Rias and the others had also seen the two Holy Swords, but a strange feeling rose up inside them.
"Huh?! This is weird. Why do I… not feel afraid?"
Maria hesitated for a moment before speaking up in confusion.
Rias immediately nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. Normally, Holy Swords that specifically counter demons should trigger an instinctive kind of fear in us."
Like how the Japanese have an instinctive fear of Little Boy and Fat Man—some things are just carved into your genes.
But this time, they realized the two Holy Swords in front of them weren't giving them that feeling at all.
Hearing Maria and the others talk like that, Irina and Xenovia were completely baffled.
"What are you talking about? That's impossible. Holy Swords have absolute suppressive power against demons."
Irina looked doubtfully at the Excalibur Mimic in her hand.
Had her Holy Sword been swapped out?
No way—she could clearly feel it hadn't changed!
Seeing the two of them start doubting themselves, Takumi waved a hand.
"Stop overthinking it. They fused with my Servant Piece, so they've already gone beyond being ordinary demons. That's why things like holy water and Holy Swords don't suppress them anymore."
That explanation stunned every woman present all over again.
Rias raised a brow and asked in a low voice, "There's a thing like that? Why didn't you mention it, Takumi~?"
Takumi shrugged and replied casually, "Because you never asked. Besides, it's a pretty small matter."
"I'm not even a demon anymore, and you're calling that a small matter?! Then what the hell am I now?!"
Maria touched herself all over in agitation and looked at Takumi.
Bonk.
Takumi flicked her forehead with a finger and answered flatly, "A Divine Servant. You're my Divine Servants now."
"Divine Servants? Takumi-kun, are you trying to call yourself a god?"
Irina frowned tightly the moment she heard something so blasphemous.
Her devout faith and her love for Takumi immediately crashed into each other.
Takumi didn't really know how to explain it, so he just said calmly, "It's not 'trying to.' I actually do count as a real god now."
"Forget it. You wouldn't understand even if I explained it, so just assume I'm talking nonsense."
He waved it off and didn't bother arguing the point.
Then he changed the subject. "So what exactly are you here in Kuoh for? To negotiate while ogling people?"
Even though the topic of godhood had clearly gotten Irina and Xenovia's attention, Takumi's attitude made it obvious they weren't getting anything more out of him.
So they mostly just assumed he was bragging.
Still, the seed had been planted.
The two of them continued explaining the Holy Sword incident.
"The Catholic Church had two in its possession, including Xenovia's. The Protestant side had two, and the Orthodox Church had one."
"One of the remaining blades was lost during the three-way war between Gods, Demons, and Fallen Angels, and nobody knows where it ended up."
"Of the Holy Swords that remained, one from each side was stolen."
"And we've heard the thieves fled to Japan and brought them here."
"So that's the situation…"
Rias pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed.
"Why would Holy Sword thieves run to this town of all places? So who stole them?"
Xenovia narrowed her eyes and answered, "The culprits are the Grigori."
"The Fallen Angels' organization stole your Holy Swords?!"
Rias's eyes widened in surprise.
Xenovia continued, "We've also confirmed that one of the main figures involved is a Grigori cadre—Kokabiel."
At that point, Irina added the real purpose of their visit.
"We want the demons who rule this town to stay completely out of the struggle between us and the Fallen Angels over the Holy Swords."
"In other words, we don't want you interfering in this."
Hearing that, Rias's brow twitched.
"That's a pretty arrogant way to put it. Is this a warning?"
"Don't tell me you think we might be secretly working with the Fallen Angels and helping them deal with the Holy Swords?"
Her eyes sharpened, and there was open anger on her face.
The enemy had come right into her territory, told her not to interfere in what they were doing, and even implied they'd punish her if she got involved.
As a demon noble, there was no way Rias was going to swallow that quietly.
Irina and Xenovia might have ignored Rias's anger but they absolutely could not ignore Takumi sitting beside her.
Having already seen a sliver of Takumi's power, Xenovia's tone softened noticeably.
"Our higher-ups don't trust demons or Fallen Angels."
"From a demon's perspective, helping the Fallen Angels destroy Holy Swords is entirely plausible."
"As warriors of the Church, we can't just ignore that possibility."
Takumi understood this was more or less an order from above, so he didn't make things harder for them.
"I'll decide whether I care about your request based on my mood."
"As for the Holy Swords themselves, I'm pretty interested in them."
"By the way, it's just the two of you? You really think the two of you alone can recover Excalibur?"
At that, Xenovia straightened her back and puffed out her impressive chest with pride.
"Please do not look down on our faith!"
"And if necessary, we'll reclaim the Holy Swords even if it costs us our lives."
Seeing Irina standing there with the same determined expression, Takumi shook his head helplessly.
He liked devout faith—but only when it was directed at him.
When it belonged to somebody else, it was a pain in the ass.
Especially with Irina and Xenovia, who, in a certain sense, already counted as his people.
If the Biblical God were still around, Takumi would've wanted to fight Him at least once.
Faced with Takumi's pitying look, Irina and Xenovia both stayed silent.
Their faith was still unwavering.
Still, after coming all this way, it felt like nothing had actually been resolved.
With Takumi sitting right there, they didn't have the guts to threaten Rias and the others at all.
"Stop looking so conflicted, Irina. If you can't handle it, you don't have to force yourself."
"I can help you."
"I'll keep an eye on the Holy Sword situation too. If I get any leads, I'll let you know."
With Takumi effectively giving the final word, Irina rose to her feet and nodded.
She still had affection and lingering feelings for her childhood friend.
It was just a shame that when they met again, they were now standing on opposite sides.
After the two of them left, Takumi stood up too.
"Tch. Time to get Raynare and the others moving."
"Now that Irina and Xenovia are here, the people behind the Holy Sword Project should start making moves."
"And I've got to admit—I really want those Holy Swords."
He muttered that under his breath, then raised a hand and activated his alchemy.
"Alchemy Formula—Construct."
In an instant, the Excalibur Mimic and Excalibur Destruction he'd just seen appeared in his palms.
That sight stunned every woman in the room.
"Huhhhhh!?"
Rias, Maria, and the others let out a simultaneous cry of shock, staring in utter disbelief at the two freshly made Holy Swords in Takumi's hands.