Great Teacher Grimoire 16 (High School DxD, OC-SI, Celestial Grimoire) (Patreon)

It was a brand new day, filled with potential. I had magic to practice in the form of new spells to winnow down, for example, that I was beginning to steadily collect. Most of them weren’t all that applicable to combat situations, but the quality of life that merely cleaning my sheets or clothes with a wave of my hand brought to the table couldn’t be overstated.

Not for the first time, I wished I had something like this when I was in college. It’d get more use than just cleaning up after one-night stands or something, but the pure utility couldn’t be overstated. Magic really did make life easier, and it was one of the things that I was hoping to propagate.

However, that didn’t mean I was entirely shucking my own development of combat arts. When it came to my Light Magic, a lot of that came out of the box in a certain way from the Grimoire. That didn’t mean I couldn’t practice or push the limits, as I got more comfortable with making an increasing number of Light Swords of Judgement.

The dream was that I could create a sea of glimmering stars one day, that some poor opponent would realize they were actually swords coming to kill them. I didn’t like fighting and didn’t find it particularly fulfilling, but I also knew that a certain amount of proficiency was just required in the world of supernatural factions. If you couldn’t protect yourself, people would do whatever they wanted to you.

It was why I was trying to hammer that ideology into Asia, to mixed results.

We stood in the demiplane, me in my typical tracksuit get-up for when I had to do physical training and her in an identical, if smaller, version of it. She didn’t look entirely thrilled to be here, but I was being rather insistent on this. Given that she was under my care and literally had nowhere else to go, this was something that we could not skip no matter how combat-averse she was.

“Are you sure we have to do this?” Asia asked, looking nervous, as she tried to mirror my stance.

“Do we? No,” I admitted. “Will we? If we lived in an ideal, largely civilized world, you’d never have to learn how to fight. If God hadn’t burdened either of us with these cosmic weights, we’d probably continue to live mundane, quiet lives. But that isn’t the case.”

“Because of my Sacred Gear…?” she trailed off, looking down at her chest.

I nodded. “It’s a blessing, for sure, but also something you have to be aware of.”

“Is fighting truly the answer?”

“The Bible makes it clear several times that violence, while it should be avoided, is also the clear answer to evil that tries to perpetrate itself on you. So yes.” Crossing my arms, I closed my eyes, trying to think of a good way to phrase this for the girl.

Ultimately though, only one argument came to mind.

“Peace requires two consenting voices, and strife only requires one,” I said, as Asia’s eyes watched me carefully. “I took responsibility for your well-being, and ensuring that you can defend yourself is part of that.”

“For all that the Devils like to espouse that their territory is safe, I’m not tremendously of a mind that it is,” I admitted, frowning softly as I thought over my own experiences.

Asia glanced away, nervous, though she couldn’t deny my points. Given that the entire reason Raynare was bringing her over was so that she could steal the girl’s Sacred Gear and kill her in the process. “I… suppose you have a point there.”

“I know I do,” I freely admitted. “Besides, there’s still a good chance you might never end up using anything that I teach you.”

“It’s just in case I might have to?”

“That’s correct,” I agreed.

Kalawarner interjected from the side. “While some Sacred Gear wielders might be able to live untouched and far away from the supernatural, it’s certainly unlikely. One day, conflict will find you. Would you rather be able to protect yourself, or merely rely on others to do so for you?”

The two of them spent far more time together, so I wasn’t too surprised when the blue-haired Fallen’s words got through to the blonde.

“...I-I’d rather be able to protect myself!”

Ooh. That’s one scary look of determination on her face.

“Besides, I have a faint hunch your Sacred Gear will react well to the life-force-boosting properties of chi.”

“Really?” Asia asked, looking surprised.

“Really!” I confirmed.

Granted, most of my ideas on how to abuse it came from The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic. But to my understanding, Sacred Gears reacted to the actual desires and wishes of their wielders. At least, they did to a certain extent, especially when they evolved through the means of Balance Breaker.

