With the tea now brewed and in front of me, I sat on one of many comfortable-looking cushions that surrounded the low-to-the-ground table. This whole place had a sort of Arabian Nights vibe to it, if you catch my drift.
A bunch of colorful and probably costly fabrics were hanging from the ceiling above us, all together making a rainbow-like canopy. The incense sticks were lit aflame, and oh god, did they smell wonderful. Kinda like ambergris and lilies? If my guess is correct.
"Now then…" She said, sounding unsure about how to actually start the conversation.
"Pah! Fuck that. I have wondered about this one little thing while I walked through the forest. That whole place is your garden, right?" I asked with a grin. That impression was stuck in my mind. It just made sense. Somehow.
"Yes! You could tell? I made it hard to see on purpose, you know?" Her face lit up with happiness.
"It took me some time, but that was the only reasonable explanation for its state. I have to say, I dig it. Posh and wild vibes at the same time? That's hard to pull off, but you managed it flawlessly." I praised her hard work.
"Thank you. Truly. For you to notice, you must have an immaculate eye for detail."
"Nah, I just watch a lot of TV. You wouldn't believe what some people build on their properties. You know, sometimes I wonder if they tapped into some kind of eldritch imaginative space, because those creations are simply otherworldly." I said with a laugh, remembering the time I saw some guy from Florida try to construct a 4D maze.
"Truly?! Maybe I might watch some of it too, for inspiration, of course."
I nodded and sipped the tea, which was now cool enough to drink without needing me to blow on it, something Tiamat said I should not do, as it might affect the taste. How? I don't fucking know, but I'm gonna believe the woman who brewed it.
It was delicious, and I could taste the sweet aftertaste and what I assumed to be the notes of ripe stonefruit. Truly a tea fit for a dragon king. Hell, I think I know what kind of tea it is. My gang and I once stole a batch of it. It was expensive as shit too.
"This is Da Hong Pao, right? Absolutely delicious." I praised her brewing skill, or maybe the tea? Probably both, though.
"Oh, you recognize it?" She asked with a mild tone of surprise.
"Yep. I stole a brick once, a long time ago." I said with a harsh laugh, which was a bit bitter because it reminded me of my boys, and made me wonder just how they fared now that I was no longer there. I really hoped that they all made it out and turned their lives around because, as much as we all loved the life, we knew that it was not sustainable long term. Hell, the fact that I was the first one to kick the bucket was honestly rather surprising.
"Y–You stole it?" She asked, her movements halted, and the tea hovering just at the edge of her mouth.
"Yeah, that was a fun job, aaand~ we might have kept a bit of it for ourselves. Hehe~" I giggled and sipped the tea again.
"That sounds like an interesting story you have there." She said, sounding rather intrigued.
Then I proceeded to tell her the somewhat changed version that matched my background in this world, and she was enthralled the whole way through. And of course she was, that story was one of bravery, teenage bravado, and well, let's be honest, a heap of dumb luck, like something out of a movie.
"And you know the best part? We were so full of it that we all thought that we were immortal, and in a sense we really were, you know? Nothing ever went wrong, and we were on top of the whole world. Those were the good times." I said with a slight undertone of melancholy, something Tiamat immediately picked up on and shifted the topic of conversation to more pleasant things.
"You're training Sirzechs's little sister? What made you decide to do that?" She asked once we started talking about more recent things.
"I'd like to say I'm doing it out of the goodness of my heart, and that might even be true to some extent, but I do get something out of this."
"Well? Do not leave me hanging like that. What could you possibly want from them?" She asked, sounding intrigued.
"It's actually pretty simple. Rias is going to introduce me to some pretty women." I said with a lighthearted shrug, and Tiamat did a double, no, a triple take.
"E–Excuse me? Women? What an unusual thing to ask for." She said thoughtfully.
"Is it?"
"I was honestly thinking more along the lines of riches and things like that. It is a pretty big favor to do just for an introduction."
"Eh… It's enough for me. And the fact that I will get to see the stunned faces of those who conspired against her when she obliterates Riser is going to be a nice bonus." I said with a grin that may, or may not have been a bit too bloodthirsty.
"Conspired? Ooh, tell me more." She leaned a bit closer, face filled with questions yet unanswered.
"From what she told me, her father and some guy named Zekran Bell, or something like that, are essentially forcing her into this marriage with hopes that she gives birth to another devil like Sirzechs."
"You mean Zekram Bael?"
"Yep! That guy." I snapped my fingers when she said that name.
"Oh, then that is definitely not good for her. That man is crafty as can be, and if even her father is in on it, then..."
