TSSG - Chapter 15 : The Teaching House....... (Patreon)

Disclaimer - I don't own any of the characters appearing in High School DXD or the Anime or the manga whatsoever.

Lucifaad, Underworld

–Shin–

SHIT! FUCK!

That was Sirzechs fuxcking Gremory on the other side of the door, just waiting for him. Why was he here? Why would he—

“Shin! Take a deep breath!” Nat spoke up for the first time all day, which helped him as he latched onto her voice, taking in deep breaths as she instructed him to calm his beating heart. It was hard not to be terrified for his life with a devil who could arguably end him with a look, just standing outside, seemingly waiting for him.

Now that he had seen Sirzechs outside, he could feel the weight of the devil just outside. He couldn't sense Sirzechs’ Demonic Energy, which was expected since Sirzechs was vastly more skilled than he was, but he should have felt something. Just like back in the square during the choir performance, the entire place could feel the weight of Sirzechs’ presence, but now? It was as if Sirzechs had deliberately suppressed his presence to appear in front of him.

Why would he do that?!

“Calm down.” He felt Nat send a jolt of pain through their shared link, making him snap out of his panic because of the intensity of that pain. He wondered just how she was able to manipulate their shared bond to transmit those feelings.

“Just go out and see what she wants. There is no realistic way we can flee anyway.” She told him, making sense of the whole thing as he tried to calm himself down, plastering a neutral smile on his face, which did not work, as it just looked like he was very nervous about everything.

“That’s fine. It would have been odd if you had been able to face him with no issues. Just remember, don’t talk a lot. Don’t agree to anything on the spot. And I will remain silent for the whole thing. We can’t let him know that there is someone in your head. We still have no idea what kind of magic they can use to sense my existence. Okay?” 

He smiled a bit at the genuine concern in her voice before taking a deep breath and heading towards the door. His hand closed around the knob before he swung it open, to see Sirzechs still standing in the same spot, confirming that it was not all just a nightmare, still in the same pose, with the same signature smile on his face.

Damn.

“Sirzechs Sir!” He bowed to the Heir of House Gremory, just the way Sirzechs liked it, or so he had heard beforehand. Sirzechs did not like to be called by his titles like Heir Gremory or Sir Gremory, and instead, preferred to be called by his name. Hopefully, the info he had on the devil was right instead of being scammed by the janitors once more.

“Shin, was it?” he only got up after he was addressed, nodding at the question.

“Yes, sir. I am a janitor working here.”

The amused smile remained on his face. “I can see that. Good work, by the way. I see that you have zero complaints about your work, or your work ethic. You are punctual and have not missed a single day in all your years of service here.”

“Thank you!” He made sure to add that extra bit of enthusiasm, as it would be quite the feat to have Heir Gremory praising you for your work, even as his mind latched onto the most interesting tidbit from Sirzechs’ words.

Years? He only had memories for the past two years or so. So, either Sirzechs was not truly aware of the real number and was just throwing something out there for the sake of it, or Sirzechs knew something he could not recall. Both options could be true, so he didn't dwell much on them.

“Hmm.” Sirzechs remained silent for a few seconds after that, which just increased the tension in the air, before he spoke up, “I saw you yesterday at the choir event.”

“Yes! It was a magnificent performance, sir! I just regret that I could not catch the full show. I had an emergency, so I had to run back home.”

“An emergency?” The raised eyebrow told him a different story than the easygoing smile.

He sheepishly replied, “A food emergency, sir.”

“Ah!” Sirzechs made an understanding noise as he nodded along. “That’s alright. I am sure you will catch the next one.”

“I will be sure to do so, Sir.” 

Man, all this back and forth was actually tensing him further, as he just waited for the other shoe to drop. 

“Alright, then. Don’t let me keep you here. I was just here for dinner and saw you hard at work and recalled you being the first ones to snap out of the choir performance and leave. That is quite hard to do, you know.”

“It is?” 

“Yes. While I try not to let it be a habit for public performances, I have instructed the choir on Magical Music, an art form that can imbue magical effects into the sound emitted by their instruments. Last night, the kids, after they saw me performing alongside them, decided to revert to the most practiced song, and that song has bewitching properties. Even a high class devil will find it hard to snap out of the song if I am the one performing it.”

“Oh.” He really had nothing to say to that. Just that lame excuse, which caused Sirzechs to pause and then look at him unblinkingly as if he was some odd specimen.

Then, he reared back as Sirzechs laughed out loud, even wiping a tear off his eye, “Haha! I am sorry. I haven’t had a laugh like that in quite some time. Oh, he says. Anyway,” Sirzechs then tapped him on the shoulder, which just made his entire body freeze in danger, “I think you have potential. Potential beyond being just a janitor. I think you should look into enrolling in the training program I have created for House Gremory.”

Ah, that. He recalled that program, as it allowed members who worked at House Gremory and their projects could apply for a position at the Teaching House, a program created by the Heir Gremory that allowed the vast library of House Gremory to be opened up to the people not born in House Gremory, and learn from them.

Of course, the library open to them was a sanitised version, but even that would have been quite the boon. Unfortunately, he did not qualify for that program, not yet anyway. Last time he asked, he had to be recommended for that, and no one was willing to do it, not even his supervisor, who told him that there were limited recommendations for everyone, which is why no one would recommend him.

“I would love to,” He quickly said before slowly adding, “But I haven’t been recommended by anyone.”

Sirzechs leaned back a bit before that smile returned to his face. “No worries. I will give you the recommendation. More talent at House Gremory is always needed.”