Mittelt and Kalawarner, between them, didn’t know much about it themselves. Only that it was something that could be achieved by pushing your own limits to the utmost. Whether or not Asia could do it, I didn’t know. But what kind of teacher wouldn’t choose to try and believe in their student’s potential?

“Now, let’s begin with the principles of actually throwing a punch…”

She gave me a nod, eyes gleaming with determination. “Right.”

If she could figure out chi, push her Sacred Gear further, and maybe hone her Holy Power even further, I had a lot of faith that she’d be able to defend herself in the future. Well enough against anyone who might want to abuse or use her for her powers. Now if I could get her to sign up for learning Pyromancy, my heart truly would rest easy.

For now, whatever potential she might have been was just that. Potential. She had a long way to go before I thought she’d be truly carrying her own in combat. Not for the first time, I wished I had some other means of giving more directly applicable boosts. Maybe it’d be something that the book in my chest would deign to reward me with in the future.

Circling back to Asia, though, I could say that she did indeed have some skill as a fighter. Or at least the hint of skill, wherein I didn’t need to repeat things a lot before she picked it up and ran with it. While I didn’t get the sense that she’d ever be a prodigy of violence, she probably would pick things up well enough.

And if her Twilight Healing could also heal her training fatigue while retaining the gains, that just meant she could build up muscle and get even stronger faster! God, I was such a good teacher.

“Why is Mr. Hohenheim making such an evil expression?”

“He’s plotting something,” Mittelt commented absentmindedly. “Whether or not it’s good, who can say?”

“Don’t ruin this for me!” I exclaimed, throwing up my hands to look at a smirking Mittelt. “I’m daydreaming about how badass my student is going to be when she learns how to properly fight!”

Whatever further words we might have had about the matter were interrupted, however, by the arrival of someone else into my demiplane. A certain sweating teenage boy, who’d apparently rushed here as soon as humanly possible. Issei came in and looked like he’d been fleeing from the hounds of hell themselves.

“Sensei, sensei!” Issei panted, looking positively alarmed and afraid. With his wide eyes and Sacred Gear out, I was thinking the worst might have happened. A powerful Stray Devil attacking the town, outside factions trying to snuff out the two heiresses in the city, and stranger things besides.

“What is it, Hyoudou-san?!” I ran over, looking no less freaked out, ears twitching as my mind ran wild with the possibilities. “What’s the problem?”

He sniffled, teeth gritting, as anger overtook his fearful expression. “There’s… there’s a netorare bastard trying to steal the Prez away from me! We need your help!”

That took the wind out of my sails immediately, as I nearly collapsed to the ground in shock and confusion. “W-What? Eh?”

“He brought his whole goddamn harem, the lucky bastard, just to show up! Making out with one of them in front of us…” Issei was trembling in anger and fury. “I wanna rearrange his face!”

His Sacred Gear even looked different. More complete, as if some sort of personal revelation had pushed it even further. Or some resolve that he’d found. I felt the familiar thrum of the Pyromancy flame’s connection inside of it, now that we were that close to one another. But also something else brushing against it.

I already had more than a few questions about what was going on to go digging for answers there. Instead, I sucked in a deep breath and set my hands on the boy’s shoulders, hoping for something more cogent to come out of his mouth.

“Let’s start from the beginning, hmm?” Hopefully, I could get an actually sensible retelling of these events that wouldn’t sound insane.

It took a little bit to calm Issei down before I could get the entire story from him. One that wasn’t endearing me further to Devil society as a whole, the more I listened to it. Granted, arranged marriages in and of themselves weren’t something that was uncommon by any stretch of the imagination. 

Doing so when the parties involved were magically superpowered teenagers, who had no love for each other, was a recipe for disaster. While Riser wasn’t the heir of his family, Rias was, and I think very unstable foundations for a marriage proved to be an unwise decision for a race already having a population crisis. They could consummate the marriage, but that didn’t mean they had to do it often or enthusiastically.

Nor did I find myself liking what liberties could be taken with the other members of a peerage. Even your spouses’ peerage, supposedly. Once again I was finding myself thankful that I’d quietly resolved to stay well out of the way of anything regarding that whole system. While Rias and Sona seemed fine enough, they were at most an anecdotal sample size.

