I finished my history classes in 2-A, 1-C and 3-B for the day. I think it was beyond satisfactory. Although I did ask some tips for the girls, I only talked to the girls about some quirky moments of history.
Classes were finished and the girls ran around with their friends to go to the nearby shops for their after-class fun. I saw them running around, and they greeted me. Some of them, mostly the third years, were bold enough to ask me for my phone number.
I politely told them I didn't have a phone. They pouted and told me to stop joking and that once I 'bought one' I could give it to them.
It wasn't a lie… the people I want to communicate with, I can easily do so through my mind. Let alone I come from a world with no phones, perhaps I should sort that out soon, even if just to contact some colleages.
"Baby!~" I heard behind me, and Hannah jumped on my back. She had finished her classes, too.
I looked at her awkwardly and whispered in her ear, "Hannah, when we're here at school, you have to call me Ray-sensei, okay? Otherwise, people may get a misunderstanding".
"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?" She glared in confusion.
"People may think that we're lovers".
"... aren't we lovers, baby?"
I felt my heart clench, a part of me felt so loved by this pure girl... the other part felt like I was the world's worst criminal scumbag. For no reason, though.
Hannah is older than I, at least in body... I am seventeen and she's twenty-one. But while my mind is in my forties, her mind is almost that of an infant... somehow, I am a teacher and she's my student... so who is the actual criminal here?
"We are but people can't know okay? Just be obedient and do this for me".
"B-But I made some friends today... and when they asked me if I had a boyfriend, I said yes".
!!!
I felt my soul leave my body, I looked around, wondering if the FBI is already on my tail.
"D-Did you tell them who?".
"I didn't..."
I sighed in relief, "Then just say it is some boy from your town".
"H-Hai..." Hannah said, dejected. It almost broke my heart to see her like this. I kissed her cheek, and the girl blushed and looked up at me with those starry eyes.
"Some people can know, but your friends at school definitely can't... I'll try to make up for it, okay?".
"Yes, baby~".
"..."
This pink-haired bunny is going to be the end of me. I forgot to ask Yasaka, Hannah was supposed to be enrolled in the first year. She already jumped from elementary school and primary school, I didn't think it was convenient for her to also jump in the first year of high school.
I took Hannah with me to look for her, but Yasaka was no longer in her office; she had already set off for Takamagahara. On my way out, I met Shirone, who greeted us and pulled me out of school towards a side building to the east of it, an appendix.
When she asked me if it was okay for Hannah to come along, I told her that Hannah was my girl. Shirone gasped, and Hannah greeted her warmly. For some reason, Shirone pouted and led us in silence the whole way.
"This is the occult research club", She said and led me up the stairs. I squinted my brows and sighed, then put the most neutral expression I could muster.
When we entered the room, there was a blast of confetti and people screaming.
"Welcome, Ray-sensei!"
"Oh my god!" I gasped. I saw a crowd inside applauding their new mediocre teacher. The same people I had already sensed like... half an hour ago. Hannah was surprised by the whole event; she was obviously more surprised than I, who already knew about the setup.
I saw Rias, Akeno, Sona and Tsubaki in front. Anna-chan was at the table getting some snacks. When I glared at her, she laughed and came to welcome me. Sirzechs, Serafall, Grayfia and Millicas (Grayfia and Sirzechs' son) were there too. Gabriel and Michael were there as well.
To my surprise. Azazel was there too, alongside a few kids of whom I recognised Lavinia... it was the Slash/Dog team, but Vali, the other one I remember along with Lavinia, was nowhere to be seen. It was an actual welcoming party.
At the centre of the room, almost hiding among the crowd, was Kunou-chan, also applauding and sitting next to her was a blonde young boy, and while he was applauding, his gaze was also analysing me.
My gaze settled on Kunou-chan, and she blushed and made herself small.
"Guys, you didn't have to…" I mumbled.
