Chapter 111: I See Myself With the Gods
"Honestly, this feels great," Joshua commented, lying lazily on the couch, head on an arm rest and his feet on the other. Next to him, on the coffee table, laid a tray with some snacks and drinks. To the side, Serafall sat on an armchair, happily munching on the things he'd brought to eat. "No pressure, no deadlines, no nothing. Feels like forever ago since I didn't have something hanging over my head."
Sure, he had a bunch of projects to work with, especially the one regarding Sairaorg's mother. Khaos Brigade was still out there doing who the fuck knew what. There was the entire thing with the Egyptian Pantheon that had to be addressed too. He'd also been ignoring the system screen that still floated by the side of his sight. However…
Maybe it made him a terrible friend in regards to Sairaorg, but he didn't feel like rushing, or adding more pressure on himself. Joshua felt like he could just crumble to the floor and never get up again. He'd been aware that the Phoenix Spell had taken a lot out of him, even before it had made into a rush order, but he hadn't known it had been that bad.
"It is," the Satan commented, humming happily. "So, nothing urgent going on in the life of Joshua Davis, now?"
"Eh… not really? I did promise Sairaorg that I'd help him with his mother, but there's no rush even if the sooner I get that done the better, obviously," he commented idly, bringing the cold beer that Nephthys had, once more, provided for him. Then he groaned just thinking about all the work that'd take and how he'd feel awful if he didn't get it done as quickly as possible. At least there wasn't an actual deadline though, because that had really multiplied how bad the Phoenix Spell had been for him.
"Doesn't she have Sleep Disease?" Serafall asked, and he saw her shift sharply from where she sat next to him.
"Yeah, I've been looking to see if I can help him cure her. Phoenix Healing doesn't work, obviously, and neither does the rest of the healing I've learned to do but… Well, I'm sure I can find a way around that," he commented idly, feeling tired just thinking about that whole thing. He'd found some interesting pieces of information while working on that before he'd had to focus on the Phenex situation, but it'd still be a while before he could cure his friend's mother. "For now though, I really need to recover because I feel like I might just drop and not get up for a week."
"That's… understandable, yeah," Serafall replied, although she sounded off, for some reason. He'd have let it be, but she'd been acting sort of out of character through the whole day. First because it was necessary at the meeting with the Phenex, but even afterwards she seemed to not be quite herself at times. So…
"Something the matter?" he asked, closing his eyes and letting the cold, bitter drink ease his stressed self. Was it a good idea to accept the beer from the goddess of the Pantheon that seemed to have decided to affect his life so much his system had all but broken? Probably not, but if they wanted to screw him over, they could have done that a number of times already.
"... My father seems to have Sleep Disease," Serafall commented, her voice low and almost… vulnerable, he guessed. It sounded all sorts of weird and wrong coming from the otherwise confident and cheerful woman. "We've been growing more worried with the time. He sleeps for longer and longer, he is more and more tired. He's been trying to teach Sona as much as he can so she can take over once it finally happens but… It's been really bad on everyone."
"... I don't know how long it'll take me, but I'll be working on it. It was already going to be a priority for me as it was. I'll just have to push a little harder," Joshua told her, feeling the weight of another friend that would need him to work on that. He didn't want to sound like an asshole, but he could have really done without any of it though. He just wanted to rest, take some time off and not have to worry about anything.
Alas, it wasn't to be.
'And Khaos is still plotting away somewhere and the Church is still at war with itself,' he thought to himself. Rest wasn't going to be in the cards for him for some time, it seemed. 'No rest for the wicked.'
"I know. I'm not trying to… pressure you, or anything, Joshua," Serafall told him. She wasn't quite sounding like she had before, but it was certainly still different from usual. She sounded more… controlled. Less hyper, as it were. "I just… haven't really been able to really talk about that with anyone but the other Satans. They are great friends and all but… They are also dealing with their own things. Sirzechs had the whole thing with Rias, and he still gets shit for taking in Grayfia. Ajuka is very disconnected, and he was dealing with the thing regarding Diodora. Falbium… Well, he's still recovering from the war. He had it a lot worse than we did and that's saying something already. I know you have things to deal with too but-"
"Serafall," he interrupted, taking a breath in slowly as she went silent. "It's fine. We are friends. I can't promise I'll be able to do much, but I can listen just fine. I think you've heard me complain about things a lot too. Besides, you were the one that came to help me not burn myself out when I needed it so… Don't worry about it."
"I know, just… Ugh, you don't realize a lot of things, do you?" she groaned and he chuckled wearily.
"That's a fact, yeah," he commented, keeping his eyes closed still, even as he felt everything with his wards and other senses. "What'd I miss?"
"... Hm, I'm not gonna tell you yet," she replied idly. Well, that'd leave him wondering, but at least she seemed to sound a little better so that was good. "Maybe soon though. Now that you are a little more free and don't have to focus so hard."
"Ominous," he mused, chuckling again as Serafall threw a small cushion at him. "And that was rude."
"You are rude!"
"How can I, when I don't even know what you are talking about?" he asked.
"Because."
"... That's not an argument, you know."
"Is so."
Joshua just sighed.
"In the spirit of not making me more curious… Maybe… I have an unrelated question," he said in the end, drawing a curious hum from the woman after she brought a snack to her mouth. "The Egyptians are making me an offer. Something about a great column?" he commented, having a vague idea that he knew what that was about but not very sure.
Judging by the fact that Serafall seemed to suddenly choke on what she was eating though…
"I have a feeling that it's more of a big deal than I initially thought," he said dryly.
"You-You could say that, yeah," the woman told him after she recovered. "Great Column is one of the translations for pharaoh."
"Oh…"
"Yeah, oh," Serafall replied as he opened his eyes. More than surprised, he was suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed. Why would they…? "The Egyptian Pantheon has been out of the game… probably forever. Sure, they were more active before, but they've never involved themselves much with the world. They make an appearance here and there, but they mostly left things to people to do things for them. Like how Nephthys mostly left things to House of Water, for example."
"I'm not getting where you are going, Serafall."
"Just trying to say that pharaoh might not be what you think it is. It's not a leader position like Yasaka's. It's more… a representative one, I guess would be a good way to explain it," she told him, and he was suddenly understanding. They didn't want him to lead a faction, since they likely didn't even have a faction other than the pantheon itself.
"Doesn't sound better to me," he commented, nervous and unsure. "Sounds like I'd have people ordering me around, and I really could do without that."
As he said that, he felt one of the deities reach through the Charm. Set had apparently really liked that, sending excitement and even a little pride through the link the item provided. Joshua found that reassuring, actually. He'd half expected the gods to feel insulted or something because of him not immediately taking the offer. Instead… they just seemed to be there, waiting and doing little else.
"Nobody knows enough about the Egyptians to really tell you what to do there, Joshua," Serafall said, sounding like she really wanted to have the words that he needed. Alas, there was no chance for that. "They've been inactive long enough that all I have to go off of is records. I wasn't even alive when they were last actually somewhat active."