A few good eggs for a large, mixed batch.

“That’s pretty much the long and short of it, sensei,” Issei explained, looking up at me with hopeful eyes. “We’ve got some time until we actually have to go to the Rating Game, but I was hoping you might be able to help out.”

“I may be able to. I’m just a little surprised you came to me first.”

“Well, the Prez is trying to set up a training camp so that we can improve. But I was hoping that you could, uh… pull something more off? You’re always full of good advice and stuff! And you taught me that pyromancy stuff that I’ve been training with all the time.”

While my heart did grow warmer at the notion that one of my students thought of me in particular, I still wasn’t sure if I was the guy for the job. However, he was also looking at me with such a singularly hopeful expression that I didn’t have it in me to entirely drop the ball. If he wanted help and realized that he lacked it, what else was a teacher to do but to try and assist?

“I’ll see what I can do. Is everyone still at the schoolhouse?”

“Mhmm,” he confirmed with a nod. “Want me to take you there?”

“Yes.” Glancing over at Asia, I gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry, but we’ll have to cut your training a little shorter than I’d like today.”

“That’s fine, Mr. Hohenheim,” she assured me with a smile. And maybe a little relief, judging by how sweaty and tired she’d gotten from the stances that we’d been taking.

“Try to practice healing yourself with your Sacred Gear. We’ll see if it actually helps at all.” Would medical knowledge make for more efficient usage of Twilight Healing, either? I had so many things I wanted to test about Sacred Gears, and so little time…

“I’ll try!” She ran off, partly to likely do that, and partly to probably flee being given more work.

With that, I turned to Issei. “Alright. Let’s get going, shall we?”

Only for someone else to interrupt, right before we left. Mittelt’s hand took my arm as she stopped me, looking up at me briefly. “Actually, can I borrow you for a minute?”

It was a little sudden, but I didn’t see a reason to deny it. “Uh, sure. Can you wait a moment, Hyoudou-san?”

“Of course. Not too long, though, please.”

“I’m sure it won’t take long.” Whatever Mittelt had in mind, it was urgent. While I hadn’t expected Mittelt to pull me aside, she wasn’t doing it for fun. Not with the serious expression on her face as we went a few steps away and I lowered my voice. “What’s the matter?”

Chewing on her bottom lip, it wasn’t difficult to tell that she was obviously trying to think of her words. Whenever they were settled, though, resolution filled her eyes. “... I think you should restrain your initial impulse to help. At least, helping for free.”

That was enough to make me blink. “What?”

“I know full well what you’re capable of and what you can practically offer them. You’ve still got a lot of apples left, right?”

“I do,” I confirmed, thinking of the seven I still had in a sack sitting around.

“Which was probably going to be something that came to mind, despite how absurdly valuable they are. Besides your actual knowledge, or skills, or even allowing them to rent the elven blade.”

“Mittelt, what exactly are you getting at here?”

She sighed. “You’re a lot like my dad in that you tend to focus on what’s directly in front of you, without trying to play the long game. Not unless you’re forced to. It’s worse because the Gremory peerage are nominally your students, and you’re coming at it from the perspective of a teacher and a student.”

“But this left that paradigm a while ago. She’s a Pillar House heiress, and you’re a random Magician, trying to offer her something,” the Fallen Angel explained. “Something wildly valuable that could backfire in any number of ways should it get out that you were in any way connected to this.”

As much as I wanted to deny her words, opening my mouth for a rebuttal, anything I could say died on my lips. Mittelt was incredibly correct about the matter. Issei was probably genuine about the crisis, the threat, and everything else. The fact that he’d come directly to me, though, meant that Rias probably had at least allowed him to do so.

Maybe she didn’t think I actually had anything that could help. Maybe she was gambling on me actually having things? If she hadn’t been told about the Pyromancy flame at this point, I would eat my socks.

The problem with being suspicious of everything and everyone was that you never knew how much of it was worthwhile and how much was just overkill. Rias and Sona had grown up in environments more closely related to the cutthroat noble politics of Europe centuries prior and had values that matched that to a certain degree. Currently, those modern schoolgirls were just personas worn over that upbringing.