"Of course we had to, Ray-sama", Grayfia mumbled and walked up to the side where she picked up a gift. There were a lot. She handed it to Millicas, and then Millicas gave it to me.
"This is from the Gremory Family, Ray-sama. Please accept it".
When I opened the small package, it was a handwatch. I knew enough to know it was a Patek Phillipe... but not enough to know which model exactly.
I was awed, not all of them knew I was coming back, so how did they manage to get so many gifts? They're all quite resourceful, I guess.
"Oh, it is wonderful, Millicas, good boy~" I patted the kid's head. Inwardly apologising that his mom and I had an affair, but then I recalled they are devils and this is normal for them, and I didn't feel bad anymore.
"Ray-sama, do you remember me?" He asked.
"Of course I do... how could I forget you?~"
'You're my pet's son...' Of course, I wouldn't say that in public, but Grayfia seemed to read my mind and evaded my face. How queer of her to have her son hand me the gift.
"Thanks, Grayfia, Sirzechs... please send my gratitude to Zeoticus and Venelana too".
"It was nothing, Ray-sama", Sirzechs bowed.
After them, Rias Rias walked in front and handed me a gift of her own, enveloped in crimson packaging, like her hair, "This is for you, Ray~"
I opened it right there; it was a beautiful bow tie, red with black lines.
"Thanks darling, I will use it tomorrow~" I hugged her and kissed her cheek. Then Akeno walked forward and handed me a gift too, "This is for my favourite teacher"
I accepted her gift and opened it. My brows twitched for a second. It was a cat tail butt plug.
"…" I closed the box before anyone saw and hugged the vixen, not before cupping a feel of her butt, "Thanks Akeno, I will also use this tomorrow, who knows, maybe even today~".
'This is a gift for me or for you?~' I sent her mentally.
Akeno giggled and whispered in my ear, "let's use it later~"
I don't know who gave her the audacity to gift me this and even encourage me to open it in front of everyone. Grayfia, even with her neutral expression of a maid, was blushing. Clearly, she knows what's inside the box... and she's wondering if she's gonna get to use it, surely.
Rias and Akeno gave me something, so I turned to Anna... and we had a bit of a staredown until she gave me some of the snacks she just picked up from the table. I pulled her and ruffled her hair.
"Your boyfriend just came back from a business trip, and this is the best you can do, huh?! I see that snack addiction of yours hasn't stopped!"
"Uwaaa! What business trip, you bully?! You were just cheating– uhm!!!"
I sweated and covered her mouth, not only was she still not over snacks, but she also got a sharp tongue still.
"Ray-chan, stop! I-I bought you a gift, I just forgot to bring it!" She said, blatantly lying.
"Little harlot who taught you how to lie!?"
"She bought a lot of Mochi yesterday in a discount fair, she must be talking about that~" Akeno exposed her and earned a scowl from the Yuki Onna.
Next, Azazel nodded to her, and Lavinia walked forward.
"Here you go, this is a gift from Grigori, Ray. I hope you don't mind me calling you by name as we used to~" Lavinia walked and put a talisman around my neck. I felt some energy coming from it. It was very feeble, but it gave the talisman a soothing, holy aura.
"Thank you, Lavinia. Of course I don't mind, it's been so long, but you look the same… how have you been?" I hugged the beautiful witch whom I met in Hokkaido. She moaned at the sudden touch and the contact with my powers.
"You're still as electrifying as ever. No, more~ I have been so relaxed thanks to you. There is so much peace. This is a talisman I crafted myself with resources from Grigori, it has the property of erasing curses, it should give you some luck".
It was a beautiful pendant indeed, but I doubt it can increase my luck. "Just seeing everyone here makes me feel like the luckiest man alive, I doubt it will be very effective".
"Oh, you're jesting, Ray~" Lavinia kissed my cheek, that was a bit of a long kiss, dare I say.
Lastly, I put my sight on Kunou, who also picked up a package and handed it over to me in silence.