"You think Yasaka might?"
"She might have been there to see the tail end of things, if that," Serafall answered with a hum, her voice shifting a little but he couldn't tell why. "I'm sorry I'm not able to help with that."
"It's fine. You want to, and that matters," he reassured her, taking a breath in and then a sip from his beer. "I guess I'll just have to decide for myself."
"There's no rush, right?"
"You think making gods wait is a good idea?"
"There's that too," she acknowledged. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it."
Joshua was tired. He really couldn't wait until there were no more problems for him to deal with. The shit he wanted to do was piling, but even more so was the shit that he needed to do, which was a source of stress. So, he made a decision that many would have called stupid and reckless.
He set the beer he'd been given on the table and then took the Charm of Egypt.
'What do you want?' he asked bluntly. 'I'm tired of guessing and worrying. You've been good to me, and I appreciate that, but I want to know what you want or we are done here. I can't deal with this game anymore.'
There was a long moment of silence then. Serafall probably didn't know what was going on, but she definitely realized that something serious had happened. His familiars sent him their support through their bond with him, Cheshire even finding her way to him and coming to rest on his stomach.
Ultimately, he felt Set's amusement through the Charm first, which wasn't really reassuring. However, he soon found several others letting him feel a number of emotions, many of which weren't bad either. It wasn't an answer though, which had him simply waiting.
"We are disconnected from the world, Guardian," a voice projected directly to his mind, differently from how his familiars communicated, which was good. That was a little too close for him to want to share with a stranger, even if they were a god. Especially if they were a god. "The world barely remembers us as something from the past. It's time to show that we are still here. However, we don't want to control you, Joshua Davis. Controlling a star can only dim their light and that's the last thing we'd do to you. Show the world your might, Guardian, and show them ours in the process."
'I can agree to the no controlling thing,' Joshua decided. And if they wanted to screw him over? He'd find a way to do it right back to them. He had done what people thought impossible once. If he had to find a way to deal with an entire pantheon of gods, then he'd do it. Spite could be such a good motivation, after all.
Set very much liked that, it seemed.
Joshua was earning a lot of points with a god that was supposed to be the bad guy in the Pantheon, but he couldn't find it within himself to care.
'Yes,' he thought, pulling the system screen in front of him again to read it.
[Perks Updated: Blessing of Shed, Minor Blessing of Nephthys, Minor Blessing of Set.]
[Perk Obtained: Minor Blessing of Egypt.]
'So, what's this?' he wondered, calling for the screen.
[Minor Blessing of Egypt
Increases the potential of the user.
Increases the ability of the user to learn.
The user can access the powers of the Egyptian Gods to an extent.]
Then he blinked, processing that. 'And there's more on top of these?... What?' he thought, eyes widening a little. 'Titles, Great Column?'
[Great Column
The Egyptian Pantheon will back the user in matters they can agree to.
The Egyptian Pantheon might personally help.
The Egyptian Pantheon might not help if they don't agree with what the user does.
#?]
'This looks very un-system-ish,' he thought, reading the new screen over and over. It didn't look like the kind of thing he'd see from the thing. 'How much of these do the gods know? How much of it can they affect?... Will I ever get any answers regarding the system, I wonder,' he mused idly, ultimately deflating where he sat. 'And what the fuck is even up with that last part?'
Naturally, Joshua only had confusion and an unresponsive screen.
That is, until a new one popped up, this one a normal blue one instead of the Egyptian version.
[Quest Complete: Replicate a Devil Bloodline and show it to the world.
Rewards:
+ 100 Levels to all Stats
+ Spell Modification Maxe-#
+ 50 Levels to Spell Modification
+ 50 Levels to Healing Magic
+ 50 Levels to Ward Magic
+ 50 Levels to Hex Magic
+ 50 Levels to Boon Magic
+ New Perk: Breaker of Balance]
'The fuck are those numbers?' he thought, eyes widening and feeling how his body shifted ever so slightly. He heard Serafall shift where she sat to his side too. Blinking at the screen, he considered it for a moment before calling his own stat screens.
[Joshua Davis
Title: The Professor
Race: Human
Strength: 190
Speed: 183
Dexterity: 183
Vitality: 197
Perception: 180
Magic: 228
Life: 155]
'Those look like crazy high numbers, what's my rank now?'
[Joshua Davis
Title: The Professor
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Rank: A-
Strength: A-
Speed: A-
Dexterity: A-
Vitality: A-
Perception: A-
Magic: A+
Life: B+]
'Skipped quite a bit there, jumping from B- to A- and I gotta say, even if I'm not sure where that puts me… being in A rank at all sounds pretty good… Especially with the power level of this crazy world,' Joshua considered. Then, dismissing those new screens, he looked at the Quest reward once more and went over it again.
'I'm starting to wonder if the system is falling apart somehow,' Joshua mused, blinking at the newly glitched screen. It was both worrying… and a little interesting, he'd admit. Ultimately… he had no control of what went on with that, so he'd have to pray that the thing wouldn't just completely crash on him.
Even if he was really curious of how that could even happen or what'd happen then.
'Anyway, what's up with the Breaker of Balance thing?' he wondered eventually.
[Breaker of Balance
Impossible things are no longer impossible.]
'... Game, are you ok?' Joshua asked in his mind, growing more disturbed by the second. Sure, the thing sounded… good, he supposed, but this was… It was growing concerning, that the system seemed to get weirder and weirder. It had always been strange, different from what he knew, but this was…
What was happening?
"Josh?"
"Yeah?" he asked, feeling even more drained than how he'd begun.
"Did you, like, do something? Because you were just laying there silent for a while. I felt a little shift in you but other than that…" Serafall commented, and he blinked. 'Can't she feel the blessing or something else? Did she only feel the shift in stats? That's weird,' he thought, then he frowned and called a few screens. 'Or maybe… Equip Great Column,' he commanded and the title switched on.
It had been pretty strange that it had no apparent direct effect but-
Sure enough, glancing towards Serafall, he saw her eyes widen a little bit and her back straighten.
"Oh," she mumbled. 'Equip The Professor,' he thought, and he saw her relaxed a moment later. "Do I have to be worried?"
"I don't think so," he replied, trying not to think too much on it.
"... Can I keep calling you Josh?" the Satan asked, making him blink.
"Sure?" he replied. Since when did Serafall ask for permission for a nickname? "Are you ok?" he asked, feeling a little concerned. She was acting really weird.
"Yeah, I just… I was just waiting, you know?" Serafall told him, and he wondered if he meant waiting for him to respond or something. Had his mind drifted off again without him noticing? "Now, I guess it just hit me that I don't have to wait much more," she added, which obviously meant that she was talking about something else. Looking at her as he brought his beer back to his lips… He couldn't read her at all, as usual.
"I feel like I should know what you are talking about but I don't," he commented, drawing a giggle from the woman. Well, at least she wasn't in a bad mood, so that was good, he supposed.
