Cain didn't stay long in the Occult Research Club.
After casually making up an excuse to fool Rias and the others, he left the school and headed in the direction of home.
Today was Friday, and school was closed for the next two days.
Not wanting to drag things out, Cain took out his phone and sent a message to Saji Genshirou.
Cain: "Are you free tomorrow?"
A dozen seconds later, the message turned to 'read'.
Soon, a message from Saji Genshirou came through.
Saji Genshirou: "I'm free, I'm free. I don't have cram school on the weekend. Cain, is something up?"
Cain: "If you're free, let's meet up. I need to ask you for a favor; I'll explain the details then."
How mysterious.
On the other end of the phone, Saji Genshirou scratched his head, looking at the message bar with some confusion.
However, being a warm-hearted person, Saji Genshirou didn't refuse Cain's invitation and replied with an OK.
Cain: "See you tomorrow then."
Having received a definite reply, Cain sent over the meeting location and time, ending the conversation.
It was still early, not yet the time when office workers finished work, and he could occasionally see a few students on the road.
Strolling along the concrete path, Cain was pondering his next plan when Ddraig's voice suddenly rang out.
"[partner, can you provide some magic power?]"
"Of course, but what do you need magic power for?"
"[Actually, after consuming those two chess pieces, I seem to be able to control that mass of the mist a little bit.]"
Ddraig said this, a faint trace of anticipation in his voice, "[Although I still don't know what this mass of the mist is, I can feel that its status is extremely high. Perhaps it can help me break free from the shackles of the Sacred Gear and regain my freedom.]"
"Regain freedom?" Cain was stunned, and the next second he understood Ddraig's thoughts.
He glanced around, turned into the alley on his left, and summoned the boosted gear with a thought.
"Just providing magic power is enough?"
"[Yes. I can sense that you have control over this the mist. As long as you provide the magic power to open the access, I can indirectly manipulate this the mist.]"
"Then I'll start now."
Cain injected magic power into the Sacred Gear.
After a while, the jewel on the surface of the Sacred Gear emitted a faint green light, and a wisp of the mist seeped out.
Under Cain's gaze, this wisp of the mist transformed into a dragon the size of an index finger, flapping its wings as it flew around.
"[I succeeded!!!]" Ddraig, having regained his freedom, let out a cheer.
"I didn't expect it to actually work." Cain looked at it thoughtfully for a moment, "Can you maintain it continuously?"
"[As long as you, partner, provide the magic power.]" Ddraig landed on Cain's shoulder and replied, his voice still full of joy.
"[Thanks, partner.]"
"[I can feel the air is filled with the scent of freedom. This feeling is truly wonderful.]"
Ddraig shook his head left and right, surveying the surrounding scenery.
Although it was just an inconspicuous alley, it felt very satisfying to him at this moment.
Seeing this, Cain sensed the change in the Sacred Gear and provided a day's worth of magic power into Ddraig's body.
"[Huh? partner, what are you...]"
"This bit of magic power is nothing to me. Since you feel it's stuffy staying inside the Sacred Gear, you can move around freely outside from now on."
Although it looked like he had broken free from the Sacred Gear, in reality, what was outside the Sacred Gear now was only Ddraig's consciousness; his soul was still inside the Sacred Gear.
In other words, the power of the boosted gear was unaffected and could still be used normally.
Since that was the case, there was no need to keep Ddraig's consciousness confined within the Sacred Gear.
He needed Ddraig's power, not Ddraig himself.
Having Ddraig's consciousness gone was a good thing for him; no one was nagging in his head anymore.
"[Oh oh oh oh! partner, you are such a good person! You're the kindest host I've ever met!]",
On the other side, Ddraig, who didn't yet know he was being kicked out because he talked too much, immediately gave Cain a 'good person card' and praised him wildly.
The man and the dragon walked out of the alley and returned to the crowd.
Under the effect of Sage Art, the surrounding crowd acted as if they saw nothing, ignoring Ddraig flying around next to Cain.
"[Oh! That must be the supermarket!]"
"[partner, look! It's a little Baka Dog!]"
"[This model is so ugly! How can he make a dragon model when he's never been a dragon? What nonsense!]".
...