"Thanks, Kunou-chan"
When I opened it, I saw a flower inside. However, it wasn't a common flower. It was a lotus and it was imbued with a lot of sacred aura, presumably from the Takamagahara.
"I-I didn't know what else to gift you, sorry... this is the most beautiful flower I have seen, and I wanted to give it to you", Kunou mumbled awkwardly. This girl actually thinks I wouldn't like anything she gives me?
I took Kunou and hugged her tightly. She gasped but eventually answered back... and naturally... just then she recalled how it feels to touch me. She melted in me.
...
After the small exchange of gifts, we sat down. There were still a lot of gifts, but if I opened them one by one, we would never finish. I sat with Kunou on my lap, Lavinia on my left side and Hannah on my right side. Michael and Gabriel sat behind me as it was natural, and although the girls wanted, no one dared to covet Kunou's spot.
I introduced Hannah first since none of them knew her that well. Even Rias, Akeno and Anna had met Hannah today, even if they spoke in the chat.
They weren't as baffled when I told them that she was my girlfriend as they were when I said she was from another world.
"A-Another world..." Azazel stared at her with keen eyes, just like Sirzechs and Grayfia. Perhaps in her shyness, Hannah hugged my arm and popped up her bunny ears, confirming that she was certainly not from around here.
There weren't bunny people in this world.
Hannah saw a shadow loom above her, and she panicked. I panicked too.
"This girl is so cuuteee!!" Serafall took Hannah's cheeks and fondled them to her heart's content.
"Onee-sama, be careful! She's Ray-sama's guest and lover! You can't make her uncomfortable!" Sona said that, but rather than feeling uncomfortable, Hannah responded positively to all of Serafall's caresses.
"Hyan~" Hannah did all weird and funny faces, cute noises, and her ears rubbed Serafall's hands. Everyone who saw her immediately mewled. Anna-chan, the other cute creature in the world, saw how the spotlight was taken from her mercilessly.
"My heart is going to melt!–".
"She's mine, though", I pulled Hannah away from Serafall's claws. "You can go and play with your sister, Serafall".
"Ray-tan! Don't be like that! I will let you play with So-tan for a bit, so you let me play with Hannah-tan!".
"W-Wait, Oneesama!?" Sona screamed in outrage as she should, her beloved sister had just sold her.
"N-O, NO... However you want me to say it, I'll say it. Stay away from my pillow".
Mine and Serafall's interactions brought a lot of peace to the otherwise tense situation that existed from all factions' leaders being together in one room with me. It was as if they wanted to touch upon certain topics, but they didn't want to do so right away.
I kept opening my gifts enthusiastically as the guests chatted to each other. Sirzechs, Michael and Azazel were in a corner. Hannah was in the process of becoming besties with Rias, Akeno, Lavinia and Anna, who had already shared a portion of her snacks with her.
They kept asking her questions like 'How far have you gone with him?' and also 'How far has Anna gone with him?'. These girls just wanted to gossip, but Hannah showed me a thumbs up and closed her mouth like a tomb.
Sadly, just her action of showing me a thumbs up was enough to expose me, still... she's so cute!
"Lavinia, are you sure you don't want to join my peerage?~" Rias asked the witch, putting her in the spot.
"Rias-chan, I belong to Grigori, I don't think that would be appropriate... but if you want us to make a contract, we can do that~"
"Hmph, you're no fun..." Rias pouted, having her invitation rejected yet again.
"By the way, Ray... I haven't introduced you to Yuuto, have I? He's my knight!"
I looked at the boy who bowed and stretched his hand to me, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ray-sama, I am Rias-sama's knight, Kiba Yuuto".
The boy was handsome to say the least, but I didn't detect any lust or anything like that in his gaze for Rias or any of my girls. He was actually giving me some little brother vibes and was checking me up to see if I was worthy of his big sisters.
That protectiveness was a check in my book; he was a good boy.