"Ah, you'll figure it out… or maybe not," she replied, looking far too amused for his liking. "Anyway, you'll learn about it soon, I bet."
"Ominous," Joshua joked again, to which she just smiled at him in an even more unreadable way. Now he was going to be thinking about that for a while and something told him that he wasn't going to guess what she was talking about.
Well, at least he was feeling better, so that was good at least.
"Thanks for being here," he told her, taking another sip from his beer, only to realize that it was empty. 'Access the powers of the gods, was it?' he wondered for a moment before deciding to go for it. In the blink of an eye, the drink was replaced with a full unopened one. He had a feeling that he'd be testing his resistance to alcohol, but at least he wasn't alone for it.
"Don't mention it," Serafall replied and he turned slightly to see a fond smile on her face. "Nowhere else I'd rather be."
Immediately, he brought the drink to his lips and took a gulp. 'Don't read into it… Don't read into it,' he told himself as a knot formed on his throat. 'I must be more out of it than I thought,' he thought, taking a deep breath in and then drinking more to try and swallow the sudden nerves he was feeling.
There was just no way.
[}-o-{]
"Thank you, thank you, thank you-"
On and on it went, but Joshua just smiled and hugged the girl back as she did her best to squeeze the life out of him with her arms. Slowly, he patted Rias's back and pretended not to notice the wet, warm spots on his shirt where her tears fell. He also did his best to not get uncomfortable under the looks the rest of the devil girl's peerage was giving him.
He wasn't used to that kind of attention, especially so with such emotional expressions.
"I owe you so much. I can't believe you did it," Rias told him, her voice muffled as she continued pressing her face to his chest and showed no signs of letting go of him. "I… I thought I'd have to fight him and… I don't know if I can defeat him. We have gotten stronger but a Phenex-"
"Kid, it's fine," he told her with a grin, patting the back of her head with his hand. "I did it, I gained quite a bit from it and you are free. Don't worry about payment. Your brother will take care of that. He said as much."
"Still," she grumbled, and Joshua was left wondering why he felt the smallest twinge of annoyance from her though his senses and spells. Off to the side, Cheshire rolled her eyes at him for some reason too, which only confused him further. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," he told her with a chuckle. "If you kids need anything, just say the word. I guess I've grown fond of you. Besides, Yuuto is with Jeanne, so I gotta keep him happy so he keeps her happy."
"Josh!" protested the aforementioned sister. Everyone ignored her though.
"I don't need incentives for that, you know?" the boy told him instead, to which Joshua grinned.
"Good answer," he pointed out. "See it as a reward then."
"I feel bad though," Rias mumbled. "I saw how you were lately because of how much you had to work, and Jeanne commented on it sometimes," the devil told him, making him glare at his now apologetic sister. "You did a lot for me, so… I'd feel bad if I just left it all to my brother."
"If it makes you feel better," Joshua started, bringing his hands to her shoulders and pushing her off gently so he could look into her teary eyes. "You've been helping me a lot just by coming to train here. Your peerage is very special, after all, so I get a lot of information on several things everytime you come over."
"I don't believe that's quite enough to make up for the fact you made an impossible spell just for me," Rias commented, pouting at his continued denial of her "gratefulness". To that, he just grinned at the girl.
"It's not like I won't use the spell myself, you know?" he told her, drawing a huff from her. "Really," he added, squeezing her shoulders and giving her a soft smile now. "Don't worry about it, Rias. It's fine. If you really want to make it up to me, we can say you owe me one and see about that later on."
"That works," she mumbled, pouting slightly. That is, before he felt her embarrassment with Life Sense and then saw her face grow red. "... Could I at least give my hero a kiss?" she asked, making him blink.
"How about no?" he replied, trying not to sound harsh or anything that'd make her feel bad. "You are a little too young for me, I think."
"It's only a few years!" the girl protested, stomping her foot on the ground in a way that really wasn't helping her argument. "And I'm a devil."
"That you are, but you look human enough, so… Yeah, no," Joshua told her with a smile. "You are almost my little sister's age, which doesn't really help," he told her.
There was that and the fact that he had entirely too many memories of her fawning over Issei, which… wasn't helping her much. Sure, Issei was a much better person now, but that wasn't quite the point. Joshua didn't feel like she really felt anything for him as a person. She was just really grateful and maybe had some kind of hero worship going on.
He was no relationship expert, at all, but Joshua didn't feel like that was a good reason to start anything.
"I don't appreciate that "little sister" comment," Jeanne commented, but she was thoroughly ignored.
"Anyway, everyone is really emotional and I can't deal with people on a good day and even less emotional people," Joshua said then, looking around and feeling himself grow more uncomfortable by the second. When Rias' peerage dropped by on a normal day, it was usually just to train and such, so there was something to keep conversations going and so on. Now though, they were just standing there and being grateful and…
It was making Joshua feel really awkward.
"How about we go inside and have some drinks and snacks?" he asked, immediately noticing Koneko perking up. It was a good thing that he was keeping Kuroka far away from the girl, locked up in parts of the house out of the way. The woman was still kind of on probation while the factions tested her info, and probably even after while Serafall and Sirzechs dealt with her situation.
As it was, Joshua was happy to keep away from her himself, since she was always pulling up that flirty act that made him really uncomfortable.
"Come along, kids, time to eat something so I'm not feeling my social awkwardness spiking, yeah?" he commented, drawing a giggle from Koneko as the reincarnated nekoshou fell into step with him. Soon, the rest of the group followed after them too.
"We are not kids, Joshua," Rias protested again.
"I'd believe that a lot more if you didn't use your highschooluniform everywhere," he replied, making the girl stumble on her own feet.
"But-Why would-I mean-"
"Anyway," Joshua interrupted with a chuckle. "What do you kids want? Anything in particular?"
"Cookies?" Koneko asked, looking up at him with big pleading eyes that were completely unnecessary. "And tea?"
"Sounds good, I'll get started with that."
Chapter 112: Don't Live Too Fast
"You've done a great job with this, you know?" Joshua commented, looking around the garden that Asia had made for herself at the back of his house. It was a good thing that the place had rather good and spacious training facilities underground, because the nun had slowly but surely filled his backyard with plant life.
It was all covered in different plants, supernatural and mundane. Nice, normal and dangerous, everything that was alive seemed to be fine in Asia's books, from what Joshua could see. More importantly though, it made for a sight full of life that was rather beautiful. Not to mention useful too, because Joshua was very aware that he now had access to a very good garden of resources. Just what he would be able to get from this for Hexes and Boons was enough to make it worth letting Asia go wild, truly.
At that moment though, he was simply enjoying the beauty of the sight.
Some of the plants shone, some swayed, some even let out sounds that almost sounded like a melody together with the one of the wind through the many leaves. Beyond the colorful sight, the soothing sound and the pleasant smells… There was something very peaceful about it all. 'How did I not notice this before?' he thought, sitting idly with Margalo on his shoulder and Cheshire by his side.
Joshua could only guess that he'd been too focused on other things before. Now, with a freer mind, he took in the sight his… friend had created at his house. It was truly something to behold.