"Then nothing. I promised that girl that she would be free, and I'm intending to keep that promise. As for whether the number of devils at the end of it will stay the same or there will be some people missing is up to them."
"You'd go that far?" Tiamat's eyes widened in surprise.
"For a promise I made? Yes, absolutely." I said resolutely.
And Tiamat just hummed in acknowledgment. She knew what I was, and there was no going against me. My word was the law. Here in the Underworld, on Earth, or in Heaven, it didn't matter.
Then we moved on and talked mostly about dragon stuff. Though it was mostly just Tiamat asking me about the other Dragon gods. You know, stuff like what Red is like, or have I ever met Ophis?
And when I told her about Red's hatred of human planes, I honestly thought that she would suffocate from how hard she was laughing. Because yeah… that was just a weird thing of his.
The time flew by, and before we had the time to brew a new batch of tea, I realized that I had come here with other people. Oops, it kinda slipped my mind with how pleasant this whole thing was.
"Not to be rude, Tiamat, but I think I'm going to have to go now. We've been talking for… Damn, it's been over two hours already."
"Oh? Truly? What a shame."
"I would have stayed longer, but among the people looking for familiars tonight is one that is mine, and that one needs to go to bed soon since it's almost eleven pm." I said, while glancing at my phone.
"Ah, yes, the nun, correct?" Tiamat said after searching her memory for a bit. I did briefly mention Asia after all.
"Yup. Though it's an ex-nun now."
"Very well, then. I won't keep you any longer, Takumi, but before you leave, we have to exchange phone numbers. This has been a pleasant evening… all things considered." She added that last part, with a little smirk. Yeah, yeah, my bad.
We did that, and unfortunately, it was time for me to really go now. Still, she walked with me for a part of my walk back, and Tiamat only turned back when we reached what she told me was the edge of her gardens.
With her number safely saved on my phone, I returned to our agreed-upon meeting spot, which was just the place we first arrived at after teleporting.
When I finally got there, which was in almost no time at all, they were all already waiting for me impatiently, and I saw their tired and disgruntled expressions once I came into view.
"Sorry, Sorry! I lost the sense of time while talking with Tiamat." I called out to them in an apology once they all saw me emerge from the thick line of trees.
"We've been waiting here for hours, sensei!" Rias said with a childish pout.
"It's only been twenty minutes, Takumi. It's okay." Asia, bless her soul, said once she saw the brief look of panic flash through my eyes.
"Thanks, kiddo." I grinned and ruffled her already pretty messy hair. While doing so, my hand happened upon something hard and slightly pointy. Oh, a little twig. Let me just… and~ there it is, perfectly disentangled.
"So I see you got a little dragon for a familiar, Asia." I said once I saw the little thing shyly poke its head from behind her. I did not even notice it since its dragon aura was so weak.
"Omo~ C'mere cutie~" I kneeled without waiting for her response, and slowly my hand reached out for it. And yeah, I did treat it like a dog, since it was rather young, and it well… it just behaved like a puppy would, you know?
"I did! Look at him! He is a cutie pie. I thought about naming him Rakumi, but I wanted to wait for you." She started enthusiastically, but trailed off shyly near the end.
"Aww~ A hundred percent yes." I did not coo, and whoever tells you otherwise is a goddamn liar. But to think that she would want to name the little pipsqueak after me.
"Sensei… we all want to go home. It's been a long day for all of us, Issei especially." Rias said tiredly and haphazardly pointed to something in the background, and when I followed her hand, I saw a Hydra that had seen better days. Poor thing looked like it's been through the wringer.
"Go then? I'm not keeping you here. I can just teleport back home with Asia." I said with a slight tilt of my head, since I had no idea why they didn't just leave if they were so tired.
"You—*sigh* Of course you can."
The respective peerages left, leaving only an excited Asia, the Familiar Master, and me behind. Not that we stayed here any longer than they did, and after bidding the man goodbye, I teleported us back home.
Just when I thought the day was finally coming to a close, an excited Asia shared stories about what had happened on their side. Let me tell you, it was quite something! Although I didn't get to hear the end of her story because she fell asleep in the middle of it, right after mentioning the giant Hydra that accompanied them, I still got the full picture.
I gently lifted Asia off the couch and, along with her new dragon friend, brought her to her bedroom, where I tucked her in. Just seeing her happy sleeping face as she clutched the little whelp brought me an immense sense of happiness, and so, with one last caress of her hair, I left her to her pleasant dreams, and I too went to bed.
My dreams were filled to the brim with smiling and laughing Tiamat.