"Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present."- Albert Camus
"So, I understand the shape of it a bit better now, and one thing I'm sure of is that they've got an incredibly long history, with factions inside factions that have apparently been operating for millennia in some cases. How exactly are we supposed to gain any real footing in all of that?" Harriet asked.
"Gaining footing feels a little premature right now, honestly. Outside of the companies we already hold across Europe, I've mostly been focused on acquisitions in Japan, around Kyoto. Most of the Youkai live there, under a nine tailed fox named Yasaka who leads them. So they were fairly close to where I was already based, and actually, you were right earlier, about the tracking. I know for a fact the Fallen Angels at least have some kind of Sacred Gear detector, and the reason they never managed to find me is that I was living close enough in Youkai territory that they couldn't just barge in willy nilly." Yuna said, tapping the arm of her chair idly with one finger.
"It's never too early to invest, and the Youkai sound like as good a lead as any." And at that, her mind drifted back to the one and only episode of DxD she'd ever watched in her old life, the one she'd dropped almost immediately, disappointed that a premise with this much depth had been reduced to little more than an ecchi anime that never went anywhere with it. It could have been something incredible. Still, she remembered enough to know it had been set in a place called Kuoh. "Do you happen to know a town called Kuoh, in Japan?"
"Kuoh... yes, actually, and it's a bit more significant than it looks on paper. Devil territory, and only recently became that too. From what I understand, there was some kind of incident in the Underworld a while back, a Nekomata went rogue and killed her own master, and the fallout from that hit Shinto-Devil relations hard enough that the Shinto side ended up ceding the territory to the Devils this year, some kind of arrangement tied to keeping the peace. Before you ask, they're technically well within their rights to give land away like that too, apparently, given the whole country was supposedly made by Izanagi and Izanami in the first place." Yuna shrugged, unbothered by the scale of what she'd just said. "Wouldn't hurt to pick up some real estate near there regardless. How did you even hear about it, by the way?" she asked, a little surprised.
"It's a bit fuzzy, honestly, I heard it somewhere before, and it just came back to me now." Harriet said, not wanting to reveal anything more than that.
"Right..." Yuna let the moment pass without pushing. "Either way, Kuoh used to be run by a Devil named Cleria Belial, who's since passed away, and her cousin Danhauser took over after her. These days, though, it's really the Gremory and Sitri families calling the shots there. From what I understand, the actual plan is for the two heirs, Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri, to eventually take over as governors themselves, once they're old enough to handle it properly. Those two families get priority over pretty much everyone else too, since two of the current Satans come out of them directly, Sirzechs, who holds the Lucifer title, is Rias's older brother, and Serafall, the Leviathan is Sona's. They both had to give up their birth names when they took the Satan titles, technically, but that doesn't exactly strip them of the influence that comes with where they came from." Yuna summarized, giving Harriet a moment to catch up.
"Interesting, that the Shinto side would actually cede territory. That must have been an absolute diplomatic mess to get to that point. And if two heiresses that well connected end up actually running the place, there's a decent chance it turns into a real hodgepodge, don't you think?" Harriet asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Genuinely interesting things are bound to happen there, I'll give you that much for certain. So if we're investing in real estate there, let's do it close to Kuoh, but not fully inside it, and just wait for the two heirs to actually take the reins first." Yuna said.
"Agreed. If we ever need to negotiate our presence as magical beings, it'll go a lot smoother in front of a couple of rookies than seasoned veterans. But buy now regardless, quietly, and we negotiate with the two of them once they're actually in charge. If it comes to trouble even then, well, our buildings will be outside Kuoh for the moment. If that still pose a problem we'd only lose a handful batiments, and it'd be a perfect excuse to actually introduce ourselves to both heirs properly. Buys us time to grow stronger too, you and me both..." Harriet paused, considering. "How old are they, anyway?" she asked, already turning the idea over in her head, that a few solid connections among the Devils wouldn't hurt, especially with these new, supposedly 'pacifist' Satans in charge, even if she had her doubts about how far that pacifism really went. They were still Devils, after all.
"Good instinct, but we're probably not going to be the only ones with it. We'll see how it plays out, but there's no harm in making the move now regardless. And they're both twelve, so we'll likely need to wait a few years before any of it really matters." Yuna said. In the end, it was better to deal with young immortals than old ones, even if that particular window probably wouldn't stay open for long.
"Well, that settles it, then. Just my gut feeling, but thank you for trusting it, Yuna." Harriet said, with a small smile. It wasn't only the episode of DxD she vaguely remembered either, her instincts were telling her the same thing independently.
"That covers Japan and the Devils. Now let's talk about the gods in England." Yuna leaned back slightly, folding one leg over the other. "The Celtic pantheon, mostly, the old gods behind the Tuatha Dé Danann myths. They are still around, technically, tucked away in their own corners of the country, but from everything I've been able to gather, they don't actually get involved in much of anything anymore. Haven't for centuries, as far as anyone can tell."
"Why not?" Harriet asked, genuinely curious now.