Everything was also amplified by the presence of his powers as "Great Column" too, because there were slight feelings of familiarity with everything. Sort of like the presence of his spells around his place, but making him aware of things that he could reach to with his new powers given by the Egyptian Pantheon.
If he were honest, Joshua was a little scared to tap into that.
It felt so… much…
"Thank you," the girl replied shyly, tucking a strand of blond hair behind her ear as she looked down and smoothed her already smooth clothes. She seemed about as good at dealing with that kind of praise as he was, Joshua supposed. That was rather sad… on both accounts. "I really like this. Seeing them grow and knowing that I helped them… feels amazing."
"I can see that," he told her. He didn't even need to use extra senses and spells to know that Asia loved what she did. Almost as much as she loved healing others and her faith, really. It was something so… pure, to see the girl genuinely enjoy just helping life in general. It made Joshua feel bad at times too, when he compared himself to her. "Do you need me to get anything else?" he asked then, turning his attention from the magnificent garden to Asia.
He'd helped her set up everything, but it was more about getting the plants, equipment and other such things than actually personally working with her on the garden. He'd lent a hand here and there, sure, but nowhere near as much work as Asia herself had put into things. That was why he preferred calling it her garden rather than his.
"No, no," the girl answered quickly, slightly agitated. She always struggled accepting help, but she was even worse accepting gifts or anything she perceived as such. "I'm fine. I can work with all these. No need for more, Joshua. I promise."
"I know you have what you need, Asia," he told her with a slightly amused, slightly exasperated expression. "I'm asking if there's anything more you want, any other plants or just something else that would make things easier."
He took the moment of pause and consideration as a win, personally. Asia hadn't even thought about it before denying any such offers before. Now, it seemed like she could at least think it over, even if it was almost sure that she'd-
"No, I'm fine, Joshua," she replied, expectedly.
"You do know that I'll use these plants for spells and other things like that, right?" he asked her, holding back a sigh even as he continued smiling. "Any plant you can think of to get here, I'm sure I could use its flowers or fruits or anything else," he told her for what felt like the hundredth time. "There's no need to hold back, Asia. Besides, I want to help you with this however I can and I enjoy helping you as much as you enjoy helping others."
Ok, maybe that might have been an exaggeration. Mainly because Joshua rather doubted that many people could enjoy helping like Asia did, but he wasn't exactly lying either. He was hoping saying that would help get the point across.
Sure enough, Asia hesitated once more.
"Come on, think it over and give me a list later, yeah?" he told her with a grin, seeing as he had won that "argument". "And I expect there to be a sufficient number of requests in that, or I'll just start buying things left and right to make up for it."
To that, Asia pouted at him, glaring.
It only had the effect of making her look very adorable though, which he was sure wasn't quite what she was looking for.
"Good to know you understand," he told her, making the girl deflate. "Now, could you help me pick some stuff for my spells? I need some materials for my hexes and boons. You know, the usual."
"Experiments and new casts," she cited, down to even his tone, the cheeky little thing. He chuckled to himself before placing a hand on top of the girl's head and ruffling her blond locks.
"Exactly," he replied, watching as the girl blushed slightly, smiling shyly at the ground. "Now, let's get going, yeah?"
To that, Asia simply replied with a hum as she started walking beside him. She seemed much happier than before, from what he was picking up, so that was good. Even better was getting to see the girl that he'd met and couldn't stand for herself if her life depended on it being stubborn and making choices.
If nothing else, Joshua was happy to help her with that.
[}-o-{]
"Thanks for coming, Joshua" Sairaorg told him as they moved towards where the devil's mother was. "I know you are still… recovering from what you were doing before. I wouldn't have held it against you if you took some time off, man."
"I really can't though," he replied with a wry smile. "I'd feel like a shitty friend, even with you telling me that. Besides… This is not a chore. It's not an easy thing to work on, but at least you aren't pressuring. I appreciate that."
"Not as much as I appreciate you trying here, I can tell you that, Joshua," the Bael told him with a heartfelt smile. "It's… I don't know how to tell you how important this is to me. I'd… almost given up on her waking up, so you coming here like you are and trying is… It's enough for me."
"But it's not enough for me," he shot back with a more confident smile. "You are a friend, so I'll do what I can to help you. No promises on how long this will take me but-"
"I know," the devil interrupted, waving off anything else he might have said. "Take all the time you need to. I know you have a lot on your plate. I trust that you'll do what you can and that's enough for me."
"No pressure," Joshua commented with a chuckle. Before the devil could say anything else, he continued. "I'll definitely try my best here."
He wanted to say more, like how he was sorry he couldn't dedicate all the time he wanted to it. He wanted to say a number of such things, but he knew Sairaorg wouldn't have any of that. So, instead of getting into a pointless argument, Joshua simply resolved to do as he said and put all the effort he could into helping his friend.
Maybe his priorities were a bit screwed up, considering there was a very dangerous terrorist organization on the loose still and that there was a faction he was working with tearing itself apart but… The former was being dealt with by more capable people and the second he couldn't do much about for the moment. He could only go when they called and set up defenses.
Other than that, what else was there, personal projects? Those could wait or be worked on the side. His friend needed him, and Joshua wasn't about to turn his back on him like that. Sairaorg had helped him out a number of times and if he could count on someone to help him, then he trusted the devil.
It was just a shame that his friend couldn't help with most of the things he was dealing with. They were a little too… involved with elements dangerously involved in politics. As it was, Joshua could barely do some things because he was disconnected from politics. And so were the Egyptians, since they were more or less out of the picture for a long while.
Eventually, they made it to the room where Misla Bael rested. Once there, Joshua took a deep breath in as he moved to the corner of the room that had been cleared of furniture and anything else so that he could cast his wards, hexes and boons. Every spell had been tailored to the current issue at hand from the information he'd gathered in previous visits, but none of them really had any guarantee of finding new stuff.
Still, not finding something with them was information too.
With every spell that went up though, Joshua became even more and more sure of a theory he had. The disease seemed to have something to do with the magical energy of the patient. For one, the weakness that they felt and what was described from it already led to reduced magical reserves as time passed.
That could happen because of a number of things though, so finding the reason and precisely why it happened like that was what Joshua had to work on. So far… he hadn't found much, but he did find that the Misla seemed to have a very low amount of energy at all times. Nowhere near her original reserves, for one, and it was neither recovering nor depleting, which was a little confusing.
His best guess was that the disease was draining her of her magic just as quickly as she regenerated it. Now, if that was the case, how did it get the levels lower in the first place? Was the disease basically stopping magic regeneration and letting the host use up their own energy until they ran out and fell into the coma? It was a possibility, but surely someone would have noticed that they weren't regenerating magic and it would be noted somewhere.
'Maybe the drain grew with time until it reached his point?'he wondered, but that didn't quite make sense. If so, someone would still have reported that magic regeneration stopped at some point before they fell asleep. 'Does it drain until it reaches this point and then keep it there?' Joshua considered then.