And if I forgot that, it would very much be to my peril.

“Okay,” I breathed out, running a hand back through my blonde hair. “So how should I approach this?”

“Totally mercenary. No matter what puppy eyes or sob story she tries to sell you. Or emotional appeals come to the table.”

“I can have ice in the veins, sure.”

“Because whatever cost you have, the Gremory definitely can pay it. They have the GDP of small countries at their beck and call as a powerful, ascendant Pillar House. Hell, you can ask for money, connections to non-Devil teachers, and all sorts of wild, random stuff that a normal Magician would kill to get access to.”

The more she was talking it up, the more I could see the actual shape of what this opportunity was providing. That part of me that wanted to be nothing more than a wholesome teacher was rebelling at it. However, the aspirational portion of my mind that was reaching for that lofty dream of establishing an actually functional school for supernatural arts…

Well, I could see a world where it would come considerably more in handy than not to have a wealth of magical knowledge dropping into my lap. Or just having more money to throw at certain problems. Money didn’t bring happiness in and of itself, but it definitely made it far easier to achieve it.

“I’ll see what I can do to get what I can,” I conceded, nodding slowly.

That seemed to be the bulk of what had Mittelt a little concerned, as she relaxed at my words. “I’ll be holding you to that, Freddy. If I find out you folded, I’m going to be disappointed.”

“I only fold when you’re the one applying the pressure.”

A blush came to her face, and she punched me in the shoulder. “Idiot…” Despite her saying that, I didn’t think she was actually too upset with the flattery.

Giving her a kiss on the top of her head before I stepped away, I approached an envious-looking Issei with a smile. “I’m ready to go.”

“... Sensei’s too lucky, living the dream like that…” He grumbled, likely expecting it to be too quiet for me to pick up.

“What was that?”

“N-Nothing! We should get going.”

Heading out of the demiplane and across town once more, it didn’t take long before the two of us were entering the Occult Research Building. Right where the rest of Rias’ peerage seemed to be discussing matters. Whatever it was, it was interrupted at our entrance.

“P-Prez! I’ve brought some help! Hopefully.”

“Hohenheim-sensei?” Kiba asked, a little surprised.

“In the flesh,” I said. “My precious student came running to me, and frankly, I figured I’d at least be obligated to hear out the issue first.”

Rias didn’t give anything away, though I also got the feeling that she was humoring me for Issei’s sake more than anything else. “As much as I would welcome the assistance, we are currently planning an excursion to prepare and ensure our absent teammate can also be ready for the event.”

“And I’m not here to override that,” I fully admitted. “However, I’ve also got extensive dealings with Ms. Sitri, and she can attest that I do possess the means to help.”

“Such as?” Akeno asked.

“That isn’t something I’m willing to divulge outside of the boundaries of a particularly binding contract.” Nothing could remain a secret forever, but I would like for it to remain a secret until I was at least an ultimate-class being.

If I could reach those lofty heights of power.

“I’m not opposed to help, though I’m a little curious as to what it might be myself. I wouldn’t suppose you would be interested in joining my peerage?” Rias asked, sounding a little hopeful at the prospect. “You’d be a good fit.”

“Absolutely not,” I rapidly denied, finding the idea of answering to anyone to that extent flatly undesirable. “All of the typical things that being a Devil would give me are things I don’t need to become a Devil to achieve or grasp. And as much as I find your group charming, I don’t personally think I’d like to be bound to all of you for eternity.”

Or however long an exceptionally lengthy lifespan as a Devil would last. They were functionally immortal, to my understanding, until they ended up slain or fell into one of those weird eternal sleeps that occurred to their people.

She seemed disappointed but not that surprised or put out by the refusal of the offer. “A shame. That would have bolstered our numbers for the rating game ahead. And your… ward, Asia? Would it be fine if I extended the invitation to her as well?”

“I would, in fact, not be okay with it,” I bluntly stated, feeling protectiveness surge up inside of me. “And frankly, I think the ex-nun would be deeply uncomfortable with any overtures made toward that sort of thing.”

