. [How about you ditch these kids and settle this issue first?]
Kisuke then felt the siblings coming over and said, "She's lasted a decade or two, so she'll be fine for a few hours. And I need to think about what I should ask in exchange for waking her father up."
[I heard that she's still single. Ask for her hand in marriage.]
"No." Kisuke said out loud and without any hesitation as he opened the door.
[You want benefits, there's your greatest benefit.] Benihime still insisted with a teasing tone.