Ultimately, it would be a process like that. Looking for ideas on what to test, how to approach testing, how to try and get more information, look for answers. With some luck, he'd start making progress in at least one direction and get somewhere.
Thus, Joshua started taking in the information his skills gave, together with his continuously improving Magic and Life Sense. There was a lot to take in, but not all of it was useful. Chances were most of it was more or less useless, but it was a matter of thinning the filters until something popped up. Either that, or until he found something that made him have a breakthrough like it had happened with the Phoenix Spell.
He could only hope for something like that though.
He wouldn't be depending on that though, no way. That was like trusting his luck to pull through and while things weren't precisely looking badly for him, Joshua knew that luck was a fickle thing. It could leave you at the drop of a hat, so it was better to be prepared for when it happened.
[}-o-{]
"And that's the last one," Joshua said, standing up and cracking his neck as he surveyed the spell array he'd laid down. There were wards, hexes and boons involved, but the end result was a very nice Phoenix Array. Not to be confused with the Phoenix Spell. Although they did the same thing, the array was Joshua's preferred alternative. It was more complex, sure, but it allowed him to monitor the functioning more closely and maybe do some minor modifications later on instead of having to re-work the entire spell once more, which would be a nightmare.
As it was, the Phoenix Spell was staying as it was with only the rather minor change of making it use flames instead of dust and sand. Once that was done, Joshua was likely to leave the thing well enough alone for a long while, because that was one complex piece of magic. He imagined it'd take a lot of effort to do anything else with that and he'd rather not and just make a slight change in an array instead.
"Thank you, Joshua," Yasaka told him, smiling in that way that made him want to look away and stare forever at the same time. Why did everyone have to be fucking beautiful? Stupid ecchi story. "I know you aren't done with the negotiations for the spell though."
"Meh, having this here is non-negotiable anyway. Might as well set it up. Besides, this one's just for you and Kunou, which means that it won't get out that it's even there unless it activates… In which case I don't care if it gets out, I just want it there," Joshua told her with a shrug as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"And I appreciate that," Yasaka told him as they started moving out of the room. As far as everyone knew, he was just updating some of the defenses he'd set up some time ago… Which he was, so that was a fairly good cover. "We were there for a while. Kunou will be angry at us for leaving her alone."
"She'd be angry if we left five minutes, pretty sure," Joshua replied with a snort. "She'll get over it."
"You have a story ready, don't you?" the woman asked him, to which he grinned.
"Who do you take me for? I have several stories ready," he answered with a chuckle. "They are my weapon here, if you must know. And I'm never not prepared for something… Or so I'd like to think, at least," he commented, still feeling in fairly good spirits. He wondered how long the high of the Phoenix Project going well would last.
He was certainly not complaining, that was for sure.
"It's good to see you in high spirits," Yasaka told him.
"That obvious?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away for a moment. "I am though. I'm just… having a good time after a success, I guess. I'm enjoying myself."
"I wasn't complaining," she pointed out, sounding amused. "As I said, it's nice to see. Certainly better than witnessing as you burn yourself out."
"I went a bit overboard, I admit," he mumbled awkwardly. "I'm sorry if I worried you or Kunou. I just… really had to get that done and things weren't adding up," he explained, although he wasn't very sure how good a justification that was. "I guess I have to make up for that."
"You don't have to do anything, Joshua," Yasaka said, sounding slightly exasperated. "We'd appreciate not having to see you like that, but it's over now."
"Hm… Nah, I think I have to make up for that," he repeated, a grin forming on his face that only widened when he saw Yasaka's eyes narrow. "We are going out, you, me and Kunou. A nice meal, some shopping, maybe a movie or three depending on the lil' brat," he decided, opening the door to the room where they usually spent most of their time.
"I'm not a brat!" the aforementioned kid protested.
"How'd you know I was talking about you?" Joshua asked, smiling down at Kunou. "We hadn't opened the door yet," he pointed out, making the girl pout.
"You are always calling me a brat now," she whined.
"That's because you are a brat," Joshua replied with a sage nod, even as the smile slipped through his control of his expression. Ultimately, he just chuckled as he moved to sit besides the girl. "I still love you though," he commented, planting his hand on top of the girl's head and ruffling her hair. She continued pouting, but he could feel how little she meant it then. "She's angry at me, Yasaka."
"That she is, Joshua," the woman replied with that smile that she usually got when he interacted with Kunou. It always made him feel like he was doing something right, which was great. Being a father figure was terrifying enough by itself, after all. "Are you gonna do something about it?"
"Well, I was gonna show her this cool idea I got about a princess, locked in a tower, that let her hair grow so long she could dangle it on the side from the top til it touched the ground… But I guess we can do something else," he answered, faking a disappointed sigh. "Did you have any business to talk about or-"
"I wanna know what happens there!" Kunou exclaimed, clearly not wanting to miss out on a new story. Joshua smiled triumphantly, which was entirely too evident, as the girl started pouting again. "You are mean, dad."
"You love me anyway," he replied, picking her up and setting her on his lap.
"I guess I do," she grumbled, crossing her arms but otherwise perfectly fine in her new spot.
"Are you gonna join us, Yasaka?" Joshua asked then, making the woman's smile widen ever so slightly before she moved to sit beside them. Happily, he let his magic flow and cast the illusion show he'd prepared for that day.
[}-o-{]
"Is there a point to this?" Raynare asked, some bite in her voice and emotions, but that was just how she was, Joshua had learned. If one ignored that, she almost was nice to have around. Almost, but not quite.
"There is," he confirmed, not looking up from his notebook as he drew on it, occasionally looking up to check on the woman in question, who was posing for him. Strangely, she'd been the first to answer when he jokingly asked if someone wanted to pose for a drawing. He'd targeted the question to his familiars, of course, but the fallen trio had been there too, so…
That's how he found himself drawing Raynare of all people.
He was even more surprised that she'd stayed still for as long as she had, really, even if she did throw some complaining comments here and there. All in all, she almost seemed fine doing what she was. He'd half expected to get a light spear thrown at him or at the very least feel some very strong emotions.
Instead he got… some complaints and mild to regular annoyance.
It was weird.
"R&R is important, you know?" he commented as he continued with what he was doing. "If you work all the time, it takes its toll on your mind. Things become dull, you lose motivation, energy. Even if your body is fine, your mind needs its own care," he explained calmly as he continued. "I'm taking my own time to recover from a pretty rough time."
"But why am I here?" she asked then, eye twitching.
"Because you offered? I was just asking my familiars," he replied, and the woman's eye twitched again. Her annoyance doubled instantly and he felt… embarrassment coming from her. That was interesting. "You look like you could use some rest though."
"What do you mean?" she snapped at him, making him smile and chuckle. She knew that was all she could do, at least. If she were really pushing her luck, he'd have to make sure she learned that there were limits, even if he was taking things easier lately.