"A few theories, depending on who you ask. Some people think they've simply lost interest in mortal affairs entirely, the way old things tend to eventually, once there's nothing left that surprises them anymore. Others think there's some kind of old agreement in place, similar to the one the Devils apparently have with the other factions, an understanding that whoever gets involved in human matters too directly ends up regretting it eventually. And a few people I've talked to genuinely believe most of them just aren't strong enough anymore to matter the way they used to, faded, basically, the less people believe in something, the less of it actually sticks around." Yuna shrugged. "Honestly, it's probably some combination of all three. Doesn't really matter which, in the end. What matters is they're not a threat, and they're not really an opportunity either, not directly, anyway. Just a very old, very quiet presence sitting in the background of the entire country, mostly minding its own business."
"That's oddly reassuring, actually." Harriet said. "One less thing to worry about."
"For now. We can try to contact them, but for that, I need you to finish whatever you've still got on your plate first, so we've got a more stable footing before we actually go meet anyone in person." Yuna said, watching her closely.
"Don't worry, just give it until the end of the school year, and we'll be in a much more stable position. For now, let's not move too fast, or we'll lose everything before we've even started." Harriet said, then brightened slightly. "Oh, by the way, I was invited to a gala by Daphne Greengrass, for New Year's Eve, there are some influential crowd, apparently. Her family's the one hosting it." She turned toward Yuna, tilting her head. "So, would a pretty little thing like you do me the honor of being my plus one?" she asked, punctuating it with a wink and what she was fairly confident passed for a charming smile.
"You've got taste, I'll give you that." Yuna said, returning the wink with considerably more polish. "And yes, it's the perfect chance to meet all these people properly. I'll grace you with my presence."
"You've definitely made a name for yourself out there, everyone's pretty impressed with your business track record." Harriet said.
"As they should be." Yuna said, without a trace of modesty.
"But Yuna, you still haven't shown me your Sacred Gear!" Harriet said, practically bouncing in her seat.
"I haven't forgotten, I haven't forgotten. Let's head to the training room first, then I'll show you." Yuna said.
The two of them walked side by side into the training room and settled facing each other.
"But first, tell me more about yours." Yuna said.
"Well, if you're telling me it's a Sacred Gear, I'll take your word for it, but here's what I've figured out so far." Harriet said, and walked her through the grimoire, the way it acted less like a spellbook and more like a living archive fused to her soul, updating itself constantly, organizing knowledge the moment she needed it rather than requiring her to memorize or search for anything herself, and how it had also started letting her monitor the exact state of her own mana pathways in real time, precise enough to guide the slow, deliberate work of reopening them herself.
"I see, that's pretty solid groundwork for becoming seriously powerful eventually, but it sounds like it takes time. Don't worry about time with mine, though. There shouldn't be much danger involved." Yuna said, and activated her Sacred Gear right then and there.
What followed was, unfortunately, exactly the reaction anyone might have expected.
"Ahahahaha!" Harriet howled, doubling over and nearly collapsing onto the floor entirely.
In all her glory, Yuna had manifested a full bear themed costume, the hood pulled up over her head, complete with two small, round ears that seemed to have a life of their own, twitching slightly whenever she moved. The suit itself was a soft, plush white, thick enough to look almost like a stuffed animal come to life, with an oversized paw shaped mitten on each hand, one pure white, the other jet black, both stitched with the same round, glassy eyes and a tiny embroidered snout that gave them an expression somewhere between sleepy and unimpressed. It somehow managed to look both completely absurd and unmistakably well made at once, every seam and stitch clearly the product of real craftsmanship rather than a costume shop knockoff, soft, plush, and thoroughly impractical for anything resembling combat, or so it appeared, at least. Harriet had not, under any circumstances, been expecting that.
Once she'd finally managed to calm down, she noticed something else. "Is it just me, or did you get a lot prettier than before? At least, going by your face, since that's the only part I can actually see."
"Yes, go on, laugh it up." Yuna said dryly. "And yeah, apparently my overall quality of life is improving bit by bit. I only found out recently, and it's not as obvious when I'm not wearing the costume, but yes, I'm slowly becoming as beautiful as the higher tier magical species. Comes with the power, apparently."
"Power, huh?" Harriet said, straightening up, suddenly more focused.
"Exactly, Harriet, and that's exactly why I brought you here. Time to see where you actually stand, and I'll show you where I stand too." Yuna's expression shifted, something sharper settling behind her eyes. "But fair warning, and you've probably already felt it, I'm considerably stronger than you right now."
Yuna rolled her shoulders once, the oversized paws of her costume somehow not diminishing the sense of coiled strength underneath it at all, if anything, the contrast made it worse. "Don't hold back just because I look ridiculous, by the way. I'll actually be a little insulted."
"I noticed. You're practically radiating power." Harriet said, cracking her knuckles, a grin spreading across her face. "But I'm not going down without a fight. Bring it on!" She settled into a loose stance, the grin still firmly in place.