It turned out that Ddraig, having regained his freedom, not only didn't become quiet but became even more talkative.
Normally staying inside the host's body, although he could see the outside scenery through the host, it was like watching a movie on television—it lacked a sense of reality.
Now that he had a body, Ddraig was like a country bumpkin entering a big city, flying over to take a look at everything he was curious about.
Fortunately, Cain's home wasn't far from the school. In just a few minutes, a large villa appeared in sight, and Ddraig quieted down.
"Cain! You're finally back!" As soon as he pushed open the villa door, a graceful figure charged into him, latching onto Cain.
"Why are you so excited today?" Cain looked at Kuroka suspiciously, "Don't tell me you did something bad while I was gone."
"I didn't do anything bad, I'm just a little hungry. Haven't eaten all day, Nyaa." Kuroka circled behind Cain, pushing him into the house.
"The ingredients have already been bought. It's up to you to handle it now. I want to eat boiled fish today!"
"You went out to buy ingredients, why not just eat outside?"
"The food made outside isn't as delicious as yours!" Kuroka replied righteously.
Having traveled to Cain's house for several years, Kuroka had experienced all kinds of delicacies. Because of this, she clearly knew how exaggerated Cain's cooking skills were.
Compared to the food Cain made, the chefs outside were like inexperienced rookies. Kuroka now had absolutely no interest.
"Huh? What is this thing?"
After pushing Cain into the kitchen, Kuroka finally noticed a dragon flying around behind them.
However, compared to a normal dragon, its size was too miniature, its aura constantly fluctuating, and it occasionally exuded a demonic aura.
"That's Ddraig," Cain introduced.
"Ddraig?" Kuroka felt the name sounded a bit familiar, "Could it be the one in your Sacred Gear?"
Cain hummed in affirmation, giving his reply.
Receiving Cain's confirmation, Kuroka instantly became interested and circled around Ddraig to examine him.
"How did you manage this? This is the first time I've heard that one of the two heavenly dragons can move freely detached from the Sacred Gear."
"This is all thanks to partner's help." Ddraig glanced at Cain. Seeing that he had no intention of hiding anything, he simply explained the whole story.
"The the mist that can devour Sacred Gears and devil chess pieces?" Kuroka was even more confused after hearing this, "What is that thing?"
Ddraig raised a wing and pointed at Cain, "partner says it's his innate talent, but I feel like he's talking nonsense."
Kuroka echoed with a nod, "He's definitely talking nonsense. Cain loves to lie with a straight face."
With Cain as a common topic, the nekomata and the dragon quickly started chatting, going back and forth, making quite a lively scene.
It wasn't until Cain walked over carrying the freshly made boiled fish that they stopped communicating and sat down at the dining table.
"Ddraig, can your body eat?" Kuroka asked curiously.
"Yes, I can. Although it's constructed from the mist, it has everything it should have, and the sense of taste is connected too." Ddraig stood on his hind legs, holding a chopstick in each front claw, and in a bizarre posture, picked up a slice of meat and tossed it into his mouth, "Oh! So delicious! partner, your cooking is the best among humans I've ever seen!"
Cain looked at him with some doubt, "Have you eaten food made by other humans before?"
Ddraig picked up another piece of meat, "A few times, but that was a long time ago, and where I was born didn't have much gourmet culture. The food they made was very unappetizing."
As one of the two heavenly dragons, the Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig once had his own followers, but that was thousands of years ago.
As the totem of faith for the Celtic people, people often held sacrificial ceremonies for him. Ddraig had tried a few bites out of boredom, and he could only say it was no different from eating raw.
"I'm finally living a good life." After gulping down the soup from the boiled fish, Ddraig lay contentedly on the table, feeling that his dragon life was complete.
"Yes, yes. I never realized you had such cooking skills, Cain. I feel like I can never leave you now, Nyaa." Kuroka also patted her belly with a look of satisfaction.
"Stop being lazy and go wash the dishes." Looking at the nekomata and the dragon in front of him, Cain inexplicably felt like a nanny.
Fortunately, he only needed to cook and didn't have to do the cleanup afterward, so overall it was quite relaxed.