He might not feel like torturing them like he had before, but that didn't mean they were less guilty or more deserving of mercy than before. He wasn't being nice for them, he was being nice for himself, which was very different. At least the three seemed to realize that, so they weren't entirely stupid.
"You are always training, and working, and studying me – for whatever reason – and that means that you are wearing yourself out," he told her, rolling his eyes. He was pretty sure he'd explained it well enough. "You have to take some time off from that kind of thing and do something that you can enjoy and lets you relax."
"I like getting stronger," Raynare shot back, making him sigh.
"And I like spell tinkering. Doesn't mean it's less stressful if I have to do it all the time," Joshua replied with a slight shrug. "Doing something with no pressure makes all the difference. You want to get stronger. You need to get stronger, that means you pressure yourself into doing it. If you took a break to do anything else, read a book for fun, play a game or whatever, then that pressure disappears for a bit and you can relax, rest."
"Sounds like a waste of time," she muttered under her breath.
"Sleeping is a waste of time for you too, then, I suppose, but you have to do it or you'll start falling apart," he countered with a roll of his eyes. "Taking care of yourself is important. You can't be strong if you push too hard and your body gives in. Same for your mind."
"I… guess that makes… sense," Raynare said through her teeth, sounding like she had to force herself to say the words and it was a grueling experience. She was dramatic like that, Joshua supposed. "What do you think I should do?"
"If you don't know yourself, then I don't know how much I can help you then. I like drawing, as you can see. I like spending time with my friends. I like cooking and working at my cafe-"
"You have a cafe?" she asked, sounding and looking genuinely surprised as she blinked owlishly at him, completely breaking the pose she'd maintained so far. That is, before she recovered a moment later. Raynare was turning out to be a decent model. Who'd have thought? "Wait, the cafe you are always mentioning is yours."
"Yes?" he replied, unsure of why she was so shocked. Besides… "Didn't I mention that?"
"I don't… think so?" she answered, not sounding very sure at all. "Why would you even own something like that? You are rolling in money and power!"
"Because before I was a magician and all that, I was a normal human, you know?" he asked, focusing his attention back to drawing. He was almost done, actually. "I was in a bad place and a kind man gave me a job in a cafe. Turns out that I liked it, and it offered me a chance to feel normal once more when I… Well, when I stopped being normal. I like it. It's effort, sure, but I don't have to think too hard while I work there. I can just let go of most things and just be a waiter or a barista or a cook for a bit."
"I see…"
"I'm not hiring you for the cafe, by the way."
"I wasn't gonna ask that! Who do you take me for?!" Raynare exclaimed, scandalized. "You might not be full of shit, but that doesn't mean I'll do… that," she added, as if that mere idea was genuinely insulting for her.
Joshua just rolled his eyes.
Chapter 113: You Raise Me Up-
"Hm, people don't like me much, it seems," Joshua commented, drawing a sigh from both Griselda and Gabriel. Xenovia and Irina showed their own unease by shifting a little as they walked, as if they wanted to turn away from him but couldn't quite do so without stopping escorting him to the ward room he'd use.
"Things continue to escalate," the Seraph answered after a moment and Joshua felt the shift in their surroundings. There was a spell in place, but it wasn't only that. There was a touch of divinity there. 'Is that how I never noticed her using spells?' Joshua mused. As it was, he imagined he had his Egyptian friends to thank for now being aware of it.
The new capabilities extended to more than sensing stuff in a deeper way, of course, but he hadn't quite delved into that. It felt… overwhelming, every time he so much as "looked" in the directions of those powers. Set's previous blessing had been nothing like that.
Joshua had dipped his metaphorical toes into the new blessing and what it might allow him to do, but it always felt like too much. It was probably the divinity, he supposed. He was a human, even with a System. A human that had been given too much power at once.
As it was, he only had access to two thirds of the new blessing. First of all, the one that seemed to increase his potential in skills, as far as the System was concerned, since all the max levels had been raised. Besides that, he now also seemed to have an easier time developing skills too, even if it wasn't anything drastic, it was still noticeableand that was something he could appreciate.
'I guess I'll have to really go for it one of these days,'Joshua thought, holding back a sigh. 'The game might give me a resistance or something like that. I can't just ignore these. It's too much power that I could use,' he mused.
That was a problem for future Joshua. At that very moment, he had a job to do warding and booning the Church base. They still refused to accept hexes, but that was expected, really. As it was, he could worry about his new powers and other things at some other time.
For the moment, Joshua could focus on other things for a bit. The situation with Rias and the Phenex was more or less in control. Things with Sairaorg's mother wouldn't change for the foreseeable future, for better or worse. Hexennacht was probably still licking their wounds. Khaos Brigade was strangely silent, which was concerning, but that was a problem for other people, since he wasn't directly involved with that for the moment.
Maybe it was selfish of him, but Joshua was content to take some time for himself and not worry about things.
Cheshire walking by his leg and pressing against it brought him back to the present once more.
"Everyone's on edge. If they were quietly discontent with us asking an outsider for help, they are more overt about it now," the angel continued talking then, looking sadly towards the exorcists that they passed at times. Joshua imagined she'd cast an illusion over them, not only to hide what she was saying but also to hide that she was watching them too.
"Nothing I can do, I'm guessing?" he asked. He felt the amusement of his familiars then after that. He even felt some from the gods through the Charm, but there were also a few suspicious ones and even offended ones. He almost wanted to roll his eyes.
It seemed that everything he did could rub someone the wrong way. He didn't care about pleasing all of them, but it was annoying anyway. Joshua could see how that made sense though. Gods had plenty of conflicting domains and such. Doing something that pleased one could very easily anger another.
It wasn't even that he was offering because he liked the Church very much. Sure, they had made a lot of progress from the mess that their relationship had been at the start, but still. He was just doing what had been asked of him. There were some nice people in there, like the ones escorting him, but the rest? Meh.
However, if the Church stopped fighting with itself, then that was more resources that could be used to fight Khaos Brigade and Joshua was all for that. So, if he could help solve the Civil War a little quicker, then he'd try his best. He didn't even want something that would have a drastic effect on things, but anything that would speed things up would be nice.
"Besides what you are already doing?" Gabriel asked, seeming somewhat amused. That was good, at least. Better than the depressed look, that was for sure. "We couldn't possibly ask you for more, Mr. Davis."
"Haven't I told you to call me Joshua already?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. For some reason, the angel seemed to find that response even more amusing, if the widening of her smile was anything to go by. "Also, I'm the one asking for more to do, not the other way around," he pointed out.
To that, the woman giggled behind her hand, which had Irina stumbling on her feet. One would think she never saw an angel giggling, honestly. Although, that might have been exactly what was going on. Joshua supposed his perspective might be a little skewed in that aspect. He wasn't very sure what was normal or not and his meetings with certain supernatural figures were… not quite the norm either, he was sure.
"Even then, I can't just ask more of you, Joshua," Gabriel told him. "There's no need to involve someone that's completely disconnected from this conflict."