Rias inclined her head, acknowledging the point. “Then I won’t bring up the subject matter anymore. If it’s not in numbers, I’d be welcome for your assistance.”

“Assistance for a price, yeah.”

That seemed to draw eyes and surprise from them, as Issei turned toward me in shock. “S-Sensei?”

Notably, the rest of them didn’t seem that surprised or even resentful. If anything, there were looks of expectation and curiosity on their faces. Not even Rias seemed that taken aback, as her neutral expression didn’t seem to give a whole lot away in that moment.

“... I’m your student. Shouldn’t you be willing to assist for free?”

I blinked at Rias, a little surprised by how accurate Mittelt had pegged what direction things would be heading in. Not that I thought that it was an unfair view of the situation if you’d only ever seen what I’d done for people from the outside looking in. Nor realize the circumstances of our present situation.

“I think there’s a wild misunderstanding here. Issei, for all of his missteps, has been attempting to improve himself and has reached out to me for that purpose. He’s the reason why I’m here in the first place, negotiating, because my precious student came to me with a genuine concern and asked me to see what I can do about it.”

I glanced at the boy, and while he seemed to be nervous under the sudden spotlight, he also was straightening up with my every word. Right before I glanced back at Rias, a frown on my lips. “With that said, this is admittedly far outside of the boundaries a typical teacher-student relationship should cover. Even the most generous ones.”

“My assistance would likely grant you resources your enemies just, flatly, don’t possess,” I admitted. Thinking of the multiple apples I held in reserve. If Rias had Phoenix Tears, and I suspected she had a few, between those and apples, they’d have more than enough healing to ensure they weathered the battle just fine. At least based on what I read of rating Games so far. “However, that assistance would draw eyes and questions to you. Things you’d likely answer.”

“I wouldn’t give up your confidence like that,” Rias denied, looking vaguely offended that I didn’t take her word for it.

“Is that a promise? An ironclad oath that if your father, mother, or brother asked as to the source, you wouldn’t give it up?”

Her silence was an answer in and of itself, as she averted her eyes from me. 

“I thought so. Thus, this potential contract would cover all aid I render and keep all parties involved from speaking on the specifics of it.”

The Sitri were the only Devils who knew about the broad strokes of what I had to any real depth. I’d prefer them to be the only ones, admittedly, but if Rias and her peerage had to learn, I wanted the information to be as airtight as possible. Hell, I’d likely reach out to Sona to help make the contract and then have Kalawarner and Mittelt look it over just to be safe.

“Let’s get confirmation that you can actually help us, first,” Rias stated, looking at me carefully. “Otherwise, this is too much effort for an uncertain gain.”

I shrugged. “Fine with me. Let me get Sitri-san here.”

It didn’t take more than a few texts to ask Sona to come over to the Occult Research Club’s building. She was still on campus, and given that I was a client specifically asking for her to be a guarantor… well, this was very much within what the Sitri were meant to be doing for me in the first place. So she showed up, Tsubaki in tow as always, looking around the room carefully.

“What seems to be the issue?”

“Your friend here wants some assurances that I possess resources that could help her win her Rating Game against Riser Phenex before we make a contract precluding her from discussing any aid I render,” I explained, gesturing to the peerage around me.

Without even the slightest hesitation, the girl turned to her redheaded friend and nodded. “You should take the deal.”

“Sona?” Rias seemed genuinely surprised by the sudden and blunt response, her ahoge twitching.

“I can’t say for confidentiality reasons, but I can confidently state that it would be in your best interest to make this deal with Hohenheim-san,” the girl stated, standing up straight. “The nature of our business is… extensive, but to the degree that I believe in this specific instance, it is worthwhile for you.”

She paused before pushing up her glasses and giving Rias a meaningful look. “Besides. Would you rather leave yourself at a disadvantage against Riser or take every possible opportunity you could to improve your odds?”

That was the real clincher, as the Gremory heiress sighed, defeated by those words. “... Fine. Let’s draw up a contract.”