Magic swirled around his palm before a small coin manifested in front of them. Sirzechs grabbed the coin, his signature magic appearing in that hand. Purple, red, and black were the colors of that Power of Destruction before the power receded, leaving behind an ordinary looking coin, just that there was an intricate pattern on the coin, likely created by destroying the rest of the material.

Sirzechs handed him the coin, and as it fell on his open palm, he could feel the residual energy from whatever Sirzechs did to it, and it was heavy. “Take this, and give this to the guards at the front gate. They should be able to guide you to the local chapter of the Teaching House.”

“Local chapter?”

“Ah! You don’t know. That makes total sense. Anyway, the main branch of the Teaching House is all the way back in the Gremory Lands. I don’t think you would want to make that trip.”

I want to! He so desperately wanted to shout that with all his might, but he didn’t. He only listened to what Sirzechs had to say. Mainly because he had no idea what would happen if he went there. Maybe his life would change for the better, or he might just find himself under a magnifying glass, inevitably exposing his gifts. Ultimately, anonymity was the best option for him right now.

“The local chapters are just long distance teleportation circles. So, at every one of our facilities, we will have a list of books that you can access based on your access level, as well as a list of lectures that happen at the Main Branch. Now, the books you can get anywhere, but the lectures? Unfortunately, due to some rules, the lectures can only be held at the Main Branch. You will have to travel there, and it requires a minimum access level. So, for now, you will have a large variety of books to learn from.”

He looked at the coin before nodding, “I understand. I will have to get to a certain level to get access to the lectures. Thank you for this.”

Sirzechs waved his hand. “Oh, don’t mention it. I would be more than happy to help someone talented rise up the ladder. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have stuff to do, and you have to go home as well, right? Farewell, Shin. Next time I see you, I hope to find you educated, alright?”

Saying so, the devil disappeared from in front of him with nary a sound or sight. It was as if reality itself glitched in front of him, as Sirzechs disappeared without using any magic circle. 

Some high level magic, he told himself before looking at the tightly held coin. After taking a look all around him, he slipped the coin into his pocket and speed walked to his home, faster than he usually would. Basically, he came back home as fast as he could without drawing more attention to himself.

He noted that there was no violence on his way back home today as well. While two times were not enough for him to draw any conclusions, there might be a correlation between Sirzechs appearing in the capital and the violent crimes going down. Did the Satan Descendants know of the chasm between them and Sirzechs? It could be possible, but given what he knew of their prideful nature, even if they chose to stay silent right now, that silence was just a prelude to the violence that was going to explode sometime in the near future.

Nat had remained silent for the entire duration of the speed walk home, and he was sure that it was the right choice. He had no idea who and how they were being surveilled. So, he made sure he did nothing out of the ordinary, and after eating the food he had made for himself, he looked at the coin for a long time before he began his training.

His magical training, that is.

Emptying his container of Demonic Energy using really inefficient means of magic, and then refilling it, only to continue the cycle for a few hours before he felt lethargic enough to sleep.

He hadn’t so much as talked to Nat, as he had thought of not talking to him at all unless it was an emergency for a few days, until he was sure that there was no surveillance on him.

_____xx___

Future New Lilith, Underworld

–Sirzechs Gremory–

His vision cleared as Ajuka’s many wards and projections confirmed his identity before giving him access to Ajuka’s lab, or rather, the miniature city that Ajuka had built for himself in the middle of nowhere in the Underworld.

Everywhere else was too noisy, according to his friend. Ajuka had his quirks, and his choice to just hollow out and build an entirely new underground city instead of using his family’s vast, sprawling lands was just one of the quirky choices his friend made.

“Ajuka!” he exclaimed, and walked to Ajuka, who was working on something with his Kankara Formula. The miniature parts were moving in tandem with each other, as Ajuka was likely doing another one of his sensitive experiments that simply could not be disturbed without being destroyed.

So, he just stood there and waited for Ajuka to be done, as a good friend would.

Well, he was Ajuka’s only friend, but the point still stood.

After a few minutes, Ajuka was done, as the part disappeared into the ground, likely being transported to some part of the underground city that Ajuka was building for some reason.

“How was the choir? I assume there were no complications?”

“None whatsoever. I just wished it was not necessary for me to make regular public appearances to put them in their place.”

“That is the natural reaction to strength. Unless and until you crush them, they will keep testing your patience.” Ajuka delivered that statement casually, as if discussing the destruction of the current rulers of the Devil race, no matter how contested it might be, was the same as destroying one of his experiments.

He just sighed, as it was just not in his nature to carry out mass killings, because that is what is going to happen the moment he so much as touches the Satan Descendants.

Civil War, and he had no intention of letting rivers of blood flow.

“Anyway, I met an interesting fellow yesterday. I was just doing my usual bit of sending my message using my choir, focusing most of its effects on the Satan Houses, but some of it, as usual, spilled out and hooked onto the devils nearby. Nothing dangerous, but it just put all of them in a trance. Guess what a low class devil was able to do? He was able to snap out of the trance before I finished.”

“Did you make a mistake in your magic? I can’t possibly see a low class devil getting out of that magic, even if you were not focusing on that particular individual.”

He deadpanned at Ajuka, “I know full well that I did not commit any mistake. The kid did break out of it. Upon looking into it, I found out that the kid worked at the Gremory Estate in Lucifaad, so I just invited him to the Teaching House.”

“Hmm. That is a good choice. We will know if he is truly blessed with a powerful soul, just faking his strength, which seems improbable, or if you just committed a mistake.”

“......You know I could have disturbed you earlier and destroyed your part, right?”