"I could point out the several ways I'm involved, like setting up these defenses or taking care of Asia," he commented, drawing a wry smile from the angel. "I could also bring up a bunch of selfish reasons as to why I want to help, if that'd make you feel better."
"It wouldn't, but I appreciate the thought."
"I'm surrounded by stubborn people," Joshua said then, sighing. "I guess I'll have to look for a way to help without asking or being asked."
"Joshua-"
"After all, I'm a disconnected individual which you can't involve… and can't stop," he commented, as if he were just talking to himself instead of to the Seraph. To that, Gabriel gave him this exasperated look that he'd seen once or twice on women. The kind that told him he was doing something they reluctantly liked but still disapproved of. "I guess that's something else to look into," he added, this time truly talking to himself.
'Why can't I stop adding things to my plate?' he thought with a grimace.
This time the amusement of his familiars was even less appreciated than before.
[}-o-{]
His daggers clashed against Jeanne's swords.
Joshua felt like it had been forever since he'd last sparred with his sister. At least since it had been just the two of them, he was sure. There was always someone else around, be it Sairaorg's group, Rias' group, Sona's, the Fallen… They saw a lot more people than he thought visiting their place, now that he really considered it.
He decided, then and there, that it had been a good idea to set up some training with just Jeanne that day. Especially judging by the way her face lit up and how she continued to smile through the spar, even as he pushed her more and more. 'This is fun,' he thought, his familiars contently watching from the sides. Well, most of them, since Margalo had taken to cheering for both of them whole flying overhead.
"Is that all? I know you can do better," he told Jeanne, turning her smile into a smirk.
"You asked for it, old man," she replied, to which he snorted, his grin widening. A moment later, the swords she had been using disappeared, replaced by Relentless Justice that she wielded alone. Seeing that, Joshua stored the regular Holy Daggers he'd been using in favor of letting out Setan Kober and Carnwennan.
Both weapons were fairly happy to be out and about again, even if it was just for a spar. Joshua was a little surprised by that, especially in regards to the demonic blade, but he guessed a practice battle was better than no battle at all. It had been a while since he'd gone out in the field, after all.
'Not for long, however,' he mused. He'd taken a bit of a break from raiding Hexennacht, but that was for the Phoenix Spell. Now that he was somewhat free again, he could easily save some time to show those Stray Magicians that they weren't out of the woods yet.
Not until the whole organization was dealt with.
Both of his daggers very much agreed with that, as it turned out, and that made them put that much more effort in his spar, it seemed. Which was good, because Jeanne was really going all out, it turned out. It was sort of baffling that his sister could keep up with him, Joshua thought. Especially after the rather sudden growth he'd experienced.
Sure, he had wards weighing him down and draining his strength, probably more than her, but that still left other things like reflexes and such. Jeanne honestly learned at a baffling rate and he could only guess that it was due to her Hero Descendant status. 'Nobody is made equal in this world, that's for sure,' he thought wryly.
Still, he was a little too much for her, even if the difference wasn't as big as one could expect.
"I think that's enough for now," he said, causing the girl to all but drop to the ground, gasping for hair and covered in sweat. Well, she kept up with him, but she certainly had to put more effort, so that was a bit comforting. With a smile, Joshua got a water bottle for each of them out of his Storage Spell and passed one to the struggling girl.
"Thanks," she breathed out. "You are ridiculous, Joshua."
"Pretty sure most people would say the same about you, just saying."
"And you are even more ridiculous," Jeanne shot back, to which he chuckled.
"I'm just cool like that, I guess," he commented, juggling Setan Kober up and down in the air. His sister just rolled her eyes at him as she continued recovering. "You've come really far from how I found you," he added then, his smile turning a little reminiscing.
And wasn't that the truth? Jeanne had been a nervous, unsure wreck back then. She'd been too afraid that he'd leave her, that he wouldn't help her. Back then it had taken a while to convince her to practice with him and such things. Now, she took to combat like she'd been born into it, with confidence that her past self would have hardly shown. She stood tall, sure of herself, and ready to take on the world if she needed it.
"Yeah, well, you did a good job with me, I guess," she said, giving him a thankful expression. "Have I thanked you, Joshua? Because I don't even know where I'd be if not for you, but I would certainly be worse off."
Well, considering he knew exactly where she'd be, he could easily believe that. However, that wasn't how she'd meant that and he knew that too. He could appreciate the sentiment, if nothing else.
"I think you have said that once or twice," he replied, moving to stand next to her and pulling her into a one-armed hug. They both stunk of sweat, but he didn't care much for that. They'd shower shortly anyway. "You are my sister though, so there's no need for thanks."
"Idiot," she huffed, but she didn't move away or anything. He was actually pretty sure she pressed against his side instead. "You are too nice."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
[}-o-{]
"Magic is weird."
"I mean, I agree," Joshua replied with an amused smile as he leaned back against his chair. Bringing a cup of tea up to his lips to take a sip, he looked across the table at Aika.
The girl had been studying the books he gave her for a while now and with some free time, he'd offered to talk with her. She'd been very understanding when he'd told her that he was kind of busy before, but the extra time had only given her more chances to get questions to ask him. So there they were, having an impromptu lesson at the cafe while Issei worked.
"Still, this is… really interesting," the girl said, pushing her glasses up and looking at the notebook on the table, where she'd noted down all his answers. "And you are a really good teacher, by the way. No chance I can get you to teach at Kuoh?"
"Not at all," he answered, making her deflate. "My days are busy enough as is, so no, thank you. I appreciate the compliment though. Once you get your feet under you, maybe I can get you into one of my magic classes."
"That'd be great," Aika replied, smiling widely. "Are associations as big a deal as the books make them sound?"
"I mean, they are all written by people that were in organizations like that, so you gotta take that kind of stuff with a grain of salt. It is important to have someone back you up in a world like this though. For most magicians, that's magician associations. I happen to be an exception, since I didn't even know about those, but I managed to stumble into situations that offered me some support," Joshua explained, smiling slightly as he saw Aika go back to taking notes. "Most people have a harder time learning magic than I do too, so that's another pro for associations, having someone to teach you so you might progress faster."
"So, what I'm hearing is that I don't need to worry about that since I'm under your wing?" Aika asked, and he chuckled. That might have sounded a little presumptuous to most, and it probably was, but he found it funny. Besides, she didn't seem to actually be assuming anything about the situation. She was asking a question honestly, indirectly asking if he was actually backing her or just giving her a little push.
Or at least, he was pretty sure that was what was going on.
"You don't and you are," he replied with a grin. "Do try not to make my image a mess, yeah?"
"I'll try," she answered, looking entirely too amused. Seeing that expression, Joshua just rolled his eyes. "In a serious note, what does this mean for me? Do I like, work for you? Or do I need to do anything at all?"
"I mean, most would try and have you work for them, yeah. Having the power of an extra magician is what I imagine makes most take in apprentices and such. Besides, any favor they incur can count for you too and all that," Joshua mused, bringing his cup up for another sip. "I don't care for that, honestly. Just do your best to learn. I might ask you for a favor or two, but it shouldn't be anything too complicated or anything that you'd say no to, I'm sure. If you feel like I ask too much, just say so. I'm not going to kick you to the curb because you didn't listen to a request or something."