The next hour or so was boring by all metrics, but it did give me more experience in the way Devils genuinely handled contracts. Especially magically binding ones. There were provisions I found a little suspicious and tiny things that Mittelt and Kalawarner pointed out when I texted them photos. 

Overall, it was ironclad enough and binding that I didn’t think anyone would figure out my own actions in the battle to come. At least not anytime soon, or with anything beyond vague suspicions. I could work with vague suspicions. Elves were supposed to be mysterious and murky, weren’t they?

Signing it last, after everyone else, I felt the magic being reinforced. It was odd, like a tangle of my own actions, yet admittedly I had very few provisions that I was bound by. Only that until the end of the Rating Game, I was meant to refrain from giving any assistance that would knowingly be harmful to Rias Gremory now or in the future.

A binding, yes, but such a minor one that it was worth actually getting the experience of what it felt like. Or how, strangely enough, it felt like I had wiggle room within it. Something that I suspected could only come from my newfound innate magical resistances.

… Being barely bound by magical contracts that other people assumed I was more tightly wound up by. That opened up some possibilities in the future, didn’t it?

“With that done, I feel obligated to ask what I’ve actually gotten for my trouble,” Rias asked, fixing me with a pointed look. At one point, they’d come back with a final, different signature that was apparently from a peerage member who had trouble being out and about. As long as it was valid, though, I didn’t care all that much who it came from.

Cracking my neck, I took a step forward, trying to wrack my mind as to where to begin with all of this. Some simple clarification questions would be best.

“What, precisely, are the rules around restorative items in Rating Games?” I asked, now that the particulars of the contract were set down. Given that she’d be directly facing the clan that made the most sought-after restorative items in the entire world (for now), I imagined she’d likely looked up the specifics.

Because depending on what the rules were, those seven remaining apples in my bag were going to become incredibly important.

“Only two Devils can use Phoenix Tears in the match, total,” Rias explained, unsure of where I was going with this chain of logic. “Any number, but they’re fairly wildly expensive, so stacking them isn’t a viable strategy for most people.”

“But the rules only apply to those? Not even other items that restore health?” I prodded, trying to clarify precisely where the lines were.

Was I about to have some fun rule-lawyering some Devils? Yes. Yes, I was.

“There isn’t anything on the market that could even remotely be the same in efficacy.” Then she paused. “I mean… I heard a rumor that the Sitri were selling something new through an internal auction. But I don’t know how true that is.”

Sona and I shared a look, and I couldn’t help but smile broadly, eyes shining and ears wiggling happily as Rias said those words. The girl obviously knew what I was angling for and gave a small sigh. “It should work. Though I suspect it’ll only work for just this Rating Game until the rules are changed, and they’re either banned or put under the same restrictions as Phoenix Tears.”

“Sitri-san, that’s more than enough for our purposes. If she just needs to win the one match, then there’s nothing else that needs to be said.”

Rias seemed more confused by what we were talking about, and her peerage was much the same. “What exactly are you two referring to?”

“Well, given that everyone here is bound by contract to not reveal my secrets willingly and will take measures to keep them within reason, I can confidently state that I am the source of the golden apples,” I grinned. “And I have a number that I am willing to sell to the Gremory… at a cost.”

“A very, very sizable cost.”

For the first time, I saw a flicker of fear run through Rias’ eyes. Good. She should know that I was about to fleece her for everything she had, shamelessly. Ever since I’d been introduced to the supernatural, it felt like I was on the back foot. But for the first time, it seemed like I was about to get one over on someone else. 

Overconfidence was a slow and insidious killer, but goddamn, did it feel good.

Author’s Notes

In regard to Asia here, she hasn’t had to deal with the traumatic event of being captured or having her Sacred Gear ripped out. Hell, she isn’t even a Devil. So it makes complete sense for Frederick to put some real effort into ensuring that she can defend herself in a world where being weak is a bigger sin than anything else.

When you’re making a deal with a devil, you’ve gotta make it as positively airtight as humanly possible. At least, that’s the way I feel about the matter.

As always, let me know what you thought of things. New All-Star Otsutsuki chapter tomorrow, along with a Comeback Kid live over on fiction.live.