Kuroka and Ddraig stood up. One controlled Sage Art to clean, while the other flew around moving the bowls and chopsticks from the table. With their combined effort, they quickly finished their respective tasks.
After finishing everything, Kuroka, whose mind had been clouded by the delicious food, finally remembered another matter, "Cain, you should have met Koneko today, right? How is her condition?"
"She has some aversion to her nekomata side of power and is suppressing it tightly within her body. But I made up an excuse to fool Rias and the others, and I should get a response soon." Cain didn't hide anything and recounted the whole story.
After listening, Kuroka's expression didn't change, as if she had expected this outcome, "So next, Cain, you're going to teach Koneko Sage Art, Nyaa?"
Cain nodded, "Although my Sage Art is average, teaching some introductory basics shouldn't be a problem."
"Speaking of which, it's been a while since I taught you Sage Art. Do you want me to teach you a couple of my signature moves?"
Kuroka leaned close to Cain, a smile curling at the corner of her mouth, "Then you can show off in front of Little Koneko, and you're guaranteed to win her heart."
Cain pressed Kuroka's head and pushed her away: "No need for any special skills. Compared to unreliable things like that, what I really want to learn is divine techniques for establishing a connection with the soul."
"divine techniques for the soul?" Kuroka blinked in surprise: "Weren't you learning divine techniques to activate bodily functions before? Why the sudden change of course?"
Because DanMachi Cain needs it.
Cain, without changing his expression, fabricated a reason: "I plan to establish a deep connection with Ddraig's soul. This way, I can maximize the power of the Sacred Gear."
"As expected of my partner! Always thinking ahead!" Ddraig raised his two small paws and clapped them.
"So he wants to further develop the Sacred Gear, Nyaa." Kuroka also believed Cain's explanation.
Having known Cain for so long, she naturally understood his personality; simply put, he pursued power.
Before, he learned it partly to break illusions and partly to develop his physical body.
Now, changing course to use them to develop a Sacred Gear was a very normal reason, with nothing to doubt.
After organizing some soul techniques she knew, she seriously began to lecture Cain.
After listening for a while, a somewhat bored Ddraig greeted Cain, pushed open the window, and flew outside.
It was late, time to go for a stroll.
...
At the same time.
The Underworld, the capital Lilith.
A day later, Sirzechs, who was working, once again received a call from his younger sister.
"Devouring devil chess pieces to strengthen himself?"
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."
Rias paused, then asked somewhat nervously: "Brother, can devil chess pieces be reimbursed?"
"Of course, but please wait a moment."
Sirzechs raised his hand and drew a Magic Array, contacting his friend who was doing scientific research in the basement.
A few seconds later, a light green Magic Array lit up in the office, and Ajuka appeared out of thin air.
"Sirzechs, is something wrong?"
"Well, I just received some news about the Red Dragon Emperor and wanted your opinion."
Sirzechs concisely relayed the matter of Cain devouring devil chess pieces to Ajuka.
As the creator of the devil chess pieces, Ajuka had more say in this matter.
After hearing the story, he thoughtfully stroked his chin, his gaze falling on Rias on the screen.
"Besides devouring devil chess pieces, did the Red Dragon Emperor mention anything else he could eat?"
"He didn't say, but when I suggested he try eating a magic sword to see the effect, Cain didn't refuse."
"I see. In that case, I'll send you a complete set of devil chess pieces later. Keep two Pawn pieces, and give the rest to the Red Dragon Emperor."
"I understand." Rias nodded.
Having reported the newly collected information, Rias's task came to an end.
However, she did not hang up the communication as usual, but spoke again after a moment of hesitation.
"Brother, Lord Ajuka, Cain said that if a nekomata keeps suppressing her bloodline, it will cause her power to go berserk, and in severe cases, she could lose her life. Is this true?"
"Power going berserk?"
Sirzechs and Ajuka exchanged glances.
After a brief exchange of glances, Ajuka stepped forward.
"The Nekomata's power is quite special, and continuously suppressing her bloodline indeed has the potential to go berserk."
"Is there any solution then?"
"I haven't researched about Nekomata's. Since the Red Dragon Emperor discovered the problem, it would be better for you to consult him."
"..."
...
Re@d adv@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.