"... I get the feeling that you are really lax about this."
"I'm sure many would agree with you, but I just don't care enough," Joshua replied, shrugging. "I mean, I'm sure there's stuff that I'm missing and not understanding or just plain don't know about. I'm more of an exception than the norm in the supernatural world, I've learned, so take anything I tell you with a grain of salt."
"Except about magic."
"Except about magic," he agreed, smiling. "Magic is a lot easier than people."
"Not sure what you could need with my magic. All I read is that it's not that powerful or useful, since it's very imprecise, especially when reading the future," Aika said, looking down at her notes. Her previous good mood seemed to have vanished into thin air too. "I mean, I get where they are coming from, but these authors… They seem to mock divination or regret taking it as their main magic. Few of them seem to really like it."
"It happens," Joshua told her with a reassuring smile. "One of my main magics is really under-appreciated. It's looked down on as a worse version of another magic that I use and they couldn't be further from the truth. There's no weak or bad magic, Kiryuu. It's all about how you use them. Even if those authors aren't lying, that doesn't mean it's the full truth. Magic is a wonderful thing. If you really try, I'm sure you can do great things with any branch."
"I guess," the girl replied, a tiny smile tugging at her lips. "I want to see where I can get with this."
"Then do it," he encouraged. "I'll be right here to help you out, get you all the books you might need and I can pull strings to get you a teacher," he promised, because it didn't cost him much anyway, Issei cared about this girl and she seemed like a good kid, as far as Joshua had seen. So, what reason did he have not to try and help her, really? "Just say the word. Maybe in the future I'll benefit from this too. They might just look at me and say "Hey, that's the guy that helped Aika Kiryuu, greatest diviner in the world!". That'd be cool," he commented, drawing a snort from the girl.
"Yeah, it'd be."
[}-o-{]
"Thanks, Fuyuko," Joshua said, teleporting the cup of tea the woman brought him to the table.
"You are welcome, Joshua-sama," the woman replied with a smile before doing so with the rest of the people in the room.
"So, things seem to be going well," he commented once the servant left.
"Well enough for you to give me some spel-"
"Is this why you really asked that Joshua be at the meeting, Azazel?" Yasaka interrupted the Governor, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. In response the Fallen Angel simply grinned at her, making the woman sigh. "Of course it is."
"I mean, your report was probably the worst of the bunch, no offense," Joshua told Azazel, making the man dramatically place a hand over his chest, as if severely wounded. "But I guess I can give you a pity spell," he continued joking, drawing a quick circle on a piece of paper and then tearing the thing out to pass it to the Governor. "I expect better in the future, Azazel," he continued, mock-serious, making the man laugh out loud.
"Don't ever change, Joshua. And thanks for this. Keep it up and I might just need to start worrying about actual payment," Azazel said, drawing stares from everyone else in the room. "Oh, relax, will you, ladies? Geez," he grumbled, rolling his eyes before teleporting off without so much as a by-your-leave.
"That man is… unpleasant," Gabriel commented, drawing agreeing nods and hums from Serafall and Yasaka. "With that said, I must be off too. We can't afford to look away from our own affairs for long, I'm afraid. Again, thank you for all the help you are providing us, Joshua," the angel said, turning to look at him specially.
He was a little surprised by that, but he guessed his wards had been helping more than expected or something. He could sense them just as much as those he bound to them, but he usually didn't pay too much attention. They were the ones supposed to deal with everything, after all. He just kept the possibility of checking on them in case something drastic happened.
He wasn't sure how the Church would react to that detail, but Gabriel herself had just said that she appreciated the gesture. She'd also said that they had to deal with their own issues though, so he wasn't to interfere in those. He was fine with that. He'd mostly just left that backdoor for himself in case Khaos Brigade tried something, really.
"No problem. We have a deal, after all."
"I don't think you realize that you are doing more than our deal would entail," Gabriel said, both amused and exasperated. "Carnwennan and the Boon Magic books are valuable, for sure, but what you are doing to help us in these times? It's much more than that."
"Well, I guess I'll keep you guys in mind if I need anything."
"Which is Joshua for "I won't tell you if I need anything and you'll be forever in my debt", more or less," Serafall "translated", drawing a nod from Yasaka.
"Thanks for that, Serafall."
"You're welcome, Josh!"
He just sighed.
"With that said, I'll see you all in the next meeting, or whenever we need you to set up more defenses, Joshua," Gabriel said, smile still in place before disappearing.
"Things are almost too calm, honestly," Joshua commented then, leaning back and drinking his tea. "I'm getting worried."
"Periods of peace aren't that rare, even in the middle of conflict-filled times," Yasaka told him. "You just need to enjoy them when they come around."
"Yeah, just relax and have fun, Josh!" Serafall told him. "Besides, this is what you need, after stressing so much with the Phoenix Spell, right?"
"You are not wrong about that," he replied, taking a deep breath in and letting himself ease up. "How about you, having an easier time with these "peaceful" times?"
"Well, Khaos and the Phenex are my main concerns right now and both are going fairly well, all things considered," Serafall told him, looking at the very picture of positivity. "The Phenex are actually kind of panicking a little, I think, trying to find a way for everything to happen without them losing face."
"And you are having fun with the show, I'm sure," he commented, making the woman giggle.
"Things are going well for me too," Yasaka said when he turned towards her. "No need to keep throwing favors at me, Joshua, truly. Things are progressing much better now that I've managed to get the ball rolling, as I've told you already. I've even managed to get some more time with Kunou, if that helps you understand this."
"It does," he answered with a smile. "Speaking of the brat, where is she? She usually barges right in as soon as the meetings end."
"She said she'd be late because she was preparing a spell to show you," the Youkai leader replied, making him tilt his head with interest. He hadn't heard about any new projects. Had the sneaky lil' girl started working on something without telling him?
"This works for us too," Serafall said, making him turn towards her. "We did have something to tell you, after all."
"Oh?" he mused, looking between the two women. What could they possibly have to tell him, together at that? Something Khaos Brigade related surely would have been brought up in the meeting. Maybe some political move that the Egyptians might be interested in?... He hoped not.
'Fuck politics,' he thought, with Set agreeing at the back of his mind. Joshua frowned then, noting several deities sending him waves of amusement and excitement. 'Who even are those?' he wondered. He tried to identify them, try to pick up something from them, but he couldn't quite find out much.
"I'm all ears then," he said in the end, bringing his cup of tea to his lips and taking a sip.
"We both like you, romantically," Serafall told him bluntly, smiling innocently.
Joshua paused, gulped his tea and then blinked.
He tilted his head, re-processing that statement.
He had heard wrong, right?
"We like you, Joshua," Yasaka reaffirmed, calm and collected as if she were talking about something completely normal and reasonable.
He hadn't heard wrong.
'What?'