"Nice to meet you, Yuuto. Please take care of this girl for me. She's a bit rash," I shook his hand and released a bit of my aura just to let him know that I was certainly more than qualified to have his big sisters.
Yuuto gasped and laughed the next moment with a troubled gaze when he couldn't let go of my handshake.
"You jest, Ray-sama... Rias-sama is very strong as she is, she doesn't need my protection at all".
"Don't take that for granted, she likes taking unnecessary risks. One can never be strong enough".
"Wise words, Ray-kun", Sirzechs added.
Amid our conversation, Azazel closed up to me and brought back the tension in the room with his approach.
"So, I heard that you became the Sun God of another world, brat" He said that with a bottle of vodka in his hands. Who brought that? I hope they keep it away from Hannah.
"Yes, although inadvertently, that was the end result, Azazel".
"How do you become the god of a world by mistake?".
"By falling in love with people from that world, I guess? Shame on me," I scratched my head.
"That's the way it always is, isn't it...? always a woman. I heard you're already married and expecting kids too?~".
"E-Eh... you could say that, yes".
The way he said it made me feel old, but the good type of old.
"Don't you think you're living your life very quickly...? Life is to enjoy and have fun!".
"I am enjoying and having fun, Azazel... but I have found the people that I love, and I don't want to disappoint them. I think this job as a God, I should take it seriously... maybe I can use this job as a teacher to practice~"
I mumbled also to myself... these three years as a teacher may be the most relaxed years that I will have from now on, and until eternity. The days ahead will be filled with challenges, happiness, but also a lot of work.
"... you're going to be a responsible God for all of us, won't you?" He patted my shoulder, I couldn't help but feel an odd aura from him.
"I will try".
Sirzechs and Michael noticed that Azazel was being too dominant in the conversation. But the fallen angel was raising some good points.
"What do you think are the most pertinent issues in this world, Ray? Compared to the other one?".
"This world is a dreamland compared to the other world, Azazel... humans don't know what sort of paradise they're living in. People in that world suffer a lot. I have left capable people who can improve it, but it will take time... I may need to spend more time there than here, to be honest".
I could have told them Hannah's story, but not only I didn't want to divulge her past, I felt telling that story was going to completely sour the mood of the party.
"I had no intention to become the God of that world when I went there, but that's how things turned out to be. The same way I didn't wish to become the God of the Heavens, but I don't regret it".
"I understand," He said.
"My only plan now is to do everything I can to strengthen the heavens. Michael is a very capable leader, and he knows what to do... he also has Gabriel alongside him. While he's a politician at heart, Gabriel is a beauty with a pure heart, if he diverts... I trust she will pull him back".
"You honour me with your words, my lord" Michael bowed, on the verge of tears. Gabriel also showed me a thumbs-up.
"I will leave everything in his capable hands and then manage the progress with my confidants, if we don't see progress, then we will have to switch our methods, that's all".
Azazel clenched his hands, "That's way more promising than what that old geezer could have proposed in the past, dare I say?" He referred to the old biblical god.
"I was thinking, my lord, going by our previous discussions of population in the heavens and taking advantage of Azazel, Serafall and Sirzechs' presence here–", Michael added with a slight cough
"..."
Everyone in the room perked up.
"We should create a scheme of absolution for Fallen Angels", Michael proposed, and going by the increase in tensions, I realised this was the elephant in the room that they wanted to speak about but didn't know how to bring it up to me.
"What do you mean?" I requested more clarity.
"What I mean is that with the scheme, some Fallen Angels with small crimes should be allowed back in the heavens with their status recovered. They should return with haste to replenish our numbers" He spoke with a smile. But he was the only one who had that smile.
When things got tense. Rias proactively took Akeno, Anna and Hannah to the corner of the room. Sona and Tsubaki followed them. Grayfia took Kunou and Millicas too.
This had already switched from a party into a diplomatic meeting.