Staring at the trait that dropped from Kirino, Takumi skimmed it—and oddly enough, got a bit interested.
"Noble Lineage? I'm literally an orphan. If I fuse this, does it magically give me a family fortune?"
Takumi chose to fuse it, genuinely curious but after the fusion he didn't feel any difference at all.
"Feels completely useless." Muttering that, he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he looked around the office—now a complete mess.
A dense, heavy scent hung in the air.
"Mrs. Yukinoshita, you should clean it up."
Takumi picked up the handle and lightly patted Kirino's cheek, making her get up and work.
Kirino, still dazed, swayed as she took it in her mouth and started cleaning it up.
Only after her mind fully came back online did she suddenly realize what had happened.
"Y-You…" She pointed at Takumi, biting her lip hard.
Her flushed, mature face was full of shame and fury—yet the tremble in her body only made her look even more striking.
"I won't bother you any further, Mrs. Yukinoshita. I did overstep today. These two gifts are an apology. That chess piece can grant you tremendous power, and this cup of divine wine can make you live forever."
Takumi left behind the Divine Envoy chess piece and the divine wine, then used his Pierce ability to pass straight through the floor-to-ceiling window, stepping out into the open air outside the building.
"And one more thing, Mrs. Yukinoshita—your office soundproofing is seriously impressive!"
After praising her office's build quality, Takumi vanished into the sky.
Kirino was left slumped on the sofa, breathing in huge, shaky gulps. That thick, lingering scent invaded her thoughts and made her body shudder. But she'd already… gotten used to it.
More than that—some part of her even thought it smelled… good.
A flicker of dazed indulgence crossed Kirino's face, and she immediately snapped herself awake.
"This man forced his way in, trashed my office, humiliated me… How can I not be furious—why am I even having thoughts this shameless?!"
She patted her burning, red-hot cheeks, then looked at the items Takumi had left on the desk.
She reached out to knock them onto the floor—then stopped, her hand hanging in midair.
"Great power… immortality… Is he telling the truth?" Kirino murmured to herself, wanting to believe he was lying.
But when she replayed what had just happened—the beginning had been frightening and overwhelming, but afterward… the pleasure was so intense it was hard to forget.
How long had it been since she'd felt that kind of release? Kirino couldn't even remember.
"That bastard… is he… is he really lying to me?"
She kept talking like that, but her hand still picked up the chess piece and the divine wine.
After a few seconds of hesitation, she made her choice—she decided to trust him.
Maybe it was some instinctive surrender deep in her body. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was both.
She drank the divine wine, fused with the Divine Envoy chess piece, and lay down on her torn uniform, falling into sleep.
Sensing that Kirino had fused the chess piece, Takumi glanced at her status.
[Name: Yukinoshita Kirino]
[Rank: Divine Envoy]
[Level: 1 (Intermediate)]
[Traits: Divine Envoy (Purple), Immortal (Purple), Noble Lineage (Blue), Master-Servant Contract (Blue) …]
"No Yuki-onna bloodline—Kirino was telling the truth. And her past memories… really are blurry. Just a few scattered fragments that don't connect."
Takumi sighed. He still couldn't figure out the root cause.
This was getting annoying—he'd even gone as far as that, and still hadn't learned where Yukino's Yuki-onna blood came from.
"Could Yukino be adopted? No… that doesn't fit either. In Kirino's memories, they're definitely her daughters—and there was even a paternity test. So the only problem is…"
Takumi suddenly stopped, a guilty look flashing across his face as he glanced at himself.
He'd experienced this kind of situation before.
Back when he'd crossed into the DanMachi world and stole Bell's "existence," the timeline and fate had twisted and warped.
Could this situation be connected to him, too?
"Can't say for sure. And the Yuki-onna side is still a lead."
Takumi had a bad feeling that if he kept digging in that direction, things would get messy—so he switched tracks.
When the time comes, it'll come. This needed long-term planning.
But Yukino's "payment" for the request? He could collect that in advance. No credit, sure—but plenty of… effort.
The process had been sweet, but he'd still put in work!
The more he thought about it, the more justified he felt. He decided on the spot: go collect the reward.
Just as Takumi was about to move, a message came through…
…
Rias: "Can you come over for a bit?"
Takumi looked at the message, confused.
"Oh? Rias-senpai, why are you suddenly looking for me?"
As Takumi replied, Rias's face softened into a sweet smile on the other end. She quickly sent a string of messages back.
"Takumi, didn't you say before you also do part-time work as a counselor? I've been feeling pretty down lately… can you come talk with me?"
"Oh~ Rias is feeling down. Sure, I'll come over."
Takumi could tell it wasn't just feeling down.
She probably had something important she wanted to discuss face-to-face. As a "hardworking bee" flitting from flower to flower, Takumi was naturally duty-bound to help.
Besides, he'd benefited from Rias plenty before—helping her out wasn't a problem.
As long as she pays later.
Turning toward Kuoh Academy, Takumi ran into another piece of bad news.
On the bulletin board near the school gate, there was a notice: school closed for three days.
The reason: due to an unknown shockwave, all the academy's windows had shattered.
They needed to reorder and replace the glass, so classes were suspended.
"Looks like that fight with Katerea really did cause too much fallout."
Even though the battle happened in another dimension, the spillover still caused Kuoh Town a lot of trouble.
With that thought, Takumi quickly arrived at the Occult Research Club.
The moment he stepped into the classically furnished attic, the first thing he saw was Akeno—curvy, graceful, and elegant, with a refined, high-class aura.
"Ara ara~ welcome, Takumi-kun. The President is in her room right now. Just go in that way."
After pointing him in the right direction, Akeno didn't follow.
She watched his departing figure, her eyes shimmering with a soft, springlike warmth.
Licking her lips lightly, she murmured, "Takumi-kun is getting more and more handsome… I'm almost jealous of the President's choice."
Even though she said that, there was a hint of seriousness in her expression.
Rias's recent worries—she'd confided them to Akeno too.
And this time, Rias reaching out to Takumi… Akeno had definitely given it a little push.
Thinking of that, Akeno couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh.
....
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